Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Maxilian]

it will never be interesting. it will be another fuck you to the horde

Why not fuck both sides!!!

IMHO as long as the BE don't lose the Isles of Queldanas, is ok.

Also that may push the BE to attack the Exodar and reclaim that island in the name of the Horde.

Note: Also an invasion of Silvermoon does not need to end with the Horde losing Silvermoon, instead only lose Queldanas -not the isle but the zone around the city-, how? In one of the Chronicles its mention how Silvermoon was elevated to the skies once (Dalaran style), so that its a plausible option too

Note 2: This would basically just make Silvermoon move to where the Exodar is (maybe in Bloodmist island instead) and have the Exodar where Silvermoon is.

[Garfurion]

There wouldn't be such thing as Alliance sided BE, as the main difference between BE and HE are their "political views", so they will just become HEs. (or go full Void addict and become VE),

I don't think we'll see a large group of Alliance Blood Elves any time soon for the simple reason that Blizzard tends to use High Elves for this purpose, or perhaps in the future Void Elves.

There are some political differences between some High Elven groups (like the Silver Covenant) and the Blood Elven nation of Quel'Thalas but lorewise that isn't the only or even the main difference between Blood Elves and High Elves.

Take for example Valeera Sanguinar who is and identifies herself as a Blood Elf:

"My whole race was nearly exterminated by the Scourge. Those who survived and fought in partnership with the Alliance were betrayed. Was it so wrong, then, to ally with Illidan and the naga... to save the few who remained?"

but isn't part of either the Horde or the Alliance:

"I am neither Horde nor Alliance. What has either faction ever done for me?"

although she does work for the Wrynn family which leads the Alliance:

"My loyalties are personal-- To King Varian and to his son!".

Another example is Lyria Skystrider who is/was a Blood Elf in Silvermoon protesting against the decision of Lor'Themar to join the Horde:

"My brothers and sisters. Listen to me. We must speak of the survival of our people. We have narrowly survived one calamnity, but I fear the next shall destroy us.

Can you not see what is happening? Open your eyes. It is laid bare for all to see. What is this new alliance? Why have we betrayed our allies of old, only to take up with the enemies of all that live?

together with Priest Ennas she is later mind controlled. The full description of the scripted scene can be read here

As stated in the still canon Warcraft Encyclopedia the "crucial" difference between High and Blood Elves is how they decided to deal with their addiction after the destruction of the Sunwell:

"Blood elves no longer truly consider themselves high elves, and they tend to have different priorities and behaviors than their high elf kindred. Unlike high elves, blood elves have decided that in the absence of the Sunwell, they will feed their hunger for arcane magic by draining that magic from alternative sources."

"A crucial difference between high elves and blood elves is that no high elves have decided to feed their hunger for arcane magic by draining that magic from alternative sources (now that the Sunwell is useless). Even today, though, a high elf might still succumb to that addiction and become one of the blood elves."

Note that the Sunwell was only restored a few years ago in Azerothian time so almost all High and Blood Elves alive today, except the very young, made this fundamental moral/lifestyle choice.

The High Elves of Quel'Lithien lodge like Renthar Darkspear for instance had been Farstriders and thus Blood Elves after Kael'thas renamed his people but were exiled for refusing to drain living beings out of principle, not because of a political affiliation with the Alliance.

"Five years we rot here, thrown out of our homes at your behest because we refuse to suck
magic from living things like vampires." -- Renthar Darkspear, In to the Shadow of the Sun

Lorewise it is thus possible to have Alliance Blood Elves or Horde High Elves even if it's unlikely they will appear in game

[FlubberPuddy]

SNIP

I'm sure that others, like me, will take the little gives we get. I don't believe anyone who genuinely thought of getting High Elves after the Void Elves just released were thinking of them coming out any time soon. That's just basic knowledge, it's like how no one's expecting wildhammer dwarves anytime soon either after the release of dark irons. Or Broken Draenei after the release of Lightforged, or Red Ereder for those on Horde side. Etc etc for any of the other already released AR versions of races.

