What does it mean to be Sin'dorei?

[Lastlivingsoul]

Full Disclosure eh, convoluted history, our world being plunged back into chaos? ... Bring it.

[Incoming fiction race bashing avert your eyes if you are easily offended by fictional race lore analysis]

What you'd rather be an Orc, whose every last clan leader was wiped out practically overnight in one expansion? A Troll (cause that's what your being) whose every last Clan Leader again has been wiped out in almost every expansion. Tauren or Goblin maybe, who basically just follow Orcs and Trolls for the giggles and whose leaders aren't known for any great accomplishments on their own. As far as Alliance races, as a Sin'Dorei I can say "F--K Alliance."

Sin'Dorei means Blood Elf. Their leader Kael'Thas made a Blood pact with his people he would get revenge on those who left his people to die and the Scourge responsible for the destruction of Silvermoon by any means necessary. He is betrayed by a racist human only after taking on the full force of the Scourge on the front lines. Leds a massive Prison Break quickly quickly owning the best security the best mages in Dalaran had to offer. In the secret mission they take on wave after Wave of Human, Dwarven, and even Pandaren forces only using Sin'Dorei enginner tower defenses alone. Oh yeah then they join forces with the Illidan another Unredeemed anti-hero who actually accomplish the job of truly conquering Draenor establishing absolute control over the land. The Orcs under Magtheridan work for them they sit on the council as the second most powerful boss in the expansion. Before you WoW babies knew him in Tempest Keep he was one of the few unsung/evil anti-heroes standing between Arthas and the Frozen throne, where as every other race was either unaware and cowering in their kingdoms while the world was at stake. Kael'Thas takes over an Interdimensional Naaru ship and sends Velen running for his life in the Exodar. (Nothing against him personally its just funny to think of celebrities crashing their expensive vehicles.) Kael'Thas sacrifices the fate of his people for more power but Lor'Themar step in to ensure his people survive and forms an even stronger force with the Sylvannas and the Horde. They later collect Pluck Kael'Thas out of his own fortress and the SunReavers collect his head but only after having to retake Tempest Keep and killing him in his seat of power. But before I finish this wall of text I would just like to mention that despite all these

tumultuous years finding ways to cope and survive

that they did survive, in with brains, guts and glory. THAT is what it means to be Sin'Dorei.

If you Prick us, we will Bleed you. If you wrong us, we will have revenge.

[Night Wind]

well with a longer lifespan you can roll through humans for days. Elves stick around forever.

Not if you get rejected. Poor Kael'thas.


So how do you blood elves players feel about human mages overshadowing blood elf mages? Kinda sad how blood elf mages are seemingly weaker than human mages even though blood elves have used magic for thousands of years and are addicted to magic.

[Friendlyimmolation]

Not if you get rejected. Poor Kael'thas.


So how do you blood elves players feel about human mages overshadowing blood elf mages? Kinda sad how blood elf mages are seemingly weaker than human mages even though blood elves have used magic for thousands of years and are addicted to magic.

Humans aren't necessarily, stronger just more flashy and uncontrolled. Think of it as Anakin vs obi wan. anakin had more raw power, but Obi Wan was smarter and more precise.

[Night Wind]

Humans aren't necessarily, stronger just more flashy and uncontrolled. Think of it as Anakin vs obi wan. anakin had more raw power, but Obi Wan was smarter and more precise.

I understand. It's like if magic was a bullfight, blood elves are the bullfighters while humans are the bulls.

But why do humans have more potential than blood elves, a race drenched in magic for thousands of years?

I guess it makes sense if you consider the fact that humans are originally titan constructs afflicted by the curse of flesh while blood elves are trolls evolved through titan blood.

[Lastlivingsoul]

So how do you blood elves players feel about human mages overshadowing blood elf mages? Kinda sad how blood elf mages are seemingly weaker than human mages even though blood elves have used magic for thousands of years and are addicted to magic.

