If Horrific Visions have taught me anything, it’s that you shouldn’t ask Void Elves where they were whenever Old God/Void stuff happens 
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Still do not like. It feels like fel is the more important part of the equation, and I’m annoyed that Horde always has to be shown to be doing things the “wrong” (evil, corruptive) way.
Also, this “slippery slope” only happened after the desperate events of being almost wiped out, renaming themselves Sin’dorei, etc. So it’s kind of like saying “As long as they were allied with humans, the elves used Arcane properly, but then as soon as they broke away, they suddenly became unstable and went down the badwrong path.”
The split between High Elves and Blood Elves is extremely recent. They should be similar. But that said, I feel like High Elves are actually the arrogant ones, looking down on their Blood Elf cousins and making self-righteous statements about how we need to be “redeemed.” If they’re actually right, then that’s not arrogance—it’s just fact.
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I know that the discussion has to do with the cosmic forces, but since the aesthetics of some of Blizzard’s decisions are also being addressed, I think it is pertinent to point out the fact that the whole theme involving wild gods that surrounded the warrior lore was abandoned in favor of Odyn’s titancentric theme.
This was something that completely deconstructed the obvious role of the orc race in the warrior aesthetic. And for me it is yet another demonstration of the Alliance’s favor in the narrative.
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As for non elf cosmic content I believe shadowlands was a massive missed opportunity for exploring horde culture.
Tauren, orc and trolls should have had a big presence. Bwonsamdi should have been a major shot caller in the shadowlands.
However despite me trying to avoid the elves they would be paired with the forsaken if we dealt with the scourge.
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Let’s not forget that there should also be a strong connection spiritually to spirits and ancestors since ancestor worship and speaking with them is a big part of Tauren, orc and even troll culture. And was really not a lot of exploration of it outside of a few quests with Bwon in shadowlands.
Blizzard clarified years ago that blood magic is twisted/tortured life magic.
Also, the blood elves are users of it with their anima golems, they even use loa blood from Torga back in BFA for their rituals during the nazmir incursion. But sadly this is a theme that is very rarely shown.
Also you did not mention the elements. This is where the Horde shines with their shamans, sadly they never allowed the Horde races to shine in the most elemental heavy expansion to date.
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Indeed it appears to be Life Magic.
Of course there are many varieties of Life Magic not all are Nature though we already know that just from looking at the Necromantic Blood Magic, Ruby Fire Magic and Arcane Lunar Magic.
Infact I haven’t even seen Nature Life Magic I don’t think!
I’ve seen Nature Death Magic(Ardenweald), Nature Order Magic(Emerald Dream), Nature Spirit Magic(Botani) and Nature Void Magic(Zangar Sea whose Merciless Ones consider themselves brethren of the Void Entities who corrupted the Pale Orcs). No Nature Life Magic though…
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Why would making the Sin’dorei reconnect with Fel necessarily place them in a villain-batting position ? Cosmic forces are morally blank now. Mortals have been able to draw positive inspiration from the Void’s characteristics (creativity and imagination as opposed to the Light’s close-mindedness, the virtues of mortality, etc). There’s absolutely no reason why the same couldn’t be done with Fel. Actually, it’s about time Fel enjoys similar nuancing.
From an in-universe perspective ? Maybe. But from a meta perspective, High Elves and Blood Elves were supposed to appeal to different racial fantasies. High Elves were closer to your regular Light-wielding fantasy Elves, while Blood Elves abundantly fed upon the decadent nobility trope, putting the emphasis on other motifs such as experimentation, disruption and more generally off-limits stuff. That’s one of the main reasons why they would fit the Horde, actually.
Over the years, the thematical difference between the two groups grew much thinner. This is bad. If I was into what the Quel’dorei represent, I would play Alliance.
Yeah but High Elves are arrogant in your typical Alliance kind of way—moral superiority and all that. Blood Elves are arrogant in a bratty, cynical, douchebaggy kind of way.
Blood Magic being Life-based is a bit inconsistent in regards to some other lore elements, but yeah, it’s the most plausible option (also the best one imho) and was sort of officially confirmed. I generally roll with that.
I think Blood Magic being Life Magic is great. Thinking about it, Blood Magic SHOULD be an important aspect of Troll Druidism then.
