I bounce back between MG-A and WRA-H and there is a stark difference in the amount of roleplayers. There have always been more players on MG-A, but I’ve noticed a steady shrinkage of people on WRA-H. I’ve had several friends who have left Horde rp for Alliance because there are more people on that side.
My question is, why is it dying out? Is it for that exclusive reason? Do people find Horde lore and its races boring? Uninteresting? Are there more toxic people on Horde ( WRA-H )? Is there a severe lack of guilds on Horde? Or is it do people just prefer looking at more humanoid races than the more monstrous ones on Horde?
I’ve been to a couple of events on both Alliance and Horde, and it saddens me to see the lack of attendance at these events in comparison to Alliance turnout.
If you left Horde RP for Alliance, what was your reason for it? Would you ever come back?
Nothing is ever, ever going to match the critical mass of MG-A, it just won’t. It feeds into itself as a feedback loop. What you -can- do is take what you got and still make something fun with it. Quality over quantity, always.
When the allegations of sexual harassment came out, I noticed a steep decline in players on both Alliance and Horde. People quit out of disgust for what was and what had happened. Eventually however, people came back. Alliance eventually filled it’s numbers back to what it was before where horde never really recovered. Usually around a patch you’ll see an increase in numbers, but it never stays the same for very long – it is, of course to be expected.
Yes, there will always be a larger amount of people on Alliance over Horde. This is fact. It’s always been like that and will until the servers go out.
But is it exclusively for that reason or is it something else? I’d like more feedback on this.
From my understanding we’ve reached a point where Moonguard has enough mass, like a celestial body, that its absorbing people from other servers viewing it as THE option for roleplay. While I am sure its not your intention posting questions like this kind of fuel the flames of would be roleplayers viewing the forums. Doing a vicious cycle and self fullfilling prophecy of “Why is X Rp dying?” → moves to MG contributing to the problem → “Why is X RP dying?” etc. etc.
As per other reasons I do believe that while dragonflight was good, Shadowlands was just THAT bad for roleplayers. I know my previous guild died because of it. I have heard second hand that a lot of RPers haven’t returned bc they feel burned by Shadowlands and Blizzdrama. Perhaps not returning to WoW for that reason or bc they found FF14. Idk I don’t have the data.
I also feel that WrA has evolved further in its guild centric direction. Favoring public/guild events over walk ups. If this is good or not is up to debate just something I’ve observed. Which could contribute to the “Is X RP dead?” on first glance for passerbys.
As to solutions? The real solution is for people to persevere and continue to RP on the server. I know for myself, the culture of Moonguard is not for me and WrA has been my home since MoP. I’m comfy here. Personally the question of “Why?” is less useful than the “How” of making WrA richer with roleplay.
Personally i think the larger player base of WrA is more mature/older than MG. Especially with more people going there, it is likely the younger ones moving more than older because the older ones have and will stick with WrA.
If we go along with this idea, then one can see how walk up RP isn’t as favorable. It takes a bit of time, both in finding someone to engage with and if the other person is slow to type. Planning events ahead of time is more optimal.
Furthermore, guild RP is the most quite RP out there. Our guilds long established and are of such a size that even the most active ones appear vanished to the public eye. Sort of like how a wagon full of goods is going to make less noise than a partially filled one which raddles about.
Basically Horde RP hasn’t died down much, it just shifted. Instead of standing in a place to spot the RP, you must ask specifically after what you seek. You will find many people willing to help. For example if you looking for Forsaken RP, you’re not going to bump into it, you must ask for death.
I think Noslferatu has written several excellent points!
My own personal anecdote is that I struggle with walk up rps. I used to do it frequently earlier in my RP “Career” but, have transitioned more into events and storylines. Often shelving characters once they’re arc is done. I admit my own social awkwardness doesn’t help haha.
I will say in terms of guilds that the statement of large older guilds is quite true. But, I also believe that smaller guilds and start ups for less popular race/concepts are dwindling. From my experience its a symptom of both Moonguard “gravity” alongside the available populations interest in these guilds or even availability considering the size of larger guilds. Its been an interesting sight to see for sure. I’m stating this as a further depiction of how WrA has changed in comparison to Moonguard. Where from sample observations (small sample size) smaller guilds and more niche options are available which can further draw people. Which all revolves into: WE NEED MORE PEOPLE RPING
I think WrA’s scene has been on a decline since the end of MoP. I wouldn’t say we’re an endangered species, but our population isn’t making a comeback either.
Why that is depends who you ask. Imo, MoP is to WrA H-RP what Wotlk is to WoW. It was our apex point, and a series of damages have chopped us down over the years and brought us to where we are.
I wouldn’t worry about it, though. WoW ain’t dying anytime soon and neither will WrA. For a server that’s only been in a steady decline for a decade, you can head to the VoH and still see the same names that were here back in the old days. Plus, we’ve been pretty compartmentalized for a while now. You might need to go out of your way to find the good stuff, but what you’ll find will be better than just some random walk up interaction any day of the week.
Yeah this kinda sums up why my guild and myself have been inactive. We’ve put in place an off-season for this very reason - many folks, myself included, just get too busy this time of year to really put time into RP.
I anticipate a more active community pretty soon as everyone gets back into normal routines, though.
Eh, not ta put too fine a point onnit but third-quarter I’m cashin’ up out in the world doin’ stuff an’ gettin’ paid. Probly be in town more fourth-quarter (Jan-Mar) but round the holidays I always make it a point to do the work since I blow a lotta gold out the airlock this time of year. Not a lotta time ta screw around bein’ social!
Also does not help the situation overall that various other events that had been hosted like the Kosh’arg saw their hosts call it a day during the Shadowblands doom span and no one has opted to pick up the mantle from then on.
Long answer is we all acted like we were better than MG in every possible way and then it became a self sustaining negative feedback loop and that’s why size wise WRA-H can’t hold a candle to MG-A
WRA’s RP Community is vastly different than Moonguards.
Does Moonguard have more city RP? Yes.
General Guild Roleplay, however? Generally about the same tier. Just like with WrA, A lot of MG guilds generally don’t actually RP mostly in the capital city for the simple fact that number of people present adds a number of people who can troll your RP.
The other matter is that organizing server RP events is a bit of pain and takes a certain type of determined person to keep at it.
