Recently had a thought today while I was doing my morning youtube browsing. What if instead of one faction getting elves both of the factions did, similar to how panadas were implemented in MoP. One side could get high elves, and the other could get something similar to the wild elves I pitched a few days ago. Here’s a link to that post for those interested in checking it out!
I think giving both factions a version of elves is the way to go. Both side definitely want to have the option of playing them, and they are by far the most popular race in the game. I think it’s the best option as far as the first new race to be added in SoD. Also, make sure we give Horde elves shaman!
Not sure how proposing elves means I dislike either faction. Considering they are the most popular race in the game I’m pretty sure there are many people who would like to see them on either side. Thanks for your input though!
I think at the end of WC3 and the frozen throne, high elves had already decided to call themselves blood elves and broken ties with the alliance. There are a few high elves scattered around, but at this point in the story they don’t have the numbers or organization to form a proper faction. I think there was a significantly better argument for this post-BC when the dark portal opened up and we found settlements of high elves living on the other side of the portal (many of whom were outcast from Silvermoon) but in the current era, high elves A. are barely scraping by and B. the blood elves that are still around don’t really care for the alliance and never really have (not that big a deal because like, i dunno, the horde don’t really care for the undead either).
Night Elves are basically Wild Elves, and Blood Elves are High Elves that joined the Horde. Alliance don’t need another pretty elf race when we’re already the dominant faction for SoD.
A 6% delta between alliance and horde is hardly “domination”
With that said, I actually agree that adding a bunch of types of elf to SoD is sort of a silly idea. At this point in the story the blood elves are aligned to no one and there are like 100 high elves wondering around.
This isnt about factions anymore. This is about stopping the spread of the same race under new names because people wanna play “the pretty race” in red and blue flavors.
Just because you dislike something doesn’t mean other people do as well. Elves are by far the most popular race in Wow, and also in fantasy overall so sorry to burst your bubble.
With that said, I actually agree that adding a bunch of types of elf to SoD is sort of a silly idea. At this point in the story the blood elves are aligned to no one and there are like 100 high elves wondering around.
I agree that blood elves should have never been added to the Horde. They should have been one of the many villains in TBC. That said, like I mentioned in my Wild Elves post, I find it hard to believe that all the elves living in Quel’Thalas would be down to start snorting demon crack. I feel like they would definitely leave and find there way to the Horde since they would distrust the Alliance big time after the events of WC3.
If anything I think it’s a shame that elves were written the way they were. I think Metzen has always bristled a bit at the standard elf fantasy (“good”-aligned and noble forest-dwellers who live with nature, have an affinity for magic and archery, and live for a long time) and did his best to make sure no wow elf ever completely filled that niche. As a result there are a lot of players who really wish they could play that thing, and that thing has never truly existed in world of warcraft (night elves are actually pretty savage and xenophobic and have for most of their history hated arcane magic, blood elves are orc-aligned, care only for nature aesthetically, and are addicted to magic rather than merely having an affinity for it, and most elves in this game are like this all the way down). The only one that fits the standard fantasy elf trope is a virtually-extinct remnant faction no one’s allowed to play
Meanwhile most of the other races seem to more or less fit their archetypical fantasy. Humans being young, brash, and spirited. Gnomes being technologically adept and intelligent. Dwarves being mountain-dwelling, hearty, good-natured, etc.
