Again, Blood elves were once hated. People hate change… for a while.
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Honestly, the hate for Blood Elves being in the Horde is still alive and well on this forum, at least with a certain subset of players.
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The hate might have died down, but it’s not gone in the least. It still gets brought up that blood elves “ruined the Horde”. You’ll still see people throw comments like “you’re maining a blood elf, you’re not a real Horde fan” and the rest of that garbage.
And I’m not talking years ago, or even months ago. Like, just last week.
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And I understand it. Orcs, Troll and Tauren tribal aesthetic was the original vibe for the Horde.
So I DO understand where they are coming from. However, I feel the Horde (not so much the alliance) has shifted to a melting pot of races, and individual goals. This is why the Horde is so interesting IMO, their diversity, and their struggle to shape their identity. I love the Horde for it. I don’t think there would be a modern Warcraft without the Horde and its diversity.
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I’ll keep her for this reason alone. I remember the days, many a year ago, when rabid Alliance players would say that the Forsaken were running an illegitimate state that should be invaded by the Alliance on the grounds that Calia was the legitimate heir to the throne, and she was out there somewhere.
Those of you who’ve been around for many years also know that the goalposts suddenly changed when those same players started saying she was technically illegitimate because the law doesn’t recognize the dead or some horsecrap like that.
I’ll keep Calia for the sole reason of rubbing it in the faces of the posters who refused to accept that Lordaeron belongs to the Forsaken, now and forever. Suck failure, losers. Lordaeron does not belong to the Alliance, it is legitimately Horde.
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You must have me cunfuzzeled for someone else…
I never liked Garrosh, even when we met him in BC. He was some guy’s son, and he was a moody brat. I liked him even less in WotLK and each subsequent expansion. I was glad to see him get blown up to nothing in Shadowlands, same as Arthas.
Garrosh blowing himself up and going away for ever was the best thing he ever did. My position has not changed since I met the dude.
I am not writing off the Calia entirely, forever. I am sure a good writer can salvage her. I just don’t know if Blizzard has any, and if they do, how much say they have over the narrative.
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To be clear, I’m not saying I personally dislike elves in the Horde. I agree with you that it makes the Horde diverse and interesting, and as I mentioned, I do also play Blood Elves. But there is a contingent of what is semi-affectionately called the “mud hut” viewpoint on the forum here.
Or conversely, that the Horde “stole the pretty elves that rightfully belong to the Alliance.”
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Back in TBC (and I am unsure if so anymore), I remember after having completed the Eversong/Ghostlands questline for the starter area on the Blood Elves, you were sent to meet the Warchief (Then Thrall) on recommendation from Sylvanas. I remember that Thrall read the note from Sylvanas, then crumbled it, and looked at you:
“Welcome to the Horde, Elf”
Man, that was cool.
(When the line was given to Garrosh, it had none of that effect for me! Lol)
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Can we stop with this half backed excuse for Calia’s need within the Forsaken? There was never any real concern or need for a “legitimate heir” within the Forsaken. Sure, some more radical sects of the Alliance, the Scarlets, and RPers would claim that every now and again but it never truly amounted to anything. As Sylvanas tells you herself in Silverpine, “Lordaeron belongs to the Forsaken. Always and forever.” They were never going to roll over for some pathetic excuse that since they did not have a proper dynastic monarchy they were not their own kingdom or nation.
Calia is as much of a cancer and joke of a character as Medan was. The vast majority of Forsaken players and fans tolerate her at most. The worst part is Calia didn’t have to be a bad character. I think she would have done amazing with Faol among the Conclave as a cool, neutral, priest character. Hell, even her her officially renounce her ‘claim’ if we care so much for the monarchy.
You know what could really shatter any of the living’s claim back on Lordeon? Relentless and uncompromising defense of every inch of Lordearon against the living, Alliance, Scarlet, or otherwise. Unending, never tiring, patrols up and down the borders, Deathstalkers and gargoyles remaining at their post, unflinching and unmoving for months at a time, banshees possessing more living looking bodies as sleeper cells, San’layn, abominations, Dark Rangers, all in reserve, necropoli to reinforce any corner of the kingdom, metric tons of reserve Blight for the worst case scenario, Maldraxxis necromancy that keeps our fine troops stitched together. A “keep out” sign the size and personality of Texas. The use of the Forsaken’s own strengths to showcase their power as a people rather than this Golden insert that doesn’t understand the Forsaken at all.
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Maybe because people don’t even know her name…
(Sorry, I imagine it was autocorrect, but it looked like an easy joke)
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Old lady’s voice … back in my day, we didn’t have Forsaken! (lol)
Wait, w-what about the rest of the Horde?!
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rofl
Nope!! Nope, I honestly got her name wrong. So yeah… I think you might have a point.
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It is kinda funny that the playable Forsaken models that showed up in WoW didn’t exist in WCIII.
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I found the Forsaken to be an awesome concept when they were introduced. But yeah, they were novel at the time and very much new to me along with the whole new expanded world (Kalimdor). Undead that were good? Orcs that were good!? Whaaa…? What will they think of next?
Oh and they definitely kept on thinking next! But some of the folk who joined the game later attached to what they first saw when they joined, and now it’s written in stone for them!
