Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Traycor]

The question is: what can they do now? I really doubt they'll give us playable high elves (at least in the near future). So, how will Blizzard react to all the high elf talk?

Blizzard can be very nimble when they want to be. Based on what we're seeing so far, we have 4 Allied Races pre launch, and 4 more coming at launch. That to me makes it likely that 8 more could be coming over the course of the expansion.

All Blizzard really has to do is announce that one of those 8 will be High Elves. Even if it's two years away, that will settle people down.

The other option is they could add customization to help make Void Elves 'feel' like High Elves. That choice is a sour one for me, but I think it would be just enough to settle the worst of the furor.

- - - Updated - - -

The fact that they listened to what Horde players though Alliance players wanted is exactly a problem if indeed it went down like that. I think Ian and the Dev team don't actually listen to the Alliance player base very much, but instead hear what Alliance wants as filtered through the Horde player base.

It doesn't matter how vocal we are when the Dev team seems to listen to Horde player base more and is apt to give them whatever they like and only hears the Alliance player base through the Horde player base as an intermediary. This owing to the fact that most of the Dev team are Horde players.

I don't think it's total Horde bias. After all, it's a multi-billion dollar franchise and they want their fans happy on both factions. But I do think on this particular issue they heard the Horde voices loudest, especially because many High Elf fans like myself were just quietly waiting. I've never once posted about playable High Elves prior to this thread, but I've wanted to play one since before Vanilla launched.

[Theodarzna]

I don't think it's total Horde bias. After all, it's a multi-billion dollar franchise and they want their fans happy on both factions. But I do think on this particular issue they heard the Horde voices loudest, especially because many High Elf fans like myself were just quietly waiting. I've never once posted about playable High Elves prior to this thread, but I've wanted to play one since before Vanilla launched.

They heard Horde voices loudest because they play on the Horde. Even if it's not malicious, the fact that they interact with one subset of the fanbase WAY more than the other will color their perception and lead to such misjudgements.

[DeicideUH]

If you look at it purely from a design perspective, they thought it was a good decision. Different color pallet, tentacles growing from the head, different racials, different theme, etc... Designers like designing things that are different. It's just the nature of the work.

I honestly think they heard all the Horde players claiming that Alliance players just wanted the Thalassian model and decided that was true. So Blizzard's only constraint was that the new race have the Thalassian model. Hence, Void Elves.

Which to me proves that the High Elf fans weren't vocal enough about exactly what we wanted. So I made this thread as part of the dialogue to show Blizzard what we do want.

Truth be told, high elf fans have always been vocal, but their detractors have always been very vocal as well. I think Blizzard listened to the later more, and ended up making something that was bound to not appease the former.

Blizzard should at the very least have tried to understand what people wanted in the high elves in the first place. The void elves ended up being the polar opposite of everything people found cool in the helf concept.

That kinda depends on how many allied races they're going to implement and how fast they're gonna do it. If they're gonna do a lot of them and implement some in mid-expansion patches, then prospects of HE eventually getting their turn are pretty decent.

Adding high elves would have some problems, thought.

I don't see them giving a second blood elf model race to the Alliance so soon. A Horde race would need to be paired with them. A lot of non-high elf fans on the Alliance would feel cheated by getting a "cheap" race. And development takes time: Blizzard probably has the entire BfA plans for allied races mapped already. Would Blizzard scrap some of their plans in order to appease a portion of their player base? I doubt that.

The other option is they could add customization to help make Void Elves 'feel' like High Elves. That choice is a sour one for me, but I think it would be just enough to settle the worst of the furor.

I'd hate if they just did that. Yes, I want more options for void elves, but just giving them high elf skins and calling it a day wouldn't be enough at all. The problem with void elves isn't just their appearance. It's that they are non-entities in lore and, so far, BfA seems to not have anything in store for them. They are absent even in zones that will have void-related stuff. The only void elf out in the world in BfA zones so far is a flight master in Nazmir... Where's their lore, Blizzard?

Truthfully, I'd be somewhat appeased if we got a lot more customization for Void Elves (including some high elven-like options) AND their lore was developed in a way that ties them closely to high elves (kinda like worgen/gilnean relationship), so both races are featured together from now on, and void elves act as a elite force that defends that joint racial group. By tying the races together and keep high elven lore active, maybe players would accept void elves more?

