Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Ardenaso]

some development for the first high elf chapter in re-reforged

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

I totally missed this post, my bad.

I think we both want to preserve whats already there and Silvermoon is still the city of the blood elves. I had the same impression of blood elf fans, that no one really super excited about being neutral, probably because there is frankly no real reason for it.

Yes, I also believe the Sunwell is blocking further progress in many ways. Mainly for blood elves, they have been flourishing ever since. They are to safe. I mean what further upgrades could a Sunwell possibly get? I think the only way is to break it down and start over. Its the only way to propel it forward. Whats interesting is the part of the "eternal spring" that holds up because of the magic of the Sunwell. If we lose the sunwell, will the area become gray or will seasons play a role from then on?

As of the other elves and the unification again, I mean its so vague and its all speculation what this actually means, but I am open to the idea of Quel'Danas being a future place for elves in some way. Quel'danas becoming a place for elves could be an option, far enough from the city and could hold some kind of special meaning for all the elves who died at the void invasion. That will become the one place, they can learn and mourn together for example. That can only happen if the Sunwell is gone or something happends there. If not I dont see the blood elves being very happy with that.

Right now tho.. I can only treat this as the usual horde and alliance coming together to fight the big bad again and it just happends to be on elf lands. If midnight is over, they could all just pack up and leave, like every other moment in the game like that. Who knows.

Honestly I think people are jumping the gun at Metzen's "Unify the elven tribes." It really can mean anything from "working together to protect Quel'thalas" to "complete political reunification." We really have so little info it's all just speculation, and it will be for a while.

- - - Updated - - -

I could easily see Blizzard finally putting down a more permanent settlement for the various groups of Alliance-aligned High Elves, perhaps on the fringes of Quel'thalas, which would be killing like four birds with one stone.

That really is both my guess and wish TBH. An updated Quel'thalas doesn't have to be just Horde content, even of Silvermoon remains Horde.

I can easily see the Ghostlands being revamped as a neutral zone for the expansion leveling while Eversong itself remains Horde. And specifically for the alliance Elves, it would make a lot of sense if Windrunner Spire and Village became VE/HE territory (alongside the Lighthouse in northern WPL). While Silvermoon should remain for the BE, I do think the alliance thalassians being able to return to their homeland and resettle there could be a more permanent solution to the conflict.

TBH I would have been as happy if alliance thalassians would resettle anywhere, but honestly the Ghostlands are kinda underused both narratively and in game, so in both aspects the main VE/HE hub being in there would work.

[Varodoc]

Blizzard is obviously not going to give the Horde a metropolis (Silvermoon) and the Alliance a tiny village.

To believe this, is to pretty much misunderstand Blizzard's entire philosophy regarding faction equity.

Vanilla: Alliance gets 3 cities, Horde gets 3 cities;

TBC: Alliance gets 1 city, Horde gets 1 city;

MoP: Alliance gets 1 temple; Horde gets 1 temple;

WoD: Alliance gets 1 base, Horde gets 1 base (and before that, they both got similarly-scaled fortresses);

BfA: Alliance gets 1 city, Horde gets 1 city.

Midnight: Horde gets 1 city, Alliance gets... 1 village and a tower???

Yeah, No, that is not happening. That is absolutely not how Blizzard designs the game (nor how anyone Horde-biased would design the game, really).

[Dancaris]

Blizzard is obviously not going to give the Horde a metropolis (Silvermoon) and the Alliance a tiny village.

To believe this, is to pretty much misunderstand Blizzard's entire philosophy regarding faction equity.

Vanilla: Alliance gets 3 cities, Horde gets 3 cities;

TBC: Alliance gets 1 city, Horde gets 1 city;

MoP: Alliance gets 1 temple; Horde gets 1 temple;

WoD: Alliance gets 1 base, Horde gets 1 base (and before that, they both got similarly-scaled fortresses);

BfA: Alliance gets 1 city, Horde gets 1 city.

Midnight: Horde gets 1 city, Alliance gets... 1 village and a tower???

Yeah, No, that is not happening. That is absolutely not how Blizzard designs the game (nor how anyone Horde-biased would design the game, really).

Your major flaw in that logic - Silvermoon is not given or new city. It will be rewamped, so Alliance get "1 village and a tower", Horde get HD Silvermoon. So 1:0 to Alliance.
Also, you maybe forgot allied races, yes? Entire Island Mechagon with metropolis Mechagon, spaceship Vindicaar (lame one), Entire Blackrock. Part of dead titan Telogrus.
What Horde get? metropolis Suramar, thats true. big log Thundertotem. Thats all. Vulpera don't have capital, either Mag'Har.
So by allied race we get what - 4:2 in Alliance favor. Wish to continue? Or this arguments is not considered bc you dont like it?

