Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Gurluas]

The problem here is that Blood Elves aren't corrupted. What most High Elf fans are asking for is the equivalent of asking for a Mag'har orc with blue eyes when the other faction has a Mag'har orc with green eyes. The difference is so minor that it's not a reasonable basis for a new race.

I'm not sure if this changed after TBC because frankly a lot of lore has been retconned. But the reddish skin and reddish hair were also due to fel exposure, not just the green eyes. Once again, it's very comparable to Orcs in terms of corruption.

Mag'har - High elf
Normal Orc - Blood elf
Fel Orc - Void elf (Yes I know Void is not fel, but it's a corruptive dark power nonetheless)

Normal Orcs are identical to Mag'har except for having green skin. Blood elves have less physical changes but that doesn't mean they're not corrupt. Fel Orcs however, are completely warped by Fel, just the same as how Void elves are completely warped by the Void.

If they renamed the Void elf race, changed their racial to not automatically turn on, and gave High elf customization to Void elves, that'd be fine with me.

[JustaRandomReindeer]

Yes, and the entire High elf race is not in the Alliance either, there's neutral ones, and the Quel'danil ones are likely to not be in the Alliance similar to the Wildhammers.



You're missing the point. It's not a matter of customization but the very identity of the race.
If they added Fel Orcs and started saying that Mag'har are basically the same as the playable Orcs but with Brown skin and they won't add em. I assure you, Mag'har fans would be mad at Ion and making threads asking for Mag'har to be added.

Likewise, Void elves AND Blood elves do not satisfy the High elf identity. Asking High elf fans to go join their worst enemies or to become edgy Tentacle monsters will not make them happy.

You are missing the point too. They can do whatever they want with Orcs because they add them to the Horde where they belong and it doesn't cause any faction imbalance. That's why I gave you the Nightborne example because they are basically Night Elves but Nightwell infused so they made sure they do not look too much like Night Elves cuz otherwise it would blur faction lines. For the same reason they gave Alliance Void Elves instead of Silver Covenant Elves. You can't just give a core race of one faction to the other faction but with different eye color. That ruins the purpose of factions.

[Thalassian Bob]

You know, the high elf wayfarers found in Telogrus Rift do show that, if you want to play a void elf that way, a void elf could have a background as an Alliance-aligned high elf, having never become a blood elf.

Once I finish my Ulduar farming and unlock the Silver Covenant tabard on her, my mage is going to be looking quite high elf-like (just a bit anemic!!):

[Deleted]

Alterac kingdom collaborated with orcs. It wouldnt be a big stretch for remnants of alterac to join the horde

They collaborated because they were scared that the horde could destroy their kingdom easily, it was a necessary decision, ofc the remnants of alterac would never join the horde because they don't share the same ideologie nor would they abandon the other human kingdoms when theres no threat.

[ercarp]

I appreciate the effort put into those concepts, and some of the ideas are quite cool, but I think some of the warpaints and tattoos are a bit too tribal. I always imagined high elves as anything but tribal.

[Gurluas]

You are missing the point too. They can do whatever they want with Orcs because they add them to the Horde where they belong and it doesn't cause any faction imbalance. That's why I gave you the Nightborne example because they are basically Night Elves but Nightwell infused so they made sure they do not look too much like Night Elves cuz otherwise it would blur faction lines. For the same reason they gave Alliance Void Elves instead of Silver Covenant Elves. You can't just give a core race of one faction to the other faction but with different eye color. That ruins the purpose of factions.

The High elves belonged in the Alliance from the very beginning. TBC was when they made the stupid mistake of adding a core Alliance race to the Horde where they didn't belong. The fact they retconned lore too to make it easier doesn't change the fact it'd be as if they plucked Trolls and gave them to the Alliance.

High elves belong in the Alliance and while it's too late to remove Blood elves from the Horde we should get High elves back in the Alliance.
Screw Pandaren, the neutral race should have been Blood elves.

I appreciate the effort put into those concepts, and some of the ideas are quite cool, but I think some of the warpaints and tattoos are a bit too tribal. I always imagined high elves as anything but tribal.

You have to remember, the High elves generally don't have many resources having been exiled and forced to fight their addiction without resorting to dark powers. Them being more wild is only normal.

[Strangewayes]

Because he's right? Why is it so hard for people to accept that Blood Elves and High Elves are literally the same thing? What, they color everything blue instead of red and they have blue eyes instead of green? I get it, it's really not a big deal if Blizzard put them in, but it's clear that they chose not to because they felt creating Void Elves was more interesting. And I can't blame them.

