After nearly two decades,World of Warcraftrecently announced it was allowing Alliance and Horde players to play together. In an interview,World of WarcraftGame Director Ion Hazzikostas explained the game’s reasoning behind this decision, and confirmed it had no plans to have another expansion with a focus on the Alliance-Horde conflict.
InWorld of WarcraftPatch 9.2.5, after theEternity’s Endupdate, Alliance and Horde players will be able to complete dungeons, raids, and PvP together, regardless of faction allegiance. ThoughWoWcould implement more cross-faction content in other aspects of the game after that, it plans on doing so deliberately so as not to collapse under its own weight. According to Hazzikostas, cross-faction overworld content would be a mammoth undertaking because of the framework of the game, meaning it is unlikely to happen, though cross-faction guilds could be available in the future.
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However, Ion emphasized he knows “better than to close any doors.” He stated he does not want anything to be off the table, nor does he want to cut off any communities formed via the cross-faction content being added. To that end, the story ofWorld of Warcraftis unlikely to focus on the Faction Waragain like it did inBattle for Azeroth, and though cross-faction gameplay won’t be addressed in the lore, the existing armistice between the Alliance and Horde will likely persist, if not grow stronger.
Much likeShadowlands, theBattle for Azerothexpansion sold well initially, but quickly fell out of favor with manyWorld of Warcraftfans. While the world building and plots were interesting, the focus on the Faction War felt forced afterLegion, and it sabotaged the integrity of dozens of characters along the way.Battle for AzerothprovedWorld of Warcraftfans were sick of the Faction War, and would be glad to see an end to it.
This has led to an overwhelmingly positive reception toWorld of Warcraft’sdecision to allow cross-faction gameplay, even in a limited sense. Players almost unanimously want to focus on moving past the war, rather than dwelling on old conflicts. They also want to be able to play with their friends regardless of what faction or race they choose. Many hope these changes can lead towards aWoWcommunity where half of the player base isn’t encouraged to hate the other half.
A minority of players are still firmly against cross-faction gameplay, however. Some believe theFaction War is quintessential toWarcraft, despite the fact the Alliance and Horde have worked together to combat common enemies as far back asWarcraft 3. Others hold grudges against players across the faction line for other reasons, like toxic behavior or story-fueled grudges. Blizzard has affirmed it wants to keep cross-faction gameplay optional for this reason, and plans on listening to feedback and desires of its players as it explores this new era ofWorld of Warcraft.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlandsis available on PC.Eternity’s Endis currently in development.
