Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Manariel]

There's also this annoying oversight that Blizzard won't change: High Priest Thel'danis

Damn, I keep forgetting about him. That dude makes so little sense I'm not even mad, it's amazing.

[elbleuet]

Woops I misspoke, this is what Danuser actually said on Lanesh

https://twitter.com/stevedanuser/sta...87595542433792

"I did see this, and I do know who he is. Would rather not delve into character backgrounds here, as someday there might be an opportunity to tell the tale in game. That's always more satisfying than an off-the-cuff tweet. "

Sounds more like 'we could potentially use this character for something so I'd rather not give his backstory now.'

Funny how it was asked by that same girl lol

But then we also have this tweet as well https://twitter.com/MickyNeilson/sta...91022719004672

@MickyNeilson
A few of the Sunreavers in the Purge of Dalaran quests have blue eyes, is this an oversight or an intentional design choice?

@Mutterscrawl
I believe this being changed. @daveKosak
would know for sure.
@MickyNeilson

@Mutterscrawl
I thought we fixed that bug already? Do you have the specific mob names?"

So bringing up the sunreaver assassins/captains/frost mages was a bug and not intentional.

Thanks for bringing these statements. So no high elves on the Horde during the purge.

[FlubberPuddy]

Thanks for bringing these statements. So no high elves on the Horde during the purge.

No problem, and this is why fact-checking matters. I find it funny it was answered so many years ago, but people who wanted blue eyes on blood elves/high elves on Horde most likely swept it under the rug because the truth shows it was a bug/oversight all along.

[elbleuet]

No problem, and this is why fact-checking matters. I find it funny it was answered so many years ago, but people who wanted blue eyes on blood elves/high elves on Horde most likely swept it under the rug because the truth shows it was a bug/oversight all along.

Indeed they do. But I didn't know until now the issue was raised on twitter and answered by Blizzard. Nice to see that. The answer was obvious for all except 2-3 people if you ask me ...

[FlubberPuddy]

The answer was obvious for all except 2-3 people if you ask me ...

It's always been obvious, but not for people that have an agenda

[Frenchvince]

Hey guys, I just found this HE art, it looks great, with the same VE haircut.
I love this look !


https://www.deviantart.com/shadowpri...nter-831799693

[elbleuet]

This is just what I need actually. A Quel'dorei hunter with void elf haircut. This is amazing

[Amaterasu65]

This art is amazing. Do want.

[Thalassian Bob]

This is just what I need actually. A Quel'dorei hunter with void elf haircut. This is amazing

I mean, you've already got near as dammit to that guy with a void elf:

[Obelisk Kai]

The in-universe catch all name wouldn’t be Blood Elf because Void Elves nor High Elves would call themselves that.

In-universe it’s likely each group just identifies as what kind of elf they are (Blood, High, Void) and never use the catch-all terms we use in these discussions.

Aka if a dwarf saw one they’d immediately either say “it’s an elf” or “it’s a [Blood/Void/High] elf” as it’s easy to identify which elf is which.

The exile in Allerian Stronghold doesn’t correct the player but reassures them, mainly because the player was more likely to run into hostile Blood Elves and that stronghold is one of the first concentrations of a High Elven regiment.

Calling the entire race Blood Elf doesn’t make sense since High Elves are not Blood Elves. But every one of those three groups are from Quel’thalas so it’s correct to state they’re all Thalassian.

Thalassian is primarily an out of universe term and not even an official one at that. It IS used in some circumstances inside the game, but primarily Blizzard tends to go with Blood Elf, Void Elf etc. The most common use of the term 'thalassian' seems to occur inside threads like these discussing elves as a handy shorthand to encompass all of them.

If there were an official out of universe term, it would probably be high elf. Blood Elves were defined as high elves by Ion and Metzen. Void Elves were described as another flavour of high elf. And the exiles kept the old name. Each group has therefore been described as a 'high elf'.

