Why couldn’t they still be woodland rangers? Between the Green and Red Flights that hardly seems like it would be an issue.
Personally if Blizzard is so dead-set against adding High Elves because they’re not different enough, I would much rather have them as Dragonsworn with all the options we’d like for High Elves in classes and customization, than to see something else like, ‘Void Elves,’ happen again. Arguably this is something like what happened to Void Elves, but at least it doesn’t ruin the aesthetic and lore of the race to the point where you can’t immerse yourself as a High Elf.
Interestingly, there already seem to be quite a few High Elven candidates for Dragonsworn. Dragonsworn might be an RPG element and therefor non-canon, but the description matches quite a few individuals.
Also not just that. But also finally bring back good simple gameplay systems/features that were good for the game like Old Talent System, Class Raid Tier Gear, different ways of gameplay like Flying through Mountains, underwater system, Ground Mount Combat and etc, Also actually Allied Races that players wanted than random or forced ones.
See, I disagree. I imagine we’d see draconic themes blend into High Elven ones, and personally, I’d be alright with that. It’s not as if we’ve seen Dragons having their own unique architecture or anything, so I would imagine High Elves would still use the current designs they use as is for buildings, which to be fair, is a blend of Dalaran, Night Elf, Blue-Blood Elf, and Human buildings anyways.
Maybe I’m biased. I am one of the people who would’ve been happy with Void Elves if they came from the Alliance’s High Elves, rather than the Horde’s Blood Elves.
But if the Developers feel they aren’t different enough, don’t have their own culture or story being told, then I would be completely on board seeing the High Elves become Dragonsworn to make that their story.
You’d be sacrificing high elf themes for dragon ones. Just like void elves are all about the “void” theme.
If void elves came from high elves, their story and even the way they’d use the void would be completely different.
I just don’t see how you merge high elves and dragons and leave enough of the elf theme in there. The dragon thematic is way more colorful and would most likely overtake everything else, IMO.
If you want a humanoid dragon-elf that turns more draconic in combat, I have no problem with that. But don’t call them high elves.
What specific High Elf themes would be lost, exactly?
Elves and Dragons have had a fairly well developed relationship throughout Azeroth’s history, and one has affected the development of the other fairly significantly. I would imagine that if anything the Draconic Thematics would reinforce High Elven identity. With the Void Elves we’re seeing them push the boundaries of knowledge and doing things High Elves would never do, such as corrupting unhatched eggs with the Void. That’s where Void Elves derived from High Elves would’ve been heading.
Dragons have largely considered themselves to be Guardians of the World, protecting nature, respecting the delicate balance of magic, etc… These themes are far more in line with High Elven culture/thematics as we’ve discussed than anything Void Elves are doing. Indeed, one could argue the requests for High Elven Shamans/Druids makes more sense coming from the race becoming Dragonsworn, than it might have otherwise by hoping the Wildhammers/Night Elves would teach them. It’d be great if those groups did, but there’s no guarantee either would involve themselves with High Elves enough to make that so. By virtue of becoming Dragonsworn, the addition of Druids/Shamans becomes much more logical, as the High Elves would learn these skills from Dragons directly.
It just seems that, to me, High Elves becoming Dragonsworn not only delivers on the aesthetic of the High Elves, but expands it and makes it possible to explore existing themes we’ve seen from them, with a twist that (to me) is far more palatable than the Void.
Mostly just my opinion. I hate the tentacles Void Elves have. I don’t mind Azuregos’ Horns.
Can’t say I envisioned Dragonsworn going Draconic in combat to be honest. I figured they remained much as they looked.
It’s more than just nature. It’s magic too. It’s time too. Time and again we’ve seen the Horde despoil nature, abuse magic, and even twist time itself to achieve their goals. Why not oppose them?
Dragon Elves would be worst than Void Elves in a sense of bad compromising, adding another race that isn’t familiar to the common playerbase and was not what most of the folks playing in the faction wanted cannot go well. Rule of Cool isn’t always the best way to go, and we known that very well.
Also, the Dragonflights are not aligned with neither faction.
Just a small note: I am willing to see altered high elves, but it must be something that is still reckognizable as high elves. It should be them, with their theme, similar appearance and a story that feels like a natural progression rather than a twist (like void elves or dragonsworn).
Those were my aims with my old storm, runic and silver elves concepts.
I fail to see how Dragonsworn would be different from the Storm, Runic, and Silver Elf concepts of yours, Alamara.
Dragonsworn =/= Drakkonid.
Dragonsworn in the RPGs are literally individuals who have been accepted by a Flight, mentored by a Dragon, and initiated in the secrets of said Dragonflight as well as their power. There weren’t drastic mutations or alterations. I’m perfectly fine adding horns, and some new skin/hair colors, just because it’d be different. Include an option for no-horns for those who really don’t want them.
First, because they all were meant to be natural progression of current high elf story. All were high elves finding a new fount of power that did not change them in a fundamental way, only added new choices.
Dragonsworn is, well, sworn to dragons. You are now servants of the dragonflights, bound to themes and roles that are outside high elves’ standards.
Second, none of my concepts had big physical alterations. No horns or scales or wings or whatever you may imagine of draconic influence over their bodies. Storm elves had lightning in their eyes and glowing tatoos; Runic elves were just high elves using tatoos of power; Silver elves were the most changed, and in essence they just got some paler skins, markings and wilder hairstyles.
The Dragonsworn idea honestly sounds like a class and not a race thing, really. I know Demon Hunter’s have a niche market on the DH but I know they said that it most likely won’t always be that way.
High elves have done a few things to further their story, one includes changing their name and the other was messing with the void.
I’m advocating for the normal people that play on the Alliance and would like to have High Elves as a playable race but aren’t vocal on any social media. They are the vast majority of people that are friendly to the idea, and i was one of them before starting to voicing my opinion, views and desires on the forums. It’s a simple feeling: you see the High Elves present in the game as part of the Alliance and you ask yourself why you cannot play one.
Before coming into WoW during late Legion, i played Warcraft III for a long time, High Elves were part of the Human faction in RoC and Blood Elves in TFT, and i had grown up with that, even considering that lorewise the Blood Elves left the Alliance at that time. In WoW as i leveled with some of my first Alliance tons i started to encounter High Elves on many places, which was a nice surprise for me. From level 1-60 i found them in lodges around the Eastern Kingdoms, in Stormwind, in Theramore and in the Duswallow Marsh. Going to Outland i found a settlement built by them and named after one their of the most prominent rangers, alongside with many other individuals around the continent. On Northrend i found that most of the population of Dalaran had survived it’s destruction by the Scourge, and the High Elves were heavily present in the Alliance campaign in the continent. To finish, i bought Legion and saw them present in 4 class halls and as part of the forces that liberated Suramar.
After all this they had grown up on me, they are just as familiar as any playable Alliance race for me, and most people that want them playable feel similar, and this is why radically changing them or giving something else as a compromise is so disappointing and disheartening. That’s why most people are never going to be friendly with the idea of turning them into Void Elves, Half Elves or whatever else. Having Half Elf customization options is nice, more is more after all, but we don’t need to force them into all of the High Elves, or make Half Elves or anything else as the definitive Allied race instead.
It’s about appeasing to the majority of people that love the Alliance High Elves, for them the High Elves are exactly what they desire and need.
(wow, that was the biggest comment i ever made in the forums, i committed a lot of grammar erros on it, soo… lots of edits!).
TLDR; most people on the Alliance are highly familiar with the High Elves and they want them as a allied race, not something else.