Terran Gregory. So much love to Night Elves.

It’s all just talk until it makes it into the game.

A trailer is one thing. A patch or more of clear, successful revenge is another thing entirely. They lost more than enough to justify a string of decisive, savage victories in a row.

As a fan of WC3 Nelves, it’s a real shame that they’ve fallen so far from their original identity.

Let’s hope they can get it back.
It’s been discussed already, but the Night Elf decline is in part due to disseminating aspects of their identity to other player races and/or neutrality, and what people keep calling the worf effect which by any name is essentially the trope of wanting to beat up the baddest guy in prison to rapidly attain your own credibility, or a much more annoying example: mocking Einstein or Hawking as stupid to make sure the audience knows your character is super smart.

There’s also the fact that in-game repesentation isn’t allowed to match the lore for reasons of balance. I’d argue they could stay truer to the lore and still keep balance but apparently lore is more a suggestion than anything else and it’s easier to make it up as you go.
11/13/2018 12:21 PMPosted by Rhuna
It’s been discussed already, but the Night Elf decline is in part due to disseminating aspects of their identity to other player races and/or neutrality

I really hope that, with the introduction of the Zandalari and their loa to the Horde side, the night elves can get some more Ancient support back now that it wouldn't be unbalanced.
As nice as it sounds, I'm going to withhold judgement until the final product is done. I've been burned too many times by Blizzard's "care" for anything that isnt human alliance side.
11/13/2018 12:30 PMPosted by Aviala
11/13/2018 12:21 PMPosted by Rhuna
It’s been discussed already, but the Night Elf decline is in part due to disseminating aspects of their identity to other player races and/or neutrality

I really hope that, with the introduction of the Zandalari and their loa to the Horde side, the night elves can get some more Ancient support back now that it wouldn't be unbalanced.

Aviana vs. Paku air battles?

I'm down.
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Can we just take an additional moment to just appreciate Terran.

He has easily become the best thing that has ever happened to Blizzard, by far. Ever since WoTlk, he’s been in charge of the one aspect of WoW, players universally agree on consistently being great and that is the cinematics. By god, Terran just does some gorgeous work, and they just keep getting better and better each expansion. The emotional depth, the facial expressions, the action, they’re just so awesome. I have yet to see someone as compasionate for this game as much as him right now, and it’s very welcome.

Remember when Metzen would go on stage and hype everyone up before the opening ceremony at Blizzcon? It’s that kind of love and excitement that we need more of from the WoW dev team and it’s that kind if energy that Terran provides in his own way. He may not be the big blizzard icon that metzen was, but he shows that there is still love and care being put into these games. It feels like Terran is the only one who seems to care anymore.

More devs need to start following the example that Terran is setting if they want this game to survive the next couple of years. Just that passion and the energy goes a long way in the community.
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11/13/2018 11:39 AMPosted by Vera
11/13/2018 11:32 AMPosted by Zanjin
...

Sylvanas was proven right, their leader and their god abandoned them in their time of need. Why should they continue to follow them?



Actually thats the writers/devs fault there. They refuse to allow things to happen. Writers keep from putting Elune into the story that its starting to make the nightelves just look more like a cult then anything. As for Tyrande, a leader can't be everywere at once during a battle. Again bad writing. If anything Sira and Delaryn should have been more upset at Anduin not giving any help instead of Tyrande.[/quote]

Tyrande abandoned Delaryn(and more) to save Malfurion
11/13/2018 01:12 PMPosted by Zanjin
Tyrande abandoned Delaryn(and more) to save Malfurion


And they came back to try and save them from being raised and take back their home.
11/13/2018 11:41 AMPosted by Akiyass
11/13/2018 11:32 AMPosted by Zanjin
Sylvanas was proven right, their leader and their god abandoned them in their time of need. Why should they continue to follow them?


Elune relieving their pain in Teldrassil, then following up with Night Warrior, shrouding all of Darkshore in the permanent darkness is hardly "abandoning" them, and in fact, it's more you would get from any other deity present in the lore.