In universe is of course a different matter. While you don't like it, canonically the exile population is vanishingly low and what is there is scattered. That is confirmed. A quick observation shows what this means in practice.

Quel'Danil hosts a few. In the Hinterlands. The hint is in the zone name, the hinterlands is in the back side of beyond far from any Alliance territories. You have to make a huge effort as an Alliance citizen to even reach this lodge.
Allerian Stronghold is in a hostile zone on another planet and even then the number of high elven exiles who lived there as of TBC was about six NPCs. It's actually a Human town named after Alleria, rather than an elven town, as most of the people who lived there are Humans. Note we don't actually know the canonical status of the inhabitants of Allerian Stronghold. The people who lived there as of TBC had been stranded on Outland for over two decades. I'd say it's far likelier after we defeated Illidan they packed up and went home, with a base maintained by fresh recruits to ensure a continuing Alliance presence.
Theramore had a high elf population, a small group of ex soldiers who participated in the battle of mount hyjal at the end of the third war. Thereamore is now a crater.
Dalaran is the only city with what seems to be even a modest exile population, consisting of Kirin Tor Mages who never went home and ex Farstriders invited by Veressa into the Silver Covenant. Dalaran of course is neutral.

The point I am making is that from an in universe perspective, few people outside the Alliance military have likely encountered any high elven exiles. Blood Elves on the other hand constitute the vast bulk of the race. A solider of the Alliance is far more likely to have come into contact with a Blood Elf on the field of battle than with one of the supremely rare exiles. The Blood Elves also maintain a functioning state and military. which means they have a substantial civilian population of their own (something the exiles lack) providing a further critical mass of potential contacts.

So the term Blood Elf becoming shorthand for the race wouldn't be surprising given the circumstances and the fact that the vast majority of surviving elves are Blood Elves.

Void Elves on the other hand are clearly something else, their own thing. Nobody will ever mistake a Void Elf for a Blood Elf.

- - - Updated - - -

I mean, you've already got near as dammit to that guy with a void elf:

Lies, he has a mustache!

Pure high elves don't have mustaches.

[Thalassian Bob]

Lies, he has a mustache!

Pure high elves don't have mustaches.

Haha I noticed that after posting him! There is a closer facial hair option with the Abe Lincoln-esque tashless goatee...

[Obelisk Kai]

Haha I noticed that after posting him! There is a closer facial hair option with the Abe Lincoln-esque tashless goatee...

I don't know, the mustache gives him character. I'd leave as is.

[Thalassian Bob]

I don't know, the mustache gives him character. I'd leave as is.

I do envy that void corruption apparently gave the void elves the ability to grow facial hair that seems to elude even Silvermoon's most adept arcane practitioners.

Perhaps a trade off for Alleria-style customisation for the void elves could be that every elf, male or female, must have some form of moustache. The void seems to work in mysterious ways...

[Obelisk Kai]

I do envy that void corruption apparently gave the void elves the ability to grow facial hair that seems to elude even Silvermoon's most adept arcane practitioners.

Perhaps a trade off for Alleria-style customisation for the void elves could be that every elf, male or female, must have some form of moustache. The void seems to work in mysterious ways...

Well King Anasterian was something like three thousand years old and all he managed was a small goatee

https://wow.gamepedia.com/Anasterian...Sunstrider.jpg

https://wow.gamepedia.com/File:BTNAn...Sunstrider.png

Definitely the void is having an impact on elven physiology...and as a result we must refuse. Strong facial hair must be like blue eyes, void elf only. The faction barrier is at stake upon it.

[Frenchvince]

"Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?"
"I could really use a scrunchy... yeah, you heard me!"

It's just not possible to be a manly man with this kind of joke and then everyone knows that BE men are a bit effeminate.

[Ardenaso]

I mean, you've already got near as dammit to that guy with a void elf:

is that your character? now try to make him look like the Reforged archer

[Obelisk Kai]

is that your character? now try to make him look like the Reforged archer

Blue eyed, blue skinned, blue armored, blue bowed Alliance Hunter.

