Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[scubi666stacy]

High elves are not Blood elves. That is just the most basic thing that has been settled more than a decade ago and going in circles around it is fucking pedantic.

Hazzikostas may say that Azeroth is made of jelly and pig shit, debating whether or not Azeroth is made of jelly and pig shit or if High elves are a viable allied race does not have to do with what that man says.

The fact that some people are able to put in doubt decisions from the developers while opposing High elves by covering themselves behind Blizzard's butt is, at the very least, hypocritical.

That is what is entertaining. To see people thinking they have some godly intervention into what they defend while is nothing more than the opinion of a developer that has been effectively countered many times.

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Click -THAT- green text. Is linked -DIRECTLY- to what you were asking for...

And read it.

Just, read it...

But they are the same. They are a splinter faction who did not want to take the new moniker and who did not want to use specific methods to combat their mana withdrawal problems before the Sunwell was restored. Before the Scourge had overrun Quel'thalas, all of them have been High Elves. Nothing special happened to these people except that the majority first got green glowing eyes, und the some of them got yellow glowing eyes. You know, this is the specialty of Elves, that the colour of their glowing eyes somehow depends on their "mana diet". Just like flamingos get their pink feathers because of things which they eat. Geez...

A different eye glow or colour scheme in clothing is not relevant to define a new race, just like 15 years is nothing more than a blink for such a long-living race. Void Elves are different from both because they are infused with the void. Everything else is splitting hairs.

[Lumineus]

Except the Draenei are like 40 times older than the High Elves and they became separate from Man'ari overnight because of Fel usage. Do you know how many "overnights" are in 15 years? Five thousand four hundred seventy-five. Never mind a lot of High Elves had already parted with Quel'thalas centuries ago.

[Ielenia]

But they are the same. They are a splinter faction who did not want to take the new moniker and who did not want to use specific methods to combat their mana withdrawal problems before the Sunwell was restored. Before the Scourge had overrun Quel'thalas, all of them have been High Elves. Nothing special happened to these people except that the majority first got green glowing eyes, und the some of them got yellow glowing eyes. You know, this is the specialty of Elves, that the colour of their glowing eyes somehow depends on their "mana diet". Just like flamingos get their pink feathers because of things which they eat. Geez...

A different eye glow or colour scheme in clothing is not relevant to define a new race, just like 15 years is nothing more than a blink for such a long-living race. Void Elves are different from both because they are infused with the void. Everything else is splitting hairs.

"Nothing special happened to those people".

High elves suffered through the pains of magic withdrawal just like the blood elves did, except they did not rely on "mana vampirism" (as they have put it, themselves) to counter those effects. In the real world, exercising and training your body is one of the many ways you can use to fight addiction, so it could be used to justify "something special" for the high elves.

On top of that, it's a fact that fel magic can have an adverse effect on one's body, so it's a real possibility that the fel magic permeating Silvermoon (thanks to those fel crystals) could have negatively impacted the blood elves' physique, even if just slightly. Remember: blood elves started the game unable to be warriors, so they apparently couldn't wear heavy armor or wield heavy weapons unless they were filling themselves with the stolen holy magic from M'uru. That's one point in favor of my hypothesis.

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Except the Draenei are like 40 times older than the High Elves and they became separate from Man'ari overnight because of Fel usage. Do you know how many "overnights" are in 15 years? Five thousand four hundred seventy-five. Never mind a lot of High Elves had already parted with Quel'thalas centuries ago.

Sargeras heavily infused the draenei with fel magic with the express intention of corrupting and transforming them. It wasn't just simple "background radiation".

[scubi666stacy]

"Nothing special happened to those people".

High elves suffered through the pains of magic withdrawal just like the blood elves did, except they did not rely on "mana vampirism" (as they have put it, themselves) to counter those effects. In the real world, exercising and training your body is one of the many ways you can use to fight addiction, so it could be used to justify "something special" for the high elves.

On top of that, it's a fact that fel magic can have an adverse effect on one's body, so it's a real possibility that the fel magic permeating Silvermoon (thanks to those fel crystals) could have negatively impacted the blood elves' physique, even if just slightly. Remember: blood elves started the game unable to be warriors, so they apparently couldn't wear heavy armor or wield heavy weapons unless they were filling themselves with the stolen holy magic from M'uru. That's one point in favor of my hypothesis.