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I see some people (mostly Alliance posters, no shocker here) still have some trouble understanding what the issue is with Calia being a fantasy breaker, so I thought I’d write a little AU post-Fourth War story to help you better conceptualize the whole thing :
Tyrande’s Night Warrior mode led her down a path of unprecedented destruction, and Malfurion decided to stay loyal to her to the very end. They had to be stopped, so Malfurion was killed in a cinematic and Tyrande was sentenced to an endless penance in Super Hell, leaving the Night Elves without leadership (and virtually without any major character at all, with only Shandris left). But fortunately, at the very end of the Fourth War, hope resurfaced in the form of Azshaniel Sunbloom, a blond, fair-skinned, golden-eyed Blood Elven mage, who turns out to be the secret daughter of Azshara !!! She had fled to the EK with Dath’remar and spent her whole life hiding her true identity, but now she is willing to return to her long-lost kin and use her birthright to guide them down a path of Redemption and Renewal, with Lor’themar’s blessing. She brought with her a cultural revolution, seeking to open the Kaldorei’s eyes on the importance of equally revering the Moon and the Sun, and the need for them let go of their rural, secretive, isolationist ways. Of course, she also intends to use her status as a former Blood Elf to bring the Night Elves closer to the Horde and pacify the relations between her two peoples.
…But due to severe backlash from ungrateful fans who, for some weird reason, weren’t thrilled by the idea of letting such a character become the sole ruler of the Darnassian nation (you know how they are, always complaining about everything !), the Kaldorei ended up creating a ruling council (the MOONLIGHT Council), in which the power is divided between 5 speakers. Azshaniel Sunbloom, now also going by the (probably self-given) title of the Golden Lady, is one of those rulers. She had since renounced to her birthright, but is still given a ruling position for whatever reason (despite not representing anyone but herself). THEORETICALLY, she shares equal authority with the other members of the council, but in reality, she really is the new forefront figure of the Night Elves, to the point where every single game sequence involving the Kaldorei since the end of BFA basically revolved around her. Her last decision (obviously approved by the council !) is to help the Horde rebuild Shatterspear Village, so as to atone for the terrible, terrible war crimes they committed in Cata (sure, they didn’t really have the choice, but still, genocide is pretty bad).
That’s your AU Calia. So, how do you like it ?
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I will dismiss the “faction calling here” because as I have established before, I have 100x times more hours as a horde player than an Alliance player – but I will not be as ridiculous as (I have been before to my discredit ) by swapping characters to dispute this point. It is what it is, so I have no other but to take it and dismiss it.
I think the other point some people have made here is that the nature of Blizzard’s world is that of change, and ever changing concepts, ideas and backstories. I understand the need for cohesion for a world to make any sense to its audience, but Calia’s addition is the wrong hill to die in battle. I feel the whole issue that many people who find her disagreeable do it because she has a human model.
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Exactly! We all have short memories, and I remember WoD how Garrosh was done dirty in that Mok’gora, but beyond that people loved to hate him and vice versa. I think their is plenty of characters that today are loved and 20 years ago were hated or unknown to most Warcraft players. I think we have to put aside any biases we may have and let the storyline playout over these next 10 years as this saga builds her and other leaders up or take them down. We don’t and cant know what tomorrow will bring, let alone 2-5 years from now.
Tyrande is hated now, but loved prior to MoP and people use to absolutely hate Jaina especially during MoP and ignore why she did what she did and her reasons. The same with so many characters. People use to hate Baine as they felt his father should never have been killed. We literally had people complaining since day one about this character or that character, and listing off why, but now those characters are loved.
Like Sylvanas and Greymane. How many years have to go by before people who read the lore learn this lesson? The stories are just that at times badly presented (often) and just as interestingly compelling. Calia Menethil will be with us for years. Time to embrace that fact and be patient.
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The problem with WoW is that by its nature, the writing can be chaotic. For once, it has had a large amount of different writers over time working on each expansion’s theme, and siloed/nested storylines within a larger and broader ever-changing plot and narrative.
This narrative primarily serves the main core of the game, which is the gameplay and other game aspects that lure audience and players in.
WoW is as much as it is a work of literary fiction as it is a video game product that needs to sell. It is for this reason that a lot of the narrative and characterization feels disjointed at times, and that is also the reason of why we keep getting things rewritten, retconned and updated.
It is a lengthy saga and a lot of the old stuff will not fit in with the new stuff. WoW is art (?) but it is foremost and main a product for profit.
We , the community and only do so much to shepherd the narrative and influence decisions on the story’s department.
But seeing the constant bickering of players basing themselves on crumbs of showhorned jigsaw puzzle pieces that were stitch out of necessity at times (moreso than creativity) is both funny but also sad/frustrating.
IMO the bigger picture is that WoW is a melting pot of old and new ideas, some become obsolete, some continue to make sense, and others die out. If we are lucky creativity and profit for Blizzard come together to bring us a good experience.
But things WILL change, and old stories will really become irrelevant over time.
PS: On a side note, I reached my edit limit, so apologies for all the typos above. Also, about Calia: On one hand I sort of wish she had been given more stitches and rot to appease some of the people that complain about her, but on the other hand… She looks fabulous! Chef kiss
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I like the idea of Calia being an undead created by the Light. We’ve seen for a while now that different beings can be influenced by the primal energies, becoming variants of their original race. Heck, we already have Void Elves and Lightforged Draenei. Orcs became infused with Fel energies, who’s to say that Light undead aren’t a thing? I think it would be cool to have Lightforged Undead as a racial option (right after upright Forsaken).
As for Calia, I like seeing how she interacts with the other Forsaken leaders. I’m somewhat worried that she’ll become a villain though as the next expansions come out and the Light is shown to not be all good and happy.
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We’ve been told we’re supposed to like her. And that the other undead think she’s super cool.
But as far as actually doing anything super cool (besides rocking some great boots, credit where it’s due), Calia is pretty lacking. Concept could be cool or could be terrible, but so far, she’s been so bland and inoffensive as to actually be annoying. Maybe if she does something besides be generically sympathetic and reasonable, I’ll have a feeling about the character besides mildly irked indifference.
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