Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Rhlor]

Steve danuser principal narrative says custom are canon.
High elves are customization now

[Le Conceptuel]

Is resumen in a simple question: Horde Orcs: Is it correct to give them Brown Skin?

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It doesnt make any sense what you are asking. This thread is ALL ABOUT THE LOOKS of the Void elves and how the player base want them to be High elves.

Firstly, no, because they are not Mag'Har, who have an entirely distinct culture from the Orcs of Azeroth and a far more divergent history. Furthermore, there was far more content to produce from them and there were no other races using the Orc animations, thus meaning that it would not cause a relative degree of Orc spam. We have plenty of Elves.

Add to this how the corruption of the Orcs is entirely different from that of the Mag'Har. Firstly, the culture of the Orcs has been shaped differently than the Elves, and secondly, the Orcs directly and willingly consumed Fel rather than simply being in its presence. The Orcs we know are shaped by an entirely different history from the Mag'Har.

Secondly, it's not "all about the looks". You are skimming over a long period of preceding discussion, firstly, and secondly, what about the aesthetics of Void Elves and High Elves are totally incompatible? The Void Elves are led by a High Elf and (as loathe as I am to start sounding like Varodoc) they have a shared history with the other Elves of Quel'Thalas. They have minimal cultural identity at the moment which could well be merged with the existing High Elven identity. Furthermore, one could adequately replicate the appearance of a High Elf (as they are currently portrayed in-game) with a Void Elf save for a few hair colors, which is quite reason enough to support a little more.

[Combatbutler]

This is the reason, why i think people don't pay attention to the WoW lore and how wrong they are. All these elves are different from each other, with different culture and trails. High elves are not Blood elves and they are not void elves or Nightborne or Night elves.

Traits and methods maybe, but culture? No, blood/high/void elves all have the same culture, they all have their clear Thalassian root, what different culture aspects there are miniscule, blood elves just wear red to remember the slaughter of their people.

Not to mention blizzard is piss poor in fleshing out culture in general.

[Le Conceptuel]

Here is your evidence, all the lore of WoW put together:
High elf:
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/High_elf
Blood elf:
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Blood_elf
Void elf:
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Void_elf

I already made it clear, all the political differences between the High elves and Blood elves. + Physical differences (Corruption effects) + Culture/Life style

I'm not going to do your job, of reading all the lore for you. Read it and then give an opinion.

I have read all of this, seemingly more than you have. You have clearly missed everything following Burning Crusade, given the extent to which you seem intent on confirming Blood Elves as the "Fel Elves". Furthermore, the physical differences you mentioned are absolutely not present save the eye color. None of them have more "vicious features" than High Elves in canon. In addition, the cultural differences between High Elves and Blood Elves are virtually nonexistent. Both originate from the culture of Quel'Thalas and both presently live in a similar society. Although the Blood Elves used to have a society based on keeping their refuge race alive at any cost, they no longer do. Now, they are more Light Elves than anything else, as they are reliant on a new Sunwell which blends the Arcane and Light.

Now stop being evasive and form an actual argument based on anything more than circumstantial evidence and putting the burden of proof on the person you are trying to sway. Please learn basic argumentation skills before starting one.

[Le Conceptuel]

Not to mention blizzard is piss poor in fleshing out culture in general.

With the new Folklore and Fairy Tales book, they're at least making a go of it, even if I don't think they'll ever reach the levels of some other fantasy settings.

[Combatbutler]

With the new Folklore and Fairy Tales book, they're at least making a go of it, even if I don't think they'll ever reach the levels of some other fantasy settings.

It is still incredible superficial, in combination with their utter lack of consistency this is bound to be entertaining at least.

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High elves are not warlocks or paladins. Blood elves do. High elves mostly live now far away from Quel'thalas. One example are the ones living in the Hinterlands. They dont want anything with the Blood elves and Quel'thalas. The only thing they share now is the Sunwell. But outside from that, they separated from each others. Its clear, in both Outlands, Crystalsong Forest and now, that they embrace Nature more than Magic, after seeing their former members go mad over magic.

High elves also live in Dalaran and practice arcane magic in the same manner as the blood elves, high elf warlocks exist and they don't shun corruptive power, which is why several of them embrace the void.

[Combatbutler]

Please provide an example of a High elf Warlock.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Summoner_Nolric

[Le Conceptuel]

First point: Orcs and Elves story is the same thing. One of them are pure, the other are corrupted by Fel.

