faction-imbalance
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Cynwise talks about faction imbalance in random battlegrounds
If you only read one post about faction imbalance in random BG's this year, it should be this one. The always excellent Cynwise of Cynwise's Warcraft Manual (ask for it by name) does his usual thorough job exploring the numbers behind the game. If you were a fan of Nate Silver's election coverage, then you should be reading Cyn's work, as he does much the same kind of thing with the information behind what's going on in World of Warcraft. This particular post is too dense for me to do it any justice, but just as a summation, Cyn explores the way faction imbalance affects random BG's in several ways - how perceived imbalance affects player choices, how the overall popularity of the factions plays out, and the way in which dividing players into factions in the first place causes instability in the representation. It's really a remarkable and remarkably well presented post, and I urge you to go read it.
Vaneras on the merging of high-pop realms
As we reported the other day, connected realms will soon be coming to WoW's EU servers. As expected, there have been a bevy of questions regarding the upcoming changes, and the EU community managers been busy keeping on top of updates. Connected realms represent a number of potential benefits that have many folks hopeful that their servers might get an injection of vitality, so Vaneras took some time to give a clarification of what the current intentions are behind the use of connected realms. Some players on high-population realms, particularly high-pop realms with an enormous faction imbalance, have been looking toward connected realms as a potential way to correct that imbalance. Alas, Vaneras explains in his post that this functionality is not currently a way in which Blizzard intends to use connected realms technology. Connected realms are specifically focused on improving the situation of small-population servers. If you play on a small server, you're likely familiar with many of the problems they face: few guild options, stagnant economy, very high prices for essential raiding supplements such as gems, glyphs, and enchants, as well as increased difficulty in tackling group content. These are the types of problems connected realms are intended to alleviate. Vaneras further explains that, because of the limitations of the existing technology, merging very high population servers just is not physically possible at the moment. The technology may expand or evolve in the future in ways that may make it possible, but for now, it's not an option. The full blue post is under the break.
WoW Archivist: When Blizzard "hated" the Horde
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Which faction does Blizzard love more? For several years it's been all the rage to claim that Blizzard loves the Horde and hates the Alliance. Players trot out the "green Jesus" theory. They show how the past two expansions have focused far more on Horde characters and storylines than on Alliance intrigues. It's true that Blizzard placed Thrall and now Garrosh and Vol'jin in the spotlight over the past few years. Players also look at the shiny new Orgrimmar that the Horde got when the old one burned down, and how Stormwind also took a beating and still hasn't recovered. You can make the case that Blizzard has somewhat favored the Horde in WoW's recent history. But this is so very, very strange to vanilla players like me. Back then, players were convinced of the exact opposite. Players were so convinced, in fact, that some actually wanted a CM to die. In vanilla, Blizzard "loved" the Alliance and "hated" the Horde. Don't believe me? This quote is from a 2005 editorial called "Why the Horde is worse, and how Blizzard could fix it": In the end, I am just a jealous Horde player... It is up to Blizzard to fix this game; I have done all that I can. Either World of Warcraft can be remembered as a great MMORPG, or it can go down as a horribly imbalanced one, like many before it. That's for Blizzard to decide. Let's take a trip back to 2005. On a bus, perhaps. A bus made out of elemental electrical energy.
BioWare's Gabe Amatangelo speaks on faction imbalance, UI customization, Ops, and more
Star Wars: The Old Republic has had a bit of a rocky time with some post-launch hiccups, and it's at that point in time when players begin to start picking on the game's flaws. Despite, or perhaps because of, this turbulence, one of the game's lead designers, Gabe Amatangelo, sat down with John Bain -- better known as Total Biscuit -- for an interview. Throughout the course of the interview, the pair cover issues ranging from the obvious (what is BioWare doing to address faction imbalance?) to the more abstract (would BioWare ever consider causing skills to act differently in PvP than in PvE?), and Amatangelo has some rather interesting answers. Bain mentions the game's bracketless PvP and asks if the studio might consider further bracketing. Amatangelo replies that BioWare "would not go to further bracketing without opening up the pools of players, and I guess you can infer what you will from that," making a rather overt reference to cross-server PvP. For all this and more, listen to the full interview after the cut.
WoW Rookie: How to choose a new realm
New around here? WoW Rookie has your back! Get all our collected tips, tricks and tactics for new players in the WoW Rookie Guide. Back in the day, I never would have believed that players would be so willing to up and transfer realms. It's not just the $25-per-character fee -- it's the loss of your alts and all their skills, as well as your friends and social circles. Yet here we are, with players hopping from one realm to the next at the drop of a hat. This apparent willingness to pay to move from realm to realm in search of an optimal play experience has forever altered the solidarity of the realm community experience. Today's players are much more likely to view a fresh start on another realm as merely one more way to chase down the precise playstyle they're after. In the face of such a massive list of available realms, how on earth can you start whittling down the choices? Read our basic article explaining the different types of realms. Join us after the break for more specific tips for realm-hopping players.
Breakfast Topic: How realms evolve (or don't)
While writing a recent news post on Blizzard's decision to open free transfers to Drak'thul, I nosed around the server's forums to see what the inhabitants thought of the coming flood. As a server that was converted from a PvP to PvE realm, opened to transfers, and listed as a Recommend realm to boot, Drak'thul's undergone a fairly drastic set of changes, and all within a short period of time. As you'd expect, player feelings on the subject were mixed, but there was one former Drak'thul player who really got my attention. Drak'thul, he/she claimed, had been home to some of "the most mean-spirited PvP (he'd) ever experienced on ANY realm." It sounded like a tall claim, but there are a lot of other threads on the forum with oblique confirmations; players recall Alliance towns and quest NPCs "being camped 24/7," and holiday events and Alliance leveling zones being swarmed by opportunistic Horde players. Drak'thul became a low-pop server with a murderous faction imbalance -- Warcraft Realms listed the server's active population as 94% Horde before transfers were opened -- and I wonder how much of that be traced to the relentless ganking and camping campaigns three years ago. I look at realms like Cho'gall with equally crushing faction imbalances, some of which started out with fairly balanced faction ratios, and wonder -- how the hell does this happen? What spurs the departure of so many players from a specific faction? Is it really that simple as a relatively small number of players exercising such an impact on what happens to everyone on the server?
Alliance/Horde Ratio Over Time
PlayOn has some interesting data on the ratio of Alliance to Horde players on different server types over the course of about six months. The numbers are surprisingly stable over time, with PvP samples being close on 1-to-1 and PvE samples being nearer 2-to-1. However, this data only makes me more curious as to what the numbers will look like after the Burning Crusade is released, when shamans and paladins are available to both factions.
Alliance Shamans? Horde Paladins?
While previously Blizzard posters had announced an unsurprising list of classes available for the new Draenei and Blood Elf races, but now there appears to have been a change of plan. However, Gamespot is currently reporting that in the Burning Crusade expansion, Draenei will have the option to play as Shamans while Blood Elves will have the option to play as Paladins. While I initially wondered if this was merely wishful thinking, CM Eyonix has posted on the official forums confirming it. This rather changes the argument of faction imbalance and "easy mode" favoritism - and, while it may remove some of the unique flavor of each faction, it may be a good solution for overall game balance.[Thanks, Silvertusk]
