Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[FlubberPuddy]

Ion said it himself recently in the recent interview by sloot when asked about Covenants. CHOICE MATTERS.

Just have to point this out because it's so god damn on the nose I can't help myself.

It's funny that you use this as an argument to prevent High Elves when you were admonishing and screeching to the high heavens that locking the covenant ability to Covenants is bad design and shouldn't be happening and that they need to change it.

Where was "CHOICE MATTERS" then? Only when it suits your personal interests right?

This is frank evidence of someone who's position is only ever to be part of the status quo, that is: whatever the majority population are saying at the time.

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Just adding a note to this: The majority of that lore was added Post-TBC. Even in Wc3 High elves/Blood elves were predominantly Alliance, and after the Blood elves left due to Garithos the High elves remained as seen in Vanilla. The later lore was added to justify giving an Alliance race to the Horde.

Yup. And as Matthew Rossi from Blizzard Watch pointed out. WoW lore writers do this often. Creating the lore during a later time to explain situations that have already come or happened before then.

[Venziir]

They're not core to the Alliance. The SC (ironically who you've named yourself after) are more loyal to the Kirin Tor than the Alliance, hence why the SC were not participants during the faction war in BfA. They honored the neutral position of the Kirin Tor. If they were core to the Alliance then they would have been active members of the Alliance during this faction war, alas they were not and thanks to BfA it is evident where their allegiances lie first and foremost.

Vereese, their leader, did show up though to fight Sylvanas.

[Ardenaso]

Just adding a note to this: The majority of that lore was added Post-TBC.

It wasn't post-TBC, it was already established in WC3:

"Despite the high elves' official departure from the Alliance, some elves still remain true to their former human and dwarven allies. The altruistic priests of Quel'Thalas refused to abandon their roles as healers and agreed to remain in Lordaeron despite the edicts from their reclusive masters in Silvermoon. The high elven priests use their Light-given powers to heal the wounded and bolster the spirits of Lordaeron's fighting elite."

- Reign of Chaos manual, page 10

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They're not core to the Alliance. The SC (ironically who you've named yourself after) are more loyal to the Kirin Tor than the Alliance, hence why the SC were not participants during the faction war in BfA. They honored the neutral position of the Kirin Tor. If they were core to the Alliance then they would have been active members of the Alliance during this faction war, alas they were not and thanks to BfA it is evident where their allegiances lie first and foremost.

The SC massacred the Sunreavers not for the Kirin Tor but for the interests of the Alliance. Also, they seek to bring the Kingdom of Quel'thalas back to the Alliance.

There's Yvera Dawnwing, Frostfencer Seraphi, and 7th Legion Battlemages in Stromgarde, and some High Elf Ballistae in the Siege of Orgrimmar 2.0

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Also I don't care if things blur faction lines or not, I want my Alteraci Humans to the Horde

[Traveler Voltin]

Yet we literally have the same race on both factions and no one has complained since Pandaren were introduced...and look at Nightborne, they made them unique and a lot of players were angry that they don't look just like the Nightborne which look more like Night Elves...

Now either Horde players don't care or Horde players are hypocrites, which is it?

high elves and blood elves are the same race so they look the same.

nightborne are not the same race as night elves. Nightborne were mutated.
also blizzard hates neutral races and will never do it again.

[The Silver Covenant]

blah blah ... Blood Elves are High Elves is not a truth as easily discounted as you would like... muh filler rhetoric

Why does it always take you so many words to reveal that you don’t know anything about Warcraft’s character or brand? High Elves are, always have been, and always will be at the core of Warcraft’s Alliance.

[Ielenia]

Faction pride is good, don't get me wrong - but it should not stand in the way of a good story. That's my main gripe with this odd entitlement that the Horde has on the playability of the High Elven exiles. It's a story I personally want to see explored, and reintroducing the Blood Elves' oldest "enemies" would be the best way to further that story. It's a faction story, too; giving it a wide best of both worlds appeal.

