Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Varodoc]

Sounds about right.
I just hope we don't have to actually wait for 10.0, no matter what they said. They change their minds a lot, so I'm not convinced that it's really set in stone.

I'd settle for a simple option that removes the tentacles from the hairstyles that have them, if they really can't be bothered to come up with anything new.

Normal-looking skin tones with tentacle hair simply don't look good. They look dumb. You either embrace the Void-y look of Void elves or you embrace the Human-y look of Void elves, there's no middle ground.

More hair colours would also be appreciated. The azure/grey hair colour with the pale skin looks good, as does the pink/purple hair colour with the more tanned skin. But again these options are very limited.

[Davidor]

I'm loving all this artwork!

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Why would they change their minds on this? Not doing more customization for next several expansions means less work for them.

Even financially, making whole new race (with OP racials) will make more money from race changes than adding new stuff to existing races.

I do think it also has to do with keeping a level of investment with the playerbase; like how AR and DK's were unlocked before their expansions. In as much, expanded customization for AR's could come even before the next exp pre-launch, specially if it serves to expand not only on their aesthetics, but background.

Not entirely likely, but I could see it happening; overall, I do think we will have a final patch new feature as AR's were for Legion and DK's for BfA. What I am less certain is if AR customization expansion would be it.

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Well, not sure. I'm actually way more interested in worgen now. New options and model rework from late BfA made them way more likeable option for me. New options have always potential to make race more popular.

I agree with you that some races are niche archetypes which will most likely never be as popular as more general and neutral archetypes like humans, orcs, elves... But it's not a reason to deny them development.

Prioritizing Races customization based on popularity would be bound to create deep resentments within the playerbase and would frankly be ridiculous. Sure prioritizing VE's over core races like Gnomes and Pandaren would have not created any backlash lol!

[Lahis]

I do think it also has to do with keeping a level of investment with the playerbase; like how AR and DK's were unlocked before their expansions. In as much, expanded customization for AR's could come even before the next exp pre-launch, specially if it serves to expand not only on their aesthetics, but background.

Not entirely likely, but I could see it happening; overall, I do think we will have a final patch new feature as AR's were for Legion and DK's for BfA. What I am less certain is if AR customization expansion would be it.

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Prioritizing Races customization based on popularity would be bound to create deep resentments within the playerbase and would frankly be ridiculous. Sure prioritizing VE's over core races like Gnomes and Pandaren would have not created any backlash lol!

Well VE already got better deal than Pandaren. They got what, 2 more hairstyles?

[Lastgope]

Of course. But still, it bothers me that I have to wait until 10.0 for new customization options for Void elves. I'd prefer if the 30 Pandaren players world-wide had to wait that long instead frankly.

I know your being fictitious but Pandaren are more played then you think. Sure they will never be to the level of the "Pretty Races" but back when wowcensus was a thing, there was more Pandaren players then several of the lower end core races.

Prioritizing races by popularity isn't the smartest way.

[Varodoc]

I know your being fictitious but Pandaren are more played then you think. Sure they will never be to the level of the "Pretty Races" but back when wowcensus was a thing, there was more Pandaren players then several of the lower end core races.

Yeah back in 2012 maybe.

Prioritizing races by popularity isn't the smartest way.

That's literally what they have done anyway so Compare the new options humans got to the new options pandaren got, there's no comparison to be made.

[FossilFree]

Why would they change their minds on this? Not doing more customization for next several expansions means less work for them.

Even financially, making whole new race (with OP racials) will make more money from race changes than adding new stuff to existing races.

I think it's debatable which would make more money. I know I personally spent a lot of money for 6 race changes when the new customization options were released. I would probably do the same for my Allied Race characters if they got a pass.

I'd settle for a simple option that removes the tentacles from the hairstyles that have them, if they really can't be bothered to come up with anything new.

Normal-looking skin tones with tentacle hair simply don't look good. They look dumb. You either embrace the Void-y look of Void elves or you embrace the Human-y look of Void elves, there's no middle ground.

More hair colours would also be appreciated. The azure/grey hair colour with the pale skin looks good, as does the pink/purple hair colour with the more tanned skin. But again these options are very limited.

They should add a tentacle to braids swap option. It could just be a checkbox in the barber window.