[Traycor]

Truthfully, I'd be somewhat appeased if we got a lot more customization for Void Elves (including some high elven-like options) AND their lore was developed in a way that ties them closely to high elves (kinda like worgen/gilnean relationship), so both races are featured together from now on, and void elves act as a elite force that defends that joint racial group. By tying the races together and keep high elven lore active, maybe players would accept void elves more?

I could see Blizzard adding them together with more customization so that you were basically playing a Void Elf or a High Elf. But if my High Elf got possessed by the void every time I rolled into combat, that would not work for me at all.

[DeicideUH]

I could see Blizzard adding them together with more customization so that you were basically playing a Void Elf or a High Elf. But if my High Elf got possessed by the void every time I rolled into combat, that would not work for me at all.

Neither for me, but I'm not talking about pretending to be a high elf. Rather, I'm talking about making void elf lore more welcoming to high elf fans. You may not be an actual high elf, but you are closely working with them, as the two races would be forming a single society.

[Traycor]

Neither for me, but I'm not talking about pretending to be a high elf. Rather, I'm talking about making void elf lore more welcoming to high elf fans. You may not be an actual high elf, but you are closely working with them, as the two races would be forming a single society.

No matter what direction they take, this seems likely. They hotfixed to add the High Elves and Void Elves hanging out together in the Mage District of Stormwind, so they seem to be intending to make them allies who cooperate and support each other.

[Jokubas]

I think my biggest concern about high elves at this point is whether or not we'll get any of the cool designs that have been brainstormed in here. ;P

For the record, getting high elves at all would satisfy me (as long as it wasn't another compromise like void elves). I just find it funny that, all along I've been fine with just getting blood elves with blue eyes, but this thread has made me realize how interesting they could really be made if you really focus on all the little details. Tattoos/war paint like Warcraft II, scars to show them being more militant or desperate, options to show them mingling with humans, longer beards as a result of that or simply more of a practical thing. The more I think about it, the more I feel like blood elves are going to start needing some brainstorming to keep up. Of course, that's if those things are actually added.

[DeicideUH]

No matter what direction they take, this seems likely. They hotfixed to add the High Elves and Void Elves hanging out together in the Mage District of Stormwind, so they seem to be intending to make them allies who cooperate and support each other.

There’s small hints that may be the case, but, as everything related to void elf lore, it’s so badly covered and shown that we don’t know anything for sure.

[Mutineer]

The Silvermoon Scholars and High Elf Wayfarers in the rift likely hint towards expanding void elf customization to allow more high elven appearances down the line. This makes sense to me for two reasons:

1) Void can purge fel, so Silvermoon Scholars learning how to manipulate the void could restore their blue eyes. High elves can just join outright. Void elves, despite starting off as a "crack squad," can actually recruit more Thalassian elves.

2) Entropic Embrace goes a long way to make even peachy void elves stand out in combat, minimizing the any potential problems with Alliance having "blood elves."

I know it's not what this thread is for, or what most people really want, but I think it's the best bet anyone has for high elves at this point. Besides, void or high elf, they're all kin and have a lot of story to be tell in trying to come together on behalf of the Alliance. I know Umbric technically leads the void elves, but who actually cares about him? Alleria and Vereesa have a lot of time to talk between now and Teldrassil.

[Lebanese Dude]

I disagree. Void Elves should remain their own thing. Their racials, culture, and general aesthetic all lean towards the Void and that's not what High Elves are about at all nor what makes them appealing in the first place. To make them work like Maghar they'd have to neutralize all the "Void"-y things about them and make them as basic as possible. I don't see that happening. There's so much potential for them that it would be a huge waste for both Void Elves AND High Elves.

What people are doing is boiling it down to the model, and frankly I would rather wait a year for an actual High Elf allied race rather than just have them be effectively eliminated as a prospect. Allied Races aren't exclusive to BfA nor are they limited. 3.0s of base races will inevitably happen in some form, and it's presumptuous to assume they won't return to the classics like Forest Trolls and Wildhammer Dwarves. As far as 2.0s are concerned we only have Worgen and Goblins who have not had their models/racial identity used in some form.

Also we really don't need a copy paste of the model. We already know High Elves have a "diluted" bloodline. All they would have to do is make them resemble Humans a bit more (with facial maps for both High Elves and Half-Elves). That would only require a posture change, some scaling in the model, and new face maps.