There would be more conflict stories to play out, since Blizzard like to play the Alliance vs Horde stories, with High Elves now prominent in the Alliance. One big story hook that I like to mention is how, with High Elves in the Alliance, there could be a competition to lay claim to high elven artifacts and location, as both groups (HE and BE) would claim that those pieces of ancient history would belong to them, not to the other group. This is one type of story hook that can't be really explored with void elves, since those elves are more focused on studying and mastering the void than caring about their own history and legacy.

[Frenchvince]

also blizzard hates neutral races and will never do it again.

There will no longer be a "neutral race" issue with the new character creation update.
We will have the choice between the pandaren of the horde or the pandaren of the alliance.

The High Elf NPCs are not neutral but already in the alliance, so even if they are of the same race as the Blood Elves, now it is quite possible that they will be added in the future.

[FlubberPuddy]

There will no longer be a "neutral race" issue with the new character creation update.
We will have the choice between the pandaren of the horde or the pandaren of the alliance.

The High Elf NPCs are not neutral but already in the alliance, so even if they are of the same race as the Blood Elves, now it is quite possible that they will be added in the future.

The removal of "Core Race" and "Allied Race" distinction is interesting, as well as removal of "Neutral" section for the Pandas. They now literally showcase Alliance Panda and Horde Panda with exact same icon.

I still think it's too early to say this is the finalized version. But if they are indeed loosening up those distinctions in the character creation screen then it's clear they're looking to overall the amount of character customization given.

There's simply SO MUCH space there between the character you're customizing and the race icons that I wouldn't be surprised if this is future-proofing for adding 1-2 more columns of races.

Again though it's not finalized so I would wait to see how much it appears to change between the builds.

[Frenchvince]

The removal of "Core Race" and "Allied Race" distinction is interesting, as well as removal of "Neutral" section for the Pandas. They now literally showcase Alliance Panda and Horde Panda with exact same icon.

I still think it's too early to say this is the finalized version. But if they are indeed loosening up those distinctions in the character creation screen then it's clear they're looking to overall the amount of character customization given.

There's simply SO MUCH space there between the character you're customizing and the race icons that I wouldn't be surprised if this is future-proofing for adding 1-2 more columns of races.

Again though it's not finalized so I would wait to see how much it appears to change between the builds.

I like this version because barriers have fallen to leave more possibilities for future additions.
I think the biggest part is done, it only remains to add the missing customizations and the sliders of certain options like eyes, body / face tattoo.

[Varodoc]

I would not look too much into the pandas no longer being a neutral race, since they no longer start in the Wandering Isle (where they had the quest to choose the side).

[Syegfryed]

Vereese, their leader, did show up though to fight Sylvanas.

in the moment both factions united to put Sylvanas down.

[Xath]

This is disingenuous. It's your subjective opinion that void elves violate the same pillar of the game. Objectively they don't, as Blizzard has given us sufficient explanation as to why alliance high elves are not a playable option, they are too similar to blood elves (aesthetically) and would blur faction lines. It's pretty clear that blizzard prioritize physical differences as a key distinguishing feature between playable races. Some ARs are very similar to their parent races but these parent races are within the same faction. Void elves on the other hand were given a completely different thematic to blood elves (a void thematic) to provide a sufficient level of physical distinction so as to not blur faction lines.

From a "lore" perspective there isn't much distinction between the two, but gameplay wise (and subsequently aesthetically) they are different and are so at a first glance. Players with a deep knowledge of lore can obviously differentiate between blood elves and high elves, but in general the playerbase at large probable views blood elves as the high elves of WoW. And blizzard intended it to be this way, as we have both Ion and Chris Metzen who have offered comments supporting this view.

This doesn't change the fact the void elves didn't hit the mark that pro high elfers were hoping for, but reality is Blizzard deemed it an inappropriate request in the sense that blood elves are high elves and as such the race is already available, and they don't wish to blur faction lines.

