Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[ravenmoon]

I would really love it.



Just stop. You're the first discussing about Blood elves in this thread. Nightborne and Nightelves are somewhat linked to the High elves so why not.

Thanks, exactly - he brings up the point, and the discussion I responded to was with respect to the high elves getting Silvermoon, and including the night elves getting Suramar as it was relevant the ensuing discussion was a handful of responses in relation, I believe everyone of those responses spoke about the high elves and Quel'thalas and some even mentioned the connection making them highly relevant.

Tbh, I just think he recognises the arguments have a point, doesnt want to concede this and so moves to block it..

[Mungho]

To be honest, I would rather see it:

Dalaran - Alliance
Suramar - Neutral
Silvermoon - Neutral

But what two Alliance cities would go neutral to balance that?

Looks like those ugly purple brutes aren't so popular if they don't even have their own megathread

Maybe Blizzard shouldn't have made them hideous abominations. They should have just copy-pasted the Night Elves as their model. Then done the same for the Alliance(with the BE model) so they could have their High Elves.

[ravenmoon]

They had their reason for banning arcane magic from their society and that reason is no longer valid - Burning Legion is defeated and their invasion is no longer a huge threat. Not to mention that kaldorei have been transforming their worldview for years now, which eventually led shren'dalar returning and kaldorei training mages again. They are coming back to their arcane roots already, so there is no reason why this notion should not be further explored.



To be honest, I would rather see it:

Dalaran - Alliance
Suramar - Neutral
Silvermoon - Neutral

I believe that with the addition of Zandalari, Horde magic side could be personalized mostly by them. They fit into the Horde way better then any elf ever could and they are formidable mages as well.

Silvermoon should be neutral because they never really cared about factions. They were always only temporary members of the Alliance and usually left when they saw fit, with some groups and invididuals maintaining their ties to that faction. I believe same should happen to Quel'thalas now - leave the Horde officialy, maintaining neutral position in the world politics and allowing its citizens to freely chose which faction they want to help, thus blood elves on the Horde and void elves on the Alliance gameplay-wise. The thing is, Horde did not really contributed meaningful help for Quel'thalas since they officialy joined it. Ghostlands are still undead-infested (meaning Horde did not provide enough support to reclaim the land) and during Amani crisis, Halduron had to invite Vereesa and her Silver Covenant Rangers to aid them, since he did not have enough men to protect his own land (which means Horde again did not send help and since there was a Alliance - Horde war going on, it is possible Garrosh requested blood elves to contribute on fronts he wanted to push). I don't think blood elves should forget Horde helped in their hour of need, but so did the Alliance eventually, in lesser extent.

Neutral would be the best option for blizzard they dont need to create new cities for night elves and high elves I mean why should they, this is exactly what Suramar and Silvermoon are already, nor do they need to deprive the horde groups angry the hardcore horde elf boris faction that are quite passionate on the forums

Neutral might also have the same effect, it will inadvertently raise the profile of the alliance elves strengthening their appeal and role, while at the same time diminishing the elven power appeal on the horde, shifting it to the alliance sufficiently.

Sharing is a loss to the horde and a reduction of the elven influence, not as much as I initially suggested, but it has always been the most sensible approach, the only problem is that it requires some sort of faction co-existence between horde and alliance in these zones and blizzard might be unwilling to do that with such a polarising race as the elves have turned out to be.

I feel, it's easy to create situations that necessitate and even force a cohabitation or a removal to neutral state while citizens in those cities can align themselves with whatever faction.. this happens in Dalaran, Shattrath and every neutral city of an expansion hub, anyway and could actually create interesting scenarios.

Lore wise, I can easily see enough Nightborne and Silvermoon residents choosing the alliance and night/high/void elves over the horde after rece t events and the nature and character of the elves as we know them...its far more alliance orientated anyway, and the citizens choosing to instead be more involved in global affairs like Dalaran instead of pandering to a faction, leaving faction loyalties down to individual choice of their citizens. Especially if this is the only way for peace and unity in a near extinct elven race world wide. Elf on elf fighting strictly prohibited in Quel'thalas and Suramar, which basically mea s most elves more I terested in unity and global affairs then fearing each other apart, but leaving room for player characters to still harbour grudges and kill each other outside the sanctuary zones and cities.

This works. Truth is they can do so many things, they just have to choose

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But what two Alliance cities would go neutral to balance that?

