Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Shinkishi]

Being larger on average due to physical and environmental conditions encouraging certain traits is literally the definition of natural selection and evolution. High Elves haven't had a long enough separation, including partial separations, from the Blood Elf population to select for significantly different features on average.

Kul Tirans looked exactly the same as Stormwind humans up until now and many of them still do, including the most prominent one (Jaina). They wanted to make another playable "race" of humans and so they made them a visually distinct type of human, not a separate creature. The exact same can be done for playable high elves, they don't need to have a "long enough separation" for the playable ones to have a distinct look from the ones in-game now.

[Deleted]

because they are the same race. there has not been enough time for a mutation to affect either blood elves or high elves.

Is this World of Mutants?

Blood Elves were already slightly changed twice, both in appearance and in behavior. I Assure You - for High Elves it is totally enough, to explore older versions of their appearance, and create new societies, based on their own task of finding balance between nature and arcane, to be interesting and popular. There is no need of "mutation" to justify them. And who said, that different appearance must come from genetic differences?

The first from the edge - their current rather aggressive and provocative pose is better adjusted for Blood Elves. Couse this is first of all Blood Elf model, and way of portraying Blood Elves. High Elves were not portrayed like that, so making them on other model skeletons actually could even serve them better.

[Traveler Voltin]

Is this World of Mutants?

Blood Elves were already slightly changed twice, both in appearance and in behavior. I Assure You - for High Elves it is totally enough, to explore older versions of their appearance, and create new societies, based on their own task of finding balance between nature and arcane, to be interesting and popular. There is no need of "mutation" to justify them. And who said, that different appearance must come from genetic differences?

The first from the edge - their current rather aggressive and provocative pose is better adjusted for Blood Elves. Couse this is first of all Blood Elf model, and way of portraying Blood Elves. High Elves were not portrayed like that, so making them on other model skeletons actually could even serve them better.

nothing changed.

[KrakHed]

People who say "High Elf" must look like Blood Elves have never leveled a Blood Elf through Ghostlands. There are literally High Elves in the game that use a modified Nelf Skeleton.

True. Blood Elves used to use that too, until they got a decent model. It's not used for a single living High Elf anymore, because there isn't supposed to be any distinction. Blizzard sometimes just uses old models when referencing history, like how they use their alpha human models in Caverns of Time.

But I guess I will directly sum up what I think High Elves are. They're Scarlet Humans, and not Scarlets at their peak when they could build large settlements and muster armies against the Scourge. They're comparable to Defias Humans, if I were to suggest another analogy. Could you turn Scarlet Humans into a race separate from Stormwinders? Sure.

They've been corrupted by demons and shit. Maybe someone switched out their communion wine for actual blood. But we're accepting that something needs to cause a physical change. And overall, they have a somewhat different attitude and such than most humans. You could wrangle a unique identity out of it, though it'd step on normal human toes any time they wanted to do the zealous thing.

[Enkrypt]

So for you giving a fact is giving a link to something or any piece from a video or image?

Because if you don't take as a fact something that you can corroborate in-game or in the written lore... that's not my problem you know.

But what i am sure is that you can't give a definitive argument against HE being a thing, just arguments that aren't definitive because are based on modifiable things that were did in the past, or that aren't immovable.

I'm playing your game, you ask me for why they can be playable (despite is has been said a thousand times), and i ask you on why they can't once and for all be playable on the alliance.

If you start to answer aggresively with nonsensical anger is not something i made, is something that you yourself made.

Things I don't consider as facts: Random internet guy #1,036 saying, "Blizzard is wrong. I'm right. They should totally be playable, believe me."

I'm not playing a game. I asked for this readily available proof you spoke of, that you've yet to show even a sample of it.

You know what's been said three times? "No."

That's something I can prove. I can find the Blue posts that say that. You can't find a single Blue post that says anything to the contrary, and I know it. You ask why they can't be playable? Because 99% of them are dead or have evolved into Blood Elves. Blizzard has said so, and frankly, that's all that matters. There's your proof. Now where is yours? Oh, that's right... out there in the ether, where it can't be ascertained or demonstrated.