Doesn't stop people from letting it be known for the future, and hey look the conversation is moving along from "if you want to play a high elf the horde is waiting for you" to "there's always a chance, don't give up hope" in reference to high elf fantasy coming through extra void elf customization. Again, the latter should take a while since I don't expect Blizzard to even be thinking about fixing up the Legion AR while they're currently focused on BFA and new creations, despite all those asking for fixes to Nightborne for instance.

The only ones who aren't accepting the words being said are those who, as I've said, aren't genuinely looking at the context of the High Elf request and wanting them immediately or thinking they'll still happen in BFA or that WoW will die without having High Elves playable on Alliance.

The people who have taken into considerations what words have been said are seeing what they can do to work around it, hence the addendums to the OP by its creator including Ion's April answer and following suggestions on how to make High Elves a thing taken those words into consideration. This also doesn't include whatever on-going discussions are happening on the official forums themselves.

And the only thing "making it impossible" is Blizzard themselves. Past statements don't matter once another one made more recently changes the landscape of that discussion, which is what happened with Alex Afrasiabi's answer. His response takes precedent over all else. But even before that, Caydiem's answer was then superseded by the WotLK expansion where High Elves were everywhere on Northrend. Lightforged Draenei didn't exist until we heard of it through Blizzard, neither did the whole "Void can be good". Blizzard isn't stifled by anything (even their own previous statements) should they want High Elves to become playable, they can will it however they want to work in whichever way they want aka possibly through Void Elf customization - or some other way they haven't shared with us.

This isn't even including all the other stuff Blizzard may have said in the past multiple times, like say how they kept PvP vicious mounts character locked for so long because of their view of "we want pvp progression to be character-based" when a large part of the pvp playerbase disagreed with that, even though there were some supporters of that idea. Then finally in Legion they laxed on that restriction despite previous statements to the choice.

You can't "accept this fate" when the High Elf conversation with Blizzard is still on-going, albeit slowly but that makes sense in itself, refer to a previous post of mine about how this is a niche topic compared to everything else going on with the game that affects a wider audience such as class changes, gameplay changes etc.

Like I've said to others, if you truly believe High Elves won't ever come for the lifetime of WoW. Cool - keep living your life and believing that. Others don't share that opinion and they'll keep trying to inch the discussion forward until there comes a satisfied outcome. There may not be a whole lot to go on right now, but the conversation is far from over per Alex.

[Lumineus]

it will never be interesting. it will be another fuck you to the horde

Realistically, if they do a Quel'thalas warfront, Horde will win in canon and it will just be an excuse to remodel Silvermoon for flight. If it has anything to do with High Elves it'll be because they used AU ones and they recycled the zone with blue textures.

[Obelisk Kai]

Except High Elves as per established lore wouldn't have the signature Blood Elves racial : Arcane Torrent, for this one specifically is a legacy of Kael'thas's teachings :

"If there is only one lesson you deign to remember from your time on Sunstrider Isle, let it be this - control your thirst for magic. It is a thirst unending, <name> - what you absorb must be controlled and released via Arcane Torrent. Failure is to become one of the Wretched... hopelessly addicted and insane."

The whole point of the HE/BE split is that the former refused that new cultural practice of the Blood Elves :

"Five years we rot here, thrown out of our homes at your behest because we refuse to suck magic from living things like vampires." Renthar began to rise from his seat, leaning across the table, truly shaking with rage. "And now you want to offer aid? After all we have been through, you come now? After what the Horde did to us in the name of that bastard human who called himself ranger? How blind do you think I am, Lor'themar? I should kill you. I should kill you and send Sylvanas your head!"

If anything, looking at their heritage, the exiled High Elves would be hating the Blood Elves that exiled them just a few years ago more than the Kaldorei that exiled their Highborne ancestors ten thousand years ago.

Plus, a defining part of the High Elves identity was their emphasis on careful control of magic, in contrast to the Highborne's hubris.
It is part of the Blood Elves's characterization, faced with the pangs of their addiction to magic, of having relinquished much of that carefulness, delving openly in the raw energies of Fel, Shadow and Holy, and leaving many a Wretched husk.

