Alliance WoW Race Revealed?

Kotaku is reporting that, according to some early scans, the new World of Warcraft Alliance race will be the Draenei. From the Wikipedia entry: "The Draenei are one of the three primary races native to Draenor (the others being the Orcs and the Ogres). They once populated the planet heavily, but were slaughtered by the Orcs shortly after their corruption by the Warlock Gul'dan. A small number of Draenei survived, using a recessive cloaking ability. Severely mutated in the destruction of Draenor, they were thought to be extinct, but Illidan and his forces discovered and liberated one of the last surviving Draenei villages among the wastes of what is now known as Outland." Still not confirmed, take with a grain of salt.

Comments

Bah just more random speculation

[Sosarian]

'Nuff said

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Kazzahdrane]

Indeed, the Draenei were rumoured to be the new Alliance race even before the Blood Elves were confirmed for the Horde. Let me know when the Pandareans become a playable race, then maybe I'll reactivate my account.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[dc29A]

Speculation or not, the Alliance needs a very ugly race while the Horde needs a "cute" race to help with realm balance issues (it won't cure the population imbalance problem but it will help a lot). Maybe Draenei aren't the race but I am willing to bet the Alliance will receive a very fugly race. If not, realm population imbalance will continue.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[softspokenrevolution]

I don't think that aesthetics are really that important. I think that part of it is the overall perception as Alliance="good guys" and Horde="bad guys" than anything else.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[dc29A]

I don't think that aesthetics are really that important. I think that part of it is the overall perception as Alliance="good guys" and Horde="bad guys" than anything else.
- My personal experiences tell me the complete opposite. Before quitting WoW, I was in a semi casual guild. We had a lot of couples. I'd say that 35% of our guild were women (about an 80 person guild). They played mostly the "cutest" troll female model and the "cutest" undead female model. We had maybe 4 exceptions: an orc female model and an ugly undead female model and two taurens. No "ugly" trolls, almost no orcs and almost no ugly undead or taurens. Not to mention, we had at least 4-5 couples, switch to alliance because the gf/wife didn't like the Horde models. The EQ guild I was in before, most female players played human, high elf or woodelf models. Very few females played trolls, ogres. Even barbarians and dark elves (who looked decent) weren't that popular.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[steveo777]

I think that part of it is the overall perception as Alliance="good guys" and Horde="bad guys" than anything else.

Agreed. In games that garner the choice between good and bad, I've always opted good first. Then nuetral, then evil... even then it's difficult. I'm amazed at how hard it is for me to be so indiscrimenently evil to 1's and 0's as to end their meagre electronic existances.

Take Jade Empire. There is not a Good or Evil side to the story, but the "Path of the Closed Fist" takes a lot of steps I would never use.

With WoW it is no different in most aspects. One of the exceptions is the Tauren race. They aren't evil at all. They value honor and virtue. They're nomadic. They don't like the Alliance because mainly the Alliance wants to carve up/out the planet and distort nature. I find it very easy to play as the Tauren, but the Orcs, Undead, and Trolls I still shy away from. Heck, I don't even like playing the humans.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[softspokenrevolution]

So really, women want to play cute things. I think this would be interesting to look into, maybe some chicks are rolling male avatars on the horde side, because ugly dude orcs are badass, where ugly orc girls are sad. But I don't know.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Anonymous Coward]

And I'll cancel mine. Pandaerans were introduced into the Warcraft series as an april fools joke. They have no place in the game.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Kazzahdrane]

The Warcraft III expansion would disagree with your theory, and that's made by Blizzard so I guess they should know.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Golias]

No question about it. Playing a cute gnome with pink pigtails is a lot of fun. Playing a (quite literal) cow is not.

WoW is a role playing game, and how you look does have an impact on how people choose to interact with you.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[chrismcdirty]

When I played WoW and got into the lore, I played Alliance, and I felt kinda bad for some Horde races. Both the Orcs and the Undead were manipulated in horrible ways to do the bidding of others. All the while the Alliance races seemed extremely power-hungry.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[CFTM]

Yeah, almost every single RPG I play I end up being a paladin. I can't help it...the idea of being an evil character just doesn't sit well with me; I suppose it's that whole living vicariously through the game, which is why we play RPG's in the first place.