Second point: This endless thread is "Why my Void elf is not a High elf". "Why Alleria can be normal and Void elf not?", because Alleria is not a Blood elf, she absorbed a Dark Naru and her corruption is completely different from the one suffered by the group of Blood elves. Also she is and always have been a High elf archer. Her Blood elves friends first used the Fel and then the void.

Firstly, I have told you so much to the contrary that it should be abundantly clear. There is not nearly as much of a cultural distinction, there is a shared history that Orcs do not have as much of, there is an entire lesson learned by the Orcs that their counterparts did not have (the Mag'har Orcs of Outland rather than the ones we got would be a customization option for normal Orcs). Furthermore, your understanding of the lore is clearly very poor if you can somehow conflate the two stories as being "the same" despite the vast differences between them and the situations and people involved. It is far more complex than one being "pure" and the other being "corrupted". That's like saying that someone poisoned by radiation is the same as a Super Mutant from Fallout.

Secondly, that makes very little difference. It definitely would make no difference if Blizzard simply decided to go all the way with the High Elf Wayfarers in Telogrus and just say that the fair-skinned Void Elves are not "real" Void Elves, but the High Elf Wayfarers rather than Blood Elves who were corrupted by Nether-Prince Durzaan like the Void Elves proper were.



Ooh! And also, on the topic of customization options, why do the High Elves warrant a separate race to such an extent you can demand it, but Sandfury Trolls don't? They surely have a distinct history from Jungle Trolls and even engage in cannibalism, which isn't a racial trait of the Jungle Trolls. Why aren't they a different race?

[Le Conceptuel]

I ever wonder, if Blizzard accept the fact of making the High elves Warlocks, Paladins and other classes or is a mistake by them. Otherwise, this could mean in terms of lore, that the High elves are more open to other types of magic in Dalaran. If that is true, then it means they could be a source of different classes for players who may want to play them, if Blizzard ever introduce them as a new race.

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First point: This is not Fallout out, Orcs from outland followed Gul'dan and used fel magics to enhance themselves, corrupting them into Green Orcs. Now the Draenei turned into Broken and Lost Ones is a different story, since these fellows never used fel magic, they moved into Zangarmarsh to survive, and there, they consumed animals and plans polluted with fel, same reason these creatures doesnt make sense to what we saw in Warlords of Draenor Outland. So no, Orcs are no longer Mag'har. They no longer follow the same culture that they used to have. They lost their identity, as described by the Human Jailers that put them in Hillsbrad Foothills in Durnholde Keep. They returned to their Shamanistic ways and remember who they used to be....

Second point: Void elves....once again....are not High elves. They stop being High elves long time ago, and abandon their old culture and ways, they moment they had to find a way to survive. They CHOOSE to become one with the void, to study it and embrace it. They changed their bodies and minds, they became a balance between elf and void.

Ooh! And also, Sandfury trolls and Jungle Trolls ARE a different type of troll of each other. Does it make sense to you for a Sandfury to have a "Beast Slaying" since they live in a freaking desert?. Of course not. Blizzard has gone in the wrong way with them as they did with Void elves by accepting giving them pink skin and blue eyes. That is why i no longer play WoW. Blizzard doesnt respect their own lore, just for the sake of "Selling" their game.

Firstly, that's entirely unrelated to what I said, but also entirely relates to my point about them losing their point of who they used to be and their culture (even if you actually exaggerated it beyond what was true).

Secondly, because they have a new cultural element doesn't make them not of the same culture. Just because someone is from, say, the divergent culture of Texas doesn't make them not part of the U.S. culture as a whole.

Finally, that means that my point is right within the framework Blizzard uses. I'm not wrong, nor is Blizzard wrong. You're wrong and trying to change the framework used to match your own. You have practically proved my point for me and admitted to being wrong in every way save for actually considering it wrong to be incorrect.

[Ardenaso]

https://www.hiveworkshop.com/threads...knight.333008/

Check this out!



High Elf Knight for the Chronicles of the Second War

[Beloren]

I think it would be amazing if the high elves ended up all getting brown skin tones.. ithink that would be a unique take and a nice alternative development. Blood elves = peach, void elves = purple, high elves = brown

[Le Conceptuel]

First: Void elves are no longer interested in "who" they used to be, by just reading the main quest to unlock the void elves in the first place. They never go melancholic, about "How i miss being a High Elf", or anything like that. They are proud of what they are now, and their new alliance.

Second: If i take a guy from Texas and give him a rat + mutagen and suddenly he turn into Splinter, he longer identify himself as a human, maybe he was a human, but not anymore. So he use his new skills and what he learns to become a new character. And just like that....Nightborne doesnt identify themselves as Kal'dorei. Or Dark Iron Dwarves as Regular Dwarves. Or even a Mechagnome vs a Gnome. They become a New society.

