Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Oh, you continue to praise the developers here, ask for more and praise the further burying of Warcraft's lore in the grave? How cute. Well go on, the last voices of common sense in this thread fell, as did the high elves idea and lore. Kick their corpses further.

Have you ever posted something that wasn't utterly wanky? Cause holy shit.

I mean your whole stance of "High Elves are not what "I" want them to be" is grounds for dismissal enough, but your lack of nuance in a conversation that intersects both the lore and gameplay and what might result of that is outstanding.

It's like you refuse to see the context Alliance High Elf exist and keep claiming for "proper" High Elves, even when Blizzard could literally make all the remaining High Elves into Void Elves tomorrow and we could do nothing to stop it.

But yeah, it's clear that if whatever path High Elves take in this game doesn't fit what *you* personally want, then it's wrong. Your bias is not truth, accept your opinion is only that, an opinion.

[Thalassian Bob]

The interesting thing about that is also that the NPC Nightborne faces are far simpler in terms of geometry -they look more mike pre revamp player models than current ones- so when they tried to translate them to the playable NE model, it didn't go very well; a lot of people still think the new models don't really capture the old faces, and those were made spoecifically so, unlike the NB model which is a modified NE one.

So they definitely need a deep pass to resemble the NB NPC models



Yeah, I'd put a pin on dark iron dwarves too, ideally they would get more options specific to them -cause they really have just 4- but I would definitely give them them dwarven DK skins like VE's did with BE's, but yeah I would throw some base dwarf skins I guess, races limited to one skin tone range are kinda boring, and I would kinda like to see the idea of some skins to imply Dwarf/DI pairings -specially with a time skip!

As for the NPC maghar skins -and NPC skins in general- those are a bit harder, since all of them just have one face, so they would have to create new faces for them; I think that's one of the biggest hurdles of just using NPC skins, you only get one face, so the only alternative would be to remake them -which honestly isn't aaaaalll that hard in terms of process, you can automatize the process of altering hue/tones a lot on programs like photoshop-

[

Hmm. That is interesting! I hope Blizz takes plenty of time to get their extra customisation right and gives them some decent faces.

I'm not sure if I'm with you on implementing hybrid races (because it'd just open up the notion of half-races for every combo and that'd be a headache (though maybe if it was just dwarf x dwarf or tauren x tauren etc. it'd be okay) I would, however, love to see what Moira's baby looks like when he's grown up!

Oh no, I was talking about Draenor Mag'har! I was just meaning I'd love for them to get war paint that can be worn over tattoos/scarring like on the new orc customisations.

[Strippling]

I'd imagine that purple eyes were added to Blood Elves to help soften the blow for when High Elves get natural hair color options.

Doubt it. The purple eyes were likely added to Blood Elves because A) it makes sense, and B) they were a "high elf" asset, and blizzard are on record for saying both void and blood elves were to receive some "high elf" options.

Oh and I love how you're referring to the void elf race as high elves (when High Elves get natural hair color options). Such a nice look trying to hi-jack a race lol. And the high elf community wonder why they cop so much flack. Smh

Natural hair colors for void elves is a possibility, though I'd wager it's just as likely that they will not receive any natural hair colors. I mean, natural hair colors will only make them closer to blood elves... and at the end of the day they are a separate playable race to blood elves so I'm not sure Blizzard would want to A) blur the lines between blood and void elves, and B) ruin the theme of the race (ie the VOID). It'd be like giving Mag'har orcs some green skin options or nightborne some vine options for their hair. Wouldn't make sense and would defeat the purpose of having these allied races in the first place. Void elves are specifically defined by their connection to the void, given that their hair is the last bastion of connection to their theme I think Blizzard will proceed very carefully on which (if any) hair options they add to void elves in the future.

[Redzonetode]

I'm not sure Blizzard would want to A) blur the lines between blood and void elves,

I would say using the same model as blood elves, and canonically making them former-blood elf (and high elf) exiles, blurred the lines between blood elves and void elves.
I would say giving void elves the same exact skin tones as blood elves blurred the lines between the two.

This argument doesn't hold up at all. Select blue eyes, throw on a helmet, and any void elf will be indistinguishable from a blood elf except when their racial procs.

(For the record, I'd much rather they go all-in on the void theme than half-ass any high elf customizations. )

[Strippling]

I would say using the same model as blood elves, and canonically making them former-blood elf (and high elf) exiles, blurred the lines between blood elves and void elves.
I would say giving void elves the same exact skin tones as blood elves blurred the lines between the two.

