Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Koryn123]

I'm not sure it fits perfectly, but at least it makes more sense if it's the case. I guess that the help of the Forsaken, who were already quite hated by the Alliance, so the night Elves probably felt even more inclined to act agressively. Plus, all Elves seems to hate the other groups.

Apparently a hunter from the Hunter Order Hall lodge was sent to Quel'thalas to help fight the trolls a long time ago, and Kael'thas and Tyrande were friendly. Must be a recent development due to their Horde/Alliance leanings.

Then again, considering the blood elf rogue in Darkshore whose dad was a highborne night elf once but had his fingers come off due to frostbite before Quel'thalas was founded, there could easily be a lot of prejudice among the common blood/high elf toward night elves, and the same for the common night elf due to the blood/high elves' history of arcane use.

[Kallisto]

I'm not sure it fits perfectly, but at least it makes more sense if it's the case. I guess that the help of the Forsaken, who were already quite hated by the Alliance, so the night Elves probably felt even more inclined to act agressively. Plus, all Elves seems to hate the other groups.

That's all well and good but the Night Elf attacks happened BEFORE the forsaken came in. Blood Elves leaning horde in the start zones happened mostly due to Alliance incursions

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I thought it was when Garrosh wanted to destroy Night Elves and claim Northern Kalimdor for the Horde?

The war instigated when Varian declared on the horde, there was no peace treaty signed since then. Attempts were made but Garrosh and Varian were too bonehead to accept it.

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The high elves peaced out when blood elves starting using fel had nothing to do with "not lifting a finger" why in the hell would these supposed pilgrims join the horde that just finished the genocide of another elven race reducing them to non viability in terms of genetic diversity. The purposeful parallels to what happened to the blood elves are pretty damn obvious and it's shocking that no blood elves said wait stop.

99% of Blood elves never used Fel, they didn't even know about the Fel until it was too late. The Fel used was just one spell which was rebuilding Silvermoon. What high elves were against is essentially consumption of meat and caused a near civil war over it. There's no difference to consuming mana from an animal or using an animal for food. High Elves were basically militant vegans.

[Ardenaso]

Then again, considering the blood elf rogue in Darkshore whose dad was a highborne night elf once but had his fingers come off due to frostbite before Quel'thalas was founded, there could easily be a lot of prejudice among the common blood/high elf toward night elves, and the same for the common night elf due to the blood/high elves' history of arcane use.

I'll never understood why there wasn't any relationship development for night elves and high elves; given that they fought together against the Legion in Mt. Hyjal, and the night elves even offered their Hippogryphs to the high elves as a sign of good will and friendship. Plus, Tyrande even risked her life to save the Blood Elves

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The war instigated when Varian declared on the horde, there was no peace treaty signed since then. Attempts were made but Garrosh and Varian were too bonehead to accept it.

nvm looked it up again, saw that it was also because Tyrande refused to give the horde based in the barres some water and lumber (then again, because of wrathgate)

[Koryn123]

nvm looked it up again, saw that it was also because Tyrande refused to give the horde based in the barres some water and lumber (then again, because of wrathgate)

And Theramore never had that problem because they were getting assistance from Stormwind and Ironforge. Thrall should've made the Horde settle in Feralas or Stonetalon. Plenty of trees, as well as a lot of dinosaurs to ride. Would also be cool because they'd likely move into Dire Maul, then when the blood elves joined, they'd have them help make sense of all the Highborne ruins there.

[Rhlor]

Danuser's comments don't overwrite their previous comments that they want to maintain faction distinction and avoid blurring factions lines. So I imagine any customization options they come up with will obviously have that in mind, especially with ARs who are already a variant customization of an existing core race. Likely when it comes to void elves they'll have to consider how can they ensure the blood elf aesthetic and thematic remains unique to the blood elves, while offering more options for void elves. Additional Void elf options (when they do come) will likely include different hairstyles, tattoos, accessories, possibly different shades of blue/purple/maybe black eyes. I highly doubt they'll intrude onto the blood elf aesthetic though of human skin tones and light hair (kinda goes against the whole void theme).

and tentacles !! don't forget the tentacles !! tentacle beard can be an addition!