That being said, I don't really view "The World of Warcraft" [ie the game universe] as place where the horde are "evil" and the alliance are "good". The orcs, at least in the beginning levels, seem to be very tribalistic but that is not to be confused with evil. And just because the humans have high castles and pretty armored knights doesn't mean that their the good guys.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[thesandtiger]

IMO, the only "evil" race in WoW is the Forsaken.

The orcs are violent, yes, but not indiscriminately, and they have honor - they freed the Tauren, rather than try to enslave them. Trolls I don't recall much about, but I certainly didn't feel "evil" when I went through many of their story lines.

On the other hand, the humans are eco-rapists who want only to expand, consequences be damned. I found it really insane that the night elves would ally with them - I could easily have seen the night elves & tauren being their own faction, really (balanced?)

My feeling is that neither faction is resolutely evil or good - the situation is much more balanced than that, with good and evil being a matter of point of view, not something clear cut like "Humans always help others, orcs eat babies."

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[pezpunk]

the tauren aren't evil in any way, as you said. orcs aren't either, though. they were once manipulated by demons into their bloodlusted state, but that has disapated and the orcs in WoW are more akin to Star Trek: The Next Generation Klingons. aggressive, and they enjoy battle, but valueing honor above violence, and ultimately desiring peace over war (but not being afraid of war).

the forsaken are pretty sympathetic characters, if you talk to them most of them are pretty depressed and hopeless, they've had this horrible curse thrust upon them. from what i understand of the lore, some of them want to wipe out all life on the planet. so i guess there's that, but most just seem to be trying to find some kind of life to lead, if not live.

the trolls, well, they're just mean-spirited nasty creatures, for the most part, and the only race i would actually call evil.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[secolactico]

IMO, the only "evil" race in WoW is the Forsaken.

I disagree. They aren't evil, they are just dead. The problem is that they were dominated by the Lich King in the past. That's why the game is so keen in distinguishing them from the Undead Scourge.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[FreeForm Response]

I suppose it's that whole living vicariously through the game, which is why we play RPG's in the first place.

See, now, when I started playing WoW, I created an Undead Warlock, just because I thought the idea of playing a skeleton riding around on a fiery horse sounded wicked cool.

To each his own. :-)

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[thesandtiger]

But they play the air guitar - they HAVE to be evil!

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[mikek3332002]

I'm amazed at how hard it is for me to be so indiscrimenently evil to 1's and 0's as to end their meagre electronic existances. That's whats the evil bit is for.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you even play as an undead? There are many specific quests where youre helping them create a BETTER GOD DAMN PLAGUE. They want to destroy everyone!

I was an undead rogue who had dark purple clown hair, I should know :P

ironically the codeword i have to tyope is misieries

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Austerity Empowers]

I'd say it's the aesthetics of the landscape more than the models. I hate playing horde because the landscape is so dismal and dreary, while Night Elf land is amazing. Sure, at the high levels it's all the same, but depending on how you play, you do end up spending a lot of time in your starting territories.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[obeythefist]

From my experiences, and this is only a very rough majority of players, but most of the Alliance players are prepubscent idiots and most of the Horde players are older and more mature types, and generally more hard core gamers.

This is also just random speculation I guess, but I am assuming my observations are helped along by the fact that more serious gamers are engaged enough to want to play the "bad guys"

I've also noticed that Alliance AH's have much more expensive tradegoods - the whole Alliance economy tends to be badly jilted for some reason, and I am not sure if it just because of Alliance being significantly larger in number than the Horde is (the servers I play on are usually around 1.3:1.0 in favour of Alliance). Presumably, the same players who prefer Alliance also buy gold from the chinese sweatshops, which grind the game areas much harder to generate more cash. Bad inflation may be the cause.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Morlark]

Heh, yes, but the parent does have a point. As amusing as Chen was in WC3, I don't really think that Pandaren would be suitable as a playable race in WoW. There'd be far too many noobs playing Pandaren just for the "zomgpandas!" factor. Not that I mean to imply that the grandparent is a noob, far from it, there are plenty of legitemate reasons for wanting to play Pandaren. I just don't believe that Pandaren are a suitable player race, and I believe that they'd make an even less suitable Alliance race. I think Blizzard have stated that the new Alliance race is definitely not Pandaren, so I don't think there's really anything to worry about. But it will be interesting to see what the new race will be. Draenei is certainly a possibility, and a strong one at that, but I reckon this is all just speculation.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Morlark]

And you know what, men want to play cute things too! After all, MMORPG == Many Men Online RolePlay Girls.

