Quel’dorei High Elves as an Alliance allied race (Part 1)

Moontear-ravencrest · May 23, 2020, 11:36am

HIGHELVES AS ALLIED RACE , SILVER COVENANT FACTION TOPIC CONTINUES

Alliance High Elves as a Playable Race by @ [Leolamin]

Since the April 26th Q&A, the discussion on High Elves has grown heated, fractured, and unproductive. In an attempt to restore a structured course of discussion to continue efforts to show support for High Elves as a playable race, this thread will dissect the response given by Ion Hazzikostas during the Q&A regarding High Elves. By this we hope to not only create reasoned discussion, but focus it within one thread to restore the forums to the more peaceful state it was prior to the Q&A.

To begin with, the question and reply:

Question: When deciding on Allied Races, why did you choose Void Elves when High Elves seemed more of an organic and popular choice?

Answer: So, Blood Elves kind of are High Elves with different eye colors and backstory in terms of their relationship to magic in the Sunwell. But if you want to be a fair-skinned, light, blonde-haired, tall, majestic, elf… That is a Blood Elf.

Giving that race directly to the Alliance would have blurred a lot of the lines between the two factions, but also there isn’t a clear example of who or what High Elves are as a larger group which remains in Azeroth. There’s a couple… We just met Alleria again… But they’re not out there in the same way. When we add an Allied Race, there’s a desire to have things be even more distinct especially between the two factions with the faction conflict being so prominent. And so, the Void Elf angle, as it tied into the story of Argus, the powers of Alleria awakened and was able to train others to harness, was able to give something that felt a bit like a Blood Elf but had a unique flavor of its own to the Alliance.

That said, obviously I understand you would love Alliance elves… You’re an Alliance player, and want to be a fair-skinned, light-haired, blue-eyed elf. Sorry? The Horde is there and waiting for you. Eye color is not quite the same but maybe contact lenses in the future, you never know? Anything is possible in the future, but no plans in the near-term to add High Elves as an Allied Race.

We’ll look at the first part of the answer to begin with.

PART ONE:
BLOOD ELVES ARE HIGH ELVES

So, Blood Elves kind of are High Elves with different eye colors and backstory in terms of their relationship to magic in the Sunwell. But if you want to be a fair-skinned, light, blonde-haired, tall, majestic, elf… That is a Blood Elf.

This is nothing new, though the nature of the reply leaves much to be desired. It is widely acknowledge by all players, those in favor of High Elves and against, that the different eye color and relationship to the Sunwell is at the heart of the difference between Blood Elves and High Elves. No one disputes this, nor is it a point that needs to be disputed as it is the similarities between the two races which makes their unfolding story of conflict with one another both organic, and interesting.
That said, there is a clear logical fallacy in the words, “But if you want to be a fair-skinned, light, blonde-haired, tall, majestic, elf… That is a Blood Elf.”

This is like saying, “If you want to be a purple-skinned, muscular, white-haired, tall, majestic elf… that is a Night Elf.”

As one can immediately surmise, that description also applies to Nightborne, a Horde allied race. Did the Alliance have a monopoly on that appearance as this reply would seem to suggest the Horde has a monopoly on the appearance shared by High Elves and Blood Elves? The answer is no.

Why should the Horde be given this preferential treatment over the Alliance? Why should the Alliance lose it’s night elven aesthetic to the Horde, but the Horde maintain a monopoly on the Thalassian aesthetic?

There will never be an answer to that question which will be acceptable. The box was opened with Nightborne. It cannot be closed. The Horde has no right to preferential treatment over the Alliance. The scales may not always be balanced between the two factions, but in this case, there is no reason to leave them tilted.

PART TWO:
THE BLURRING OF FACTION LINES

Giving that race directly to the Alliance would have blurred a lot of the lines between the two factions, but also there isn’t a clear example of who or what High Elves are as a larger group which remains in Azeroth. There’s a couple… We just met Alleria again… But they’re not out there in the same way. When we add an Allied Race, there’s a desire to have things be even more distinct especially between the two factions with the faction conflict being so prominent. And so, the Void Elf angle, as it tied into the story of Argus, the powers of Alleria awakened and was able to train others to harness, was able to give something that felt a bit like a Blood Elf but had a unique flavor of its own to the Alliance.

