Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[FlubberPuddy]

If other people are trying to change the Void Elves into something they are not....its up to them. But i bet its never going to happen.

The biggest 'win' for this thread and others like it was getting the skin customization and eye customization on Void Elves that made them look more normal to open up the different fantasies available for those players. Something that others also thought before would "never happen."

Hair color is a way way way smaller ask in comparison so it will be funny to see the reactions to it.

I already saw on the official forums someone trying to say VE shouldn't get blonde/brown/black hairs even if they're the same shades from Kul'Tiran and not from Blood Elves.

Just take a moment to think how ridiculous that sounds 'no you are barred from these specific colors' - especially when they are hair colors on every single other race but Void Elves.

Brown, Blonde, Black hair colors - every other race besides VE has at least 1 of these hair colors, some 2, some all 3. So the precedent is already there and exists, it's just a matter of when.

Just like how Nightborne will eventually get more customization options in the future as they have the least overall options available - an inevitability that will come to pass. Same as VE hair colors people are asking for.

[Kyriani]

I just seems like petty gate keeping to me. The desire to deny others something that you yourself get to enjoy just never made sense to me. I've seen them come up with reasons such "lore" and "faction distinction" and "racial uniqueness" but it all really just boils down to "I don't want you to have anything similar to what I have" and "You shouldn't have even gotten what you got in the first place!" (referring to both the model when void elves were first added, and later the skin tones).

And the sad thing is, if blizzard does give void elves a few natural hair color options, they'll make a few snarky posts, and then move on because the subject will be closed (finally). So all this hullabaloo will have ultimately been for nothing. All they'll really have left is to use "you're not really a high elf!", "your name plate says void elf still ha!", and "you still can't be a paladin so nyah!" as taunts. I can't even imagine how apoplectic they'd get if blizzard decided to just copy and paste all the blood elf hair colors and hairstyles over to void elves (and give blood elves all the void elf hairstyles minus the tentacles thus making both races even more similar).

As far as the nightborne go, I would love for them to just get a ton more options. They certainly need it. I'd be happy even if blizz just copy and pasted most of the night elf options over to them (maybe with some minor variations).

[Rhlor]

I just seems like petty gate keeping to me. The desire to deny others something that you yourself get to enjoy just never made sense to me. I've seen them come up with reasons such "lore" and "faction distinction" and "racial uniqueness" but it all really just boils down to "I don't want you to have anything similar to what I have" and "You shouldn't have even gotten what you got in the first place!" (referring to both the model when void elves were first added, and later the skin tones).

And the sad thing is, if blizzard does give void elves a few natural hair color options, they'll make a few snarky posts, and then move on because the subject will be closed (finally). So all this hullabaloo will have ultimately been for nothing. All they'll really have left is to use "you're not really a high elf!", "your name plate says void elf still ha!", and "you still can't be a paladin so nyah!" as taunts. I can't even imagine how apoplectic they'd get if blizzard decided to just copy and paste all the blood elf hair colors and hairstyles over to void elves (and give blood elves all the void elf hairstyles minus the tentacles thus making both races even more similar).

As far as the nightborne go, I would love for them to just get a ton more options. They certainly need it. I'd be happy even if blizz just copy and pasted most of the night elf options over to them (maybe with some minor variations).

you are right I want alterac humans in the horde for years!! and alliance players hate this

the horde is never complete without alterac humans

[AOL Instant Messenger]

Simple....Time will tell.

That sound a lot like what cults say when their prediction for the end of the world is off by a day.

[FlubberPuddy]

That sound a lot like what cults say when their prediction for the end of the world is off by a day.

It's such a weak reply lol. That's what they used to say before too about the extra skin/eye colors for VE before they came to pass. "Let's just wait and see but I doubt it!"

Then it comes and you see all of them disappear suddenly just like what Kyriani is mentioning in her post. These people act like their lives are at stake over the matter until one day it happens, then they just move on/don't acknowledge it as a big deal despite spending months/years prior acting like it's some huge deal.

[Vaedan]

you are right I want alterac humans in the horde for years!! and alliance players hate this

the horde is never complete without alterac humans

If you ever cared about the Horde, you would never say that. Alteraci were just allies to the Horde, not the member (never swore blood oath to the Warchief) and they turned against the Horde as soon as it suited them. Syndicate made slaves of orcs after that.

Also, humans are the face of the Alliance, in the same way orcs are face of the Horde. These two races should remain exclusive for their perspective factions. Elves swaping faction made enough mess.

If you want to play faction with humans and pretty elves, why don't you just go Alliance already?

[Rhlor]

If you ever cared about the Horde, you would never say that. Alteraci were just allies to the Horde, not the member (never swore blood oath to the Warchief) and they turned against the Horde as soon as it suited them. Syndicate made slaves of orcs after that.

Also, humans are the face of the Alliance, in the same way orcs are face of the Horde. These two races should remain exclusive for their perspective factions. Elves swaping faction made enough mess.

If you want to play faction with humans and pretty elves, why don't you just go Alliance already?

the most played race of the horde are thalassians and the alliance now have the most horde played model. syndicate was allied with the orcs of the argus wake that shows they can work with orcs.

