Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[protip]

The void elves are not simply users of Void magic, they are elves that have accepted a specific sort of void power at a cost. That specific group of elves is banned from Silvermoon, not all users of Void magic.

[DeicideUH]

I want dark tangas on the male Void Elves plz.

Simaia (@keyboardturn) made a version of the skin with void elf underwear:




I think the female void elf skins will also not have red nails. It will probably be black like in the blue skins.

[ravenmoon]

I've read your entire post, but this part stands out in relation to what I originally posted, which is why I'm quoting this part only. Indeed, most threads might go away or they might not. I believe it is flat out wrong to generalize players' opinions behind one thing and keep going with that dynamic, as is witnessed with this hot topic. Most of those who voiced their support for seeing playable Alliance high elves seem to have only wanted the look and aesthetic of a high elf and that's perfectly fine with me. More power to them as far as I'm concerned.

As someone who has voiced his support towards playable Alliance high elves, I've always had a bigger, panfactional image and idea behind it as the driving motive, rather than the individual race, the eyecolor or whatever. As much as the Alliance high elves have to offer themselves, from individual thematics and lore to recycled fantasy tropes(I am not against tropes), I've also seen and continue to see a lot of Alliance identity behind it. Ogres and/or Mok'nathal are my personal most-anticipated addition and they too carry the same thematic weight for the Horde in my opinion. I can honestly say that lot of that is the reason why I want them playable in the first place.

It is flat out wrong to now come forward and tell everyone that they've got their good-looking, blue-eyed elf and attempt to bash any further conversation about this subject, justifying it with the generalized take that pretty elves is something everyone who supported this idea wanted. It is even an even greater error to think someone's gotta stop talking about a subject because of arbitrary stops being put in place by some members of the wider Warcraft community. I personally care about faction identity rather than pretty additions, which is why - once again - ogres are on my playable wishlist for more than 15 years. The fact that high elves and most Alliance races appear prettier than some other races - mostly Horde ones at that - goes to tell me that many have picked the Horde side of things because of the accessibility towards pretty elves, in turn trying to break other people's reasoning down to their own.

Human nature to break others' reasoning down to their own. It's good that people with other motivations let themselves be known to remind people the way they think isn't hte only one around.

it's nice that some empathic and consientious souls are also able to go beyond their view and consider others.

I personally have generalised before, oh I try not to, but sometimes end up doing, however a lot of the times I do so I haven't meant to, and in an effort to be brief (something I struggle with when i'm passionate about a topic) I have miscommunicated myself.

Quite a while ago, I realised that many who wanted high elves on the alliance was because of the aesthetic, I remember agreeing with a horde player poster who accused alliance fans of that (whether his motivations was out of jealous to prevent what he considered his faction prize becoming a common thing or available to the enemy or just simply picking up on this). I believe this was true then and now, and don't have a problem with it either, I don't find human models in wow particular aesthetically attractive so I can really understand this desire, I also believe it is heightened because Night elves weren't made more attractive themselves to satiate the public, and it felt like a dig to all those who understood high elves were an alliance thing but to see them so beautifully done and only on the horde -

I felt similar after the beautiful kaldorei pre-sundering city and powerful arcane wielders that were shown in game were again given to the horde. I did so fully realising that theoretically, the playable kaldorei Highborne Shen'dralar are just as powerful and knowledgeable, and likely more so arcane wise than the Nightborne and the alliance night elf group is more capable of actually rebuilding cities like Suramar and Zin'Azshari than the Nightborne are because they have both the highborne arcane masters who were at the heart of engineering Azshar'as magical wonders and the druids both ancient and now night elven ones who's combined effort built those cities according to lore. However they are not shown in game, I know this from the information the lore provides me, but it's easily seen in Suramar and the Nightborne, and that was given horde, leaving the playable night elves still being perceived as shabby, poor with magic which they definitely are not - I know several people actually believe they're rubbish at arcane magic and don't or can't live in magical cities - all wrong according to lore but without seeing Eldre'thalas or a new night elf city majestic and seeing night elven highborne doing great feats with magic in game most don't believe - and this is down to night elves in game have not been shown to do great feats EVER during wow's lifetime, all the great feats are in the lore books - whether the great wondrous civilization, heights of arcane magic, the world trees Teldrassil/Shaladrassil, great archers, hunters and warriors, powerful magical priests - not one of this has been seen as anything incredible in wow quests in game. Till legion where one feral druid actually seems badass, Prince Farondis a Highborne ghost comes across as very powerful and the Moonguard also in Legion come across as very powerful - the first in 16 years and very limited . And it makes me resentful of Nightborne going horde because people can't see it. Or it use to anyway.

