No Horde character yet? Make other plans

Want to start a Horde character on a PvP ruleset of World of Warcraft: Forever? Then you should “start making other arrangements”, says Aggrend in episode 7 of the podcast. The faction lock stays for now.

Why the lock stays

On most PvP and RP-PvP rulesets the Horde is the bigger faction. On European RP-PvP it is the Alliance. Blizzard made it harder to create characters on that side on 10 November, and has now tightened it further.

Unfortunately that means if you haven’t made a Horde character, you’re probably going to want to start making other arrangements at this point.

At launch, Blizzard allows a gap of about 10% between the factions. That means a split of 55 to 45, and the Horde has reached that limit. Faction balance is one of the most important things on a PvP server, says Aggrend.

Trial accounts do not count

A rumour said players used trial accounts or level 1 characters to tip the balance. Aggrend denies it: “That does not have an impact.” Blizzard looks at characters that actually play over a certain time. A million level 1 alts change nothing.

Fairer zones, fewer players

Blizzard also adjusted the balance per zone, so a zone should feel more even. You can still run into five players of the other faction. The number of players per zone, possible with the new server technology, went down in the zones for levels 25 to 45, on every ruleset and most on PvP. More players in the starter zones can follow in a month. Aggrend calls it “more of an art than a science”.

Which ruleset suits you best is in our rulesets guide.