third-faction
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Third faction or logistical nightmare?
In the beginning, there was Azeroth and there was Draenor. The two worlds clashed together repeatedly over the course of three RTS games, each with expansions. But it didn't stay Azeroth vs. Draenor -- the orcs of Draenor had made Azeroth their new home, and the feud between the Alliance and Horde was forever etched in Warcraft history. And when World of Warcraft was released, players could choose either side" the native races of Azeroth, united as the Alliance, a group of good guys, or the orcs and other castaway races, thrown together as one motley group of bad guys, the Horde. Each side has its own justifications for what they view as right, just, and honorable. Yet there are races on either side that seem more neutral than anything, whether it be the peaceful draenei, the equally peaceful tauren, or even the blood elves, who have spent time on both sides of the faction fence. These races participate in the battles and bloodshed as readily as any other, but their motives never seem quite in the right place. And that's caused more than one person to wonder: Just what exactly would happen if World of Warcraft created a third faction?
Gates of Andaron update to feature mentoring, three faction PvP
What's been going on with Gates of Andaron lately? Quite a lot, actually. A new press release from Gameforge has the details, and they include a third warring faction, a new mentoring system, and browser-based gameplay. The new Rise of Gor update will debut in October, and the patch introduces the Gor faction to challenge the existing Valorian and Derion forces. Starting at level 80, Gor players may enter "large PvP battles, tipping the balance of power for or against the underdogs in a given battle." The update isn't all endgame, though, as the newbie town of Tebekut is being recreated and will include "the most impressive graphics yet." The mentoring system will also ease new players into the game (and mentors even receive a payout when their charges reach level 90). Gates of Andaron is free-to-play, and you'll want to head to the official site to learn more and grab the client. %Gallery-78310%
15 Minutes of Fame: Guilds build their own third faction
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. Shane Moore, author of the Abyss Walker series, missed being included in our recent roundup of WoW-playing authors -- but that's not why we're profiling him today. Shane's been rabble-rousing on the battlefield and around town, cooking up a whole different kind of PVP stew on his home realm: a third faction. If you've ever felt ambivalent about playing sides in the Horde vs. Alliance tug-of-war, you've probably dreamed of what a third faction could be like. Shane and his guildmates are playing around with the idea in game now. At more than 1,000 members and growing strong, The Third Faction claims to draw its powers from the mandate of the masses rather than the tyrannical whims of Azeroth's ruling dictators.
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Do we HAVE to kill Illidan?
While roaming around the blood elf starting area in the middle of the night, I got into a discussion with some other neophyte elves about Illidan. Basically, we didn't want to kill him. See, Kael'Thas is rumored to have gone insane, and Vashj was never too good in the first place, but Illidan ... well, what Illidan says in the Burning Crusade introduction is pretty accurate. He was locked up for thousands of years for being reckless, was nearly killed trying to kill the totally evil Arthas, and then when he finally gets to Outland and is able to relax, millions of warriors invade his country from Azeroth to look for his loot. He doesn't seem to pose much of a threat to Azeroth, so why is it so important that we metaphorically and literally break into his house and rummage through his stuff? Illidan's admittedly many mistakes (creating a new Well of Eternity, consuming Gul'Dan's skull, dealing with Kil'Jaeden) were made out of recklessness and selfishness, not outright "Yay, let's destroy the world!" evil. There have been quite a few forum posts on the same subject. My fellow blood elves suggested that we be given the opportunity to ally with Illidan and his crew. To join them, you would have to forsake your allegiance, your homeland and your faction. You could still communicate with your old friends, but you wouldn't be able to group with them. You'd have different profession recipes, quests, towns, and maybe even different talent options. One even suggested that we could be double agents - we could still hang out in Orgrimmar or Ironforge, but have a chance to be detected and permanently cast out and maybe even lose some items. The instances could change too. Instead of fighting Illidan in the Black Temple, you could defend him from Kil'Jaeden's minions. And who says we have to preserve the timeline in the Caverns of Time? That's boring. Let's see what happens if Archimonde wins the battle of Hyjal and Thrall dies as a kid! Of course, that isn't going to happen. World of Warcraft is a pretty static world and you don't have many real character development options. The one big one we do have - the ability to go to war with factions - has caused enough complaints (see: Bloodsail pirates angry about goblin questgivers) and this isn't the Elder Scrolls series. Still, it's fun to speculate about. Then again, maybe Illidan is right, and we're just not prepared.
