Iâve been thinking about the Allied Race system, specifically its purpose in terms of world-building, and wanted to ramble a bit on it.
Before TWW was revealed, most people would say that the Allied Race system was dead because the Horde and Alliance werenât at war any more, so there wasnât a point to it. However, I disagree with that argument, as there would be reasons a race would want to join the Horde or Alliance and those factions wanting new members while not necessarily being for war purposes.
Sometimes it could be through a mutual benefit for each other. A good example could be the Keflin and Ankoan, where they would want to join their respective faction for safety, seeing as Azshara is out there and up to no good. In return, the Horde and Alliance get members that would be able of doing underwater missions or working as shipwrights in case underwater repairs need to happen. Not to mention being able to help protect ships from things like Naga attacks or being able to sabotage pirate ships attempting to loot.
Another example was a scenario I thought I would type up for fun one of these days. Imagine if a giant looming threat to the world (of Warcraft!) was inevitable, and the mass destruction from it would be worse than these forums on a Sunday. I can imagine the Horde and Alliance seeking out denizens of Azeroth, trying to recruit members so that the chances of winning over this threat would be higher. I mean, living is pretty awesome and 4 out of 6 doctors agree that being on a planet not having been blown up and subjugated by evil forces is much better for your health long term.
Not to mention that getting those races in your faction means more territory, resources, and units for these regular threats to the world (of Warcraft!) that seem to pop up every so often. And while the chances of war between the Horde and Alliance will be very low going forward, it doesnât hurt to grow your faction in case that happens again.
Itâll be interesting to see the Earthenâs reasoning for joining both factions. Iâm sure they would learn about the history of the many great Horde and Alliance kerfuffles, and I doubt they would want to fight each other in a war, much like how the Dracthyr would feel I assume. Itâs something I think Iâll be covering when I see how the Earthen are implemented, which I have quite a list of things to report back here on.
When it comes to Saurok, whether as a Core Race or Allied Race, Iâll have to focus more on the benefits for them joining the Horde and the Horde letting them in. It can be a bit hard, since there would be a lot of context sensitive aspects depending on what would happen with their storyline, but there is plenty to type up with this line of thinking. Although, it will be a bit weird to think less of them being RAWR to the AllianceâŠok, sure, theyâll want to eat their faces when it comes to PvP, but you know what I mean.
I think one of the keys for the mutual benefits would be that evil Mogu clans hound the playable Saurok faction that the Horde can help with while the Saurok might have artifacts and such from Mogu vault raids that could be pretty handy. Especially if they might be interesting things to study if we have to go and beat up any evil titans in the near future. Not to mention having a race that can swim and work well in places like swamps could be very handy. But then again, as I mentioned, a lot depends on any storylines involving them.
Anyway, war isnât really needed to have the Horde and Alliance seek out allies. At least not between the two factions. There can be benefits outside of combat that can come from joining a faction. Weâll see how the Allied Race system is handled for different races and their motivations for wanting to join the Horde or Alliance and those factions letting them join as well.
Iâm sure Iâll be able to type up many benefits for Saurok joining the Horde of course, both for in-game and for us players IRL. After all, this is a megathread on the subject.
-Playable Saurok for the Horde please!