Patch 8.1 and Cross-Faction Roleplay

Community General Discussion
183

Blizzard should take this even further and just remove faction communication restrictions from RP servers. It would effectively double the RP community’s size on some servers, and greatly increase the activity on some of the smaller RP servers outside of Moon Guard and Wyrmrest. At least add some kind of quest to the game which allows us to optionally toggle cross-faction communication on and off, so we don’t have to deal with these workaround addons to roleplay with our friends during an expansion which emphasizes the Horde vs Alliance narrative.

No matter how you look at it, this is a good decision for Blizzard business wise. RP servers are always going to be core subscribers, because they’ve made long-lasting connections and a bigger investment in this game than a lot of people who just raid or PvP. By increasing the activity levels on RP servers, you are only fostering growth for the game.

16 Likes
184

Add cross-faction talking or fix this addon.
NPCs talk to each other every single second of WoW. The language barrier is archaic and only serves a negative purpose.
Someone found a solution and you shut it down. Make the solution yourselves.
End the barrier.

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185

I agree. The majority of this thread has indeed been positive. I was responding to one specific comment and not trying to criticize the thread as a whole. Blizzard has listened to the community before. We were able to get them to address sharding for a past ToA event with a thread similar to this one. So if we keep on showing support in a positive way, perhaps we can be heard this time too.

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186

Not only this, but Blizzard has been adding new ways to circumvent the barrier since MoP.

First it was pandaren. The sky didn’t fall.
Then it was demon hunters. The sky didn’t fall.
Then it was void elves, and BNet communities. The sky still hasn’t fallen.

What is the point of breaking an addon that only duplicates what you yourself are already adding?

6 Likes
187

Fair enough, but in the current climate they really ought to mull things over before making sweeping changes like this. It’s not like sharding; Cross RP was a fantastic tool that did as much for the RP community as MRP and later TRP. Huge, server-wide events like ToA and DoW were made substantially easier and better because of it.

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188

Servers throughout the year have been dominated by one faction… Mostly due to how that server is ran. When you think of raiding, you think of certain realms for a certain faction. Same with PvP.

On RP servers though, it’s been slowly balancing out and this addon helped to where no one could feel left out of a community despite what they play! You can talk to the opposite faction with a few simple clicks of a button instead of having to either add whoever you’re trying to talk to battle tag, which some prefer to keep strictly to friends instead of strangers, or make and/or level a completely new character on the opposite faction for the same character, for the same trp.

What I’m trying to say is with the addon being broke, there is a split in the community again… And honestly?

I really hope that it’s not intentional.

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189

Hi Blizz! I’m what you’d call “factionally ambidextrous”. I play on both factions fairly equally, and greatly enjoy doing so. My mains this expansion are Sarestha-WyrmrestAccord, and Crazyprophet-WyrmrestAccord.

For me, the Cross RP addon has made RP in general SO much more vibrant and interesting. I (and most RPers I know) do not use the addon to ignore the faction war, but to RP characters from Neutral organisations, who don’t WANT to get involved in another war, or to engage in crossfaction communication that makes sense.

If I may give an example, Sarestha here is 100% Horde loyalist, and, in the same style as Nathanos, angry about the Alliance abandoning the people Lordaeron (or at least those who became Forsaken). But she was a Paladin, in life. She has a past. And Cross RP has allowed me to roleplay, albeit briefly, with a Lordaeronian paladin, with whom she has a rivalry of sorts - two old friends who got thrust onto two different sides of a war. It’s been fascinating to RP, and has made for an interesting (and I think sensible) experience.

I’ve been able to hang out In Character with a large group of friends, even if they don’t have alts on one faction. I’ve been able to pursue emotional stories of friendships broken across the boundaries of a war, which is possible in a world with elves and humans on both sides of the conflict (in a manner of speaking). I’ve been able to go to server events and gatherings that make sense for my character, and not only have to hang around with my faction. I’ve been able to interact In Character with the enemy, in the same way as we regularly see in actual quests. There’s just so much good in it. There really is.

So Blizz, I know I’m just a filthy casual who loves the story. But I do love this story, and this expansion. I may never have an interest in raiding above LFR difficulty, but I’ve had pretty consistent game time purchased since Cataclysm, with my breaks usually amounting to a few days, not a few months. I love this game and am committed to it, and if my little voice among the tirade carries any weight, I humbly ask that you restore functionality to this addon OR create an in-game function for crossfaction communication. It might seem like such a small thing… but it matters to RPers. It really does.