First and foremost it must be stated clearly: Players do NOT want Blood Elves, when they’re asking for High Elves. Players want the Silver Covenant, the Highvale Elves, the Alliance Expedition High Elves. They don’t want Magister Umbric or Archmage Aethas, they want Vereesa Windrunner and Auric Sunchaser.

High Elves have been a part of the Alliance’s story for so long that there is no blurring of the lines between the two factions with their addition. If anything Void Elves blurred the lines by taking the edginess thematic of the Blood Elves and serving it to the Alliance with an actual group of former Blood Elves, rather than the Alliance’s own loyal High Elves.

We do have a clear example of who or what the High Elves are as a larger group which remains in Azeroth. The Silver Covenant has been the face of the High Elves since Wrath of the Lich King. If the Developers feel this is not enough, then it is time to focus on that identity until it has reached a point of satisfaction. Many players are satisfied with High Elves as they exist right now. If Blizzard isn’t, then it is upon Blizzard that the quality is brought up to the point they desire.

It has been noted in this reply that distinction between the two factions is important, especially with faction conflict being prominent. There is no greater symbol of the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance than that of the Blood Elves and the High Elves. Orcs vs. Humans may be the core of the conflict as the major identities of the Horde and Alliance, but Blood Elves vs. High Elves represents the spirit of it. They epitomize this conflict in ways both artful and subtle. Despite having so much in common, there is a brutal shared fear, paranoia, and even hatred which is based entirely in the perspective of each side, which perfectly mirrors that of the greater Horde and Alliance factions. There could be no better race to make playable in an expansion about faction conflict than the High Elves considering this.

The conflict between High Elves and Blood Elves has reached such incredible relevance that it’s become the ideal analogy, as powerful an image of the conflict as the ages old Orcs vs. Humans. One could go so far as to say the absence of the High Elves neuters the quality of faction conflict. Horde players have complained they feel no real attachment to the upcoming conflict, that they feel like villains rather than protagonists. Through these forums alone we see the conflict already between factions, just on the topic of High Elves. Horde players express their desire to wipe them out, Blood Elf players describe them as traitors, bringing up the Purge of Dalaran. It’s the ultimate expression of faction conflict condensed to one single, easy to add Allied Race. High Elves have done more to galvanize faction conflict than any other Allied Race could. At this point it is criminal to leave them out for any reason.

If you won’t add High Elves for the Alliance, at least do it for your Horde players to finally have a target they feel legitimized in attacking.

PART THREE:
THE HORDE IS WAITING FOR YOU

That said, obviously I understand you would love Alliance elves…you’re an Alliance player, and want to be a fair-skinned, light-haired, blue-eyed elf. Sorry? The Horde is there and waiting for you. Eye color is not quite the same but maybe contact lenses in the future, you never know? Anything is possible in the future, but no plans in the near-term to add High Elves as an Allied Race.

Considering how the previous part of the answer raised the issue of faction blurring, this reply is singularly self-defeating and antagonistic. The Horde should not be waiting for players wanting to be High Elves. The Horde should be sharpening their knives in anticipation of facing these players. By suggesting players seeking to play as High Elves should instead join the Horde, this reply is encouraging a blurring of the faction lines.

Not only that but the reply is insulting and once again, brings up the question raised from the first part of the reply. “If you want to play a purple-skinned, white-haired, tall majestic elf, the Alliance is waiting for you.” Except its not. The Horde has those very same options. The Alliance doesn’t have a monopoly on them. Why should the Horde have a monopoly on, “fair-skinned, light-haired, elves?”

It shouldn’t.

CONCLUSION:
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE

The final words of this response are perhaps the most legitimate. Anything is Possible in the Future. High Elves are possible in the future. Well, they should be more than a possibility. They should be guaranteed. The Horde has no right to monopolize a specific aesthetic anymore than the Alliance does, and the fact this was alluded to as an acceptable answer to the matter is nothing short of ludicrous.

Speculation can be offered on the nature of this highly unsatisfactory answer. Perhaps the most probable is that it is too early to simply state that High Elves will come. Other races haven’t yet received Allied Races to expand on their own customization (Gnomes, Worgen, Forsaken, Goblins, Night Elves, and Blood Elves), and Void Elves still need to find their place in the narrative. Certainly discussing adding High Elves right now would marginalize players who genuinely approve of Void Elves, and players waiting to see what is in store for them and their favorite races which haven’t yet received new customization through Allied Races.

