Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Combatbutler]

Markings and hairstyles denote culture. You see a tatooed dwarf in-game and instantly knows it's a wildhammer dwarf, not a bronzebeard one. Sure, blood elves can paint themselves, but that's not part of their overall culture, so it wouldn't be available to them.

It is part of the farstrider dynamic so why should it be suddenly be High elf exclusive? Makes no sense

[Sigxy]

It is part of the farstrider dynamic so why should it be suddenly be High elf exclusive? Makes no sense

Makes me wonder if they think that if Alleria suddenly got green eyes, she'd go "NOPE, NO MORE TATTOOS! BLEACH 'EM!"

[Combatbutler]

Makes me wonder if they think that if Alleria suddenly got green eyes, she'd go "NOPE, NO MORE TATTOOS! BLEACH 'EM!"

Alleria had green eyes, until she played around with the void.

[DeicideUH]

It is part of the farstrider dynamic so why should it be suddenly be High elf exclusive? Makes no sense

Suddenly?
This aspect of elf culture has been completely forgotten (if not retconned) by Blizzard for years. Try to search official art featuring it!
High elf fans have been using it as an idea to make a clear visual distinction between elf races. If not for them, the facial marking could have been completely forgotten.

I'm not opposed to give blood elf their own kind of markings. Maybe arcane runes or scars, for example. But, assuming an hypothetical high elf race, it would be in the best interest of everyone that the styles of such markings be very distinct from each other.

[Traycor]

It is part of the farstrider dynamic so why should it be suddenly be High elf exclusive? Makes no sense

Because it has never been used for Blood Elves or the WoW farstriders. We're suggesting bringing back an old look that has only so far been used in WoW on Alleria as a High Elf.

[Zorish]

Makes me wonder if they think that if Alleria suddenly got green eyes, she'd go "NOPE, NO MORE TATTOOS! BLEACH 'EM!"

you got it man people think that every elf after renaming himself to Blood elf suddnely go to through lazer removal it's really funny.

[Sigxy]

Alleria had green eyes, until she played around with the void.

I know she did until she popped up in WoW. But I'm starting to think they don't believe it since the only way to be a high elf is by having blue eyes (since they refuse to believe in the Blood Elves being High Elf thing)

[JustaRandomReindeer]

Because it has never been used for Blood Elves or the WoW farstriders. We're suggesting bringing back an old look that has only so far been used in WoW on Alleria as a High Elf.

Yeah they should definitely add it as a Blood Elf customization.

[RangerDaz]

After a lot of thinking, i just realized Elves and their Troll ancestors are affected and "tainted" or "forged" by all the six main powers listed in the first book of Chronicles. Check out:



So, according to this we have:

--> LIFE - NATURE: Trolls / Night Elves
--> ORDER - ARCANE: Uncorrupted Highborne / Nightborne / Alliance High Elves / Trolls
--> LIGHT - HOLY: Blood Elves / Trolls
--> SHADOW - VOID: Void Elves / Naga V.2
--> DEATH - NECROMANTIC: Undead Elves / San'layn
--> DISORDER - FEL: Felblood Elf / Felborne / Naga V.1


As playable characters, only fel-tained elves and trolls get corrupted and completely evil, aka not redeemable.
Also the majority of the Naga became hostile, and now some naga like Azshara shifted from fel to shadow (left Sargeras and joined the old gods).
All the rest can be friendly allies of the Alliance or of the Horde.

Nature Elves / Trolls are mainly elves and trolls related to druid and shaman classes (being shaman troll only), aka night elves and trolls. The Quel'thalas elves are elves that evolved from the night elf highborne, so elves connected more to the arcane than to nature, as all nature elves remained with the night elves.

So High Elves are Arcane Elves, just like the Nightborne are and how Naga once were as well, before becoming corrupted.
Just like High Elves got the arcane sunwell the Highborne got the nightwell.

But Warcraft 3 events happened and the sunwell was destroyed (temporarily at least). More than 90% were killed by Arthas, and many raised in undead (like Sylvanas).
These undead Elves became tained by necromantic magic.

The surviving high elves, who were addicted to the arcane had to find other alternative sources.
Some remained with Kael'thas, were remained Blood Elves while others left to other places and stayed with the Alliance (the current Alliance High Elves).

After the events of the Burning Crusade, the Sunwell got purified with holy power and the holy power started infusing Blood Elves with holy magic, as we can see now in their holy colored eyes. These high elves, aka blood elves, are now tained by holy energy.

On the other side there were other elves that heard the call of the void. the void elf introduction scenario explains what happened to them. They are now elves tained by shadow magic.

So right now the only arcane tainted elves are night elf mages, nightborne and alliance high elves (the main reason of the high elf blue eyes). For that reason, i consider Alliance high Elves different from Blood Elves.

Focusing only on Night Elves, Nightborne and Quel'thalas Elves, here are the main magics that tainted them:

NATURE: Kaldorei (Night Elves)
ARCANE: Quel'dorei (Alliance High Elves) + Shal'dorei (Nightborne) + Highborne Kaldorei (Night Elf Mages)
HOLY: Sin'dorei (Blood Elves)
VOID: Ren'dorei (Void Elves)
NECROMANTIC: Undead Elves (Sylvanas, Undead High Elves, Dark Rangers, San'layn,...)
FEL (HOSTILE): Felborne + Felblood Elves

[Zorish]

Because it has never been used for Blood Elves or the WoW farstriders. We're suggesting bringing back an old look that has only so far been used in WoW on Alleria as a High Elf.

it was never used by "High elves" too, apart Alleria who have unique model for the sake of being "unique". Last time i saw "tattoo" on elf it was Koltira during DK starting quests. He died as "high elf", but joined his kin in Silvermoon, not veressa and co.