Another example of this: An Altmer doesnt think a Bosmer or a Dunmer is his culture or family. They even dislike Dunmer a lot, since they are normally their enemies. A Orsimer dislike all the other races a lot, but have a different culture than the other 3 mer races. The Orsimer serve the empire most of the time and go to war with them, against their old cousins, the Aldmeri Dominion.

So, in games, things are represented like this. One race is not related at all in terms of culture and political views. They become things apart, like is being represented in all of that text walls in the pages of wowpedia or other lore sources of WoW.

And Finally, Actually, you and Blizzard are wrong. You, for thinking that's the framework and for Blizzard, for not respecting the work of their Lore Masters, and making clear mistakes by delivering the product to the player base. And no....I dont admit to that point. One reason i love Elder Scrolls Online, is that they dont shot in their own shoe. Blizzard does. And i dislike Shadowlands a lot, because of that....

The framework was broken since when....Warlords of Draenor?. Legion?. At least in MOP they created a complete line of lore for the Pandaren, since they always had been a mystery of why they even existed.

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Taken from: https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Hig...g_of_the_elves.

Splintering of the elves

The surviving elves were somewhat scattered, until Kael'thas Sunstrider, son of the deceased Anasterian, began to organize them by reclaiming every elf he could find and joining with Lor'themar Theron, who had done the same in Quel'Thalas. Under Kael's leadership, they took the name blood elves, to remember the death of their king and brethren. About 90% of all surviving high elves became blood elves.[2]

The blood elves fought to reclaim a small portion of Silvermoon, but most of the city and their land, in general, was haunted and overrun by lingering undead, while their buildings remained in ruins and vengeful Amani trolls began striking out again.[9] Around 15% of the newly-named sin'dorei, led by Kael'thas himself, started traveling throughout the land in order to find more surviving elves and to find a source of magic to replace the Sunwell. The elves were suffering from great withdrawals after being cut off the Sunwell because of its destruction. Due to the unreasonable orders of the Alliance leader Garithos, Kael's people were forced to ally themselves with the Naga and fled to Outland. They soon joined Illidan there, and he, in turn, taught them how to sate their hunger for magic by feeding on alternative sources (having himself suffered the same withdrawal for thousands of years). Kael's blood elves began to hunt and use demons in order to steal their powers, although Kael's alliance with Illidan (and worse, his new reliance on fel magic) was kept a secret from most of his brethren back home.

Most of the remaining "high" elves had chosen to remain with the Alliance following the Second War and did not return to their kingdom following the Third.[7] When Grand Magister Rommath returned to Quel'Thalas to teach them Kael's magic siphoning ways, some elves were disgusted by the practice — likening it to vampiric behavior — and opposed its use. Unable to lead a divided nation, Regent Lord Lor'themar exiled the dissenters from the kingdom, the exiles finding residence in Quel'Lithien.[11]

The blood elves who did not travel with Kael'thas to Outland remained behind in Quel'Thalas and reclaimed much of their land from the Scourge. They eventually allied themselves with the Horde through their connections to the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, now the leader of the Forsaken. Although the blood elves harbor very little trust for the Horde, no one else was willing to fight for Quel'Thalas at all.[8][11] Their relationship with their ancestor race the night elves is not flourishing, but they are not dire enemies either, as distance between their locations has meant less contact between each other and fewer situations to arise that would cause fighting.


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Read the damn lore dudes. Is just right there.

Magister Umbric: We do not stand with the Alliance out of convenience. Nor is it a mere gesture of thanks to Alleria.

Our ordeal has taught us the importance of great powers being in the right hands. We could not allow the Horde to know the things we know, or to use us as a weapon in their schemes.

We fight for the Alliance because we believe in its values. And one day, I pray we will bring all of Silvermoon back into the fold.


Yes, they're 100% still part of the society of Quel'Thalas and still identify as members of that society. Furthermore, the second part is entirely moot because of lore developments since then. As I have said numerous times, you have practically ignored all lore developments since BC.

Secondly, you are not the final authority on what Blizzard does. I'm not going to pretend their lore isn't poorly-written overall, nor am I going to pretend they have handled things well with their races and cultures. However, you are certainly less of an authority than they are, and their "Lore Masters" are pretty much secondary to the demands of the company overall. They're not "disrespecting" anything so much as altering the lore in a framework in which it is easy to alter. You are putting the priority on your own views and headcanons over the actual word of Blizzard on the matter.

