Dark rangers are a take on hunters that basically reject there old ranger ways and embrace darker intentions/instincts. Rangers would use nature magic, dark rangers are more shadow magic.
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_ranger
An elven ranger who dies and returns as a Forsaken undergoes a great shock. She can no longer cast elven ranger spells and loses her woodland stride ability. While some may choose to let things be, most immediately seek out a dark ranger to relearn their arts.
An elven ranger seeking to convert to a dark ranger must, of course, have died, returned as a Forsaken, and seek to learn the arts of the shadow rather than the wild. This ordeal is difficult, as the dark ranger must twist everything she was taught about nature to start learning her darker trade. Then comes the hard part. A dark ranger-to-be must undergo a lengthy trial, where she unlearns everything she was taught as an elf and learns the new arts of a Forsaken.[9]
The shadowlands shows shadow magic,death magic, and void magic to have differences. It seems like shadow and death are more relevant for dark rangers. Whereas shadow priests use more shadow and void magic. They sort of use it like they used to uses nature magic in life, but they have to learn how to reject there views in life to be a dark ranger.
It would be interesting if Slyvannas relearns how to use nature magic now though. She was the first dark ranger.
Because their /jokes are about how vain they are mostly, and it’s fun to play up that aspect of them. Sometimes you need to just laugh at your own race’s perception because it’s kind of funny.
Tell that to the Helfers, cause the /jokes on the Velves weren´t particularly good for their goals.
Also, the Belves get to be the but of the jokes fairly enough (Aethas, Johnny Awesome, the two a-holes in Daza´alor, the guy in Un´Gor, do I need to go on?), we certainly could use more respectful portrayal in line with the actual lore than to catter to the ignoramus that believe the race is as deep as their /silly.
In short: no, unless ALL the races get to become a clown circus. People wanting to niche the Belves as nothing better than their superficial /jokes and nothing else are nothing but haters of it, and why should Blizzard catter to the haters instead of the actual fans?
I feel like all the other races are equally clownish and wouldn’t you agree the people you’re deriding here have already made themselves the entire circus with this debate? Sometimes I just want a little bit of levity because being frustrated and angry over the situation all the time just burns me out.
If they have or have not made themselves clowns is irrelevant as long as this “let´s portray the races only as deeply as our own own derision of them goes” trend goes on.
Cause staying silent, hoping that maybe the devs this time around were not gonna use the race only to make fun of it died it´s natural death in Legion. No, I´m tired of “levity”.
Feel free to disagree, don´t expect me to join you on the levity front ever, cause the only thing that “levity” brought to the races -especially on the Horde side of the fence- was to be a catalyst for thejm to be used as cartoonish villains, and just to be neglected and ignored afterwards.
I guess I’ve always like the more humorous aspects of warcraft to distract from the brutality, but it’s not like you’re wrong in that Blood Elves haven’t gotten a proper spotlight in a while.
I mean, it´s hilarious once one think about it cause dying is as natural as living.
But we needed a vehicle to absolve poor wittle Arthus of his crimes and to give screentime to Blanduin, ergo Sylvanas the wild card most hardcore Alliance fans had humid dreams about destroying was ofc the low hanging fruit for the current story team.
Sylvanas didn´t hijack the story, she´s literally just another plot device so Blanduin got to hijack it for the n-esim time.
The last bity of “Belf” screentime was Lor´themar fangirling over Calia. Now THAT was a brutal way to destroy the consistency on a character in regards to his development.
Now you get it why I´m absolutely “anti-levity”? Cause when the joke is overused, it stops being a joke and it becomes an insult.
Lol, I like it because of that, I just don’t like that it shafts me into it being gold with green gems when I would prefer to have the option to change the metal type and the gem colors to say silver with pink gems.
This! The majority of Belf customization being jewelry perpetuates this vexing stereotype even more. Give Belfs some more “rugged” customization options.
I know the lore behind Dark Rangers, I’ve read this a dozen times. I was tired, lazy, and didn’t feel like arguing anymore that day. Thanks though.
It stops being funny when that’s all a race is reduced to despite past lore stating otherwise.
i can see why. lol you auto assume that a pro-helf equals an anti-belf. you auto assume a pro-lightforged belf equals an anti-belf. you snap at nearly every suggestion, even well wishers, and chase away contributors to the belf customizations cause, like an over protective guard dog.
I don’t hate the tiara, but I wish I had the option to hide it, and also for it to be included in jewelry coloration (and there needs to be more color options for the jewelry imo).
I feel the same way about every hairstyle that has some sort of headband or other adornment stuck to it. Let me hide it or show it as I see fit, and let jewelry color options affect those hair accessories so I have more opportunity to match those customizations with my transmogs.
also, the hair “arches” in front of the tiara, need more definition. currently, it looks like plastic hair, like it was molded and no textures applied.
