and was always hostile to the horde and never campaigned with them against the alliance.
123 are a big yikes
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Not much of an expert of Human kingdoms myself, but there are people claiming the following:
During the Second War, the Alteraci Humans betrayed the Alliance by aiding the Orcish Horde. As a result, Stromgarde placed the kingdom under martial law, where it fell into a state of anarchy, and eventually collapsed. Some Alteraci Humans would go on to form the Syndicate, while others (incoming headcanon) migrated south to serve the Defias Brotherhood.
Source:
https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/2401715-Alteraci-Human-Allied-Race-(Fan-Concept)
Just to make sure I am crystal clear… to me, it makes just as LITTLE sense as the High Elves. I do NOT think this should be a thing (or the High Elves, considering Alliance already got the Belf model with the Void Elves… see points 1 and 3 listed above…)
But sure, if you STILL want your High Elves, then you could maybe have them AGAIN (lol) in exchange for the Humans on the Horde. What do you say? After all they both are nothing but ‘rogues’ from their factions with no racial distinction, who took a different political standing on whatever matter.
It was sarcasm, man…
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Ouch.
The High Elves do have an identity though.
True, they have the same culture as the Blood Elves because they are the same people.
Blood Elf ≈ High Elf.
But a group being at odds with the leadership of their country to such a degree that they are on opposite sides in a war is enough of an identifying marker in my opinion.
I don’t care much whether they are made playable or not, but they do have an identity. That of the Elves who refused to suck mana out of living creatures, who refused to ally with their old enemies etc.
A small group of rebels refusing to align with the majority is a common thing in storytelling. Sometimes they are the good guys and other times they are the bad guys.
But to say they lack an identity is factually incorrect in my opinion.
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Mistake in a sense that I can picture the Blizz thought process very clearly, “We’re giving the belf model to them, what more do they want?”. Obviously it didn’t work. I’m not trying to put down the velf players though, they are now here to stay and even I made one. But to say that all are same interchangeably (“High elves are blood elves erk!”) is false, there’s more to it than the body silhouette. Or is it just me that likes more flavouring in their races and lore, for the sake of Immersion®?
I don’t even think they will or should add them, it’s just that I find the anti reasoning so absurd, which makes me think horde are just giant babies.
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I love how most of this thread are Horde players telling Alliance players that High Elves shouldn’t happen because Alliance have Void Elves and they should shut up.
Grow up lads.
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Stop responding to Retributor
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Come on, calling someone ‘giant babies’ is hardly a benchmark of maturity itself now is it?
For starters, as with the pro-helf people, the anti-helf people are spread across both factions, then you get people in the middle, who don’t care but have an interest. (In my case this is blowing holes in ridiculous lore mistakes and people trying to claim High Elves should have a different model)
It isn’t quite as simple as you would imagine. Certainly in the last thread there were some Alliance posters who were very incensed that an Allied Race slot would be ‘wasted’ on High Elves.
Unfortunately it is the nature of these things that they often descend to the lowest common denominator, as opposed to actually being constructive discussion as to what High Elves are and how they could work. The last thread, for all its length, was actually productive at times…
I probably should do, for the good of my sanity, but sometimes it is tough, seeing someone being so blatantly wrong, and thinking “Hang on, what if someone reads that and thinks he is -right-?” 
So many people seem to think that Void Elves are a anywhere close to a decent compensation for people who wanted High Elves. I want to play an Alliance-loyal High Elf, not some random Voidy abomination overburdened with new lore that I aggressively don’t care for.
…No offense, local Void Elves, but y’all gotta admit that the entire Void part is pretty difficult to dismiss.
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Those elves are dead.
But no.
Anti-anything
Is not an identity in and by itself. That is just a clutch, a plot-device. Having ideals, motivations, everything that makes up a personality, is an identity.
So far, the High Elves have only been anti-blood elf, that is everything they are, everything they have ever been since their return in TBC.
If their view on the Alliance and Horde was enough to make their identity any significantly different from the Blood Elves.
Then we might as well consider the High Elves a seperated species back before even the scourge invasion, where they were in disagreement in regards to their support to the Alliance. This has always been a thing. Hell, the majority of High Elves probably wouldn’t even be bothered by the human’s demise at the hands of the Horde… provided the Horde never threatened Quel’thalas.
It is common in storytelling.
Does not mean that the groups have an identity though. As I mentioned, the lack of overall identity that seperates them from the Blood Elves is what leads to the High Elves being a narrative-mess in the story. There is a need to make them distinct from the Blood Elves, but that can not happen because they are not distinct from the Blood Elves. They share ideals, culture, physical looks, values, history.
At best, the High Elves identity is ‘Alliance Blood Elves’ hence the logic: High Elves have no identity.
