Merging allied races. Redefining allied races

Community General Discussion
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So I have brainstormed ideas. Of many things I have wanted in the game. And brought them together with this idea.

More race/class combos?
More customization!
More player rewards.
More incentive to include our allies into the story.
More account wide rewards and progress.
A way to get more racials for people uninterested in the cosmetics.

Allied races were blizzard’s way of giving us subraces? But what if blizzard went with what we wanted initially? A way to unlock that race and use those skins ingame. We have been given something similar. We can now change our bodytypes in the barbershop! I have been greatly enjoying that and I wondered… we can maybe do this with some races? Certainly we just got Wildhammer and Sandfury stuff for Darkspear trolls? But How come I can switch between stuff like that and not my Zandalari? We are both trolls after all?

So I thought if we made it fair then perhaps we should merge the allied races to their base race counterpart.

This could overall give more customization. And it would open the door to adding more customization as allied races! It could also give us more race/class combos in the game over time.

For example. If we merge orcs, both orcs could share assets and classes. Orcs would get priest, Mag’har would have gotten warlocks. This is good for each individual player story. Some people were disappointed Mag’har couldn’t be warlocks.

So having this set up we could in theory add more similar race customization. We could separate Mag’har assets into skin tones, hair styles, voice lines. The Mag’har would benefit from having the new orc customization and access to warlock. The base orc would finally get their shadowpriests.

These are ways turning allied races into customization options via the barbershop (and having the ability to switch models via barbershop) could lead to more rewards via skintones / voicelines / heritage armors, unique niche looks. With certain looks/ allied races new classes may be unlocked.

Orc/ maghar/ fel orc/ dragonmaw orcs/ withered orcs/ dire orcs/ half orc (with ogre).

Trolls (what we have now)/ zandalari/ jungle trolls/ Drakkari (frost dwarves), Blood troll skin tones or makeup.

Forsaken/ fresh humans/ vrykul/ vrykul (undead)/alterac humans or fogsail humans from kultiras/undead deathknight skin tones of all races - it would be funny to see them have access to all the death knight skin tones from all races that have them.

Tauren/ Highmountain/ Grimtotem/ Yaungol/ Taunka/ Feltotem/ Blood totem

Blood elves/ San’layn/ Undead high elf (dark rangers)/ HIgh elf (sort of what we have now)/ Shadowsword (fel elf)

Goblins/ Kelfin/ Other cartels/ (I came up with some in another thread- mudgoblins/eel goblins/ hell goblins/ mecha goblins) - Kelfin would give goblins druids

Pandaren- Not really sure besides furlborgs? They don’t have much but I considered a mongrel category for races that don’t really fit with others. -Stuff like Vulpera, Ethereals, Centaurs, or maybe a unique races category would be better so they won’t feel left out. We haven’t had much besides vulpera and Pandaren. Jinyu/ankoan etc.

Night borne- Moonguard night elves, undead night elves, highborne, felborne, faldorei

Humans- Merging of kultirans and stormwind humans. Having something that alliance have wanted skinny kultirans. And more voice accents would be nice from the different human tribes. And the skinny kultiran model that shares the skeleton with forsaken. Stuff like vrykul could be added down the line for them as well.

Dwarves- The 3 clans we have now, frost dwarves (icicle beards), iron dwarves, stone dwarves. It is hinted that dwarves may inhabit other planets as creatures of titans.

Gnomes- Merging of mechagnomes and base gnomes, sharing hair colors and styles. Picking how much mechanization you want? Just a leg? Just an arm? Eventually adding a full robot option, sand gnomes, leper gnomes?

Night elves- Highborne, elune stuff. Druids of the flame customization. Maybe dryad, satyr stuff. Fel elf (illadari).

