A New Idea for Choosing a Faction

Vanthras79

I kind of liked how in Skyrim we were not forced into joining a faction from the start (Empire/Stormcloaks), and that we got to explore some bit before being locked into that faction. I kind of wish that ESO was the same way.

Let me explain:

You start a new character, and go through a tutorial zone that has ambassadors from all the major factions, and you help out each one. They explain a little about their politics and agendas, and you get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly from each faction. And at the end of this tutorial you get asked to choose one of the three factions to belong to. This could either happen when you first start out a new character or it could become available as a requirement to enter Cryodiil for the first time (alts could skip this quest/scenario).

This kind of scenario could be applied to existing characters ( who may want a faction change wink-wink), and obviously to new characters. I just had this cool thought and I would like to share it with all of you. Let me know what you all think about something like this.

Thanks!

p.s. I am tagging some ZOS people.

@ZOS_MattFiror @ZOS_RichLambert @ZOS_JessicaFolsom @ZOS_GinaBruno

VaranisArano

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

Vanthras79

VaranisArano wrote: »

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

That is what I am trying to address here. Any race, any alliance is so prevalent they should just make it base-game. The Argonians and Khajiit running around DC does not make much lore sense, and that Is why I made my proposal.

VaranisArano

Vanthras79 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

That is what I am trying to address here. Any race, any alliance is so prevalent they should just make it base-game. The Argonians and Khajiit running around DC does not make much lore sense, and that Is why I made my proposal.

I wont say no to getting my crowns refunded, but good luck persuading ZOS to give up that moneymaker.

Sabbathius

Vanthras79 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

That is what I am trying to address here. Any race, any alliance is so prevalent they should just make it base-game. The Argonians and Khajiit running around DC does not make much lore sense, and that Is why I made my proposal.

Yep, back when they announced "Any Race, Any Alliance" as a preorder bonus, they took a lot of flak for it because it was completely lore-shattering, but they powered through it anyway and now we have what we have. But lore hasn't been a priority for this game at any point, really. I mean, my Argonian Ebonheart character can ride into a Wood Elf village in Grahtwood and the NPC is going to go "Ah, a Dominion soldier! Can you help me?" At which point I wish /slap emote worked on NPCs, because I'm literally wearing Ebonheart tabard and I'm clearly a giant lizard.

Factions as a whole don't make much sense in this game, the way it is currently set up (and even back at launch, Cadwell's Gold story reason was just a cheap copout). It was sensible in vanilla WoW to have distrinct, strong factions, with their unique races. It was coherent and solid. ESO was always closer to EVE, where you can create a Gallente pilot, and immediately fly out to Caldari prime and hand out free handjo...handshakes. Yes, yes. Handshakes.

Ostacia

I like this idea. I have an Argonian that isn't super into belonging to the Pact and is fond of the Dominion, especially Wood Elves. It would be Super Neat if she could visit an Ambassador and change over. So while I really like this idea, I'd like it to be extended to existing characters, not just new ones.

(Don't you have to buy the Any Race, Any Alliance thing -before- creating a character? Or can it be applied to an existing character(s)?)

VaranisArano

Wintergreen wrote: »

I like this idea. I have an Argonian that isn't super into belonging to the Pact and is fond of the Dominion, especially Wood Elves. It would be Super Neat if she could visit an Ambassador and change over. So while I really like this idea, I'd like it to be extended to existing characters, not just new ones.

(Don't you have to buy the Any Race, Any Alliance thing -before- creating a character? Or can it be applied to an existing character(s)?)

There's no option to change factions. If you buy Any Race Any Alliance, it only applies to new characters.

ParaNostram

Vanthras79 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

That is what I am trying to address here. Any race, any alliance is so prevalent they should just make it base-game. The Argonians and Khajiit running around DC does not make much lore sense, and that Is why I made my proposal.

It's a matter of having to recode something that was designed early in development. The earlier a system is developed, the more likely your adjusting it will break newer code down the line. It's like changing a foundation on an already built and expanding house, yeah it can be done but the amount of resources and effort required...

Cêltic421

Maybe add some quests to become an exile and not belong to any of the 3 alliances. Go into pvp areas you will be fair game to anyone and everyone even to other exiles. Of course you can do quests to gain trust of any alliances if you want to go back to one. Have a limit on how many times you can exile per character so people are not always switching alliances everyday.

Radinyn

I don't even want refund for "Any race, Any alliance" Just give us dis!

Taleof2Cities

Another faction change thread disguised as something else. At least the idea is good for new characters ... but having it be retroactive on existing toons is a bad idea (unless said character hasn’t started PvP).

Danikat

This is how I think the game should have been originally. One shared starting island for everyone, which introduces you to all the alliances and then when you get to the end of the storyline you get to choose which alliance to travel back to the mainland with. Ideally actually joining an alliance would be a separate choice made when you enter Cyrodiil for the first time, but it could be tied to which main story you do first for simplicity.

ArchMikem

Vanthras79 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

That is what I am trying to address here. Any race, any alliance is so prevalent they should just make it base-game. The Argonians and Khajiit running around DC does not make much lore sense, and that Is why I made my proposal.

A Khajiit, (my Khajiit) is a part of the Pact because she chose to be, because even though she's fluffy with a tail she's not bound to the Dominion. (Gods forbid..) The Banners really are just a choice, regardless of what the lore or those propagandists spewing nonsense in the kingdoms say. Besides we're not really a part of the standard Army. The player is more like a Merc with a preference.

Danikat

ArchMikem wrote: »

Vanthras79 wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

The alliances are preselected by race unless you own the any race, any alliance upgrade,

That is what I am trying to address here. Any race, any alliance is so prevalent they should just make it base-game. The Argonians and Khajiit running around DC does not make much lore sense, and that Is why I made my proposal.

A Khajiit, (my Khajiit) is a part of the Pact because she chose to be, because even though she's fluffy with a tail she's not bound to the Dominion. (Gods forbid..) The Banners really are just a choice, regardless of what the lore or those propagandists spewing nonsense in the kingdoms say. Besides we're not really a part of the standard Army. The player is more like a Merc with a preference.

Agreed.

There are plenty of NPCs who live in an area outside their race's alliance. Some are even directly participating in the war effort, like Tumma-Shah and the other non-Covenant race members of the Spearhead's Crew in the early DC storylines. I don't see any reason it can't be the same with our characters.

I got a pre-order copy so I've had Any Race, Any Alliance since day 1 and I pick alliances based on my characters backstory. My breton and nord are both young and idealistic with relatively minimal life-experience at the start of the game so I don't imagine they've travelled much yet, so they stay in their home alliances. My khajiit is the latest iteration of a character I've been using since Morrowind. She categorically does not trust elves, of any race, and thinks they'd all enslave her given half a chance so she left home just ahead of the Dominion and is not going back until they're gone. My bosmer...lets just say he's no longer welcome in his homeland and finds Morrowind and the Pact much more to his liking. And so on.

I'd really like some of my characters to be independent, but the only way to do that is to skip the main quests in each zone (and quite a lot of the side quests too) and just do things like the guild quests. So they have to choose even if they don't particularly like any alliance. (I had the same problem in Skyrim. Went to join the Stormcloaks, literally walked out because they were so racist - I was playing a khajiit - went to talk to the Imperials and liked them even less so I put it off as long as I could and then grudgingly sided with the Stormcloaks.)

Sergykid

i like it actually that in Orsinium if u r an orc it matters for a quest. You could become a clan chief. I with there were more quests in game that would look at ur race.

but i don't need any choice. I see elves i pass.