Does void elves’ blood elf form make them more interesting to you?

[Obelisk Kai]

I think they should work like Worgen but honestly I'd be pretty okay with any of the poll options.

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Out of curiosity, do you have a link to this handy?

Sorry this has taken a few days.

You can find the image within this thread if you scroll down abit on the page linked.

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...ve-been/page58

What you should notice is that a normal skin tone makes a Void Elf look wrong.

[Shibito]

Hope not hope they dont get belf skins either so we can have another 10 years of alliance screeching.

[Deleted]

Honestly, if they used any model other than the blood elf one, i would have absolutely no interest in ever playing one. I plan on rolling a void elf warlock simply because I like the blood elf model on a warlock, and I want to move my belf lock to the alliance. I want to spend as little time as possible as an elf-shaped blueberry.

That's funny because if Void Elves would just have been copied Blood Elves and only get their shadow forms in combat now and then, I would not be that much interested in them. I already have a bunch of Blood Elves.

I even think that they have not gone far enough with their mutations. Beside some hints on tentacles in their hair, they look too normal for things infused with Void. They should have been a bit more terrifying / outlandish. Currently, they just look like pretty undead with pointed ears.

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It is quite amusing how Blood Elves are coming out of the woodworks to say how much they love the Horde, isn't it?

FYI lads, I don't mean to tell you how to play the game, but if you're picking a Blood Elf then you aren't really a fan of the Horde 'theme'. In the same way, if you pick a Night Elf, you aren't really a big fan of the Alliance 'theme'. Both races are oddities within their faction and don't correspond with the aesthetics, haha.

While Blood Elves have a totally different aesthetics compared to the tribal races in the Horde, they share a more civilised approach with the Forsaken, you should not ignore that. And while Goblins are a later addition and are not that sophisticated in their designs, they are certainly not tribal. Add in a bunch of pandaren with their high culture, and your tribal races get outnumbered. Adding the new allied races just evens out the score.

Anyway, High Elves are just some relics of the past, while Blood Elves carry on the history of their race, and they belong to the Horde. They maybe don't look like Orcs or Trolls or Tauren, but they have a thing in common - they would not be welcome in the Alliance. (Yes, I know that in MoP the Alliance tried to get the Blood Elves back, but this is history, and I don't think the Alliance will get another chance except when the Horde stops existing.)

Part of the appeal of Blood Elves for me is their cooperation with the Horde, and that they are some kind of "damaged goods" compared to the more flawless Alliance races who never had to question themselves and never had to give up their moral standards to perservere. They rather die before it becomes too difficult to live on. :P

Alliance are like your classical superheroes, while Blood Elves together with other Horde races, are flawed ones, like the Punisher or Spawn. This is why Blood Elves belong into the Horde, and High Elves are boring me to death. If I wanted High Elves, I would be playing LOTRO.

[Speaknoevil]

This thread just tells me no one wants or likes void elves.

[Raziella]

I always thought blood elves were just added in the first place so people who had to play Horde for guild or raiding reasons had a "normal" option to pick from that wasn't a skeleton or a big hairy monster... I've never played one because they definitely don't fit the Horde "vibe" for me.
It's a little amusing to ponder how many people who are so anti-Alliance on the forums are actually playing belves.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

I was looking at the Blizzcon videos again and saw them saying that Void elves would have a normal form appearance they can opt for definitely out of combat but exactly how it would happen as in whether it would be like shadow form or a cooldown ability or like Worgens form will he fiddled around with in the beta. I.e. as yet to be finalised.

What do you think it should be and does this really interest you to them? To be honest I am a full horde supporter cos I can’t stand the alliance races generally, but if the void elf had a blood elf form I think I might actually try the alliance properly for the first time. I won’t change my main, but I will finally have a race I could play on the alliance.

In my opinion I think I would prefer it to be more like shadow form/moonkin form or failing that Like how Worgen human form works.

Since nobody's linked it, the current iteration of the allied race character creation options is fully available on wowhead as the files are in the background of the current PTR.
http://www.wowhead.com/news=278069/a...ds-modelviewer

You can play around with it. It might change some, but in general that's a pretty good idea of what the void elf 'blood elf' form will look like.

This thread just tells me no one wants or likes void elves.

Nobody.

[Speaknoevil]

Nobody.

Almost as disgusting and shitty fan fiction level as WoD and Pandapeople.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

Almost as disgusting and shitty fan fiction level as WoD and Pandapeople.