Arator and Kalec need new models tbh... lol

Besides, people are also getting much more excited for the prospect of Undead Elves so there's your parity.

That being said, there are definitely hints that they might take the VE customization approach. It would disappoint me, a lot, but I would move on and hope they make Half-Elves some day in the future (because that's what I really want).

[Mutineer]

I see where you're coming from, and I don't entirely disagree, but on the other hand I think there's a lot of potential having all the Thalassian elves under one racial umbrella in the Alliance.

Outside their appearance, where are the void themes for void elves?

They were on their way to being transformed into ethereals, and after that was interrupted they were left in the state we see them today. They didn't choose to look like that. They're learning to resist and manipulate the void's influence under Alleria, and sharing those teachings with high and blood elves alike. They're blood elves whose research went awry, but is now back on track under the banner of the Alliance instead of Silvermoon.

High elves that join them, just like Alleria, would ultimately be the same high elves that chose the Alliance over their own people--both in the Third War, and throughout WoW itself. Void is ultimately just a cosmic force, and if Alleria is able to effectively harness it for good, then why wouldn't other high elves seek to do the same? They've always been masters of magic, after all. It makes sense to me that they'd seek to expand their expertise to a new domain, especially one the blood elves can't.

[Powerogue]

With the location and justification for cosmetic differences integrated consider me finally on board with this idea. It's a good opportunity to have Varessa do something, and I'm legitimately interested in what Blizzard could come up with for a post-Outland version of that zone. The Silver Covenant as we know them could stay an independent faction, or Blizzard could simply say most of them were assimilated into either the void elves or this allied race.

[FlubberPuddy]

There are apparently High Elves (Spellweaver NPCs) alongside Wildhammer Dwarves as part of Alliance Warfronts and there's a named Major High Elf NPC - Arcanist Illira

I would not count them as assimilating into Void Elves just yet. Mayhaps we do see their introduction later down the line when 3.0 races get worked on

[Deleted]

Wildhammers and High elves working together, that's more like it!

[Azrathel]

Just want to add that according to the still used, old high elf models of Quel'Dorei Wraiths in Goldenmist Village, high elves appear to have been able to have red eyes.

This might of course be an effect of being a wraith, though no other wraiths in the world appear to have this feature.

[Deleted]

Just want to add that according to the still used, old high elf models of Quel'Dorei Wraiths in Goldenmist Village, high elves appear to have been able to have red eyes.
http://wow.zamimg.com/uploads/screen...rei-wraith.jpg
This might of course be an effect of being a wraith, though no other wraiths in the world appear to have this feature.

Best not open that can of worms, lol...

EDIT: to clarify I find it a tad ridiculous how much attention (both + and -) the colour of their eyes is getting when other differences could be emphasized(introduced if need be) to distinguish the BEs and HEs, much like this thread has been advocating.

[Azrathel]

Best not open that can of worms, lol...

EDIT: to clarify I find it a tad ridiculous how much attention (both + and -) the colour of their eyes is getting when other differences could be emphasized(introduced if need be) to distinguish the BEs and HEs, much like this thread has been advocating.

Fair points, of course. I just think we should have as much information available here as possible. I must say I agree that eye colours don't need to be the main differentiating feature between high elves and blood elves. But it's one possibility. White and purple were mentioned earlier.

Speaking of which, with Fel energies giving blood elves green eyes, and Light energies from the Sunwell turning some eyes yellow... Was it the original, more purely arcane energies from the Sunwell, without added Light, that gave high elven eyes the blue glow to begin with? And how would that affect high elves today? Highvale elves who don't use magic - will their eyes be changed? What about Silver Covenant elves?

[Deleted]

I'll admit I'm not the most well-versed in their lore, but I think High Elves are portrayed as having an in-between of normal eyes and glowing eyes without pupils, regardless of their opinion of magic?



(her expression cracks me up)

[Techno-Druid]

I'll admit I'm not the most well-versed in their lore, but I think High Elves are portrayed as having an in-between of normal eyes and glowing eyes without pupils, regardless of their opinion of magic?



(her expression cracks me up)

All elves have pupils.

[Deleted]

Night Elf player models don't seem to, but you're right, Blood Elves' eyes are similar to Alleria there. Shows what I know, lol