Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[delus]

I would agree, but the problem is two for me

1) he is a pirate
2) he has no current contact with the quelthalas government

I know that a pirate can become a well-regarded person in society as is the case of Admiral Drake, but the problem is that we did not see anything that would make him someone respected and we did not see him working alongside the blood elves leaders! We would need a quest to see that but Ion said we would not have any customization related quests.

but we saw Auric in wotlk being together with quelthalas leaders as high elf representative

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blizz say they are high elves

Blizz also says void elves are high elves.

[Rhlor]

Blizz also says void elves are high elves.

yes
10char

[Traycor]

But as you can see once you're playing one, you're labeled a Blood Elf/Sin'dorei, just as Alliance players making their High Elves are labeled as Void Elf/Ren'dorei.

One of the interview quotes about pronouns and being able to change them made me think. They might be building in a way to have a different "racial heritage" to label your character as the subrace you want, such as "high elf".

[Kyriani]

One of the interview quotes about pronouns and being able to change them made me think. They might be building in a way to have a different "racial heritage" to label your character as the subrace you want, such as "high elf".

That would be pretty cool! I hope it happens! Then my Dwarf can be referred to as a Wildhammer Dwarf by NPC's! (or High Elf in the case of elves). Could you link to that interview?

[Traycor]

The bolded response shows they're aware that possible things like the different troll tribes/dwarf clans would like their own race focused quest lines or EVEN RACIAL HERITAGE (did someone mention heritage armor ) could be an opportunity in the future!!

Having heritage armor for high elves would be a major win. That would be very exciting. (wildhammer too!)

[Doffen]

Awesome hair

I really like the Void Elves hairstyles myself, and for me personally I don't mind keeping it how it is and some of them goes well with fair skin. BUT:

Options are awesome

[Traycor]

That would be pretty cool! I hope it happens! Then my Dwarf can be referred to as a Wildhammer Dwarf by NPC's! (or High Elf in the case of elves). Could you link to that interview?

The interview was referring to gender, but I think the way it was being built, an option for race could be included as well. There were 50 million interviews this week, so I don't have the link to the specific one. :P

[Edoll]

The interview was referring to gender, but I think the way it was being built, an option for race could be included as well. There were 50 million interviews this week, so I don't have the link to the specific one. :P

Could this interview be referring to gender changes on the barbershop? Picking pronouns in quest text and NPC dialogue would be nice, but just doing a full gender swap seems a lot easier.

[Thalassian Bob]

Because Rhlor is insisting on switching factional allegiances from a character that stands out because of their neutrality (with Alliance-leaning side). That is what doesn't make sense.

No one cares if say Roseleth wanted to go back home to Silvermoon. The insistence on Auric switching factional allegiance (which is what Rhlor is adamant about) is what is strange. Can he not stay as a High Elf representative in Silvermoon while being Alliance? The same way Baine doesn't automatically become Alliance just because he's visting Anduin / is at Anduin's council meets.

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Yet no one is asking for a Blood Elf named character who has been Horde to go to the Alliance side. That's what Elbleut is pointing out.

Yet, Roseleth is in a very similar position to Auric?

I think it's because of the unique position high elves were in that makes people ask for them to switch sides. Now that Thalassians finally have representation on the other team maybe gives them more room to stay where they are, but before BfA no other race was so represented in the opposing faction to the majority of their people as Thalassians were on the Alliance. It was especially strange to see Auric residing in Quel'Thalas (perhaps he ported in and out after his shift lol) and talking about all the "children of Silvermoon" collectively.

Baine was not a permanent fixture in Alliance territory like Auric might seem to be and he was presumably not allowed to stray much beyond Anduin's company in Stormwind Keep, presumably the most guarded area in all Alliance land. However, we have Auric, potentially still working for the Alliance in an official capacity, spending substantial time in one of the most sacred and vulnerable areas of one of the Horde's nations.

I'm trying to think of a real-world example that is as strange, it might be like having a Soviet American representing American expats in the USSR being a member of the Communist Party and spending all his time around the president, chiefs of staff and a site of cultural importance like the Lincoln Memorial, Plymouth Rock, the Washington Memorial and Mt Rushmore all rolled into one.

[Vaedan]

Yet, Roseleth is in a very similar position to Auric?

I think it's because of the unique position high elves were in that makes people ask for them to switch sides. Now that Thalassians finally have representation on the other team maybe gives them more room to stay where they are, but before BfA no other race was so represented in the opposing faction to the majority of their people as Thalassians were on the Alliance. It was especially strange to see Auric residing in Quel'Thalas (perhaps he ported in and out after his shift lol) and talking about all the "children of Silvermoon" collectively.