You can keep pretending I'm mad all you want. Truth is, the reason you're even posting in this thread is because you are mad. I'm posting in this thread to watch all of you squirm like ingrates.

[KrakHed]

Kul Tirans looked exactly the same as Stormwind humans up until now and many of them still do, including the most prominent one (Jaina). They wanted to make another playable "race" of humans and so they made them a visually distinct type of human, not a separate creature. The exact same can be done for playable high elves, they don't need to have a "long enough separation" for the playable ones to have a distinct look from the ones in-game now.

They felt the need to explain that Kul Tirans were, on average, physically different from Stormwind humans. If they change the High Elves, they're going to want an explanation.

[reanimatez]

300 pages on something that won't happen, you have blood elves or void elves, pick one

[Darththeo]

True. Blood Elves used to use that too, until they got a decent model. It's not used for a single living High Elf anymore, because there isn't supposed to be any distinction. Blizzard sometimes just uses old models when referencing history, like how they use their alpha human models in Caverns of Time.

False.

Shadowsworn Enforcer says hello. The High Elf one uses the Nelf Skeleton.
Likely an oversight, but still makes your statement false.

Also, Silvermoon City Guardian uses a modified Nelf Skeleton (at least, they did last time I was in Silvermoon) ... they be alive.

[Shinkishi]

They felt the need to explain that Kul Tirans were, on average, physically different from Stormwind humans. If they change the High Elves, they're going to want an explanation.

And the explanation doesn't have to involve them having evolved differently to be satisfactory and not break the lore, which was what the original argument was about.

[KrakHed]

False.

Shadowsworn Enforcer says hello. The High Elf one uses the Nelf Skeleton.
Likely an oversight, but still makes your statement false.

Also, Silvermoon City Guardian uses a modified Nelf Skeleton (at least, they did last time I was in Silvermoon) ... they be alive.

Oversights are pretty much besides the point. And I'm well aware that Silvermoon City Guardians have a unique model. They're also skinnier than the current Blood Elf, because they all used to be thinner. They got roided up a bit to fit the Horde, though people weren't so much saying they were too scrawny before as they were saying that their faces looked gay.

[Aldo Hawk]

Things I don't consider as facts: Random internet guy #1,036 saying, "Blizzard is wrong. I'm right. They should totally be playable, believe me."

Ad-hominem (how ironic) and totally dishonest strawman, two birds in one shot huh?

You know what's been said three times? "No."

So saying they aren't going to add them because they have no plans is the same as saying they are never going to be a thing, stop rolling the roll again and again.

That's something I can prove. I can find the Blue posts that say that. You can't find a single Blue post that says anything to the contrary, and I know it. You ask why they can't be playable? Because 99% of them are dead or have evolved into Blood Elves. Blizzard has said so, and frankly, that's all that matters. There's your proof. Now where is yours? Oh, that's right... out there in the ether, where it can't be ascertained or demonstrated.

Oke, give me those blue posts that totally gets rid HE from the table from the entirety of the future, but i'm going to tell you something, maybe HE population were decimated and a majority of them are now BE and horde, but sadly for you the fact is that HE are present in game in some alliance storylines and playable character with similar or even less population are on the selection screen.

My proofs are in-game and lore proofs, dev decisions and plain common sense, i can't even give for example proof of Mag'har or Dark Iron Dwarves being decided to be playable on the past, maybe considered and devs acknowledging the community desire on them, but there you have it, they are now playable and until this point the future were open for them, and it came with the allied race system, what can you give?

https://blue.mmo-champion.com/topic/5086-high-elves/ what's this?

Yes, he was just a community manager, but it's Blizzard's voice no? anyway i'm not going to take it as a fact but instead show it to say that Blizzard acknowledges this, and they didn't said no to HE so anything can happen in the future, them being or not being added, but we already did not got an answer or have something verifiable against the idea.

You can keep pretending I'm mad all you want. Truth is, the reason you're even posting in this thread is because you are mad. I'm posting in this thread to watch all of you squirm like ingrates.

Pretending? who is pretending? i just saw in how manner you answer and what words do you use and deduced that, so try to calm down when writing here or you are going to seem like a very mad person.