On a slightly less silly note, a friend of mine explained it as "If I'm going to spend 12 hours a day watching some computer generated rear end, I might as well pick the cutest rear end of the lot." Really makes you wonder, sometimes...

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[bar-agent]

the trolls, well, they're just mean-spirited nasty creatures, for the most part, and the only race i would actually call evil.

They aren't evil, they're just bloodthirsty, drugged up, and cannibalistic. Uh...okay, so maybe they are evil, but there is a good reason for it. See, trolls regenerate. They can afford to rip chunks out of each other, because it'll grow back. It's just not a big deal to them. It's fun! Their whole social and moral system is different because of that.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Morlark]

Dismal and dreary? I absolutely love playing Horde precisely because they're not dreary! Well, except for the Undead. I can't stand the Forsaken territories, and I absolutely avoid them whenever I can. But apart from the Undead, the rest of the Horde lands are amazing, IMHO. The endless green grasslands of Mulgore, or the beating sun and the endless expanses of the Barrens. I could never get enough of those places, and I often go back to the Barrens just to look.

I guess the reason I've never really liked the Night Elf lands is because I found it to be... maybe too pretty. All the shadowy greenness, and the funny glowing things that are everywhere. I just found it to be a bit too much really. Ah well, each to their own, and whatever.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Morlark]

Ah, you'd have loved the article that was previously located here: http://www.jlug.fi/~pasi/paladins/?articleid=13253 25

I was laughing for ages when I first read it. A perfect copy of the BBC news website. I was really quite amused and disturbed at the lengths some people will go to just so that they can insult paladins. Alas, the layout is gone (stands to reason, given that it was entirely ripped off from the BBC), but the text is still there for all to read. It still makes me chuckle, just thinking of the lengths some people will go to for the purposes of humour and/or trolling.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Kazzahdrane]

My original comment was of course light-hearted and comedic. I doubt even the inclusion of playable pandas would make me go back to WoW. However, nice to see someone not just flaming and making a case for their opinion. A keg of Chen's finest for you my friend :)

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[CFTM]

That would have been fun to see with all the formating ;)

Shhh! Don't Tell Anyone!

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Jaeph]

The horde "looks evil", but honestly they are the better of the two. Consider:

1) The elves are responsible for bringing evil to the world, and it was they who destroyed the troll kingdoms.

2) The gnomes, despite their cuteness, are the amoral scientists who went too far and poisoned their home.

3) The humans are the greedy conquerors who have broken the treaty and settled in the western continent.

4) Dwarves are stripmining (look in southern barrens, where they don't belong).

5) Undead are evil. Well, we can argue a different perspective, but I'll be simple. :-)

6) Orcs are honorable. They honored their agreements, and fought to repel evil.

7) The trolls are an outcast race, who follow the honorable orcs.

8) The tauren are as good as good gets in this game. They have that whole "at peace with nature" thing.

In the large scale, the humans are breaking their word to the orcs and launching the invasion of the western continent. Anybody who follows them is on the side of wrong here.

So who looks good? Alliance. Who is good? Horde?

People who pick alliance pick style over substance.

-Jeff

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Kingrames]

I have to step in here and tell my side of that, because it warrants being said. The path of the Closed Fist is the absolute best "Evil" path ever put in a game. instead of always being out for yourself, it's in fact the exact opposite.

You believe that in order to make everyone else better people, which you do want to do, you must present them with obstacles with which they must overcome. The more "evil" path in the game actually DOESN'T award you with more closed fist points. Just like the most "good" path doesn't award you with the most open palm points. instead of being a clear-cut good/evil matchup, it's a very vague and open-minded approach to two very distinctly opposite but complimentary points of view.

And I, myself, have very large hesitations to play the "bad guys" in a game.

