We need to balance our factions and how to do so

Just because the narrative of the Horde does trend negatively doesn’t mean that there aren’t no guilds or storylines being run in the background given Sylvanas’ tendency to publicly arrest dissent. The Horde may be run as an Autocracy more so than the Alliance but most of the Horde RP-wise would NOT be okay with how things are going outside of the more extreme factions which does tend to be a minority given the Civil War the Horde underwent during MoP.

There are guilds working with the narrative despite its negative and downward tone, but despite the narrative of the war, there is a lot to work with as Vaknosh mentioned.

As for the comments Aran and Rovena mentioned above me, I’ll tackle one at a time. MG Horde does have a smaller population compared to WRA and MG Alliance but despite the setbacks we’ve experienced as a community, MG Horde has been growing and the main reason I posted that MG Discord Server listing thread was specifically to counter the sheer effort and work someone new to the overall community in MG would need to do to learn, regardless of faction.

The entire entourage isn’t being run by a handful of people but a slowly growing number of folks who want to better the server in its entirety by having a thriving MG Horde scene. I don’t do what I do for my name or reputation. I can honestly say that I don’t do what I do for the rep because I don’t really care about it to begin with. MG is my home and I want my home to be better, flat out.

As for Rovena, I’m sorry that you’ve experienced such things mainly with the naysayers but we all know that walk-up RP or interactions of that sort will always be a 50/50 coin toss in being a good or bad. I’m merely sorry that you haven’t been able to enjoy or find good interactions in-game with the MG Horde. That said, please don’t dismiss MG Horde as a whole as we are doing what we can to better it and have more positive interactions and RP.

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I appreciate this and I wish I’d run into more people like you. I must have had my bad luck shoes on because, without fail, my pandaren and my shal’dorei always found the worst people for them to interact with. I do want to make a character that is interesting on Horde side! It sounds like I just need to wade through a bit to get to the better RP. I also want to avoid rolling belves, not because of anything other than trying to not over-saturate the population even more than I’m sure it already is.

I’ve been considering making a Forsaken actually. Then again, I don’t know if that will ever be my main over Rovena. If I had friends on Horde I would go Horde in a more serious way. Maybe I’m just babbling now XD

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I don’t think anyone is asking anyone to switch completely from one side to the other. Having alts is cool, and ideally it’s best for both halves of MG to have folks interacting and playing both sides.

That’s why I have a gnome warrior.

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Okay then. Consider the alternative. An RP server with only one faction - Alliance- because the dominating force declared that they were better, and used their numbers to reinforce that statement at every opportunity.

And so the Horde population shrinks even more.

From 40%, to 30%, to 25% (which is about where we’re at now) to 20%, to 10%…and then people stop playing on MG Horde altogether.

RP-PvP campaigns? Forget that. You’ll have to use NPCs or hit up some other server to find bodies (and why would they want to help you?)

Cross-faction RP? Nope, it won’t exist.

A chance to play all your alts on the same server? It wouldn’t happen. Those 50 character slots would be useless.

By refusing to support Horde, you folks are effectively wiping out half of the game on Moon Guard. Do you think that people will want to play on a server that has only one faction? Get real. People are already citing ‘faction imbalance’ as a reason not to come to Moon Guard. World PvP is laughable. Eventually, as the problem gets worse, the whole server will begin to suffer, including the Alliance that think they’re so safe up there in their Stormwind castle. Faction imblance affects the population as a WHOLE. Too much of one thing is NEVER healthy.

Every time one of you Alliance folks comes on these forums and says “I played Horde and I didn’t like it” or " Horde is no good because of X reason" - all of you are contributing towards a Horde faction wipeout on MG. You are building destruction. You are persisting the reasons not to play Horde. You are the ones creating the imbalance, by disencouraging others. You might as well be driving people away with pitchforks.

Don’t kid yourself thinking your comments are ‘constructive’. They’re not. They’re DESTRUCTIVE. Every single reason I’ve seen is an EXCUSE that can be overcome. If WrA can have a thriving Horde population, then so can we. The only thing these negative comments do is batter the small Horde community that is struggling and fighting so hard JUST TO STAY AFLOAT.

