Wow is finally ready for minor races including High elves

[ravenmoon]

Let them finish with the remodels first.

if they don't do this alongside the remodelling they'd never do it. IT is precisely becuase they are doing the new models that they can slip in minor races - e.g. maag'har orcs, you've designed the new orc model, done hte animations tha't s a lot of workk, now you're working on the skin tones, adding a Mag'har orcs is just a matter of adding a set of brown skin tones, adding dragonmaw orcs just a matter of adding grey and black skin tones. Dress it up by adding an icon to the orc character creation screen that has a mag'har descritiopion and simply swaps the skin tones and maybe adds a tribal feature, something you can design whiles you're doing the orcs.

when you release them, do a mag'har narrative that adds to the orcs. you can intorduce the orcs, then add a few sentences about the ma'g'har or re-write a completely new narrative. Doing high elves is even easier, you're not even changing skin tones you're just giving normal blue yees instead of glowy ones. you don't need to finish the remodelling and then work on minor races. you do them all togehter.

doing all together doesn't mean you need to release them at the same time though. you could have done the orc remodel with the mag'har and dragonmaw variations, then just releas the orc, then later on the mag'harthen later on the dragonmaw if you wanted to do phased start zone or something more. you can maxmise your prfoits based on how you release these thing.

mind you you will get a spike in re-subscritipins and race changes, not to mention revived interest every time you introduce a minor race, players will keep laying looking forward to which minor race or remodel is coming next, and i'ts something you can do over the next 2-3 years aside from the content patches and upcoming expansions which can introduce whole new races and classes ina ddition to new zones

[Deleted]

Especially when night elves get a remodel that would hopefuly eradicate the pansy animations. I've always envinsoned night elves as even more exotically beautiful than high elves or at least just as much. But having a slightly wilder/fiercer look. More refined than a human but not as polished or tidy.

anyway, i thought it would be interesting to have high elves using Night elf models but with high elf height, ear angles, skin tones and blue/green/grey/pink/purple eyes. and conversly Highbourne using blood elf models instead with night elf height and skin tones/ears/glowy silver eyes. don't forget using the model comes with the face shape and animations... it should be enough to make them feel a bit distinct from their kinsmen if their mannerisms match the opposite. Calm/serene, humble, wise-ish, consequently with the night elf animations for movement and casting (i presume night elf male casitng animation willbe much improved) ..where as blood elves are arrogant and high strung, just like the highbourne, makes snese when you see a highbourne you have blood elf like animations etc and faces. I nice inversion.

Love the whole idea, but, as for Highbourne it dosent work like that, the highbourne a caste of night elves, not a sub-race, they were once nobility so (as in, there werent like cannon fodder that can be thrown around, there werent many of them), if you see a few 1000 highbourne running around it wont look legit.

[Northem]

Yeah, that's great, except high elves aren't a "minor" race. They are completely different than both night elves and blood elves. They're not a sub-division of either...

Exactly, I am of the opinion that the differences between the Blood Elves and High Elves are already so remarkable that they should be as different as possible, especially to denote their different behaviors, ways of thinking and acting.

Obviously besides the greenish glow that the Blood Elves have in their eyes (which the High Elves have not) and besides their voices and dialogues (which would be totally different to denote their attitude), they should have other differences:

• • Skin Tones
  
  • Blood Elves: darker/reddish
  • High Elves: paler/whitish
  
  
  
• • Hairstyles
  
  • Blood Elves: extravagant ones
  • High Elves: more traditional ones
  
  
  
• • Hair Color
  
  • Blood Elves: flamboyant colors
  • High Elves: more natural colors
  
  
  
• • Animations
  
  • Blood Elves: more sexually ambiguous, outlandish and provocative
  • High Elves: more restrained, calm and correct.
  
  
  
• • Body Adornment
  
  • Blood Elves: with earrings, piercings and tattoos, accentuating her long ears and eyebrows to denote their racial pride.
  • High Elves: characterized by sobriety, with ears and eyebrows somewhat disguised.
  
  
  
• • Body type
  
  • Blood Elves: more bulky and muscular
  • High Elves: thinner and slightly muscled
  
  
  
• • Facial hair
  
  • Blood Elves: with slight facial hair.
  • High Elves: beardless / hairless.
  