But, I don't take the acceptance of void elf skin colour new options as difinitive proof all were soley after the aesthetic understanding some who thematically and fantasy wanted a high elf down as a race, are willing to accept this as a compromise, though they wanted more. This I am also fine with. The reason I was a huge supporter of playable sub-races rather than simple customisations was because I knew it made the groups feel legit and special, they had more gravitas to them, and many of them were part of long quest chains or had full zones where you quest with them, some over several - and I felt because these were around, these races already had an in-game introduction through questing (Void elves the only exception , they are the only race that doesn't have a zone you get to meet and quest with them. - Lightforged were all over Argus)

I understand that though, since the Danuser interview, the race presentation of a sub-group/race is going to be folded into the main race without a starting expeirence or narrative change, which directly implies that the model change is high elves playable but without the separate class selection , unique cusotmisations, racials and voice overs - you are just going to have to imagine it as a high elf or a void elf who's like Alleria and whose skin colour doesn't change. And it's up to you.

PART II

I have also had a panfactional motive too, my motivation for wanting alliance high elves was stated above and in the first reply, but I also wanted the aesthetic. Whe I noticed how jealous horde BElf fans guarded it, I was willing to run with half elves, but thought if it's models that is causing so much angst, would it not be better to buff the Night elf model and make it and the NElves more attractive? But I also realised the reason the Night elves have slipped so much and seem so terrible was because the developers were actively not presenting them as powerful in-game so that players would find the horde more attractive.

Night elves got books instead where all of a sudden they were so much more powerful (Stormrage, Wolfheart, Illidan and ofc WotA), I played both faction quests many times and you sound a feel way more powerful on the horde -w hich is attractive to most players who are ofc male. I was disappointed that though the horde has been more popular for a while now, the alliance was still pretty much not presented as powerful. 8.1 is the first time this changed, the alliance looked cunning and strong in BFD as did the night elves in Darkshore Warfront - first time ever against the horde.

I do like faction identity, and feel its important, always have. I have felt elves on the horde a disruptive break in that and while I can accept the horde can get elves, the way it was done...by making alliance elves homeless and refugees while horde elves had the best bits of them confuses the issue even more and robs the horde of their identity. While I do covet Suramar for the alliance night elves rather than the horde (I have my motivations, apart from wanting to see a kaldorei pre-sundering city done properly by blizz in its full glory badly since I first read the WC3 manual - I also am a sucker for seeing GOOD people who have endured much hardship pull through and regain the best and even better for the hardships they endured - so seeing the night elves recover their arcane legacy, after the long vigil group (the most heroic group of them) endured so faithfully 10k years of a lifestyle their race was not use to, to prevent the evil legion (which I felt in many ways was a penance for their hubris), I badly wanted THEM, that group, the Darnassians, to finally fully be restored and prosper in all the areas the night elves were good at. So, while being night elven themselves, the Nightborne and Suramar going horde was never enough.

Why is this important? My jealousies and moral lessons aside, faction identity is also important to me. With most players flocking around the horde to play the pretty elf races, it has shifted the identity of the horde from what it once was. If the purpose of BElves on horde was for player population, did the horde need to so drastically change?

I feel that currently, the elves fully shared by bother factions, is actually good - because it has the potential of making them feel like their own faction embedded within the two factions. Allowing the horde while having blood elves and Nightborne to still be mainly about Orcs/Ogres/Trolls/Goblins etc, and the alliance while having void/high elves and Night elves, to still be about humans/dwarves/high elves - which is what it was.

Sharing Silvermoon and Suramar I think make the elves a delicate situation in the game universe that is it's own lore bracket, Silvermoon and high elves accessible to alliance players re-enforces their alliance identity, so while a blood elf is on the horde, any preson interested in the story or observant will realise this race is very alliance or at least non-horde , I think Night elves and Nightborne can take this even further. Sharing the broken isles and opening up Suramar to both kinds of elves - especially the night elf model size available to the Nightborne with a NIght elven peoples continent (i.e. the broken shore) creates the Pandaren effect. Sure some of us fight on the horde or alliance, but we are really a powerful and influential 3rd party of its own complete with our own set - and because they're elves they will play a larger role in th wider story.