But on the other hand I will admit that given the AR pattern, HE have a weak case of becoming an Allied Race : all the AR so far are additions to their respective factions (NEW allies), whereas much of the HE are already part of the Alliance.
Unless they maybe rework the community in the Hinterlands, we'd have to be introduced to some largish hidden-till-now Fastrider community.
To stay in the maritime theme I'd say it would be fun to have a fleet-based community of exiles HE, pitted against an Ogre fleet that would become the counterpart addition to the Horde.

After Mechagon everything should become possible I guess...

A fair enough point regarding Arcane Torrent. I would counter however that all unaltered thalassian elves should be open to learning it, even Alliance High Elves. Other races cannot, any more than a Blood/Alliance High Elf could learn warstomp.

As for after Mechagon, I am sorry to let you know but a pro High Elfer already approached Ion at Blizzcon and asked, and Ion confirmed they weren't coming in BFA but also 'anything is possible in future' (i.e. the blizzard no). Combined with Blizzard confirming last year that ARs are going to get rarer after BFA it's going to be a very long before anyone even considers Alliance High Elves as their own thing again.

- - - Updated - - -

Realistically, if they do a Quel'thalas warfront, Horde will win in canon and it will just be an excuse to remodel Silvermoon for flight. If it has anything to do with High Elves it'll be because they used AU ones and they recycled the zone with blue textures.

Given the Warfront system seems to have been scrapped, unsurprisingly given the negative reception it has received, if they ever had any ideas for a Silvermoon warfront they almost certainly will not be doing that. It does not mean that future content involving the Blood and Void Elves isn't going to happen of course, just that that particular configuration won't be the means by which it is done.

It's a pity though, I agree the Horde would have won and it would have updated the zones spectacularly. Oh well.

[FlubberPuddy]

A fair enough point regarding Arcane Torrent. I would counter however that all unaltered thalassian elves should be open to learning it, even Alliance High Elves. Other races cannot, any more than a Blood/Alliance High Elf could learn warstomp.

Doesn't matter if they "should be open to learning it", the point is a High Elf abhors the act itself and it's possibly the most defining trait of what makes a High Elf a High Elf and not a Blood Elf. What is even an "unaltered thalassian"?

As for after Mechagon, I am sorry to let you know but a pro High Elfer already approached Ion at Blizzcon and asked, and Ion confirmed they weren't coming in BFA but also 'anything is possible in future' (i.e. the blizzard no). Combined with Blizzard confirming last year that ARs are going to get rarer after BFA it's going to be a very long before anyone even considers Alliance High Elves as their own thing again.

The actual quote is "yeah, they won't be in bfa but that doesn't mean they'll never be in wow ever" and "the door hasn't closed". A much more different tone from Ion at Blizzcon 2018 over the dismissive one used during April Q&A.

[Traveler Voltin]

Ion is a former Lawyer. so dont believe a word he says.

[Obelisk Kai]

Ion is a former Lawyer. so dont believe a word he says.

He seemed very clear when he twice ruled out Alliance High Elves, or do you mean his lawyer speak codas when he says 'anything is possible'

[Traveler Voltin]

He seemed very clear when he twice ruled out Alliance High Elves, or do you mean his lawyer speak codas when he says 'anything is possible'

anything is possible.

[Obelisk Kai]

anything is possible.

Ah, I see.

That little phrase (or variations of it) has been a topic of debate for a while, with some people focusing more on that that what was said before. Back in the April 26th Q and A lest we forget, Ion spent the better part of two minutes listing all the reasons why Alliance High Elves weren't happening, but because he said 'anything's possible in future', they grapple onto that rather than meat of the communication.

And as far as I can see, April 2018 was Ion repeating what he said at Blizzcon 2017, and what the communication between Ion and the pro High Elfer at Blizzcon 2018 merely followed the same patterns.