This argument doesn't hold up at all. Select blue eyes, throw on a helmet, and any void elf will be indistinguishable from a blood elf except when their racial procs.

(For the record, I'd much rather they go all-in on the void theme than half-ass any high elf customizations. )

The same could be said for LFD and regular draenei, or Mag'har orcs and regular orcs. They are practically identical albeit a difference in "color pallete" or "theme". Same applies to void elves, practically the same as blood elves but that doesn't mean they can or should be carbon copies. If the hair is the remaining distinguishing feature between the two then it should remain that way. Void elves are defined by their void theme, the "void" aspect should be apparent in them even if it is just via the hair.

Give them natural hair options and you remove the last bastion of difference between them and blood elves. Further to this, void elves would then essentially have access to the blood elf skin and hairs PLUS their own unique void options.. essentially offering them more than the core race that they are based off. Again, it'd be like giving Mag'har orcs access to regular orc options whilst still having their own unique Mag'har options.

[Kyriani]

Give them natural hair options and you remove the last bastion of difference between them and blood elves. Further to this, void elves would then essentially have access to the blood elf skin and hairs PLUS their own unique void options.. essentially offering them more than the core race that they are based off. Again, it'd be like giving Mag'har orcs access to regular orc options whilst still having their own unique Mag'har options.

Black is a natural hair color, and Blood Elves have black hair as an option. Does that mean Void Elves can't have black hair?

White hair is also a natural hair color, and Blood Elves also have white hair as an option, does that mean Void Elves can't have white hair?

Blue hair is not a natural hair color (at least not in the human spectrum), yet Blood Elves now have multiple blue hair options. Does that mean Void Elves can't get any new shades of blue hair?

Purple is also not a natural hair color (at least not in the human spectrum), yet Blood Elves recently got a dark purple hair option. Does that mean Void Elves can't get any new shades of purple hair?

I think the devs would find the above as ridiculous as I do, and I don't believe they are going outright deny Void Elves options based on what Blood Elves have. That's not to say the devs will just copy all of the Blood Elf hair colors to Void Elves. I don't expect them to do that. But I do think some natural hair colors may be added to Void Elves in the future. Perhaps not the exact same shades that Blood Elves have, but I think they will happen in some form.

For example, I saw this picture recently on the official forums. I could see these being added to Void Elves as hair color options:



They aren't the full gamut of natural hair colors, but four out of five of them fall under what most would consider "natural" (White, Black, Blonde, Brown). The blonde option shown here is also nothing like the blondes that Blood Elves have (it falls more into the beige blonde category). I could see the devs adding something like that as opposed to giving Void Elves a copy of Blood Elf blondes.

I will admit some bias on my part because I truly desire black hair as an option, and black falls into the natural spectrum of human hair colors. And if an exception is made for black and white, then why wouldn't other exceptions be made as well?

I do think that Blizzard should give Blood Elves variants of the Void Elf hair styles. The one in my avatar picture is quite popular and I know several Blood Elf players who wish they had it as an option. I also think Blood Elves need more options in general such as scars, tattoos, and jewelry for the males, as well as the Dark Ranger/San'layn skin and eyes.

I'm hopeful that Void Elves get some natural hair colors so my character can finally look the way I envision her:


(black hair courtesy of photoshop)

[Vaedan]

void elves that use high elf customization are high elves

void elves that use void customization have their own thread

Incorrect. Alleria is void elf with blue eyes and natural skin color. She is not high elf anymore. That also applies to any void elf character with natural customizations - you can roleplay them as high elves, but that's where it ends - at roleplaying. Natural skins and blue eyes are now part of void elf fantasy.

without a doubt this is the thread to discuss high elf customization.

as the void elf thread is the place where void customization should be discussed

As years passed, this thread evolved into something different then mere discussion for high elf customizations. It now connects all thalassian groups, be it sin'dorei, ren'dorei or any remaining quel'dorei (neutral or alliance alike). I find it appropriate to discuss void elf features, especially when we are doing it by comparing to other thalassian groups, most notably blood elves. It really fit into this discussion. A void elf thread would be appropriate as well, but it is only for void elf topics. Because we often come to blood elves as well, it feels more natural to discuss it here.

The same could be said for LFD and regular draenei, or Mag'har orcs and regular orcs. They are practically identical albeit a difference in "color pallete" or "theme". Same applies to void elves, practically the same as blood elves but that doesn't mean they can or should be carbon copies. If the hair is the remaining distinguishing feature between the two then it should remain that way. Void elves are defined by their void theme, the "void" aspect should be apparent in them even if it is just via the hair.