  
  
• • Face
  
  • Blood elves: face scarred and defiant and hostile.
  • High Elves: immaculate and friendly faces.
  
  

[Combatbutler]

Yeah, that's great, except high elves aren't a "minor" race. They are completely different than both night elves and blood elves. They're not a sub-division of either...

That is just plain and simply wrong. High and blood elves are still the same race, all that divides them is their political view.

Blood elves are biologically and physiologically high elves.[2] Courtesy of their exposure to fel magic (the practice of which spread in a similar fashion to the orcs own exposure to the substance, tainting even those in its proximity who chose not to dabble in it), the eyes of the sin'dorei now produce an emerald glow.

[Deleted]

I know it would never happen but if I could play a fel orc Warlock I'd be happy as shit.

[galileoacosta]

panda boobs approve of this

[Deleted]

I have been thinking of this a lot, and I fully support this. Reminds of the LoTR:O concept, no major gameplay differences, but gives A LOT to the RP-feel.

[Ashrr]

I don't see why we'd require brand new starting areas. What if instead, the choices had to be unlocked (realm / faction / account wide) by means of questing or completing other objectives in the game. For example: whoever completes the entire Mag'har questline in Outland, including the ones in Nagrand, will get an achievement that "unlocks the recruitment of Mag'har for Orcs" or something along those lines. This player can then roll a new Mag'har Orc in the original starting zones.

As some people have mentioned, entirely new starting zones maybe too much work for Blizzard and will probably just get delayed in lieu of other stuff. I think my suggestion would be much easier for them to implement as many of the assets are already in the game. It would also give players an incentive to play through those questlines / scenarios / dungeons / whatever at least once instead of skipping them entirely.

[Reklia]

High Elves would be too identical to BLood elves...

[Mace]

u dont have to have starting areas, altho having them certainly brings more focus. all depends on how much you want to do with introducing the minor race. if you introduce them with every re-modelled major race, and release them as soon as they are ready rather than all togehter, then a starting zone, like 1 to 6 is feasible

b/c you aren't doing like 8 new starting zones at once, you're doing one at a time or 2, which is easier to manage. I think it will be more profitable too that way.

but yeah, all depends on what they do. will having a new startng zone make you play the race more or race change more? is having a starting zone for them going to enhance them and really get people more involved? versus the resources you have?

that is a question they must decide, i think a phased starter zone for them would certainly enhance them and give people more to look forward too, advnace a little bit of lore and make a compelling package that keeps you playing warcraft and waiting for more races over a year or even 2 period.

can you imagine if you were releasing 1 or 2 every few months? tha'ts enough for a player to level a new character every minor release.. certainly keeps them playing and paying. not to mention those who would pay for race change.

is a starter zone too much? a brand new zone yes.. because you have to create the land for it, then design it, and it involves many more teams. Re-phasing an existing zone is so much easier, cos the area is already built. you just change the level of the mobs, and give NPCs quests, only the quest design and games system need be involved, it is really much easier than a brand new zone. and the effect greater.

however, i'd much rather have minor races without starting areas if including starting areas would kill the idea.

but then that's another thing i dont understand about blizzard, minor races are very very highly desired and extremely popular, to not do them or indefinitely delay them cos you might have to do sarter zones is just silly, now is the time to do this sort of thing, if you wait much longer, there might not be anyone interested in wow to care when you do do them

[ravenmoon]

High Elves would be too identical to BLood elves...

that's the point. as mag'har orcs are too similar to orcs, or dark irons too similar to dwarves.

this is what makes it possible, it's easy to do, it's not draining, it's the sort of small effort and use of resources that would generate a huge amount of interest. the impact it would have could argualye greater than that of a new race or a ton of new features that take a lot more time.

seriously, think about it! you're committed to already re-modelling the existing races and have started, so why not spend an extra 10% more to incorporate minor races, which if packgaged properly, would generate a huge amount of extra interest on top of the new models.

I'd be excited to get a new model human or orc or night elf, but i'd be ecstatic if i also got a High elf, a broken, a mag'har orc or forest troll option to play ..and if it cam e with the new race model it sould be even more amazing.

[Thage]

High Elves would be too identical to BLood elves...

