Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Paraka]

Are you kidding me? What are Mag'har, like six or seven cultures for the price of one? How many patches spent acquiring dwarf clans, then?

Then there was the fact we spent 2/3 of Legion working towards Horde Night Elves that aren't even a different enough color to make the anti high elf argument hold more water than a thimble.

So you're saying Nightborne should also be Alliance?

[Sorrior]

Or because they have something planned.

Picture this potential scenario.

The Alliance attacks Silvermoon. There is a basis for this idea as Alleria said she would leave 'for now' during the Nightborne scenario, implying she would be back. Given that she has been exiled, the only way she can be back is at the head of a military force.

As a point of comparison, in an early Legion quest where we went to the Exodar Velen talked about getting something ready to return home. This later turned out to be the Vindicaar and our trip to Argus. It was foreshadowed in others words, and Alleria's words may not be an empty threat.

So at some point during BFA, the Alliance attacks Silvermoon. Alleria has convinced herself she is going as a liberator, to free her people from the grip of the arch traitor Lor'themar Theron who sold them into bondage with the Horde. Once the cabal ruling Silvermoon is ousted, Alleria is convinced that the people will stand beside the Alliance through their own free will. The rest of the Alliance knows better, but nobody can talk Alleria out of her misconception. Besides, conquering Silvermoon would remove the Horde from the Eastern Kingdom and deprive them of a powerful member state.

Veressa and her Silver Covenant perform infiltration duties in Silvermoon. The plan is simple, to seize the Sunwell. If they manage to seize the Sunwell, the Blood Elves will have to surrender. Using their abilities, they are able to slip into Silvermoon to prepare the strike mission.

An Alliance army enters the Ghostlands to provide a distraction. The Horde marches to meet it. This could be part of a scenario or a new warfront or both.

Once both armies are engaged, the Alliance player receives a message to join Veressa at the Sunwell through a portal they have opened in the complex. Some Void Elves accompany the Alliance forces, the idea being that they can threaten to have them interact with the well if the Blood Elves refuse to surrender. Alleria is confident they will fold rather than risk it .

The complex is mostly under Alliance control by the time the player arrives, the High Elves launched a sneak attack and killed most of the sentries. Now only a core force led by Lady Liadrin remains holed up in the Sunwell chamber. The Alliance player engages and overpowers Liadrin.

At this point, a Horde player would defeat a named High Elf npc in the Ghostlands, say Auric, and would receive a panicked message stating that the Sunwell is under attack. They would leap through a portal with Horde reinforcements.

With a Mexican standoff, one of the Void Elves goes mad from the voices and tries to corrupt the Sunwell. The Horde strikes back instantly. There are casualties. But the Alliance loses, more Horde forces appear, Lor'themar and Rommath arrives, Liadrin channels the well itself in a blast of holy light that sort of thing.

The Void Elves and the High Elves fall back. There is bitter disappointment. The greatest chance to reclaim Silvermoon for the Alliance has been lost.

At the Sunwell Rommath is incandescent with rage. He attacks Lor'themar for his mercy towards the traitorous High Elves, allowing them to feed on the Sunwell whilst plotting with their enemies to destroy them. He demands permission to use a final sanction, the severing of a Elf's connection to the Sunwell which he wished to use years ago. Lor'themar agrees, there will be no more mercy from the Blood Elves.

At the Alliance camp, High Elves begin getting woozy and they begin to feel cravings they thought banished over a decade ago. They realise instantly what has happened. Some are insistent that they lived without the well before and can do so again, but it was always a short term measure while a cure was sought for. They will grow weaker and more apathetic as time goes by, and be unable to participate in the war.

Veressa makes the decision to embrace the Void as her sister did and the majority of her people follow, they no longer have any choice.


