Did you guys see the new Alpha build sassy response of the High Elves? Silver Covenant Elves are just hilarious! The response to Blood Elves is just entertaining. One thing elves have in spades is the shade each elf will throw onto another elf for being slightly different than that other elf. They also tend to be indifferent to Horde races, and I wonder what a Void Elf reaction would?
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Good, now here’s hoping it remains that way and the whole “uniting the Elven tribes” doesn’t come to fruition in a way that involves the vanishing of tension, or worse, the political reunification of the Thalassians LMAO
I think at the end of this expansion all elves will be singing kumbaya and I will be vomiting in the corner. The elves truly have valid reasons to despise their kin. From losing friends and family at Theramore, The Horde-Alliance War, The Blood War, and the Fourth War… I like the idea that some elves at least haven’t forgotten, but maybe Aethas can convince them they’re different. That for the greater good the elves should unite lest they go extinct. Idk but I think unification is a LONG time away. Least not to the second patch of Midnight.
Nah screw it. I am hoping Etrigg becoming a Son of Lothar is a precursor to what happens in the future.
End the stupid faction war and we more on to killing other things.
I think that’s where the story is going as much as it gives me cringe at the idea. I feel like that Zandalari troll in Zuldazar watching two blood elves take selfies atop the pyramid… His response is exactly how I feel… “Elves…” I think the lore will eventually show Vereesa seeing the Light and reuniting the elves of Quel’thelas as a bilateral nation between Horde and Alliance elves choosing their paths as their heart desires. If a Trollbane can be for peace with the orcs and the trolls.. then anything is possible even Eitrigg being an official Son of Lothar the same Lothar who crushed the Horde at the end of the Second War…
Fun fact, there are Alliance visitors in the Horde Neighborhood and vice versa. Like at this point the whole push for faction conflict in the Voidstorm feels schizophrenic. Like we can have pvp without tying it to the factions.
True! The Voidstorm feels especially asinine, but if they can make it choose which pvp faction you want to rep with. Then I can accept that, but like, see that giant Void portal? Me thinks thats a bigger issue than who killed Aunt Frieda at Theramore or even your son Mika at the border to Quel’thelas. I get the reason the survivors are angry, and why they may want revenge, but the old veterans at the Arcantina have a point. It’s a new generation… We’ve been playing this game since we were kids, and I have for 20 years! This isn’t my WoW anymore, it isn’t BC era. Its 2025 not 2005 and the lore is unrecognizable for most people who remember those days of Vanilla/BC/Wotlk its a new generation and they are for peace and love… reconciliation. Forgive the past and live in the present. So let’s just 
and accept. We can’t rewrite the lore.
I recall WoW initially wasnt even suppose to have a faction divide and that was added like mid development or something?
Like at this point reconciliation has been WoW game, maybe the tide will turn again, maybe it wont but the chance of it turning feels unlikely especially considering we do just group up nowadays with anyone to get our raids/stuff done.
It would make sense cause in Warcraft 3 the mortal races banded together to defeat the darkness and the Battle of Hyjal was supposed to be the end of the conflicts between humans, orcs and elves. Then 5 years later it’s a cold war turned into a bloody war and the two sides have been at each other’s neck on and off since then. I think they should show High Elves coming back from Outland the Allerian rangers being shocked at has changed for them decades fighting a war that already ended. Similar to those blackrock orcs and trolls of the Dark Horde fighting a war that’s been over for a quarter of a century or more.
I don’t see faction war ever becoming a viable thing again. As you say, with cross faction grouping in Raids and Dungeons, Cross-faction guilds, etc. It wouldn’t make sense to try another “War” expansion or whatever. Most it’ll ever come to is both sides glaring angrily at each other over something dumb.
As for what the silver covenent’s future holds… Depends on them I guess.
“Forsaken living in the villages? Peace with trolls and orcs? This doesn’t feel like home anymore!”
Sounds like a you-problem, homie.
Eventually this Void crisis will come to a close and these poor silver covenent chaps will have to work out their issues. Either they become part of the solution and try to build a better future through peaceful dialogues, or they can go and become a problem of their own.
It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here. IMO, the silvers would make an entertaining enemy of both alliance and horde if they choose latch onto the old hate and oppose any sort of peace.
That’s what the story seems to be building on. These guys are literal survivors and the ones who have repeatedly lost friends, family and most of all their very sense of identity. It reminds of people I know with severe PTSD from the Iraq War. These guys are haunted by the ghosts of their pasts, the sins and the reality. They can’t let go because to do so, means letting go of a part of who they are and a part that meant so much to them.
Though for a race that lives thousands of years… the elves of Dalaran and the survivors of Theramore and the Second War they need closure. More so, maybe Mr Sunflower can help with their mental health. Survivors shouldn’t simply be put down or attacked.
The Blackrock orcs being killed by Eitrigg is especially painful. To me, like bro, these are vets fighting ghosts, don’t kill them. Get them to a clinic hosted by that nerubian. They need to get past the trauma of their youth. They all do. Elf, orc, troll, whatever.
The first trailer of the game (2001) literally has humans and orcs fighting in Westfall / Duskwood. You can find alpha screeshots with the very early Alliance / Horde (no gnomes and no trolls), with untextured dwarves still.
I can’t believe we are still playing a game who’s engine is from 2001. Yeah I think you’re right the announcement wasn’t it in 2003? I remember 2001 they said they were in development for Warcraft 3 then 2002? They used the engine of the original Warcraft 3 and built the WoW we know.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/rrdiio/original_plan_for_wow_did_not_include_factions/
John Staat’s WoW Diary contains the following paragraph:
One of the major design considerations for character design was the silhouette, because players could then identify enemies and allies quickly by their overall shape and size. In games, the player’s eye is usually over- loaded with text, interface elements, spell effects, and targets, so it was crucial that players could quickly identify friendly or enemy races. This was especially important after it was decided to split the player population into two opposing factions, a concept pioneered by Dark Age of Camelot.
This seems to imply that there indeed was a time before “it was decided to split the player population into two opposing factions”. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any more information about when that decision happened.
I knew I wasnt crazy/hallucinating that piece of old WoW trivia.
The WC3 engine period of WoW was in 1999. You can find screenshots of Northshire and a town called Valgarde (later used in Howling Fjord).
WoW and WC3 were largely made side by side actually.
Yes, but that had to be pre-2001 first gameplay trailer. It’s probably stuff from late 90s.
I’m kind of disappointed there’s not separate racist anger from these guys against other Horde members, especially orcs, trolls, or undead.
Oh well, it’s still alpha. Still room for hope.
You just created a grey streak on my head with that fact. God are we this old? When did it happen?!
I think that’s the lore implication with Eitrigg going back to Blackrock mountain to kill the Dark Horde survivors, because they are still unwilling to be part of the New Horde and be for peace with the humans and I don’t blame them. These guys lost everything and linger like shadows before the mountain never able to truly be free of their past. Hatred against the humans and their Alliance who killed their families. I hope the Amani show some resentment of having elves amongst them especially what was done to Zul’jin, but maybe the prejudices we would expect isn’t appropriate for the WoW narrative of 2025.
There are no other things though. There is a reason why, on the Blizzard Gear Store, you get new Alliance / Horde merch several times per year (and it sells out) while covenant stuff from the Shadowlands is still available. There’s a reason purge of Dalaran is still discussed to this day more than the entirety of the last three expansions. Like it or not, factions are the soul of the game, it’s like trying to remove football teams and make everyone a neutral football player “field enjoyer” or something.
And I’m not even talking about how other mmos simply do other stuff better to the point it would be hard for WoW to compete, that’s another can of worms.
It do be like that.