I'm a little disappointed the hair colour isn't blue to complete the image.

[Manariel]

I mean, you've already got near as dammit to that guy with a void elf:

What's this armor and weapon ? It'd go very well with my VE Huntress

[FlubberPuddy]

The point I am making is that from an in universe perspective, few people outside the Alliance military have likely encountered any high elven exiles. Blood Elves on the other hand constitute the vast bulk of the race. A solider of the Alliance is far more likely to have come into contact with a Blood Elf on the field of battle than with one of the supremely rare exiles. The Blood Elves also maintain a functioning state and military. which means they have a substantial civilian population of their own (something the exiles lack) providing a further critical mass of potential contacts.

So the term Blood Elf becoming shorthand for the race wouldn't be surprising given the circumstances and the fact that the vast majority of surviving elves are Blood Elves.

Void Elves on the other hand are clearly something else, their own thing. Nobody will ever mistake a Void Elf for a Blood Elf.

Pointing out the exiles doesn't mean that just because Blood Elves are a majority suddenly the race's moniker itself turns to the majority population. That really makes no sense.

We don't suddenly stop calling endangered species like Sumatran Rhinos aren't suddenly called White Rhinos just because White Rhinos happen to be the most populous.

You don't have anywhere in game that people can't recognize a blood elf from a high elf, nor that people are going around calling the high elves blood elves now.

Very odd statements to make. Blood Elf can't even be shorthand if High Elf has lesser letters lol.

And from an in-universe perspective there are likely far more High Elves within Stormwind itself than what's shown in-game. Again, do you truly believe in-universe Stormwind only houses maybe a few hundred NPCs?

What we see within in-game towns/cities/villages is a % allocation of how numerous or uncommon any given race is.

- - - Updated - - -

What's this armor and weapon ? It'd go very well with my VE Huntress

From Legion, the Nighthold Set I believe. Weapon is Marksmanship Hunter Legendary.

- - - Updated - - -

Hey guys, I just found this HE art, it looks great, with the same VE haircut.
I love this look !


https://www.deviantart.com/shadowpri...nter-831799693

Love that art! Now that's a High Elf

[Obelisk Kai]

Pointing out the exiles doesn't mean that just because Blood Elves are a majority suddenly the race's moniker itself turns to the majority population. That really makes no sense.

We don't suddenly stop calling endangered species like Sumatran Rhinos aren't suddenly called White Rhinos just because White Rhinos happen to be the most populous.

You don't have anywhere in game that people can't recognize a blood elf from a high elf, nor that people are going around calling the high elves blood elves now.

Very odd statements to make. Blood Elf can't even be shorthand if High Elf has lesser letters lol.

And from an in-universe perspective there are likely far more High Elves within Stormwind itself than what's shown in-game. Again, do you truly believe in-universe Stormwind only houses maybe a few hundred NPCs?

What we see within in-game towns/cities/villages is a % allocation of how numerous or uncommon any given race is.

The term Blood Elf has supplanted high elf in universe. Given the apparent destiny of the exiles is to fade away, and the Void Elves are on their own path (whether they survive into future generations is anyone's guess), Blood Elf may as well be the moniker for the race.

Take a real world example with a country that has renamed itself. Say, Burkina Faso which used to be known as Upper Volta. The demonym for the inhabitants of that country is now Burkinabé, it was changed from Upper Voltan. Now if someone wanted to make a political point and wished to insist he was Upper Voltan, not Burkinabé, then he is making a political choice to define as that. But he is still a part of the Burkinabé people as his objection IS political, not the beginning of a new culture.
(There is no political movement in Burkino Faso to my knowledge making that point, I use the nation as an example as one that has changed it's name in the past few decades).

In Azerothian terms the Blood Elves control the state, the military, the lands and the population of Quel'thalas. Some individuals may reject that and have made the personal choice to define themselves as high elves, but they remain a part of the same nation and people, and that nation and people have redefined themselves as Blood Elves.