Not only that, but the faith that surrounds Elune has never been a faith where one's faith is contingent on how much Elune helps them. It's a faith of the Balance, it's roots are drawn from Paganism, not Abrahamic faiths. Some things must die for other things to live, this is the balance of Nature and Night Elves understand this intimantly. So... the thought of Elune abandoning them doesn't even make sense.


Night warriors are elune being forced to help because of Tyrande.
11/13/2018 01:15 PMPosted by Akiyass
11/13/2018 01:12 PMPosted by Zanjin
Tyrande abandoned Delaryn(and more) to save Malfurion


And they came back to try and save them from being raised and take back their home.


too little to late. she abandoned her people to die when she could have saved them.
too little to late. she abandoned her people to die when she could have saved them.


no, she could not save them.
she abandoned them? yes, but there is nothing she could do.
if she returned to teldrassil she would have probably died in flames and her people would be without their leader.
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The reason I posted this was because around here we all have the mentally that all Blizzard writers hate Night Elves, that they want to kill off the Night Elves, that they only want to write the Night Elves as punching bags for the Horde or to prop up Human leadership.

But here is a person, a director, a writer that has clear and supremely visible love for the Night Elves. I would say it's not even subjective. If you watch the interview, if you see that these ideas were his and his team's that they pitched and proposed rather than simply being told what to make by Blizzard, if you see the care and effort they put in to referencing former pieces of art for the Night Elves that they didn't have to take the effort to even think about but they did, if you see the elation and life that comes to this person as he talks about the Night Elves, I would say it is objectively true that he loves the Night Elves as much as we do.

But the title of the thread is Terran Gregory. Because that's who I transcribed the statements of. Terran Gregory does not speak for any other department at Blizzard. In the interview, Terran Gregory rather clearly does not answer or respond to any questions or statements made in the interview about motives of departments that were outside of his own. Terran Gregory does not work on gameplay content. He does not make questlines. He does not answer if the gameplay departments will continue on the level of care and effort he put into "Terror of Darkshore" or if they can live up to that.

Nor did I present this as Blizzard actually making Darkshore satisfying once we're playing it ourselves. I merely wanted to point out that at least one very important writer at Blizzard loves the Night Elves as much as we do, and created a story showing the Night Elves in the best way he could because he wanted to, not because Blizzard told him to.
11/13/2018 01:18 PMPosted by Zanjin
11/13/2018 01:15 PMPosted by Akiyass
...

And they came back to try and save them from being raised and take back their home.


too little to late. she abandoned her people to die when she could have saved them.


So the only sensible thing to do is kill all your friends and family. (record scratching)

Raised Night Elves are either mind controlled, like Derek, or are deeply brain damaged and cannot reason through their own immediate history. Or they're just completely inconsistently written to the point of absurdity.
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It's not so far fetched for the greater val'kyr to raise the dead. They're the Lich King's main asset for raising beings such as the Night Elves.

What is far fetched is all of them willing to side with the Horde past the frenzy state. I could see them wanting to do nothing with the Night Elves, especially with Sira being left out to dry by Maiev, but joining the enemy side is more than a little weird.
11/13/2018 11:16 AMPosted by Kuuretar
"You know you want to go to war. I mean, look at how you are dressed. You are practically begging for it."
Absolutely true. They're already saying it with the raised Kaldorei.

"You know you want to join Sylvanas. I mean, look at how you were dressed when she killed you. You were practically begging for it."

Blizz is actually really gross with their messages. A lot.

11/13/2018 01:23 PMPosted by Amadis
The reason I posted this was because around here we all have the mentally that all Blizzard writers hate Night Elves, that they want to kill off the Night Elves, that they only want to write the Night Elves as punching bags for the Horde or to prop up Human leadership.

But here is a person, a director, a writer that has clear and supremely visible love for the Night Elves.
How's the old saying go? Actions speak louder than words. He's sure saying he loves nelfs a lot. Shame none of it really translates.
11/13/2018 01:18 PMPosted by Zanjin
too little to late. she abandoned her people to die when she could have saved them.