How so? I mean, everything in the game is arbitrary and made up because somebody liked it at some point.

[deviantcultist]

This thread just tells me no one wants or likes void elves.

Nope. It shows how toxic vocal minorities can be. Trying to be as loud as possible to make themselves sound like a majority. Void Elves are a very interesting concept and the fact that it appears controversial is due to those groups of people.

Can people who like Void Elves just have some peace of mind and not have the minority forums buzzing with toxic posts? I know people are entitled to their opinions, but sometimes the whining and protests get out of hand.

It is almost as if some people wish for others to not have something they like just because they don't.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

Can people who like Void Elves just have some peace of mind and not have the minority forums buzzing with toxic posts? I know people are entitled to their opinions, but sometimes the whining and protests get out of hand.

One can always just not care. I mean, at the end of the day its not like Blizzard is going to pull them at this point, so I'll get to play one regardless of any bitching. I'll back-and-forth with people on here about it, but its not like I'm pouring any energy into any emotional investment behind it. No point, they're coming either way. My void elf rogue and highmountain shaman can dance together across Azeroth, and nobody can do anything about it.

[Obelisk Kai]

It is quite amusing how Blood Elves are coming out of the woodworks to say how much they love the Horde, isn't it?

FYI lads, I don't mean to tell you how to play the game, but if you're picking a Blood Elf then you aren't really a fan of the Horde 'theme'. In the same way, if you pick a Night Elf, you aren't really a big fan of the Alliance 'theme'. Both races are oddities within their faction and don't correspond with the aesthetics, haha.

I think part of the problem, exemplified by this post, is that some people have a far too rigid understanding of what the Alliance and Horde should be. An understanding that has been outdated since 2004 no less, when both Alliance and Horde expanded beyond their 'traditional' core races. People complained about Undead for the Horde and Night Elves for the Alliance back then too, because they didn't 'fit' in the opinion of these players

If it's not tribal or ugly looking, then it doesn't belong on the Horde.

If it's not medieval themed or standard fantasy, it doesn't belong on the Alliance.

You'd think after thirteen years people would realise the Horde and Alliance have to be bigger than the tropes that spawned them?

If Blizzard had followed that we would have had two bog standard, boring, predicatable and samey factions that would each only appeal to one group of people and not have something for everyone.

The modern Horde and modern Alliance are far more interesting as a result of their evolution into multi-species unions with different points of view and different aesthetics than either would have been had Blizzard followed your apparent vision of what the Horde and Alliance should be.

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One can always just not care. I mean, at the end of the day its not like Blizzard is going to pull them at this point, so I'll get to play one regardless of any bitching. I'll back-and-forth with people on here about it, but its not like I'm pouring any energy into any emotional investment behind it. No point, they're coming either way. My void elf rogue and highmountain shaman can dance together across Azeroth, and nobody can do anything about it.

I suspect much of the hatred towards Void Elves is because their existence means playable High Elves aren't happening. Maybe people feel if they vent their hatred loudly enough, Blizzard will crack and bring in High Elves or modify Void Elves so much they can pretend they are High Elves (which would ruin the whole void theme of course but they wouldn't care).

[Speaknoevil]

How so? I mean, everything in the game is arbitrary and made up because somebody liked it at some point.

Nope. It shows how toxic vocal minorities can be. Trying to be as loud as possible to make themselves sound like a majority. Void Elves are a very interesting concept and the fact that it appears controversial is due to those groups of people.

Can people who like Void Elves just have some peace of mind and not have the minority forums buzzing with toxic posts? I know people are entitled to their opinions, but sometimes the whining and protests get out of hand.

It is almost as if some people wish for others to not have something they like just because they don't.

There would be like 20 VE in all of the warcraft universe which feels wrongly small for an entire "race." They have no established lore other than one hackfraud cinematic where something that is impossible happens(corruptionless void harnessing.) Void elves are to Old Gods/Eldritch Horror what Twilight is to vampires. They even sparkle.

You can be glad they are being added, but just like any bad storytelling in a story I'm invested in, I'm going to talk about it.

[Alfryd]

While Blood Elves have a totally different aesthetics compared to the tribal races in the Horde, they share a more civilised approach with the Forsaken, you should not ignore that. And while Goblins are a later addition and are not that sophisticated in their designs, they are certainly not tribal. Add in a bunch of pandaren with their high culture, and your tribal races get outnumbered. Adding the new allied races just evens out the score.

I think part of the problem, exemplified by this post, is that some people have a far too rigid understanding of what the Alliance and Horde should be.