You wouldnt do that. The alliance needs gains, especially in the elven department, it's the horde that's over populated, this is one of the reasons why you are allowing the alliance elves to be able to have a home in their own cities and switching them to neutral.

You are not signing them over to the alliance completely because of the horde elf fans, but you want the alliance elves to be more attractive and away a small portion of hirde players over.

To this effect, you make no alliance city neutral, Silvermoon going horde, Sura,ar going horde, Dalaran going neutral and Lordaeron going horde were all alliance races' cities..

What you need is horde race cities to make up the loss.

Zul'Aman and Zul'drak as well as Zul'Farak go horde.

We all know in a neutral situation, the alliance will dominate the horde amongst the elves horde support and mentality is very much a minority to elves. While neuuptral, it will feel very alliancey. Bith Suramar and Silvermoon both feel very alliancey even though they are on the horde.

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Maybe Blizzard shouldn't have made them hideous abominations. They should have just copy-pasted the Night Elves as their model. Then done the same for the Alliance(with the BE model) so they could have their High Elves.

Maye blizzard should improve the night elves to look more attractive, so alliance members would be more focused on them than coveting high elves, and this problem would not be as large for hordies as it is today.

The problem is that hordies have loved having an alliance race that was designed as prettier and nicer than anything the alliance had, and enjoyed taking the kaldorei civilization city of Suramar too, with their rival elves deprived of it.. they've loved the sense of superiority it's given them, afterall, they desire to be better than their enemies in every way, and enjoy that this is the case with the elves.

This is why they are very reluctant and very unsupportive about the alliance races returning home to the alliance and being a thing there even though they are well aware both the night elves and high elves are an alliance thing, as is their Silvermoon and Suramar cities which are core to the heart and story of both the high elves and the night elves, yet are on the horde instead.. it makes them feel satisfied to see alliance tears.

This has nothing to do with what makes sense or good for the game, or right, it's all about satisfying those egos, and bragging rights - it's all pride and vanity. it's ruined the status quo. It's obvious to see it's better for both balance and the game that the alliance elves regain their losses and rise to prominence, as well as have their models properly improved and fixed. It will improve

[BaumanKing]

People in this thread need to understand the thought process of a professional writer:

- Alleria wants to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Umbric wants to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Vereesa wants to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Many in Silvermoon want to rejoin the Alliance.
- The Void Lords want Alleria to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Turalyon wants to reclaim former Alliance holdings, like they did with Stromgarde in BfA.

In “A Moment in Verse” there is also a line about Lor'themar having nightmares of the Sunwell being polluted by the Void after he allowed Alleria near it.

The alliance needs gains

According to "Exploring Azeroth" the Alliance got Arathi, Darkshore, Southshore and Lordamere Lake with Fenris Isle. The Horde got nothing after the Fourth War. There is only a small hint of the future restoration of Lordaeron, but that's it. So no, Silvermoon belongs to the Horde, and void elves should built their own city in space or join the Silver Covenant in Dalaran.

[Rhlor]

I would really love it.



Just stop. You're the first discussing about Blood elves in this thread. Nightborne and Nightelves are somewhat linked to the High elves so why not.

high elves of the horde who are the ones with blue eyes

[Ardenaso]

According to "Exploring Azeroth" the Alliance got Arathi, Darkshore, Southshore and Lordamere Lake with Fenris Isle. The Horde got nothing after the Fourth War. There is only a small hint of the future restoration of Lordaeron, but that's it. So no, Silvermoon belongs to the Horde, and void elves should built their own city in space or join the Silver Covenant in Dalaran.

I want Alterac restored and Alteraci Humans for the Horde, and I want a total reunification of Argent Lordaeronians and Forsaken to make all of Eastweald becoming Horde

[elbleuet]

high elves of the horde who are the ones with blue eyes

Still blue eyed blood elves if you ask me.

[Varodoc]

You know, now that Turalyon is High King of the Alliance, it wouldn't surprise me if he marched on Quel'Thalas at Alleria's request. She is, after all, his beloved wife, and they both want to reclaim former Alliance holdings.

This means that, even if the Alliance elves were low in numbers, they would still have the manpower to reclaim Quel'Thalas through their allies.

