>>715479371
>>715476943
>>715470912
>>715479809
Faction preference is determined mostly by logistics and economics: with a populated faction, it's easier to form groups, easier to prepare for raids, easier to manage guilds and recruit and easier to rack up $$$ (gdkp raids and boosts). Horde racials are good, but you can raid fine without them. It's just "parser mentality" and people who read guides to become metaslaves want that 1% boost (even if their playstyle is poorly optimized) - it gives them confidence. Even if you are Alliance, hardcore raiding is not impossible, but it comes with another boss fight - roster boss - RLs fear him, and we have what we have: gravitation towards Horde in WoW Classic. Increased player centralization and lack of cross-realm and cross-faction support even further increase imbalance. I have played WoW in the past (TBC/LK OG), I had main on Alliance and an alt on Horde - and I was able to find a guild to play with just fine. Initially I chose Alliance because of friends, not because I personally wanted to be in that faction, and a lot of players probably did the same thing. Now meta gaming dictates the play, and people choose Horde, so you have a guarantee to have a spot in a raiding guild of your choice to gain the results you want.
Racials are cool, but having more people to raid with is cooler.
>>715469252
Yes but mostly because of nostalgia/unfulfilled dreams. I don't know people who are interested in modern WoW or a modern MMORPG, the concept is outdated.