Highborne customizations for the Night Elves (NOT High Elves)

[Eggroll]

No matter how you put it, the new nelf model looks like shit either way.

[Susanoo]

I think it is possible to resign the Night elf model a bit and create a unique allied race of Highborne elves from the Shen'dralar. Due to their history and a bit of lore revamping on blizzards part, it can be possible to make this happen. Different eye color, lighter skin tones, lighter hair color, maybe smaller and thinner than regular night elves, and new casting animations. Racials could be:

Pure blood: Reduces magical damage by 1%
Ancient Nobility: Cast time is shortened by .25 seconds
Original Knowledge: Enchanting and Inscription is increased by 5
Arcane Meditation: Enter a meditative state and become immune to damage for 3 seconds

I just had some fun with this feel free to add or critique these but generally I agree with the OP and that at the bare minimum something should be added.

[protip]

Ancient Nobility: Cast time is shortened by .25 seconds
Arcane Meditation: Enter a meditative state and become immune to damage for 3 seconds

These racials are incredibly overpowered.

[Zyky]

I wish people would wake up and realize that they aren't going to get high elves any time soon.

[Hellspawn]

After seeing what they did with the Nightborn model, strong pass for an Shen'dralar AR for me. I rather have one or two custumization for Highborn that I can mix with all existing night elf customization and the other new ones we get.

[Susanoo]

These racials are incredibly overpowered.

You think? Maybe I was being generous with the 3 seconds damage immunity but I thought the .25 reduced casting time is fair considering void elves have preternatural calm.

[protip]

You think? Maybe I was being generous with the 3 seconds damage immunity but I thought the .25 reduced casting time is fair considering void elves have preternatural calm.

The Void Elf racial is nice if you're getting tunneled in pvp, but you rarely get pushback in pve content. Shaving .25 seconds off of cast time directly would likely be ~20% dps/healing for some specs with or without pushback as a concern. Disc priests are an extreme example, but there are others.

As for the immunity, being able to avoid one shot raid mechanics with a racial is what led to so many guilds faction changing for goblins on Kil'jaeden. That was specifically to counter a knockback, though, and they don't become a real problem very often. Being able to avoid damage would be useful in every raid fight without fail, if not to soak mechanics with dps, then for tanks it would be incomparably powerful. The only tank with an immunity is the protection paladin, so for every other tank, their best available cooldown for one shot abilities would be a racial. There's really no way to balance actual damage immunity in that context.

[Lothaeryn]

No matter how you put it, the new nelf model looks like shit either way.

The new models are fine, but the godawful Idle animations and posture for males is disgusting. Females have issues with their facial structure but that is much easier to fix than an entire model's skeletal rigging.

[ravenmoon]

I should've clarified, "pale" night elves usually have blue or grayish skin. We only have two blue skin tones to pick for night elves. Azshara's skincolor for example would be great.

Ah.. gotcha. Azshara's skintone is intriguing, like a vibrant purple hued blue

- - - Updated - - -

I think it is possible to resign the Night elf model a bit and create a unique allied race of Highborne elves from the Shen'dralar. Due to their history and a bit of lore revamping on blizzards part, it can be possible to make this happen. Different eye color, lighter skin tones, lighter hair color, maybe smaller and thinner than regular night elves, and new casting animations. Racials could be:

Pure blood: Reduces magical damage by 1%
Ancient Nobility: Cast time is shortened by .25 seconds
Original Knowledge: Enchanting and Inscription is increased by 5
Arcane Meditation: Enter a meditative state and become immune to damage for 3 seconds

I just had some fun with this feel free to add or critique these but generally I agree with the OP and that at the bare minimum something should be added.

That would be my preferred option when i cared. The nightborne model I felt was exactly that attempt, but since it went horde, this opened the door for the highborne side to get it's own allied race.


However another option is to give the customisation option, sort of like wildhammer dwarf customization. In my opinion, it would have been better for these customization to be only available to certain class options, just like you get unique custoimizations for picking DK and Dh, dwarf shaman, warriors and hunters would have the wildhammer cusotmization availble to them, night elf mages, priests and hunters would have the highborne customisation

[Astranea]

The only problem I can think of is the golden eyes, because those are supposed to be for people who have great destinies...like Azshara and Illidan...kinda makes it not so special (And I can imagine Belf players complaining about it even if they're not High Elves...even though Blood Elves took some shine away from Lightforged)

Then again, currently every single night elf male has golden eyes in game.

Sounds logical to me that they would at very least add the choice for silver of gold for every night elf character.

[Chain Chungus]

I've wanted Shen'dralar customization options since the story of them joining the Alliance in Cataclysm. After seeing how cool Queen Azshara looked in the Well of Eternity dungeon, I thought her likeness should be playable as Shen'dralar.

[Nerovar]

Do they have the technology to give Night Elves black hair as of today? Maybe give the male Night Elves the option to have eyebrows without having a beard as well.

The new models are fine, but the godawful Idle animations and posture for males is disgusting. Females have issues with their facial structure but that is much easier to fix than an entire model's skeletal rigging.

True. The male models are really fucked.

[Moonrage]

BTW, i was checking the in wowhead, the NE NPC only skin options, and found this:


Where is it used?

Pinocchio looking ass.

[Eggroll]

The new models are fine, but the godawful Idle animations and posture for males is disgusting. Females have issues with their facial structure but that is much easier to fix than an entire model's skeletal rigging.

The female skeletal rigging is just as shit as the male ones. Fight me!

[Lothaeryn]

The female skeletal rigging is just as shit as the male ones. Fight me!

Theres a difference between 'tolerable' and 'I look like I shit my pants and am bouncing back and forth to make sure the rest doesn't come out'

Never said Females were good, but they aren't insanely dumb looking like the rest.

[Yarathir]

Black hair for both sexes, more beard styles for males, more hairstyles for both sexes, an option for Night Elf males to not have a beard without losing their eyebrows, the option to freely choose silver or golden eyes regardless of sex, maybe more facial markings- perhaps even body markings. Oh, and I feel like Night Elves could do with an extra 'accessory' option, like earrings, collars, piercings, etc.

[cparle87]

Only issue I see is the light skin.

IIRC the light skin was a direct result of the exiled Highborne exposure to what would later become known as the Sunwell. They changed overtime to have lighter skin, among other changes.

A Highborne with light skin like what you have in this picture is by definition a High Elf no? I'm for sure on board with more customization options, so long as they fit the lore.

Their skin color changed and their height decreased long before they reached Quel'thalas and created the Sunwell.

[Eggroll]

Never said Females were good, but they aren't insanely dumb looking like the rest.

Seems like we have different tastes, to me, they are untolerable, dumb looking. Especially in direct comparison to the original model. Also, I feel like they were left half finished mid progress. There are literally parts that were very obviously left unanimated with the female model. I can post a direct comparison video if you are interested.

[Drovosek]

My favorite subject)

[Lothaeryn]

Seems like we have different tastes, to me, they are untolerable, dumb looking. Especially in direct comparison to the original model. Also, I feel like they were left half finished mid progress. There are literally parts that were very obviously left unanimated with the female model. I can post a direct comparison video if you are interested.

As much as I would like you to, I do not wish to be burdened by the knowledge when looking at Night Elves further >_<

EDIT: UI must be buggy today, gave me a different user