I mean... the Battle of Stromgarde happened precisely because Stromgarde represents an entry point into Quel'Thalas, the last Horde holding in the East.. And now it's in the hands of the Alliance.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

I know what you mean, it's just that alliance aligned thalassians are in no position to "uphold supremacy of their people" without the actual help of the Alliance.. in which case it'd be a faction war as opposed to a civil war. And if it were to be a civil war amongst thalassians, it'd be as one sided as a war could get. Blood elves would eradicate the alliance aiigned thalassians.

Like I literally said, it can still be a civil war if even both sides are backed/supplied by external forces. Proxy wars, they happen.

There is a blood/high elf who received the new purple eyes. These eyes were specifically stated to be a bug causing female high elf NPCs eyes to change from blue to purple. When the bug was fixed the same NPC (can't remember her name) had her eyes change from purple to blue (same as every other female high elf NPC), indicating that she is actually a high elf NPC in the game files. Now this is nothing breaking, nor is it confirmation of anything, it's just another piece of information that can be used (along with recent blizzard statements) to presume that high elves could indeed be reuniting with their kin in Silvermoon. I mean, not every high elf is a die hard alliance "fan boi", there are many high elves who are/were neutral or in some cases downright hostile toward the Alliance. It isn't unreasonable to assume that they're rejoining their kin in their native homeland. It's not a reflection of reunification under the Horde, but rather a path toward high elves being absorbed by blood/void elves storywise moving forward.

Sure and that's entirely all plausible, but -and I think this is the Portal Trainer NPC in Orgrimmar- might be just a Blood Elf that always had blue eyes -simply meaning that never got irradiated by Fel energies, like Darnarian seem to have-

My point is that with no explicit confirmation, we can't take this as evidence that High Elves are rejoining Quel'thalas -even if it's highly likely- inasmuch a way we can't use HE skin and eye colors on VE as hard evidence of High Elves joining the Void Elves -even when it's also highly likely-

I do think we have a lot of largely very plausible speculation, about all of this, but yeah, the point is that these new eye colors don't have any confirmed origin; New options are understood as being "always there" or having a clear origin, the issue with BE is that it can have several origins so specification is rather needed.

-BE's that never got Green Eyes -Such as is likely for Lanesh and Darnarian-
-BE's that regained Blue Eyes -similarly how they gained golden eyes-
-Neutral High Elves that rejoined Quel'thalas, likely through the Sunreavers.
-Formerly Alliance High Elves that rejoined Quel'thalas -such Allerian soldiers that finally were able to return to Azeroth-

And to be honest I think the truth might be a lil bit of all options, and I kinda agree; if you also add High Elves joining with the Void Elves, I do think the path moving forward is for High Elves to being absorbed between Blood Elves and Void Elves -and maybe create Half Elves as their own thing mmm- and the only question would be how much of a split would be.

Like personal assumption; of the remaining Alliance High Elves, I think they had their time to return if so they wanted after 10 years. Of the neutral ones, I do think there could be more. But now we also have the confirmation of Pro Alliance sentiment in Silvermoon, so there's also a possible scenario where some come, some go.

[Zaelsino]

The Alliance winning the first two warfronts was a pretty strong indicator that the Horde would have won the next two planned in their own territories (Mulgore/Quel'Thalas) IMO. Blizzard likes parity, particularly when it comes to player races.

More broadly, you void elf fanatics hyperfixate on what the Alliance wants way too hard. The Horde has as much reason to see Silvermoon defended as the Alliance does to see it conquered... more, probably, with meta considerations like 13 years of player investment in the place and all the Horde-only content tied to it. We might see some faction conflict in Quel'Thalas one day - the foreshadowing is there - but conflict isn't a synonym of victory.

Personally, I rather doubt we'll see the day Joe'dorei, selecting his Horde toon on the Silvermoon login screen, wearing his <of Silvermoon> title, clad in his Silvermoon tabard and striding around Silvermoon City atop his Silvermoon hawkstrider, will wake up and find the identity Blizzard gave him has been transferred to the opposite faction. Like Darnassus, Undercity, and even Theramore, they'd probably blow Silvermoon up before giving it to the other side.

[Varodoc]

The Alliance winning the first two warfronts was a pretty strong indicator that the Horde would have won the next two planned in their own territories (Mulgore/Quel'Thalas) IMO. Blizzard likes parity, particularly when it comes to player races.