Baine was not a permanent fixture in Alliance territory like Auric might seem to be and he was presumably not allowed to stray much beyond Anduin's company in Stormwind Keep, presumably the most guarded area in all Alliance land. However, we have Auric, potentially still working for the Alliance in an official capacity, spending substantial time in one of the most sacred and vulnerable areas of one of the Horde's nations.

In trying to think of a real-world example that is as strange, it might be like having a Soviet American representing American expats in the USSR being a member of the Communist Party and spending all his time around the president, chiefs of staff and a site of cultural importance like the Lincoln Memorial, Plymouth Rock, the Washington Memorial and Mt Rushmore all rolled into one.

Auric was also seen only once in Quel'thalas and only at Sunwell, so he was most likely restricted in the similar way Baine was in Stormwind. I'm not aware of him being anywhere else.

Don't forget his involvement was back in WotLK. We've been through two major conflicts between factions, which included Horde killing high elves.

[protip]

Awesome!! So Blizzard knows Forest Trolls and BE hair colors (I would've just said normal hair colors honestly, but whatever) are something wanted. That means we're probably not going to see hair colors on Void Elves by the time of Shadowlands launch, but sounds like it'll definitely happen at some point later.

That they mention Forest Trolls means they're going to do what I anticipated: forgo Allied Races if a race uses an existing model and just implement them into the existing races as customization options.

Just for the record, the bit about forest trolls and blood elf hair colors was not a quote from any Blizzard representative, it's just the author's inference following a broad statement by the art director. It's still true, but void elves having access to blood elf hair colors has never been an issue of labor. I don't doubt normal hair colors, and maybe they'll just copy paste from blood elves, but that particular statement is not an acknowledgement of anything specific on the part of the devs.

[Thalassian Bob]

Auric was also seen only once in Quel'thalas and only at Sunwell, so he was most likely restricted in the similar way Baine was in Stormwind. I'm not aware of him being anywhere else.

Don't forget his involvement was back in WotLK. We've been through two major conflicts between factions, which included Horde killing high elves.

True. We don't know how long the high elves were allowed access to the Sunwell. Obviously, Lor'themar opened Quel'Thalas up to the return of expats once the Sunwell crisis was over with doing things like visiting the elves stationed at Quel'Lithien and high elves were able to visit the Sunwell on pilgrimage but perhaps that was only within a temporary window. The pilgrimage may have been a one and done thing. The Sunwell may have been closed to high elves again once the events of Cataclysm began.

I'd love to see Silvermoon (and all the other racial capitals) updated to reflect their evolution over the past decade or more since TBC/Cataclysm. That would go a long way towards making Azeroth feel more alive in the many years since its initial iteration and the Cata updates.

Perhaps Auric himself may not have left the Alliance completely (though I think his speech in the Sin'dorei Quel'Delar events makes it sound possible) and returned home more permanently, I'm sure several of the elves under his command likely did.

Obviously everyone gets blue eyes now and I think seeing Allerian Stronghold elves around Silvermoon and Stormwind would be one cool potential implicit explanation for that.

[Vaedan]

True. We don't know how long the high elves were allowed access to the Sunwell. Obviously, Lor'themar opened Quel'Thalas up to the return of expats once the Sunwell crisis was over with doing things like visiting the elves stationed at Quel'Lithien and high elves were able to visit the Sunwell on pilgrimage but perhaps that was only within a temporary window. The pilgrimage may have been a one and done thing. The Sunwell may have been closed to high elves again once the events of Cataclysm began.

I'd love to see Silvermoon (and all the other racial capitals) updated to reflect their evolution over the past decade or more since TBC/Cataclysm. That would go a long way towards making Azeroth feel more alive in the many years since its initial iteration and the Cata updates.

Perhaps Auric himself may not have left the Alliance completely (though I think his speech in the Sin'dorei Quel'Delar events makes it sound possible) and returned home more permanently, I'm sure several of the elves under his command likely did.

Obviously everyone gets blue eyes now and I think seeing Allerian Stronghold elves around Silvermoon and Stormwind would be one cool potential implicit explanation for that.

Yes, exactly this. We lack any information of high elven pilgrimage once faction war erupted in Cataclysm, and I don't really find it very likely for Horde to let a structure so important for one of their nation to be opened even for the Alliance... it's dangerous and it would be well within Lor'themar's character to shut Alliance pilgrimages to prevent any harm which could be done to Sunwell. Following Purge of Dalaran, I think most of high elves would be not welcomed at all.

In recent history, we've seen only Alleria to be allowed close to Sunwell and only because Lor'themar himself personally approved of it, Romath was not about to let her in, so hard to say what was the most usual practise back then. After Fourth War erupted, I think that even if some pilgrimages took place, they were once again shut down.

I agree that Allerian Stronghold elves are the most likely to rejoin Quel'thalas. They did not bear any particular grudges towards sin'dorei, because they were not actually exiled by them, on the contrary to quel'dorei on Azeroth. They just did not want to follow path Kael has taken and felt disgusted that their brethren are sucking mana from living beings and are consorting with demonic powers, but that path has been abandoned by blood elves already... I think they can easily stay in Alliance as well, since Alleria, their commander and a person who they followed for years, is back in action on the blue team.

