Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Nuba]

Sucks for you Alliance scum, you're not getting a slightly eye-recolored version of OUR Elfs!

Or would that be slightly-different-skin-colored of your Elfs?

[Ithekro]

Sucks for you Alliance scum, you're not getting a slightly eye-recolored version of OUR Elfs!

Or would that be slightly-different-skin-colored of your Elfs?

Well that is the problem, we already have them, we just can't play as them.

[Nuba]

Blood Elves...Blood Elves everywhere.

But Blizzard's excuses hold less water than a strainer.

The only excuse they have that is remotely real is that they don't want two identical models on both factions. Which has nothing to do with the story, lore, or population factors. Its about something that is PvP related. And that stinks as an excuse because that is not how politics and wars work. Two factions that are the same race and look alike fighting each other is realistic and makes for a good story. Plus it is the story they are already telling....they just won't let players have any fun with it.

are you this clueless or you are just trolling?
it has absolutely nothing to do with PvP, in pvp nobody would confuse two elves because they look the same: panda look the same and nobody will ever confuse a green healthbar with a red one, not even daltonics.

please go troll elsewhere, or just delete the comment, it makes you look silly.

[Ithekro]

are you this clueless or you are just trolling?
it has absolutely nothing to do with PvP, in pvp nobody would confuse two elves because they look the same: panda look the same and nobody will ever confuse a green healthbar with a red one, not even daltonics.

please go troll elsewhere, or just delete the comment, it makes you look silly.

None of their other excuses work at all, so what's left? PvP factors.

[Deleted]

Love how all the persistent spiteful anti high elf posters are suddenly so silent.

Well, shiet.

[Deleted]

You know by the way you write i probably guess that i have the age of your father. I dont need to grow up. I just dont agree about the way ion addressed the situation. Its a free speech forum and i have the right to say it. I believe he should have done it in a more professional way.

And I'm tired of people like you who can't take no for an answer. High elves are not happening. His response was completely reasonable, people like you who feel like they must cower and beg in front of their customers are the worst. I'm guessing you also think that the customer is always right as well?

[Nuba]

None of their other excuses work at all, so what's left? PvP factors.

no, not really. they do work.
I mean blood elves ARE high elves, they are also a main race of the horde, not even an allied race.
their capital city is Quel Thalas, and they're ALL there.
just because there might be a few alliance characters who are high elves isn't an excuse to CTRLC/CTRLV the race for the alliance - they're a key part of the horde - THE HIGH ELVES ARE HORDE. This is what they said, multiple times, Ion just sucks at going deeper and wants to avoid talking about it.

They even gave alliance the model in the shape of void elves, not because "they make more sense than blood elves", but because they're different than blood elves and not just actual blood elves like the high elves would be.
Sure, they did come up with Void Elves from nowhere to make up for players asking for high elves, but in the end I have concluded that it was better than giving a key race of the horde a copypasta to the alliance.

[Deleted]

This is the second time Ion explain that Belf are Helf and to get over it.


The arrogance of kiddo here is absurd.

[Andromedes]

This is the second time Ion explain that Belf are Helf and to get over it.


The arrogance of kiddo here is absurd.

I am confused, who is kiddo in this shitshow?

[Deleted]

I am confused, who is kiddo in this shitshow?

All the helf weebo supporter.

I mean, Ion said more than once that helf are belf and that silver covenant are a minority that means nothing, and yet they want to copy paste the same race but with blue eyes.


Really why people can't get over it but have this urge to play spoilt like a kid.

[Syegfryed]

And that’s where your whole point fails then, because we don’t know exact numbers. You originally said there are less than void elves. You can’t say x < y when you don’t know the values of x and y.

we can say the HE number is low almost extinct, because is what is stated in lore

the lead game dev said there are not tons of then.

Silver covenant was always a small squad of elves with veressa, they barely have a place or race fantasie as their own

we can stretch a bit here, if they say numbers matter, and HE are not enough to be playable, and VE are playable, we can assume by logic, the VE numbers are just enough to be playable, more than the silver covenant ones

Void elves came from blood elves, the bulky of the high elf civilization, they are called an elite squad and have their own fantasie, even now more HE goes to the rift learn the void, so yes, the VE can have more numbers than the silver covenant elves specifically

My point is: There are more notable Highelves than Voidelves especially since their notable leader is still considered high elf (Alleria does use void magic and has a void form but didn't transform into a voidelf like the rest - so she is more a highelf shadowpriest.

she eat a dark na'aru and can transform into the shadowform like the void elves, she is a void elf but like other leaders "special" cause she undergo trough a different way to get the power.

there are more notable h because the VE are new, and with time they lore will get development, so they will have their important characters.