It would be easy enough for blizzard to have copy pasted blood elves, given them blue eyes and made them an alliance AR and said "here's your long asked for alliance high elves". But they didn't. And here's an honest question for you... why do you think Blizzard didn't just do that? Responding with "they were clueless, they make mistakes or they are Horde biased" is a disingenuous response. WoW developers work full time on this game, some of them for many many years. You are being dishonest if you think blizzard are not aware of what the exact request was.

Further to what Obelisk said regarding faction pride, I agree with him. WoW has been created in a way where it tries to encourage some sort of pride for a specific faction. This pride stems from a myriad of reasons, including but not limited to faction leaders, faction policies, faction structures, the races which constitute each faction, faction aesthetics and faction thematics. Why is it so wrong to have faction pride and appreciate a key feature of WoW "faction uniqueness". Instead we get called toxic or trolls (in which you omittely support as you don't call out pro high elfers who say we're toxic) simply because we appreciate an integral aspect of WoW. I've never said alliance high elves don't exist, I've just stated that they would directly or indirectly detract from the high elven group (both aesthetically and racially) that are and have been playable on the Horde.

I agree with you, void elves were not the answer high elfers were looking for... but it's clear what Blizzards stance on the request is. You can request something but that doesn't mean the request is reasonable (with overall gameplay in mind).

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Dark troll customizations does not blur faction lines. Unless somehow trolls are also an alliance race?

Likewise, wildhammer tattoos does not blur faction lines. Last I checked dwarves were an alliance race, and as such wildhammer tattoos does not infringe on a Horde race.

The high elf race however is a core Horde race. Void elves have been given a niche and unique thematic to differentiate them from their parent race, so naturally any future customizations they may get will likely respect that differentiation

The request is extremely reasonable and there is no difference between void elves and blood elves in full armor besides the color of the nameplate.

[Highelf]

in the moment both factions united to put Sylvanas down.

Moving those goal posts again.

[Xath]

Moving those goal posts again.

Just mention that she is present for the award ceremony after hitting prestige rank 2 for alliance and watch their heads spin trying to justify that one.

[FlubberPuddy]

Just mention that she is present for the award ceremony after hitting prestige rank 2 for alliance and watch their heads spin trying to justify that one.

They'll always try to minimize it too in some way. Not realizing that if High Elves can be considered as barely doing anything for the Alliance (despite aiding them on several occasions throughout several expansions* and having members as part of the 7th Legion) then half the requested races not playable have done shit all for the Horde or Alliance. What great contributions have Ogres made? Or Hozen?

Also the Allied Races added didn't do shit for Alliance or Horde until after they joined up, meaning there's no hardline pre-requisite that a race must have done something of great value to have been decided to be added to the greater factions.

*No other non-playable race in the history of WoW has done this aside from High Elves. There is no consistent group of unplayable NPCs on the Horde that support their endeavors unlike the High Elves for the Alliance.

[Aldo Hawk]

Just mention that she is present for the award ceremony after hitting prestige rank 2 for alliance and watch their heads spin trying to justify that one.

And also when they mention that Elisande said they are diluting their bloodlines and aren't worthy of being called High elves and also implying that most of them aren't even High elves anymore, (obviously ignoring the fact that she is taunting the three elf raid groups) just say that Varian Wrynn was bent and broken at the broken shore, begging for his life, whimpering like a worthless dog.

Out of context phrase full of spite:

(Timestamps doesn't work here )

At 2:49


Reality:
At 2:33

Gul'dan seemed frustrated while obliterating Varian, he was not able to break his spirit afterall.