Give them natural hair options and you remove the last bastion of difference between them and blood elves. Further to this, void elves would then essentially have access to the blood elf skin and hairs PLUS their own unique void options.. essentially offering them more than the core race that they are based off. Again, it'd be like giving Mag'har orcs access to regular orc options whilst still having their own unique Mag'har options.

How does current hair color evoke void anyway? If anything, void is usually depicted as black or dark blue. Void elves have 2 dark blue hair colors and no black hair, so what's the rest?

Don't forget that blurring of thalassians is happening already in both ways. Void elves got natural skins. Blood elves got blue and purple eyes and blue hair colors. In my opinion, hair color is pretty weak defining point for any race. Do you know why? We can easily request human hair colors for void elves and guess what... most of them are extremely similar or identical. You hardly base racial identity on hair color, most of them are shared among multiple races already, across both factions. Same applies to skin colors. What make races more distinctive and unique are features like hair styles, tattoos. Those are features that can be made unique for both blood and void elves.

Considering that VE and HE fantasy share a model, talking about VE's on this thread feels a lot more pertinent than talking about the BE model -and a lot of people do that-

So trying to gatekeep VE conversation form here is a bad look -specially on people that insist on also considering blue eyes blood elves as High Elves hah!-

Well, we had this kind of discussion like 6 months ago, but since Blizz made it clear what's their opinion of high elves, I wonder why we even have to talk about it.

It is obvious that all void elves are high elves, but not all high elves are void elves. Void elf thread have its own relevance and its own topics which are related only to that group and not the others. Same applies to blood elves. This thread is now combination of both and when void elf discussion take place here, it is usually in comparison to blood elves. The goal of most discussions here is to define middle ground between blood and void elves, which we can now consider to be a "high elf". As you said in some previous posts, the original concept of high elf is dead and is being redefined now. Since we got mostly core race customizations now, it was blood elf turn to have high elf features. I guess void elves are next and when both races are finished, we will have clear picture of what is shared between the two (e.g. what is high elf nowadays) and what is unique for each group.

[Ardenaso]

should Anduin hand over the Alliance High Elves to Silvermoon to keep the relations between the Alliance and Horde?

[Kyriani]

should Anduin hand over the Alliance High Elves to Silvermoon to keep the relations between the Alliance and Horde?

"Hand over"? It's not like they are there against their will, nor do I think Anduin would forcibly remove them from Stormwind, let alone force them to return to Silvermoon.

[Thalassian Bob]

should Anduin hand over the Alliance High Elves to Silvermoon to keep the relations between the Alliance and Horde?

"Hand over"? It's not like they are there against their will, nor do I think Anduin would forcibly remove them from Stormwind, let alone force them to return to Silvermoon.

What Kyriani said is all poignant. I don't think Anduin or any other leader would be in a rush to hand over some of the Alliance's most fervent advocates. And, on the other side of the equation, I don't believe Lor'themar has any interest in engaging in witch hunts in regards to non-blood elven Thalassians. On the contrary, he seems quite tolerant of them, if you take his granting of non-blood elven Thalassians access to the Sunwell on pilgrimage as any indication of his intentions.

If Rommath were Regent Lord, things might be quite different. He'd probably send hit squads after Silver Covenant collaborators in Jaina's Dalaran purges.

[Traycor]

That also applies to any void elf character with natural customizations - you can roleplay them as high elves, but that's where it ends - at roleplaying.

Blizz specifically said these were being added as high elf options.

But really, ANY character you play is roleplaying. You're not *actually* playing a void elf. It's just some colors on your screen with text. You're pretending. Even when you play a human, that's where it ends - at roleplaying. That person isn't real, and isn't a human.

[elbleuet]

Soooo according to some who have read the new Golden's book, Shaw notices that there are a lot of Alliance sympathisers in Silvermoon while visiting the city.

This pleases me a lot. I do hope some will rebel against Lor'Themar, with Alleria in the background not very far.

[Varodoc]

Soooo according to some who have read the new Golden's book, Shaw notices that there are a lot of Alliance sympathisers in Silvermoon while visiting the city.

This pleases me a lot. I do hope some will rebel against Lor'Themar, with Alleria in the background not very far.

Alleria Windrunner is the most legendary war hero Quel'Thalas ever had. She was the most important Thalassian in the Second War and the subsequent Invasion of Draenor, and was the brightest archer in the kingdom.