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Sargeras heavily infused the draenei with fel magic with the express intention of corrupting and transforming them. It wasn't just simple "background radiation".

Then please tell me why the heck did Blizzard had to invent Void Elves to differentiate them from Blood Elves, if High Elves are that much different compared to Blood Elves just from their special mana diet???

Also, what happened to Blood Elves with the "fel taint" is not comparable to what happened to the Eredar. Not at all. It's like comparing Chernobyl victims with people who just had a radiology screening.

Sorry, your logic is fundamentally flawed.

And don't bring the availability of Warriors in here. This is just gameplay mechanics. Just like Gnomes got priests, who are in lore mere medics. They have always been there, just not in the focus. The addition of new class combinations is mostly a retcon with some exceptions (like Troll Druids for which we got an in-game explanation).

[Ielenia]

Then please tell me why the heck did Blizzard had to invent Void Elves to differentiate them from Blood Elves, if High Elves are that much different compared to Blood Elves just from their special mana diet???

I don't pretend to read minds. Could be a myriad of reasons. They felt high elves didn't fit the story being told in BfA. Or they hate the high elf community. For all we know, any of those are just as likely. Perhaps it's because of both those reasons. Perhaps it's neither of those reasons.

Also, what happened to Blood Elves with the "fel taint" is not comparable to what happened to the Eredar. Not at all. It's like comparing Chernobyl victims with people who just had a radiology screening.

That's... exactly what I said.

Sorry, your logic is fundamentally flawed.

I think it's your reading comprehension that's "fundamentally flawed", here.

And don't bring the availability of Warriors in here. This is just gameplay mechanics. Just like Gnomes got priests, who are in lore mere medics. They have always been there, just not in the focus. The addition of new class combinations is mostly a retcon with some exceptions (like Troll Druids for which we got an in-game explanation).

... You do know that class options for the playable races are heavily tied to lore, right? It's why we don't have orc paladins, draenei warlocks, pandaren death knights, human demon hunters, etc?

So, if blood elves couldn't be warriors, which is like a basic class, there had to be a reason. And negative effects from fel magic radiation on their bodies is one possible explanation.

[Musta]

Okay, ty, i concede. Tho the same page says they have no culture, just a glorious past. Well, im not stupid, so i was wrong about the lack of HE details. Im sorry.

[Benedict Donald]

asian thalassian :O

Asian elves confirmed.

Now Blizz just needs to get in touch with Talendrion for some cool designs!

[FlubberPuddy]

Asian elves confirmed.

Now Blizz just needs to get in touch with Talendrion for some cool designs!

Blizzard already has the capability as well:



Alexstrazsa is basically a female Blood Elf body that's modified, and Y'sera too is a modified night elf (though I think her bone structure or w/e is blood elf), and ofc Nozdormu is a modified High elf/Night elf.

This shows us the amount of variation they can do with races while still having them look like a member of that race.

Y'sera obviously looks like a Night Elf, just unique.
Alexstrasza obviously looks like a Blood Elf, just modified skin/eye colors.
Nozdormu is obviously a High Elf, just modified/unique.

It shows that you can change the proportions/looks drastically and still keep the essence of a look. Blizz knows how to do this.

For Nozdormu's look they can easily remove all the dragon related regalia/tattoos and give a more "normal" looking face/size. Boom, male High Elves that look different from Blood Elves but are still looking like a High Elf.

Just like how Y'sera is a different kind of Night Elf both different from playable Night Elves and Nightborne.

And no I do not mean because of their horns or dragon shit like that, (cuz I know some dumbos will go "BuT tHeY r DrGnS!")

They are obviously choosing to look like members of the respective races with their forms. Just like Kalec who basically looks human.

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Better pic for reference:

[Benedict Donald]

Blizzard already has the capability as well:



Alexstrazsa is basically a female Blood Elf body that's modified, and Y'sera too is a modified night elf (though I think her bone structure or w/e is blood elf), and ofc Nozdormu is a modified High elf/Night elf.

This shows us the amount of variation they can do with races while still having them look like a member of that race.

Y'sera obviously looks like a Night Elf, just unique.
Alexstrasza obviously looks like a Blood Elf, just modified skin/eye colors.
Nozdormu is obviously a High Elf, just modified/unique.