[Varodoc]

Your major flaw in that logic - Silvermoon is not given or new city. It will be rewamped, so Alliance get "1 village and a tower", Horde get HD Silvermoon. So 1:0 to Alliance.

Silvermoon is a city. A village in Ghostland is not a city.

It's pretty straightforward.

Also, you maybe forgot allied races, yes?

No, because I mentioned the BfA cities, which, in case you forgot, are territory of two allied races.

All the other allied races are irrelevant as their bases are not player hubs. Suramar is not a player hub for Horde players; you can test that yourself by going to Suramar in-game on a Horde toon and seeing that there is nothing useful for the Horde.

Surely you understand the concept of gameplay/lore segregation? Suramar is literally not a player hub.

[Dancaris]

Silvermoon is a city. A village in Ghostland is not a city.

It's pretty straightforward.

Not to me. If we talking about gameplay side - so all it takes is place there Auction, bank and proff trainers. Am I understanding you correctly?

No, because I mentioned the BfA cities, which, in case you forgot, are territory of two allied races.

All the other allied races are irrelevant as their bases are not player hubs. Suramar is not a player hub for Horde players; you can test that yourself by going to Suramar in-game on a Horde toon and seeing that there is nothing useful for the Horde.

Surely you understand the concept of gameplay/lore segregation? Suramar is literally not a player hub.

Told you, if you don't like other settlements - they don't count.
If we are talking about gameplay feature - sure. LFD, DID and VE "places" or starting locations lack attributes of capitals - Auction, bank and proff trainers.
At least they have place to call home, lorewise. Mag'hars and Vulpera don't.
Still - if we are talking gameplay features - Windrunners Spire or camp near it with Auction, bank and proff trainers will be just fine.

[Tanaria]

Not to me. If we talking about gameplay side - so all it takes is place there Auction, bank and proff trainers. Am I understanding you correctly?



Again, here we are.
I don't like other settlements - they don't count.
If we are talking about gameplay feature - sure. LFD, DID and VE "places" or starting locations lack attributes of capitals - Auction, bank and proff trainers.
At least they have place to call home, lorewise. Mag'hars and Vulpera don't.
Still - if we are talking gameplay features - Windrunners Spire or camp near it with Auction, bank and proff trainers will be just fine.

Your talking to somebody who tells us to believe that Tyrande also meant to include Suramar in the places that are sacred to the kaldorei; yet also denies the Shal'dorei leader.

So, we believe what's not in game, when it comes to the Alliance, but we don't do it when it's for the Horde.

[Alanar]

Honestly I think people are jumping the gun at Metzen's "Unify the elven tribes." It really can mean anything from "working together to protect Quel'thalas" to "complete political reunification." We really have so little info it's all just speculation, and it will be for a while.

I feel like, that's the best way to describe it. It's simply not worth the time for now, because the ideas here in general are to widespread to make much sense of it.

[Aucald]

This is a thread meant to discuss the High Elves, not the overarching faction conflict or tallies of cities, settlements, or what-have-you belonging to either faction. Let's pivot the discussion back to the actual High Elves and drop the derailing arguments about unrelated topics.

[Dancaris]

This is a thread meant to discuss the High Elves, not the overarching faction conflict or tallies of cities, settlements, or what-have-you belonging to either faction. Let's pivot the discussion back to the actual High Elves and drop the derailing arguments about unrelated topics.

Can you clarify about which high elves?
If we gonna watch first post - it says:

When we talk about High Elves and Blood Elves, we're really talking about three distinct groups:

1. WCII elves
2. WCIII Blood Elves
3. MMO Blood Elves

So we are discussing High Elves of the Alliance as political organization or as race? Then - all of them, High Elves of the Horde (blood elves), high elves of Alliance (High elves and Void Elves)?

But before some highly-motivated fans come and start crying about "muh BE are not HE" I want to clarify - I want High Elves as neutral race only in one way - disbandment of both Alliance and Horde - its the only way to be truly neutral. If not - Horde.

Any other way will be spit on faces of Horde players.

[Aucald]

Can you clarify about which high elves?
If we gonna watch first post - it says:


So we are discussing High Elves of the Alliance as political organization or as race? Then - all of them, High Elves of the Horde (blood elves), high elves of Alliance (High elves and Void Elves)?

But before some highly-motivated fans come and start crying about "muh BE are not HE" I want to clarify - I want High Elves as neutral race only in one way - disbandment of both Alliance and Horde - its the only way to be truly neutral. If not - Horde.

Any other way will be spit on faces of Horde players.