Now, what do we exactly know about that Blizzcon encounter? Mostly, it came from the perspective of a pro High Elfer, which means any recollection has to be regarded as slightly biased. Not saying the guy lied, I think it played out mostly as he wrote down, but he didn't write down a whole lot and paraphrased a bit and it was written for a pro High Elf audience, so it could be unintentionally misleading. Memory after all is a fickle thing, and I am unaware of a video record of their conversation that can be referenced beyond dispute

Full disclosure, I have a friend who used to work for Blizzard. He was part of Blizzard EU a couple of years ago and did some work at the World Wide Invitational back in Paris 2008. I met him in a guild I joined back during TBC which was actually full of Blizzard staff and nobody told me until years later. Another one of my guildies back in the day wrote this book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orazachi-Di...=i+am+orazachi

That's just in case you need further proof that what I am saying is true.

When the Ion conversation with this pro High Elfer came to light I went to my friend, who walked a convention floor with a Blizzard badge, and asked him what he thought it meant. Turns out my friend thinks nothing of it. He called the Blizzard no, whether that was an in joke of his or more widespread I am not sure, but he put it to me like this.

Imagine you are a Blizzard employee at a convention. What is your job? Making sure the tens of thousands of people around you have a good time is part of it. Making sure nothing is done that can blow up in Blizzard's face is the second part. People at the convention are going to approach you, they are going to talk to you about a range of subjects they are passionate about. For all you know, they could be filming you and anything that comes across as rude or condescending will be on social media within a few hours. For all you know, that happy, passionate person you are talking to could badly lose their temper if you give them the wrong answer in the wrong way.

So what my friend referred to as 'the Blizzard no' is just a common sense way of interacting with fans. Given his prominence within the community, Ion wandering the floor (and why wouldn't he want to wander, the atmosphere at a Blizzcon must be amazing) would still have to be extra careful in case someone asked them about azerite armor, or islands, or warfronts, or flying, or one of any number of topics that have people worked up. In this particular case, it was a pro High Elf fan.

A perfectly normal young man who was very upfront about his desire for Alliance High Elves, who communicated that there were others as passionate as him and his hopes they will be considered in the future. It's important to note that this wasn't Ion talking to a camera, as he was with Jesse Cox and during the April Q and A. This was Ion having a private conversation with a bright eyed fan expressing a hope. So does Ion a.) Crush his dreams as ruthless as he did the previous two times when he expressing an opinion to the wider web or b.) try and sugarcoat the same answer he gave previously as much as possible by letting him down gently in order not to put a downer on his Blizzcon trip?

Ion of course chose B. Why wouldn't he choose B? Guy standing right there in front of him, looking for a nugget of hope. Most people in Ion's situation would have said the same thing. Why ruin his day?

But here we have to remember Ion is a lawyer, and here we focus on what was said because while Ion didn't want to be nasty, he had to be honest too. So he said something to the effect of 'just because they aren't in BFA doesn't mean they are off the table forever'.

Back in April he said 'Anything is possible in future'. What he said here on the Blizzcon floor, in person, is the same thing except he did what my friend describes as Ion just being nice.

Because we know High Elves were considered and rejected. We know Void Elves were created in their stead. We know they see Void Elves as another flavour of High Elves for the Alliance to use (he literally called Void Elves another flavour of High Elves in the Jessie Cox 2017 interview, he didn't say Blood Elves here, he said High Elves). And we know Allied races are getting much, much rarer post BFA, meaning every addition is going to be much more closely scrutinised if it's the one new option in three years rather than if it was the one of six new options provided over a two year period. Everything we currently know means Alliance High Elves are exceptionally unlikely in the medium term.

Ion's answer means what Ion's answer means. Anything is possible. At some point, maybe they will reconsider. And you can't take Alliance High Elves completely off the table because to say so is to offer a hostage to fortune, that at a distant point in the future they could be added. And lawyer that he is, he knows he can't offer that hostage to fortune, lest the Alliance High Elf become yet another rhetorical hammer to beat the company with. Classic servers are bad enough, as the pro High Elfers still reference the change of opinion on that in reference to the realization of their own pet project in the face of Blizzard's resistance. No wonder Blizzard's employees so heavily caveat what they say these days. It is unsurprising. But also meaningless.

And if Ion being nice feeds this sense of false hope, perhaps the next time he is asked he will be back behind a camera and will feel liberated to add in some snark that clearly demonstrates his true feelings on the matter.

