I mean, it does? Literally no one has said this. But if you’re feeling “left out,” I’m happy to throw you a bone:
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I remember what the Night Elf Sentinels were like back in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. I remember how they were this army of Amazon-esque warriors, backed by spirits of nature itself, that apparently fought so fiercely that even the most battle-hardened of orc clans, the fabled Warsong tribe, famously declared, “these elves are savage!”
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I remember reading Stormrage and Wolfheart for the first time, the latter especially demonstrating how Malfurion and Tyrande can handle diplomacy (the Alliance gathering to welcome Gilneas to their faction) just as well as they can combat (the battle down in Ashenvale, where the worgen turn the tide against Garrosh’s “secret weapons” from Northrend).
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I remember how the entire zone of Mt. Hyjal was all about the vaunted spirits of nature reawakening to drive back the hellish forces of Ragnaros the Firelord, with the entire questline going right up to the player character aiding Malfurion and Jace in establishing a foothold within the Firelands themselves.
I can give you example after example of how the Kaldorei used to be a badass race to play, and then got the gaming-and-lore equivalent of castration with The War of the Thorns.
So yes, one of my favorite races of all time has suffered, as well. My comments may not indicate it, but I have also been personally affected by the destruction of Teldrassil and the subsequent victimization of what has traditionally been one of the most unstoppable fighting forces on Azeroth, an army that literally has 10,000 years worth of experience on the battlefield.
Literally none of that, however, invalidates the simple fact that the Horde has still traditionally been villainized ever since Mists of Pandaria, first through Garrosh, then through the implication of Draenor that orcs are naturally-sadistic and evil, and now through Sylvanas, which again, has also completely obliterated the Forsaken’s cultural identity.
Every victim needs a villain, and vice-versa. Both the Kaldorei and the Horde have suffered.
The difference is that the Kaldorei are one race—note you don’t see as many losses incurred by the dwarves, for example, or even humanity—while the Horde is many, and each of their races has consistently been demeaned, spat upon, and ridiculed:
- Orcs are bloodthirsty savages
- Trolls are bloodthirsty cannibal savages
- Tauren are brute cow-people but are soft and gentle enough to betray their own faction
- Forsaken are genocidal, chemical weapon-spewing sadists
- Blood elves are (surprise) sadistic mana addicts who will happily craft a WMD for the Warchief (mana bomb at Theramore) without a second thought
The list goes on and on.
…because PvP, with maybe the possible exceptions of Warsong Gulch and the Battle for Gilneas, has little to no real relevance in PvE content (read: lore) and never has?