[delus]

Lorewise, we might see a situation where there are canonically no blood elf Shadow priests as practicing void magic will be prohibited within Silvermoon or they are driven into seclusion similar to how human warlocks were. I think the move of void elves to practitioners of void magic rather than void mutants has interesting implications.

[Thalassian Bob]

Yes, exactly this. We lack any information of high elven pilgrimage once faction war erupted in Cataclysm, and I don't really find it very likely for Horde to let a structure so important for one of their nation to be opened even for the Alliance... it's dangerous and it would be well within Lor'themar's character to shut Alliance pilgrimages to prevent any harm which could be done to Sunwell. Following Purge of Dalaran, I think most of high elves would be not welcomed at all.

In recent history, we've seen only Alleria to be allowed close to Sunwell and only because Lor'themar himself personally approved of it, Romath was not about to let her in, so hard to say what was the most usual practise back then. After Fourth War erupted, I think that even if some pilgrimages took place, they were once again shut down.

I agree that Allerian Stronghold elves are the most likely to rejoin Quel'thalas. They did not bear any particular grudges towards sin'dorei, because they were not actually exiled by them, on the contrary to quel'dorei on Azeroth. They just did not want to follow path Kael has taken and felt disgusted that their brethren are sucking mana from living beings and are consorting with demonic powers, but that path has been abandoned by blood elves already... I think they can easily stay in Alliance as well, since Alleria, their commander and a person who they followed for years, is back in action on the blue team.

Yeah, the way Alleria's pilgrimage was handled did make it seem like hers was an exceptional case at the time.

I'd agree with your assessment on most things in your final paragraph apart from the part where Allerian elves could be expected to be allowed to return home whilst also maintaining official ties of allegiance with the Alliance. The blood elves may be the Horde race that has flirted most with blurring the faction lines or stepping across them (except perhaps for Baine and Saurfang ) but since the Sin'dorei's initial introduction into the Horde after the Third War, Silvermoon has maintained unbroken and fairly active participation in the Horde. I don't think Quel'dorei would be allowed to return home whilst also maintaining a pledge to the Alliance. I think they could live in Quel'Thalas and choose not to participate in the faction war (since the pledge to the Horde is an individual choice) but I don't think they could bat explicitly for the other team.

[delus]

Yes, exactly this. We lack any information of high elven pilgrimage once faction war erupted in Cataclysm, and I don't really find it very likely for Horde to let a structure so important for one of their nation to be opened even for the Alliance... it's dangerous and it would be well within Lor'themar's character to shut Alliance pilgrimages to prevent any harm which could be done to Sunwell. Following Purge of Dalaran, I think most of high elves would be not welcomed at all.

In recent history, we've seen only Alleria to be allowed close to Sunwell and only because Lor'themar himself personally approved of it, Romath was not about to let her in, so hard to say what was the most usual practise back then. After Fourth War erupted, I think that even if some pilgrimages took place, they were once again shut down.

I agree that Allerian Stronghold elves are the most likely to rejoin Quel'thalas. They did not bear any particular grudges towards sin'dorei, because they were not actually exiled by them, on the contrary to quel'dorei on Azeroth. They just did not want to follow path Kael has taken and felt disgusted that their brethren are sucking mana from living beings and are consorting with demonic powers, but that path has been abandoned by blood elves already... I think they can easily stay in Alliance as well, since Alleria, their commander and a person who they followed for years, is back in action on the blue team.

Keep in mind that these elves joined the Outland expedition to kill orcs and destroy the Horde.

[Rhlor]

True. We don't know how long the high elves were allowed access to the Sunwell. Obviously, Lor'themar opened Quel'Thalas up to the return of expats once the Sunwell crisis was over with doing things like visiting the elves stationed at Quel'Lithien and high elves were able to visit the Sunwell on pilgrimage but perhaps that was only within a temporary window. The pilgrimage may have been a one and done thing. The Sunwell may have been closed to high elves again once the events of Cataclysm began.

I'd love to see Silvermoon (and all the other racial capitals) updated to reflect their evolution over the past decade or more since TBC/Cataclysm. That would go a long way towards making Azeroth feel more alive in the many years since its initial iteration and the Cata updates.

Perhaps Auric himself may not have left the Alliance completely (though I think his speech in the Sin'dorei Quel'Delar events makes it sound possible) and returned home more permanently, I'm sure several of the elves under his command likely did.

Obviously everyone gets blue eyes now and I think seeing Allerian Stronghold elves around Silvermoon and Stormwind would be one cool potential implicit explanation for that.