[Traycor]

you got it man people think that every elf after renaming himself to Blood elf suddnely go to through lazer removal it's really funny.

The look of a race in game is just the representative look of typical members of that race. Do we really believe that no human or dwarf in WoW has a tattoo? Yet we can't pick them. We get the look that represents the race. Warpaint could be the look that represents the High Elves.

If the look was meant to be all literal possibilities, we'd get tons of sliders for facial features, weight, height, etc...

[Combatbutler]

Suddenly?
This aspect of elf culture has been completely forgotten (if not retconned) by Blizzard for years. Try to search official art featuring it!
High elf fans have been using it as an idea to make a clear visual distinction between elf races. If not for them, the facial marking could have been completely forgotten.

I'm not opposed to give blood elf their own kind of markings. Maybe arcane runes or scars, for example. But, assuming an hypothetical high elf race, it would be in the best interest of everyone that the styles of such markings be very distinct from each other.

That doesn't make them distinct though, it is something that is already tied to both, it never was high elf exclusive and never will be, even if the blood elves would not receive the same customization options, it is nothing short but delusional to argue with distinctions prior to their split. Everything they did before leaving the Thalassian fold can be just as well be attributed to the blood elves, because the blood elves did not abandon their culture.

So if someone intends to argue for something only high elves have they can use something that only they did after departing from the blood elves.

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Because it has never been used for Blood Elves or the WoW farstriders. We're suggesting bringing back an old look that has only so far been used in WoW on Alleria as a High Elf.

Which still wouldn't make it a high elf thing.

[Lumineus]

I myself who not fan of them and would prefer rather Vrykul or Eredar must admit HELF more popular demand than my picks.

I wouldn't mind Vrykul myself. But they would probably find some contrived reason why they couldn't roll Paladin. Despite being the original Tyrsguard and basically inventing Paladins.

[Rhlor]

Suddenly?
This aspect of elf culture has been completely forgotten (if not retconned) by Blizzard for years. Try to search official art featuring it!
High elf fans have been using it as an idea to make a clear visual distinction between elf races. If not for them, the facial marking could have been completely forgotten.

I'm not opposed to give blood elf their own kind of markings. Maybe arcane runes or scars, for example. But, assuming an hypothetical high elf race, it would be in the best interest of everyone that the styles of such markings be very distinct from each other.

there will not be a high elf allied race, because the high elf are already playable.
give more personalization to the high elf playable is the only option

[Traycor]

it was never used by "High elves" too, apart Alleria who have unique model for the sake of being "unique".

It was the look of High Elves in Warcraft II. And Alleria has this look as well, which she brought forward into WoW as a High Elf. There's no reason this couldn't be used to create distinction.

[Obelisk Kai]

Because this topic is drifting back onto 'how can we make High Elves playable' I think it's very important to remind people of the following.



Skip to 46:20 for the relevant point.

You just can't pretend it's business as normal and he didn't say what he said.

[Combatbutler]

It was the look of High Elves in Warcraft II. And Alleria has this look as well, which she brought forward into WoW as a High Elf. There's no reason this couldn't be used to create distinction.

A distinction that is meaningless lorewise and as such on a cultural level.

[ls-]

It is part of the farstrider dynamic so why should it be suddenly be High elf exclusive? Makes no sense

I have a feeling that people don't really know the lore, don't care about it or ignore it on purpose and believe that Helves are a separate branch of Highborne evolution that occurred independently and in parallel to Belven evolution. They ignore that fact that both SC Helves and Belves were one faction ~1 decade ago and both used to have markings because they're one faction.

Because it has never been used for Blood Elves or the WoW farstriders. We're suggesting bringing back an old look that has only so far been used in WoW on Alleria as a High Elf.

It's never used for SC Helven farstriders/rangers in WoW either, you know... Both Belves and Helves used to do it and, technically, both still should do it, there's no reason for either of those to stop doing it. It's simply not shown in the game because both use basic PC Belf model.

-- edit #1

Literally everything that SC Helves did ~10+ years ago in Warcraft universe Belves did as well because they're one faction back then. So if you want to find something different between the two it had to happen within last 10 years or so.

[Zorish]

The look of a race in game is just the representative look of typical members of that race. Do we really believe that no human or dwarf in WoW has a tattoo? Yet we can't pick them. We get the look that represents the race. Warpaint could be the look that represents the High Elves.

If the look was meant to be all literal possibilities, we'd get tons of sliders for facial features, weight, height, etc...

man i already said this. Warpains it NOT what can and must represent race. They must be added as customization for EVERY race, because EVERY race have them.

plus. Your WC2 elves still LIVE NOT only in dalaran, but in Silvermoon too. This are NOT aliance marking (or you want big aliance lion stamp on the face like in some NSFW works? ). Oh and plus few pages ago someome linked BC box picture, where elf clearly had Tattoos on his face.

And we won't get the "sliders" because of how old this game. It wasn't build on "slider" possibilities.

[Traycor]

It's never used for SC Helven farstriders/rangers in WoW either, you know... Both Belves and Helves used to do it and, technically, both still should do it, there's no reason for either of those to stop doing it. It's simply not shown in the game because both use basic PC Belf model.

But the Blood Elves don't do it. It's not there. It's a silly arguement to say, "High Elves can't have this unused look because I could imagine my Blood Elf having that look."

Blood Elves could sprout tentacles and turn purple as well... that doesn't mean Void Elves can't have their own look.

- - - Updated - - -

And we won't get the "sliders" because of how old this game. It wasn't build on "slider" possibilities.

Sliders were around LONG before WoW came out. Even at the time of release, it had just about the most bare-bones customization possible. This was a deliberate design choice.