Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Gentlepenguin]

It's a high-elf Pro thread here, are you aware?

The bitter parrots repeat the same thing all the time without having confirmation of anything concerning blue eyes for the blood elves, while everyone does not care.


And if not, yes, I'm very happy that there will still be high elf NPCs in shadowlands.

Oh shit, the title just says High Elf Discussion Megathread. I'm here to discuss the high elves of the Horde.

[Manariel]

Oh shit, the title just says High Elf Discussion Megathread. I'm here to discuss the high elves of the Horde.

You don't have any. You've got Blood Elves. There is a grand totla of zero Elves considering themselves to be High Elves on the Horde. never has been, never will be.

Those are not the same, sorry.

[Frenchvince]

Oh shit, the title just says High Elf Discussion Megathread. I'm here to discuss the high elves of the Horde.

Embittered parrots always have the same types of sentences, this is not a discovery.
You help, despite you to make this thread is still alive ...

[Manariel]

It will set things right imo. Sure call it mockery, but this should not come as a huge suprise realy. It should have been done at the end of bc realy, blizz had all these high elf fans drag along all these years is a little harsh.

But the fanatic ways of this thread makes it all good it will end soon hopefully. Most people see the high elf thread as wows toxic community at its best..

I also hope it happens, letting this whole tryhard topic to rest.

Wanting something which has been in the Alliance playable since Vanilla is trying hard ? Because when you made a night Elf, way back then, one of the first NPC you met at Auberdine was a High Elf. There was several High Elves NPC in Stormwind. Quel'Danil and Quel'Lithien had more friend High Elves and there was one or two in Khaz Modan too.

I mean, the Horde got fair and blue-skinned elves, but the Alliance can't ? That's a little unfair, don't you think ?

[LilSaihah]

Why not play the Horde High Elves tho

[Manariel]

Why not play the Horde High Elves tho

Because they don't exist ?

“We must put this misery behind us. We must enter a new chapter! And so I say to you that, as of this day, we are no longer high elves! In honor of the blood that was shed throughout this kingdom, in honor of the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters, our parents, and our children, in honor of Anasterian… as of this day we will take the name of our royal lineage! As of this day, we are sin’dorei! For Quel’Thalas!”
— Kael’thas Sunstrider proclaims the rise of the blood elves

The High Elves have chosen the Alliance over Quel'Thalas, values over blood, principles over kinship. That's what makes them interesting to me, while the Sin'doreï are but a cesspool of corruption and decadence.

[Alanar]

Wanting something which has been in the Alliance playable since Vanilla is trying hard ? Because when you made a night Elf, way back then, one of the first NPC you met at Auberdine was a High Elf. There was several High Elves NPC in Stormwind. Quel'Danil and Quel'Lithien had more friend High Elves and there was one or two in Khaz Modan too.

I mean, the Horde got fair and blue-skinned elves, but the Alliance can't ? That's a little unfair, don't you think ?

Nope you are wrong. If you come with things like from vanilla on.. then atleast get it right. What you are talking about are some warcraft 2 units which were playable yes. Vanilla wow never had playable high elves, and old alpha model of nigjt elves was also for high elves because they didnt had a model for them.

But no burning crusade was the very first moment afther warcraft 3 when high elves were playable.. renaming themselves into blood elves.. the rest is history.

No its not a matter of fair or unfair... this is just how it is.. you are talking about blood elves joining the horde through sylvanas back in bc. You have any idea how many years ago that was? That unfair /fair argument lost its value long ago man.

[Gentlepenguin]

@Manariel
That's an old quote. We have a relatively fresh one.

"Blood elves are high elves."
— Ion Hazzikostas proclaims blood elves are high elves

[Obelisk Kai]

@Manariel
That's an old quote. We have a relatively fresh one.

"Blood elves are high elves."
— Ion Hazzikostas proclaims blood elves are high elves

If you really wanted to book-end it you could quote Chris Metzen's asserting Blood Elves are our High Elves as well, and that was from 2005. Thirteen years and they are still sticking to their guns on this subject.

[Uthan]

The elves in the horde are not High Elves anymore, by their own choice, as they collectively decided they're now Blood Elves instead. And they would probably be pretty insulted if someone disrespected their huge losses and choices by calling them a High Elf despite that, not to mention the getting lumped in with a group they consider traitors (and the game director giving his personal opinion on it and others twisting his words doesn't change the game lore one bit).

[mrsohta]

I'm neutral to this but considering not many people want high elves and there are others that are against adding them, it would be a miracle if blizz considered it worth working on. Especially when they could instead add another race that people would find interesting

[Obelisk Kai]

The elves in the horde are not High Elves anymore, by their own choice, as they collectively decided they're now Blood Elves instead. And they would probably be pretty insulted if someone disrespected their huge losses and choices by calling them a High Elf despite that, not to mention the getting lumped in with a group they consider traitors (and the game director giving his personal opinion on it and others twisting his words doesn't change the game lore one bit).