I think the problem with their hair is everything has some shade of blue or purple. Even their "redhead" is more purple than anything, and their black is more of a dark blue. I think they could easily get some new colors without even trampling on Blood Elves at all. Jet black, ghostly white, pink, starcursed (like the mount/heritage armor glass), and some desaturated earth tones (brown/blonde/red) would all be welcome additions. Desaturated would make them look different from the Blood Elf ones, and match the theme that Void Elves have with their other hair colors being washed out.

[Ardenaso]

does anyone know where I can get the Silver Covenant Tabard texture files?

I'm going to apply the texture to this tabard:

[FlubberPuddy]

Prioritizing races by popularity isn't the smartest way.

It may not be smartest but it is most efficient. Blizzard (Ely Canon specifically) has said such in an interview, that they gave more customizations to the more popular races. Which makes sense since they've spoken a lot about having limited time/resources, so ofc they gotta put them where they reach the greatest audience.

Do note that Pandaren still did get a decent chunk of options despite player metrics showing they're 'least played' (I actually don't think they're least played, I think they're about the same level as the other least popular races).

[Alanar]

I'd settle for a simple option that removes the tentacles from the hairstyles that have them, if they really can't be bothered to come up with anything new.

Normal-looking skin tones with tentacle hair simply don't look good. They look dumb. You either embrace the Void-y look of Void elves or you embrace the Human-y look of Void elves, there's no middle ground.

More hair colours would also be appreciated. The azure/grey hair colour with the pale skin looks good, as does the pink/purple hair colour with the more tanned skin. But again these options are very limited.

Everyone would want more options.. the options we got are sparse. Void elves had more options then others and they are a allied race. Imo void elves are in the back of the line ad Nightborne front row for obvious reasons.

[Varodoc]

It may not be smartest but it is most efficient. Blizzard (Ely Canon specifically) has said such in an interview, that they gave more customizations to the more popular races. Which makes sense since they've spoken a lot about having limited time/resources, so ofc they gotta put them where they reach the greatest audience.

Do note that Pandaren still did get a decent chunk of options despite player metrics showing they're 'least played' (I actually don't think they're least played, I think they're about the same level as the other least popular races).

Yes. It's also the reason why in MOBAs the developers prioritize popular heroes when making new skins, rather than unpopular or barely played heroes. Same thing here.

For example, League of Legends players complain that Ahri and Lux always get new skins while some champions haven't gotten new skins in years, but that's just logic. These two champions are very popular so the developers want to monetize them as much as possible.

You don't need to study Economy at university to understand that making a product that will be consumed by 1000 people is better than making a product that will be consumed by 10 people.

[Beloren]

Blizzard often says no to things and then turns around and does them anyways. I think the "no" is just a distraction so they can surprise everyone later on and say "see, we listened!"

Fans change their minds.

Why do you think there is such crazy fan wrestling over certain features and advances?

If it’s popular amongst the fans that means fans would play more and pay more. At a certain point it becomes more profitable to do than not.

Anything that would make you play more and buy more us a win. They come up with things, but they also look to what the community wants.

Why do you think blood elves have it so good? Because they have a network of hardcore fans pouring endless amounts of time talking up the race and ensuring any fan things that threaten or undermine it never happen because of the negticity they can engineer socially through their conversation.

It’s all to get blizzard to do what they want because they know blizzard monitors these things.

Good luck to them. It takes a lot of effort.

You’d have gotten high elves a lot sooner if it wasn’t so heavily opposed by the BElf fan club.

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Of which I am a proud member btw.

[Mungho]

Yes. It's also the reason why in MOBAs the developers prioritize popular heroes when making new skins, rather than unpopular or barely played heroes. Same thing here.

For example, League of Legends players complain that Ahri and Lux always get new skins while some champions haven't gotten new skins in years, but that's just logic. These two champions are very popular so the developers want to monetize them as much as possible.

You don't need to study Economy at university to understand that making a product that will be consumed by 1000 people is better than making a product that will be consumed by 10 people.

I notice you keep ignoring the responses from people who want some options for Nightborne, who have gotten NOTHING while the VE have gotten lots. Then Nightborne would be a lot more popular if we could make them not look like hideous abominations.

[Varodoc]

I notice you keep ignoring the responses from people who want some options for Nightborne, who have gotten NOTHING while the VE have gotten lots. Then Nightborne would be a lot more popular if we could make them not look like hideous abominations.