In Wow, I play alliance for several reasons:
1. The alliance is "prettier."
2. There are a lot of people on the horde side I just can't stand, and they're always hanging out in barrens chat which is a good 15 levels worth of questing. NOT an easy thing to just ignore.
3. People treat you nicer on the alliance side. This is from personal experience, not wide-sweeping generalizations. I'm dead serious, I have never gotten a tell from someone saying "go die" on the alliance side, but as a horde character I am constantly being barraged by stupid people trying to insult me. and, if anything, I am MORE agressive on the alliance side when I argue or discuss stuff in general chat.
4. My friends are on the alliance side.

Truthfully, it's really only the attitutes of the other players who will get you to play a certain faction over another.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[SightlessMind]

Do I know you? A friend of mine said that verbatim. Eh. Case in point I guess.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[C0rinthian]

This is one of the qualities I like about the lore. There really isn't as much of a good/evil split as an us/them split. Superficially, Horde appear 'evil' and Alliance appear 'good'. But a little research reveals that both sides have had their high points and low points throughout their history.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Meagermanx]

Must be a coincidence.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[CountBrass]

The humans have what, one base in Kalimdor. The orcs have Grom Gol and Stonard and (forget the name, place in the badlands) in the Eastern continent. And of course the Orcs don't even belong there. And they're allied to the Forsaken who are trying to create a new plague to wipe out all life.

I think your view of orcs is a little blinkered.

Re:Bah just more random speculation

[Hadex]

I love how shallow that makes women look :-) For once men get a break.

I played WOW for 8 months.

[DangerSteel]

Great game , plenty of fun, but I had to move on. Been through creating different races, classes, etc. Came to a point where it took 3 hours to get 40 people together playing to get decent loot. That's where the fun stopped.

Re:I played WOW for 8 months.

[Anonymous Coward]

There are always people that play the game all the time, or ones like this guy here that seem to want others to look up to him as "Oh I played this, but now I'm so above it all". You know, the holier than thou routine.

Also, 3 hours to get decent loot? So the only "decent" loot is in MC now?

Re:I played WOW for 8 months.

[Anonymous Coward]

No, idiot, he meant it took 3 hours to get 40 people to join the game.

Re:I played WOW for 8 months.

[ildon]

No, that's where the fun starts.

Re:I played WOW for 8 months.

[Why's_This_Fish_So_B]

Well, some people really like the mass raid experience in MMOGs. There's certainly camaradarie, teamwork, and a sense of accomplishment when things go right.

Some people are just as easily repulsed by the need to collect 20-40 or more people, coordinate timing, commit to being online daily for extended periods of time, and manage clique politics just to progress past a certain point.

For my part, it strikes me as odd that several games (certainly not just WoW) have this transition where up to a certain point one can play solo or with a small group, but afterwards the game requires a large organized force.

Blizzard has responded

[blobdole]

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=w ow-general&t=6437554&p=1&tmp=1#post6437554 "Since our official announcement at BlizzCon concerning the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion pack, we've seen a great deal of speculation regarding what race players believe might be available to the Alliance faction. This topic has revealed itself to be both highly debatable and exciting, and we're definitely pleased to see so much interest surrounding this particular future addition to the game. With that being said, we wanted to take this time to remind everyone that we have not provided any information or made any announcements concerning the new Alliance race to any Web sites, magazines, or other media sources. While we don't want to discourage you from continuing your discussions on this matter, we ask that you keep that bit of information in mind. When we're ready to announce the new race, we'll eagerly share as much information as we can with everyone on our community site."

I call your salt, raise you lime, Tequila

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.partingvisions.com/modules.php?name=New s&file=article&sid=60&mode=&order=0&thold=0

Re:I call your salt, raise you lime, Tequila

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, good thing you found a blog with this information, otherwise I would have thought that this was purely speculation.

Re:I call your salt, raise you lime, Tequila

[Anonymous Coward]

This was the original source of the rumor.

lol

[BloodyIron]

lol speculation, how exactly did this become slashdot news?

Re:lol

[the computer guy nex]

"lol speculation, how exactly did this become slashdot news?"

You have been here before, right?

Re:lol

[Threni]

You know, on some online forums you can't post until you've been a member for a little while...

rock it

[Anonymous Coward]

You know what an awesome race would be to add? A race of ninjas that ride pteradactyls.