They do die, but so does every other race yet none of them all of a sudden become meaningless.

the difference is other races can replenish their numbers, HE don't, every time they appear they show less and less elves

No. The Silver Covenant does not have champion followers, they just aid in the defense but do not take orders.

its a matter of say, all the hunters there are under order of the champion and the class order by default, the rest is gameplay

also, they are not even important to be followers or have any meaning lore there, again, the token appearence.

Same for Suramar. Tyrande or any other nightelf ordered them around, they were standing independently from the nightelves.

not rly, they are the alliance forces, night elves antagonize the blood elves, and the high elves are just there as token

they did nothing

their presence is overshadowed by the night elves, i can't even remember if veressa gave you a world quest, maybe 2, like i said, they there and not there, make no difference to the story

- - - Updated - - -

None of their other excuses work at all, so what's left? PvP factors.

the excuses work pretty fine, you just don't like or accept then, cause reasons

[protip]

The population argument isn't being used to say that they can't add High Elves to the Alliance, it's being used to say that they don't have to. Clearly the reason they don't want to is for the sake of keeping the playable options between the two factions different.

[Deleted]

Its like 3times now WoW devs told High elves ARE Blood elves and people are still hoping they will make them separate race.

If you are Alliance any want to be an elf, the Horde is there for you.

[Syegfryed]

The population argument isn't being used to say that they can't add High Elves to the Alliance, it's being used to say that they don't have to. Clearly the reason they don't want to is for the sake of keeping the playable options between the two factions different.

yeah, baffle me how people just put the finger in their ears and think the "population" argument is the only and holy thing to ever exist as impediment of HE being playable

and since they think is not valuable anymore, the He should happens cause there is no more counter arguments possible, is terrifying

[Ithekro]

no, not really. they do work.
I mean blood elves ARE high elves, they are also a main race of the horde, not even an allied race.
their capital city is Quel Thalas, and they're ALL there.
just because there might be a few alliance characters who are high elves isn't an excuse to CTRLC/CTRLV the race for the alliance - they're a key part of the horde - THE HIGH ELVES ARE HORDE. This is what they said, multiple times, Ion just sucks at going deeper and wants to avoid talking about it.

They even gave alliance the model in the shape of void elves, not because "they make more sense than blood elves", but because they're different than blood elves and not just actual blood elves like the high elves would be.
Sure, they did come up with Void Elves from nowhere to make up for players asking for high elves, but in the end I have concluded that it was better than giving a key race of the horde a copypasta to the alliance.

They keep saying it, but showing something else in the game. That's the problem. They've weaved the story so that the Blood Elves and High Elves have different stories now, and are on different factions, and are hostile to each other. That makes for a good story, and people want to play as part of it from the Alliance point of view.

Question: What does making High Elves an Allied Race take away from the Blood Elves?

Answer: Nothing. They get to keep everything that makes them what they are. Quel Thalas is theirs. The Sunwell is theirs. Silvermoon is theirs. The population base is theirs. What do they lose by making Alliance High Elves? That they look basically the same? They already look the same. They are suppose to look the same. They are the same race, but on different factions. That's the point. That's what makes it fun and interesting.

What is gained by the Alliance by getting High Elves? A playable race that people can see representing them in game expansion after expansion. If gives them a clear rival faction against the Blood Elves, which make for good story material, especially during a war. A goal to be achieved. Something a player will work towards (more hours spent playing). There are already plenty of NPCs to use in the storytelling and places to go as a High Elf that are Alliance territory. At least as many as their are Gnome settlements.

Why not just Void Elves? They sort of destroy the lore to exist in the first place really. They've not been the ones representing the Alliance for ages since they just came into existence. If there is more lore and a transition, than it might be fine, but right now, its more or less a bullshit excuse to avoid High Elves (and everyone knows it). Their sudden appearance doesn't make the faction identity any better. It weakens the fun rivalry between the Silver Covent and the Blood Elves that should have been made a playable exercise during an open war. It makes a new one, but it feels very patch job like at present. Maybe in a few expansions it might seem real, but right now is feels like it is just Alleria having issues with Sylvanas.

[Syegfryed]

They keep saying it, but showing something else in the game. That's the problem.

what else they show different? he pretty much covered everything in the Q&A, the only difference is a bit in the backstory, and eye color who is not a thing anymore

the problem is people project their own headcanon to the game, and think they are different, when in truth they are not that much different.

Question: What does making High Elves an Allied Race take away from the Blood Elves?

