May the true dark elf please stand up!

[Alkizon]

There are no "Dark Elves". Each Elven race takes after certain aspects of different, more fantasy esc elves. Night Elves are a mix of Wood Elves with their own aspects to em (Such as Dark Elf aspects, etc), but they themselves are not Wood Elves/Dark Elves. Blood Elves are High Elves with Fel-Magic imbued in them. But, they're not "High Elves". Nightborne take aspects from the Highborne (AKA former Night Elves), but they themselves are nothing like the Highborne, let alone Dark Elves. This same logic applies to the Void Elves as well...

There are only Night Elves, High Elves, Blood Elves, Void Elves, Nightborne, Highborne (Which Blizz is adapting to the current Night Elves thanks to the new customization options. There could be MANY more Hightborne options, but as of now, it's limited), and the San'layn Elves (Not Dark Elves. They're more "Undead Vampiric" Elves).

^this mostly... given the fact that naming words usually hide not only banal "skin color" behind itself, but also something more
(+/+/+/+ stolen from here).

[Kathranis]

It's obvious to me that the Nightborne are meant to be the WoW stand-ins for the traditional drow/dark elf. If they were to give us a proper "x elves" translation of shal'dorei, it would most likely be "dark elves," as kaldorei are already "night elves."

The nightborne driders (fal'dorei) clinch it to me.

[Beloren]

It's obvious to me that the Nightborne are meant to be the WoW stand-ins for the traditional drow/dark elf. If they were to give us a proper "x elves" translation of shal'dorei, it would most likely be "dark elves," as kaldorei are already "night elves."

The nightborne driders (fal'dorei) clinch it to me.

It's a tough one though, some good points in the topic

[Cosmic Janitor]

I don't think anyone fits. Drow just have a mentality that none of the races in WoW really represent.

Nelfs are neutral to good aligned tree huggers.
Helfs are snooty and now fallen nobility that are mostly neutral to good aligned.
Belfs are Helfs with extra story.
Velfs are Belfs that have been cast out again only to be neutral/good again.
Niboefls are just proto helfs wich have been hit with the uggo-stick. So ugly and snooty.

Single elements might fight or overlap (because elves) but none of them really capture the drow spirit of.. well evil.

[Amaterasu65]

Obviously Night Elves, then Nightborne. Theeeeen Void Elves. BE shouldn't be an option, they are the exact opposite of a dark elf.

[Specialka]

Well, since Drow are no longer pure evil but have reasons to be evil according to Wizard of the Coasts, Nightborne under Elissande might fit in. Or NE under Tyrande if she goes full steam against the Horde and kill everyone in sight.

If not, no Elf in wow fits the Drow theme. Too good natured overall.

[Verdugo]

Blizzard doesnt even dare to use something similar to dark elves as a villain, their California brains cant handle something so evil.

[matrix123mko]

Blizzard doesnt even dare to use something similar to dark elves as a villain, their California brains cant handle something so evil.

Their dark elves for some reason allied with holy goats.

[Sangris]

Their dark elves for some reason allied with holy goats.

Their "Dark Elves" are nocturnal Wood Elves with purple skin.

[Beloren]

I don't think anyone fits. Drow just have a mentality that none of the races in WoW really represent.

Nelfs are neutral to good aligned tree huggers.
Helfs are snooty and now fallen nobility that are mostly neutral to good aligned.
Belfs are Helfs with extra story.
Velfs are Belfs that have been cast out again only to be neutral/good again.
Niboefls are just pre-sundering NElves wich have been hit with the uggo-stick. So ugly and snooty.

Single elements might fight or overlap (because elves) but none of them really capture the drow spirit of.. well evil.

Slight correction there, NbElves are pre-sundering Nelves, not proto-HElves, (but I know what you mean)

Drow really is just one popular fantasies name for Dark Elves. In wow Dark elves could have been famous as Kaldorei or Shal'dorei.

I think Nightborne actually represent the dark elf fantasy the most, because they are really just the dark elf side of the night elves, and while the night elves have that too, it's more pronounced in the Nightborne. Don't you agree?

- - - Updated - - -

Their "Dark Elves" are nocturnal Wood Elves with purple skin.

Yeh, that was the twist, and then they decide they'll give their proper dark elf side (i.e. the pre-sundering night elf) as the Nightborne race - a NElf sub-race.

So now, the Nightborne imo, is the best dark elf, as it IS the dark elf side of the night elves.

[Verdugo]

Yeh, that was the twist, and then they decide they'll give their proper dark elf side (i.e. the pre-sundering night elf) as the Nightborne race - a NElf sub-race.

So now, the Nightborne imo, is the best dark elf, as it IS the dark elf side of the night elves.

They are nocturnal high elves with dark skin, how can you possibly describe them as anything close to dark elves...

[Rendark]

None of them really look or act like Dark elves.

[Beloren]

They are nocturnal high elves with dark skin, how can you possibly describe them as anything close to dark elves...

