Taking some time to process the current info being provided by Blizzard and seeing Peopleâs responses to it. I can say for myself currently, Iâm modestly happy with this development, which is primarily because this was ultimately as far as I was willing to compromise on the matter in a general sense (see here for proof that also links to more proof). I know for some folks they think the door is 100% closed for High Elves joining the Alliance as a dedicated race (be they happy or sad over this.) However, where one door may have very well closed, I see another door that may have very well openedâŚ
Now in my personal opinion, I see 3 possible paths Blizzard can take right now as things currently stand.
Path #1 - Worst case scenario
Alliance & Horde share High Elves via customization and a pure in-name High Elf race option is off the table 100%. Only thing High Elf related we will get anymore after this point is related to customization through Blood & Void Elves, cosmetics, in-game lore, and etcâŚNeither Faction gets factual, exclusive claim to the pure QuelâDorei.
Path #2 - Middle Ground case scenario
Blizzard goes down the Pandaren path. A Neutral, pure High Elf playable race is made, and eventually the Player will be forced to choose to join either the Alliance or Horde. Both Factions share factual claim to the pure QuelâDorei. The Horde would get a new sub-faction of High Elves in their Player Faction through a story partnership with the Blood Elves and the Silver Covenant will officially join the Alliance with a story partnership with the Void Elves.
Path #3 - Best case scenario
Blizzard is possibly setting the stage for the Alliance & Horde to be forced into a single, merged Player Faction AFTER the Shadowlands Expansion. They plan to make a in-name playable High Elf race. But, it wonât be Neutral like the Pandarens were and that is because the Alliance & Horde as we know them now are gone (again) AFTER the Shadowlands expansion. There would still be sub-factions players can join to justify PvP, but the old Alliance & Horde Faction system would largely be destroyed. Thus current coming customization options in Shadowlands for the Blood Elves & Void Elves are purely a short term customization flavor enhancer for the two player races.
I do see a 4th possible path. But, that path is better reserved for a dedicated topic as it covers a lot more than just playable High Elves.
When did Blood Elves ask for blue eyes? And was it an on-going request like high elves or was it made in response to the high elf requests?
Also, considering eye color tends to be a reflection of what type of magic theyâre around or have absorbed, itâd make less sense to give them blue eyes. Green and gold make sense based on what weâve seen, even if gold was a recent addition. I really wouldnât have batted an eye if they had gotten that option with the Wrath pre-patch or at Wrathâs launch, since itâd be a consequence of what happened in Sunwell Plateau.
but also did alliance on VEâs and have to share skin tones.
Iâll acquiesce on this, though I personally saw it as a lazy solution. Especially since Iâm of the opinion Blizzard did not do the legwork to make VEs a good addition to WoW. So Iâm not going to praise them for a lazy solution placed upon something that is already of questionable origin. A massive lore dump in-game and a complete remake of the VE starting area could be a step in the right direction, but I donât count on them doing that.
Iâm personally happy with getting HE lore for the VE customizations allowing us to be HE in all but name.
But I do want to say your ideas are creative and took the time to not insult BE fans. Itâs the only time Iâve ever seen a neutral idea be pitched that doesnât involve taking the BE race off the creation screen and re naming it Thalassian and calling that neutrality and fair.
This one rides on how much more work Blizzard wants to dedicate to the elf debacle. Also, the major downside is that theyâd still be sort of dangling High Elves in front of alliance players like a carrot on a stick.
Path #2 - Middle Ground case scenario
On the one hand, Iâm not comfortable with the overlap seen if both HE and BE can be on the Horde. On the other, this isnât that different from magâhar orcs or highmountain tauren being on the horde, so it could work.
Path #3 - Best case scenario
While I can agree with the direction that would take, thereâs some major risks involved with this. The people that go on about âthe war in Warcraftâ would probably not like it, even if PvE and RP servers would see this as a massive win.
As the saying goes; different strokes for different folks.
Thanks, I did want to make sure People understood that I wasnât out to give the Blood Elves the metaphorical pitchfork shanking, so I re-typed that post above like 3 times to make sure there was no room for doubt. The 4th idea I have in mind also avoids that same problem, but it would be a massive reply post in here, and that is even if I broke it down to itâs most extreme focused point for High Elves. So, if People would like for me to make it, I will. But, itâs going to be extremely focused and not covering the full picture of what I would love to see happen after Shadowlands.
Yup it does 100% and yeah it would be like that for the Alliance in a sense. Itâs one of the hard aspects of trying to please everyone, or at least as many People as possible without trying to make major waves in the metaphorical community pond.
It could indeed, it just takes Blizzardâs willingness to commit to it, and the community to accept that itâs going to be a quasi-Pandaren type introduction to the game. However, I think it can be done differently enough that it would fit the High Elves well even if itâs borrowing general story elements from the Pandaren. Hell, I already got a simple scenario in my head that would work pretty well, and could leave a lot of room for RP stuff as well.
This will without a doubt require a lot of careful storytelling by Blizzard. But, In my personal 2 cent opinion, I think WoW needs this story evolution pretty badly right now to freshen things up again, and Blizzard is pretty much in the most ideal storytelling position to make that happen with the hint of a Time skip, the new peace between the two player factions, and the Lich Kingâs crown being destroyed.
As the old saying goes though; more than one way to skin a cat. So, even if Blizzard doesnât take that path that I think they should take, it doesnât mean they cannot achieve it differently as well by going down a slightly different path. Just have to wait and see in the end either which way. Much like everyone else, I donât have Blizzardâs playbook in my lap.
Nope, but Iâm still gonna keep chucking those pennies so maybe Blizz sees that and
doesnât make things worse and ruin 2 races just to placate some people who are being really greedy now.
Blizz, do you see whatâs going on? Theyâre never going to be happy, just sigh and tell us that weâre why we canât have nice things and take it back.
