Do you think that allied race lobbying actually works?

[RayoftheSun]

Over the years ever since allied races were introduced there has been all kinds of races that have been requested. Some requested allied races have been added, but there has also been many that have been requested since the dawn of wow and still aren't playable. And there is no guarantee the ones were added was due to popular request. And even if allied races are requested. Another question would be,"Should blizzard add races based on popular request?" Do we want things to be a popularity contest? But thats another question for another day. My question stands. Due the lack of certainy I decided not to make a poll for this. Just share your thoughts.

[Kithelle]

Oh some allied races definitely weren't popular requests...aint no one who really asked for Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei, Mechgnomes, and Highmoutain Tauren.

To answer you original question, I doubt it...I think the Devs just add what they want to add, yes some of them were popular requests but the Devs wouldn't have added them unless they wanted to add them.

There are some popular requests that have been requested that the Devs just likely don't want to add...like Ogre/Moknathal are probably the biggest examples. High Elves are never gonna happen (At least for me I specifically wanted to play a High Elf Paladin...Void Elf Paladin would make no sense and wont happen) and the only other races I personally want will never happen because it would be a nightmare to adjust gear for those races

I don't know if we'll see many if any more allied races...since they decided to add a lot of customization of what allied races would be to current races

[Dalheim]

Oh some allied races definitely weren't popular requests...aint no one who really asked for Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei, Mechgnomes, and Highmoutain Tauren.

They did, but not as a race, more as customisation option, which is what they should've been (just like Dark Iron and Mag'har).

[GringoD]

Of course it works. The rabble just needs to be loud enough.

[Rootsbum]

Well, void elves kinda show that it works. But clearly not if Blizzard doesnt find the race interesting.

Ogres must be the most requested with Naga. And the Jinju

[Mirishka]

Oh some allied races definitely weren't popular requests...aint no one who really asked for Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei, Mechgnomes, and Highmoutain Tauren.

Mechagnome customization was a pretty common request in discussions surrounding subraces. I know that this is a mind-blowing revelation, but the world does not begin and end with what you do or do not want.

[Eazy]

It works and it sells.

Though personally I hate the idea of allied races, it's because I think that's a huge amount of work wasted... and all of them should be just used as a bonus customization options for actual existing races.
I just cannot think about seeing vulpera/void elves in the cinematics... and I know it won't probably happen. The whole balance of power was already shattered. Some races don't have their leaders, some races don't have their homes. Some races looks totally out of the blue. etc.

For me Blizzard shot themselves in the foot with that idea.

[Chromell]

Since Classic I've always wanted to play an Ogre. Come on, Blizzard, make it happen!

[oblakoff]

Of course it works. Void Elves are here just for replacement of High Elves which was much requested. The "TINKER CLASS" mob finally have mechagnomes, who can just learn engineering. Furries had a whole expansion back in the day and now a new race.

[Kithelle]

Mechagnome customization was a pretty common request in discussions surrounding subraces. I know that this is a mind-blowing revelation, but the world does not begin and end with what you do or do not want.

Yup....Mechagnomes were so requested, that's why even though their racials are considered almost borderline op they're the least played allied race

Look who has the ego

[RayoftheSun]

Yup....Mechagnomes were so requested, that's why even though their racials are considered almost borderline op they're the least played allied race

Look who has the ego

So do you think blizzard not going with Sethrak proves they don't listen?

[LordVargK]

So do you think blizzard not going with Sethrak proves they don't listen?

They listen, but they don't grant every wish. And Sethrak is not even in the top ten of wishes. I think playable murlocs would trump sethrak.
Top wish was high elves, which the Horde already has and Alliance get with SL. Zandalari and Brown orcs were also wishes (well, in the case of orcs the wish was not for an AR but for more customization, but still). Then there are playable Naga, Eredar, Vrykul, Mogu, etc, etc. I think older, established races are more requested than new ones.