This was addressed in Elegy. Tyrande is in Stormwind because that's where her people asked her to be, organizing for and settling in the refugees, keeping up morale, etc.

When she did run off for a few minutes to save Malfurion, pretty much everyone there asked her not to. Her people wanted her there, safe and alive, giving hope to the survivors, despite how much she personally wanted to be in the thick of the fighting, herself.
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11/13/2018 01:56 PMPosted by Oranlos
It's not so far fetched for the greater val'kyr to raise the dead. They're the Lich King's main asset for raising beings such as the Night Elves.

What is far fetched is all of them willing to side with the Horde past the frenzy state. I could see them wanting to do nothing with the Night Elves, especially with Sira being left out to dry by Maiev, but joining the enemy side is more than a little weird.


Sira went off on her own in the encounter. Maiev didn't leave her. Also its odd seeing that the Valkyr don't die when bringing corpses back to life. Especially derek, who has been dead for a long time. Also trying to figure out when they started using the term "Greater Valkyr" . Last that I checked the ones Sylvannas has is all the same types. Arthas isn't around so there powers should have dimished some. Since they don't have that connection.

Also Terran might like nightelves, but as of late you don't see them getting much love. So no matter if he posts anything, because nothing makes it into the game apparently. Because majority of the devs hate the nightelves and rather have them put in deathcamps/tortured like in the current darkshore scenario. Then actually giving players the chance to prevent the raising of them. It's stupid.
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11/13/2018 11:12 AMPosted by Akiyass
Worgen cannot be raised into undead because of their connection to the Emerald Dream... Night Elves are probably the most connected race to the Emerald dream in the Lore, and blessed by Ysera.


iirc, the worgen curse is rooted in druidism, which itself is rooted in the Emerald Dream. Which would indicate to me that it's only druids that are "protected" from being raised from the dead by anyone not named the Lich King.

And not all Night Elves are druids, so the non-druid elves would still be susceptible to being raised.
11/13/2018 02:27 PMPosted by Murdra
11/13/2018 11:12 AMPosted by Akiyass
Worgen cannot be raised into undead because of their connection to the Emerald Dream... Night Elves are probably the most connected race to the Emerald dream in the Lore, and blessed by Ysera.


iirc, the worgen curse is rooted in druidism, which itself is rooted in the Emerald Dream. Which would indicate to me that it's only druids that are "protected" from being raised from the dead by anyone not named the Lich King.

And not all Night Elves are druids, so the non-druid elves would still be susceptible to being raised.


Now that I think about it, Night Elves were conncect to the Dream via the World Tree, which was blessed by Ysera. Could it be Sylvanas burned it down so she could raise Night Elves?
11/13/2018 02:03 PMPosted by Serevèn
11/13/2018 01:23 PMPosted by Amadis
The reason I posted this was because around here we all have the mentally that all Blizzard writers hate Night Elves, that they want to kill off the Night Elves, that they only want to write the Night Elves as punching bags for the Horde or to prop up Human leadership.

But here is a person, a director, a writer that has clear and supremely visible love for the Night Elves.
How's the old saying go? Actions speak louder than words. He's sure saying he loves nelfs a lot. Shame none of it really translates.

Actions do speak louder than words. The action here is that Terran Gregory created "Terror of Darkshore." The action here was that Terran Gregory put in the effort to reference previous artistic renditions of Night Elves that he didn't have to. The action here was Terran Gregory asked for Tyrande to get an enhanced look to make her presence more profound. The action here was that Terran Gregory pitched and proposed the Night Elves being the personification of ferocity in their return to Darkshore.

People are overlooking all that as if Terran Gregory has any responsibility for the gameplay or questing content that comes after that his team didn't create. I'm not saying Blizzard over all has treated the Night Elves right. But I didn't post up this thread to say Blizzard has. I posted it because Terran Gregory has.