P.S. I do recommend picking up that book I linked. It's a cool story of what it was like to be a WoW GM and includes some guild drama towards the end I remember happening at the time, blissfully unaware of the real world professional consequences.

[FlubberPuddy]

Snip

This post isn't proof of anything. Specifically, the:

in case you need further proof that what I am saying is true

You know, even if everything that was stated in this is 100% true, it disregards (doesn't even comment on at all) what Afrasiabi said during the same Blizzcon 2018. Which in terms of Afrasiabi's answer, was said during an interview, on camera, and not one's own personal account.

Just sounds like someone who likes to hear themselves speak.

[Strippling]

This post isn't proof of anything. Specifically, the:



You know, even if everything that was stated in this is 100% true, it disregards (doesn't even comment on at all) what Afrasiabi said during the same Blizzcon 2018. Which in terms of Afrasiabi's answer, was said during an interview, on camera, and not one's own personal account.

Just sounds like someone who likes to hear themselves speak.

I think you need to settle down on Afrasiabi's comments, you're taking it too serious.

Yes anything is possible, but some things are highly unlikely. It's possible WoW's next expansion could be the last expansion they ever release, and subsequently high elfs never come to be. It's possible that any remaining alliance high elfs are killed off. It's possible that contention arises between alliance high elfs and the alliance, leading the alliance high elfs to join their kin in the Horde.

All of these outcomes are possible (anything is possible), but some are more likely than others. In the case of playable alliance high elfs, I think the possibility is extremely low... and so it should be, high elfs are already playable on both factions (known as blood and void elfs). We don't need more elfs, we don't need the faction lines blurred any further than void elfs/nightborne, we don't need more high elfs when the race is already playable, the Horde doesn't need it's identity further impeded on (the story is doing enough damage as is)

[delus]

A fair enough point regarding Arcane Torrent. I would counter however that all unaltered thalassian elves should be open to learning it, even Alliance High Elves. Other races cannot, any more than a Blood/Alliance High Elf could learn warstomp.

As for after Mechagon, I am sorry to let you know but a pro High Elfer already approached Ion at Blizzcon and asked, and Ion confirmed they weren't coming in BFA but also 'anything is possible in future' (i.e. the blizzard no). Combined with Blizzard confirming last year that ARs are going to get rarer after BFA it's going to be a very long before anyone even considers Alliance High Elves as their own thing again.

- - - Updated - - -



Given the Warfront system seems to have been scrapped, unsurprisingly given the negative reception it has received, if they ever had any ideas for a Silvermoon warfront they almost certainly will not be doing that. It does not mean that future content involving the Blood and Void Elves isn't going to happen of course, just that that particular configuration won't be the means by which it is done.

It's a pity though, I agree the Horde would have won and it would have updated the zones spectacularly. Oh well.

Who said it was scrapped? PVP gearing is tied to it for the expansion. The next warfront should be announced before next season. They pretty much have to.

[Obelisk Kai]

I think you need to settle down on Afrasiabi's comments, you're taking it too serious.

What does the Afrasiabi comment have to do with this discussion?

He was asked about High Elf like customizations on Void Elves, which are not Alliance High Elves as a separate Allied Race. Void Elves with Helf like customizations are still gonna be Void Elves, and High Elf like is not High Elf exact.

Remember also that the Lost Codex guy who brought up the idea of customizations for Void Elves led into his question by saying Void Elves fill the High Elf niche for the Alliance, and that Afrasiabi was nodding along in agreement with that statement.

In other words, Afrasiabi's comments are tangential to this discussion as he was not asked about Alliance High Elves., whereas his body language is a little more telling.

Who said it was scrapped? PVP gearing is tied to it for the expansion. The next warfront should be announced before next season. They pretty much have to.

The presumption with Warfronts was that one would be tied to every major patch and every major season. Arathi to start with, Darkshore with 8.1 with new ones coming in 8.2 and 8.3. Ion confirmed in an interview that there would be no new Warfront in 8.2 and that they would instead focus on Heroic Warfronts, harder versions of already existing content.

https://www.wowhead.com/news=289956/...-azshara-plans

Will there be a new Warfront in Patch 8.2?