It shows that you can change the proportions/looks drastically and still keep the essence of a look. Blizz knows how to do this.

For Nozdormu's look they can easily remove all the dragon related regalia/tattoos and give a more "normal" looking face/size. Boom, male High Elves that look different from Blood Elves but are still looking like a High Elf.

Just like how Y'sera is a different kind of Night Elf both different from playable Night Elves and Nightborne.

And no I do not mean because of their horns or dragon shit like that, (cuz I know some dumbos will go "BuT tHeY r DrGnS!")

They are obviously choosing to look like members of the respective races with their forms. Just like Kalec who basically looks human.

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Better pic for reference:

Honestly, the Nozdormu model would be an awesome one to base it on! And with the Dragon Isles being likely, I think it would be the perfect time to meet the culture that he copied the appearance of (dragons don't invent new forms, they use forms that already exist for diplomacy, etc.).

[Aldo Hawk]

But they are the same. They are a splinter faction who did not want to take the new moniker and who did not want to use specific methods to combat their mana withdrawal problems before the Sunwell was restored. Before the Scourge had overrun Quel'thalas, all of them have been High Elves. Nothing special happened to these people except that the majority first got green glowing eyes, und the some of them got yellow glowing eyes. You know, this is the specialty of Elves, that the colour of their glowing eyes somehow depends on their "mana diet". Just like flamingos get their pink feathers because of things which they eat. Geez...

A different eye glow or colour scheme in clothing is not relevant to define a new race, just like 15 years is nothing more than a blink for such a long-living race. Void Elves are different from both because they are infused with the void. Everything else is splitting hairs.

Oh, look.

Catch this and please REMEMBER IT.

The High elf civilization from before the scourge attack is -not- the same as the one that survived and splintered into the High elves and the loyal to Kael'thas, and, in a much minor quantity, students of Umbric.

They may maintain a name that was the name everyone used back then, but that doesn't mean they are the exact same. Things changed a lot since the scourge attack, and now they -(the High elves)- are a splintered people who dislike the horde and despised the ways their former people took to survive, when there were other methods that didn't involved getting fixes for their addiction with the lives of living beings, enslaving a naaru, and entering in wars to get more power, or even mind controlling people to avoid protests.

Not even the Blood elves with their restored city are now the High elves they once were. Imagine the High elves, who escaped to the Alliance, or got exiled and don't live on their land anymore. They live in Alliance lands, with people from the Alliance. They want Silvermoon to become Alliance, not to return there while it's horde territory.

This is why saying that because they have the same name all their people had back then, it means they are the same.

The only thing in that they are the same is the race or whatever you want to call it. On the other hand, fel made changes to the Blood elves that the High elves didn't suffered and they live different lives in different places. It's like saying that we should have not got Kul'tiran because we have humans and these are also humans (OBVIOUSLY before we even knew they were going to make new human models). And the best part is that High elves would not need such a drastically different model, because they already have visual differences in the body that can be developed on.

Maybe High elves had a slightly different ear shape, maybe they were paler than the pale tones we have seen, maybe they had hair colors that can no longer be manifested in Blood elf's bodies, maybe they also had purple eyes, maybe they now wear tattoos or regalia that signifies ownership to the group of those who still call themselves High elves... Or anything that involves a: 'High elves look like this when not affected by fel radiation' and even body changes due to the different approach to the addiction.

So many options and so many possibilities that are lore friendly. Just take into account that High elf models were done just at the same time as Blood elf ones, and they, not being playable, just got the minor visual differences according to lore. That doesn't mean it can't be developed on if the appearance is too similar for the taste of some people.

[Obelisk Kai]

You misunderstand - in this particular instance I am not making a claim one way or the other. I am talking about the specific terms addressed above, not the rolling debate that has been going on for some time. In gameplay terms, "race" is completely arbitrary - it can be a species boundary, it can be an ethnic boundary, it can an entirely abstract boundary, etc. etc. What truly separates the "races" in WoW are game mechanics like racial abilities, starting locations, and class limitations (and perhaps playability and non-playability). A "variant," genuine or not, is just as arbitrary. But as long as we know what we're talking about, we can talk about it instead of talking past one another using different versions of the terms.

It is not completely arbitrary however. For most of the game's lifespan, most of the divisions were predicated on being actually different races. A Tauren is not an Elf, and an Elf is not a Human.