Now, that is speculative fiction on my part. I suspect that Void Elves didn't come from High Elves because most Alliance High Elves simply wouldn't turn to the Void unless there was no other choice. The story wouldn't have rung true for them to be out investigating this power source. But a situation such as the one I described above, where the High Elves are left with no choice BUT to turn to the void as part of the wider war with the Horde after a final brutal severing of their ties with Silvermoon, might be more attractive. They wouldn't even be turning away from being a High Elf willingly, it would be under duress, and with an eye towards the greater good of serving their Alliance comrades.
Can't help your friends if you are in a heap on the floor crying for your next fix.

If they have something planned to get rid of he or turn them void.. i can accept it

HOWEVER Ions handling of this is still atrocious. If they have a plan he could easily have said no high elves and you will understand later so be sure to buy bfa to experience the full story.

Blizzard has dropped hints like this before sl i say why not

[FlubberPuddy]

that was only right thing in your post
so you judging race by sillies? and what sillies will be with yout "ranger High elf".

Male: one day i got arrow in my knee...
Female: i slept with the bear... ones...
m?

Oh no, sillies aren't the only thing. It's their entire representation in WoW. Backed up by Ion describing them. Blood Elf thematics are mainly focused on "majestic" "city" "magocracy" "royalty" "blood knights/light" etc etc.

Nowhere do they rep the old WC2 High Elf Ranger feel in looks nor actual culture in WoW.

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You mean what the topic is SUPPOSED to ne about? A civilized discussion of possibilities?

Ion's statement was nothing new when it came to High Elves. So pretty much what everyone's been saying about how they can be differentiated still stands as well. Nothing he said refuted the arguments that were made by people wanting Alliance High Elves.

So yeah @Obelisk Kai business can carry on as usual

[Zorish]

Oh no, sillies aren't the only thing. It's their entire representation in WoW. Backed up by Ion describing them. Blood Elf thematics are mainly focused on "majestic" "city" "magocracy" "royalty" "blood knights/light" etc etc.

Nowhere do they rep the old WC2 High Elf Ranger feel in looks nor actual culture in WoW.

so... Previous titles of LTT "Ranger lord" or his advisor "Ranger general Halduron Brightwing" are nonexistant thing? or maybe previous "ranger general Sylvanas Windrunner"? Man you miss the point that "ranger theme" show on the fields, not in the city.

[Deleted]

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.

Do you really think, if they were going to add High Elves as an Allied Race in the near future, mid/late BFA or even the next expansion, he would just reveal it in a Q&A, this early on, as a result of being bombarded with High Elf requests?

No, he wouldn't. They would reveal it when they're ready, on their terms, as a promo for a patch, and not waste the reveal in a Q&A months ahead.

They've already got 2 Allied Races a faction set up in BFA, and there is going to be more added later on. There is a chance for one of them to be High Elves. That's why he didn't categorically say 'no, we're not adding HE'; he just casually brushed it off as he always has (seen that BFA gameplay interview?), pointing to their similarities with Blood Elves. And in the meantime let the community discuss it, talk it out, 'they're basically Blood Elves' (though they're clearly not, that'll create some faction friction, brilliant for BFA).

That's what I'd too if I was him; address it, but don't hint at a yes, don't deny it completely, leave the option and the possibility open.

[FlubberPuddy]

so... Previous titles of LTT "Ranger lord" or his advisor "Ranger general Halduron Brightwing" are nonexistant thing? or maybe previous "ranger general Sylvanas Windrunner"? Man you miss the point that "ranger theme" show on the fields, not in the city.

Blood Elf thematics are mainly focused

Their ranger side is very downplayed

[ercarp]

AMAMAZING <3 members of the high elves discord love these! amazing! also could you make some female ones? ;D

I'm glad to hear people like them! Females are next on my to-do list. If I'm in the mood, I'll try to do a bunch tomorrow.

[Zorish]

Blood Elf thematics are mainly focused

Their ranger side is very downplayed

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Quest:Seek_the_Farstriders
you don't say! downplayed? so entire race don't have hunters, spies, rangers, etc. to have their borders secured?
3 main forces are parts of Quel'Thalas:
1) Blood knights under Liadrin
2) Magisters under Rommath
3) Farstriders under Halduron
They all essential part of city existence. The core of the army (solders/paladins), the archery and scouts (farstriders), and strategical powerhouse (magisters).