If you are not willing to put in any effort to improve the situation (e.g. by moving to Horde, creating a guild, starting walk-up RP, or making Horde events) then PLEASE SAY NOTHING. You are not helping. YOU ARE HINDERING US. We are trying to make Horde more appealing to players. Please do not jeopardise our efforts. Yes, there is only a small group of people that are willing to get off their butts and not just sit in their comfy armchairs, and actually try to FIX the faction imbalance issue. Please do not make our job harder than it already is!

If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. There is no middle ground here, and don’t try and pretend there is.

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PS: I did all of that. For just about three months. Three months is an awful long time to commit to something that isn’t giving anything back, and to be uncomfortable around people that were claimed to be friendly and welcoming. You say “do something to improve the situation” but play ignorant to the fact that many of us have tried, and failed, to do so. There is a presiding issue on hordeside that is keeping people from staying. What that is, I couldn’t tell you, but to pretend it doesn’t exist at all, and that people like me are just out to get you, is a bit of a denialist mentality that I can’t get behind.

I promise you that the problem is a heck of a lot bigger than a couple naysayers. If that side of the server was as great as you say, the naysayers wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference and there’s plenty of evidence to that concept in things other than just WoW communities.

You’re not doing yourself any favors by pointing fingers and trying to play the blame game. As soon as you stop coming to these forums to lambast every criticism your faction receives, you might just start seeing some improvement.

TL;DR the victim mentality really needs to go.

Edit:
Actually, here’s an idea, because I’m a person of solutions, not of complaints: Instead of blaming everyone else for the horde’s lack of activity and putting the burden of “repopulation” on everyone else’s shoulders, why not try embracing the small server culture you’ve got over there and work on improving relations between guilds and groups? My biggest issue was that for every guild I approached, only one of several had any interest in speaking to me at all- it was as if nobody was recruiting, or actually cared if someone joined the guild or didn’t.

I have created a conversation. I am now no longer “part of the problem”.

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Perhaps you missed the monthly Horde Guild Expo that I’ve been running for the past YEAR, or the Comprehensive Guide to Horde Guilds which I put together and personally surveyed every guild I could find.

But it’s not about how much one person does to contribute. It’s whether you are supporting or hindering. It’s not a personal attack against anyone.

It’s a heartfelt request for Alliance to PLEASE stop making negative comments towards Horde.

Yes, we know you have a higher population. We know you have more RP. We know you have more guilds. But figure it out, guys.

It is in your best interests to bring about faction balance. If you tried to play Horde and couldn’t, then so be it. But don’t try to discourage others from giving it a go.

I have no reason to be assisting the Horde as much as I do. I could just as readily take the easy road and play Alliance and never have to lift a finger. I do it because I know it is the RIGHT thing to do. If the situation were reversed and it was Alliance that were suffering, I would be up there encouraging everyone to try a gnome or a worgen.

It’s in my blood to fight for the weaker guy, to help those that need help. I could give up and go elsewhere and let it go. There would still be people on Moon Guard that would take my place.

Everyone makes their choices.

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ROFL

I can’t take this seriously.

Thanks for the chuckle though. xD

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Should take a step back, go outside, feed the homeless or contribute to some other worthy real life cause instead of caring so much about how people convey their feelings and opinions about different realms.

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What exactly about this you can’t take seriously?

For us, MG Horde is our home on WoW and we want to do all we can to better it.

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Oh, hey. It’s you again.

There is a lot of great RP Horde side for anyone that is looking for it. The Carnival of the Sun just took place. A wonderful event. Every month there is a Horde Expo, Brawl Night and The Lunar Festival. Then weekly there are such events like Silvermoon Tavern Crawl or Market and Stonewind Storytelling.

Always lots to do Horde side and a lot of great Guilds there doing it.

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WM would be fine if WM on MG wasn’t ‘Happy fun Sparkletime free bonus to the Alliance’.

I also suspect part of it is I’ve found a LOT of MG Alliance to be rude and griefy. Maybe they’re hyperaggressive because they are SUPER INTO RP? I don’t know. But small quest areas with a lot of Alliance tend to be kind of awful to try to do. I’ve lost 5+ rare tames to human male paladins. Worse, one waited for me to use a fresh meat on the cat then killed it and laughed at me. Once, I accidentally aggroed a guard during an invasion quest (I hate the wetwork quest SO MUCH) and had 6+ people chasing me, including one DK who went ACROSS THE CONTINENT to try to get me. Like, holy carp, dude.