And truth is that i'm posting here for defend my posture, the truth is that you don't like that others oppose your (by your standards) magnificient posture is not the same as people answering you by getting mad, and that's sad because at this point is very clear that some of you (yourself included) is trying to get people upset here by giving dishonest and senseless responses.

But well, gimme those delicious blue posts you are talking about.

[serendipity11]

If it's true that horde is getting the vampires, that leave alliance open to possibly get another elf race.

As interesting as that is. It's clearly a fake image. I doubt any allied races are gonna start at level 80, or have hero classes because blizzard is on a kick about this "Start from 20, level to cap, get neato gear!" Seriously both Zandalari and Dark Iron should be able to be death knights lore wise. That's a fact. I wouldn't even care if they were ineligible for the cosmetic armour. Just let allied races be hero classes!!!!

San'layn are a cool idea but even if they happen they're not getting death knights, and not starting above 20. Not unless they come in the expansion after BFA and they change the protocol with allied races. Assuming they even going to introduce more allied races after BFA.

[Alixie]

It's 300 pages of a once fun fan project ruined by a handful of Horde players, that aren't satisfied that one dev moved the scale in their favor. They have to crush any enthusiasm no matter how unlikely, out of spite. (Of course, many of the same haters, are happy to entertain the San'layn)

Flipping through 10 pages, and they keep bringing up one dev that called Pandaren neutrality a mistake. A dev that no longer works for Blizz or has any decision power.

They should have kept the threads separate instead of letting this one turn into shitposting about "lul Alliance Blood Elves".

[Sigxy]

They should have kept the threads separate instead of letting this one turn into shitposting about "lul Alliance Blood Elves".

You say that, but the fact that they merged all of these threads together sort of proved that people are a bit tired of seeing 10 different High Elf threads each week.

People just got to remember that when you come and post here, not everyone will agree with you. Everyone have different opinions and we're all allowed to share them here, no matter if it's in order to agree or disagree.

[Melsiren]

The only good San'layn is a dead San'layn.

Proud member of the "No more fucking elves." Camp.

[cczx2bx6]

I think the first post already has enough to set the Blood Elves apart from High Elves. Regardless, I think that Blizzard should just own up to not making High Elves playable just because they dont want to, not because they're too similar to Blood Elves.

[Sorrior]

No, i agree that if dev says they won't be implementing something into game, they won't be doing it. No matter how hard some "fans" are screaming.

Ahem

Paladin/shaman factions

Classic servers

Demom hunters

And THESE are just without thinking.

[KrakHed]

(Of course, many of the same haters, are happy to entertain the San'layn)

I assume that's because San'layn are more vampire than elf. Elf and vampire themes overlap. They're high class, fancy, magical, immortal, beautiful, proud, often have pointy ears, and so on. But vampires do it all in a distinctly vampire way, so it kind of erases the elf identity. Their twist places them in an extremely different niche where they won't step on any toes.

Of course, it'd be annoying to have yet another Horde elf, but they could focus on the monstrous side more than the elf. That's the selling point of the San'layn.

With High Elves, I'm not seeing a strong core identity built in that would be able to survive lazy writers. A vampire can't just be written as a generic elf without personality or identity, you can't just write them without thought to the backstory that separates them from any random D&D inspired basic elf.

High Elves are different. I feel that if High Elves are not marked by their history, Blizzard's lazier writers will forget it. Thus will begin an erosion of any identity constructed for them, and they'll eventually wind up essentially indistinguishable from Blood Elves or the already watered-down Night Elves.

So I'm mostly looking around this thread for an idea that's idiot-proof. That distinctly reflects and builds upon Blizzard's High Elves and what separates them from the other Elves in the setting.

[Deleted]

It's 300 pages of a once fun fan project ruined by a handful of Horde players

Woah there. You mean to say Horde players might react a little negatively to a campaign to take the Horde's most popular race, give it tattoos, and put it on the Alliance? You know, a second time, because you guys cried your eyes out that the first pass wasn't pretty enough?

Who'd have thought!

[Arrashi]

Ahem

Paladin/shaman factions
Classic servers
Demom hunters
And THESE are just without thinking.

Yeah, and those are things that devs were adamant about NOT implementing despite having "great" occasion to do so