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https://youtu.be/G54IIK2zYJs

Even if the blood elves have the disgusting blue eyes that we saw on wowhead, they have nothing to do with those of the "real high elves".
In any case, I can't wait to see the update of the high elves NPCs that is underway in the alpha.

Compare with male eye color

[Koryn123]

I wonder if those blue options are possibly Death Knight-only options?

[Manariel]

and tentacles !! don't forget the tentacles !! tentacle beard can be an addition!

Most Void Elf players aren't interested in those. Void tatoos sure - and considering what Blood Elves seems to get, ie, jewelry, it's possible that Blizzard would do so, to look more like Alleria - some more beards and hairstyles, of course. But tentacle beards are already a Draenei thing, sorry.

[FlubberPuddy]

I wonder if those blue options are possibly Death Knight-only options?

Stiven (wowhead dataminer) said people shouldn't take what's in this build as what will all come to players, like as of now yeah that's what it is. But he said things are always changing between builds and some things could be added or even removed.

Either way though the main message is until it's part of the character creation options for alpha players it's a bit too early to say what's gonna stick or not. Right now we just know Blizzard created a lot of options. Which ones they'll actually use remains to be seen.

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Most Void Elf players aren't interested in those. Void tatoos sure - and considering what Blood Elves seems to get, ie, jewelry, it's possible that Blizzard would do so, to look more like Alleria - some more beards and hairstyles, of course. But tentacle beards are already a Draenei thing, sorry.

I would like Void Elves to basically become "star elves" if possible. So more space/constellation/starry callouts in same vein of their heritage wings.

[Mirishka]

From the recent interview with Taliesin&Evital, Steve Danuser's answer about looking like a Wildhammer but explicitly starting Bronzebeard:

Question by Taliesin: In the Dwarf starting area, you are very much a Bronzebeard dwarf. That's quite explicit in the story that's being told when you start a dwarf character. With the introduction of something like the Wildhammer tattoos, which obviously make you look like a Wildhammer, are you a Wildhammer if you use those tattoos?

"It's a little complex because we asked ourselves the questions, 'Ok, we have these really cool ideas for customizations like Wildhammer tattoos. Does that mean we need to make a Wildhammer starting experience? If we give trolls different skin options that look like other troll tribes besides Darkspear, does that mean we have to make new starting experiences for them as well?'

And the onus of that would've meant that we couldn't do these things because that would be so much time. It would consume so many resources to be able to do that, that it just wouldn't have been practical for us to do. So then the question is, 'Do we limit the options that we give players, because they're really cool things, because of some storyline concerns or resource concerns or anything like that?' and we said 'No, we're not going to do that.'

So while we're not going to give you a dedicated Wildhammer starting experience, if you pick those tattoos and things, the freedom should be there in your mind to roleplay your character how you want to roleplay them, whatever tattoos whatever customizations whatever skin color options you pick. Come up with a story that fits your character and that's your place in the world.

Regardless of what quest text is or how it refers to your character or whatever, remember that it is your choice and your character and you get to express yourself that way. That's at the bottom line of what we want Azeroth to be. We want it to be this welcoming place that lets all those options be out there, let people experience them, and again, choose the path your character wants to be. And don't let anyone else tell you what your character can or can't be. You decide that."

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So exactly as I've been saying. They're more focused on giving players options in order to have those experiences with their characters and they're not concerned about 'lore' stuff because these options are meant to give players more ways to express themselves and their character how they want to.

Choosing the path for their characters, regardless of what quest text says, or regardless of what others say.

Imo, this opens it up even more to High Elves being added down the line as customization opens for Void Elves. As Danuser is pointing out creating a new starting experience isn't a requirement for someone to feel like they're a Wildhammer Dwarf or Sand Troll/Non-Darkspear.

The player uses those options to create that story of their character's path themselves. Regardless of how the game or others view them.

Also note he says they "want Azeroth to be this welcoming place that let's all those options be out there". So there's eventual hope High Elves become playable on Alliance down the road.