Another variable is that most people know MG as ‘the erp servers’ with all the weirdos. I mean, I got stalked by a guy with a weight and Asian fetish so bad I race and name changed. My alliance alt got propositioned by a woman with an interest in YOUNG CHILDREN.

And yes, I’ve met some wonderful Alliance, too. It’s just hard to feel welcome on a server where the Alliance literally had pvp people (tons of paladins and survival hunters) camping a spirit beast spawn solely to kill Horde hunters. If it weren’t for GK, I’d probably bail from MG.

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I just think this whole “us vs them” mentality is comical.

It is, to a point. Less so when you’re on the receiving end of being griefed because you picked red team not blue. Darkshore is/was awful because of Alliance healing quest NPCs. One guy encouraged it so Horde would reroll or give up.

It’s probably easier to think that when you’re in the dominant faction on a server. People have been weirdly aggressive about faction stuff on RP in general. Like, I get it, the NPCs are EEEEEEEEEEVIL but for the love of fish, I JUST WANTED TO DO MY DAMN QUEST/TAME AN ANIMAL in peace. :frowning:

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Every thread like this becomes a soapbox for some MG Alliance players with half-baked, poorly formed, utterly negative opinions to rant and rave.

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I wish I could feel so comfortable with my Alliance superiority that I could downplay the other faction anytime they wish to do anything.

But hey, what would I know?

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While I do agree that MG Horde guilds could do better to advertise and seek out new members (believe me it wasn’t easy getting some of those surveys), I think I know why.

The thing is, Horde went through a really rough period a few years ago and many people and guilds departed. The remaining guilds kind of knuckled down to ride out the storm. On MG Horde, there are some really OLD, very loyal guilds that have survived some tough times by ignoring server drama, and just minding their own business.

Those days are behind us now.

More and more guilds are interacting again, with initiation like Unified Horde, Horde Union, and Convocation of Quel’Thelas. These groups are all composed of multiple guilds that have formed interactive communities. There is a lot of organisation and cooperation in Horde, which some people may find intimidating. Yet, I have never, ever seen anyone join one if these groups and been told they are not welcome.

Many of the old, established guilds don’t do as much advertising on forums. It can be hard to keep up with such things after many years. Having said that, many are still active, and just need a little encouragement and coaxing. Like coming along to the Horde Guild Expo. Guilds like The Hearthsttone Tribe and Onyx Rose Order have been really great in embracing these new initiatives.

Now, many of the guilds that are advertising are newish guilds. I see the same few, like The Sunsworn, and the Shadows of the Loa, working really hard and doing great.

But overall, we do need more guilds, and we need people to lead them. There are heaps of concepts that haven’t been explored. Having said that, Alliance re-rolls need to be aware that with a smaller population, a new guild cannot be too specialised or niche.

I suggest either a storyline theme or a racial theme, but not both. A Shattered Hand rogue’s guild that only accepts orcs, for example, would be too limited. You have to pick a theme that will appeal to a wide variety of people, like a pirate guild, for example.

There are a lot more unguided folks on Horde. A lot of people have just been keeping to themselves. Horde has a lot of unfulfilled potential. But it’s not an easy road and it requires perseverance.

We do have a lot of obstacles to overcome, and improvements we can make. Like I said before, there is no need to continually point out the shortcomings of the Horde side. We know already.

Help us to focus on the positive and bring about faction balance that will benefit everyone in the long run.

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That goes without saying. Human male paladins are a meme. Don’t worry, it’s frustrating for us too, and I’m sorry you had to deal with that.

Back to the topic however, I spent some time away from this thread, and just re-read it through it’s entirety. I still feel valid in saying that the Horde-side story being the mess that it has been is still a very massive hurdle for anyone looking to make serious efforts to have a Horde-side main. I do understand that it isn’t entirely a perfect reason to not want to put in the effort; after all, as it has been stated before, the Horde has been through this once before. The problem is that there is genuinely less nuance to the story than it was building up to Garrosh, and certainly less time actually spent building up that potential RP divide between Horde-side guild factions. You’re either with Sylvanas, or you are executed, at the end of the day.

