I agree. Combat in Lusternia has a high learning curve, but it's the main reason I play aside from some RP. I admit I'm not super amazing at it, but I'm always trying to improve. I always admired those strong hero types that you see on deathsight.

I read bits and pieces of this thread, and figured I'd leave my own comments.

I have always loved the RP of Gaudiguch, and hated that of Hallifax. It's a personal thing, and nothing against either city. I guess I'm just not logical enough.

Now, chart time.

Hallifax is:
-Modern, scientific.
-Doesn't directly promote slavery, but does.
-Focused on social classes.
-Very modern, using weaponry I consider a little past the era of Lusternia.
-For the state. (Ask not what Hallifax can do for you, but what you can do for Hallifax.)
-Logical, and without morals.
-The future.
-Lawful neutral.
-Emotionally cold.
-Considering that Hallifax is such a logical place, I am surprised that they even have the RP room for divine. Though, I've never interacted with Elostian in an IC manner.

Gaudiguch is:
-Conjures up images for me of a romanticized England 2-3 hundred years ago.
-They are of freedom, but it is not the freedom most interpret it to be. It is the freedom to make your own moral decisions.
-Chaotic neutral.
-Unfocused on social class, though there is some recognition of leadership within the city.
-Live for yourself, and not for the state, though you support the state and gain higher status within the city. However, since social classes don't particularly matter.
-Somewhat modern, but with old ideals. Again, images of brothels, taverns, etc. A sort of very dark shadow over a light city. The theme of madness seems to be one that might well suit the city.
-Very friendly, outgoing people.
-Divine are well suited to the themes of chaos within the city.

Edit: As for org rivalry in general...

Celest is pure, Magnagora is tainted. It's clear where the war lies here.
Glomdoring is impure, Serenwilde is the pure forest. Again, clear.
Hallifax is of logic, Gaudiguch of chaos. Pretty obvious.

Then we consider how we've twisted Lusternia:
Magnagora and Glomdoring should be aligned, but aren't anymore.
Serenwilde and Celest were, but are no longer. Poor newbies who still think Celest and Serenwilde snuggle.
Magnagora and Celest at one point sided in the city-commune war.

But where, honestly, do Hallifax and Gaudiguch fit? There were the light and taint, in both forest and city, and then we bring in the aspects of chaos and logic, chaos being more good than evil, and logic being more evil than good.

Considering the dark steampunk theme that Magnagora has, Hallifax better fits with them than it ever did with Celest. Magnagora is blatantly dark, whereas Hallifax just has dark undertones through their logical ways.

Gaudiguch is considered chaos, but I would call it chaotic good. Where, then, do they fit? Quite honestly, I would say that their best alignment would be with Celest. Vortex seems to be a reflection of a past Celestia, and both represent in some ways the same values. Gaudiguch, in my opinion, is a lost Celest. Celest has grown up with the Supernals and such, whereas Gaudiguch never had a chance to have their own half-formed.

Ok, done rambling!

Perhaps the whole "we don't feel the need to fight directly, but let's let our allies blast each other" model would work well for Halli/Gaudi.

Hallifax=Vorlons
Gaudiguch=Shadows

Gaudiguch isn't really about chaos* or anarchy or any of that. They're a syncretic liberal theocracy. Specifically, they ask you to obey a religious law laid down ages ago by their Enlightened Masters (the One Law), and otherwise tolerate any other weird quasi-religious sentiments you care to profess, such as the bodily transformation thing that the Illuminati bandy about, the "make your own reality real" ideal of paradigmatics, the informal Golden Way/Middle Path sort of thing the Pyromancers have going on all of the various things the secret societies such as the Order of the Secret Flame, the Hand of Illumination, the Masons of the Hidden Temple, the Labartory of Mu, the Ridachi Gardens, the House of Meditation, the Occluded Path or the Crimson Cadre get up to. And then you've got people that don't want to get involved with any of that weird mumbo-jumbo and just want to live in a city where your personal liberties are secured by a giant dragon and an army of reality warpers and fire wizards.

*The whole "chaos" thing, insofar as it exists, is mostly about all of the various secret societies, organizations and weird superstitions working crosswise to eachother and occasionally crashing together spectacularly and making a huge mess. Gaudiguch doesn't support chaos so much as have chaos inflicted on itself as an unfortunate side effect of their society being composed of a mishmash of wildly differing ideals and belief systems.

Conflict between Glomdoring and Serenwilde isn't as simple as 'taint vs not-taint' though (at least, to the Glomdoring side), but that's a whole other topic.

And I love Everiine's model. That'll make the Cold War parallel even stronger.

Saying there's no room for divine in a logical city is ridiculous. Gods are scientific fact in Lusternia. Considering how They function in the world and the number we have, it be really weird for Hallifax NOT to have a god or two.

Right. The difference is that Elder Gods are treated as just another kind of being that has a particular place in the caste structure concomitant with their value to the Collective, which is not very theocratic.

That's exactly how everyone treats their gods, most of the time.

That's what I was getting at.

It certainly seems different to me, from having been on both sides (my main has been in three of the Seren gods' orders and my alt is in Hallifax, though admittedly not in an order). Maybe it's more of a difference of quantity than of kind.

Hey, I was just stating my own perspective on things. Everyone will have a slightly different look.

There's no real faith in Lusternia, in the sense that you put your trust in something unknowably beyond yourself. Instead, you trust in gods that are very much a part of the world and hands on. The fact that plenty of us are demigods in our own right, or even avatars, takes the mystery of divinity away. Gods are hands on, beings that you can at least empathize with if not always approach or befriend. So to some degree, they're always going to have a place that's glorified shiny advisor and protector and less ineffable judge or omnipotent/omniscient mover and shaker.