One of the first races I played as a kid were the Blood Elves. I always thought they were fascinating.
Coming back to the game, I’m just now realizing how strange and funny the narrative journey has been for our favorite sun-baked boys.
Originally, between WC3 and Vanilla, Blizzard set out to make a completely fresh take on High Elves, similar to what they did when they took the concept of Wood Elves and turned them into Night Elves.
Here’s a clip from an old Blizzcon panel where Metzan talks about his plan for the Blood Elves: https://youtu.be/O3uzFQ_n88k?t=416
(Note: the video also ties into the old lore on magic, which has been more or less completely retconned by modern Blizz)
The plan was simple: take boring, generic High Elves and turn them into reckless sorcerers who seek power at any cost. Sure, it’s a bit edgy, but that’s what WoW’s lore was known for at the time: taking traditional fantasy tropes and giving them an edgy twist.
I started playing WoW in TBC, and Metzan’s vision was the first impression I got about Blood Elves. They weren’t evil per-se, but they were pragmatic, jingoistic, and basically embodied the idea of “ends justifying the means”.
But they also had a relentless loyalty and dedication to each other that made them fit into the Horde, despite their…differences.
Along with that, the Sunwell was purified by the end of TBC. As a kid, I remember wondering where that story thread would lead us! How would this holy energy affect a culture that spent years recklessly using dark magic?
It was this duality that fascinated me about Blood Elves. I always wanted to see how the divide between Fel and Holy would affect them. I couldn’t wait to see a divide between the Light worshippers and those who still seek limitless magic. Surely there are still Blood Knights who have no interest in serving the Holy Light, and would rather take it by force, right? Surely there are still priests using shadow-magic to manipulate the masses, right? I couldn’t wait to see where Blizzard would take the Blood Elves from here!
…And, nothing happened. In reality, the dark side of Blood Elves would be entirely forgotten. Blood Elves in-game are almost always hunters or paladins, MAYBE a mage if we’re lucky. Warlocks are virtually unheard of unless they’re players. Demon Hunters still fit in with the “old” Blood Elf theme, but they don’t seem at all interested in their own people.
The final group of “edgy” Blood Elves were ironically exiled to the Alliance, who, originally denounced the Blood Elves for using dangerous magic (is that still canon?).
So their identity and narrative role has entirely shifted. A lot of people wonder why Blizzard hasn’t updated Silvermoon. Well, aside from the obvious reasons (not wanting to spend money on old content), you have to wonder what Silvermoon’s identity even is anymore.
Blood Elves are no longer scheming, secretive and authoritarian. They have no skeletons in their closet. No leper-gnome sweatshops in their basements. The depiction of Silvermoon we see in-game only lasted for a few years. I think even the Fel Crystals are gone according to lore. If Blizzard were to ever update Quel’thalas, it would expose the Blood Elves for what they’ve truly become:
Regular High Elves.
So yeah, hate em or love em, I find it very amusing that Blizzard’s “answer” to High Elves…just went back to being High Elves XD
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