Hi all. This is for all and especially @ravenmoon @EnigmAddict , @Tanaria and @Alanar.
I’ve not fully caught up on the topic. But here are my thoughts so far.
Progressing Night Elves - Short Version
Depends if blizzard want to focus on races
Also if they want to tell two independent stories for the faction races where the only interaction is conflict or they want to tell a realistic intertwined story that takes advantage of the the fact this is one race in two strains touching each faction and beyond when you include the neutral organisations and non faction playable ones like Illidari.
But it’s my opinion Night elves are worth a full focus. Because of how broad and rich their story and make up is. Only a handful of races warrant full focus. Humans, Orcs, Night elves. Recently, Blood elves, Trolls and Dwarves. Everyone else is support with a smaller niche story. Draenei and Pandas could grow if blizz desired to do an 8 major race focus. - but the rest are full support.
And I mean the whole Night elf package, wood elf portion is not unique enough or interesting enough for singular race focus approach. It’s okay if the alliance is the story or all the elf races are one story, but not enough for the Night elf group as a major race campaign and focus.
I’m okay with Darnassians largely being wood elf side of the Kaldorei and Nightborne being arcane side, but only when together they form a whole and not at the expense of Illidari or Highborne who should have roles.
Highborne could play a bridging role of the stories of the two races as a whole. But if they are faction separate then Highborne roles must grow to represent the arcane heritage and half of the Kaldorei while Nightborne either tell a different version of the same story but for horde fans. Or they become something entirely different (which really defeats why they were intro’d imo)
Depends on What They Wanted The Allied Elf races for
It all depends on what blizzard want to do. I assumed the good advantage of void elves alliance and Nightborne horde was to bring popularly desired Thalassian story home to playable folk on the alliance and Kaldorei stories open up to also include horde respectively.
Not for them to be totally new races. Just very minor variations of the blood elves and night elves with a unique twist but bringing the heart , essence and feel of those popular races home to the other faction given their popularity and demand.
What They Bring to the Table
It makes sense that void elves are void focus instead of light for a variation on the blood elf flavour. But blizzard must note they don’t eliminate the desire or need for the high elf. and Nightborne have chronomancers and arcane heavy focus but haven’t stopped the desire for Nightborne druids or Kaldorei Highborne.
But do note the differences aren’t identical, they don’t need to be. Blood elves don’t have a void thing but night elves very much have an arcane thing. Just that the Nightborne show it much more. This shows the two major elf groups are their own thing not converse mirrors of each other.
It’s better this way. Night elf fan base have different expectations from Thalassians and blizz gave them very independent and diverging storIED. Night elves span a 15 k year period focusing on issues they wrote I. Specifically for their race concerning their arcane talent and nature love. While Thalassians story is the last 7k years heavily involving EK affairs, horde and alliance, trolls and their own issues. They are not supposed to be converse mirrors but separate distinct groups with a connection to each other but otherwise their own distinct elven people. Note that they both have extensive lore so they work better as two different stories of distinct elf races rather than as a combined whole. Nightborne are part of that Night elf narrative and void elves that Thalassian narrative and while void elves can befriend night elves and nightborne befriend blood elves - one is clearly night group the other Thalassian.
But that is just my opinion based on how they have been written and presented so far.
That is the heart of the swap I felt. Which is why I do feel Nightborne priests are Elune priests and they will get druids, but those won’t be as major in them as in the Darnassians just s the arcane isn’t as major in the Darnassians as it is.
Possibility as Independents
Blizzard however might want to grow void elves and Nightborne into full races like the core races. They will always be elves and tied to their cores cos that was their main thing. But they could develop totally independent and become other things. However the worse would be for void elves to become human lackey sidekicks and Nightborne blood elf ones. It’s boring and a waste. Also given the elf fatigue going around. To be honest these two really work as part of the full story of their core counterpart on the opposite faction like an interesting mix, new flavour rather than A full elf race hugging the limelight from other core races.
The story of the Night group of elves should be all the night elf groups with the Darnassians and Shalassians the main stars as they are the faction representatives , but other groups have their place and extend that story.
The story of the void elves is not an independent side race, but part of the story of the Thalassian elves that stars both the void/high elves on the Allari a very and the blood elves on the horde with other non faction groups like San’layn , fel elves , wretched etc playing minor roles.