More broadly, you void elf fanatics hyperfixate on what the Alliance wants way too hard. The Horde has as much reason to see Silvermoon defended as the Alliance does to see it conquered... more, probably, with meta considerations like 13 years of player investment in the place and all the Horde-only content tied to it. We might see some faction conflict in Quel'Thalas one day - the foreshadowing is there - but conflict isn't a synonym of victory.

Personally, I rather doubt we'll see the day Joe'dorei, selecting his Horde toon on the Silvermoon login screen, wearing his <of Silvermoon> title, clad in his Silvermoon tabard and striding around Silvermoon City atop his Silvermoon hawkstrider, will wake up and find the identity Blizzard gave him has been transferred to the opposite faction. Like Darnassus, Undercity, and even Theramore, they'd probably blow Silvermoon up before giving it to the other side.

Right, thanks for calling Void elf players "fanatics", that certainly helped drive your point home. There's nothing better than insulting players simply because they like an official race that you don't.

[Traveler Voltin]

It's difficult to do so when Horde players are used to share and/or destroy all the stuff the Allliance has. That's said, Suramar should stay Horde.

Gilneas is contested. Dalaran is lolneutral. Theramore is gone.

Stromgarde was a really good improvement though. I hope more will come. Dalaran needs to land off to Hillsbrand once and for all.

And since the crown of Menethil is now officially in the Alliance's hands, I really hope Turalyon will take Lordaeron back.

Gilneas should be alliance. i stopped caring about Dalaran awhile ago.

Seeing as Calia and Voss want to rebuild lordaeron Turalyon has no claim to anything.

be happy with what you have for once and stop trying to take horde things.

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People in this thread need to understand the thought process of a professional writer:

- Alleria wants to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Umbric wants to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Vereesa wants to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Many in Silvermoon want to rejoin the Alliance.
- The Void Lords want Alleria to reclaim Silvermoon.
- Turalyon wants to reclaim former Alliance holdings, like they did with Stromgarde in BfA.

Like, the set-up is so obvious. People need to understand that writers NEVER do things randomly. There is HEAVY foreshadowing for a MASSIVE Thalassian civil war. The writers did not have several characters mention their desire to reclaim Silvermoon for fun. They did that because they are setting something up. And what could that "something" be? Hmm...

show claims of the people of Silvermoon or else you are full of crap.

[Ardenaso]

a way for Quel'thalas to not get conquered is to bring Alterac and Eastweald to the Horde! A renewed Alliance of Lordaeron (in the Horde) would make sure the Grand Alliance would not get their hands on Silvermoon

[ravenmoon]

According to "Exploring Azeroth" the Alliance got Arathi, Darkshore, Southshore and Lordamere Lake with Fenris Isle. The Horde got nothing after the Fourth War. There is only a small hint of the future restoration of Lordaeron, but that's it. So no, Silvermoon belongs to the Horde, and void elves should built their own city in space or join the Silver Covenant in Dalaran.

I don't think giving humans more stuff, is what the alliance needs if you ask me.

Wanna bet the alliance will be far more excited with powerful and revived night elves and high/void elves. Gaining the Suramar or having it opened up, and gaining Quel'thalas or having it opened up to them and their elven groups developing as the sort of grand races their original lore echoed or shaping up to be at least, would be far more exciting to alliance fans than giving humans more stuff.

The horde doesn't need elven stuff any more - they're popular, i say strip them of it, or at the very least open them up to share.

[Varodoc]

a way for Quel'thalas to not get conquered is to bring Alterac and Eastweald to the Horde! A renewed Alliance of Lordaeron (in the Horde) would make sure the Grand Alliance would not get their hands on Silvermoon

How many times must this be said.

No one is saying that the Alliance will take Quel'Thalas in-game or in the lore. Blizzard will never even update that derelict left-over from 2007.

What we're saying is that they can carry out this conflict through instanced scenarios (which don't require the update of the in-game world), a conflict that could end with a stalemate or armistice, or even with an Alliance victory but inability to effectively take over Quel'Thalas.

[Zaelsino]

Right, thanks for calling Void elf players "fanatics", that certainly helped drive your point home. There's nothing better than insulting players simply because they like an official race that you don't.

I like void elves a lot. I just think "what can we poach from the blood elves" is a pretty questionable pursuit for fans of the race to focus on, one that will probably leave them disappointed. I never really agreed with the idea of playable high elves, but I did appreciate the creativity and effort Traycor and others put into crafting a vision of the race that had a bit more going on than just chasing after everything the blood elves have. And there was certainly no insult intended, I've been a blood elf and night elf fanatic for years.