None planned for Rise of Azshara, only Heroic Warfronts.

Yes, he didn't say the entire system was scrapped, but as you yourself pointed out you had an expectation of one. The absence of a new Warfront is telling, and unsurprising. The system was a failure, and Heroic Warfronts might be salvage something fun from the wreckage, but why waste development time on something people overwhelmingly dislike? An alternative to the systems warfronts supported will be implemented and we should keep our eyes peeled for that on the PTR.

[FlubberPuddy]

I think you need to settle down on Afrasiabi's comments, you're taking it too serious.

Nah, I think you just may be misunderstanding. That comment by Afrasiabi shows to have some form of playable High Elves isn't as earth-shattering as those who keep touting up the "factions are then meaningless if High Elves become playable" diatribe that keeps getting spouted. If it were so bad to have a form of High Elves through Void Elves then the same people saying High Elves shouldn't become playable should also be as adverse to Void Elves possibly getting some High Elf skins.

If someone's okay with getting some High Elf skins on Void Elves, it doesn't make sense when that same person is against High Elves as a playable race overall.

It follows from what I said before, if Blizzard suddenly changes their tone on something regardless of their previous statements on the matter -> then the community follows suit - even those who would currently bitch about it.

Same thing is showing up here with Afrasiabi's comment, now that he said what he said - that High Elf fantasy could come through Void Elf customization - even naysayers to High Elves are being open to this idea, why? Nothing else changed, besides Blizzard's tone about it, there isn't anything that's actually been implemented yet at all from when the April Q&A response was said.

It's typical though, those who don't want High Elves are going to act like it'll be the end of the world of warcraft if they're playable, until Blizzard makes them playable. Then they'll pack up about it and move to some other topic. As has been demonstrated countless times with numerous additions to WoW that have had those who were for it and against it until it was added.

And just as the opposers are doing it, those who want High Elves to happen are going to continue to ask for High Elves until they're satisfactorily satisfied with them. People can continue to let it be known they want full-on Allied Race High Elves as much as they want, just the same as those who can say having Alliance playable High Elves will cause wow's downfall or break faction integrity.

And whatever form that may happen remains to be seen, as the conversation with Blizzard and players on that topic hasn't closed.

Quick side-note: Depending on the storyline with Derek Proudmoore (if he's not actually mind-controlled), him meeting with Calia could lead toward a new Undead race not part of the Horde, possibly part of the Alliance. At least those are possible pathways Blizzard are teasing. So as much as this "faction integrity" seems to be brought up, Blizzard quite possibly is going in a different direction with it. We'll have to wait and see what the remaining AR are for BFA.

[Senphiroth1134]

High Elves honestly belong in LOTO, er LOTRO, WoW is not my game f or franchise or anything for Elves honestly.

I play WoW not for serious sorta epic fantasy but basically I follow it because it's just a calming serene sorta pe presence with
nice points and honestly all the classes feel so similar really it doesn't matter what you play, same for races basically.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

anything is possible.

That's PR speak for "never, until something so drastic forces our hand".

[Lumineus]

The presumption with Warfronts was that one would be tied to every major patch and every major season. Arathi to start with, Darkshore with 8.1 with new ones coming in 8.2 and 8.3. Ion confirmed in an interview that there would be no new Warfront in 8.2 and that they would instead focus on Heroic Warfronts, harder versions of already existing content.

https://www.wowhead.com/news=289956/...-azshara-plans

Will there be a new Warfront in Patch 8.2?

None planned for Rise of Azshara, only Heroic Warfronts.

Yes, he didn't say the entire system was scrapped, but as you yourself pointed out you had an expectation of one. The absence of a new Warfront is telling, and unsurprising. The system was a failure, and Heroic Warfronts might be salvage something fun from the wreckage, but why waste development time on something people overwhelmingly dislike? An alternative to the systems warfronts supported will be implemented and we should keep our eyes peeled for that on the PTR.

The general rule since the start of Legion is two PvP seasons in a row with the same armor appearance. Since we just got a new PvP set with the BfDA launch, don't expect a new one -- or a corresponding Warfront -- with the Azshara raid.

