Which WAR faction favors more mature players?

by Chris Chester Jul 1st 2008 at 11:00AM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Polls, Forums, Game mechanics, New titles, Warhammer Online, Races

It's generally accepted as common knowledge that Horde players in World of Warcraft are, by and large, the more mature of the two factions. Whether or not this is actually supported by hard data is a matter of debate, but the logic says that older players are the ones best able to overlook the stigma of playing races long-perceived to be the "bad guys." There are mouth-breathers no matter what faction you roll, but perception is what it is.

We've been watching a poll over at Warhammer Alliance that sought to identify a specific age correlation between the two factions amongst the hardcore Warhammer Online community. With just over 2100 votes cast at the time of writing this, we did find an interest trend. Although Destruction was more popular than Order in every demographic, the disparity between the two become decreasingly pronounced as you move up in the age bracket. The ratio went from 1.7:1 in the 12-16 bracket to 1.5:1 amongst those 17-25 to 1.3:1 for ages 26-35, finally to 1.1:1 in the 35+ bracket. Does this mean Order will be the faction of choice for older players? Definitely too early to tell, but this early data is intriguing.

Tags: data, destruction, ea-mythic, factions, imbalance, maturity, order, poll, WAR, warhammer-online

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Owen-Lars said on 12:07PM 7-01-2008

I wouldnt take the poll too seriously to be honest. People who check out games well before launch are generally more mature as they have more of an involved nature to them.

Because of this i expect many launch players to fill up the order side. Maturity wise i think destruction will be a safe bet. There will most likely be less of them but a higher percentage of mature players.

Brian! said on 12:05PM 7-01-2008

Interesting...

It is just guessing, but it seems that WoW has slowly converted the outlook of "bad guys". Horde seems to be the choice more and more from just the random interactions I have had over time.

This might be due to the fact that Horde owned the majority of the battlegrounds for so long that they have a perceived advantage in PvP (which was true in many respects) which might make an RvR game one where you want to side with the winners.

Also, the Destruction side of WAR is marketed more heavily, where as WoW it seemed Alliance was the more heavy marketed faction. On the back of the WAR preorder box all the pictures seem to showcase Destruction. And the front graphic and colors also seem to say "Destruction" to me. THEN, WAR has a contest to design your own squig in Creature Creator...

Yea. The more I think on it, the more it seems that staff at Mythic prefers Destruction themselves.

In WoW I went Alliance and since I never felt like grinding up another 70, I stuck there. This time, I think I will pick more wisely and see what (and if) the developers favor. Because, quite frankly, those factions/classes get the most love.

Owen-Lars said on 12:12PM 7-01-2008

Im actually hoping that Destruction are a smaller population that Order. I dont mind being the underdog as it gives you more people to take on and people tend to work harder and more co-operatively when they are under pressure. It happened with WoW and will most likely happen to WAR.

Most people prefer to play good guys in games. WAR has so many cool destruction classes that it balances it up a bit but i think we will still see loads more order to destruction players.

Starpoke said on 12:42PM 7-01-2008

I'm 32 and playing order as I have a feeling that destruction is going to be more popular, meaning order will hopefully be a more selective, mature community.

Culhag said on 12:34PM 7-01-2008

Actually that's the kind of ratio I was expecting for WoW, before it launched. Turns out I was completely wrong for WoW but the resonning seems to work for WAR :

The idea is that kids prefer to be the badass musclar guy (bald-space-marine syndrome) and that orcs generally meet that definition better than humans ;)
BUT humans in WoW are almost as musclar as the orcs and a lot prettier.
LotR (the films) also helped sell the alliance I think.

Quinnae said on 12:52PM 7-01-2008

Starpoke and Owen Lars disparate yet equally earnest assertions about who will be "more mature" highlight what a fool's errand it is to pretend that one faction will be a haven for adults.

Like so much conventional wisdom, there is very little that's wise about it.

Apropos World of Warcraft there is no question that there are *more* Alliance, hence why it feels like there are more unpleasant folk there. By and large, however, from what I've heard and seen myself those who go Horde see what they want to see. The grass is greener for a little while and then they realise the obvious truth:

Hordeside is still World of Warcraft, warts and all, and the same types of people play the game. Why should Warhammer be different?

Owen-Lars said on 1:10PM 7-01-2008

Yep i see what you mean. I suppose it all boils down to who you play with more than anything else.

If destruction is more popular now then its no different from WoW prior to release. People like playing the good guys and it goes down to how the races look, the zones they call home and the type of missions they play. Evil races generally have less 'nice' play zones, missions that you might not like (in terms of being the bad guy) and races that look macho and heroic rather than brutish and evil.

It all depends on what suits you. You'll find idiot kids on either side, but i think destruction will be more popular as the evil side is compared to how WoW started off. But that Order will still outnumber Destruction by a big margin. I hope its that way anyway. The good guys are always more appealing to the mass market than the bad guys and its only when the mass market actually starts playing when you see this. Its happened in nearly every game, even back in SWG.

Wayward said on 2:13PM 7-01-2008

In the end, I don't think the age disparity will affect me much. I will be able to find a mature guild on either side. I only worry about skewed order/chaos populations.

God save us from the zerg.

Ghen said on 2:29PM 7-01-2008

Wherever I play there will be plenty of beautiful female character models because I have no shame.

Zan said on 4:12PM 7-01-2008

Interesting topic, I thought I was the only one who considered this. It is sad that we search for an adult-sided faction, but I understand why. But it is even sadder to note that it isn't always the children that behave childish. I have met with and interacted with friendly and courteous minors in MMOs, and annoying punk "adults" as well.

In the end you will always find an array of both on any faction, even in a "mature" rated game like AoC. There was far more childish bantering over channels than I expected while I was playing that game.

Your only true haven is a good guild that can more tightly define your circle of associations in MMOs.

As for me, I must admit, I tend toward the faction that has the hotest chics :) (I know I'm a pig).

Owen-Lars said on 6:11PM 7-01-2008

lol you join whatever faction or server with the most chicks?

You wont like this but you've probably flirted with more men than Elton John so far. Unless your into that stuff i'd change your strategy on server/faction selection.

possum said on 6:13PM 7-01-2008

Really, until real life consequence for both word and action (grin) is implemented and acted upon in real time, there will always be an immature demographic, whether by choice or the norm because they are protected by that monitor.

If folks feel the need to get back or just plain observe immature or foul mouth players and see actual consequence, go to any large scale lan party, entertainment abounds with folks meeting and discussing differing views as they are escorted from the premises. :)