Whimpering so much like a worthless dog while saying he sacrificed himself for the Alliance yes

But well, dishonesty is what it is, meh, who can understand such a stance on anything

[Syegfryed]

They'll always try to minimize it too in some way. Not realizing that if High Elves can be considered as barely doing anything for the Alliance (despite aiding them on several occasions throughout several expansions* and having members as part of the 7th Legion)

If "we" always try to minimize, you guys sure will always extrapolate in some way. they "aiding then on several occasions throughout several expansions"

I don't think you can put like 3-5 apparitions(most of then not rly direct against the horde) as several, the problem all lies in how people word it, even the smaller thing people point as being extremely meaningful. In the Us forums by example, what most i saw was people saying 4 glaives and Veressa showing up to face her sister, in the conjunct force of alliance and horde, to be some gigantic proof of how the high elves always are there to fight against the horde for the alliance.

People in both sides will always exaggerate, don't make much sense point fingers in this particular case.

But what i said is isn't rly "minimize", she, alone, only show up to face sylvanas, not to fight the horde, she didn't even brought her troops, you can say that she was just fighting for the alliance against the horde with her 4 glaives, but to me, she was more there because she is Sylvanas sister

Also the Allied Races added didn't do shit for Alliance or Horde until after they joined up,

True, but people point that out because supporters say high elves are diehard pro-alliance and are always aiding then against the horde, but when the D-day is upon us, the pinnacle of the open war, they... aren't. We can speculate(before someone say im affirming something) all we want, but it looks like that since void elves are there, they don't see much reason to use high elves like they did before

[elbleuet]

I don't think you can put like 3-5 apparitions(most of then not rly direct against the horde) as several, the problem all lies in how people word it, even the smaller thing people point as being extremely meaningful. In the Us forums by example, what most i saw was people saying 4 glaives and Veressa showing up to face her sister, in the conjunct force of alliance and horde, to be some gigantic proof of how the high elves always are there to fight against the horde for the alliance.


True, but people point that out because supporters say high elves are diehard pro-alliance and are always aiding then against the horde, but when the D-day is upon us, the pinnacle of the open war, they... aren't. We can speculate(before someone say im affirming something) all we want, but it looks like that since void elves are there, they don't see much reason to use high elves like they did before

Velen, Turalyon, Tyrande, Malfurion, Maiev, Moira, Falstad, Muradin and Mekkatorque were not present. Vereesa was. And brought her glaves with her.

Also :

But what i said is isn't rly "minimize", she, alone, only show up to face sylvanas, not to fight the horde, she didn't even brought her troops

That's funny because Jaina and Genn Greymane did not brought their troops either. This is not an argument.

Vereesa was there because she's an important Alliance character, and because of course, she's Sylvanas' sister.

When she was present at the first Siege of Orgrimmar 8 years ago when Sylvanas was only the Banshee Queen and Alleria missing, was it because she was Alleria's sister ? Or Sylvanas' sister ? Both ?

[Syegfryed]

Velen, Turalyon, Tyrande, Malfurion, Maiev, Moira, Falstad, Muradin and Mekkatorque were not present. Vereesa was. And brought her glaves with her.

Because none of those are sylvanas sister, case in point

That's funny because Jaina and Genn Greymane did not brought their troops either. This is not an argument.

because they didn't had any to spare, if you didn't notice, both used a lot their troops in the war campaign, Veressa didn't.

Vereesa was there because she's an important Alliance character, and because of course, she's Sylvanas' sister.

Or because she is sylvanas sister and a minor alliance character, just that.

When she was present at the first Siege of Orgrimmar 8 years ago when Sylvanas was only the Banshee Queen and Alleria missing, was it because she was Alleria's sister ? Or Sylvanas' sister ? Both ?

she was participating in conjunct effort of horde and alliance to put down Garrosh, anything beyond that is either extrapolation or minimization

[Obelisk Kai]

A question answered to no one's satisfaction can be considered unanswered. The problem in your reasoning here is that the Horde never made the request, and never asked the question to begin with - the retaining of the status quo isn't a valuable position in this context. We've already disagreed on this idea of it being an "impossibility," so no need to ford those waters again.