[oblakoff]

Which once again proves that vocal minorities are indeed minorities, but very loud

[SoundOfGuns]

Over the years ever since allied races were introduced there has been all kinds of races that have been requested. Some requested allied races have been added, but there has also been many that have been requested since the dawn of wow and still aren't playable. And there is no guarantee the ones were added was due to popular request. And even if allied races are requested. Another question would be,"Should blizzard add races based on popular request?" Do we want things to be a popularity contest? But thats another question for another day. My question stands. Due the lack of certainy I decided not to make a poll for this. Just share your thoughts.

I mean it clearly didn't? The Vulpera were clearly going to happen since the Alpha. People got hooked onto the theory Sethrak became a thing tho, including yours truly, and if you browse through the votes on MMOC at the time, people really wanted them, wanted highelfs and those two won out every single time. Yet what we got were Mechagnomes which always sat on the last or second last place below things like Ogres.

I kind of got to conclude: What the players wanted here didn't matter at all.

[Fistfighter]

No, I am pretty sure Allied races were already all made way before BfA was even announced, so not a single one of the hundreds 2500 pages long threads had anything to do with the decisions

[Kithelle]

So do you think blizzard not going with Sethrak proves they don't listen?

Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't...sometimes they just asspull. Sethrak I imagine is a case more of it would be hard to make them work...not as hard as say Naga but still a pain I imagine.

Reason why I'm sure I will never see the two races I really want, Arakkoa and Tortollan...because it would be too hard or they'd have to leave them practically armorless which would leave people complaining.

[Mackwiss]

I'm a fan since the rts games, mainly Warcraft II... I'm still waiting for Ogres and Forest Trolls... one easily solved with a skin, my main is a Shaman Troll, would change him to a Forest Troll tomorrow. And Ogres are just part of the lore... I know it sucks because they are too tall to enter Undercity for ex but could this not be solved with some clever redesign or some kind of mechanism? or just basically ignore this altogether for the sake of lore? or just lower all ogre models to the extreme limit of the smallest passages neded? I still want Ogres in 2020 #wewantplayableogres2020

[RayoftheSun]

Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't...sometimes they just asspull. Sethrak I imagine is a case more of it would be hard to make them work...not as hard as say Naga but still a pain I imagine.

Reason why I'm sure I will never see the two races I really want, Arakkoa and Tortollan...because it would be too hard or they'd have to leave them practically armorless which would leave people complaining.

Though not the best solution, I do find Zandalari's moonkin form that looks like an Arakkoa to be pretty cool and to some degree satisfies the itch for Arakkoa. Not fully of course.

One thing I do wonder though. Blizzard did seem to explicitly add the high elf customization for high elf fans. This could counter the idea that they don't listen to some extent.

[Azerate]

Some of the allied races are answers to people's requests over the years. Mechagnome, Zandalari, Maghar, Dark Iron Dwarf were all requested pretty regularly over the years, so in that sense these are answers to players' requests, yes.

But if you mean people coming up with 100 artificial examples of potential allied races since the release of the first allied race and now, then no, these aren't being used. People seem to misunderstand how long old concepts of things being released are. Vulpera were probably thought up as an allied race back when players were progressing Emerald Nightmare. Sethrak were never meant to be, and just because there were some people who wanted them in 8.0 and 8.1 doesn't mean they could happen.

Yup....Mechagnomes were so requested, that's why even though their racials are considered almost borderline op they're the least played allied race

Look who has the ego

There was definitely a vocal minority asking for mechagnome options over the years. If anything, this confirms how the forum reality does not reflect what the actual player base wants.

[Whackadoodle]

Yup....Mechagnomes were so requested, that's why even though their racials are considered almost borderline op they're the least played allied race

Look who has the ego

It's almost like locking them behind Mechagon was... bad.

Locking allied races behind awful rep grinds obviously wasn't the answer, and Blizzard finally realized it.