Furthermore, the addition of races is somewhat on a case-by-case basis. If Allied Races do return, there are plenty more races that need to be addressed before High Elves and it's far more resource-savvy to make Void Elves have options to resemble High Elves. Blizzard does not have infinite resources, even if they are admittedly huge cheapskates at many points. From a roleplay perspective, it makes no difference whether you play as a pink-skinned, blonde-haired Void Elf or a High Elf aside from a mild aesthetic benefit of High Elves being their own race, so long as the options exist to fully adopt that aesthetic. The addition of a High Elf race at this rate seems wholly superfluous and it would be entirely sensible to simply allow Void Elves to represent what they are - the addition of the Silvermoon Elf aesthetic to the Alliance.

What benefit would making an entirely new High Elf race have if the option already exists? They are clearly willing to use Sandfury customization options for Jungle Trolls and similarly add the Wildhammer tattoos as a customization option for standard Dwarves. You are requesting too much for too little payoff. Everyone here would love to see High Elves, but you are far too zealous about something of far too little consequence.

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Looks nice...but who made this?. Does this even come from Blizzard or Fan made?

It's Hive Workshop. That's fan-made. You can clearly see the Dragonhawk Rider model being reused.

[Combatbutler]

I think it would be amazing if the high elves ended up all getting brown skin tones.. ithink that would be a unique take and a nice alternative development. Blood elves = peach, void elves = purple, high elves = brown

Wouldn't be unique in comparison to the other Thalassians, belves can be brown. Lump them together with the night elves and give them the original night elf skin color, that makes them distinct from the other Thalassians.

[Ardenaso]

Looks nice...but who made this?. Does this even come from Blizzard or Fan made?

right there on the link, it says it's fan made

[FossilFree]

I think these "Brown and Black colors" on the elves, are just political reasons inside Blizzard, to promote this "Liberal" agenda of Diversity.

Imagine seeing brown Altmer in Elder Scrolls?....It doesnt make sense.

Racists always love calling inclusiveness a "liberal agenda." Yet, politicizing racism is the easiest way for racists to push their agenda of oppression.

It's always the same ones complaining about High Elf fans wanting "blonde haired, blue eyed, white elves" that whine about the brown skin tones being added to Blood Elves and Void Elves. That's some next-level projection right there.

[Beloren]

I think these "Brown and Black colors" on the elves, are just political reasons inside Blizzard, to promote this "Liberal" agenda of Diversity.

Imagine seeing brown Altmer in Elder Scrolls?....It doesnt make sense.

There was a time in this society that considering blacks and browns human didn’t make sense. Same with viewing them as beautiful.

In general society’s eyes

[Kyriani]

I think my void elf warlock is lovely:

[Kyriani]

The skin colors is meh. It should have been purple, blue, pale white or pale blue. It looks weird like that.

I don't think she looks weird at all. I suppose how something looks falls under "subjective opinion".

My own personal "subjective opinion" tells me that using blue or purple skin would remove the contrast between her skin and her armor that exists thanks to the brown skin tone option. The fact that I can use a wider variety of skin colors on my void elves has opened up the number of transmog options that look good to me. Again, "subjective opinion".

[Mungho]

I don't think she looks weird at all. I suppose how something looks falls under "subjective opinion".

My own personal "subjective opinion" tells me that using blue or purple skin would remove the contrast between her skin and her armor that exists thanks to the brown skin tone option. The fact that I can use a wider variety of skin colors on my void elves has opened up the number of transmog options that look good to me. Again, "subjective opinion".

Hey, I think she looks good too. I'm pretty good at color-co-ordination, and having blue/purple skin on her would just blur her skin and armor together.

[Kyriani]

Hey, I think she looks good too. I'm pretty good at color-co-ordination, and having blue/purple skin on her would just blur her skin and armor together.

That's precisely why I am glad void elves got some natural skin tone options. There were so many outfits I just wouldn't wear because they just blended into the skin too much making the character look very "one note". I have the same issue with my draenei shaman. Blue and purple skin tones tend to be problematic when trying to put together flattering transmogs due to the fact that armor color palettes in wow just tend to stay in certain ranges. If we had a dye system for armor and weapons I think the races with blue and purple skin tones would be able to put together more aesthetically appealing and tasteful transmogs.

EDIT:
Here's an example of what I mean:


See how the first skin tone makes the character just kinda get lost in the armor? The second skin tone doesn't have that issue since it pops in contrast to the armor color scheme. WoW does a lot of blue, purple and grey armor which makes this issue come up frequently for races with blue, purple or blue/grey-ish skin.