Amen, I'd rather them add things like Wildhammer tattoos, than not add them because there's no specific starting experience for said things. I can just as easily imagine myself as a WH dwarf that just so happens to get her start in Ironforge etc for whatever reason.

If nothing else people can just pick the new starting experience and ignore the potential conflicts altogether.

[Koryn123]

Amen, I'd rather them add things like Wildhammer tattoos, than not add them because there's no specific starting experience for said things. I can just as easily imagine myself as a WH dwarf that just so happens to get her start in Ironforge etc for whatever reason.

If nothing else people can just pick the new starting experience and ignore the potential conflicts altogether.

One could easily say "Hey, I'm a Wildhammer dwarf from the delegation in Ironforge sent down here to help out with stuff."

Or if anything mentions that they're young like they've just come of age, could say their parents are in Ironforge doing stuff, so that's why they live in this area. Plenty of easy headcanon explanations for things.

[Varodoc]

People really overthink this. Give draenei man'ari skins and make them start in Mulgore and most people still won't care, they'll just download TRP3 and make their own backstory. Thankfully Blizzard realized this already. Most people don't give a shit about racials and starting zone, they'll play a Wildhammer dwarf if they think it looks good.

[Mirishka]

One could easily say "Hey, I'm a Wildhammer dwarf from the delegation in Ironforge sent down here to help out with stuff."

Or if anything mentions that they're young like they've just come of age, could say their parents are in Ironforge doing stuff, so that's why they live in this area. Plenty of easy headcanon explanations for things.

Totally! I'm glad Blizz is leaning toward that, as they've said in the past that having to create unique starting experiences is one of the biggest challenges of adding new races (and mentioned it again in the context of allied races), so there's probably a lot of options we never got for that reason.

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People really overthink this. Give draenei man'ari skins and make them start in Mulgore and most people still won't care, they'll just download TRP3 and make their own backstory. Thankfully Blizzard realized this already. Most people don't give a shit about racials and starting zone, they'll play a Wildhammer dwarf if they think it looks good.

I'd play an Eredar in a heartbeat. In a freakin' heartbeat.

[FlubberPuddy]

Amen, I'd rather them add things like Wildhammer tattoos, than not add them because there's no specific starting experience for said things. I can just as easily imagine myself as a WH dwarf that just so happens to get her start in Ironforge etc for whatever reason.

If nothing else people can just pick the new starting experience and ignore the potential conflicts altogether.

Agree 1000% . It's like how some people now are creating their RP for why a High Elf would go be with their Blood Elf brethren in the Horde, despite things like Purge of Dalaran happening and High Elves being a foil to Blood Elves consistently. There's even the flipside of players who play Blood Elves that are Alliance loyal (there's literally a great artist who currently does that for his character).

And it's a-ok! That's their character, it's their story. It makes the world feel more alive and less game-y too. I just hope that Alliance gets to share in that experience as well one day with a High Elf option.

[Varodoc]

Totally! I'm glad Blizz is leaning toward that, as they've said in the past that having to create unique starting experiences is one of the biggest challenges of adding new races (and mentioned it again in the context of allied races), so there's probably a lot of options we never got for that reason.

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I'd play an Eredar in a heartbeat. In a freakin' heartbeat.

They are an interesting race, hopefully they become playable eventually. The argument for "evil races don't fit" doesn't hold up after DKs anyway (DKs are hated by the common people but they are still playable).

[FlubberPuddy]

I'd play an Eredar in a heartbeat. In a freakin' heartbeat.

Draenei didn't have much to get datamined in this current build but one of their skins, which is very much still purple, has hints of going into the red direction. I hope they give a full-on red option by the time SL goes live.

We have so much to look forward to in the coming weeks and months for character customization, it's really great

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People really overthink this. Give draenei man'ari skins and make them start in Mulgore and most people still won't care, they'll just download TRP3 and make their own backstory. Thankfully Blizzard realized this already. Most people don't give a shit about racials and starting zone, they'll play a Wildhammer dwarf if they think it looks good.