Buddy I don't give a shit about Nightborne, that's why I don't care about any Nightborne suggestion. I can answer you people if you want but it's Blizzard you need to get the attention of, not me.

[Lina1]

Yes. It's also the reason why in MOBAs the developers prioritize popular heroes when making new skins, rather than unpopular or barely played heroes. Same thing here.

For example, League of Legends players complain that Ahri and Lux always get new skins while some champions haven't gotten new skins in years, but that's just logic. These two champions are very popular so the developers want to monetize them as much as possible.

You don't need to study Economy at university to understand that making a product that will be consumed by 1000 people is better than making a product that will be consumed by 10 people.

I totally agree with you. It's their business and it's all about money. Gamers can call it passion but your passion monetaze verywell. And developers will widely open those doors through which they can involve more and more new gamers.

[HateTrain]

Deleted. It was a little petty.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

Yes. It's also the reason why in MOBAs the developers prioritize popular heroes when making new skins, rather than unpopular or barely played heroes. Same thing here.

For example, League of Legends players complain that Ahri and Lux always get new skins while some champions haven't gotten new skins in years, but that's just logic. These two champions are very popular so the developers want to monetize them as much as possible.

You don't need to study Economy at university to understand that making a product that will be consumed by 1000 people is better than making a product that will be consumed by 10 people.

What you’re doing is mistaking your overblown passion for the race for a common perception. The thing is that most people seem to select Void Elves chiefly because they have a useful aesthetic. It seems like you dramatically overestimate the interest held in the race for reasons beyond their attractive skeletons and appearances relative to other races, much less the other human-like races

What I’m saying is there exists little evident passion for the race itself. You can see this by how quickly discussion about them seem to swiftly falter or be pivoted away from.

I’d argue that it would be far more unpopular among those who actually afford interest in the lore or identity to continue to provide options to a single race as a priority, much less while keeping them away from a race which is extremely popular in terms of lore, yet is mostly left unplayed due to an underwhelming model. It is likely that far less attraction would be given to the Void Elves for new customization options than it would be for Nightborne.

Finally, the economic opportunity cost from not giving the Void Elves new customization efforts is pretty much minimal. Very few players would be so comically obsessive as to unsubscribe over such things, and the increase in race changes or boosts wouldn’t be too considerable. In fact, an updated Nightborne model would likely draw more money in race changes because of the number of people who seem to have interest in the race yet do not play them because of how unfortunate the models are - plus, there’s less incentive to boost them because their heritage armor is the only armor that looks half-decent on them.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Well VE already got better deal than Pandaren. They got what, 2 more hairstyles?

Nah, like most races they got 3 new options across the board (hair color, skin color, hair style) but they didn't get new extra options as jewelry I think, but some new mustaches and beards, and the separation of each.

Some races did get more extra options, but overall all Core Races got 3x3 new things on the least.

And while it's lovely that we got new skin colors on VE's, all the "new" stuff they got were reused assets from Blood Elves, except for the specific purple VE eye color -then again, several other AR's got their eye colors decoupled and as unique options-

I do agree that in terms of possibilities VE's got more options and I am glad for those, but they really are overall just reused BE stuff.

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I totally agree with you. It's their business and it's all about money. Gamers can call it passion but your passion monetaze verywell. And developers will widely open those doors through which they can involve more and more new gamers.

I mean TBH they would make more money if they sold hair dyes.

The outrage tho!

[FlubberPuddy]

Why do you think blood elves have it so good? Because they have a network of hardcore fans pouring endless amounts of time talking up the race and ensuring any fan things that threaten or undermine it never happen because of the negticity they can engineer socially through their conversation.

Except for High Elves on Alliance apparently. Still glad Blizzard's answer was 'give it to both factions'.

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What you’re doing is mistaking your overblown passion for the race for a common perception. The thing is that most people seem to select Void Elves chiefly because they have a useful aesthetic. It seems like you dramatically overestimate the interest held in the race for reasons beyond their attractive skeletons and appearances relative to other races, much less the other human-like races

Finally, the economic opportunity cost from not giving the Void Elves new customization efforts is pretty much minimal. Very few players would be so comically obsessive as to unsubscribe over such things, and the increase in race changes or boosts wouldn’t be too considerable. In fact, an updated Nightborne model would likely draw more money in race changes because of the number of people who seem to have interest in the race yet do not play them because of how unfortunate the models are - plus, there’s less incentive to boost them because their heritage armor is the only armor that looks half-decent on them.