[Trumpcat]

Blizzard could have settled the debate if they wanted through lore:
Upon her return Alleria teaches her Alliance High Elf followers Void things to give them an advantage and a new weapon for the Alliance in the coming war. Thus the High Elf topic is concluded, they are now Velf, with a handful of NPCs that didn't transition. On top of that have a Belf splinter faction that embraced Alleria on her return and may have been studying Void stuff on their own and needed some saving.

I consider my Velf to be a former Helf, who never joined the Horde and I prefer that over a Helf race. Just wish there was more customization, but I've given up on wanting that from WoW.

[Strippling]

Nah, I think you just may be misunderstanding. That comment by Afrasiabi shows to have some form of playable High Elves isn't as earth-shattering as those who keep touting up the "factions are then meaningless if High Elves become playable" diatribe that keeps getting spouted. If it were so bad to have a form of High Elves through Void Elves then the same people saying High Elves shouldn't become playable should also be as adverse to Void Elves possibly getting some High Elf skins.

If someone's okay with getting some High Elf skins on Void Elves, it doesn't make sense when that same person is against High Elves as a playable race overall.

It follows from what I said before, if Blizzard suddenly changes their tone on something regardless of their previous statements on the matter -> then the community follows suit - even those who would currently bitch about it.

Same thing is showing up here with Afrasiabi's comment, now that he said what he said - that High Elf fantasy could come through Void Elf customization - even naysayers to High Elves are being open to this idea, why? Nothing else changed, besides Blizzard's tone about it, there isn't anything that's actually been implemented yet at all from when the April Q&A response was said.

It's typical though, those who don't want High Elves are going to act like it'll be the end of the world of warcraft if they're playable, until Blizzard makes them playable. Then they'll pack up about it and move to some other topic. As has been demonstrated countless times with numerous additions to WoW that have had those who were for it and against it until it was added.

And just as the opposers are doing it, those who want High Elves to happen are going to continue to ask for High Elves until they're satisfactorily satisfied with them. People can continue to let it be known they want full-on Allied Race High Elves as much as they want, just the same as those who can say having Alliance playable High Elves will cause wow's downfall or break faction integrity.

And whatever form that may happen remains to be seen, as the conversation with Blizzard and players on that topic hasn't closed.

Quick side-note: Depending on the storyline with Derek Proudmoore (if he's not actually mind-controlled), him meeting with Calia could lead toward a new Undead race not part of the Horde, possibly part of the Alliance. At least those are possible pathways Blizzard are teasing. So as much as this "faction integrity" seems to be brought up, Blizzard quite possibly is going in a different direction with it. We'll have to wait and see what the remaining AR are for BFA.

I do have an issue with high elf customization for void elfs. It presents the same problem as actual playable alliance high elfs... the blurring of factions lines. On top of that, pro high elfers love to distinguish void elfs as "purple blood elfs", so changing their skin tones back to "human tones" would literally just be like giving blood elfs (horde high elfs) to the Alliance.. which is a slap to the face to the Horde just like playable alliance high elfs would be, if not a bigger slap to the face.

Additionally, pro high elfers moan so much that they want high elfs cause "they've always been on the alliance, and we want the elfs unaffected by bad magic". So I'm so confused as to why any pro high elfer would want lighter skin options for void elfs (who according to them are not the high elfs). I guess we all know deep down it was never about the lore, it was always about the aesthetics. So if it is purely just about the aesthetics then "the Horde is waiting for you"... sorry pal. Simple.As.That.

And would pro high elfers be satisfied if they had lighter skin options for void elfs but have the tentacle hair? I doubt it. Some would also want paladins (even though lorewise paladins are associated with the horde high elfs... aka blood knights. Not the Alliance high elfs).

For me, I have an issue with alliance high elfs as an AR and also have an issue with high elven customization options for void elfs. Both these options would blur faction lines and impede on a core part of the Horde identity. I don't mind alliance high elfs remaining as NPCs and having a little story beat from time to time, as has been the case in some expansions, but the main focus should be on horde high elfs (blood elfs) and void elfs (other alliance high elfs).