As someone who left WoW during early BFA in 2018, my drive had died for the game. WoW forever has brought that drive back by looking to push in a direction I think will be good for WoW.
HOWEVER…We have a race that does not fit well into the game at the moment…The Skyborne.
Now we could have a split based on who they appeal most to, but that’s not why I complain, I complain because this race really feels like a last minute addition and brings shame on to the effort put into the original classic designs of this game.
A new race should model the new direction of the game and come with new HD models that FOLLOW THE CLASSIC STYLE much like how you had to redo the reforged models for Warcraft 3.
Giving us Blue blood elves is insulting, giving us blood elves from a race whose lore SHOULD have even more interesting capabilities is EVEN MORE insulting. This is bad, the race is not ready for a November 4th release.
You have 2 options: Release this horrendously undercooked race and suffer the consequences of constant complaints, OR take it out, work on them more, take some suggestions and while you tweak them more, just give us: High Elves for the Alliance and Undead Elves (Like those shown in the new Warcraft 3 expansion) to the horde. Now both factions have blood elves models and should keep those people busy.
As for how I would fix the Skyborne:
Based on the lore they give in-game and what they say in Dire Maul, this was the group that rebelled in Dire Maul and fled to an island full of elementals in which the Air elementals took pity on them and spirited them away with part of the island into the Air elemental plane.
The bears and cats were morphed into part OWL forms and yet a race that once looked like Night Elves instead became Smurf Blood elves???
NO! They should instead be a group of night elves with Owl features, something kind of like Harpies, but more closely similar to what Malfurion looks like. This boring look of just slightly colored elves is insulting to the creativity of WoW ESPECIALLY when you consider that Azshara has the SAME SKIN TONE so just making them blue is just insulting to everybody.
We should be looking at a race that has the same structure as Night Elves, but with deep Owl features, Wings with fingers on the end (or clawed 5-fingered hands with feathers running up the arm, take your pick), feet in a similar fashion. Hair on the head, eyebrows, mustaches, and beards with feathers weaved into them, not a few feathers strung in like an accessory.
You can give them tail feathers and they can have sky soaring abilities that ACTUALLY MATCH the physical transformation other animals went through on the island.
I think the 1% haste racial is fine, but for the others:
-Wind At Your Back: Greatly increase the regen of Rage/Energy/Mana (it could be 100% more or less, depending on what balances well) lasts 8 seconds. (Also more or less)
-Soaring: Slightly higher jumps and the ability to glide when pressing jump again while in the air (The glide could be really slow, that’s fine, we’re working with a bird people race.)
-Windstream: Call upon air elementals to assist you in finding the nearest Flight master and dropping you off there. 30 minute CD
These are MUCH better than what we were given and while I don’t think my idea is superior to anyone else’s and someone could end up with a better idea, I think that we can all agree that the Skyborne are VERY rushed and need to be cut and ONLY reinstated when they are ready.
PLEASE BLIZZARD, PLEASE!!! I AM ON MY HANDS AND KNEES!!! DO NOT RELEASE A RACE IN SUCH AN INCOMPLETE STATE, I AM BEGGING YOU!!!
Let them cook for longer, they could be SO GOOD I just know it, shoot, you could even tie them into the Arakkoa, just PLEASE delay their release at least.
To all those who made it to the end, thank you for your patience and I hope you consider my proposal.