I don't think they are mistaking their passion for perception. Void Elves were(are?) the most popular Allied Race compared to the others, literally due to sharing the Blood Elf/High Elf model aka Thalassian model (which in itself is the most popular player race model to date).

On release of their availability there were so so so so many Void Elves both immediately at 110 and also in dungeon finder. To the point where lots of early dungeon finder was filled with full Void Elf parties and also that you could see many Void Elves during the Legion Argus invasion thingys. Nightborne were essentially the same on Horde side (and you'd have dungeon finder filled with Blood Elves/Nightborne parties).

People just love their elves!

Also strange to imply in beginning that it's the poster's own opinion bias and then in the last paragraph utilize your own opinion bias. I think the fact is that Nightborne can definitely use more customization improvement, but hands down the most popular player model is the Thalassian model - that's just a fact.

Also 99% of people pick their races for looks. It's evident for Blood Elves especially since their origins from Blizzard's own mouth that they were made for Asian players' gfs to have pretty characters to the fact that when High Elves were asked for many BE fans didn't realize that BEs themselves would hate to be called High Elves.

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1198 pages of "I want blonde, blue eyed elves that look exactly like the blood elves, but they are available for the Alliance, just because i say so. Trust me Blizzard".

If you want Blonde elves go Horde. If you want Dark Elves, go Alliance.

The End.

This is so 2019. Now we're simply 1 hair dye away in 2021.

[Beloren]

Except for High Elves on Alliance apparently. Still glad Blizzard's answer was 'give it to both factions'.

.

Well you guys won that one, but it took the forum equivalent of blood , sweat and tears, eventually you simply just wore us out, it came to a point I didn't even care, if you wanted it that badly, whatever.. but I still remember Mace's point that alliance high elves would actually make little difference to the horde, because they were already strong as blood elves.. i think it was after that i realised it wasn't so big a deal.

Still, I would have preferred it if the alliance never got high elves, and the horde never got Nightborne. The blood elves should have been the exclusive elves on the horde, and void elves shoudl always have been purple.. i would have preferred, the alliance known for purple elves - whether void, nightborne or night elf, and the horde known for pale skinned elves.. even with high elves still on the alliance as non-playable.

But what I would have preferred is irrelevant. I don't mind them having their high elves, in fact i think at this point it would be healthier for the game. But i think it's because i'm in favour of faction removal lines.. once blood elves came to the horde, faction distinction became superficial mostly. They should have embraced that and re-evaluated the heavy emphasis on them which has cost them SO much quality story. They write the faction more like a race or empire, and it just covers all the good individuality of the races, which is probably the most special thing about wow's storyline. It stops them from writing good stories and varied stories.. they become predictable because you know that the blood elves, tauren, orcs, trolls, etc will always be horde, the alliance is even more boring.. so it just ends up being a blue versus red crazy focus, which makes no sense in the manner they've done it. How can you work together so often, and yet still be fighting each other in such fine divided lines?

Their creators lack vision, even though they have creativity, you need vision as well, not just to project a story for the future, but to handle things with the restrictions the game systems demand. Can you think of any way we could have had far more fluid movement of the races, while still restricting players of certain races to a faction? I can think of aa few.

There most basic error, si making most non-native horde and alliance races fully invested in their factions.

Night elves, Draenei, Blood elves, Forsaken - are 4 major races that should not be involved with the factions. But rather have a small group that fight for them, while the rest of the race, continue in to influence the story. But what did blizzard do? they tied them all wholeheartedly into the factions - and that's just terrible. The night elves didn't even get an explanation, the Draenei shouldn't be so involved with the alliance, but rather the light and what it stands for. The blood elves had a good story that explained why they would partner with the horde, but after 2.4, they should have left it. game would have been much more interesting with a Draenei and blood elf friendship, despite them having factions with them batting for the alliance and horde.

In such a context, your high elf wishes would not have been problematic. it is because the horde must be different from the each other - and yet, by putting blood elves in the horde, they made the alliance and horde more like each other, yet continued to be so super restricted. And so you have a perfect example of lacking vision and understanding, despite being talented and creative.