The above having been said, there were better ways to answer the question, but at least it ended with a kernel of hope for players still awaiting High Elves. Perhaps the greatest criticism about this answer, however, lays in how uninformed it is in regards to discussions had by players in what they would like to see with a High Elf Allied Race.
In short this post shall conclude with a question to those working on World of Warcraft at Blizzard themselves:

Why ask we, the players, what we would like to see for Allied Races, if you will reply as if you never listened?

High Elven Community FAQ

CLAIM :There aren’t enough High Elves left, I thought?[quote]

The Silver Covenant, the militarized organization of Dalaran High Elves (which have recently been clarified as being more numerous than once thought), have been present for many of the Alliance’s military operations in the past several expansions and have consistently fielded numbers that would suggest there are plenty of them left.

Similarly, Quel’Danil lodge in the Hinterlands and the Allerian Stronghold in Outland both show other independently organized High Elf forces that are not suffering in numbers.

In addition, Stormwind has its own High Elf population. There is more than enough evidence to suggest High Elves have enough numbers to be appropriate for an Allied Race, especially compared to what has been shown as appropriate for other examples such as the Lightforged or the Void Elves.

Source: In-game representation, out of game official canon text such as Chronicle Vol 3

CLAIM : I don’t want to see any more elves in this game!”
This is a subjective opinion, and a valid one, but not a reasonable argument against other people’s ability to ask for what they would also subjectively like to see.

CLAIM : Void Elves are the substitute
Void Elves were specifically and deliberately set up as being recent exiles from Silvermoon among the Blood Elf population. Their presence does not continue the separate High Elf story in any way and thus is not a reason for them not to be added.

{b]CLAIM[/b]: High Elves = Blood Elves = Void Elves
Both the in-game lore and the out of game official canon texts have very clearly set up the Thalassian elves as a split people, and the themes of mutual High Elf and Blood Elf resentment for each other is what led to the creation of the Silver Covenant in the first place. Furthermore, Chronicle has drawn further attention to the fact on some level this split was in the process of happening before Kael’Thas even renamed those who followed him to Blood Elves: tensions existed between the High Elves who chose to live in Dalaran and those who lived in Silvermoon, the latter considering the former to prefer the company of humans over the love of their own homeland.

Sources: In-game representation and lore as presented through Alliance questing, as well as out-of-game official canon text such as Chronicle Vol 3.

CLAIM : High Elves will cause population bleed on Horde side.
Considering Allied Races have so far required extra steps, such as having a max level character on the appropriate faction and gating behind reputations, along with the fact that Allied Races also have restricted class options (Death Knight and Demon Hunter are both very popular classes and would likely not be available), this outcome is unlikely. Adding to that, the fact that Horde edges out Alliance population-wise slightly at max level, and the fact that Void Elves, which brought the Blood Elf model to the Alliance to begin with, did not impact overall faction balance, and this is very likely not a very serious concern.

This text was created by Alurna@Moon-guard and had it’s HTML changed by Pontifice@Azralon.

Edit: Title was changed from
High Elves as an Alliance allied race to
Quel’dorei High Elves as an Alliance allied race

anon88919359 · May 23, 2020, 11:37am

You have void elves, and they’ve said no countless times.

Get lost.

Moontear-ravencrest · May 23, 2020, 11:46am

Why is this even a debate or a question?

it’s obvious there is a high demand for that race and at the same time a lot more people play horde so this should help a bit to even out the factions.

so, just let us play highelves, perfect example - silvercovenant faction.

Tianshe-argent-dawn · May 23, 2020, 12:13pm

It’s a big post, and it looks impressive, but I don’t actually see any good reasons why High Elves would be an interesting or new allied race beyond “We want them”.

The post is made up of “debunks” to other player’s objections, but it doesn’t forward one single argument that adding high elves would be of interest/intrigue/development to the alliance beyond the fans who want them for the sake of wanting them.

So whilst some of the objections to them may be crummy- that alone isn’t really good enough to convince players who aren’t invested in high elves that this is an amazing choice.