Please understand that I genuinely do not mean to discourage the continued efforts by some in this thread to bring more of a balance of populations between Alliance and Horde players on this server, but I also ask that those who are do understand the genuine hurdles that are there, set in place by Blizzard already, before any other surprises spring forward on Horde-side MG as well.

I certainly do encourage those more silent guilds that keep to themselves on Moon Guard, the ones who have lasted on the server for quite some time, to make more of a presence known on the forums. If I could offer any sort of advice, it certainly would be that. Even before the new forums, I recall a definite lack of Horde-side guild recruitment posts on the forums, which for people looking to settle on Moon Guard or present players looking for a different creative outlet certainly would be a fantastic start.

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See, you keep pushing the blame on the people who come over and become disenfranchised on the Horde side. Earlier you stated in your first post that we need to stop thinking of Horde as an alt and think of it as our main. I have a lot of time and love invested in Alliance and very little in Horde, so to say that this is my fault, which you are by claiming comments like mine are destructive, you are ignoring a crucial part of why it’s STAYING a problem.

I am so sorry I said anything at all to be honest. At this point I don’t care what happens to the Horde, and this is because when I open up communication I am shut out. Blamed. Or made fun of. You didn’t try to even ask about it, or console anyone, you just started pointing the finger. Well, that’s not helpful.

Any sympathy or interest I had in Horde died because of your reckless comments. If you want to blame someone, try looking where those other fingers are pointing. It is a sad day when the very face of Alliance-to-Horde transitions leadership is blaming the people who needed more help than the others.

I am appalled and won’t be checking this forum again. I will continue to be “part of the problem” because you clearly don’t want people like me to be part of the solution.

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I’ve been here for quite a while. I’ve yet to have this experience. I’m not discounting your experience, but I fell like you’re exaggerating quite a bit. If I’m wrong I’m sorry for your experience. I rp in org regularly. Our elf races tend to outnumber the Orcs you see in org. I’m not saying there may not be statements made in rare occasions, but I haven’t experienced directly nor witnessed it happening to others. My anecdotal evidence is a good as yours.

What we need is for people to give horde side a real effort for just a month. Hit up the forums, here’s a big one attend posted events, walk-up to more than 2 horde players and just start rp with them, and most importantly we need those players to be actively rping themselves and not expecting it to just come to them.

To many posts of “I made an alt and went to ______ place, nobody would talk to me,” or “I only saw two people with a rp addon, the other 15 didn’t so I didn’t waste my time.”

Each of those statements can be just as easily said about the mage quarter. It took me just jumping into peoples screens to get them to notice me there. Nobody went out of their way to rp with me. I had to make multiple introductory attempts. Sometimes I was just ignored. Once I had a void elf essentially wanting to kill my gnome for fuel?. Hey, I eventually found some people to rp with. I didn’t come to the forums blasting alliance rp for any claim which would have been false. I could accused it of being racist and elitist, but I didn’t. Why? Because a few players nor a group of players represent the entirety of the alliance seen. Same as horde side.

Seriously, give a real concerted effort to rp horde side. Make a horde alt, and make it your 2nd most played character for a month, right behind your main. Get out and role play with others, and mainly do that between the hrs of 8p-12a realm time. Those are peak player times on both horde and ally side (I play ally about 30%of my playtime). Yeah, you may find some rp during non peak hrs, but it will be harder to find. Be able to travel between org and smc easily. There are times when one has more going on over the other.

We also need horde players to step up and get out of their guild bubbles more often. Approach other players and guilds. Engage in more walk up rp. Lead by example in game and not by forum. Open up to your neighbors, share ideas, and not get wrapped up in who’s way is the best way politics and debates. Encourage your guild to get out and meet. Log on and spend sometime rping with people you don’t know on a weekly basis, and not just your guildies.

Lastly, if someone comes to MG forums looking for horde rp or just asking about it, how about referencing them to any of the many forum posts of in game horde players who can help them. Horde side is growing. Definitely more going on now than last year. Don’t hamper that by tossing out “wra for horde rp dude.” Horde is living and growing here. Become part of the solution and not perpetuate the problems of shortsightedness.

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