What all of this is really about is that Blood Elves are "stuck" on the "ugly faction". People want a High Fantasy Tolkien style experience and the Alliance matches that feeling way more than the Horde does. But Night Elves don't quite match the "fair elf" look, and people have gone bonkers over the Blood Elf models, and they see High Elves as that backdoor into justifying how they could be an Alliance race if only Blizzard agreed.

Which....they don't. But you do get Void Elves which aren't quite what you wanted, which is fair, because the Horde get Nightborne which aren't quite what they wanted, so now you have your Monkey's Paw elves. Enjoy.

Honestly I find the whole High Elf thing to be hilarious considering just the idea that Saurfang might defect and bring Alliance Orcs into existence was enough to trigger meltdowns in people. Yet it's perfectly okay that we do exactly that for High Elves.

By that logic Horde should've never gotten Mag'har Orcs, because they are different colored Orcs. But do you see players throwing a shitfit about it? No.

Meanwhile I'm looking at a High Elf in Silver Covenant garb in the Alliance Sanctuary in Dalaran in this expansion. And I'm told, naw, it's not right. They are right there. If you didn't want High Elves in the Alliance, why are they right there? right now?

[Broken Fox]

Likewise, Void elves AND Blood elves do not satisfy the High elf identity. Asking High elf fans to go join their worst enemies or to become edgy Tentacle monsters will not make them happy.

Too bad for high elf fans then. Why do you nutcases think you DESERVE high elves? It’s Blizzard’s game, their story, and they told your idea to get fucked. Shut up and sit down. They should kill off any remaining high elves in the lore out of spite after all the nonsense this crowd has spouted.

[Obelisk Kai]

The High elves belonged in the Alliance from the very beginning. TBC was when they made the stupid mistake of adding a core Alliance race to the Horde where they didn't belong. The fact they retconned lore too to make it easier doesn't change the fact it'd be as if they plucked Trolls and gave them to the Alliance.

High elves belong in the Alliance and while it's too late to remove Blood elves we should get High elves back.

Why do you persist in peddling this mistake? It has been pointed out multiple times this is incorrect.

Just because it doesn't fit with your worldview doesn't mean you should be allowed to spread a falsehood unchallenged.

High Elves were the last to join the Alliance and the first to leave it.

They wanted as little to do with the Alliance as possible.

[Varodoc]

You know, the high elf wayfarers found in Telogrus Rift do show that, if you want to play a void elf that way, a void elf could have a background as an Alliance-aligned high elf, having never become a blood elf.

Once I finish my Ulduar farming and unlock the Silver Covenant tabard on her, my mage is going to be looking quite high elf-like (just a bit anemic!!):
https://i.imgur.com/jqD8TGT.png

Wonderful! You did an amazing job! See, I told you that Void Elves already look very similiar to Silver Covenant Elves anyway.

[Gurluas]

Why do you persist in peddling this mistake? It has been pointed out multiple times this is incorrect.

Just because it doesn't fit with your worldview, doesn't mean you should be allowed to spread a falsehood unchallenged.

High Elves were the last to join the Alliance and the first to leave it.

That's called retcons. Go back to Wc2 or even Wc3, and they were still closely aligned and tied to the Alliance.
Blizzard rewrote the lore to make them be distant from the Alliance when they decided to add part of the race to the Horde.

If you go back to a Wc2 fan and tell them the Elf rangers should belong to the Horde, they're gonna look at you as if you're crazy.

[Varodoc]

Also, Grand Magistrix Elisande said that Silver Covenant Elves are 'peasants playing at nobility', so why would they start adopting tribal and primitive hairstyles, war paints and tattoos that make them look like savage Trolls when they aspire to nobility? Funny how these Silver Covenant fanboys don't even know the lore of their favourite organization.

[Gurluas]

Also, Grand Magistrix Elisande said that Silver Covenant Elves are 'peasants playing at nobility', so why would they start adopting tribal and primitive hairstyles, war paints and tattoos that make them look like savage Trolls when they aspire to nobility? Funny how these Silver Covenant fanboys don't even know the lore of their favourite organization.

First of all, there's more to High elves than the Silver Covenant. The concepts fit 100% the Quel'danil High elves who stopped using Arcane magic and are 100% the ranger archetype.

High elves are not what they used to be. Being exiled and losing their home and people humbled them a lot.