This is again where Void Elves differ, they are not defined by ‘not being Blood Elves’ they have their connection to the void, their story now diverts, their identity diverts.
clearly we need even more elves… lets add wood elves, gold elf, sun elves oh wait wrong game 
Still support this.
Either give Alliance High Elves because they ARE members of the Alliance in WoW or abolish the faction conflict as a gameplay element.
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I was mostly talking about those horde players that usually play blood elf and come into these threads with smug grin in their words saying stuff like “papa Ion says they’re blood elves”.
I find your arguments for example actually quite compelling and they make sense lorewise, which just means that people can argue against it without resorting to childish “ha-ha ya never gonna get it” and rejoicing in someone’s disappointment. * shrug emoji *
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You would need a source to support this claim, as they are very much in-game.
This is where you make your biggest mistake…
Sharing identity ≠ Lacking identity
They don’t have their own identity because they are the same race with the same culture.
Their difference is political.
They are more akin to the Tushui and Huojin Pandaren. Except there’s a bit more animosity between them than the Pandaren.
That’s a logical fallacy.
Because, again, sharing an identity is not the same as lacking an identity.
They are the same… Their only difference is political. But that does not mean one has an identity and the other doesn’t.
Edit: To put it to an extreme point, if NATO and China declared war on each other, and my country where to have rebel groups that wanted us to ally with China, it wouldn’t mean they were to suddenly lack their national identity.
One side doesn’t have a monopoly on the identity.
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in fairness, it is the same with Ogres, they have been members of the Horde for a long time, yet cannot be playable. In fact its pretty much exactly the same scenario. They’re also quite popular with people, goodness knows why…I loathe Ogres. Now Horde playable Gnolls however, now you’re talking!
Oh, yeah, that sort of behaviour is just utterly juvenile, I see what you mean now, yes, you’re right. “Ion said No” is as helpful as “We’re going to get them in 2020 I’m sure” There’s just no meat there to sink your teeth into, as a discussion. At least on the last thread there was discussion about what differences -would- make sense, where they would come from, what racials would they have, etc etc. Basically what -could- be different, whilst still making sense, to try and give at least a bit of identity to them, as opposed to just being Mana Vegans. It was all quite interesting.
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Hey… Ogres are awesome brutes.
But what about Half-Ogres? The brain 
to go along with their brawn! 
Yeeh, ogres suffer the unfortunate fact that blizzard got no idea on how they want female ogres to look like. Though an appropriate compromise would have been the half breeds like Rexxar.
The elves who strongly voiced their protests to the siphoning of living beings were the Quel’lithien High Elves. Only one remains from that lodge, the rest turned wretched and was probably killed off as a result due to being a part of a quest.
Same difference to me. The High Elves lack an identity of their own therefor they lack an identity to make them viable as a playable race in terms of narrative. As a race that has no distinct identity, they work well as a plot-device, but that is where that ends.
Indeed, and look how well those pandaren are handled in the story.
Oh wait… not at all.
As mentioned, same difference.
And different political affiliations does not constitute a narrative-worthy dinstinction for a race.
And then back to storytelling.
The High Elves act as villains in the Blood Elves’ story as is shown throughout the games. They try to kill the Blood Elves whenever the chance presents itself. Vereesa herself is pointed out as a convoluted mess, due to her total swings in personality, going from respecting the Blood Elves, to calling them rats and outright killing them, to then hope for their “redemption”.
The High Elves have nothing to make them distinct in a narrative, they would just be Alliance Blood Elves at this point, and this is why the writers struggle with their inclusion in every media. There is nothing else defining the High Elves but being ‘anti-Blood Elves’.
And any attempts at giving them an interesting narrative comes at the cost of the Blood Elves.
#MakeSilverCovenantPlayable
I see no issues with adding the high elves, we already have a similar race for both factions. Ally and Horde Pandaren doesn’t look different with each other. It can work with the High elves.
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There are far more High Elves than those in Quel’lithien though…
Stop building strawmen Savotar… Where did I say they should be made playable?
That’s two strawmen…
I didn’t say anything on the quality of storytelling when it came to the pandaren.
Didn’t say they should be made playable did I?
I’m just pointing out that you are objectively incorrect when you say they “don’t have an identity”.
Edit: Whether they are made playable or not matters little to me.
When you say: “I don’t like their storytelling.” It’s an opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
But when you say “They don’t have an identity!” flat out like that, it’s not an opinion. You’re presenting it as fact, and facts need sources.
At best it’s an opinion disguised as a fact.
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You choose to understand it in it’s literal sense, it is not my fault. All you see is “… they lack identity” and then you ignore the underlying point that is made, and the fact that I always write in regards to the story.
Don’t accuse me of strawmanning when you jump into the conversation without understanding the actual point being made.