[Sigxy]

Please, more art is great This thread was originally titled Silver Covenant Allied Race Concepts (I believe) so it's definitely a place to show your work if you so please!

TO ALL THOSE THAT @ ME:

You heard it straight from Ion, Blood Elves are the "MAJESTIC ELVES" therefore their identity/model representation wouldn't allow them access to WARPAINTS which they'd probably consider barbaric AF. Evidence from their sillies:



So yeah, keep your prissy Elves who think so highly of themselves and others beneath them. They're the "sophisticated elves" the "city elves". Basically Blood Elves embody the "Stuck up bitches" personality stereotype.

So funny how now that Ion outlined the aesthetic Blood Elves are, many die-hard BE fans appear to want to change that because they just don't want High Elves to be a possibility. Extremely hilarious!

And then Void Elves are the aesthetic of Rockers/Goth/Emo/Occult type Elves pretty much. Therefore warpaints wouldn't make sense of them either. These guys are also Blood Elves so they're more close to Blood Elves in cultural capacity than High Elves.

And the whole "Alleria is a Void Elf" she's both! She's both a High Elf and a Void Elf.

On the subject of her eyes, this is said:

Oh look at that! Another GAMEPLAY REASON for Alleria having Blue Eyes, and again to denote her being a HIGH ELF. Blizzard sure loves their GAMEPLAY REASONS so fat chance of Blood Elves getting Blue Eyes.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Alleria_Windrunner

Ahh, all the triggered people once I said what I said are so funny

Magister Umbric if you click on him enough times: "High Elf? Please. Why would you want to be a high elf when you can look all tragic and brooding?"

I think it rather fits! It's 'tragic' you can't get high elves so, may as well start brooding and join the Void Elves!

[Enkrypt]

Says the guy who can't handle the idea of people talking about what you dislike and the outrught fact ions arguments against HE apply to qlmost all allied races

Give us a good reason not to have them and i will accept it. I have yet to hear one.

It's not my personal responsibility to provide you with a reason. Suffice to say, it's not my job. But the Blood Elves, and the concept they represent (Thalassian elf stereotype), belong to the Horde. They, as in Blizzard, have provided you with reasons throughout the years. I think they tried to let you down softly, but this thread being 200+ pages shows how ridiculous and immature of a request this has become. Imagine being asked the same stupid question for a decade. Don't you think you'd be a bit dismissive at the end? Be an adult and own the fact this has become a very annoying campaign towards Blizzard, no doubt. I respect perseverance, but this borders on insanity and childishness, especially when the race you want is available on the Horde faction.

Give you a good reason? I'll give you a good reason.

Blizzard said so.

Happy? No. You'll never be happy until you have the EXACT model the Horde has with blue eyes. You should be thankful they gave you time of day twice now to address it. And you're still holding your hands out, like you deserve something more. And yes, I take great satisfaction in watching all of you squirm about not getting your way. Your lot has been some of the most toxic, most outlandish, most entitled, most ingrateful bunch of players I've ever seen in WoW-based forums. My petty jokes and jabs about HE's are nothing compared to people asking for Ion to be fired, his family to be harmed, and other ridiculous crap over a race you could easily play on the Horde side.

I can certainly handle people talking about High Elves. Why do you think I come to this thread? Pure entertainment value. I like watching you all jump through hoops and be needy little Alliance players.

[FlubberPuddy]

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Quest:Seek_the_Farstriders
you don't say! downplayed? so entire race don't have hunters, spies, rangers, etc. to have their borders secured?
3 main forces are parts of Quel'Thalas:
1) Blood knights under Liadrin
2) Magisters under Rommath
3) Farstriders under Halduron
They all essential part of city existence. The core of the army (solders/paladins), the archery and scouts (farstriders), and strategical powerhouse (magisters).