PART 3

At this stage in the game, despite why they may have originally picked blood elves (done too many surveys and polls and fully know they picked blood elves cos they were nice looking), the horde has become the more popular and competitive faction actually because of the powerful racials on orcs, trolls, (now blood elves) and undead (in classic till fear immunity was removed and then again from 6.0), I know guilds aren't going to switch to alliance because they get the exact same pretty model the horde already have.

Neither will guilds switch to alliance if blizzard build two amazing elven cities for high/void elves and night elves that surpass both Silvermoon and Suramar - because they'd likely once again double up as questing/raid zones so both factions will have visits, though alliance elves can have bragging rights - no one will switch faction for that.

Nor will they switch faction because the Nighit elves start being portrayed as powerful with magic and bow.

It's not to say the earlier story preference and super packed horde faction build up didn't play a part, it did. Player perception now is firm, the horde is the powerful faction, even with the Elven cities shared, it has the master piece of Zuldazar in my opinion what unique horde races with cities should be more after, rather than taking alliance based races and giving them to the horde, which shouldn't have happened with Nightborne, instead creating new powerful and majestic horde like races to balance out the initial state of the horde race assets.

Going forward. I honestly feel that Silvermoon and Suramar should be shared by the elves, although they could build Thalassian and Night elves new cities of their own, my motivation here is to weaken the elven horde identity and alliance one so that the original horde races stand out more, the elves feel more like their own faction . Seeing that void elves and night elves are homeless. It's not like the horde is losing something. My feeling is that Pandaren assets should lean to the horde, and the undead fortress of Icecrown which to me looks very majestic and very undead should become a horde asset too.

I still haven't changed my mind about wanting the elves, especially the night elves to break from the horde and alliance (officially) leaving a small group of people from each of the races still involved.

Will my desires happen? I'm saying high chance they will not, the developers job is to develop things in the best way for the game and the story and balance between the two. not fulfil my wishes and fantasies. Saying tha thowever, there is a reason why I want to see things develop this way, but it doesn't mean I won't appreciate what they eventually do if I like it. I'm open.

[Ardenaso]

High elves didn't have warpaint, the only character that did was in WC2 and that was Alleria.

[Broflake]

Yes, you can, it's your character. If I wanted a blue-eyed blood elf, I'd probably make a story about a high elf that felt Silvermoon was his home and left the Alliance.

What I'm saying is that assuming the option means there was any big exodus from the Alliance is wrong because there's no canonical source for that. These customization options are aimed to allow players to be what they want, they do not reflect big shifts in lore.

Your troll can be a Sandfury now. It doesn't mean the Sandfury tribe joined the Horde. That's not what the customization options means.

See, that is the thing. When he speaking of it he said if you want to say you are of the sandfury now you can. It does not necessarily mean the tribe itself joined, but you as an individual may have done so. I think its partially to appeal to the rp'ers.
I am unsure what it means for void elves since they're in unusual circumstances.

[Narwhalosh Whalescream]

Elves in underwear, good stuff. Anyway, seems like we finally got our high elves, after all those years... Gratz i guess?

[Doffen]

Simaia (@keyboardturn) made a version of the skin with void elf underwear:




I think the female void elf skins will also not have red nails. It will probably be black like in the blue skins.

Yeah, they are kinda edgy those Void Elves so anything else than blue, black or dark grey isn't in their wardrobe :P

But those looks nice. I think that having an option to change underwear colors should be a thing. At least now when you can hide chest. I have this nice grey/fel green set on my Night Elf Demon Hunter, or well on my Blood Elf too, but none of the bras fits the transmog, the least on the Belf.

[DeicideUH]

See, that is the thing. When he speaking of it he said if you want to say you are of the sandfury now you can. It does not necessarily mean the tribe itself joined, but you as an individual may have done so. I think its partially to appeal to the rp'ers.
I am unsure what it means for void elves since they're in unusual circumstances.

For void elves, I think it means you can roleplay as a void elf that kept his normal skin like Alleria, or as a high elf if you so wish. But I think the former is the more likely intention of the devs.

And just to clarify: I have no problem with people wanting to be a high elf in the Horde. My problem is people spunning headcanon as if it were lore. There's nowhere saying Auric led a group back to the Horde. What is known is that he is or at least was the high elf representative that watched over high elf pilgrims on Quel'danas, and, as far as we know, is still an Alliance character, as the Auric's Angels team indicates. It's the part of made up lore that I get riled up about.

