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A friend of mine once mused that players of World of Warcraft (WoW) who roll Horde characters are more likely to participate in player versus player (PvP) play, on account of the fact that they enjoy playing the “villainous”, or “evil” sect. My friend made the assertion that people attracted to such ideas are more likely to enjoy killing player characters, and inherently, will tend to “gank” people in the world, killing characters many levels below themselves, regardless of whether the kill nets the character any in-game benefit.

Having played both Alliance and Horde characters, my experience thus far mirrors my friend’s claim, in that Horde characters are more likely to gank Alliance characters, and may even have greater interest in PvP play in general. Whether this is a function of the different servers I’ve played on (PvP versus RPPvP), there is also the matter of WoW’s Battlegrounds, which are isolated areas designed for players to kill one another, and complete objectives in the course of doing so.

What I’ve noticed on Battlegrounds is not that there are more Horde characters in line to get in (as the number of players per Battleground “instance” is capped), but that the Horde is generally better at acccomplishing objectives than the Alliance is.

In one such Battleground, Arathi Basin, the objective is to control as many different “zones” as one can, for the longest period of time. These “zones” are structures that include a Stables, a Farm, a Lumber Mill, a Mine, and a Blacksmith’s shop. Once a side has overwhelmed one of these zones, that side begins collecting points.

Strategically, one side must only control three of these zones to win, and as such, it is a common winning tactic to rush to three zones and defend them, rather than decrease the number of available defensive players in a weak effort to control all five zones. Yet, curiously, Alliance players consistently abandon zones they control to move on to another, even though there is a steady onslought of Horde players.

On the other hand, my experience in Battlegrounds with the Horde is one complete with organization and, thusly, victory. Horde raid leaders (who organize players into groups of five) are quick to call out which group is to take and hold which zone, and over the course of the ensuing battle, makes adjustments in battle plans. At no point in my play has this expected level of organization happened on Alliance, and never have I seen an Alliance player who has strayed from their zone apologize for not defending a zone they were at, or otherwise acknowledge a suggestion from another player or raid leader.

Interestingly, for a group that has the stereotype of being less organized and more “savage” than their counterparts, the Horde is amazingly efficient at not just solo PvP (which one, like my friend, may expect), but group PvP as well. Sadly, I’m afraid that the only exception to this may be certain Alliance guilds who have had the luxury of teaching its members proper strategy, but this has not yet leaked into the public’s awareness.

In the meantime, long live the Horde!

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