Ion said we would see npcs in the capitals see some high elves npcs in silvermoon is what I'm asking for I don't think it's something impossible to see

[Vaedan]

Yeah, the way Alleria's pilgrimage was handled did make it seem like hers was an exceptional case at the time.

I'd agree with your assessment on most things in your final paragraph apart from the part where Allerian elves could be expected to be allowed to return home whilst also maintaining official ties of allegiance with the Alliance. The blood elves may be the Horde race that has flirted most with blurring the faction lines or stepping across them (except perhaps for Baine and Saurfang ) but since the Sin'dorei's initial introduction into the Horde after the Third War, Silvermoon has maintained unbroken and fairly active participation in the Horde. I don't think Quel'dorei would be allowed to return home whilst also maintaining a pledge to the Alliance. I think they could live in Quel'Thalas and choose not to participate in the faction war (since the pledge to the Horde is an individual choice) but I don't think they could bat explicitly for the other team.

I expressed myself incorrectly then. I meant that part of allerian elves could be open to rejoin Quel'thalas as their home, since blood elves stopped mana tapping long time ago, and some of them will remain loyal to the Alliance because of Alleria and possibly other ties they already have to the faction. I did not meant that there could be Alliance elves living in Quel'thalas, which is Horde territory.

I agree that Lor'themar keeps Silvermoon active in Horde affairs. It's possible that in his new position as a member of Horde Council, he will finaly make Horde contribute to Quel'thalas after all these years of blood elven support of wars started by various Warchiefs. As we've seen, Ghostlands are still undead infested wastelands, when Amani threat resurged during cataclysm, Halduron had to invite Vereesa and her rangers to aid them... it all imply that Horde does not provide enough support to sin'dorei... but again, this is another thing that has not been adressed for very long time, similar to high elven pilgrimages, etc.

Now, I would really welcome one expansion centered around rebuilding a world, filling gaps in stories, ending lose ends set up by some events, without some major world ending threat. As you said, it would make world more living again. It definitely worked back in classic, I think we all can take a break from these "titan-level" threats which are about to end whole universe, if we get AFK for a while.

Ion said we would see npcs in the capitals see some high elves npcs in silvermoon is what I'm asking for I don't think it's something impossible to see

Well, I think he meant that we will see new customizations among already existing NPCs, that does not mean they'll be adding new NPCs to cities.

[Rhlor]

Yes, exactly this. We lack any information of high elven pilgrimage once faction war erupted in Cataclysm, and I don't really find it very likely for Horde to let a structure so important for one of their nation to be opened even for the Alliance... it's dangerous and it would be well within Lor'themar's character to shut Alliance pilgrimages to prevent any harm which could be done to Sunwell. Following Purge of Dalaran, I think most of high elves would be not welcomed at all.

In recent history, we've seen only Alleria to be allowed close to Sunwell and only because Lor'themar himself personally approved of it, Romath was not about to let her in, so hard to say what was the most usual practise back then. After Fourth War erupted, I think that even if some pilgrimages took place, they were once again shut down.

I agree that Allerian Stronghold elves are the most likely to rejoin Quel'thalas. They did not bear any particular grudges towards sin'dorei, because they were not actually exiled by them, on the contrary to quel'dorei on Azeroth. They just did not want to follow path Kael has taken and felt disgusted that their brethren are sucking mana from living beings and are consorting with demonic powers, but that path has been abandoned by blood elves already... I think they can easily stay in Alliance as well, since Alleria, their commander and a person who they followed for years, is back in action on the blue team.

Lor'themar allowed Alleria to visit Sunwell

About alleria and the high elves of allerian stronghold is a complicated matter, auric deeply loves sunwell and wanted to avenge its destruction. alleria almost destroyed the sunwell many high elves even the allerian stronghold ones will be angry

[FlubberPuddy]

Just for the record, the bit about forest trolls and blood elf hair colors was not a quote from any Blizzard representative, it's just the author's inference following a broad statement by the art director. It's still true, but void elves having access to blood elf hair colors has never been an issue of labor. I don't doubt normal hair colors, and maybe they'll just copy paste from blood elves, but that particular statement is not an acknowledgement of anything specific on the part of the devs.

Yeah it's an inference from what the art director said, but at the same time it's published and hasn't been corrected by Blizzard (as in Blizzard didn't contact them and say it's an incorrect statement so change it).

I also think the interviewer is more elaborating on what the art director means rather than simply making an inference here. Especially because they state that "Shadowlands has overhauled the way that cosmetics work; it's not longer an exponential increase in effort to keep adding systems like Night Warrior cosmetics" (the interviewer).

And now I'll make an inference of that sentence: It means it doesn't require Blizzard as many resources to add character customization options whereas with the Night Warrior they went about explaining it with a whole bit of lore / quest line. Now Blizzard are going to simply add customization options when they can as they're not held to 'having to explain' how those customization options came to be.