Official High Elf Discussion Megathread

[Ardenaso]

Is there also an actual difference between the High Elf and Blood Elf morality? Other than Blood Elves not feeding their enemies to sharks alive

[Yarathir]

Is there also an actual difference between the High Elf and Blood Elf morality? Other than Blood Elves not feeding their enemies to sharks alive

Void Elves, at least, seem to take responsibility for some of their actions whereas Blood Elves just blame it on some other party because they can't handle scuffs to their ego.

[Traycor]

Just like I don't think it would be a smart move to give void elves the blood elf hair styles and colors, despite it making sense since both share the same legacy. Investing in different styles for each would help make them feel apart. While both share origins, each took its own spin on them.

Re: hair colors
Assuming they are just void elves, you would have a point. But if the "void elf" group now includes both blood elf void corrupted elves as well as Alliance high elves, then restricting the hair color is arbitrary and serves no logic or purpose.

[Magnagarde]

Calia Menethil is a key example of how that is not true. Others include Sir Zeliek and Alonsus Faol. The dead can wield and infuse themselves with light.

The dead can wield and infuse themseles with the light at this scale thanks to a myriad of unadressed soft retcons, whereas previously they were examples that were extremely rare and were considered outliers.

Calia Menethil is a key example, yes, an example introduced at the start of BfA. Hardly an example one can use when I'm discussing lore intregrity and retcons. Calia is in fact another lore transgression that shows the light raising someone into undeath for the first time; prior to this the resurrection process through the light would always restore a being to their living self. Faol came back only during Legion and isn't a talking point about consistency either. He is an example of them trying to justify and fortify their soft retcons to the allignment chart, if not showcase previous outliers at best.

Sir Zeliek was an undead paladin, whose connection to the light would render him concious of himself before falling back into being a servant of the Scourge. That is not the equivalent of a being forged in the light turning into a DK, from the perspective of previously established lore.

We've gone from pre-Cataclysm's Zeliek as the only example, all the way to having an army of undead Lightforged beings. These things are not the same and would've been frowned upon back in WotLK. It goes to show that nothing is set in stone and that everything can happen, even void elf paladins down the line, no matter how much I too believe that it would be a lorebreaking addition.

[elbleuet]

Is there also an actual difference between the High Elf and Blood Elf morality? Other than Blood Elves not feeding their enemies to sharks alive

Yes. High elves did not bow to Kil'Jaeden.

[Varodoc]

Re: hair colors
Assuming they are just void elves, you would have a point. But if the "void elf" group now includes both blood elf void corrupted elves as well as Alliance high elves, then restricting the hair color is arbitrary and serves no logic or purpose.

It'd be interesting to know what the term "Ren'dorei" refers to now. If it's just the OG void elves (Alleria+Umbric's group), or if it refers to the Sin'dorei/Quel'dorei scholars as well (those who will become the "new" void elves).

Also, thinking about it, void elves should also get green eyes... since there are a lot of blood elves in Telogrus Rift.

[Hyral]

Is there also an actual difference between the High Elf and Blood Elf morality? Other than Blood Elves not feeding their enemies to sharks alive

Mainly on their views towards mana addiction imo. High Elves really went out of their way to overcome it and Blood Elves stuffed their faces with fel.

[Yarathir]

It'd be interesting to know what the term "Ren'dorei" refers to now. If it's just the OG void elves (Alleria+Umbric's group), or if it refers to the Sin'dorei/Quel'dorei scholars as well (those who will become the "new" void elves).

Also, thinking about it, void elves should also get green eyes... since there are a lot of blood elves in Telogrus Rift.

I guess there'll be Void Elves (race) and Void Elves (political group)

[Lahis]

Uhhh...most players last we saw, were roughly evenly split. ABout 47 to 56, and after that Ion said they were roughly equal. Alliance isn't hurting for players.
You just lack hardcore players which has been the case since vanilla.
Seriously, there is a reason horde have always dominated the raid scene even when they had the smaller pop.
BFA is the only time where horde have had the majority of players.

I believe it will increase the number of casual players on the Alliance side of things, not that the current one isn't sizable to being with.

Okay, so Alliance lacks GOOD players. Doing high end content on Alliance gets harder and harder every tier when the players who can do it migrate to Horde.

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What about...

lots of money?

Will be one hell of a bribe to get top guilds and players to migrate to Alliance.

[Magnagarde]

Okay, so Alliance lacks GOOD players. Doing high end content on Alliance gets harder and harder every tier when the players who can do it migrate to Horde.

That's definitely true. I personally have at least ten friends I actively communicated with who were CE raiders and have switched over to the Horde. That's quite telling considering I knew them as someone who raided on the Horde.

[DeicideUH]

Re: hair colors
Assuming they are just void elves, you would have a point. But if the "void elf" group now includes both blood elf void corrupted elves as well as Alliance high elves, then restricting the hair color is arbitrary and serves no logic or purpose.

I understand, but just because the colors are different doesn't mean they can't feel natural. High elves were commonly portrayed with the silver/blue/dark blue hair of belf DKs since WotLK (Vereesa herself uses a DK-only color) and no one ever found that strange. I think giving void elves colors like bege, dark red, silver-blue, light blue, black and white would also benefit high elf players while giving the playable race something distinct. Bege can pass for blonde, albeita a slightly muted variation, dark red feels for redheads, silver-blue just fits high elves anyway, and so on.

Same if we get the option to switch between tentacles and braids, you benefit both high and void elf fans while keeping the race distinct from standard blood elf.

Which is also my fixation with the tattoos. Giving them to both blood and void elves, but using different styles and colors, would make them feel like two diverging cultures and help define each.

