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World of Warcraft brings an end to Horde vs Alliance conflict

World of…Statecraft?

Updated: Feb 11, 2022 2:05 pm
World of Warcraft brings an end to Horde vs Alliance conflict

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Things are changing in Azeroth. Right from the beginning, World of Warcraft has been shaped and defined by its faction warfare. Horde vs Alliance is baked into game’s DNA. And yet, over the years, there have been an increasing number of uneasy truces. Those in Stormwind and Orgrimmar knew when it was time to put their clashes to the side, to rally against larger threats.

Open hostility re-erupted during the Battle for Azeroth expansion. But that conflict is winding down and focus shifting once more to otherworldly matters, as Alliance and Horde alike have been engaged in battle in the Shadowlands.

And now, it may finally be the end of the Alliance-Horde war as we know it. Blizzard have announced that is has no plans to develop another expansion focusing on faction conflict. And even beyond that, the game is promoting unity between the Alliance and Horde like never before. Cross-faction content is being introduced to the game for the first time, and the news is being triumphantly received.

The (storm)winds of change

This development is being heralded as a welcome one. After all this time, it feels like a natural progression for World of Warcraft’s world and characters.

But also, player reception may have played a part in this decision. Battle for Azeroth was likely intended to draw players back into the fold. To bump up flagging player numbers. And it would do so by getting things back to basics.

 After conflicts in World of Warcraft had frequently expanded to an otherworldly and celestial scope – in Burning Crusade and Legion, not to mention countless smaller patches and instances – Battle for Azeroth focused once more on a grounded conflict. Many players of Vanilla WoW were initially thrilled at the news. But it quickly became apparent that the methods used to get back to open warfare were undesirable at best.

World of Warcraft is not a static world or story. Plotlines and characters have evolved all throughout the game’s history. Friendships and alliances have deepened over time and across factions. In order to reset back to open conflicts, many of these bonds had to be broken. And in order to do so over the span of a single expansion, many fans felt that characters were written poorly and made to take contradictory actions. Hopefully many of these characters can be rehabilitated now that the focus on faction conflict it winding down.

World of Warcraft’s future

It remains to be seen how World of Warcraft’s current storyline will wrap up in Shadowlands. But one way or another, the end is one the horizon for the latest expansion. Where will Blizzard go next? Given their recent acquisition, Microsoft will be looking to get the most out of their investment. Whatever happens next in World of Warcraft, it’s fair to assume Blizzard will be thinking big.


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