From your same link:

Cataclysm Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Removed.

As I said, downplayed

[Zorish]

From your same link:



As I said, downplayed

so then no race got hunters cause i guess blizzard removed all staring class quests? like the one i linked, and the next one for taming pet? I guess no hunters and same quests in NE race, dwarf race, draenei race means that hunters (rangers) were deleted from the game and lore?

and every other class quest under 20 lvl i guess mean that there no more classes in WC history too? you see? they were removed for gameplay, theye weren't removed from lore and this place https://wow.gamepedia.com/Farstrider_Retreat still there. out in the wild.

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oh! and look what i see https://wow.gamepedia.com/Lieutenant_Dawnrunner

Quotes
Welcome to the Farstrider Retreat. We are rangers sworn to defend our people from enemies both near and far.

[Obelisk Kai]

You mean what the topic is SUPPOSED to ne about? A civilized discussion of possibilities?

What possibilities? They said no and listed criteria that are insuperable for an Allied High Elf race i.e. not being fair skinned.

You don't seem able to accept that this isn't going to happen.

Also this topic is not about discussing how to make High Elves possible. It's about everything to do with them, including the case against them being playable that happens to be so strong the developers themselves agree with it.

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Do you really think, if they were going to add High Elves as an Allied Race in the near future, mid/late BFA or even the next expansion, he would just reveal it in a Q&A, this early on, as a result of being bombarded with High Elf requests?

No, he wouldn't. They would reveal it when they're ready, on their terms, as a promo for a patch, and not waste the reveal in a Q&A months ahead.

They've already got 2 Allied Races a faction set up in BFA, and there is going to be more added later on. There is a chance for one of them to be High Elves. That's why he didn't categorically say 'no, we're not adding HE'; he just casually brushed it off as he always has (seen that BFA gameplay interview?), pointing to their similarities with Blood Elves. And in the meantime let the community discuss it, talk it out, 'they're basically Blood Elves' (though they're clearly not, that'll create some faction friction, brilliant for BFA).

That's what I'd too if I was him; address it, but don't hint at a yes, don't deny it completely, leave the option and the possibility open.

No.

I'd have expected him not to address it all.

If that was their intent, leaving us in ambiguity as they have done for over a decade would have served their purposes just as well.

He went out of his way to tell you NO. On two separate occasions.

There is no conspiracy here, no master plan, no secret scheme by which High Elves are going to be introduced. He even told you why they aren't happening, they blur the faction lines far too much.

The scenario you have postulated here is a nonsense. It only makes sense if you personally are desperate to lie to yourself and rationalise away that Ion didn't mean what he said. When he clearly did, he has said it twice and what he has said has been consistent with Blizzard's position across over a decade of storytelling.

[Paraka]

What possibilities? They said no and listed criteria that are insuperable for an Allied High Elf race i.e. not being fair skinned.

You don't seem able to accept that this isn't going to happen.

Also this topic is not about discussing how to make High Elves possible. It's about everything to do with them, including the case against them being playable that happens to be so strong the developers themselves agree with it.

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No.

I'd have expected him not to address it all.

If that was their intent, leaving us in ambiguity as they have done for over a decade would have served their purposes just as well.

He went out of his way to tell you NO. On two separate occasions.

There is no conspiracy here, no master plan, no secret scheme by which High Elves are going to be introduced. He even told you why they aren't happening, they blur the faction lines far too much.

The scenario you have postulated here is a nonsense. It only makes sense if you personally are desperate to lie to yourself and rationalise away that Ion didn't mean what he said. When he clearly did, he has said it twice and what he has said has been consistent with Blizzard's position across over a decade of storytelling.

Yeah, he may have said no, and was very direct, but what does "no" really mean when someone says it? Like REAAALY MEAN?