Dranei- Lightforged, broken, krokul, legion broken, sargerei, eredar(maybe? some time down the line…)

Worgen- share the human stuff for their human forms, more skin colors, and night elf worgen, choose night elf options instead of humans… unique bodytype for night elf worgens…

Void Elf- These have been controversial. But listening to all the high elf threads it may be best to add void elves and high elves in this category. Unique high elf customizations, possibly share assets with blood elves. This may lead to some or a few assets being shared across applicable races (night elves and night borne, horde alterac humans with normal humans, blood elf high elf and alliance high elf, Eredar options could be given both sides down the line, Lepergnomes are said to be in horde already via forsaken… etc). Paladins would be added to high elves, though they may be locked to certain looks for lore (hair colors and hair styles are still shared). I don’t like the idea of locking out customization so class skins may be added down the line to maybe make it work better. Silver covenant armor/starting zone may be a nod to those that have fought for high elves.

So this is a rough idea of what could happen with redefining allied races and mergin allied races! We could improve our customization and open up new rewards for the races we are already playing. A common complain on these threads.

I have thought of some other races I would like to see during this time that could benefit from this system.
Some examples. Goblins getting access to hell goblin stuff (they are on fire and devilish/demonish)
Dwarves getting frost dwarves and icicle beards, frost breaths, icy mist seeping from their breath, beards and cryo eyes O.o

Full mecha gnome options, as a robot with unique voice lines.
Wild broken/dranei like rangari getting druids and rogues like rangari dranei and feralfin broken druids.
Finally getting freethinker paladins as darkspear and other tribes.

Also it would be nice to change the identity of your race on the barbershop, so you can identify as say Farraki troll, or Dark Troll, so when allied races like Kelfin are added it would enhance player identity. And give void elves further player identify as “high elves”.

Thank you if you have any suggestions feel free to post them down to show what you would like to see from blizzard.

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I just made the thread. This is how I envisioned it. Merging allied races. Redefining allied races

I feel like this would be a solution to many of the threads we see now. We know people love the customization. I would love for blizzard to keep consistently add customization for each expansion, and allied races could be a powerful conduit for it if we start merging them! The quality of these customization need not be bad, but it may be faster to get more stuff like skin tones on races we already have so we don’t have to get more skeletons. And stuff like adding whole new zones delays such things, so if we just tack them on to the characters we actively play it would give devs incentive to use resource time on production of these cosmetics. Hopefully one day they will rival stuff like transmog on how often they are introduced in the game. Some stuff like frost dwarves or trolls would be nice customization we could get.

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But what if we end up getting low quality rushed out skins or they start adding skins for things that have unique geometry in lore? This would be a major concern of mine if they started doing this. For some people getting a low quality version of a race they wanted can be a deal breaker as it may defeat the reason they want it to begin with.

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Yes, but I never said they had to rush it. I just said it would take less dev time. I love the attention you put into making your models. But blizz tends to take a bunch of time on stuff on that type of attention. I am merely suggesting the format for allied races, I would like to see it sooner then later myself. I wouldn’t want a rushed model, but at the same time I would prefer actually getting the model! Some rush helps in some cases.

The format changes would open up to a better reward structure imo. The current kelfin models I believe use cata goblin assets I believe, they would need polish for release I would think. At least the same quality that we had for the last allied races, I wouldn’t mind more dev time, as I believe the art team is a major contributor to wow’s success.

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Fair enough. Fun fact. I actually used the cata models for these model edits. Not the HD ones. They are just very heavily modified.

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Yea been wanting to level a Kelfin rogue, or switch my goblins to them. I really like their glow in the dark eyes. And blizzard usually hints at stuff for the future. I await they day they add them into the game. Though I wonder what customization they will add in shadowlands. It seems their is room for improvement for many races. I am enjoying the ones we got though, especially the blood elf gender swapping stuff. Feels like some characters are new for me.

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I’d do anything for it to say I’m a “Wildhammer Dwarf Shaman” then regular Dwarf, why did Dark Iron Dwarf get special treatment race title but we didn’t :sob:.

