Faction Bias: part 1

What started off as a reply comment over at WoW Insider has once again turned into it's own post.

In response to My own private faction bias.

In this first part I address the issue of going from Horde to Alliance or Alliance to Horde by sharing my experience in doing so.

I can relate to what Matthew is going through here, though my feelings in regard to lore and game play restrictions due to faction segregation don't run so deep. After playing my main for over 3 years I moved him from Horde on one realm to Alliance on another right about the time Firelands came out. My previous guild of 1.5 years decided to call it quits after the disappoint that was Cata and general lack of interest and hardcore progression during Tier 11. I was optimistic about this though, looking at it as an opportunity. I thought a whole big change would be fun and refreshing So I went from a Forsaken lock on one realm to a Worgen lock on another realm. Ultimately it turned out to be a bad decision for me, but the reason why totally surprised me.

I was enjoying playing with my new Alliance guild and tackling a higher level of progression raiding than I previously did, but the whole time something was off. Outside of raiding on my now "traitor" main I rarely logged into him. I was always back on my original realm playing my Horde alts that I left behind. A couple of them even found their way into new guilds main raid groups. As the patch went on it became more and more apparent to me that by faction transferring I pretty much mutilated my main into this character I no longer recognized, no longer felt anything for. Turns out that scrawny little Undead was more to me than a lean, mean dot throwing machine. I completely stripped him of his (our?) history and identity and in the end I didn't like it. So very shortly after Dragon Soul launched I decided to return him to the fold of my Horde alt army back on my ever shrinking original realm. Yes, I actually paid once again for 2 premium services to return him right back to where he started. *Shakes fist at Blizzard* (You should get 1 free transfer a year per paid account, but that's another post entirely)

The effect of this homecoming was immediately apparent. My lock felt like my lock once again. He had his Orc shaman brother, his Forsaken sister priest and all the others under the same guild banner again and just a mailbox away from anything they needed. Pug's are fewer are further apart on this old realm, most of my alts don't even get into a BH during any given week unless I'm the one putting them together. Our top ranked raiding guild can't hold a candle to the #5 raiding guild on the Alliance server I left behind. There are no Rated BGs groups and only one 25 man raiding guild left, but it's home and having my main back there was the best decision I ever made. It was a lesson for sure, I just wish I didn't have to pay a combined total of $110 to learn it.

Part 2 coming soon: It's Orcs & Humans, not Orcs VS. Humans! (Why can't we all get along and why do I have to be stuck in this faction always against that faction? I want to defect to the Argent Crusade or run off and join the Darkmoon Faire!)

I might have to shorten that subhead.