[Thalassian Bob]

Wonderful! You did an amazing job! See, I told you that Void Elves already look very similiar to Silver Covenant Elves anyway.

Thanks! Fashion can make a world of difference!

[ercarp]

You have to remember, the High elves generally don't have many resources having been exiled and forced to fight their addiction without resorting to dark powers. Them being more wild is only normal.

This is true for a hypothetical scenario where we discover a faction of high elves that have been living off the wilds. But the high elves in The Silver Covenant seem quite civilized if you ask me.

[corebit]

That's called retcons. Go back to Wc2 or even Wc3, and they were still closely aligned and tied to the Alliance.
Blizzard rewrote the lore to make them be distant from the Alliance when they decided to add part of the race to the Horde.

If you go back to a Wc2 fan and tell them the Elf rangers should belong to the Horde, they're gonna look at you as if you're crazy.

There was no retcon. The WC2 and WC3 elven units that you can build are part of the 'token' force that Quel'thalas provided to assist the Alliance.

[Gurluas]

This is true for a hypothetical scenario where we discover a faction of high elves that have been living off the wilds. But the high elves in The Silver Covenant seem quite civilized if you ask me.

Indeed, but as I wrote above, the Silver covenant is not everything the High elf race has. You have the Allerian High elves who are also predominantly Rangers, and you have the Quel'danil High elves who quit magic 100%.
The concepts fit those factions very well.

I think if High elves got added, they should be something akin to the Mag'har race. A union of all High elf factions, with the Silver covenant predominantly being mages from Dalaran with a few Ranger scouts serving Vereesa, and the more tribal/wild ones being the Lodge high elves.

There was no retcon. The WC2 and WC3 elven units that you can build are part of the 'token' force that Quel'thalas provided to assist the Alliance.

There was, they fully joined the Alliance following the Troll attack on Silvermoon, and didn't leave originally. They only became isolationist.
In the retconned lore they outright left.

[Varodoc]

First of all, there's more to High elves than the Silver Covenant.

Yes, the Highvale Elves. So much variety!

Well, No, you are right, forgive me. There are also the Sin'dorei, the Ren'dorei and the Illidari, which are kind of a big deal.

The concepts fit 100% the Quel'danil High elves who stopped using Arcane magic and are 100% the ranger archetype.

Ok, they are 100% the Ranger archetype, therefore their only available class would be Hunter. As a result, they will never become playable because they lack enough classes to justify that.

[JustaRandomReindeer]

The High elves belonged in the Alliance from the very beginning. TBC was when they made the stupid mistake of adding a core Alliance race to the Horde where they didn't belong. The fact they retconned lore too to make it easier doesn't change the fact it'd be as if they plucked Trolls and gave them to the Alliance.

High elves belong in the Alliance and while it's too late to remove Blood elves we should get High elves back.

Is there even a reason to continue arguing with you? I feel like you don't understand anything I am saying. Get with the programme man - Blood Elves have been part of the Horde ~12 years and it won't change now. You should have protested back in TBC. Giving Blood Elves with blue eye color to the Alliance will cause too much faction imbalance and is something that a lot of people will be unhappy with because eventually they will have to make up for it by giving a core Alliance race,but with different eye color, to the Horde to balance things out which a lot of Horde and Alliance players would hate. Don't go by lore here because it's something they can change whenever they want. It is so selfish to want a race that the Horde already has just so you can play it on your faction. That goes against the idea of factions and the core of warcraft.

[Gurluas]

Is there even a reason to continue arguing with you? I feel like you don't understand anything I am saying. Get with the programme man - Blood Elves have been part of the Horde ~12 years and it won't change now. You should have protested back in TBC. Giving Blood Elves with blue eye color to the Alliance will cause too much faction imbalance and is something that a lot of people will be unhappy with because eventually they will have to make up for it by giving a core Alliance race,but with different eye color, to the Horde to balance things out which a lot of Horde and Alliance players would hate. Don't go by lore here because it's something they can change whenever they want. It is so selfish to want a race that the Horde already has just so you can play it on your faction. That goes against the idea of factions and the core of warcraft.

Dude, I protested and roleplayed a High elf since TBC came out. The people asking for High elves never stopped.
And faction imbalance is irrelevant. If they don't want to add Blood elves with blue eyes, they just have to change High elves to be something more...While still retaining the High elf identity. The concept in this thread were all about doing that, making High elves different enough so Ion's stupid arguments would be torn apart.