But currently, the High Elves are a race that rely on Blood Elves to get lore. Without Blood Elves, have High Elves ever received any lore…even going back as far as TBC.
They need complete and utter detachment from Quel’Thalas in every aspect. Not just the region herself, but everything within, associated with Quel’Thalas.
They were neutral and under Dalaran rule back in WoTLK, but they were also a political sector that was deeply opposed to the Horde being accepted.
We know in the lore, that those views continue in Crystalsong, otherwise the battle over Shandaral would have been resolved years ago.
Probably just be a development thing.
I wouldn’t say “no” to Shandaral being updated with ancient Highborne buildings, but in ruin (Nar’thalas) with some High Elf Thalassian Arcane Sanctums.
Well, yes, because at the start, that’s what they were, a story addition/historical record to the blood elf narrative. Looking at WC3 TFT there wasn’t even a mention of high elf dissidants splitting off from Quel’thalas.
The interest has only surfaced recently after blizzard remembered they have all these existing past narratives that they can do cool stuff with, including the high elf narrative
If the player character is involved in the building and setting up of it rather then it just existing one day, I think that’d be cool, otherwise the zone would work yes
Could make it so that its like a campaign by its own right, every x quests there is a meaningfull one where you assist in the creation of a new structure and affiliated services to it.
It also shouldn’t be a shared faction questline but alliance only (looking at you gilneas)
I worry that player involvement will result in what Warfronts were. Gathering x/100 of wood and x/500 arcane residue…that’s not fun or engaging.
And you wouldn’t need to be involved with the current night elf buildings being updated to Highborne buildings, akin to Nar’thalas. It would be like Blizzard updating Goldshire or Northshire Abbey with the updated Human Build Models.
Well it truly started in MoP to be honest, when the High Elves were given a lot of story, but that was primarily lead by Blood Elves and Humans.
But the fact remains; High Elves must be completed detached and fully independent in order to qualify as a playable race. They cannot have any association with anything that is “Blood Elf.”
Imagine losing 98% of your kin and not even remembering them. What the Sin’dorei did is arguably the most heroic act in Warcraft lore. They will forever carry the name of their fallen with honor.
What often makes me laugh is when people think the Blood Elves got their name, the Sin’dorei, because of Kael’thas’s pact or because they joined the Horde. The Blood Elves were already called the Sin’dorei even while they were with the Alliance and before their eyes turned green.
It’s similar to saying that the Shal’dorei are no longer Quel’dorei just because they joined the Horde.
This reminded me of Elisande’s the best quote in the WoW history.
Quel’dorei? You are peasants playing at nobility, all too willing to mingle with lesser races that dilute your bloodline. You are unworthy of the name high elves!
People think the term “Blood Elves” came in when the Elves took to using Fel Magic and Fel Crystals around their lands. “Blood of Demons” and it’s so cringeworthy that I thought they were trolling, but they were deadly serious.
And these are the same fringe lunatics of the High Elf fanbase, who want everything the Blood Elves currently have. It’s quite embarrassing because what is clear is that those lunatics don’t even know what they truly want because they don’t even know the lore for the race they claim to love.
It’s almost like a crazy Sylvanas fan who made the claim that Sylvanas wasn’t undead…despite him being obsessed with her in a really creepy way. (Stating he’d been up close to the status of Sylvanas in Brill and was “part of her skin.”)
I’m a huge Shen’dralar fan and love Night Elf Mages, but what is confirmed is that “Highborne” is a group of people and it’s confirmed in the lore that Highborne marriages were often arranged to keep the Highborne blood and not have it tainted by Lowborns.
Vestia Moonspear is an example of a Kaldorei Mage. She isn’t Highborne
Lysander Starstrike is another example of a young Kaldorei Mage. He isn’t Highborne
I watched an RP video about Night Elf Mages during Legion and the woman in that video made it clear and I quote; “Not all Night Elf Mages are Highborne.”
Yeah pretty much, I think the main reason was Kael’thas not being present for the scourge invasion but afterwards being the one to say yeah we blood elves now, but it wasn’t the only reason, personal convictions of individual elves also played a part there.
This needs some nuance, according to beyond the dark portal (yay book lore) anestarian made the high elves leave the alliance after the second war, the elves that helped in the third war told in warcraft 3 were either ‘concerned citizens’ who independantly showed up to help, kirin tor or part of a token force sent by the then still high elves for the sake of past allegiances, but going by booklore (yay) their kingdom hasn’t been part of the alliance since somewhere between the second war and third war.
Later this turned out to be a mistake (sending only a token force) because the humans couldn’t beat back the scourge on their own, so this eventually came to bite the elves in the back after lordaeron was beaten down and Quel’thalas now stood alone
And that’s where I think a main issue of the misunderstandings come from: lore that exists behind a paywall of a book that never gets any ingame representation
I do know otherwise they had good ties with for example the wildhammer clan who actively gave displaced elves fleeing from the scourge invasion a safe place to sit out the storm
You haven’t kept up. They will not release “high elves” as a race. That race is both the blood elves and the void elves. It’s why we have the fair skin option for void elves as well.
Could always do with more customization options though.
Grand Magus Talestra from the Nexus dungeon is a big loop hole because I don’t even know if she’s a High Elf or Blood Elf.
She wasn’t in favour of Kael allying with the Naga, but she didn’t forgive the Kirin Tor for sentencing her people to execution.
The only real confirmation that we have, post Anasterian dropping from the Alliance is that the High Elves kept up positive relations with the Wildhammer Dwarves. Personally, I think this was done as a counter to Tolkien’s “Elves vs Dwarves.” Warcraft took the opposite route to that with Elves and Dwarves being on very friendly terms…until TBC came out and we beheaded a Dwarf spy.
The Kaldorei Empire was essentially “modeled” after our modern social structure. It features the elite and the noble houses that believe they should not marry or form alliances outside their own circles. (We have them even now) This also applies to the Highborne, a group of elite Night Elves who began to see themselves as superior to other elves. To emphasize this, they started forming alliances with others of their own status. It is beyond me to see someone not understanding this.
By the way, Shen’dralar is one of the noble house names, and there are three active noble houses in Suramar as well.
Wiki states she’s a high elf, but realistically she’s betrayed both factions to join Malygos when he tried to deny magic to the mortal races. So if I had to make a guess neither branch of thalassian elves would probably be friendly with her
That said the wiki says nothing about her post wrath so I feel like the page is outdated if there’s more to her story then her appearance in wrath
Admittedly my dungeon boss lore is a bit shoddy in earlier expacs
I am a fan of the fact that wow elves aren’t tolkien elves, I love tolkiens universe but every elf race in every game being basically tolkien elves does make me have fatigue for that portrayal of elves. Dragon age also does it interestingly so wow is thankfully not the only one.
As for the ambassador dwarf killing, I personally try to see that more as an alliance spy because it was a report we got from the night elf spies that hinted at the amabassador also being a spy
and just listen 
