They got the Arâs all wrong for alliance, The High elves should a been the AR not the Renâdorei
I agree with you here, but we got what we got and itâs not going to be removed at this point, nor is it likely for Blizzard to add yet another derivative Thalassian allied race. Not even because itâs another Thalassian, but more due to the fact that Blizzard seems to be backing off from derivative allied races in general, and instead folding the derivatives into their parent races as customizations.
We asked for High Elves. And I have a feeling that Blizzard originally, if reluctantly, intended to give them to us. But then they finished the Alleria/Lâura cinematic and became so enamored with the visuals, they got it into their heads that this ârule of coolâ idea for Void Elves would be far better received than âboring, copy/paste, High Elvesâ (that didnât have to be boring or copy/paste mind you). Ion and co. mistakenly believed that all it would take to appease those seeking playable Alliance High Elves was the model. They realized, after the fact, that this was wrong, but it was too late to do anything about it. Void Elves were already in the game.
Then the paradigm shift from derivative allied races, to derivative customizations under the parent race came to be. This is why we are getting our High Elves through the Void Elf race, as itâs our only playable âparent raceâ for the Thalassian elf. Itâs not the ideal, but itâs the confines within which we must work.
Had the customization paradigm happened before allied races, Iâd imagine weâd have seen the High Mountain and Lightforged Draenei as customizations. Nightborne might have ended up as Night Elf customization and Void Elves⌠well Void Elves would never have existed. Which would have left another Horde race needing customization. Blood Elves might have gotten their blue eyes along with the gold eyes then, and perhaps some of the Void Elf hairstyles as well (sans tentacles of course).
Had this been the case, and allied races came after the derivative race customization bonanza, we might have gotten High Elves as an allied race and perhaps Horde would have gotten Sanâlayn as a counterpart. Void Elf customization could then have fallen under the âHigh Elfâ parent race. But thatâs obviously not the way things worked out.
With the direction things are going now, it is far less likely to see a High Elf allied race for the Alliance than it has ever been before. The same holds true for those seeking a Sanâlayn allied race. Which is why you see many people focusing on asking for customization now instead. Itâs the path most likely to get most, if not all, of what they want.
Compromise is a part of life, and while Void Elves were never billed as a compromise and failed miserably as one if that was the intent, the customization options, which are billed as âHigh Elf Customization Optionsâ, are a good faith compromise in my book. Iâd be a fool to slap them away when all evidence is pointing to derivative races being added to their parent races as customization options. The most logical course for me then is to ask for the options I feel necessary to complete the High Elf aesthetic, and ask for in-game lore to pull it all together in a cohesive and perhaps even appreciable manner.
If you refuse an offer that comes close to, but doesnât fully, address your request, and will only accept the full request⌠you may just get told to go pound salt and get nothing.
And yes, itâs a bit annoying that Blizzard is going through this process piecemeal. But allied races werenât intended to get much in the way of customization focus at all for Shadowlands launch. Would you have prefer Blizzard not mentioned the skins at all and kept them under wraps until they had the full customization package (with hairstyles and colors) ready to add in 9.1 or 9.2?
I certainly wouldnât have wanted that. Much of my excitement for Shadowlands stems from the fact that my main will finally get to look very close to what I want and that the potential for him to look fully the way I want is on the horizon. If baby steps is what it takes to get where I want to go, then Iâll deal with it. It might not be the instant gratification Iâd prefer but itâs better than never getting any of what I want at all.