[ddi2]

Ha, Blizzard actually went and did it, gave fair skin elves to Alliance. Still, these are not High Elves so Blizzard is not getting any money from me.
But I think this probably does indeed kill potential High Elves for good, so I'll stop getting involved with the topic period. Those who are happy, congrats!

If you want high elves...the horde is there for you....< his qoute....

No, he said 'if you want fair-skinned, light-haired, blue-eyed elves, the horde is there waiting for you. Not High Elves.

[Frenchvince]

https://twitter.com/WatcherDev/statu...44241258950656

I posted under Ion's response, like many others, my request for void elves to get new "more natural" hair colors and new tentacle-free haircuts.
You never know, they could discuss it again around a table.

[Broflake]

For void elves, I think it means you can roleplay as a void elf that kept his normal skin like Alleria, or as a high elf if you so wish. But I think the former is the more likely intention of the devs.

That is what I am thinking as well. That basically, you're like an Alleria void elf.
I mean either way, this change wasn't good for the Horde.

[DeicideUH]

That is what I am thinking as well. That basically, you're like an Alleria void elf.
I mean either way, this change wasn't good for the Horde.

You'll eventually see it's nowhere as bad as you feel it is after it goes live.

[Broflake]

You'll eventually see it's nowhere as bad as you feel it is after it goes live.

Uhhh...it pretty much is.
The horde had their most popular race from a design perspective, made neutral. That is pretty significant.

The Alliance, not only gets to keep their void elf aesthetics (tentacles, unnatural skin), but also get access to natural skin tones.
The horde doesn't get anything in exchange, this is a big win for those who really wanted to look like Alleria, but for the Horde they lost out. Simply because the Horde doesn't get anything except blue eyes, which they had through DKs anyway.

Body jewelry? That was already planned for them.
Accessories? Same thing.
Tattoos? Always was on the table.

Now as I said, I benefit from this because I play alliance. The void elf racial teleport is really good for an immobile DK.
Objectively speaking though? Unless they drastically change the nightborne and give them a ton of customizations night elves have already, then there won't really be parity. WHich...is not surprising. Horde generally have less going for them unless you're a hardcore raider. Since Alliance wield that M+ torch hard.

But if we're going to be objective and consider players on both sides of the spectrum, this wasn't something that provided a meaningful benefit for Hordes and it never would have.

Now the only negative is that these changes now completely overshadow the void elf theme. Doesn't matter what they do.
It doesn't matter though because you can still access it on a whim.

[Ardenaso]

The horde doesn't get anything in exchange.

I'd say blue eyes, which was High Elf exclusive

It's not pie you still have your rights. Just be happy already that the High Elf Allied Race will never happen now

[Lahis]

Good, the red would look so odd on a Void Elf!

The preview (and probably first Alpha builds where these are available) were just hastily cobbled together with direct port of Blood Elf textures.

[baskev]

Ha, Blizzard actually went and did it, gave fair skin elves to Alliance. Still, these are not High Elves so Blizzard is not getting any money from me.
But I think this probably does indeed kill potential High Elves for good, so I'll stop getting involved with the topic period. Those who are happy, congrats!



No, he said 'if you want fair-skinned, light-haired, blue-eyed elves, the horde is there waiting for you. Not High Elves.

to the question about high elves........

Thats like me asking for a apple and you saying...nope we only have a fruit that grows from a tree, fell on newtons head and the nickname for new york share's a bit of the name...aka the big...apple....

[Kyriani]

At the very least Void Elves ARE getting the same black hair Blood Elves are getting. One of the male Void Elves in the preview is showcasing it.

[Maljinwo]

Hopefully they'll also add arcane eyes for both

[Broflake]

I'd say blue eyes, which was High Elf exclusive

You mean the same eyes on several named horde NPC'?
It wasn't exclusive.

It's not pie you still have your rights. Just be happy already that the High Elf Allied Race will never happen now

In this case? Yes. It is pie.
Factions have their diversity based off what they offer. This took away a substantial aspect of what they offer.

[DeicideUH]

Hopefully they'll also add arcane eyes for both

They are in the files for both already, thought they were flagged as NPC-only on last build. However, the void elf preview images had void elves with violet eyes, so I'm also hoping for it.