Allied races introduced another possible division, that of being an ethnic variant of an already playable race. Hence Highmountain Tauren, Void Elves and Lightforged Draenei.

Yet those are the only two we have concrete evidence for, species and ethnic. I would argue that the definition for race should be restricted to what Blizzard, through the races it introduces to the game, shows us what they consider to be the definition of race.

This rules out races being defined by 'an entirely abstract boundary' which seems to include the political distinction that separates High Elven exiles from the Blood Elves. After all, while a Pandaren player can choose which faction to embrace as a part of their levelling process, they are not regarded as separate races as a result of that choice, and are regarded as one people.

[Aucald]

It is not completely arbitrary however. For most of the game's lifespan, most of the divisions were predicated on being actually different races. A Tauren is not an Elf, and an Elf is not a Human.

Allied races introduced another possible division, that of being an ethnic variant of an already playable race. Hence Highmountain Tauren, Void Elves and Lightforged Draenei.

Yet those are the only two we have concrete evidence for, species and ethnic. I would argue that the definition for race should be restricted to what Blizzard, through the races it introduces to the game, shows us what they consider to be the definition of race.

This rules out races being defined by 'an entirely abstract boundary' which seems to include the political distinction that separates High Elven exiles from the Blood Elves. After all, while a Pandaren player can choose which faction to embrace as a part of their levelling process, they are not regarded as separate races as a result of that choice, and are regarded as one people.

Ultimately, from a purely gameplay position, the reason I say it is arbitrary is because it is entirely subject to what the developers want - and what they want, will permit, or what they define is entirely subject to their whims. This line can and has changed, and it can change again one way or the other. It's a fictional setting, and so it is arbitrary. An ethnicity can also be defined as a difference in cultural tradition, which pretty aptly circumscribes the High Elven exiles - they're obviously a quite different culture in their refusal to adopt the Blood Elves' use of Mana Tapping during TBC and now with their refusal to recognize Silvermoon's new allegiance to the Horde. In a world dominated by two superpower factions a society's choice of faction allegiance is a pretty significant cultural stamp, I would argue. But again, this is neither here nor there as concerns the above - it is still objectively arbitrary from the stance of the game systems.

[Obelisk Kai]

Ultimately, from a purely gameplay position, the reason I say it is arbitrary is because it is entirely subject to what the developers want - and what they want, will permit, or what they define is entirely subject to their whims. This line can and has changed, and it can change again one way or the other. It's a fictional setting, and so it is arbitrary. An ethnicity can also be defined as a difference in cultural tradition, which pretty aptly circumscribes the High Elven exiles - they're obviously a quite different culture in their refusal to adopt the Blood Elves' use of Mana Tapping during TBC and now with their refusal to recognize Silvermoon's new allegiance to the Horde. In a world dominated by two superpower factions a society's choice of faction allegiance is a pretty significant cultural stamp, I would argue. But again, this is neither here nor there as concerns the above - it is still objectively arbitrary from the stance of the game systems.

That Blizzard CAN change something is not particularly pertinent to the debate at hand in my opinion. We are debating what constitutes a race right now from what we know and the two lines we have are biological and ethnic. It also took a considerable amount of time for them to accommodate the ethnic shift, with sub-races being requested for well over a decade before the Allied race system was actually introduced, which implies the shifting of the lines is not something done on a whim.

It is also worth pointing out that when Blizzard did do a neutral race, the Pandaren, they did not allow you to choose a Huojin or Tushui Pandaren from the get go from the character creator, but instead respected their own lines and created a neutral starting experience that allowed the player to decide their faction only after a shared ten levels. While the shared experience was one of the primary motives in creating a neutral race for both sides, in terms of saving time and money, it also implicitly recognized that political division is not enough on it's own to divide a people into two races. The choice for Pandaren reflects they are one people.

And of course, as goes without saying, the Pandaren experiment of a neutral race was ultimately regarded as a failure by Blizzard with the damage done to faction diversity being the chief reason it has not been repeated.

[Aldo Hawk]

After all, while a Pandaren player can choose which faction to embrace as a part of their levelling process, they are not regarded as separate races as a result of that choice, and are regarded as one people.

A High elf would not start in Quel'thalas, or any land where they had to share with the Blood elves.

High elves would not be placed next to Pandaren on selection screen, nor in a similar position on the allied race list.