The High Elves, Blood Elves, Void Elves, and the history, customs, and realities that directly touch on them. I don't personally care what one considers a true High Elf insofar as that goes, the point of the warning is to stop eternally prosecuting the greater faction conflict by discussing/debating topics that don't have anything to do with the High Elves or any of their precursors and/or derivatives.

[Doreidorei]

The idea that they're going to split hubs in Midnight is silly; they might make some of the pre-existing towns nicer, fix places like Sunsail and the villages on the shores of the Elrendar to be usable as zone questing hubs, but splitting is just unlikely (they'll probably have to dredge up the vanilla map just to justify full zones for Zul'Aman and Quel'danas). Even the idea of carving up Falconwing square to be a faction hub is ridiculous (I guess they could set up faction camps in the pavillions on the road to Sunstrider isle to make the faction warriors shut up).

IMO even the idea that they'll randomly segregate elven subgroups doesn't mesh with the reunification thing.

[Aucald]

The idea that they're going to split hubs in Midnight is silly; they might make some of the pre-existing towns nicer, fix places like Sunsail and the villages on the shores of the Elrendar to be usable as zone questing hubs, but splitting is just unlikely (they'll probably have to dredge up the vanilla map just to justify full zones for Zul'Aman and Quel'danas). Even the idea of carving up Falconwing square to be a faction hub is ridiculous (I guess they could set up faction camps in the pavillions on the road to Sunstrider isle to make the faction warriors shut up).

IMO even the idea that they'll randomly segregate elven subgroups doesn't mesh with the reunification thing.

I think "reunification" is probably a bit too strong of a word to describe what will happen in Midnight. Sure, the various elven groups will work together toward a common goal - with High Elves and Void Elves working alongside Blood Elves and Nightborne to deal with the minions of the Void and safeguard the Sunwell to ensure it doesn't fall to an encroaching evil. But I don't think the wider schisms in the greater elven cultures will be sealed by this one-time event. Coming together to help protect the Sunwell isn't going to resolve several millennia's worth of divide in some cases.

[Doreidorei]

I think "reunification" is probably a bit too strong of a word to describe what will happen in Midnight.

You may think so but Metzen clearly didn't, is my point. "Elven tribes of Azeroth", until we see the trailers, would suggest something far broader than whatever Quel'thalas civil war scenario these threads have theorycrafted for almost a decade.

[Rhlor]

The idea that they're going to split hubs in Midnight is silly; they might make some of the pre-existing towns nicer, fix places like Sunsail and the villages on the shores of the Elrendar to be usable as zone questing hubs, but splitting is just unlikely (they'll probably have to dredge up the vanilla map just to justify full zones for Zul'Aman and Quel'danas). Even the idea of carving up Falconwing square to be a faction hub is ridiculous (I guess they could set up faction camps in the pavillions on the road to Sunstrider isle to make the faction warriors shut up).

IMO even the idea that they'll randomly segregate elven subgroups doesn't mesh with the reunification thing.

the alliance's base of operations can be sandalis isle as it was in TBC






We could also see some renovation of the occupied area of Hatchet Hills by farstriders and silver covenant at the gates of zulaman

[Varodoc]

Oh wow, a tiny tree-house in a random isle, that is totally comparable to Silvermoon, I am sure the Alliance playerbase will be overjoyed by the news.

Some of the takes in this thread cannot possibly be made seriously and unironically.

[Rhlor]

Oh wow, a tiny tree-house in a random isle, that is totally comparable to Silvermoon, I am sure the Alliance playerbase will be overjoyed by the news.

Some of the takes in this thread cannot possibly be made seriously and unironically.

Silvermoon is the capital of a playable horde race, it's like ironforge became neutral!!

That isle was the alliance's base of operations in tbc, I think it have updates and be a center for the alliance.

[Varodoc]

Silvermoon is the capital of a playable horde race,

Give one good reason why Blizzard Devs should care.

[Rhlor]

Give one good reason why Blizzard Devs should care.

The blood elves are the most important player base of the horde and they do not want their capital to be occupied by the alliance

[Doreidorei]

Silvermoon is the capital of a playable horde race, it's like ironforge became neutral!!

Both sides are in for a disappointment is what I hear

Anyway, Ironforge is significantly more core to the alliance (having been the capital in vanilla) than Quel'thalas to the horde (its closest alliance equivalents are the draenei and nelf capitals, one of which is already neutral).

Ironforge going neutral is equivalent to Thunder Bluff going neutral.

And both eventually will.

What they're unlikely to do is salt the earth for mmoc wc2 fans. Or noticeably segregate the city and villages for that matter.

occupied by the alliance

That's not what occupation is. I take for granted that there will be invitations and embassies (Quel'thalas has always had diplomatic back channels with the alliance, and so does Suramar probably) much as was the case for the dragon isles expedition.

Oh, also it's Shalandis island