12 Likes
190

This change also damages the functionality of a few other addons that roleplayers use. Dicemaster, TRP, and Mogit can no longer link things like traits, mogs, or profiles into guild chat or community chat. Literally the only chat type that is affected by this is guild chat itself.

Basically this means that if you want to show your guildies a mog idea, you need to whisper them the link one by one, or make a party, or make a raid. I.E, you can still do it, but for whatever reason… just not in guild chat.

6 Likes
191

I gave my feelings elsewhere, this was a good addon and did what you’re doing anyways. My interactions with my friends got better, being able to use it.

4 Likes
192

I agree with you. I suppose I’m appealing to psychology a bit here. I know people (the WoW devs included) tend to be more receptive when a message is delivered gently and without an excess of hostility or aggression. That’s all I was trying to really emphasize.

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193

RP has now become the only reason I play this game. To see such a useful add-on, that contributes so much to the RP community, be broken is very disheartening. Sad!

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194

Roleplayers may not be the biggest group of players by far, but they are by a wide margin the most loyal and invested. These are the people who continue to pay subs during content droughts, who spend real money on large amounts of character services, who evangelize the franchise to their friends.

RPers are worth investing in, Blizzard. The RP community won’t carry the game by itself but they are a big part of what carries it through its lowest point. And let’s be real: BfA so far has been a fairly low point.

It’s well worth your while as developers to encourage and support the RP community, at least to the extent of not breaking its favorite toys.

11 Likes
195

An absolutely devastating change if it goes through; things like CrossRP have revolutionized the way that cross-faction RP can be accomplished and brought the roleplaying community to life in ways that I have not seen in years.

I plead with Blizzard to see the value in preserving its functionality as it was before.

5 Likes
196

I completely agree with what’s been said so far, and add my plea to that of many users. The faction conflict as a communication mechanic can already be ignored through Communities and Battlenet whispers - why is giving this communication a few more options and a facelift through CrossRP an issue? Moreover, there are plenty of neutral factions and organizations in the game lore (the Cenarion Circle, the Earthen Ring, the Argent Dawn to name only a few). Letting roleplayers include these factions and themes in their rp, neutrality included, only makes for a richer experience. That alone - a richer, wider experience for an entire community of WoW players - should be reason to return CrossRP’s functionality.

6 Likes
197

Furthermore, I am not the only one who thinks that the golden age of Moon Guard in particular was when the Horde and Alliance clashed in incredibly epic battles in Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria. We of course had to be creative with how we communicated cross faction back then, and it would have been made much easier had this addon existed. We’re all mature enough to get along, and those players on the opposite faction who aren’t can always join the ignore list.

There’s no way that this isn’t a good thing.

10 Likes
198

Showing my support for this addon. Truly its one of the best forms of Cross Faction roleplay solutions. It has made server-wide events like Tournament of Ages go perfectly without a hitch. And for this addon to be broken by the changes made in 8.1; It trully devestates plenty of groups and guilds.

One of the guilds I’m in has a Horde and Alliance variant. Removing Cross RP’s functionality ruined the creative people’s chances to speak together once more. Please please please, do reconsider this change!

5 Likes
199

Throwing my support behind this post. Cross RP has been an awesome tool for my guild and has given alot of life to the RP community. Let’s get this figured out!

(also, Fey is a good bean)

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200

You have my support. I’ll be posting this on my twitter and multiple discords in order to make sure that this is heard. Thank you for all of your hard work. <3 I want Cross RP to come back and many of my characters have many quite a few Horde friends along the way.

2 Likes
201

Blizzard should add a “Roleplay Mode” that players can toggle which allows them to hear other chats and translate statements automatically.

Then when entering PVP or such, it can switch off.

Easy fix.

6 Likes
202

It would be super amusing if they implemented a solution like in Overwatch where if after the match, someone says “gg ez,” the game translates it into something like “But mom! I just wanted to play one more game before bedtime!” LOL!

Aww, why thank ya! Hope you guys are doing well!

But back on track. Yes, we need our CrossRP. Or, you know, just remove the faction speech barrier. :stuck_out_tongue:

4 Likes