[Vaedan]

the most played race of the horde are thalassians and the alliance now have the most horde played model. syndicate was allied with the orcs of the argus wake that shows they can work with orcs.

There are reasons why thalassians are now part of both factions.

Argus Wake was offshoot of Shadow Council, definitely not part of the Horde. The fact is that Alteraci are backstabbing group which follows only their agenda and as soon as they don't need you, they betray you. That is something Horde would not be interested in any way...

[Rhlor]

There are reasons why thalassians are now part of both factions.

Argus Wake was offshoot of Shadow Council, definitely not part of the Horde. The fact is that Alteraci are backstabbing group which follows only their agenda and as soon as they don't need you, they betray you. That is something Horde would not be interested in any way...

like the forsaken!

[Vaedan]

like the forsaken!

Forsaken as a group are more or less loyal to the Horde, even after Sylvanas betrayal.

[Rhlor]

Forsaken as a group are more or less loyal to the Horde, even after Sylvanas betrayal.

putress rememberr

forsaken intro

[Kyriani]

you are right I want alterac humans in the horde for years!! and alliance players hate this

the horde is never complete without alterac humans

I honestly don't have a problem with it. I'd personally rather see the pirates the horde allied with in BfA join the horde, but that doesn't mean there can't be others like the alteraci humans too. If players want it... why not?

[Vaedan]

putress rememberr

forsaken intro

Yes, I remember. He was part of splinter group which rebelled against Sylvanas and the Horde, while majority of the Forsaken remained loyal, do you remember?

Forsaken were for sure never the most trustworthy faction, but majority of their people remained loyal to the Horde over the course of numerous events. Most of them even chose Horde over Sylvanas at the end of BfA.

[Beloren]

Neither are the high elves and have their own unique feel lore, but they essentially do the same thing.

Essentially , do you need Silvermoon and a playable high elves as a faction like the Silver Covenant if you have Highborne kaldorei doing the civilization side of the night elves (effectively covers high elf civilization) and you have void elves carrying the model customisation option.


Background
1. Highborne: The original versions before crazy addiction especially amongst Azshara's lot, were actually quite noble, the way Farondis Highborne is described is very reminiscent of what I imagine the high elves would be like if we had ever got to see them properly in game as high elves. Nobility, morality, responsibility, and lawful goodness - it is the picture of you would expected the benevolent kaldorei's most accomplished individuals would be- before they got all haughty.

Thing is the Shen'dralar and Darnasisan Highborne, and now the Farondis Highborne are basically all Highborne in that vein, being part of Darnassian society and having recovered form addiction, Shen'dralar would be far more the noble type than the haughty Azshara' court Highborne type - and Farondis, well they are the example in game

Although Highborne is under a kaldorei setting, with Elune religious over tones, kaldorei love of the stars and nature influencing their arcane fascination - unlike the high elves where it's the sun, and the sunwell, is their a place for high elves as a separate race any longer? shouldn't the Highborne be used now?


2. Void Elves: With the void elves you can play a high elf now, the lore has many high elves joining the Ren'dorei, the ren'dorei is no longer just purely a race, but is also a faction that blood elves and high elves have joined to be a part of. however the ren'dorei have a very distinct identity centred upon the void, just like the Highborne do about the stars, but essentially they carry the spirit of the high elf nation, and you can role play a high elf through them.

What Players Get
Basically:
1. In Highborne you get a high elf character and essence as well as a kaldorei based version of the culture
2. In Void elves you will get the high elf model

3. In the blood elves, you get the high elf model and the Thalassian cultural assets, but not quite the high elf character and essence. You get the historical land, places and what is in sense an evolution of the high elf.


Alliance fans essentially have a high elven culture through the Highborne night elves, and the model through the void elves -- is that enough? and does it not make having a high elf actual race playable a bit pointless? Seeing you can now play as a high elf individual on the alliance even though it's not "the High elf" faction.

What this essentially means is that blizzard only needs develop and focus kaldorei Highborne properly, whiles void elves can continue in their own line - to essentially satisfy all.

3 Key Questions for Alliance Fans
1. Is it better to develop kaldorei Highborne anyway, as this original high elf i.e. Quel'dorei in a part of the kaldorei that a lot of their fans like?
2. Is it okay for you guys to have the void elf race play high elf models and have high elf lore connecting high elves to void elves showing that yes, high elves and blood elves do join the ren'dorei even though they are not racially void elves?
3. High elves still continue in the lore and game as high elves, like the Silver covenant faction and other groups, those are just not playable as a faction. Or do alliance fans still only want high elves of Silvermoon and Quel'thalas and aren't satisfied with the above?

The reason I bring this up is that basically the kaldorei and ren'dorei have all the the things that the high elves essentially would bring to the table and would be unique as.