It is therefore not a surprise that many would secretly remain loyal to her ideals and vision for the nation. The winds of change are coming for Quel'Thalas, and they can't be stopped.

Let us also not forget that Theron is lowborn scum, while Alleria is a Windrunner, the second most powerful family in the old kingdom, and commanders of the military. It is only fitting that she take the throne instead of Theron, who was appointed by the madman Kael'thas. If Azeroth was Westeros, who do you think the nobles would support for the throne? A random commoner with no background appointed by a mad tyrant, or the de-facto head of the House of Windrunner, now THE most prestigious, ancient, and famous family in the nation (since the Sunstriders are gone, their legacy tainted forever)?

[LilSaihah]

Soooo according to some who have read the new Golden's book, Shaw notices that there are a lot of Alliance sympathisers in Silvermoon while visiting the city.

This pleases me a lot. I do hope some will rebel against Lor'Themar, with Alleria in the background not very far.

Lor'themar is an Alliance sympathizer. They would've defected if Jaina didn't push them away.

[Ardenaso]

Lor'themar is an Alliance sympathizer. They would've defected if Jaina didn't push them away.

former Alliance of Lordaeron member is an Alliance sympathizer? oh boy what could possibly go wrong to this Horde... council?

[LilSaihah]

former Alliance of Lordaeron member is an Alliance sympathizer? oh boy what could possibly go wrong to this Horde... council?

i think they'll elect anduin as the new warchief

[Ardenaso]

Soooo according to some who have read the new Golden's book, Shaw notices that there are a lot of Alliance sympathisers in Silvermoon while visiting the city.

This pleases me a lot. I do hope some will rebel against Lor'Themar, with Alleria in the background not very far.

I'd assume it's just Auric, the Allerians and some of those minorities like Ennas and Lyria. A lot doesn't have to mean majority

[elbleuet]

I'd assume it's just Auric, the Allerians and some of those minorities like Ennas and Lyria. A lot doesn't have to mean majority

We can agree on that. It's a minority. But still. It's promising. In a Horde's capital, a good portion of its citizen favor the Alliance over the Horde.

And we know Alleria and Vereesa both want to get Silvermoon back into the Alliance.

Odds are good to expect a Battle of Silvermoon in the next expansion with Turalyon -once member of the Alliance of Lordaeron- saying he wants to take back former Alliance holdings. Ans who's his wife ? A Silvermoon citizen banished from her own homeland.

I'm super excited to see how it will unfold.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Soooo according to some who have read the new Golden's book, Shaw notices that there are a lot of Alliance sympathisers in Silvermoon while visiting the city.

This pleases me a lot. I do hope some will rebel against Lor'Themar, with Alleria in the background not very far.

I mean makes sense, it would have been awfully convenient that all the Alliance sympathizers had joined Umbric and became Void Elves.

I do appreciate that it feels like a continuation of previously established themes about not all Blood Elves being quite as happy with the Horde, and Alleria and Vereesa's own desire to bring their people back to the alliance being more than just their own skewed vision of their people, and I really hope this is set up for something that actually shifts the status quo.

What would be better narrative-wise tho, Quel'thalas going neutral as a place and similarly like Dalaran having Alliance and Horde districts, or a revolt attempt that ends with defeat for the Alliance forces, but ultimately bolsters them as a unified group and settle somewhere else?

Part of me kinda wants Quel'thalas to go neutral, but mostly so that the Horde Loyalist Blood Elves merge with the Nightborne and create a Second Highborne Empire. That would be neat lol.

But really, I kinda don't want Quel'thalas to go neutral, I feel the bad reasons outweigh the possibilities; I think that maybe a split of Quel'thalas would be better narratively with the Alliance Aligned Thalassians retaking the Ghostlands and settling there -specially when it feels that as of Three Sisters that area is still no-mans-land- and I just really like the idea of a persistent cold war between territories right next to each other.

[FossilFree]

For example, I saw this picture recently on the official forums. I could see these being added to Void Elves as hair color options:



They aren't the full gamut of natural hair colors, but four out of five of them fall under what most would consider "natural" (White, Black, Blonde, Brown). The blonde option shown here is also nothing like the blondes that Blood Elves have (it falls more into the beige blonde category). I could see the devs adding something like that as opposed to giving Void Elves a copy of Blood Elf blondes.

Now those are natural Void Elf hair colors done right! Except the blue one isn't natural, but it still looks good too.