WoW’s Horde & Alliance Imbalance Is Hurting Burning Crusade Classic

If there is one thing that is central to World of Warcraft, it’s the idea of Horde vs. Alliance. The rivalry between Azeroth’s two greatest factions is an essential part of the WoW experience, and that’s true in the recently released Burning Crusade Classic as well, especially when it comes to player vs. player content. Unfortunately, because of imbalances between the two opposing forces, the Burning Crusade Classic experience isn’t exactly living up to player expectations.

The issue is that there are simply far more Horde players than Alliance ones, and that’s creating some problems for players playing Burning Crusade Classic. For the Horde, it means massive Battleground queue times and an inability to acquire PvP gear from Honor points. For the Alliance, it means Honor-starved Horde out in the open world attacking every enemy player on sight, making it more difficult for World of Warcraft’s Alliance players to complete quests or gather resources.

It’s an unhealthy combination caused by a number of factors. While there aren’t currently any announced official solutions in the works, there is one primary way Blizzard could potentially address the imbalance between the two World of Warcraft factions and create an overall better experience while still staying true to the spirit of the original Burning Crusade expansion. Here’s what’s behind the faction imbalance problem, and what Blizzard could potentially do to fix it.

How WoW Burning Crusade Classic’s Faction Imbalance Could Be Fixed

Across most World of Warcraft servers, and especially Burning Crusade Classic’s PvP servers, Horde is the dominate faction in terms of sheer numbers. This was true in WoW Classic, but is even more true in Burning Crusade Classic. Horde has long had the reputation as the “PvP faction” thanks to many players believing the various racial abilities on the Horde are vastly superior to that of the Alliance. In WoW Classic, this wasn’t as big a deal, but with the introduction of Arenas in Burning Crusade Classic, PvP-minded players are looking for every advantage. Racial abilities like the Undead’s Will of the Forsaken, Blood Elf’s Arcane Torrent, and Orc’s Hardiness are huge for PvP, and the Alliance side offers little to directly compete with such game-changing abilities. It’s for that reason so many players choose the Horde.

As a result, the factions are imbalanced, both from a population perspective and from a PvP perspective. There are simply many more Horde players than Alliance across most Burning Crusade Classic servers, and that is causing queues for Horde vs. Alliance Battlegrounds to stretch on for an hour or more for Horde players. Players primarily do battlegrounds to earn Honor points and purchase entry-level PvP gear, but thanks to Battlegrounds being almost impossible to get into, Horde players are either giving up or trying to farm Honor points out in the open world instead. It’s more than a little ironic: more players choose Horde in Burning Crusade Classic for PvP, but as a result then have a harder time participating in PvP. This then causes major headaches for Alliance players simply trying to quest or gather crafting materials, as they are being hunted for Honor simply because there are no alternatives.

It’s not a great situation for either faction, but there is one primary way Blizzard could address the problem, should the company want to. It’s a rather easy fix — make it so Horde teams can battle against other Horde players in Battlegrounds. That’s already possible in Arena, and a “Merc Mode” system was already implemented in the Warlords of Draenor expansion as a means of allowing players to be able to join the opposing faction in Battlegrounds. This would be the most straightforward solution, and one that already seems to have strong community support.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if Blizzard is going to tackle the issue. Once resolutely against making changes to WoW Classic, Blizzard has shown its willing to make “some changes” in specific circumstances to improve the experience of the game while still staying true to the spirit of the original. This is a perfect opportunity to change Burning Crusade Classic for the better with little downsides, should Blizzard be willing to make it happen.

About The Author

Cameron Koch
(102 Articles Published)

Cameron Koch is a Denver, CO based writer who’s writing on gaming has appeared on sites like Game Informer, Gamepedia, and now Screen Rant. On the rare occasion he’s separated from a keyboard or controller, he enjoys fencing (the sword-fighting kind) and obsessing over the latest kaiju film.

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