After Blizzcon, Blizzard admitted that silhouette recognition is no longer as important as it once was, because most players look at tooltips and nameplates rather than body shape to identify an enemy player. Also, pandaren look identical regardless of faction, because you pick your faction after rolling them--high elves at the very least have a distinct eyeglow from both standard blood elves and blood elf DKs (high elves' eyeglow is a deeper shade of blue).

[Caerule]

Seeing a lot of solid ideas in this thread. I once considered making a thread like this too.

As suggested by others, San'layn (those Darkfallen vampires) should really be replaced with the Dark Rangers in that list as undead elves. I really wouldn't want everyone suddenly playing vampires. Wouldn't do the roleplay communities good, I can tell you that much.

A lot of other great ideas I'd fully support otherwise though. Though I thought the Broken used Tauren models and animations as a base.

[Demetrion]

i'd reform it. Like this:
Adjust it to character customization.
You select a basic race, and it gives you acces to a few variants of what tribe/roots your race will be.
Like Troll -> Darkspear, Amani and probably Drakkari (they are very bad guys, why would they join horde?)
Tauren -> Maulgorian, Taunka, Yaungol;
Dwarf -> Dun Morogh, Drak Iron, Wildhammer (yeah, )
Orc -> Durotar, Dragonmaw (Fel Orcs are corrupted completely, and they can't join the horde by any meanings)
etc lalala

Well not whole race of Drakkari or Amani trolls would join the horde, but a few individuals (players) who are not supporting the policy of their respective tribes and they are seeking refuge at Darkspear. The first few levels (I wouldn't go on level 6, but 10 instead) would introduce the reason why you want to leave your tribe.

Same can be used for Fel Orcs, etc.


I really like the idea. It's getting dull to see all those same models. Hopefully Blizzard will remember

[Holy]

You have no idea how much I wish my draenei DK could be a broken...

[Mace]

Well not whole race of Drakkari or Amani trolls would join the horde, but a few individuals (players) who are not supporting the policy of their respective tribes and they are seeking refuge at Darkspear. The first few levels (I wouldn't go on level 6, but 10 instead) would introduce the reason why you want to leave your tribe.

Same can be used for Fel Orcs, etc.


I really like the idea. It's getting dull to see all those same models. Hopefully Blizzard will remember

it could be individuals, or just a tribe, for some minor raes it could be individuals, for others the entire tribe or clan... for example I can imagine that for Ice trolls esp drakkari it would be individuals, but Raventusk trolls are also forest Amani Trolls, and their whole clan could join up wtih the darkspears, theyi already horde friendly in the hinterlands, just like the wildhammers in the hinterlands were alliance friendly.

to do a starting zone up to level 10 even a phased one might be too much work, but then it might not, i have no idea, maybe the hardest part is the intial zone and doing 1 to 6 is only a itny bit easier than 1 to 10 in which case you might as well do 10, phasing an existing zone is much much less work than creating a brand new one for starting are.. depends on them

[ravenmoon]

Seeing a lot of solid ideas in this thread. I once considered making a thread like this too.

As suggested by others, San'layn (those Darkfallen vampires) should really be replaced with the Dark Rangers in that list as undead elves. I really wouldn't want everyone suddenly playing vampires. Wouldn't do the roleplay communities good, I can tell you that much.

A lot of other great ideas I'd fully support otherwise though. Though I thought the Broken used Tauren models and animations as a base.

I didn't know broken used Tauren models, iwas trying to figure out which ones they used, i knew it was one of dwarf, orc or tauren.

Darkfallen is the name of the forsaken elves, Dark rangers are an elite class of Darkfallen I thought, and you would want them as darkfallen as presumably you'd want to roll more than a hunter with them. San'layn could be a separate off shoot, half living , half dead, life force replenished by blood, they could fit as a blood elf minor race, altho they might need a littlebit more introduction more than a narrative could give, but you dod meet them first in the DK starting zone

[Mace]

You have no idea how much I wish my draenei DK could be a broken...

you should tell blizzard that, i don't think they realize hos immensely desired and popular this sort of stuff is, look at the amount of people with comments like that. imo it would have a far bigger impact than a lot of the features and stuff they plug in.

but sometimes blizz can suffer from myopia... but then it may take more losses to subscription to get them ambitious to try something new

[Samaramon]

Wonder what a female Broken looks like. Hm....

[Pawl]

This all seems like a lot of work for a company as lazy as blizzard