Yeah I thought my post was already long enough so I decided to focus on the 6 main cosmic forces lol. I’m also skeptical as to whether the Elements are truly “cosmic”, since they aren’t cosmic components of the Great Dark, but rather physical matter tied to physical worlds.
But the Horde does have a strong connection to the Elements indeed. I also liked that the recently added Lok’osh “priests” were framed as being shamans who focus on Spirit rather than actual Light wielders !
Precisely, which actually makes me all the more bitter that Druidism is so one-sided and centered around the Cenarian practice. There are also Arakkoa and Saberon Druids out there iirc, who I imagine focus on Spirit and untamed energies of the wild more than on anything else.
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Given the recent Twitter revelations about Blizzard’s creative process,
https://twitter.com/covingtown/status/1669432761592193024?t=2wnYWfHRFK8kuhhs8JDwZQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/covingtown/status/1669435244255248384?t=HhG8ZlmHA08HBFgs0cQbwA&s=19
https://twitter.com/covingtown/status/1669437897022521344?t=wl4AJbf3iAuQhJBSeNP0pQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/covingtown/status/1669438160420614144?t=4S6XOOq64mQ0jDWdp9Q4TA&s=19
using incredibly minor details, like Anima Golems in one WoD zone, really doesn’t prove anything. A dev could’ve added those because they forgot that Blood Elven Blood Mages actually use Fire magic, according to the Frozen Throne manual, or simply added them for rule of cool.
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Vrykul are now the best warriors. Blizzard abandoned Trolls, Orcs, Tauren and Ogres and now rides with Vikings and valor instead. Sadly. Another theme that got occupied by humans and descendants. Druid and Shaman will follow soon.
True words spoken. Blizzard doesn’t care about the Horde lore. All cosmic lore is alliance lore. Even on the dragon isles we stick to the night elf leaders.
Why don’t the orcs reconnect with fel? It only corrupted their race, drove their leaders to insanity, nearly destroyed their civilization… Sound familiar?
I actually wouldn’t mind a dedicated fel-for-the-greater-good blood elf subfaction - Hearthstone had a funky idea for one - but it should come under the proper scrutiny after TBC.
I’ve never bought this argument. A race’s “Horde-ishness” shouldn’t be judged by its moral depravity and tolerance for evil magic, but by the faction’s purported themes of honor lost & regained, living up to a noble heritage, the pursuit of redemption, etc. Those are the themes Thrall built this Horde we play on; themes that Blizzard, in surpassing stupidity, demolished to give us the Orkish Horde and the Scourge Horde.
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Play WoD. They never had a noble heritage. They been warriors since the time before the Draenei arrived. Durotan and his Frostwolf Clan were a minority amongst war mongers.
Officially, sure, but whenever Fel turns up in the game it’s always in the form of green-glowing bare rock and blasted wasteland. The fel-using “good guys” are all morally grey and edgy as all get-out.
But my objection mostly goes to the fact that I like the arcane past of the Blood Elves and all its non-slippery-slope-y accomplishments that didn’t lead directly into fel. You’re asking me to abandon Quel’danas, the magisters, and all their great arcane tradition because somehow it no longer fits, despite being what drew me to the BEs originally?
If I wanted to play a fel-dabbler, I would have rolled a warlock.
High Elves were not supposed to appeal to a racial fantasy at all, because they were never supposed to be playable. And I feel like you’re saying Blood Elves cannot have a history, because our history has become too “Alliance-themed.”
Hear, hear.
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blood elves were supposed to be edgy which makes them appealing in contrast to tolkien elves. Same for Orcs and their brutalness. The more you take away from that the more you turn the Horde into a collection of humans in monster costumes.
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Indeed. “Arcane affinity” isn’t literally their racial for nothing.
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They are—Blood Knights and all that—but that’s not what makes them Horde.
Also, Tolkien’s elves are edgier than most people give them credit for. Noldor, at least.
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Blood elves are, in a direct matchup, Sindar.
I’ve already said that I see us more as Noldor. Who are edgier than Sindar, IMHO.
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All sons of Feanor died. Want the same for the current blood elf leadership?
The equivalent characters in BE history (i.e., the ones who actually split off from Night Elves and went into exile) are already dead.
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