It'd be interesting to know what the term "Ren'dorei" refers to now. If it's just the OG void elves (Alleria+Umbric's group), or if it refers to the Sin'dorei/Quel'dorei scholars as well (those who will become the "new" void elves).

Also, thinking about it, void elves should also get green eyes... since there are a lot of blood elves in Telogrus Rift.

I hope we get more lore on void and high elves. Since void elf inception I wanted to see them working and developing together.
Unfortunately, I think Shadowlands' setting and story does not allow us to explore the mortal races well. Maybe there's something in the upcoming book, but from the synopsis I feel it will barely go beyond the Alleria/Sylvanas sibling problems.

[Kyriani]

It'd be interesting to know what the term "Ren'dorei" refers to now. If it's just the OG void elves (Alleria+Umbric's group), or if it refers to the Sin'dorei/Quel'dorei scholars as well (those who will become the "new" void elves).

Also, thinking about it, void elves should also get green eyes... since there are a lot of blood elves in Telogrus Rift.

Well the literal translation of Ren'dorei is "Children of the Void". I would say that a High Elf who studies and learns to use the void as Alleria has is as much a "Child of the Void" as a member of Umbric's original squad who were transformed by Durzaan's interrupted ritual. I mean, Alleria considers herself Ren'dorei and she wasn't transformed by that ritual, so I see no reason why new High Elves learning from Alleria and Locus Walker can't be Ren'dorei as well.

[Traycor]

I understand, but just because the colors are different doesn't mean they can't feel natural. High elves were commonly portrayed with the silver/blue/dark blue hair of belf DKs since WotLK (Vereesa herself uses a DK-only color) and no one ever found that strange. I think giving void elves colors like bege, dark red, silver-blue, light blue, black and white would also benefit high elf players while giving the playable race something distinct. Bege can pass for blonde, albeita a slightly muted variation, dark red feels for redheads, silver-blue just fits high elves anyway, and so on..

Personally, I could live with that. However, there's no reason a high elf shouldn't have blonde, especially since the racial leader has that hair color, and it's the most iconic high elf look.

[protip]

Some players are complaining that BE & HE will now be exactly the same. An excellent way to create the distinction is to give high elves their legacy warpaint. Blood elves design diverged from this in WC3, and it would be silly to revert BEs to high elf designs. Part of the whole point of high elves is that they never left that way of thinking behind. BEs would get their acane runes that fit the BE design philosophy and way of thinking. Problem solved.

The issue there is that blood elves and high elves are exactly the same, up to the point that they were exiled from Silvermoon. The fact that the styling for high elves changed between WC2 and WC3 could be for several reasons, but as far as I can tell, the most likely reason is that the high elves were simply given a new concept during the development of WC3. I don't have any particular attachment to the WC2 concept of high elves, but the idea that the blood elves are not an ancient, fiercely traditional society is contrary to the lore and the way they are portrayed in the game.

[Edward Wu]

High elf fans are dedicated to literally ripping the entire blood elf race from the Horde

Literally, guys. LITERALLY!

Man, High Elf fans are such monsters! How dare they do this?!

[FlubberPuddy]

It's funny to see that some try to 'keep people accountable' (whatever that means) while they forget about this one, hahaha.

Regardless, the discusion of wether or not High elves should be a thing is dead. It's obvious that saying they shouldn't always was pretty weak, and now they are trying to damage control by tangential points that nobody cares about anymore.

Yes, now it seems like the move appears to be still denying options after losing denying the biggest options: blue eyes and human skin tones!

We'll see how that turns out when Void Elves get their turn for proper customization passes like with other Allied Races.

[Traycor]

The issue there is that blood elves and high elves are exactly the same, up to the point that they were exiled from Silvermoon. The fact that the styling for high elves changed between WC2 and WC3 could be for several reasons, but as far as I can tell, the most likely reason is that the high elves were simply given a new concept during the development of WC3. I don't have any particular attachment to the WC2 concept of high elves, but the idea that the blood elves are not an ancient, fiercely traditional society is contrary to the lore and the way they are portrayed in the game.

The concept art in the OP shows the WCII designs as well as the WCIII design that matches the old look. Importantly, the visual shift comes specifically with blood elves.

From that point on blood elves and high elves are distinctly different things from a game perspective. Never again do blood elves have a high elf design. It makes no sense to give that to blood elves when it's one of the things that makes high elves distinct.

[FlubberPuddy]

Literally, guys. LITERALLY!

Man, High Elf fans are such monsters! How dare they do this?!

If asking to look like my faction leaders Alleria and Vereesa is wrong...

I don't wanna be right.

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Void Elves, at least, seem to take responsibility for some of their actions whereas Blood Elves just blame it on some other party because they can't handle scuffs to their ego.

Like that Lorash bitch lmao

Don't worry though if anyone is a Blood Elf fan, I'm sure Blood Elves will get to keep some hairstyles exclusive to em, like their prissy crown hairstyle to keep up their princess mindset

[TriHard]

Jesus, they finally make high elves happen and y'all complaining like a bunch of babies still. Be happy with what you got, also for those idiots that ask for void elf paladin as well, sit the fuck down, you have blood elves.

[protip]

The concept art in the OP shows the WCII designs as well as the WCIII design that matches the old look. Importantly, the visual shift comes specifically with blood elves.

From that point on blood elves and high elves are distinctly different things from a game perspective. Never again do blood elves have a high elf design. It makes no sense to give that to blood elves when it's one of the things that makes high elves distinct.

If by different you mean that they're wearing red and have green eyes, sure that's useful in a strategy game context, but as has been discussed at length, eye color does not change their nature, nor is it definitive of blood elves as a group.