Re:rock it

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a potion in WOW that can (on chance) turn you into a ninja.

Who?

[softspokenrevolution]

Let's see, the horde gets 'Blood Elves' and now the rumor is that the alliance will get a race with "cloaking". Wow, that seems like a totally plausible scenario because the Alliance could really use a race with an ability to go into stealth mode.

Random speculation is neither news, nor interesting. How about this...

The new will be murlocs, because everybody loves them so much.

Re:Who?

[Anonymous Coward]

Night Elves anyone?

Re:Who?

[xmuskrat]

The alliance HAS a race with cloaking. Night Elves.

Re:Who?

[djdanlib]

Murlocs? Imagine what that would look like if your character doesn't grok the Murloc language.

Ineedgils: [Murloc] MRGLRRGLRGLGRGLL! RGL! MRGL! GRGLGLGL!!! GRG!

No thanks. I mean, I love the Murlocs as much as anyone, especially when they give me the good drops. But playing as or with one really doesn't sound like a good time. The noises, man! THE NOISES!

tempting

[amrust]

Things like announcing a new race make me question my decision that it's too late to join WoW, as a brand new player. I'm not totally convinced that I'd not hate it, though. Everyone else is all uber, and I'd just be starting out. Maybe with a new race, people would be starting over with different characters and stuff. I recently kicked a FFXI habit, so I should probably just just steer clear of this. I get more done around the house this way.

Re:tempting

[tholomyes]

They are also occassionally starting new servers, and there are a handful of them that still have relatively low populations, so things aren't all über'ed out over there.

Re:tempting

[Chyeld]

Beleive me, the amount of time it takes to get to level 60 is so relatively trivial that as long as you don't mind being around people's 3rd, 4th, and 5th new character as opposed to completely new kids, you won't have a problem with "everyone is more uber than I".

That sort of problem really only exsists in games where getting uber takes more than a few months.

Re:tempting

[Anxarcule]

Most people I know follow the same pattern with WoW no matter when they started playing: begin a new game, think it's awesome, level a character, usually put in a lot of hours per week on it... get slowed up around level 50, and eventually make it to 60... then they get excited again because they can go into the high level instances, but then they eventually get all the equipment they can from those, and after a few stints in Battlegrounds, get bored and quit. You could still do this even though you were a late starter. But if you're looking for some kind of meaningful competition, then it might be best to go with a different type of online game.

All I got was this lousy scan

[DerWulf]

I came here for an confirmation and all I got is a scan of a games magazine and what amounts to "meh, who knows?" from Blizzard. Well, if that's what it takes, bring on your questions. I'll confirm everything!

Additional rockage

[Stroman Rebar]

Yeah, and they could be the mortal enemies of telekinetic pirates that sail flying ships that all have Voltron heads on their bows! And their skull and crossbones flag could incorporate the skull of Jack Thomson, so you know they're really evil!

The REAL new race...

[KtHM]

Is Vin Diesel.

Re:The REAL new race...

[Anonymous Coward]

I heard in Barren's chat that it's going to be Chuck Norris.

Re:The REAL new race...

[Intangion]

i can confirm that it IS going to be chuck norris

this is a sad day for the horde who will surely be destroyed by chuck norris paladins

Re:The REAL new race...

[MacroRex]

Could be him, or Chuck Norris. It's a tough call.

no way. speculation nothing more

[Intangion]

theres no way they could be the new alliance race, they are supposed to be allied with blood elves (the new horde race) but also ferverently hate orcs so i doubt theyd even be considered

also they are supposed to be able to stealth while moving. Alliance already has a shadowmelding race, and stealth while moving is a rogue skill. they wouldnt make a race with a class skill

nuff said

Draeni or Ogres

[Spleener12]

I forget the link, it might not even be there anymore, but there was a forum thread that after a lot of deduction (using some shaky assumptions such as "it won't be a pretty race" and "they'll start on Kalimdor") someone deduced that the new race would be Ogres, with Draeni as a close second or third. Ogres would be pretty cool, IMHO.

Re:Draeni or Ogres

[xmuskrat]

Try here: http://www.wowwiki.com/Rumored_Races There's a link to that big ogre post.

Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[VGPowerlord]

There's one problem that sticks out with the theory of Draenei as the new Alliance race: Where will the Draanei's starting area be? Beyond the Dark Portal? I don't think so! Blizzard said some time ago that opening the Dark Portal will be a World Event. This means that no one on a specific server can go through it until the World Event is completed on that server.

Another World Event that will be appearing in WoW soon is The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj.

I'm sure there are other reasons that the Draenai wouldn't make sense as the new race, too.

Re:Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the text explains that they are Draeni who came through the portal quite sometime ago

Re:Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[llevity]

Actually, yes, it's a world event, but it's going to happen prior to the expansion's release (by 2-4 weeks, IIRC). Also, like the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj event, even if players don't participate, they'll open on their own. Just not as fast. I guess NPC participation or some such.

Having said all that, though, I agree it won't be beyond the portal. For one, you have to be level ~55 to pass through the portal. And the assumption is the content beyond the portal would be geared for players of that level. Having a starting area there just wouldn't work, especially since they'd want to leverage existing content for new characters to level up in.

But there's nothing to say they can't just wedge in some lore explanation for the whole thing. "Remote island off the coast of Westfall discovered, populated solely by Draenei!"

Re:Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[andy_fish]

Name a single race in the game that would not have this problem. Is there some as-yet-unused zone of level 5 pandaren that I don't know about? Obviously they will be making a new zone for the new race to start in. And what's to stop them from having the Draenei start in the Outlands somewhere? The server will still have to complete the dark portal event to access all the 60-70 content. A newbie Draenei would only be able to afford the slightest peak of the new content. And they can always have NPCs provide one-way trips to Azeroth so that the newbie Draenei can level with their friends. Or, maybe they wouldn't. It would be kind of cool to play a race that is temporarily exiled from the rest of the game.

Re:Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[VGPowerlord]

There are unused zones around the world. The Blood Elf zones, for instance, will be appearing in the pair of unused zones north of Eastern Plaguelands.

Other unused zones exist, too:

• Eastern Kingdoms
  1. The zone east of Loch Modan and Wetlands.
  2. The zone south of Badlands, north of Redridge, and east of Burning Steppes.
  3. The zone south of Dun Morough, north of Elwynn Forest, and west of Burning Steppes.
  4. Gilneas, the zone south of Silverpine Forest.
• Kalimdor
  1. Mount Hyjal, east of Felwood, south and west of Wintersping, and north of Ashenvale.
• Other
  • The island continent of Undermine, as pictured in the WoW Collector's Edition Art book.
  • One of the other islands pictured on the WoW World Map. As far as I can tell, Undermine is one of the two southern ones, but there's also an island cluster to the far north.

Re:Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[Swift(void)]

Having said all that, though, I agree it won't be beyond the portal. For one, you have to be level ~55 to pass through the portal. And the assumption is the content beyond the portal would be geared for players of that level. Having a starting area there just wouldn't work, especially since they'd want to leverage existing content for new characters to level up in.

The Blood Elf starting area has 2 areas it links to. 1 thin coastal strip that hasnt been added in yet (which, incedently links to Western Plaguelands), and Eastern Plaguelands, the highest level zone in the game. Its not entirely unplausable that Draenei would have their starting area beyond the portal, but still very unlikely.

Re:Problem with this theory: Starting Area

[argStyopa]

Not defending the Draeni theory at all, but there are actually quite a few places where they could 'shoehorn' in a 'forgotten, hidden' secretive race.

Considering they are going to slip the Blood Elves in North of EPL, how hard would it be to put the Draeni east of Wetlands, east OR west of the Burning Steppes, south of Un'Goro, or even between Un'Goro and Feralas? Heck, they could stick them in a corner of Hyjal for that matter.

No, there may be LORE reasons, there may be GAMEPLAY reasons, but there are certainly no GEOGRAPHIC reasons that they can't slip the Draeni in somewhere, at least no reasons that are worse than for any other race.

Did they forget the storyline?

[Supurcell]

I don't see why these two new playable races would abandon Illidan in Outland only to join separate factions in Azeroth. They both owe their lives to him. But I'm sure they will come up with a paper-thin reason for their turncoat. After all, that's what they did for the Night Elves and Undead. The game would have been so much cooler(story and gameplay wise) if they stuck to the four factions in Warcraft 3, and added a fifth one in the expansion.