They are addicted to a Drug, its called "Kael'ThaSheen" They be Bangin 7 pound Arcane Rocks, That's how they Roll! Winning! Sad? They're not Bi-Polar, They're Bi-WINNING! You could borrow their brain and you would be like "Dude, can't handle it, unplug this bastard", because it fires in a way that is, I don't know, maybe not from this particular terrestrial realm. They expose people to magic, I expose them to something they're never otherwise going to see in their boring normal lives. The run they made on Garrosh, Arthas, Kil'Jaeden, Illidan, all of them just look like droopy-eyed armless children.

[Combatbutler]

I understand. It's like if magic was a bullfight, blood elves are the bullfighters while humans are the bulls.

But why do humans have more potential than blood elves, a race drenched in magic for thousands of years?

I guess it makes sense if you consider the fact that humans are originally titan constructs afflicted by the curse of flesh while blood elves are trolls evolved through titan blood.

Actually Blood/High Elves and humans are pretty much on par in terms of power as well, the difference is, human magi replenish faster so to speak, the elves recently lost most of their most powerful magi through Dar'khans treachery on the isle of Quel'danas and the scourge invasion.

Zandalari Trolls have a very strong affinity for the arcane as well, the entire troll/elven lineage does to be honest.

[Airlick]

Being Sindaurai is suffering

[Zenny]

To mourn for a culture and society forever marred by the Scourge. To be a part of a race that is dwindling toward extinction, which may not recover from its many losses. To be steeped in lore and history, and to hold fast to a tradition of wisdom and power that has brought salvation to early human nations during the Troll Wars, victory against the Old Horde, and against the Scourge and the Legion. To feel the keenness of arcane addiction, and to bear that weight without succumbing to monstrosity while casting out those who permit themselves the luxury of consorting with evil for their own power. To be the shepherds of history, and the shapers of a world's very destiny.

Sin'dorei means "Children of the Blood," and so we are. The blood of the valorous, the blood of those who fight in the name of peace and sanity, and the blood of those sacrificed so that the greater whole can live on. But most of all the blood of the Titan that is Azeroth - the Arcane essence that saturates their very existence.

I find the bolded to be a bit of exaggeration. The Blood Elves probably number in the hundreds of thousands, even after the massive losses to the scourge.

[Aucald]

I find the bolded to be a bit of exaggeration. The Blood Elves probably number in the hundreds of thousands, even after the massive losses to the scourge.

The Third War has estimates that the High Elves (before the Sin'dorei came into being as a faction) lost upwards to 70% to 80% of their people, something that would easily put them into the endangered classification. Given that Blood and High Elves are a long-lived species they are likely less fecund, meaning the MVP (Minimum Viable Population) for the Elves would be higher than for humans, though how much higher I couldn't say. Add to that the fact that Azeroth is almost continually an active war-zone with planetary obliteration in the cards almost every time (e.g. the war against the Scourge, the Cataclysm, the Horde/Alliance conflict, and now a full Legion invasion) and the losses such conflicts would incur - I don't really think calling the Sin'dorei a dwindling race is much of an exaggeration at all.

[Zenny]

The Third War has estimates that the High Elves (before the Sin'dorei came into being as a faction) lost upwards to 70% to 80% of their people, something that would easily put them into the endangered classification. Given that Blood and High Elves are a long-lived species they are likely less fecund, meaning the MVP (Minimum Viable Population) for the Elves would be higher than for humans, though how much higher I couldn't say. Add to that the fact that Azeroth is almost continually an active war-zone with planetary obliteration in the cards almost every time (e.g. the war against the Scourge, the Cataclysm, the Horde/Alliance conflict, and now a full Legion invasion) and the losses such conflicts would incur - I don't really think calling the Sin'dorei a dwindling race is much of an exaggeration at all.

Well sure, the numbers have been decimated from what they were, but I don't think its as low as being in danger of extinction. That would be the case if the population dropped into the thousands, but realistically they likely have far more then that. Gnomes, Draenei, and the Darkspear all have far lower populations. I doubt races like Tauren (being fairly nomadic until recently) have far larger populations either.

