Not Taking Sides: Why Play as Alliance and Horde in WoW: Battle for Azeroth

In World of WarCraft: Battle for Azeroth, the latest expansion of Blizzard’s long-running MMO, players are given the incentive to not just stick to their chosen faction, but to also experience what it’s like to be on the opposing one.

World of WarCraft has been running for more than ten years now, so anyone who’s stuck to one faction for years won’t likely change sides just because of a new expansion. However, for World of WarCraft: Battle for Azeroth, they should. If you happen to be one of those faction loyalists who still aren’t convinced, here are the reasons, aside from the exclusive WoW mount, to check out the other side of the battlefield. We bet our bottom WoW gold that you’ll agree with us by the end of this article.

A Decade of Changes

The first reason would be because the Alliance and the Horde have changed — a lot. After a long, long time, there is a huge lore-related distinction between Alliance and Horde once again, all thanks to Battle for Azeroth. This time, it’s no longer just about the Alliance being this incorrigible bulwark of defense against threats to their kingdoms and the world.

As for the Horde, it’s an understatement to say that they’ve come so far from being this belligerent orc-exclusive race. In time, they’ve become a rag-tag band of oppressed and misunderstood races that don’t fit anywhere else but in the faction, looking for their place in the planet whose sensibilities are founded on Alliance values.

If you stayed loyal to one faction for quite some time, especially since the beginning, you wouldn’t notice these changes, be it your own or the opposing one. In Battle for Azeroth, however, these changes have reached a culmination point. Thus, now, while the war-focused expansion is still the zeitgeist of World of WarCraft, there’s no better time to see how much the factions have changed.

Nothing Like What They Are Today

But despite all the growing up both of Azeroth’s factions have made, deep down there is still that pettiness between the two, thus the reason why we have Battle for Azeroth right now. This brings us to the second reason for you to scope out the opposition: a chance to be in the other faction’s shoes while the conflict is at its peak and before they change — for better or worse.

To be fair, calling the reasons the Alliance and Hordeback at each other’s throats after their uneasy unity in Legion petty is a hyperbole. However, no matter how big — or valid — the whys of this war being reignited are, there is still a much bigger threat ahead: The Void. The worst part is that it’s an existential one, so cooperation from both sides is going to be necessary.

With a danger like that looming on the horizon, this might be the last time a war between Alliance and Horde would be this hot. Not to mention the fact that this kind of danger will undoubtedly change the face of the two factions. So while both the Alliance and Horde are very much like how we’ve known them for quite some time now, doing what we’ve known them to, better play them now.

The Other Campaign Trail

One more thing worth noting is the huge difference in the campaigns of the two factions, as well as the new allied races. For this expansion, Alliance and Horde campaigns greatly differ from one another. The objectives and locations are nothing like the ones you can experience on the other side. So to truly appreciate Battle for Azeroth and experience everything has to offer, you’ll have to check out both factions.

Lastly, there are the allied races. The Alliance has Dark Iron Dwarves, Void Elves, and Light forged Draenei, while the Horde has Nightborne (Elves), Mag’HarOrc, and the HighmountainTauren. These new classes have their own unique looks, traits, and abilities, making them worth the try.

Battle for Azeroth is going to be unlike any other expansion; that’s why it deserves to be seen from more than one perspective. And the best way to do that would be to see how things are on the other side is, well, by being there.

These articles were first published in Gamehitch.wordpress.com