High Elf Love Thread! 🥰

[Hecatone-burning-legion (Hecatone)]

He said they’ve ‘evolved’ passed blue eyes. Which is a bad word choice if he’s trying to clarify something.

[Bourbonboxer-lightbringer (Bourbonboxer)]

I wish he was just direct and said “they arent happening”. I hate his lawyerspeak sometimes…

[Starlagosa-dentarg (Starlagosa)]

What? Ion didn’t say Blood Elves are not High Elves.

[Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord (Talendrion)]

@Hecatone-burning-legion

He said they’ve ‘evolved’ passed blue eyes. Which is a bad word choice if he’s trying to clarify something

It just means they are adapted/slightly mutated to a different environment, that’s what evolution means. It’s not becoming “better”, just more suitable.

@Bourbonboxer-lightbringer

I wish he was just direct and said “they arent happening”. I hate his lawyerspeak sometimes…

I mean yeah. IMO it means nothing, at best it might mean they are considering something in the ballpark of High Elves, which might be from HE skins for VE’s or less restrictive faction choices. Could be anything, or nothing.

While I can argue the minutiae of “blue eyes don’t make sense for Blood Elves” I do agree with the overall statement; unless the new Sunwell explicitly functioned to give BE’s blue eyes back, as a whole they’d retain green eyes, some phasing to gold eyes.

[Hecatone-burning-legion (Hecatone)]

@Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord

It just means they are adapted/slightly mutated to a different environment, that’s what evolution means. It’s not becoming “better”, just more suitable.

It can also mean that anything has changed, when someone says a narrative evolves they don’t mean it in a biological way.

[Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord (Talendrion)]

@Nillah-uldaman

I don’t know how you got there. Ion’s words before were so incredibly important to the anti-high elf fans when he tongue-in-cheek said they’re the same race, but now that he’s confirmed they are totally distinct races and reiterated that they’re still open to adding high elves later, people are “reading into it too much”

When did Ion say they are still open to adding High Elves later? Or is this from way back?

All we know now is that blue eyes for BE’s don’t make sense “as they have evolved” I really don’t see nothing more specific about HE playability.

[Bourbonboxer-lightbringer (Bourbonboxer)]

@Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord

at best it might mean they are considering something in the ballpark of High Elves, which might be from HE skins for VE’s or less restrictive faction choices. Could be anything, or nothing.

Im going to say its nothing, since we’ve heard that “no allied races in Shadowlands” and “no new cusotmization for allied races.”

The only way I see it is if they are making blue eyes a Void Elf thing, and regulating any other usage to quel’dorei NPCs.

[Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord (Talendrion)]

@Hecatone-burning-legion

It can also mean that anything has changed, when someone says a narrative evolves they don’t mean it in a biological way

I mean the phrase he says is “that eye color (blue) does not make sense for blood elves, as they have evolved” And while you could read it as in thematic/aesthetic terms, I think the more likelier read is the simpler one and green eyes is just part of the BE evolution. IMO it reads as how they have physically changed and that’s just evolution.

[Nillah-uldaman (Nillah)]

I had originally read it in the summary someone gave in the main Reddit post.

He also implied that High Elves (or any more allied races) are not currently planned for release in SL, but they remain open to it in the future.

[Hecatone-burning-legion (Hecatone)]

Hence the problem with the term, people are going to read it according to their bias.

[Bourbonboxer-lightbringer (Bourbonboxer)]

@Nillah-uldaman

I had originally read it in the summary someone gave in the main Reddit post.

I’d watch the actual VOD, since the question about allied races in general came before anything about the blue eyes question

[Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord (Talendrion)]

@Bourbonboxer-lightbringer

Im going to say its nothing, since we’ve heard that “no allied races in Shadowlands” and “no new cusotmization for allied races.

Indeed, it’s just wild speculation. Tho I did like that he left the door open for expanded customization on AR as a whole, saying that the Core races are the priority but it’s an unending process. But yeah, that is no evidence of HE skins for VE’s at all.

@Bourbonboxer-lightbringer

The only way I see it is if they are making blue eyes a Void Elf thing, and regulating any other usage to quel’dorei NPCs

Maybe, tho VE eyes are more white so no blue eyes for anyone? But yeah, some of the datamined pictures do look like at least three shades of blue-ish eyes for VE. TBH we don’t even know how HE eyes should look given that there’s a huge difference between male and female eyes, so maybe SL will make those NPC eyes match one another.

[Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord (Talendrion)]

@Hecatone-burning-legion

Hence the problem with the term, people are going to read it according to their bias

Maybe, and I would say that I think my interpretation is more accurate, but how would you believe that and not just chalk it up to bias?

IMO, Blood Elves and High Elves “are” biologically distinct, but just as dark skinned humans and light skinned humans are. It’s just evironmental variance. It’s just that in WoW the term “race” is ALSO a gameplay function and that messes things up.

Human ethinicities, Troll tribes, NB and NE, BE and HE; they are all examples of variance due to adaptation, mutation, just in different degrees.

[Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord (Talendrion)]

@Nillah-uldaman

I had originally read it in the summary someone gave in the main Reddit post

Someone else’s perceived “implications” do not a good source make. Gotta double check that stuff if you wanna stick to facts -I haven’t watched the whole VoD so I can’t confirm that-

[Playpen-wyrmrest-accord]

@Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord

When did Ion say they are still open to adding High Elves later?

he never mentioned them today. why do you think no one can link anything

all that happened today was high elves have ‘evolved’ beyond blue eyes. any high elf with them right now will probably lose them in time. maybe not in WoWs life but gold is their future as a race. and void elves definitely wont be getting blood elf skin tones now

[Umbrïel-proudmoore]

@Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord

But yeah, that is no evidence of HE skins for VE’s at all.

Even so, I kinda hope they expand in doing AR customization. Just slight improvements. Personally I’d prefer if they added a “transform” form for VE; one being similar to worgens. Allowing them to revert to their previous form before they got affected with void effigy, and if attacked revert to their normal form.

But alas a man can dream can’t he.

[Nillah-uldaman (Nillah)]

@Talendrion-wyrmrest-accord

Gotta double check that stuff if you wanna stick to facts

Funny enough, normally people check wowhead for their “facts” and yet they left out at least one important part of the video about allied races in their summary. Can’t trust anyone anymore.

[Hecatone-burning-legion (Hecatone)]

I think it’s more style than anything. There isn’t a lot of consistency.

[Playpen-wyrmrest-accord]

i did want blue eyes, it made sense lorewise, but i am content. the main goal was always maintaining faction integrity. blood elves still are our high elves

[Relictor-stormrage (Relictor)]

“I really wanted this thing, but it’s okay I didn’t get it, because I still get to deny other people this thing they want.”

I feel genuine pity.