Horde, Alliance, and Other Factions | Guides to Getting the Rep and Rewards
Primary WoW Factions
Every character in World of Warcraft, playable and non-playable, belongs to a specific race and at least one specific faction. The word “faction” in World of Warcraft can have a few different meanings, depending upon context. The first definition of a faction concerns the main rift between the Alliance and the Horde.
The Alliance faction is made up of Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Night Elves, Draenei and Worgen. Keep in mind that not all Humans are aligned with the Alliance; for example, the Humans of Stormwind under Varian Wrynn’s leadership are members, while those belonging to the Argent Dawn are independent. Likewise, the Horde is made up most clans of Orcs, the Darkspear Trolls, the Forsaken, the Blood Elves of Silvermoon City, the Tauren and the Bilgewater Cartel Goblins. Other groups of each of these races can appear as either hostile or neutral to both the Horde and Alliance because they don’t belong to either.
Finally, you may, at some point, decide that you’d rather move your character to the opposite faction. Horde players may long for the magestic beauty (and cooking recipes) of Stormwind, while those in the Alliance may decide that their toons are just too–pretty. You can switch, for a fee, but there’s a lot that will change outside of your toon’s appearance. Be sure to check out the faction-change guide for all the details before you click that “Submit” button on Blizzard’s account website.
- Choosing a Faction and Race
- Cataclysm Races and Classes
- Horde mounts
- Alliance Mounts
- Faction Mounts and Achievements
- Changing Your Faction in World of Warcraft
Burning Crusade
The Burning Crusade expansion was released for World of Warcraft in January 2007, bringing two new playable races and an increased level cap for players to attain. With it, BC also introduced a new type of faction: Scryer and Aldor. Both Horde and Alliances players could choose either faction, and they all shared one big capital city, Shattrath.
These two new factions existing for the sole purpose of forcing players to choose which rewards they intended to seek. Because switching factions was an extremely difficult process, most players picked one and stuck with it. While there were profession patterns offered by each faction, it was the should enchant that really motivated the Aldor-Scryer decision.
Wrath of the Lich King
The second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, introduced no additional races but one new playable class: the Death Knight. Every race in the game, on both sides of the Horde-Alliance line, were allowed to choose the Death Knight class, so long as the player already had an existing character of at least level 55.
Wrath, or WotLK, brought in tons of new factions for which players could fight. By wearing the related tabard in dungeon and completing the ordinary and daily quests, players earned the necessary reputation need to purchase rewards.
This expansion also introduced the Argent Tournament, providing players with a great way to gain Exalted reputation status with all of their home factions. You can also choose to rep up with either the Sunreavers or the Silver Covenant, providing you access to even more mounts, heirlooms and other rewards.
- World of Warcraft (WoW) Guide to the Kirin Tor Faction
- World of Warcraft Kirin Tor Quartermaster Items
- Guide to Improving Your Wyrmrest Accord Reputation
- Guide To Knights of The Ebon Blade Faction
- Let the Dailies Begin - Sons of Hodir Reputation Guide
- Yet Another Reputation Grind - Sons of Hodir
- World of Warcraft Reputation Guide - The Kalu’ak
- Kalu’ak Quartermaster Items
- How to Gain Reputation with the Oracles Faction
Guide to Gaining Reputation with the Frenzyheart Tribe- Five Reasons to Get Into the Argent Tournament
Cataclysm
The Cataclysm, or period following the Shattering, is the setting for the third expansion to World of Warcraft. Two more playable races were added–Worgen on the Alliance and Goblins on the Horde–and at least one new faction per level 80+ zone has also been incorporated into the game. You’ll fight for the Earthen Ring in Vashj’ir, the Guardians in newly opened Hyjal and the Ramkahen in Egyptian-themed Uldum.
This expansion offers more dailies, faction reputation rewards and interesting lore than any other; additionally, some of the original factions from the game have been removed or consolidated. Don’t be without this guide to what each faction has to offer.
- Guardians of Hyjal Reputation Guide
- Guardians of Hyjal Quartermaster Items
- Therazane Daily Quest Walkthrough
- Therazane Quartermaster
- “Fear of Boring,” “Motes” Therazane Dailies
- “Soft Rock,” “Fungal Fury” Quest Guide
- Ramkahen Reputation Guide
- Ramkahen Quartermaster
References
- All screenshots are taken from the World of Warcraft game client by the author.
This post is part of the series: WoW Faction Guides
Check out this series of guides on everything related to World of Warcraft factions.