The problem with this response is that you presume that the people who can say the response was answered are the most hardcore. That gives a veto to the most extreme elements, those for whom compromise is anathema and the only response worth accepting is the one where they get everything they wanted. It's akin to asking a Marxist if Obama was sufficiently left wing.
The most extreme element in this debate should not be considered as having a veto. As they do not have a veto, the original point that 'the question was answered to no one's satisfaction' can safely be demonstrated to be erroneous. There are Void Elf players who are content with the option, either simply through having a thalassian elf option or by roleplaying as a former high elf exile. And Void Elves are the most successful Allied race overall I believe and the fourth most popular race within the Alliance. I would argue plenty of people are satisfied with the compromise and that only an extremely vocal rump are not to the point where they continue to argue about it.
As for the Horde not asking the question, irrelevant point. The Horde was impacted by the possibility of it's success, something which has been averted by the arguments put forward against it carrying the day (Ion's 2018 rejection was essentially a summation of the 'anti High elf' point of view within two minutes). We had a right of reply, which we have exercised to seemingly great effect.

I believe that they have, yes. I hold the creation of the Void Elves as a stopgap measure to answer the desire of playable High Elven exiles as a mistake, similar to Azerite Traits, Garrisons, and Draenei/Eredar lore flub of TBC. That's my position, and we obviously are going to disagree on its substance. It's a solution that no one wanted to a problem that the Void Elves don't fix.

I will not lie, my solution to the problem was that there was no problem. If people wanted to play a thalassian elf so much they should have embraced the Horde where that fantasy can be experienced and that anyone who coveted a race on the other side of the faction wall would have to put up with it as a matter of gameplay, as many still do. However the essence of compromise is that you don't get everything you want. My side of the debate didn't get to keep the model unique, which was ultimately shared with the Alliance, and the Alliance side got the model but drained of the high elf theme and substance which remained horde unique.

Also, to equate high elves not being playable to Azerite traits and garrisons implies a lack of perspective. Not being able to play a high elf that is a duplicate of a core Horde race may suck for those who want that, but that is a problem of vastly limited impact and they could enjoy the rest of the game as much as the rest of us. Garrisons on the other hand almost single handedly killed an expansion, and the Azerite trait disaster sucked up so much development time that BFA was crippled as a result. Those were universal disasters that impacted everyone's gameplay experience. It is the height of hyperbole to equate the high elf issue to them, an almost hysterical over-reaction I would argue.

The developers did what you wanted them to do, so your agreement with them is something of a given. Unfortunately, I disagree with both their reasoning and yours.

Yet as you explained to Strippling above and as we have discussed previously, you value story over all else. Unfortunately what constitutes a good story is also highly subjective and whereas you see the opening up of a duplicate of an already playable race on the other side of the faction divide as a positive, you also don't consider the impact on faction diversity which is a fundamental cornerstone of the world where those stories take place.
And the reason the developers did 'what I wanted them to do' was that my own opinions on this matter have been conditioned by the game and world they themselves built. They constructed a game world predicated on two unique factions who are mutually antagonistic to each other and then hyped up their player base to back those factions. It was even the corner stone of the Battle For Azeroth advertising campaign if you recall the tagline, 'it matters'. They were always likelier to come to a conclusion that satisfied me because even a cursory look at how they've built the game shows that was where they were heading.
All thirteen years of people asking for high elves accomplished was to get a distinct variant for the Alliance...which was actually a huge success all things considered but if those who seek high elves don't want to acknowledge the huge concession they got with Void Elves then that is on them.

That would be true if the playable race in question didn't already have a preexisting factional schism that made the proposition almost undeniably simple to facilitate. They're already there, in other words. I think if playable High Elven exiles had been added to the Alliance and Blood Elves to the Horde all the way back in TBC no one would've batted an eye - it would have been a no-brainer to anyone familiar with the existing lore. It would also serve the interests of both factions. As well as be a choice that stands against the oft-employed Pandaren issue, as the Pandaren never had a stake in either WoW faction previously, whereas the Blood and High Elves had their lines drawn for them due to their political schism.