I did post that it must be toggeable because as much as you like it, some like me dislike it (a princess tiara -heck, not even a tiara, it´s a freaking crown. Tiara is the stuff my toon sported until last week or the stuff the Belf on the TBC cinematic uses-, is horrible for rogue player inmersion).
I love how people come here to claim the jewerly “totes made sense” after Before the Storm -written by Golden, one big Alliance fan btw- explicitly mentions how the Belves became less vapid and more serious after the whole Arthas disaster. The book mentions how they now consider such excessive displays (the luxury and comfort) to be distasteful in the wake of the tragedies suffered by their people).
And this is canon lore circa 2018, meaning 3 years ago. So excuse me when I don´t take seriously the “opinion” of people who don´t invest on the race further than the joke quest they saw once upon a time, and who come here trying to impose this take on people like me, who ACTUALLY invest on the race and it´s lore and didn´t conform with the outdated takes of the TBC / WoD expacs.
Also, in regards to the “muh inevitable lighforging or GTFO” people:
"Inspired by the Sunwell’s rebirth, the blood elves have since entered into a shining new era in their ancient race’s history. Although some elves remain hesitant to abandon their dependence on arcane magic, others have embraced change for the betterment of Quel’Thalas".
This guys is the text available in the official page of Blizzard regarding the Blood Elf race. But sure, continue swearing up and down Light is the only aspect relevant for the Belves. Or only Fel. Or only Arcane.
Fact is, ALL are important, and none is more important than the others -the Belves are the foils to the Nelves, ergo just as complex as them-.
Well visitor, when those “contributors” show to have as much knowledge over the race as any rookie player just starting this expac, and worse, when their takes are suspiciously supporting of their own headcanon takes on the Helfer / Velfer dichotomy, then yes, I put on my “guarding dog” suit and don´t shy from setting them straight.
Just like a Civil Engineer doesn´t take into account the opinion of the local Soccer Mom regarding how the bridge he/she is designing must be built, I don´t think the opinion of people who -in the worst cases- haven´t bothered with updating their knowledge of the race since TBC should be taken with any terrible weight. Cause the very fact they literally come here with literally ignorant takes like “Belves sucked Fel” (that was debunked since 2012, almost 10 years ago ffs!!!), doesn´t imply the person “likes them SO much”, but that they just want to use the race as a vehicle to achieve some weird agenda -even if this agenda is to RP a vapid Barbie elf for the lols-.
I don´t think the actual fans of the race should stay quiet while they look how these people slowly but consistently erode something they love and are invested in just because it´s the hypocritically accepted social convention, no more and no less. I know I won´t stay quiet -as if my right- any time one of those “terribly invested supposed Belfers” come here with their outdated ideas and terribad takes on the race.
The actually POLITE thing to do is to be open minded and not insist in reducing the race to a niche convenient to their own headcanons ffs!! I don´t go harras the Worgen players on their thread using a supposedly “care” for the race when I simply can´t give a censored word over it, I think going there and trying to impose on my takes of the race would be VERY rude.
thought you said you didnt appreciate people calling belfs “vapid barbies.” most of the time, i just read your posts and ponder/agree/disagree, quietly, because it takes me a long time to type and i know you will respond at length. excuse my brevity. but could you tamp down the vitriol a bit. you talk in memes constantly and everythings a stereotype. when i say light-based mana hair for belfs, i’m not trying to hurt them. when i say druids for belfs, i’m not trying to hurt nelfs. calm the flip down
Well, unless you are one of the aforementioned ignoramus who basically only come into the thread to insist on why the Belves should only get Fel / Light / insert poster headcanon take on race customization aspect, I don´t think the vitriol applies to you, right?
So, why would you feel “offended”. If you genuinely and honestly aren´t trying to niche the race on merely one convenient aspect, then it´s pretty obvious the rant is not meant for you, don´t you think.
Ergo, the ones getting offended precisely because this is what they are trying to achieve? Yeah no, they are the ones acting rude by principle, and sorry not sorry but If I have to call a spade a spade I´ll continue to do so. They can put me on ignore if this is too much for them, nobody is putting a gun to their heads to read my posts, period.
Also, for someone “just trying to contribute”, your very first post was basically to launch a lowkey attack to me. Do you think this is the behaviour of someone that just comes to suggest stuff and is legitimately trying to have a constructive conversation? Cause behaviour doesn´t compute with “cause” in this case.
there’s a belf poster who convinced me, long ago, that a light themed customization for belfs would be in keeping with their lore. the person was a lady liadrin fan. at the time, we were discussing ways to make belf hair more interesting, and thus was born the mana hair idea, as it was a popular nightborne feature in suramar that never made it to playable nightborne hair. it dawned on me that a light based version of it, would look incredible for belfs, also. when i suggested it, you went ham on me, suggesting i had some negative agenda.
