Customization options and transmog improve my gaming experience.
It’s not that I don’t want good gameplay and class mechanics, it’s just that no matter how good the gameplay/mechanics might be, if I don’t like the way my character looks and/or if I don’t have the options to make my character appealing to look at, then those gameplay/mechanics are worth less than nothing to me.
I need to enjoy looking at my character so I can enjoy playing my character. If I am not happy with the aesthetics then gameplay won’t matter. The more I like the way my character looks, and the more freedom I have to make my character look the way I want, the more enjoyment I get out of playing the game and the more I want to play.
It’s not enough to give me a bunch of transmogs or racial customization to chase after either… I have to actually like the way those transmogs and customizations look and Blizzard’s taste in aesthetics has been more miss than hit for years as far as I’m concerned. If they actually put out stuff with aesthetics I like the look of, it will get me to play more frequently and make me less likely to unsub even during content lulls.
And I can pull out similarly geared Horde characters who do next to nothing but kill the world bosses every week. Why don’t you be honest with your Horde main status and shove off instead of pretending you’re an “Alliance” player?
This is not to say Sethrak are a bad idea, only to show how much support each race gather here in the General Discussion forum.
I don’t think high elves are coming. In the end sethrak are more likely to be added, thought I think neither will and we are done with allied races for a good while.
Still, it boils down to the fact that Alliance allied races are generally lackluster and Blizzard didn’t listen to customers at all.
If at least there had been more care and attention to the void elf introduction, a true compromise, maybe the discussion could have died out two years ago. But Blizzard just kept going without ever paying attention to what people actually wanted.
Up until Mechagnomes I would have said Naga were an Impossibility, But Mechagnomes added a feature for player races that now allow races which don’t wear clothing properly. ie Naga, Centuar, ect.
Since Mechagnomes don’t wear Pants, Arms, gloves, Bracers, or Feet it is now possible to add Player characters that don’t follow normal gearing looks.
If you follow WOW requests since Vanilla, High Elves in the Alliance has been the number one Most requested Race ever.
After the High Elves Joined the Horde, those requests switched to Half-Elves more than High Elves, but the idea of Blue Eyed Blonde Haired Elves in the Alliance never really lowered in Popularity, over the coarse of 4 different Forums Alliance High Elves have been the Most requested Race. However ever since Void Elves, the Requests have taken a upswing in popularity to a degree which borders on fanaticism.
Personally, I am fine With Void Elves, I would like some additional Skin tones, maybe a lighter Hair tone or two, but overall I’m satisfied With our High Elves. I do think that it would be time to make Night Elves have Paladins and Light Hair colors, as a way to give that fantasy to the Alliance, without the additional Race inclusion. As Alliance High Elves would only bring one thing new to the Table Elf Paladins. We can get that from Night Elves as their lore is moving in to a Ret Paladin feel, add a few “Moonlight” Hair colors with Paladins, and done.
We don’t need more Elf or Troll races. (Since Elves and Trolls are really the same Species.)
I would rather seen new Races like Ankoan ” and Jinyu. Granted adding them means the Horde should get Gilgoblins, but some might feel that is too many goblin based races in the Horde. Personally I see no issue with this as Gilgoblins have a very different world view than Goblins, and Vulpera are not actually Goblins, even if they share the skeleton.
The only way I think alliance would get high elf is to make them different from blood elves. That was tired with void elf’s. There a reasonable amount of outcry over them. Despite some on both sides seem happy with the compromise.
That leaves them with two ways to go. Make Blood elf neutral. Have all blood elf switch side. I can not see that as a viable option. That is why high elf’s is pretty much done for. They tried the only good option and some did not like it. It seem to be alliance prevailing them. They hardly every like it when the Company try to make something work for alliance players. Without alienating other players. Which is bad as it could lead to a loss of players.
I am not against high elf’s in alliance. The problem is races are the last thing left that deviate and give it side a sense of identity. Even that has started to crumble as they are making both side the good guys. Which is a interesting way to go. They need to figure out what to do with alliance its huge power base. What to do with horde and no power base. Plus it starting to lose its core being. Some do not like it and some do. Hordes were the outsiders and the edgy ones.
Then the upper players doing one thing in alliance and other in the horde. Which is causing such to call for high elves. In the hopes, it brings in high-end players.
And i want to be a horde elf druid. Female horde gnomes sound cool. I have a shopping list for Alliance races too. Faction identity in a faction based game? That’s crazy.
High Elves would be good too, but I’d be happy with new customization options for Void Elves. Just say Alleria returned to the Allerian Stronghold in Outland to recruit her friends and kin, who never got turned voidy, and have Alleria teach them her power (which would explain them having void-themed racials).