Nobody would have batted an eye then given how relatively new the game was. But they made the Blood Elves a part of the Horde and handed over to the Horde everything that defines their race. The vast majority of the population, the city, the kingdom, the magisters, the farstriders, the Sunwell. I could go on. And by doing so, they have given the Horde a justified sense of ownership over that race and it's theme, which now comprises a unique part of the tapestry of races that make up the Horde. A sense of ownership, of 'entitlement' as you have said, has now formed. They and their theme are as important a part of the Horde as the Trolls and the Orcs and the Tauren and all the rest.
So it's no use saying 'if only'. If only they'd never renamed high elves because Blood Elves sounded cooler and they'd joined the Horde as the High Elves they clearly, this debate would have far less traction. If only.
And as for the high elves 'existing' within the Alliance, that itself has been debated to death. They are an almost dead, scattered, rudderless group without much in the way of coherence. Some are kirin tor idling away in neutrality, others a jumped up, partisan militia of hunters and a few are holed up in a lodge in the hinterlands. And some may even be becoming Void Elves now .Even were you to bring this group together there simply isn't enough of them in lore to weave together into a true Alliance member. Remember, that's the lore justification as to why they aren't playable. Were they as numerous and advanced as the Blood Elves the real reason they aren't playable, the gameplay rationale of two distinct factions and Blood Elves being playable high elves, would probably be harder to defend. But the lore justification supports the gameplay rationale.

A position I maintain, as I obviously don't hold this strange faction affinity quite as sacrosanct as you do. You say Faction > Story, whereas I say Story > Faction. That's just our different conclusions on the matter, and it's not really for either you or I to decide what is objectively better.

The divide isn't anywhere near that neat and implies the factions actively inhibit the narrative of the game. If that is the case, then the solution is removing the factions altogether so everyone can play with everyone rather than singling out the Horde's most popular race for duplication.
If that is not the case, then the Horde and the Alliance are going to remain engines of the narrative for some time to come and degrading those engines, by undermining the diversity that makes them unique and complimentary, will ultimately degrade the narrative.
If you don't like faction driven narratives well then you're probably invested in the wrong fictional universe. So it's less that factions>story, more that unique factions suit this franchise and the stories it tells. If we must have faction driven narratives, then those factions should be maintained in top condition and not bastardised for the desires of a tiny minority.

A game director who, in my opinion, reached an incorrect conclusion through a chain of reasoning with some holes in it. The same thing that gives Blood Elves "agency" grants it to the High Elven exiles, and they all possess the distinction of defining themselves against their Blood Elven peers. The schism that created the Blood Elves also created the High Elven exiles - you cannot claim one side of the schism possesses an essential entitlement to agency or distinction that the other side lacks, after all. They are two sides of the same coin, their aesthetic being a rejection of new cultural mores that the Blood Elves accepted - a quintessential redefining of their people. The High Elven exiles represent the High Elves as they existed before the Third War, the Blood Elves represent the High Elves after they permitted the war to change their people (for better or worse, depending on one's perspective).

Your interpretation of the high elves is incorrect. They are not 'two sides' of the same coin, that implies two sides of equal worth. Given what the Blood Elves have when compared to the exiles, the sheer difference in scale simply overwhelms the exiles. The Blood Elves possess the agency in this matter, not the exiles. It is the right of the Blood Elves to define the meaning of their civilization. The exiles do not have this, they are polticial dissenters.
Nor did the Blood Elves change their culture in the longer term. The division was over the practice of consuming mana from living beings (at least as far as the Quel'lithien was concerned) and that was resolved with the restoration of the Sunwell as a holy/arcane energy source...the same Sunwell all unchanged thalassian elves are now sustained by. The loss of faith in the light that led to the M'uru situation was cultural shock triggered by the scourge attack. M'uru's sacrifice restored that faith in the light. So no, the exiles do not represent the High Elves as they were before the third war. The Blood Elves represent the High Elves as they were before the third war.