Re:Did they forget the storyline?

[ildon]

The blood elves that are joining the horde are not the same ones that went through the portal with Kael'thas. They stayed behind, but now want to travel through the portal to search for more sources of magic to feed their addiction. Most likely there will be some quests that explain why they aren't allied with Kael that no one will read and later claim that fighting him as a raid boss doesn't make sense.

That's a pretty solid theme in this game. People never read a single quest or listen to NPC's, then claim the game has zero storyline or that questline X makes no sense. And as soon as something changes and they claimed they "ruined the lore". God forbid something CHANGE in the world. I mean, the Cold War was rockin' back in the 80's! Put that Berlin wall back up!

Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[The Sage Of Time]

My opinion on the subject:
Although the Draenei did enter through the Dark Portal and into Azeroth at one time, and there are NPC's of them on the Eastern Kingdoms already in the Swamp of Sorrows, the new "kingdom" for the Draenei would really only make sense in the Outland, since that is their place of origin and the fact that there really aren't enough of them on Azeroth right now.. (A small tribe at most.)

Problem with that is, the portal is sealed right now and supposedly will require a world event to open, thus if their kingdom is on the other side.. they are isolated until the server opens the gate.. Also, Outland has been portrayed as a high level area only, which further dispels the idea of the Draenei as the new Alliance race. The only way in fact, that the Draenei would work is if they placed them on Kalimdor somewhere, and as far as I have ever known, they've never been to Kalimdor.

Why Kalimdor? Look at how the kingdoms are currently situated.. Ironforge and Stormwind (Alliance) are on the Eastern Kingdoms; along with the Undercity (Horde). Orgrimmar and Thunderbluff (Horde) are on Kalimdor; along with Darnassus (Alliance). See how that is symmetrical? Well, the new Horde race (Blood Elves) are going to be on the Eastern Kingdom, which makes sense according to lore.. So where does that leave the new Alliance race? Right, Kalimdor.

Not much makes sense for Kalimdor as a race, though if you want -my- opinion, I would say Pandaren; since according to lore their kingdom exists somewhere on an isolated island around Kalimdor. Though another possibility could be the Furblog's, and as odd as that is, they would fit in perfectly with Kalimdor.

Pandaren's seem likely to me because they're both popular, and work with the lore. Yes, they are part of lore. They were originally (supposedly) a joke at one time for April's Fools. But they became officially integrated into the lore at some point and became an enigmatic race of Warcraft history. That aside though, they're very attuned with the earth, and they were at one time friends with the Night Elves (Alliance Race) and also buddies with the Dwarves (Alliance Race). They apparently bear no bad will with Humans or Gnomes (Alliance Races) either. Yet bear bad will towards Trolls and Undead; and apparently some issues with the Tauren as well (All Horde). They are unsure about the Orc's (Horde Race) though it is known that one of their kind previously helped them. (One time only.) It seems pretty clear that they are Alliance Friendly to me.

Also, they apparently hate magic abusers. And the Blood Elves are -big- magic addicts, who abuse magic.. Seems to make sense, eh?

Sure, it could be anything, but I betting Pandaren for now.. Which is just speculation based on the lore. Truth is though, the race will have to be on Kalimdor regardless of what it is. I am merely taking that into consideration, unlike so many others.

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[tvalley000]

Sure, it could be anything, but I betting Pandaren for now..

I'd think you'd lose that bet. WoW is big in China, and Chinese law forbids the Panda to be involved in artwork featuring murder or violence (I don't have the actual law at hand, so I can only provide you with a summary). Hence, no Pandaren.

I'd personally play a Pandaren. Hell, I'd personally play an Ooze, if that was the new race.

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[The Sage Of Time]

Ironic you say this, since Warcraft III had Pandaren's and Panda mobs in it, eh? And yes, it was in China. Not to mention there is a "panda cub" pet in WoW right now.

This my friend, is the lamest and least thought out excuse anyone has ever some up with against them. And infact, if it wouldn't stop them from doing it anyway. Ever hear of censoring? Just retexture them to a different kind of bear in the Chinese version if it is such a problem. (Which it isn't.)