If it's not tribal or ugly looking, then it doesn't belong on the Horde.

If it's not medieval themed or standard fantasy, it doesn't belong on the Alliance.

If Blizzard had followed that we would have had two bog standard, boring, predicatable and samey factions that would each only appeal to one group of people and not have something for everyone.

The modern Horde and modern Alliance are far more interesting as a result of their evolution into multi-species unions with different points of view and different aesthetics than either would have been had Blizzard followed your apparent vision of what the Horde and Alliance should be.

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I suspect much of the hatred towards Void Elves is because their existence means playable High Elves aren't happening. Maybe people feel if they vent their hatred loudly enough, Blizzard will crack and bring in High Elves or modify Void Elves so much they can pretend they are High Elves (which would ruin the whole void theme of course but they wouldn't care).

You've both assumed that I don't think Blood Elven aesthetics are Horde-like because they aren't tribal. I didn't say that anywhere in my post.

I don't think Blood Elven aesthetics are Horde-like because their similiarities to the core Alliance races cannot be ignored. Their ideology and racial customs simply don't correspond with the Horde. They used to, 100% I'd agree they used to. However, the moment the Sunwell was redeemed into a font of Holy energy, the metaphorical shutters came down on the Blood Elves and a rupture between them and the other Horde races occurred.

Forsaken I think are incredibly Horde like, and they are not tribal. I also don't wish to support a rigid dichotomy that splits the categories into basic principals of 'Horde = Savage' while 'Alliance = civilized'. I do, however, think the Horde and Alliance's distinct attributes need to be able to be summarized succinctly for the benefit of marketing and appealing to new players. The Horde is pragmatic, almost renegade like and wants results that benefit their races even if they are abit unlawful. Alliance's theme is based entirely on morals and law however. This is most evidently seen in the Pandaren starting zone.

But to reiterate my point, Blood Elves create a disjuncture for the Horde as a faction - with the rebirth of the well, they've been overcome with a fetishization of morals and lawfulness. They're consitently 'outsting' practices that can be seen as forms of extremism, such as void and to some degree fel. They are unwilling to be as pragmatic as the Horde's theme demands of their races. (Tauren also suffer part of this problem, which is why several threads such as 'why would Taurens bomb a world tree?' keep cropping up. However, it is moderately counter acted because they are tribal and their aesthetics are Horde like - unlike Blood Elves). Their disposition wildly contrasts the other Horde races at this point. I just genuinely do not believe anyone that claims to be pro Horde ideals can reasonably suggest that Blood Elves represent the faction - they do not, they represent the Alliance more than ever after all the updates. Their loyalty to the Horde is based on an arbitary narrative that Blizzard coined, rather than ideology.


edit:

FYI I'm in heavy support of the Sunwell being destroyed in this expansion, forcing the Blood Elves to turn to pragmatic means to survive once again so they won't feel out of place in the Horde.

The Sunwell being redeemed really did just destroy their narrative within their faction - they lost their carot and lost their 'flare'.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

I suspect much of the hatred towards Void Elves is because their existence means playable High Elves aren't happening. Maybe people feel if they vent their hatred loudly enough, Blizzard will crack and bring in High Elves or modify Void Elves so much they can pretend they are High Elves (which would ruin the whole void theme of course but they wouldn't care).

And actually due to Void Elves I think it means the door is still very much open for High Elves. Given that Blizzard has just shown they're willing to re-use models with cosmetic tweaks for the new allied race scheme, and that they plan on adding more down the road, its much easier to see proper High Elves popping up at some point, especially if the fan support for them remains vocal.

There would be like 20 VE in all of the warcraft universe which feels wrongly small for an entire "race."

There were only a handful of Bilgewater Goblins who should be playable after escaping Kezan. Only a handful of Worgen/Draenei/Tauren/Night Elf Death Knights should be possible given the very limited number of those races that would have been present in the areas DKs were culled from prior to WotLK. And the Lightforged, whose entire race is the population of a single ship. And so on.
Not saying you're wrong here, just saying that its disingenuous to apply this argument only to void elves and not complain about all the other races/classes this is also true for.

They even sparkle.

Shimmer. Totally different.

[Obelisk Kai]

You've both assumed that I don't think Blood Elven aesthetics are Horde-like because they aren't tribal. I didn't say that anywhere in my post.