[Rhlor]

Still blue eyed blood elves if you ask me.

according to blizzard it is high elves customization therefore high elves

[Varodoc]

I like void elves a lot. I just think "what can we poach from the blood elves" is a pretty questionable pursuit for fans of the race to focus on, one that will probably leave them disappointed. I never really agreed with the idea of playable high elves, but I did appreciate the creativity and effort Traycor and others put into crafting a vision of the race that had a bit more going on than just chasing after everything the blood elves have. And there was certainly no insult intended, I've been a blood elf and night elf fanatic for years.

I see, well then I guess misunderstood. Usually "fanatic" is used in a negative way, ESPECIALLY in this thread, so you'll have to forgive me.

Regardless I don't particularly care about Quel'Thalas. As I said, it is a place of many good memories and nostalgia, but it is also a broken mess. I mean, just look at the zone from above, it's completely unfinished. I doubt anyone would really want it, since it's still stuck in 2007.

But at the same time, foreshadowing should always have some paid-off, and it's pretty clear that Blizzard is building something up in this conflict between Thalassian elves. Recently, the Eastern Kingdoms lore book written by Golden mentioned that Shaw noticed that many elves in Silvermoon are pro-Alliance, and Alleria is interested in reclaiming that kingdom (too interested, according to Shaw, which worried him) -- not for herself, of course, but for the Alliance.

[Kyriani]

I like void elves a lot. I just think "what can we poach from the blood elves" is a pretty questionable pursuit for fans of the race to focus on, one that will probably leave them disappointed.

I have to agree with this. There is an issue though that's more on Blizzard than those making requests for Alliance High Elves.

The issue I see is that, because Blood Elves and Void Elves use the same model, Blizzard may decide to take a shortcut and share assets between the two, rather than take time and resources to make unique assets for each. From a business standpoint I can understand if they decide to go that route. They might take the time to make minor variations on the assets to make them look slightly different, but it would still be obvious what the variant was based on.

What I'd rather see is for assets from all races to be proliferated around to all races like it was done years ago when several hairstyles were shared between many races, usually with minor differences. In this way, every race could get a bunch of "new" assets, and it wouldn't just be Void Elves and Blood Elves sharing all their assets between them and thus reducing the distinctiveness of both.

[Zaelsino]

Recently, the Eastern Kingdoms lore book written by Golden mentioned that Shaw noticed that many elves in Silvermoon are pro-Alliance,

My friend has the book and linked me the entire Silvermoon section, and this is never stated. Shaw notes that SI:7 sometimes inserted spies within the open forum at the Bazaar to "see who was sympathetic to the Alliance," but that's all that's said. A few amusing notes though:

The leper gnome sweatshop run by the warlock and his succubus apparently got exposed and closed down.
The open forum at the Bazaar is apparently a common occurrence, and is a "usually friendly" place for shouting matches and political debates. The wording implies the court priests who, uh, influenced the flow of discussion during "dark times" are a tradition predating even TBC.
Any friends the Alliance has in Silvermoon are "higher up the ladder" than the cutthroats you might find in Murder Row and are never referred to by name, likely a nod to Narsilla Keensight/Lancer, who spies on Lor'themar for Shaw in Golden's other new book.
Quel'Danas is the "most sacred place in the world" to the blood elves. They still care for Magisters' Terrace but it has the feel of a "museum" now. They carefully tend to Kael'thas' white hawkstrider and a "rare phoenix hatchling" there, and use it to store the Sunstriders' weapons and belongings in "places of honour" too. (Shaw muses that they never really got over the Sunstrider line's ugly ending and will probably always grieve for that). Felo'melorn, Quel'Delar, and Quel'Serrar are three swords he expected to find here, but are apparently in the hands of nondescript players.
After the Sunwell was cleared, a ton of old artefacts were reclaimed, and others were donated to the blood elves anonymously. The blood elves heavily ward them to deter thieves and protect anyone stupid enough to mess around with shit that could kill them, like Apolyon. Thori'dal is in the blood elves' hands; its origins are unknown even to the sin'dorei, but its power is bound to the Sunwell. Through SI:7, the Alliance has been "secretly negotiating the return of Alleria Windrunner's headdress and the now-tattered cloak of Archmage Antonidas" because they feel these particular items should be given to the Alliance.