Now you may say “hold on, why do high elves have to meet this standard? Other allied races didn’t!”
The difference is in this case those allied races were not copies of another race almost exactly, so they can be justified on the premise “they add something new”- at least that’s how they can be justified to a majority of players who don’t give a flying toss about lore anyway.
How do you justify “Belf, but for alliance” to these players? Because they don’t give a crap about the lore. They don’t care about the nuances of high elf stances to mana. All they see is a proposal to add another race to the game that is exactly the same as another one, except it’s on the other faction, and has different eyes. No different culture, no different classes. So in order to justify this idea, you’d need there to be “something” that adding high elves would give the alliance faction that is cool and sellable to the majority. I think what a lot of helf fans fail to recognise is that the majority doesn’t hold helf as this object of inherent coolness in the same way they do. They also fail to realise that adding an allied race solely to placate a fraction of the playerbase, whilst potentially leaving those outside of it feeling like they got a “cheap deal” probably isn’t something a company wants to do.

“But Mechagnomes weren’t popular with everyone!” indeed they weren’t. However they followed a formula of each core race having one allied race in imitation of them (in a manner).
High elves would essentially be duplicating on both the belf and velf already in game- doubling up essentially, just to appease this fraction of the playerbase. And those outside it aren’t necessarily going to be enthralled by the same model turning up across three races, and twice on the same faction. Not considering it could instead be easily done that Velf simply get customisation options to make them resemble Helf.

It’s a tricky thing to balance. Let’s say you give alliance helf and give horde their long-asked for Ogres/Forest Trolls (with the bulky model mind). The helf fans go “finally!” and those who aren’t in the group- this is very much going to be another “horde bias” moment because Horde gets an actually new race with a unique (or close to) model, whereas alliance not only get ANOTHER humanoid model, but it’s an exact copy of two races already in the game, and is almost identical to one of them. That doesn’t look like them treating both factions with the same amount of care, even if the Helf fans disagree.

This is what they need to realise, this isn’t solely about them and what they want. It’s about considering this, alongside other players. The basic formula seems to be following a pattern of each core race gets an AR “shadow” - you need to have a dang good reason why the Worgen/Undead “slot” should be scrapped in favour of essentially a colour changed Void Elf, because some people are holding out hope the last slot might bring something a bit new to alliance, and high elf is more of the same.

And no “we don’t like void elf” is not a good enough reason why the AR slot that seems to be intended for the worgen/undead shadow should be replaced with a clone of an already existing race.

I want to see solid, convincing reasons as to what the high elves would bring to the alliance faction that would make them a genuinely good race to add for everyone, not just helf fans, because it’s not the helf fans who need convincing. It’s everyone else, and this is exactly what Ion is alluding to when he’s talking about difficulties doing it because for all intensive purposes the race is largely already in game presented through the blood elves. Taking up an allied race slot to represent a political disagreement needs some real justifying, else you’ll end up with an addition that is loved by their fan group but possibly hated or seen as “the final straw” in proving blizzard gives more attention to Horde than alliance.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking High Elves are the only race that have been asked for continually. Stuff like Jinyu and Broken are extremely popular as well. They may not have colossal threads being endlessly bumped, but that’s possibly because their addition is less controversial. The difference is with these races they’re actually not represented at all in game in any physical likeness, they have ties with the Alliance so why not add them instead of Helf? They add something physically distinct at the very least, as well as being asked for, so why should Helf be added over them? Because they had a bigger thread in the forums? Let’s hear some compelling arguments.

Moontear-ravencrest · May 23, 2020, 12:31pm

Instead of baking copy paste races like void elves, mechagnomes, hmtauren, lfdraenei they should have listened to community.

Highelves are popular and requested since vanilla. They already in-game, for e.g. like silvercovenant faction. You just allow then playable - problem solved.

No other race is more requested and welcomed then highelves. Lets stick to this.

Leíá-argent-dawn · May 23, 2020, 1:04pm

This whole comment is ridiculous and full of contradictions.

“Instead of baking copy past races like void elves.”
that is exactly what high elves are to blood elves, more so.

“High Elves are popular and requested since vanilla.” “They are in the game, like SC.”
SC wasn’t here until WoTLK.

Jesi-sunstrider · May 23, 2020, 1:42pm

They are already in game - in horde. Also I agree that they should not “baking copy paste races” meaning that you should not get them~ high elves.

Also copy-pasting locked threads will make you banned . Make your own thread instead of being lazy.

anon54673551 · May 23, 2020, 1:46pm

No, you’re not getting it.

Fatugly-argent-dawn · May 23, 2020, 3:17pm

Void elves were the answer to this demand. They’re not going to have three playable races with the same model.

