If we take various in-game and out of game sources, the High Elves have a population in the thousands.
We know that 10% of the survivors of Quel’Thalas refused the mana-draining practices and became, “High Elves.” These Elves would then move to Quel’Lithien Lodge in the Eastern Plaguelands.
From that same population of survivors of Quel’Thalas, the strongest 15% (a mere 5% more than were exiled and moved to a single lodge), left with Kael’thas and became the Sunfury, a force large enough to launch multiple campaigns through the course of WC3. This same force of 15% of the elves, by the time they reached Netherstorm, were described as numbering in the Thousands by Archmage Vargoth in his journal in Kirin’var Village. At that point we don’t know what Kael’thas’ forces looked like either. They went through multiple campaigns and lost people, and that force could’ve also factored in the loss of the Scryers. When the Scryers defected, it was described as the largest loss of manpower Kael’thas had ever suffered.
So, 15% = “Thouands,” factoring in unknown losses.
Considering Chronicles Volume 3 states Dalaran’s population was evacuated prior to the Scourge attack, and factoring in the return of High Elves from the Alliance expedition, High Elves in independent lodges in the Eastern Kingdoms, and High Elves who followed Jaina to Kalimdor, the number of unaccounted-for High Elves could be staggering. It’s possible they could even be equal to that of the Blood Elves, and we’ve never known because being a scattered people, it’s hard to keep track.
Unless the High Elves were several billion strong beforehand, I don’t think there are fifty thousand, and I don’t think they’d be using terms like extinction to describe their state.
“Plagued by a history of subservience and exile, this proud tribe was on the brink of extinction when Warchief Thrall and his mighty Horde forces were driven to the trolls’ remote island home in the South Seas during a violent storm.”
The use of the word, ‘extinction,’ to describe a playable race has not been a factor for exclusion since Vanilla.
I’m fairly certain there are probably at least a thousand High Elves, possibly a couple thousand, but why utilize a single source for speculation instead of combining all of what we know? We have a lot more explicitly stating they are few and far between, “a rare sight”, and “near extinct” than a single instance of a vague percentage being calculated with vague numbers.
Not brainstorming. Much of what you’re using as a source is fairly old lore. What I’m bringing up is more recent. I would interpret it as an indication that while at one point the Developers had one idea for High Elves, that changed.
As said, the High Elves are not, “a rare sight.” They’re nearly ubiquitous for Alliance players. There’s a very real saturation of High Elves in Alliance content that doesn’t make sense for a race with a small population.
Indeed. Even the Maghar, ostensibly coming from different clans, united under a single banner. Does the Silver Covenant have to be the “main” HE faction? Not really, High Elves could unify as a whole and come up wit another name tbh, but then we could say why doesn’t the Silver Covenant just unify the rest of the HE’s under themselves, as they indeed are the most proactive HE group.
Cause yeah, every playable faction is an specific group, even the maghar as an unification of clans, so there has to be an unifying theme, which I do consider the SC to possibly be.
Or they could rename themselves as an unified group, it would work too tbh.
I always figured the Silver Covenant would essentially become the military/police of a high eleven nation. The core group that would cut out a new hole and then the civilians would come.
That would actually be a really cool patch idea. Alliance support the high elves and the horde support the… whoever… as they build up a new city.
The Blood Elves have the Magistry, the Blood Knights, the Farstriders, the Spellbreakers…
The High Elves have the Silver Covenant.
Rather than a group for each class, the Silver Covenant encompasses a much broader force of elite combatants. They have mages, rangers, paladins, etc… Therefor I could see the Silver Covenant essentially being something elite, and thus the Heritage Armor being inspired by the Silver Covenant’s aesthetic, which itself could stand to be more fleshed out by the inclusion of Heritage Armor. Kind of how like Void Elves largely use their Heritage Armor.
The WoW Encyclopedia is quoted as thus, though this is no longer on the official site since the site’s rework and is archived on the wowpedia.
“Modern high elves are a rare sight, and are commonly mistaken for blood elves. In consequence, there are so few high elves left on Azeroth today that they cannot be considered a race in anything other than the biological sense.”
That’s where the idea that they are a rare sight originates.
The Warcraft Encyclopedia is also very old, dating back in Vanilla WoW. I’m not saying it isn’t canon, but it’s been contradicted by recent lore developments before.
Sure, and I think most of the arguments for adding High Elves depends mostly (if not solely) on the idea that Blizzard would need to retcon or “rearrange” pretty solid statements they’ve said in the past.
Which is why I respectfully do not support adding them. Along with my own personal interpretation of the story of the High Elves in that I believe they’ll disappear into new cultures and things like the Silver Covenant as we know it will become legendary memories of an age gone by.
To be honest I would say most arguments stand on the ground that older lore has already essentially been retconned or re-arranged as is.
You’re perfectly entitled to your opinion and I respect that.
It’s certainly possible though personally I consider it to be a waste of one of the most interesting divergent stories World of Warcraft has ever produced. The conflict between the Blood Elves and High Elves is absolutely fascinating. It’s a microcosm of the conflict between the Alliance and Horde. Both segments of the Thalassian Race have so much more in common than not, but there is a hatred and lack of willingness to forgive and reconcile that drives each side to compound one crime with another. In Taran Zhu’s words, it’s an endless cycle where each act of violence demands reprisal, and each reprisal is itself an act of violence.
To just see the High Elves fade into obscurity would be such a waste of an otherwise excellent story.