What do you think is the most likely possibility on this topic? Would “separate play” actually be a good thing from a story perspective? Or should both sides be able to experience everything – and always?
All innovations from WoW: Battle for Azeroth have been summarized in this article!
In World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, Alliance and Horde level separately. But is that really a good idea?
With Battle for Azeroth, the war between Horde and Alliance is reignited in World of Warcraft. While the Horde seeks support on the continent of Zandalar, the Alliance sails to Kul Tiras.
This raises some questions regarding gameplay. Are Horde and Alliance completely separated? It seems to be the case at least partially. For at BlizzCon, the developers already announced that Alliance and Horde would visit different dungeons during the leveling phase.
From a story perspective, this also makes sense. A dungeon that deals with a troll uprising within the city of Zandalar is not a worthwhile target for an Alliance player. Why would they help the Horde with their problems? The same goes for dungeons in Kul Tiras, where humans fight against pirates who want to overthrow Kul Tiras. There is no reason for the Horde to intervene here.
Only at max level will all dungeons be available to both factions.
Are Horde and Alliance playing separately?
But does this separation of dungeons also provide insights into the leveling phase?
Possibly, as the first preview images and descriptions of the new zones suggest that there are faction-specific problems. But completely separate zones would not match the existing spirit of WoW. Because the conflict between Alliance and Horde would seem ridiculous if opponents are never seen.
Therefore, many fans assume that the Alliance can also sail to Zandalar and the Horde to Kul Tiras after completing a few quests. At least the missions of the “neutral races” (like the fox and serpent people) should be completable by both sides.
Overall, World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth will feature 10 different dungeons at launch – how many of these will be “faction-specific” during leveling has not been revealed yet.
There is still no concrete statement from Blizzard on this topic. However, it would be surprising if, in an expansion that focuses so much on faction warfare, players couldn’t experience a lot of world PvP.
How it will be is at the earliest shown in the beta beginning in 2018.
Cortyn says: Honestly, I’m getting some “WildStar flashbacks” because there, many zones were very hard to reach for each respectively faction. As a result, the world never felt “complete” because you could never “visit” enemy territory unless you took very strange exploitative detours.
I also can’t imagine Blizzard giving each faction “only” 3 quest areas, and I assume that Horde and Alliance can complete at least the missions of the neutral races on both continents.
What do you think is the most likely possibility on this topic? Would “separate play” actually be a good thing from a story perspective? Or should both sides be able to experience everything – and always?
All innovations from WoW: Battle for Azeroth have been summarized in this article!