I don't think Blood Elven aesthetics are Horde-like because their similiarities to the core Alliance races cannot be ignored. Their ideology and racial customs simply don't correspond with the Horde. They used to, 100% I'd agree they used to. However, the moment the Sunwell was redeemed into a font of Holy energy, the metaphorical shutters came down on the Blood Elves and a rupture between them and the other Horde races occurred.

Forsaken I think are incredibly Horde like, and they are not tribal. I also don't wish to support a rigid dichotomy that splits the categories into basic principals of 'Horde = Savage' while 'Alliance = civilized'. I do, however, think the Horde and Alliance's distinct attitudes need to be able to be summarized succinctly for the benefit of marketing and appealing to new players. The Horde is pragmatic, almost renegade like and wants results that benefit their races even if they are abit unlawful. Alliance's theme is based entirely on morals and law however. This is most evidently seen in the Pandaren starting zone.

But to reiterate my point, Blood Elves create a disjuncture for the Horde as a faction - with the rebirth of the well, they've been overcome with a fetishization of morals and lawfulness. They're consitently 'outsting' practices that can be seen as forms of extremism, such as void and to some degree fel. They are unwilling to be as pragmatic as the Horde's theme demands of their races. (Tauren also suffer part of this problem, which is why several threads such as 'why would Taurens bomb a world tree?' keep cropping up. However, it is moderately counter acted because they are tribal and their aesthetics are Horde like - unlike Blood Elves). Their disposition wildly contrasts the other Horde races at this point. I just genuinely do not believe anyone that claims to be pro Horde ideals can reasonably suggest that Blood Elves represent the faction - they do not, they represent the Alliance more than ever after all the updates. Their loyalty to the Horde is based on an arbitary narrative that Blizzard coined, rather than ideology.

You focus on the differences between Blood Elves and the rest of the Horde. This maybe the cause of your issue with them.

Instead, you should focus on what binds the Horde together and why the Alliance is their unified enemy.


The core of the Horde is, and always will be, the Orcs, no matter who the Warchief is. Everything is built around the Orcs.

And what drives the Orcs right now? The desire to secure themselves in a world that hates them and would see them dead.

Why did the Darkspear Trolls join the Horde? Because they found friends among the Orcs, the only friends they had found in a long time. The rest of the troll tribes hated the Darkspear and would happily see them dead.

Why did the Tauren join the Horde? Because they found kindred spirits among the Orcs and Trolls. They had been hunted to almost extinction by the Centaur , and by joining the Horde they were able to secure a future in a world that wouldn't have cared if they had lived or died.

Why did the Undead join the Horde? Because the rest of Azeroth wanted them dead and only the Horde was willing to give them a chance.

Why did the Blood Elves join the Horde? Because the practices they used to survive were scorned by the rest of Azeroth. Only the Horde was willing to understand that they did what they did out of sheer pragmatism. The Alliance didn't understand, and one Alliance commander had attempted to get them all killed in one way or another. While Elves and Humans have some superificial similarities, Humanity betrayed the Elves at every level.

These first additions to the Horde were all driven by the very same motivations, even the Blood Elves. Nobody else liked them and would have happily seen them dead. Only by coming together and overcoming mutual suspicions could they stand a chance in a hostile world.

And it has paid off. The Horde goes into BFA as one of the two most powerful organizations on the planet and it is offering security to it's member races.

When Arthas came to Silvermoon, the Alliance had left the Elves to their fate.

When Anduin comes to the Undercity, yes, he will take the city. But the Orcs, the Tauren, the Trolls...ALL the races of the Horde are standing beside Sylvanas as she attempts to keep her city. The effort will fail, but the Horde will stand by their allies in the defense.

[Alfryd]

You focus on the differences between Blood Elves and the rest of the Horde. This maybe the cause of your issue with them.

Instead, you should focus on what binds the Horde together and why the Alliance is their unified enemy.

I'm not going to reply to your post because you moderately demonstrated my point, haha.

The Blood Elves belong in the Horde (which I'm not disputing ) because of an arbitary narrative that Blizzard coined to grant Horde a 'pretty race'. This has come from the horses mouth itself. As I said, they were a far greater fit in the Horde when their own racial narrative was based on pragmatic adaptation. That's no longer the case, and they no longer represent the Horde in aesthetics or ideology. They represent the Horde by narrative alone.

Which was my point to begin with, again I don't want to tell players how to play and approach their game. That isn't my thing. But it is quite cringe inducing reading all these Blood Elf fans coming out of the woodworks to suggest how much they love the Horde/aesthetics etc. The Blood Elves simply don't represent the aesthetics they claim to love, haha.