First, this nonsense about something a developer says being 'their personal opinion' is old. They have authorial authority, you do not. Their opinions are how they make the game and write the story and so if they say Blood Elves are High Elves, then Blood Elves are High Elves. I mean what do you think happens in normal game development? Everyone stows their opinions at the door? Everyone stands around and when asked what do they think of a certain option they go 'I have an opinion on that but as it's my opinion I don't wish to express it in case it impacts the game'? Has anyone who has ever attempted to challenge developer commentary by stating 'it's just their opinion' ever thought about how silly a position that is? You may think it's the wrong opinion but it's an opinion that matters
The makers of the game disagree with your goal. Sucks for your goal but pretending it's just their opinion does you no favours. After all, were you to change their opinion with the strength of your argument and they implemented what you wanted, you'd be surprised at how much their opinion actually matters as you'd actually get what you wanted.

Secondly, the debate over terminology is a little bit of a dead end. That Blood Elves changed their name is accepted, but in every other respect they are essentially identical to what they were before. Any 'edge' that was present in their story as a result of being mana vampires has been removed with the restoration of the sunwell. The only real difference between a Blood Elf now and the high elves then is the increased presence of the light within their culture due to it being a part of the sunwell's mix now, they literally have holy energy spilling from their eyeballs in some cases. And before you argue that can differentiate them from the exiles, the exiles are hooked up to that same sunwell and they also have faith in the light so whatever physical changes the new sunwell has wrought on the Blood Elves, the high elf exiles will be subject to as well.

A Blood Elf IS a high elf, both in terms of how that race was perceived in the years prior to the fall of Silvermoon in universe and in how they match the wider trope of what a high elf is. The exiles cannot be differentiated from what a Blood Elf is except in terms of their politics. And politics is not enough.

[LilSaihah]

The High Elves have chosen the Alliance over Quel'Thalas, values over blood, principles over kinship. That's what makes them interesting to me, while the Sin'doreï are but a cesspool of corruption and decadence.

It sounds like you want to play Draenei or Lightforged if having a stick up your ass is your jam

[Uthan]

First, this nonsense about something a developer says being 'their personal opinion' is old. They have authorial authority, you do not. Their opinions are how they make the game and write the story and so if they say Blood Elves are High Elves, then Blood Elves are High Elves. I mean what do you think happens in normal game development? Everyone stows their opinions at the door? Everyone stands around and when asked what do they think of a certain option they go 'I have an opinion on that but as it's my opinion I don't wish to express it in case it impacts the game'? Has anyone who has ever attempted developer commentary by stating 'it's just their opinion' ever thought about how silly a position that is?
The makers of the game disagree with your goal. Sucks for your goal but pretending it's just their opinion does you no favours. After all, were you to change their opinion with the strength of your argument and they implemented what you wanted, you'd be surprised at how much their opinion actually matters as you'd actually get what you wanted.

Secondly, the debate over terminology is a little bit of a dead end. That Blood Elves changed their name is accepted, but in every other respect they are essentially identical to what they were before. Any 'edge' that was present in their story as a result of being mana vampires has been removed with the restoration of the sunwell. The only real difference between a Blood Elf now and the high elves then is the increased presence of the light within their culture due to it being a part of the sunwell's mix now, they literally have holy energy spilling from their eyeballs in some cases. And before you argue that can differentiate them from the exiles, the exiles are hooked up to that same sunwell and they also have faith in the light so whatever physical changes the new sunwell has wrought on the Blood Elves, the high elf exiles will be subject to as well.

A Blood Elf IS a high elf, both in terms of how that race was perceived in the years prior to the fall of Silvermoon in universe and in how they match the wider trope of what a high elf is. The exiles cannot be differentiated from what a Blood Elf is except in terms of their politics. And politics is not enough.

Generally I would agree, but when what one developer states (even be it the game director himself) is completely contrary to what is shown in the actual game by the other developers, it feels more like a personal opinion than an official company-wide stance. As long as the game keeps portraying Blood Elves and High Elves as different things I'll take the stance of the developers actually in charge of blood/high elf story/content over a snarky response to a question in a Q&A. Actions speak louder than words imo. Or maybe they've been changing their minds back and forth and that's why things seem so contradictory, they should probably clarify things if so.

[Alanar]

Because they don't exist ?

“We must put this misery behind us. We must enter a new chapter! And so I say to you that, as of this day, we are no longer high elves! In honor of the blood that was shed throughout this kingdom, in honor of the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters, our parents, and our children, in honor of Anasterian… as of this day we will take the name of our royal lineage! As of this day, we are sin’dorei! For Quel’Thalas!”
— Kael’thas Sunstrider proclaims the rise of the blood elves

The High Elves have chosen the Alliance over Quel'Thalas, values over blood, principles over kinship. That's what makes them interesting to me, while the Sin'doreï are but a cesspool of corruption and decadence.