[Aucald]

Well sure, the numbers have been decimated from what they were, but I don't think its as low as being in danger of extinction. That would be the case if the population dropped into the thousands, but realistically they likely have far more then that. Gnomes, Draenei, and the Darkspear all have far lower populations. I doubt races like Tauren (being fairly nomadic until recently) have far larger populations either.

Well, I wouldn't say they're alone in being on the razor's edge so to speak, but I was speaking of the Sin'dorei alone and not comparing them to every other race on Azeroth. Also, while the Gnomes and Draenei are definitely imperiled in and of themselves, the Darkspear and Tauren don't really qualify. The Darkspear as a distinct tribe are few in number, but as Trolls they're pretty prolific and nigh universal across Azeroth. The Tauren have the same scenario - the Tauren tribes of Mulgore might not be prolific but the Tauren species and its variants are all over Azeroth, from Northrend to Highmountain and even the Yaungol in Pandaria. As a species I'd say they're doing pretty well.

[Garfurion]

According to the Excerpts from the Journal of Archmage Vargoth Kael'thas army in Outland numbered in the thousands. If we take this conservatively as around 2000:

Kael'thas's army consisted of the 15% of the Blood Elves which means that after Quel'Thalas was destroyed there were at least 13.000 Blood Elves left (around 14.500 high and blood-elves in total) on Azeroth and the original population of High Elves before the scourge destroyed Quel'Thalas was around 150.000. This seems like a reasonable estimate considering WoW takes place in medieval times.

Of course not all of those Blood Elves are still alive.

However, since the number of Draenei that fled from Argus with Velen numbered in the hundreds rather than thousands the Blood-Elves are probably going to surive for as long as WoW lasts

[Irian]

The fact that they have such a convoluted history is exactly why blood elves are blood elves.

Their pride comes from their persistence and endurance. Blood elves survived disasters that wiped out countless other races and yet they still stand, in a city that has a scourge scar running down it and statues of their traitorous leader, recovering from demonic magic addiction. Think about this; did Lordaeron survive a traitorous prince and a Scourge invasion? No, they folded and succumbed to their fate almost effortlessly, according to Kel'thuzad. But the high elves fought viciously and made the Scourge pay for their invasion, and even then the remains of the city rebuilt from the carnage of an almost complete wipe-out.


Blood elves exemplify a species that values survival and an almost terrifying level of determination. They're willing to do whatever it takes to survive and they ally with whoever will help them achieve that. They didn't fall to a Scourge invasion, they didn't fall to Legion corruption (seriously, what other race can you say actually tapped into fel energy and still retained their senses in the Warcraft universe? I know it wasn't exactly demon blood drinking, but they actually tapped into fel energy)

A big point to me that defined blood elves perfectly was when many people called the blood elves traitors when MoP's 6.1 story came around and it turned out Lor'themar was negotiating with the Alliance. In my eyes, that boosted blood elves even higher in my eyes because it showed that they were the only race to understand that, no matter who won in the Garrosh Horde vs Alliance bloodbath that was almost inevitable, they were pretty much fucked regardless and Lor'themar wasn't going to let that happen.

tldr: They are opportunistic, resilient and are willing to do whatever it takes to survive in a world where they have no true allies. They've endured disaster after disaster yet still manage to stand strong. They won't be manipulated, their faction loyalty only reaches as far as their mutual benefit, which is refreshing for the Warcraft universe where many characters can't see past Red vs Blue. They're not evil or even very sinister like the Forsaken, but they're definitely not lawful good like the Alliance; they're survivors trying to exist in a world that has consistently shit on them to the extent that if they were any other way, they would have crumbled and folded like Gilneas and Lordaeron.

[Pandragon]

To be noble. To bear the weight of great power, and all the burdens that come with it. To never forget the suffering that has been endured, and to carry on in the face of destruction. Those who have fallen, and rebuild in their memory.