Conclusion
So:
1. There is no need for alliance high elves to be a separate playable faction
2. No need to give them Silvermoon or Quel'thalas - instead let the night elf Highborne build the night elf city and let it be a de-facto home for night elves, their Highborne, high elves, void elves etc, in addition to druids and priests (oops, druids will live in forest and parks), but the rest of the elves
3. No need for separate model designs either, the ren'dorei can have some colour schemes and tattoo schemes to reflect high elf particulars


All the alliance needs for high elves is already there via the night elf Highborne and the void elves, it's time to fully accept that the blood elves as they are have a right to be there as they are, choosing the horde and that being on the alliance isn't anything less better - you get a high elf civilization via the Highborne and you get high elf models on the void elves.


TLDR With Highborne and void elves having high elf character and high elf models, the need for a separate high elf playable race is effectively over. Blizzard should work with the kaldorei Highborne and void elves to consolidate the elves

p.s. mods, I'm not sure this actually belongs in the high elf mega thread, because it is primarily about Highborne and void elves taking the high elf mantle for the alliance, and about blood elves being fine. But if you feel it belongs there, please just move this there.

i think Highborne and void elves model update make a high elf playable faction redundant, and its fine they just remain in the lore as material for Highborne, void elves and blood elven story

[Ardenaso]

Also, humans are the face of the Alliance, in the same way orcs are face of the Horde. These two races should remain exclusive for their perspective factions. Elves swaping faction made enough mess.

most popular race for the most popular race; I believe it can be made so if it's not "lawful good" Alliance themed

[Rhlor]

I honestly don't have a problem with it. I'd personally rather see the pirates the horde allied with in BfA join the horde, but that doesn't mean there can't be others like the alteraci humans too. If players want it... why not?

I think it's great

[Starla]

I just seems like petty gate keeping to me. The desire to deny others something that you yourself get to enjoy just never made sense to me. I've seen them come up with reasons such "lore" and "faction distinction" and "racial uniqueness" but it all really just boils down to "I don't want you to have anything similar to what I have" and "You shouldn't have even gotten what you got in the first place!" (referring to both the model when void elves were first added, and later the skin tones).

And the sad thing is, if blizzard does give void elves a few natural hair color options, they'll make a few snarky posts, and then move on because the subject will be closed (finally). So all this hullabaloo will have ultimately been for nothing. All they'll really have left is to use "you're not really a high elf!", "your name plate says void elf still ha!", and "you still can't be a paladin so nyah!" as taunts. I can't even imagine how apoplectic they'd get if blizzard decided to just copy and paste all the blood elf hair colors and hairstyles over to void elves (and give blood elves all the void elf hairstyles minus the tentacles thus making both races even more similar).

As far as the nightborne go, I would love for them to just get a ton more options. They certainly need it. I'd be happy even if blizz just copy and pasted most of the night elf options over to them (maybe with some minor variations).

No players are 'gatekeeping' anything, we don't' have the power you imply.
Disagreeing with people isn't gatekeeping.

It's pretty disappointing that people like you can't just discuss the topic without insulting people.

[Kyriani]

No players are 'gatekeeping' anything, we don't' have the power you imply.
Disagreeing with people isn't gatekeeping.

It's pretty disappointing that people like you can't just discuss the topic without insulting people.

Saying someone is "gate keeping" isn't insulting them, it's simply a statement on their perceived behavior. Of course none of us have the power to strong arm the devs into doing things we want, but when you actively oppose a request by someone else, you are acting as a "gate keeper" to that request from my point of view. And if you're referring to the taunts I mentioned, I have personally seen such taunts used on the wow forums already so I'm just parroting that here, not insulting someone.

I'd say it's more disappointing that there is a debate at all. More customization options (of all kinds) for everyone shouldn't be something we quibble over as far as I'm concerned. Yet hair colors is the hill upon which some would die just to prevent others from having the options they want.

If you took my post as an insult then I'd say that's your prerogative, but I'd also suggest examining what you found insulting in my post and why you find it personally insulting.

[Starla]

Saying someone is "gate keeping" isn't insulting them, it's simply a statement on their perceived behavior. Of course none of us have the power to strong arm the devs into doing things we want, but when you actively oppose a request by someone else, you are acting as a "gate keeper" to that request from my point of view. And if you're referring to the taunts I mentioned, I have personally seen such taunts used on the wow forums already so I'm just parroting that here, not insulting someone.

I'd say it's more disappointing that there is a debate at all. More customization options (of all kinds) for everyone shouldn't be something we quibble over as far as I'm concerned. Yet hair colors is the hill upon which some would die just to prevent others from having the options they want.

If you took my post as an insult then I'd say that's your prerogative, but I'd also suggest examining what you found insulting in my post and why you find it personally insulting.

Calling other people 'petty' and then making a pretend scenario where you actually act out how people will behave in an insulting manner is clearly meant to try to shame people from disagreeing with void elf options.

[Kyriani]

Calling other people 'petty' and then making a pretend scenario where you actually act out how people will behave in an insulting manner is clearly meant to try to shame people from disagreeing with void elf options.

I see the behavior of those who would gate keep hair colors as petty, and it is entirely my prerogative to have that view. If my post made you feel shame then perhaps that's something you should do some self reflecting on?