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

you can dessagre with everything, you have the right to, but again, this don't matter

they make Garrosh the wow hitler, i don't agree with that, it will change something? i could create a lot of points of how that was wrong, how they butcher his character, but is beyond me, i don't make the lore

we don't have to agree, but we accept anyway

You can still enjoy media while criticizing it. It's not an either or no scenario. If I believe the WoW's team narrative choices can be pretty dumb, doesn't mean I have to stop playing or say nothing.

what fraction of that? the argument is make alliance high elves playable" how you just make a fraction of it? just a fraction of elves playable? just an arm?

blizzard did a better choice, not making then playable, its better for the healthy of the game. it could be better but its good enough

???

Dude, in simple terms, Ion and Blizz could simple have addressed some of the pro-helf points in the Q&A, like the Silver Covenant Elephant. It's literally about just addressing the points the other side is making, which Ion's answer didn't do.

and again, just because you get offended don't mean it was mean to be offended or it was offensive at all

Is it really such a hard concept to understand that YOU don't get to decide how other people take offense?

and what is the fourth time that im telling you that this is all about the no? no matter how he worded people would still bitch about, its human nature

there is no scenario of HE fans saying "ok, yeah, i understand, pack up boys lets move and stop this" he could say in any way and people would still be mad and call him names

So I'm literally raising a point that I have no issue that the answer was no, but the manner of the response.

And you are saying that MY POINT isn't about that? Really?

And gain, i didn't dismiss then, blizzard did,maybe is time to use logic and think that they are not worthy at all?

I'm saying you agree the point was dissmissable.

Using "logic" is not the same than "pro high elf points had no worth."Only if you define logic by authoritarianism, which would be pretty damn sad. You can disagree with Blizzard, believe it or not.

the bias goes from both sides, more for the pro-fanbase, i don't even know why you are bringing "bias" up, when alliance claim that they own the elves or the elves belong to then

[/QUOTE]

There's a marked difference between having a posture and utter and complete disregard of the opposing view. You are the later, admittedly so. We obviously have levels of bias, but the point of discussion is to hear the other side and see the points they raise.

But YOU are so biased that see no merit on any pro-high elf point. I'm calling out your bias. If you are going to discuss with me, discuss MY arguments and points, you don't get to pin on me other people's nonsense by saying "the alliance claim they own elves" I am not "the alliance" I am not someone that say "we deserve High elves" or "we own high elves"

I simply say that "High Elves on the alliance make sense from a lore standpoint" That's my horse on that race. So really, don't put the whole of your perception of the pro-high elf side on me, good grief.

[Deleted]

He even told you why they aren't happening, they blur the faction lines far too much.

*cough* Pandas.

[Traveler Voltin]

*cough* Pandas.

Were a mistake in blizzard’s eyes.
How many times must this be repeated?

[bowlink]

Were a mistake in blizzard’s eyes.
How many times must this be repeated?

so was flying and we all know how that turned out

so whats your point?

[Obelisk Kai]

*cough* Pandas.

Oh no, the Pandaren example. My arguments are defeated as nobody has ever brought this up before.

Pandaren were introduced as an experiment to see if a neutral race could work.

It didn't. While the Pandaren themselves are a fine race, the concept of neutrality was an abject failure.

And looking at Pandaren since it is easy to see why, they are unable to really do much with Pandaren in the story going forward due to their neutrality.

And Pandaren were conceived of as neutral, implemented as neutral and their entire plotline built around their neutrality and the balance between the factions. If they couldn't make Pandaren work, making Blood Elves neutral will be a far worse mistake.

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so was flying and we all know how that turned out

so whats your point?

That the flying crowd got Blizzard to backtrack in under two months and the High Elf crowd hasn't managed it in ten years.

Either High Elves aren't as important to as many as you think they are, or Blizzard thinks the faction wall is a good hill to die on.

Either way, not good for you.

[Enkrypt]

so was flying and we all know how that turned out

so whats your point?

His point is obviously that they learned from the mistake, and aren't willing to repeat it.

Flying has no relevance here. The Pandaren scapegoat has been overused as a goalpost for ushering in the High Elves on precedent alone.

Catch up, little tomato.