Regarding the rep thing:
The trigger is actually not how many cities you've liberated, it's talking to various Orc Warlords afterwards (in other cities). This means you can liberate all the cities and max out the Rebel rep if you want to, just make sure that you don't ever talk to any Orc Warlords/Commanders/etc.
I strongly recommend that you either do it that way, or wait a very long time. Making the orcs go hostile will cause quite a few problems, as even the orcs in the desert will attack you on sight (including the ones related to the Hashishin).
I generally complete all the sidequests in both Myrtana (forest) and Varant (desert) before liberating the cities. It's simply easier that way.
PS. This info is based on the pre-community patched game. I can't confirm whether or not the community team changed how Rebel/Orc rep works.
The trigger is actually not how many cities you've liberated, it's talking to various Orc Warlords afterwards (in other cities). This means you can liberate all the cities and max out the Rebel rep if you want to, just make sure that you don't ever talk to any Orc Warlords/Commanders/etc.
I strongly recommend that you either do it that way, or wait a very long time. Making the orcs go hostile will cause quite a few problems, as even the orcs in the desert will attack you on sight (including the ones related to the Hashishin).
I generally complete all the sidequests in both Myrtana (forest) and Varant (desert) before liberating the cities. It's simply easier that way.
PS. This info is based on the pre-community patched game. I can't confirm whether or not the community team changed how Rebel/Orc rep works.