Ultimately that doesn't matter - Void Elves aren't High Elven exiles, and by dint of their storyline never can be. The same way as the San'layn aren't the Blood Elves, because they have a new and different story that circumscribes their being, aesthetically speaking.

Which isn't the point. The point made to justify the high elf cause and to pretend it's not about the aesthetic is that they've always been loyal to the Alliance and never betrayed them. The objection to Void Elves is that they were, at some point, Blood Elves of the Horde. If Void Elves can turn other Elves into Void Elves, then an exile who has always been loyal to the Alliance can make that choice and those for whom this headcanon is supposedly important can have what they claim they have always wanted.
If on the other hand the desire is for the aesthetics of a Horde race, as it clearly is for the majority, then of course this Void Elf solution isn't going to work. But then again, this solution isn't supposed to work. The reason it is proposed is to demonstrate that for most of those seeking high elves, the lore is actually irrelevant. Were Void Elves to given a high elf aesthetic WITHOUT a lore clarification that they can convert other Void Elves (i.e the status quo now...more or less), I guarantee you they'd embrace that rationale anyways within moments. If left with their current skins but provided the rationale, they would still reject it.

Because there are no explicit story barriers that prevent a Troll from be played as a Revantusk or a Sandfury, just as there is no hard and fast barrier to Wildhammer Dwarves. There *was* until the new Shadowlands leveling experience decoupled the starting zones that would've made this bizarre in-game. The reason it doesn't work for High Elven exiles is because their aesthetic is a story-based distinction the Void Elves can't facilitate - a Void Elf is a Void Elf regardless of whether the former Elf that became one was a Blood Elf or a High Elven exile originally. Their story has changed, they're now circumscribed by their transformation and not the schism that previously defined them. That's how the narrative works.

Yes, a Void Elf is a Void Elf, a changed high elf. If they wish to play an uncorrupted High elf, the Horde is waiting for them as per the explanation provided two years ago as to why Void Elves are a playable option and the exiles are not. At this point you are asking to play a duplicate of a core Horde race if being given the model AND the possibility as to why your Void Elf was an exile isn't enough. At some point a line is drawn, this is it.

One would think so, and yet that's not what they did for whatever reason. We've already covered the difference between what is permitted or done and what is requested, though; and I think you know very well why those who wanted playable High Elven exiles don't find the Void Elf solution a good one. I am unsure if you are being purposefully disingenuous here, or you actually don't understand the underlying principles.

I understand the other side of this debate fairly well. Some genuinely care about the lore, most have latched onto the lore as a convenient fig leaf to justify their continuing demands for a duplicate of a core Horde race. But just because they want something, and just because they judged the solution insufficient, that doesn't make them right. Nor does it mean they are victims, destined to be vindicated in the fullness of time.
They have set themeselves at odds with the very grain of the in game universe. Disappointment is their not unexpected lot as a result.

The High Elven exiles also have a completely unique aesthetic, divorced from the Blood Elven aesthetic as a matter of imperative. Ditto for the diametric opposition, except of a Void/Light distinct you have a deeper and older underlying social opposition stemming from both their peoples' very legacy. I would argue that the High Elven exiles are even further apart from the Blood Elves than the Void Elves are - by a fair margin. The Void Elves themselves only recently left the Horde in light of their changed circumstances - the High Elven exiles have been apart from it for many years now, growing and changing separate from their parent stem. That's a huge and mostly unexplored distinction that deserves exploration.