Nezekan-kazzak · May 23, 2020, 3:40pm

Also no “rascal” closed the thread. Threads have reply limit and the previous one reached it.

Blunderhoof-nordrassil · May 23, 2020, 4:02pm

To be frank, the door shut on ‘High Elves’ the moment the Sunwell patch went live.
Now the Blood Elves are High Elf again in all but name and affiliation.
Perhaps if Blizzard had gone a different route and had the Sunwell still been lost, things could have been different and adding this ‘different flavor of Blood Elf’ would have actually added something to the game.
As it is now they’re a redundant plot device, Blizzard already caved in halfways and gave the Alliance Void Elves, an ‘asspull’ race that atleast brought something new to the field, shame it kind of diluted the Alliance further, and they stand out like a sore thumb, but well, atleast it’s more than High Elves would bring to the table.

On the other hand, if they ever do decide to cave in to these entitlements, they may give the Blood Elves a far grittier and darker outlook and customizations…because to put it bluntly, the High Elves are boring as fudge in comparison, Human arm candy is their main characteristic, and well, you can’t really say with a straight face that this isn’t just about the Looks, because they’re as shallow as a mudpuddle, compared to the Blood Elven counterpart.

Alexima-kazzak · May 23, 2020, 4:07pm

Why do you think they’ll add a race that looks EXACTLY like blood elves but with blue eyes, for alliance?

if you’re so dead focused on playing a high elf, blood elf and nightfallen are available.

If you insist on playing alliance and high elf, then play void elf.

Enough with this ridiculous post that was declined countless times.

Moontear-ravencrest · May 23, 2020, 4:14pm

Previous topic was deleted without any reason.

This is from 2019 copied info.

Brigante-argent-dawn · May 23, 2020, 4:41pm

I believe it did just reach cap limit even for extended threads.

Also, there may be some rather bleak news for you I am afraid.

The Dressing Room function is up for Blood Elves, and it does show the eye colours, If you tick ‘NPC’s’ it shows all the customisations including Blue, Purple and Red, and those weird black eyes.

If you take ‘Playable only’ Then Red, Purple and the black eyes vanish from the options, Blue however is still there as an option for Blood Elves, three specific options.

Looks like Ion may have been wrong. Which you can take some degree of heart from, if he was wrong about that, he could be wrong about other things?

But yeah, it seems like blue eyed blood elves are going to be possible.

Jesi-sunstrider · May 23, 2020, 4:53pm

It does not matter anyway~ with eyes being customizable high elves are becoming a joke. Imagine that they got added:

what skin colors ?
what eye colors ?

Blizzard is raising standards when it comes to races. There will be no more “Highmountain Taurens” type of races added and failures like that most likely will get an upgrade.

Paintjob and single eye color will never be enough

Golganar-draenor · May 23, 2020, 4:59pm

They are in, called blood elfs for horde, and void elf for the alliance.

Hellaynnea-nemesis · May 23, 2020, 5:07pm

Either Ion was wrong or he didn’t want to upset the High Elf fans even further (for the time being). It’s not the first time the devs make a statement and then almost immediately change idea about it.

But even if Blood Elves do not get “deep blue” eyes, they will definitely get the “teal” option, and teal technically it’s a shade of blue mixed with green, also indicating that the fel taint is going away even without the intervention of the Light (the golden eyes). So the teal eye option already seem a good compromise to me even if we don’t get “pure” blue eyes, teal already represents a partially uncorrupted Blood Elf, and I think it’s especially good option for Hunters and Mages too.

Leíá-argent-dawn · May 23, 2020, 5:09pm

Mages suit the purple eyes, the most.

Blizzard has ignored Blood Elf Mages in favor of Blood Knights and Farstriders and I think it’s time we Blood Elf Mage, main players, got something - just a little something, to show that they still care about us.

Halforc-dreadmist · May 23, 2020, 5:12pm

Re-roll Horde and play High (Blood) Elf.

Hellaynnea-nemesis · May 23, 2020, 5:13pm

Well Blood Elf warlocks are more ignored even than you Mages so

and anyway the purple eyes will either be for NPCs only or at best for Void Elves (representing the Void alongside the deep blue).

Because let’s be honest if they give purple eyes to Blood Elves (even just Mages) then people could become a bit greedy and ask for every colour since the high elven race can have eyes of almost every colour under the blue/green glint…brown, silver, red, purple, white and others, so Blizzard could want to avoid that kind of situation.