Answer: Nothing.

thats just naive to say

they would take a lot of things and would dismiss the elf fantasie,a lot of topics explain those things

but people are just "nuh hun, they would not, let me have things i want"

They get to keep everything that makes them what they are. Quel Thalas is theirs. The Sunwell is theirs. Silvermoon is theirs.

until the "right and pure elves" stat opening topics to quel'thalas and silvermoon go back to the alliance, the place where they rightful belong, cause they are alliance int he second war and blablabla. their manifest and battle cry is "legacy of quel'thalas" when this legacy already live own trough the blood elves

they are even suggestion a quel'thalas warfront, to high elves be the major force, this is just sick

[protip]

Question: What does making High Elves an Allied Race take away from the Blood Elves?

Answer: Nothing.

What it takes away is their uniqueness as a choice.

A major part of the appeal of fantasy games like this is that you can create models to illustrate the differences between different cultural and political groups visually. An orc can embody ferocity and honor with features like broad shoulders and tusks, and corruption through a skin tone. A Pandaren can demonstrate an appreciation for food and good company with a big round belly and a smile. Drawing hairline distinctions between political factions of the same race has never been the strength of this kind of game.

The fantasy of a Blood Elf is that it is a High Elf with green eyes. That is by definition. If you change the basic point of reference in that fantasy, you are quite literally rehashing content that already exists in another form. That blurs the lines between factions, but also blurs the identity of a race that is already playable.

Playable races are inviolable, and the faction wall remains important. What you are left with is a Catch 22; High Elves being playable on the Alliance inevitably violates a core part of the game's design.

[Andromedes]

All the helf weebo supporter.

.

Indeed, indeed.

[Deleted]

I think that the idea of @Rhlor would be a good option to implement. I mean, that would dissolve part of the problem like this: Ion stated there are few "High Elves" (blue eyed ones), and we have seen that some of them are being hinted as becoming Void Elves, so maybe the story of the High elves could drive to some of them going back home, to Silvermoon, because the Sunwell is restored and there's no reason to be in open arms with their people, and because, on the other hand, they could not approve the void teachings of Alleria, so they leave Alliance and go back to Silvermoon.

In doing so, "High Elves" would suppose to the Blood Elves getting blue eyes as a customization option, and thus making HElves playable. Alliance would have also some kind of HElves in the form of VElves who previously were HElves, and the remaining "HElves" would slowly disappear.

[corebit]

Question: What does making High Elves an Allied Race take away from the Blood Elves?

Answer: Nothing. They get to keep everything that makes them what they are. Quel Thalas is theirs. The Sunwell is theirs. Silvermoon is theirs. The population base is theirs. What do they lose by making Alliance High Elves? That they look basically the same? They already look the same. They are suppose to look the same. They are the same race, but on different factions. That's the point. That's what makes it fun and interesting.

If you strip the High Elves from all their history, their lineage, all the things that made them unique, then you're left with a race that has even less lore than the Void Elves. Then their only defining traits are: they like the color blue, and they like to shout "for the Alliance".

You cannot separate the Blood Elven/High Elven lore without turning them into a husk of a race.

What is gained by the Alliance by getting High Elves? A playable race that people can see representing them in game expansion after expansion. If gives them a clear rival faction against the Blood Elves, which make for good story material, especially during a war. A goal to be achieved. Something a player will work towards (more hours spent playing). There are already plenty of NPCs to use in the storytelling and places to go as a High Elf that are Alliance territory. At least as many as their are Gnome settlements.

What do you gain? A few fanatical high elven players to play them, and after a few months they get bored and unsub. Because they are fickle just like that. Also, the High Elves were never a rival to the Blood Elves, they don't have the numbers for that. They were mostly a rival to the Sunreaver subgroup of the Blood Elves, big difference.

Why not just Void Elves? They sort of destroy the lore to exist in the first place really. They've not been the ones representing the Alliance for ages since they just came into existence. If there is more lore and a transition, than it might be fine, but right now, its more or less a bullshit excuse to avoid High Elves (and everyone knows it). Their sudden appearance doesn't make the faction identity any better. It weakens the fun rivalry between the Silver Covent and the Blood Elves that should have been made a playable exercise during an open war. It makes a new one, but it feels very patch job like at present. Maybe in a few expansions it might seem real, but right now is feels like it is just Alleria having issues with Sylvanas.

If you're paying attention to the Alpha/Beta, you would know the Void Elves are getting a LOT more attention in BfA. They are competing with Dark Iron Dwarves on the importance level. All of this wouldn't be possible with High Elves stealing the spotlight from them and relegating them to yet another forgotten race like the LF Draenei. I know that High Elf fanatics don't give a shit about throwing Void Elves under the bus though.