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[tvalley000]

Ironic you say this, since Warcraft III had Pandaren's and Panda mobs in it, eh? And yes, it was in China. Not to mention there is a "panda cub" pet in WoW right now.

It's indirectly ironic, at best. Warcraft 3 had Pandaren in a non-violent, NPC role. In WoW, the Panda Cub pet is a non-combat pet. Both are specific examples of how Pandas haven't been used in a violent capacity.

This my friend, is the lamest and least thought out excuse anyone has ever some up with against them.

You may need to look closely at how you treat your friends. If I'm your friend, I might take umbrage at your callous attempt at calling me lame. It's practically juvenile to think that by interjecting this thought into the conversation that I've come up with this idea all on my own, don't you agree?

Here's an excellent example of the discussion and debate regarding why Pandaren won't be consdered for the expansion (as well as a couple of decent examinations of how WoW operates in China). There has been hubbub on both sides of the issue in the official forums, but reading them for any worth is like attempting to stick a large ice pick up your nose -- and then twisting it.

Ever hear of censoring? Just retexture them to a different kind of bear in the Chinese version if it is such a problem. (Which it isn't.)

You seem to have a really good source on the nature of the Alliance race, or the problems Blizzard has or has not had with distribution in China. Are you shooting from the hip here, or do you have anything to cite?

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[xmuskrat]

And that law stopped Warcraft III expansion pack, with Pandaren, to be the #1 Blizzard game in China before WoW.

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[xmuskrat]

Yay Pandaren!

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[KronusOverlord]

Must you forget the Pandaren Brewmaster?

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[CountBrass]

Talking of shooting from the hip: you clearly are. And have clearly never played WC3. The Pandaren hero in there was decidedly violent.

And whilst we're talking of citing sources: where's your for your alleged chinese law regarding pandas? or did you pull that out of your arse as well?

Re:Let us take in all the facts, shall we?

[tvalley000]

And whilst we're talking of citing sources: where's your for your alleged chinese law regarding pandas? or did you pull that out of your arse as well?

Had I pulled that out of my "arse", you'd certainly be smelling it by now. As it is, had you the sense to read the link I provided, you wouldn't fail to understand my earlier reply so miserably. Perhaps rudimentary English fails you as well as your capacity for intelligent discourse?

Murloc Race

[aapold]

The abilities include a bonus to fishing skill, swimming speed, and when you get down to 10% health, 1-4 murlocs of your level magically appear to help you out. Oh, yeah, and a PC aggro-inducing shout.

Re:Murloc Race

[Golias]

I don't think I could play a Murloc. The fin-slapping sound of my footsteps would drive me nuts after a while.

Re:Murloc Race

[JWhiton]

It's probably never gonna happen, but I know several people who would gladly drop everything to play a Murloc. We even started a Murloc guild...

Doubt it's the Draeni...

[HaloZero]

From TFA/TPFWE:

However, according to Blizzard, the "confirmation" is pure speculation, [2] as they have not revealed the new Alliance race to websites, magazines, or other media sources. The lore also seems to make this speculation self-contradictory, as Blood Elves are the officially announced new Horde race, and Draenei are allied with them. It would also be incredibly bad for game balance to have two Alliance races capable of natural stealth, while the Horde has none.

And I agree.

Who knows, maybe Blizzard will introduce a new race neverbeforeseen in the World of Warcraft field. Space Mutants from beyond the outer rim, or something. The starting area is actually LOW EARTH ORBIT. You have ten minutes to get to level 40, and find some plate armor or you burn up. Squishies? Forget about it. If you spawn a cloth-wearer as a Space Mutant from beyond the outer rim: 'You're dead. End of story. Please start a new toon.'

Re:Doubt it's the Draeni...

[maglor_83]

Miniature giant space hamsters!!!!

Wow Wiki race inforamation

[xmuskrat]

There's a LOT of race information here about race rumors. Well worth your read if you're speculating... http://www.wowwiki.com/Rumored_Races

"Still not confirmed, take with a grain of salt."

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't that standard fare when reading /. articles?

The *real* new race

[Sathias]

It's from Draenor, but its not the Draenei...

Pandaren!

[Furry Bastard]

Please, for the love of God, GIVE US PANDAREN!