FOR THE HORDLIANNCE!

The latest assignment for ICAM 120 involved cross faction questing with classmates. This meant that we were supposed to complete quests with another person on our rival faction. And as with many sitcoms about two people who are polar opposites, hilarity ensued.

The first player I grouped with was a classmate by the name of Tephillot. It was through this exercise that I learned how truly difficult Blizzard made it for players to help others in the other faction. The first obstacle was the fact that I could not actually form a group with Teph. In order to actually get any leveling done, we alternated on different quests we had. This often involved killing random creatures, and the first person to attack a mob gets the xp and the loot. As a result, Teph and I had to let the other attack first before we could even help defeat the creature.

And then there's the little fact that Tephillot wasn't protected from my spells. There were several instances where Teph or I were surrounded by creatures. When I'm in a situation like this I usually cast a spell that freezes enemies in place so I can back away and cast a large area of affect spell called blizzard. Unfortunately, when I first tried this method, poor Teph was also frozen and nearly died from my blizzard. I eventually adapted my play style to be more helpful after this incident. Other awkward moments included running away from NPCs who attacked us while the other play turned in a quest, random alliance people killing me before they knew what Teph and I were doing, or even an NPC I had to help on an escort mission chasing after Teph while I had to take down an elite creature by myself.

These are relatively small issues, but it makes me disappointed that Blizzard has put absolutely nothing in place to allow players to quest together across factions. I understand that the factions are designed to encourage PvP competition between players and it makes sense within the Warcraft lore. However, it also limits the possibilities of the virtual space, leaving players with less to do. Also, wouldn't one assume that even in Warcraft lore, there would be characters who could see past faction loyalty and work together towards the greater good for all (player characters, not the NPCs who actually do work together)? Just a thought.