It would be just the next one on the Alliance banner in the Allied race section.

This is why Pandaren are just one single 'race choice', and not the unrealistic, made up reasons Kai have just invented on the fly to justify a nuance on his favor in some strange way.

The 'evidence' got by the 'definition of race' supposedly presented on the character selection screen will always be flawed and unreal.

Some few years ago this exact line of thinking would have ruled out Allied races entirely under the premise that: 'All races presented are totally different from one another so that is the criteria and evidence that determines what is considered a playable race and, therefore, only distinct and unique races can be added, no recolors, no reskins, no variants'.

[FlubberPuddy]

Honestly, the Nozdormu model would be an awesome one to base it on! And with the Dragon Isles being likely, I think it would be the perfect time to meet the culture that he copied the appearance of (dragons don't invent new forms, they use forms that already exist for diplomacy, etc.).

Yeah I'd love for them to base Alliance's High Elves off Nozdormu's model! It would also make sense since we know from the Encyclopedia that many High Elves used meditation as a way to deal with their mana withdrawal coupled with the fact that a lot of the High Elves we see out and about are typically rangers. It could be their "iconic" body look and is way different from the Blood Elves.

[Aucald]

That Blizzard CAN change something is not particularly pertinent to the debate at hand in my opinion. We are debating what constitutes a race right now from what we know and the two lines we have are biological and ethnic. It also took a considerable amount of time for them to accommodate the ethnic shift, with sub-races being requested for well over a decade before the Allied race system was actually introduced, which implies the shifting of the lines is not something done on a whim.

No, it is not pertinent to your historical argument in this thread, but it is pertinent to the post I recently made that you've been responding to. The time it takes them to shift their position in any direction has no bearing on its ultimate arbitrary nature, either. It is entirely at their discretion, and thus at their whim if they so choose.

It is also worth pointing out that when Blizzard did do a neutral race, the Pandaren, they did not allow you to choose a Huojin or Tushui Pandaren from the get go from the character creator, but instead respected their own lines and created a neutral starting experience that allowed the player to decide their faction only after a shared ten levels. While the shared experience was one of the primary motives in creating a neutral race for both sides, in terms of saving time and money, it also implicitly recognized that political division is not enough on it's own to divide a people into two races. The choice for Pandaren reflects they are one people.

The difference between the Houjin and Tushui Pandaren is both philosophical as well as political, given their choices of faction allegiance. The shared experience, while nice for the Pandaren as a people within the narrative, isn't really material in my opinion. The two Pandaren "races" within the game are still divided by their politics and their philosophy for approaching life.

And of course, as goes without saying, the Pandaren experiment of a neutral race was ultimately regarded as a failure by Blizzard with the damage done to faction diversity being the chief reason it has not been repeated.

That is true, but many arguments have been forth as to why that case isn't entirely applicable vis-à-vis the Blood Elves and High Elven exiles. I don't personally consider the Pandaren option a failure, myself; but that's not my distinction to make. Nor do I think the developers are either inerrant or objectively correct in several of their own conclusions about the game. The argument to authority is not generally how I approach this concern.

[FlubberPuddy]

That Blizzard CAN change something is not particularly pertinent to the debate at hand in my opinion. We are debating what constitutes a race right now from what we know and the two lines we have are biological and ethnic.

Nope, and this proves Aucald's point even further. What you are debating are "playable races" . Just because say Taunka are not playable doesn't mean they aren't a race in so far as WoW is concerned.

And what Blizzard considers a "playable race" is completely arbitrary because they do not all follow the same rules. I can make a White Draenei right now who would be similar to a Lightforged Draenei sans yellow eye color, yet it's the yellow eye color that is separating the LF Draenei from the regular Draenei. But this isn't followed with Blood Elves for example - who received Golden Eyes are still members of its same playable race.

You can make a Dark skin/Red eye Dwarf to makeshift your "Dwarf race" as a Dark Iron, but Dark Iron are still truly a separate category. Now that Classic is out the resemblance is even more crazy, your dwarf character in Classic can very easily look like a Dark Iron Dwarf.

Blizzard have gone on record for stating that Kul Tirans are Humans therefore they don't even consider Kul'Tirans a separate race but put them into a separate "playable race" category.