[Obelisk Kai]

And actually due to Void Elves I think it means the door is still very much open for High Elves. Given that Blizzard has just shown they're willing to re-use models with cosmetic tweaks for the new allied race scheme, and that they plan on adding more down the road, its much easier to see proper High Elves popping up at some point, especially if the fan support for them remains vocal.

I doubt it. Void Elves are the bone thrown to the High Elf fans to give them the model without giving them the actual race which is currently available on the Horde. If they had intended to add High Elves, they would have done so instead of making up Void Elves.

Blizzard went to the extreme of seeding and creating the Nightborne, a variant on the Night Elf, as part of an exchange.

And with four variants of Elves now in game I really doubt they will ever add a 'fifth' that is truth a retread of an existing and core Horde race.

Proper High Elves are available on the Horde faction. Void Elves are at least a distinctive twist that could have interesting lore for the Alliance.

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I'm not going to reply to your post because you moderately demonstrated my point, haha.

The Blood Elves belong in the Horde (which I'm not disputing ) because of an arbitary narrative that Blizzard coined to grant Horde a 'pretty race'. This has come from the horses mouth itself. As I said, they were a far greater fit in the Horde when their own racial narrative was based on pragmatic adaptation. That's no longer the case, and they no longer represent the Horde in aesthetics or ideology. They represent the Horde by narrative alone.

I do not dispute that the Blood Elves were granted partially to deal with a population issue. But that was over a decade ago. The narrative covering the Elves' departure from the Alliance and entry into the Horde is sound and makes sense. They were alone, they needed allies, and the Horde was willing to take them.

We have followed the Blood Elves through multiple expansions now. At the moment, their loyalty to the Horde is at a peak, particularly after the Alliance again betrayed them during the events of Mists of Pandaria and showed everyone they have nowhere else but to go but with their friends in the Horde.

But your point that the Blood Elves are no longer Horde except by narrative alone is such a narrow viewpoint. The Horde is a sum greater than any one of it's races.

Of the nine Horde races, FOUR can be described as tribal (Orcs, Darkspear Trolls and both types of Tauren). The remainder are not tribal. The Zandalari, Nightborne and Blood Elves maintain spectacular city states fuelled by all kinds of magic. The Goblins are basically unrestrained capitalists and THEY are more at home in cities than anywhere else. Forsaken too are definitely not tribal.

If we go by that, then the 'tribal' component of the Horde is actually a minority, four races to five.

But to say they are a minority implies that there is some kind of rivalry. There isn't.

The Horde is big enough to encompass tribal races, magical elf city states, an ancient Troll empire with DINOSAURS (that should be our new tagline. Join the Horde, we have dinosaurs), the cursed Undead and the bonkers Goblins.

And the Horde is all the better for the sheer diversity of aesthetics our faction encompasses, rather than being limited to just one.

[Alfryd]

I doubt it. Void Elves are the bone thrown to the High Elf fans to give them the model without giving them the actual race which is currently available on the Horde. If they had intended to add High Elves, they would have done so instead of making up Void Elves.

Blizzard went to the extreme of seeding and creating the Nightborne, a variant on the Night Elf, as part of an exchange.

And with four variants of Elves now in game I really doubt they will ever add a 'fifth' that is truth a retread of an existing and core Horde race.

Proper High Elves are available on the Horde faction. Void Elves are at least a distinctive twist that could have interesting lore for the Alliance.

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But your point that the Blood Elves are no longer Horde except by narrative alone is such a narrow viewpoint. The Horde is a sum greater than any one of it's races.


If we go by that, then the 'tribal' component of the Horde is actually a minority, four races to five.

You either haven't read or misunderstood my original point entirely, and you've now entered a rather circular debate over your own understanding and interpretation.

[Obelisk Kai]

You either haven't read or misunderstood my original point entirely, and you've now entered a rather circular debate over your own understanding and interpretation.

Your point is that the Blood Elves don't fit the Horde and are only kept on the Horde for narrative reasons.

My counter point is that you are wrong.

[Alfryd]

Your point is that the Blood Elves don't fit the Horde and are only kept on the Horde for narrative reasons.

My counter point is that you are wrong.

Confirmation that the point was missed, haha.

I really would suggest you try reading more intently before replying - I've never once claimed the Blood Elves don't belong in the Horde. I've argued that they don't represent the dominant qualities that unify the Horde - that is a different kettle of fish entirely.