When talking about a MMORPG, one of the most important things is making sure players feel like they have an impact on the world they are playing in. This impact can come in many ways. In a game where the player base is divided into factions, such as World of Warcraft, this feeling of having an impact on the world is sometimes given to players by having their faction’s leaders or heroes achieve great things. However, if one faction seems to be having more of an impact on the world, then players begin to throw around the idea of “favoritism”.
As players look back onto what has happened during this expansion and look forward to what will come in the next, many believe that Blizzard has been favoring one faction over the other when it comes to the plot lines behind their game. As a player who has played both Alliance and Horde characters this expansion, I can sympathize with Alliance players when they feel that Blizzard favored the Horde during this expansions story line. Much of the story behind Cataclysm is focused around Thrall taking his place as the Aspect of Earth. Though Thrall is no longer the Warchief of the Horde, many Horde players think of him as “their guy”. This made playing out these stories extremely engaging as a member of the Horde. However, when playing through on my Alliance character, I just felt awkward and out of place helping someone who is the ex-Warchief of my enemies. Having content like this makes half of the player base feel like they are not an active part of the story. Blizzard probably did not intend for this outcome, however many Alliance players view this expansion has a Horde favored expansion.
Alliance players also fear the story will still favor Horde players in the upcoming expansion. It has already been announced that the Horde will destroy Theramore Island and that the current Horde Warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, will be the expansions final boss. Both of these things mean that Horde players will have a lot of interesting stories, especially when it comes to learning how their leader falls into madness. With little announced about what will be happening to the Alliance, other then losing Theramore of course, some players fear that Mists of Pandaria will have another Horde favored storyline.
However, I believe there is still hope. Yes most of the announced information relates to the Horde, however this is just a tiny amount of information for what looks to be a huge expansion. Jaina Proudmore, one of the few leaders of the Alliance that try to keep the peace with the Horde, will most likely become much more bloodthirsty after the Horde destroys her home. With Proudmore looking for war and the Horde in an inevitable civil war, the Alliance should be able to take away much of the territory that the Horde controls. If designed correctly, Mists of Pandaria could have engaging story lines for both factions while making the war between each faction a much bigger part of the story. Hopefully Blizzard is able to make it as epic as it can possibly be!
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