And this has been the whole point of Aucald's recent posts, if we aren't settling on the terms we're discussing it's just going to be a bunch of talking past one another thinking "I have the correct definition".

Besides, other than CM Ornyx, there hasn't been an actual clarification of what races mean other than his post:https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/...9267207#post-6

Where he pretty much states, "it's more that when you play a Human or a Blood Elf, or any other race for that matter, your character comes from a specific "faction" within that race."

"Playable Humans are always from the nation of Stormwind. Playable Blood Elves are always from Silvermoon."

This is also why you will never get the High Elf experience players are asking for just by "making a Blood Elf". Because the Blood Elf starting experience is not the story High Elven members of the Alliance went through at all.

[Aldo Hawk]

Yeah I'd love for them to base Alliance's High Elves off Nozdormu's model! It would also make sense since we know from the Encyclopedia that many High Elves used meditation as a way to deal with their mana withdrawal coupled with the fact that a lot of the High Elves we see out and about are typically rangers. It could be their "iconic" body look and is way different from the Blood Elves.

Yeah, anything that could make sense is welcomed.

Take a look at my idea of mixing 'retrospective' developing with current history developing for their appearance.

A mix of fel untainted, different dealing High elf. It would be lore friendly, give a better concept for both groups, and solve the 'looking the same' problem some people 'have'.

Ielenia's idea of hard trained High elves in order to combat withdrawal also matches the High elf's overall military fantasy. Trained to overcome addiction they maintained these routines even after Sunwell's restoration so they are always prepared for battle.

They could even make them willingly cut themselves off the Sunwell in some final way to distance themselves from their former land, maybe leaving some kind of scar, or even giving a meaning to the tattoo idea. Magical runes meant to be used to cut the High elves' conection with the Sunwell. But in this case every one of them would have to wear them. Which is not a really big deal if you ask me.

[FlubberPuddy]

Yeah, anything that could make sense is welcomed.

Take a look at my idea of mixing 'retrospective' developing with current history developing for their appearance.

A mix of fel untainted, different dealing High elf. It would be lore friendly, give a better concept for both groups, and solve the 'looking the same' problem some people 'have'.

Ielenia's idea of hard trained High elves in order to combat withdrawal also matches the High elf's overall military fantasy. Trained to overcome addiction they maintained these routines even after Sunwell's restoration so they are always prepared for battle.

They could even make them willingly cut themselves off the Sunwell in some final way to distance themselves from their former land, maybe leaving some kind of scar, or even giving a meaning to the tattoo idea. Magical runes meant to be used to cut the High elves' conection with the Sunwell. But in this case every one of them would have to wear them. Which is not a really big deal if you ask me.

Both of those sound very interesting and welcome. Anything that makes sense for the High Elves to be further differentiated from Blood Elves I'd welcome (if Blizzard truly believes there isn't enough differences already).

Look at the point where we are now, about half-way through BFA and the Void Elves have done shit all of note, barely anyone is discussing their lore (because they have none/barely received a scrap) since their inception yet often I see High Elves are still being talked/debated about. More people care about High Elves than Void Elves, even those that oppose them care more about putting the energy forth toward High Elf talk than Void Elf talk lol.

[Ielenia]

That Blizzard CAN change something is not particularly pertinent to the debate at hand in my opinion.

Actually, it is pertinent to this debate because, at the root of it, this thread is about wanting Blizzard to change things.

The reason I think you're trying to assert it's not is because "Word of God" is one of, if not THE most used argument you have used in this thread, and the idea that Blizzard can change things, especially their minds, goes directly against "Word of God" arguments.

And of course, as goes without saying, the Pandaren experiment of a neutral race was ultimately regarded as a failure by Blizzard with the damage done to faction diversity being the chief reason it has not been repeated.

I think this is rather dishonest to assert. Yes, the pandaren situation is generally regarded in a bad light by Blizzard, but they have never gone in detail as to why.

• Was it because the pandaren are a "true neutral race"? As in, same starting zone for them before splitting when choosing factions.
• Was it because the pandaren have the exact same class choices?
• Was it because the pandaren have the exact same racials?

If it was any of all of those three, or even all three, then the same reasoning would not apply to playable high elves, since high elves are unlikely to have the same starting zone as the blood elves, are unlikely to have the same class choices as the blood elves, and are unlikely to have the same racials as the blood elves.