You would argue incorrectly, what divides the Blood Elves and the exiles is a political opinion and to use a real world example, one that is somewhat analogous to the political and partisan split in the US between left and right. Ultimately they are the same people, and a different political opinion does not confer a brand new culture or aesthetic upon you. For example, the Silver Covenant apes the Farstriders in it's organisation and titles.
The Void Elves may have only recently left the Horde, but they've also turned bright purple, sprouted tentacles, hear old god whispers and have a new mission to master the powers of the void in the service of the Alliance, which is probably as antithetical as you can be to what the Blood Elves are right now.

Not when said entitlement categorically denies another faction a race that, bar playability, is already theirs. I have a hard time imagining that Horde players would be at all forgiving or complacent if the tables were turned and a playable race on the Alliance side denied them one they wanted on their side.

You'd probably be right. There would probably be a hard core of fans incapable of reconciling themselves to that new dispensation, incapable of understanding the importance of faction and that the current set up reflects the narrative as it is and not how they would wish it.
But that's also a hypothetical and as such, no conclusion can be reached. Maybe if they give the Ogres to the Alliance at some point we can test that theory.

Easy to call them "narrative chaff" when you stump for the status quo. Also, of all your examples, none of them underscore the essential difference between High Elven exiles and the Blood Elves. A Grimtotem Tauren would not be sympathetic to the Alliance, nor would a Defias Human. The High Elven exiles, however, are loyal to the Alliance and so distinct in-game.

Apt too. With Void Elves in the picture, the role of the exiles has been almost completely usurped.

And despite your claims they would be 'loyal' to the Alliance, they were conspicuous by their absence in the fourth war except for two named individuals, one of whom didn't actually do any fighting.

A progression that, in my experience, never occurred. I have a Void Elf character myself, a level 120 Void Elf Hunter. The story, while fine on its own, isn't that of a High Elven exile, and never can be for pretty obvious reasons covered above.

Which is your choice. However should it be made explicit that Void Elves can turn other Elves, which seems likely, the choice to define as a former exile would be there to take.

Which, as I said, may satiate some - but not those like myself who are interested in the original story and its existent veins threaded throughout current events.

Given the smallness of the group that is still annoyed about this, satiating some may leave little more than a handful of the hardcore left. To completely 'satiate' everyone on that side of the debate means completely violating the principles others playing the game enjoy. The Void Elves represent a compromise position. I didn't get everything I wanted out of the compromise either, but there you go.

So forgive me if I find the complaints of the pro High Elf community post Void Elf easier to dismiss. So it wasn't a hundred percent what they wanted. That's the nature of compromise.

I stomach the Horde just fine, personally speaking - my main is a Blood Elven Death Knight, and has been since WotLK (where I switched from Blood Elven Mage in TBC to Death Knight). What I think you and a few other hardliners don't recognize is that an exploration of the High Elven exile storyline enriches not just the Alliance but the Horde as well. Having to confront and reaffirm the choices the Blood Elves made in the past is a great things for the Sin'dorei story, and something I'd really enjoy seeing more of. This is also something that the Void Elves do not and cannot achieve, as they're just considered traitors from a Blood Elven perspective. They don't force confrontation with the age-old schism in the Elven people.

The age old schism in the elven people is between Highborne and lowborne, between the magic users who assisted Azshara and those who fought against her. This schism is now expressed through the rivalry between Horde and Alliance, with the Blood Elves and Nightborne on one side and the Night Elves on the other. The Void Elves are too small to really tip tip the balance, and the exiles are canonically pretty non existant.

The Blood Elves faced the consequences of their choices during the Sunwell Plateau when they faced catastrophe. Lady Liadrin's speech after Kil'Jaeden's defeat represents their repentance. The restoration of the Sunwell liberated them from the need to drain mana from living things and hooked them up to an arcane/holy energy source. That storyline is done and they became true high elves again.

The exiles are upset at them for being horde and kicking them out, not over a point of philosophy resolved a decade ago. That is not the age old schism. That is a handul of dissidents being grouchy.

I believe you invest the exiles with far too much importance and their dispute with far too much heft, particularly given how fundamental the light-void dichotomy is going to be in the years to come.