by Jondi Schmitt

Created on: June 12, 2008

When you play a tabletop fantasy game, like Dungeons and Dragons, you have the option to play a neutral character. But never in an MMO has a neutral character been an option.

So, should neutral be a playable faction in the World of Warcraft? What an interesting idea.

In World of Warcraft, there are two factions: the Alliance and the Horde. On a wide overview, one could say these are the yin and the yang of WoW. The Horde is the evil side and the Alliance the good. However, upon closer examining, neither side is truly good or evil. Each side in the game, just like in a real life war, fight for a particular reason.

One could argue, then, that there could feasibly be a neutral faction. There could, indeed, be certain rebel members of a race that default to the other side or that don't pick a side at all. That, however, would only make things confusing within the world. On the other hand, there could be other races in the world that are essentially the Swiss of Azeroth. These races will not have chosen a side or have chosen NOT to side with the Horde or the Alliance.

Some would argue that a neutral faction would not work, especially on a PvP server, but it could be made to work! In fact, the neutral side would basically function as third side in the war...thus adding a whole new dimension to gameplay, PvP and arena fighting.

Imagine a Warsong Gulch battle with not two, but three sides all trying to get each other's flags to their own home base! It would make it more difficult, but perhaps more rewarding, to win a battle with three teams instead of just two.

A problem with WoW and any game for that matter, for many, is that things get old. Adding a third faction, be it neutral or not, would liven up the game and add a whole new reason for old players to return and new players to pick up the game. New content is always the key...not just new areas either, new areas are okay...but new races and new factions are what attract players and keeps them.

There are already races in-game that are basically neutral. These races are the enemies of both the Alliance and the Horde and both factions have quests against these races. This only leaves the option wide open for Blizzard to either create playable races that are neither Alliance nor Horde or to allow some of the already existing races to become playable.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

A third faction would also open the door for some cooperative quests. Many players complain that there is very little crossover from one side to the other. A third faction would allow Blizzard to create quests where members from two factions, such as the Alliance and the Horde, to call a temporary truce and team up to achieve a common goal, such as annihilating a common enemy's city.

A massive multiplayer online game, such as WoW, with ever-developing content leaves only the sky as the limit. There are numerous possibilities in a world that changes often and a neutral faction is not as far off base as many people probably think.

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