They are dark based, nocturnal, nocturnal = night and they are the night elf empire kaldorei in the present. It's as dark as blizzard gets.

Don't you know playable races can do no wrong? we're all essentially good, we can never be drow because we're too good, so if you minus the evil requirement, Nightborne comes closest.

[Verdugo]

They are dark based, nocturnal, nocturnal = night and they are the night elf empire kaldorei in the present. It's as dark as blizzard gets.

Don't you know playable races can do no wrong? we're all essentially good, we can never be drow because we're too good, so if you minus the evil requirement, Nightborne comes closest.

Maybe if they didnt hire retarded SoCal douchebags as writers we could get better dark elves.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Well, since Drow are no longer pure evil but have reasons to be evil according to Wizard of the Coasts, Nightborne under Elissande might fit in. Or NE under Tyrande if she goes full steam against the Horde and kill everyone in sight.

If not, no Elf in wow fits the Drow theme. Too good natured overall.

Didn't they just shift from CE to NE in 5e? As a society, even if tryande goes full murder hobo on the horde, that still wouldn't reflect dark elves at all from the way their society is portrayed. Even the high born politing isn't remotely close to the level of overall greed, backstabbing and disregard for live as your typical dark elf would display. Maybe if all the night borne were on the level of the worst burning legion supporters during legion, but I frankly don't think it fits their overall population.

[Specialka]

Didn't they just shift from CE to NE in 5e? As a society, even if tryande goes full murder hobo on the horde, that still wouldn't reflect dark elves at all from the way their society is portrayed. Even the high born politing isn't remotely close to the level of overall greed, backstabbing and disregard for live as your typical dark elf would display. Maybe if all the night borne were on the level of the worst burning legion supporters during legion, but I frankly don't think it fits their overall population.

That is why I used "might". Overall, Wow, despite all the murders and ambiant war (or even genocide) is still too good natured compared to stuff like Warhammer or Dark races of Dnd.

[ravenmoon]

Didn't they just shift from CE to NE in 5e? As a society, even if tryande goes full murder hobo on the horde, that still wouldn't reflect dark elves at all from the way their society is portrayed. Even the high born politing isn't remotely close to the level of overall greed, backstabbing and disregard for live as your typical dark elf would display. Maybe if all the night borne were on the level of the worst burning legion supporters during legion, but I frankly don't think it fits their overall population.

The way Azshara and her court are portrayed comes closest, and this is as a night elf. That memory vision of the creation of the snap dragon is very dark leafy, as is the way they describe how badly behaved the court was

[Cosmic Janitor]

The way Azshara and her court are portrayed comes closest, and this is as a night elf. That memory vision of the creation of the snap dragon is very dark leafy, as is the way they describe how badly behaved the court was

So.. the dark elves are naga. Yeah, that is probably the closest to the truth. Well except the unwavering loyalty.
Edit: It even works to some degree with the traditional aesthetic, which is a darker looking version of the shaldorai.

[Hellspawn]

The night elf surely did not got the evil aspect from the Drow.
But they got the focus on one goddess... but in this case not a evil one... just one that got merci and vengeance combined... and if you interpret the book a little bit... life and death. Also most priests are in both cases female.
Also night elf prefer darkness and they can make the moon hide the sunlight via Elune... which is also a dark-elfy thing.
Vengefulness is another element they have in common with dark elfs, specific the wardens, who even get power from it.
Savagery is something I would not identify with dark elfs, its more a warhammer wood elf thing I would say.

I think they could develop certainly more into dark elfs in the future and BFA expressed some more of these aspects but they probably will never turn into full dark elfs. It just would not work in the faction framework.

I think the elfs that were closest to D&D dark elfs were the night elfs that surrounded Azshara and tried to impress her and are at this point Naga. Nightborn, Blood elf and Void Elfs aren't anything like that at all.

The way Azshara and her court are portrayed comes closest, and this is as a night elf. That memory vision of the creation of the snap dragon is very dark leafy, as is the way they describe how badly behaved the court was

I had the same thought.

[Cosmic Janitor]

The thing with azshara's court is that they are pretty much roman imperialists that dominated large parts of the world at that time. They don't really have the shunned exiles thing going for them (pre-sundering), they were the absolute opposite in fact. The exiles theme was with the highborne that later became the high elves and then way later with the void elves in WoW. So they lack the persecution and revenge theme, but they certainly have the (spiritual) matriarchy theme going for them as well. The difference is more in the detail again though. While they also have the whole female only cleric shtick in both WoW (more so post sundering) and D&D, in WoW the ruling class were mages fed by the well of eternity, wheres in D&D they were ruled by a priest class that worships a spider god.

Hmm now that I think about it again, post sundering Azshara's court certainly was "forced" into hiding, just below the waves instead of below the earth. I guess the naga really have the strongest dark elf theme in WoW going for them. Though I have issues labling ugly ass hentai monsters as elves .