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Yes, I think if they merge the races, they can come up with something called Identity tags. So we can have Wildhammer Dwarfs, Farraki Trolls, Dark Trolls, Jungle Trolls, etc. And stuff like skinny kul tirans. Possibly unique voicelines associated with the tags.

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Feel a bit conflicted on this but I guess it’s for the better.

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I think Racials titles is a small adjustment but adds so much value, aesthetics and immersion, I don’t understand why they didn’t do it in the first place.

Many races or sub races are from different clans or tribes and are identified differently.

Like that’s blizzards writing and lore…

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Yes. Well this system is sort of how I wanted sub-races to be like. So I do hope they can combine some of the allied races into customization! The customization can be unlocked as an allied race, and be used in the barbershop for the sister races!.

This would also allow unique oppurtunities in lore to add some nuetral versions of races we have now. For example the night elf dark rangers, could potentially be both customization for alliance and horde, them having access to the sister race of nightborne.

Or for the most requested allied race on alliance, high elves, it would allow distinct customization for both void elves and high elves, and share some assets. The mix would help with personal character lore/stories.

Another example is like Lepergnomes, some are in the horde serving the forsaken.

Sharing their race/class comboes also solves the problems some races have like Highmountain tauren or lightforged Dranei. I don’t see how Lightforged monks for example were never added…

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Impossible at the moment, since the models that Gilneans use are the same as the night elves use.

The most correct thing would be for humans to have different models of worgen.

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What do you mean? Like fat worgen for Big Humans?

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Most likely, Blizzard would use this idea. :roll_eyes:

But I mean making Gilneas’ worgen have customizations that differentiate our model from what represents night elves afflicted by the druidic curse.

Perhaps greater height as described in the lore, or a more lupine appearance with the inclusion of ears on the top of the head with the wolves as the ones we have at this moment are more similar to those of night elves and maybe a tail to give a more animalistic look to the worgen that refers to wolves and not a monkey’s butt.

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I would rather get worgen tails in general. Idk why people want night elf worgen… unless it’s more fur patterns? Unique face models? Antlers? Idk… Fur tattoos would probably be cool, or elune like patterns.

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Lack of better options for alliance? Why would it make sense to have them as allied race for worgen or night elves? After all the concept of allied race would be completed with night elves worgen.

Why doesn’t blizzard like to think of something that’s less frustrating than kultiras and junkgnomes, and ally’s clientele prefers to imagine something more relational from the estetic and values point of view of the alliance?

Why suggestions like vtykuls, arakkoas, saberons, sethraks are always invalidated because they are seen as something that already belongs to the Horde?

Why maybe for people who consider night elves worgen want something more prestine related to worgen and its origin night elf?

At the moment, for me, that option is remaining.
Unless the horde and blizzard consider that they have more values and aesthetics compatible with the horde. And at this point in life, I wouldn’t be surprised at this mockery for ally anymore.

Furbolg? :bear:

It would be much better and more relatable to the alliance and night elves, which already has them as allies and neighbors, but for this would involve a total reform of the model so that it is updated with the other existing today in the game. And a story for your official entry into ally.

I don’t see blizzard doing something so munumental for the alliance, and bfa, junkgnomes, kultirans and purple blood elves are the greatest effort they will make for the alliance.

I still bet on ogres in the horde and pygmies for the alliance.

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Yes I don’t get the logic of wanting werewolf night elves. I don’t see what the difference would be unless you want different bodytypes of were wolves? But then I think why not just give that to worgen already (and let you choose night elves as your twoform form.

I would think more attractive options that utilize the worgen skeleton are the Sethrak, Saberon (they are at least cat based).

I could see night elf worgen having a unique bodytype, maybe taller and skinnier? I have a hard time visualizing them.

I remember in Teen wolf they had Kanima, when the werewolf curse went wrong they turned into Kanima. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJZRUjH85sw I think if you really want a race similar to Worgen it would be an animal race based on another animal.