Did you put your head in your bum on purpose?
Blood elves are high elves and not every high elf is a blood elf.

They excist and are playable end of story.

[FlubberPuddy]

I'm neutral to this but considering not many people want high elves and there are others that are against adding them, it would be a miracle if blizz considered it worth working on. Especially when they could instead add another race that people would find interesting

idk about "not many people want" as it's been the most popularly known race request since forever? Of the game's development and release. Think people said they assumed even High Elves would be one of the initial races on Alliance. Also increased customizations are lauded by people because they're getting exactly all sorts of requests they've always wanted. Wildhammer Dwarves through tattoos, Forest Troll skins, black Blood Elves, etc.

Those are all player requests being granted. Now imagine if Blizzard monkey-pawed them and put those options on the opposite faction, you can be guaranteed there would be a lot of insult slinging at Blizzard. Because it's not just getting the race's look, it's making sure they're on the appropriate faction too.

Regardless, there's still High Elves in the Alliance today. Blizzard keeps adding them alongside the Alliance. And players keep requesting them.

I don't think the request is going to go away as long as they keep doing that. If you want something to go away then typically you don't continue acknowledging it. But even when the Void Elves were fresh on the heels of release there was acknowledgement from devs that High Elves were a separate from Void Elves, and even Blood Elves.

While Ion's comment has been the most upheld by toxic posters. Several other Blizzard developers have acknowledged High Elves are not in the game and that either they're possible for Alliance to get, or they know it's a community favorite request, or that (in their own opinion) they don't see why their shouldn't be High Elves added.

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We are invaded by embittered parrots lol

Yeah something must've triggered them all to come out of the wood works at once lol

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I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed if you truly believe that it will amount to anything. blue eyes on Blood Elves just make them a mockery of the High Elves requested by Alliance players.

I don't think they actually believe that, it's just another way to spread toxicity without being overt about it. Almost like giving backhanded compliments.

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I hope the character creation screen is updated with the new customisation soon. Once the blue eyes for Blood Elves are confirmed to be playable I hope it'll help put much of this long-winded conversation to rest and we can all move on.

Or people can y'know just move on? Nothing's forcing anyone to stay here and you haven't been involved in this convo for over 200+ pages I think so it's not as if you've constantly been here or anything.

what a strange way to put it.

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They excist and are playable end of story.

Until I can play my Silver Covenant then Alliance High Elves are not playable. End of that!

[Ardenaso]

Again, alliance high elf paladins are a rarity not a rule. But that's all I say on the matter, as it's pointless arguing class fantasies for non-playable fickly aligned alliance high elves.

And? The point still stands - they exist.

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Anyway, one more before it finally reaches 800 pages

[Sataraism]

I'm a silent reader of this thread ever since it was created, I barely ever comment on anything but I felt I had to throw my support out there to pro high elf community. I main void elf and I doubt I would ever create a high elf if they choose to add them as a sepparate race or option for existing void elf.
However, I couldnt believe that some people would go out of their way to make sure someone else doesnt get something they have. I'm flabbergasted.
Isnt it nice to have more options for every race? Specialy the ones that already are in the game? And please, not everyone feels fine hopping on the horde train.
What it looks like to me is- I have a toy and I'm the only one entittled to have it, therefore no1 else can have my toy. Its childish, mean and it only shows the real chattacter behind the avatar.

[FlubberPuddy]

I think it's more interesting that a lot of these anti high elf players seem to only gain enjoyment if certain options are denied to other players. That kind of toxicity shouldn't be a thing but it is. Lots of High Elf fans already saying they don't care if Blood Elves get blue eyes, yet it's almost as if it's tantamount to one's existence that Alliance High Elves never become a playable option.

And I'm not sure why anyone would want to defend that sort of toxicity. It's not even about "things should matter to the game". Danuser himself said they're not going to let having to explain lore or anything get in the way of creating new options for players so that these actual, real living and breathing people, can enjoy the game with the character they've always imagined.

So even the developers have enough sense to put people > game.

[LilSaihah]

Isnt it nice to have more options for every race? Specialy the ones that already are in the game? And please, not everyone feels fine hopping on the horde train.

I think it's more interesting that a lot of these anti high elf players seem to only gain enjoyment if certain options are denied to other players. That kind of toxicity shouldn't be a thing but it is. Lots of High Elf fans already saying they don't care if Blood Elves get blue eyes, yet it's almost as if it's tantamount to one's existence that Alliance High Elves never become a playable option.

Should characters of all other races be playable across factions?

Maybe it's just me, but being able to definitively say that something is yours and belongs to your faction makes the faction identities stronger. I can totally understand people who would prefer to have a factionless game. Warcraft isn't one of them. Horde and Alliance being seperate is one of the central premises of the game, for better or worse. Personally, I really enjoy it.

Maybe there is a version of the game where being able to play an Alliance Grimtotem Tauren makes sense. I don't think it's this one.