Yup, just like people say their mag'har is from outland cuz that's what they want to identify with for their character, despite them being from draenor. No one gives a fuck, and Danuser also has given the go ahead to not give a fuck that the game is saying so or what others say.

[Maxilian]

I would like Void Elves to basically become "star elves" if possible. So more space/constellation/starry callouts in same vein of their heritage wings.

I think that would be better for Nightborne having in mind how much importance they give to constellation in their religious edification (The other race that's also really into stars and stuff, are the Shadowmoon Orcs -I really would like to see this 2 group interacting more-)

[Koryn123]

Agree 1000% . It's like how some people now are creating their RP for why a High Elf would go be with their Blood Elf brethren in the Horde, despite things like Purge of Dalaran happening and High Elves being a foil to Blood Elves consistently. There's even the flipside of players who play Blood Elves that are Alliance loyal (there's literally a great artist who currently does that for his character).

And it's a-ok! That's their character, it's their story. It makes the world feel more alive and less game-y too. I just hope that Alliance gets to share in that experience as well one day with a High Elf option.

Doesn't take much to make blue-eyed elves fit. We've already seen some on the Isle of Thunder with the Sunreaver Onslaught. Super easy to just say some of the high elf pilgrims to Quel'thalas weren't rabid Alliance supporters over their homeland, then when they saw that Quel'thalas was fixed up and safe again, not to mention the Sunwell being restored, they decided it was time to come back home. I can't imagine all the elves who went to Outland with Alleria would be more loyal to the son of a little kid who fled to Lordaeron whose kingdom wasn't even around when the Alliance was formed and not rebuilt until long after they went through the Dark Portal than they would be to their own country, their motivation for going on that suicide mission in the first place.

[Ardenaso]

There's even the flipside of players who play Blood Elves that are Alliance loyal (there's literally a great artist who currently does that for his character).

I'd like to know more regarding this

[Varodoc]

That's the beauty of RP, you can pretty much make up whatever backstory you want, you can really unleash your imagination.

Except Dragon RPers. Fuck Dragon RPers.

[FlubberPuddy]

I'd like to know more regarding this

https://www.deviantart.com/shinda292...-Sun-757428189

Was feeling nostalgic as fuck and missing WoW, so I drew my old character from the game and simultaneously did a remake of a piece I did 8 years ago.

For the WoW fans and some context, I used to play a Belf that was hardcore Alliance loyal (since, as a Warcraft 2 player, I strongly disagreed with Blizzard’s decision of the Sin’dorei going Horde, which no matter how hard they tried justifying it, always came off as forced or a case of “gameplay > story”). I would casually chill in Stormwind City, mingle with the Alliance, get rekt every now and then, but despite it, I made a fuckton of friends on the server Moon Guard and had great times years back.

In terms of actual story, the original piece from 8 years ago had my character standing at the grave of Anduin Lothar, the Lion of Azeroth. While not ingame, it was based on Chris Metzen’s drawing of Turalyon kneeling at Lothar’s grave from Warcraft 2, only in my piece the grave is worn and crumbling, with my character vigilantly standing guard. In the remade piece, my character (now much older) is standing at Lion’s Rest, which is none other than the grave of (IMO) the last King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn (who was also, without a doubt, my favourite character in all of the Warcraft series). I decided to basically put Lion’s Rest on steroids when it came to details, since the in-game version, while it looks nice, I feel could use more Alliance symbolism, so below the giant Lion crest on the upper right, are insignias of various Alliance races, such as the Night Elves, the Gnomes, and even the High Elves (the other races got cut off and aren’t visible, but would still exist).

There are a number of other details on my character himself, but I’ll leave the hardcore WoW/Alliance fans to find those (ZOOM IN!). All in all, if I ever came back to the game, first thing I would do is rush to the Wrynn Memorial (after reconnecting with my old friends ayy).

For the Alliance.

-Shinda292

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Just a note, the above description by the artist is for the picture in the link (which is huge in size). It's not related to the image in the post other than being from the same artist.