First things first, 8.1 Spoiler Warning.
Hi there.
Fully knowing the dangers of posting an opinion in a public forum (ignominy, scorn, trolls, etc), I still do this in hopes it can reach its intended recipients. I hope the readers can understand this intends to share my feelings and experiences, instead of minimizing your enjoyment or concerns, if any, on the game's story.
If you happen to agree with any of my points, I do like the idea of more voices adding their similar experiences that the Devs can attribute more weight to them. I sadly won't be able to keep a lot of track on it.
Now then...
To the Warcraft Storywriters
I am writing to connect with you as a long time player, and fan. I admit, I have always identified with Night Elves above all others, ever eager to learn more about their lore and see them represented in game. In the past expansions, however, Iâve begun to feel like I'm being punished for that love.
It was in Dolanaar, during that quest with the Satyr who tricked you, where I remember feeling like the cleverest person in the world for comboing Gouge and Backstab during a tough spot. Falling from the giant tree, Aldrassil, was my first experience dying in the game. I felt so privy to the world when I discovered the secret romance of the Rogue Trainer in Dolanaar to the one under the boughs of the Darnassusâ Cenarion Enclave. I spent so much time learning to use about Thottbot just to complete the quests of Gwyneth ByâLeggonde to find those washed up monsters on Darkshore. And who can forget that damned gnomeâs quest to get smashed? Or that jumpscare moment when you were roaming Ashenvale and had your first meeting with the enormous wolves and bucks that roamed the northern border of Felwood? Through all of those quests and so many others, I fell completely in love with the Night Elves: they introduced me to the World of Warcraft.
Then, the story destroyed all that connection in a manner as ignominious as possible. Killing all the above NPCs and places in a manner as contemptible as it's been handled is not empowering, or rallying at all.
My concern with the current state of the game is the ignominious sacrifice of characters and stories in the service of a defunct plot. And it's not the first time. For Night Elves, Deathwingâs passing through Darkshore causes havoc and tragedy (compare the tragic questlines on Darkshore to...claw marks on Stormwind). But it serves no purpose other than to say how sad and beaten Night Elves are and then they do nothing about it. I can understand the use of tragedy as a rallying point â but not when it leads to nothing. This repeats itself later, only a few steps away from Darkshore. All through Ashenvale, Hellscreamâs rampage destroys a people whoâve fought for that forest for so long, and none of the questlines gave any sense of closure. There was no feeling of having earned them any sort of reprieve. And at the very end, Tyrandeâs appearance in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid felt brief and unfulfilling, and paled in comparison to what was lost. At the end, it felt like the Night Elves had no part whatsoever in bringing them down.
It was at that point that the writing for Night Elves began to feel not as a series of blunders or part of the inherent difficulties of in-game writing, or wording mistakes, but as active malice.
Outside of the game, it was even worse: âThe Shatteringâ had one of the coolest Classic late game NPCs slaughtered ignominiously: the druid who summoned the Ancient in Alterac Valley (She later returned as another monster to kill in Legion). In âWolfheartâ, the Night Elves are out-ambushed by orcs. At night. In Ashenvale. "Silly" is just the kindest description of it. In âTides of Warâ, Pained becomes nothing but sentimental fodder to be killed for Jainaâs grief. In "Before the Storm", there is a brief, cool moment where a lovely gnome character seems to have a crush on a Night Elven captain and...the elf dies paragraphs after that. A night elf poking their head in a Warcraft written story is like poking into a guillotineâs lunette, the writers stepping into the role of the uncaring tricoteuses peddling hasty product nearby.
Iâm not calling for revenge. Itâs not about retribution. Itâs not about making The Horde pay or suffer; I actually despise the idea of enjoyment in this story being based on a zero sum Schadenfreude game. Itâs about vindication. Itâs about validation. Itâs about what the Night Elves are and fought for; every life in Darkshore, every death in Ashenvale, their values and what they stand for, to be shown having some worth to the story. Something where their way of life is shown to be good for something more than just fodder for The Horde, or new models to be corrupted/burned/in need of rescue, as was Hyjal, Val'sharah, The Wardens in Aszuna, and Vordrassil in Grizzly Hills (which are all storylines about how the Night Elves can't defend squat unless big heroes come and help them. It's not uplifting for any Night Elf fan to see them fail ubiquitously).
Now we have the new Battle for Azeroth Cinematics, quests, stories, the Warbringers, and 8.1, and as ever, the Night Elves are just shown crying, burning, trying and failing, losing everything shown before for no reason whatsoever other than to serve as a module for the story of others. For example: Delaryn, and Sira all serve as an extension of Sylvanas' story building her paralel to Arthas. But for the Night Elf story, they're just hope, killed, raised and used to mock them. They're just monsters that reflect Sylvanas.
Being empowered by a deity, and earning the power to bring ancient lands to...a standstill that logistically cannot have any victor does not feel like an empowering victory in any shape whatsoever.
Everything there is about them is systematically stripped, literally burned, ignored, and it's nothing a new eye color model update makes one feel rallied for. The savage and sometimes melancholic Night Elves one quested with so long ago feel like punishments for having ever empathized with their stories and values. The people who had the âIcon of Wisdomâ as a symbol of what they strived for; those who learned to treasure wisdom from the follies of the past and thus strove for a better future in fixing their mistakes and working with nature become proxies for someone else to shine.
As it stands, I'm dejected, dissapointed, even angry and sad. It's not just because of a recent thing, it's a pattern. The promises for fulfillment in the past have been hard at work earning mistrust. It was claimed last expansion was a love letter to the players, but to Night Elves, it feels like a creepy love letter Charles Manson would write its victims. And the future writing just feels like a looming threat. When it comes to Night Elves, Blizzard's writing turns into a Grand Guignol play written by a vindictive, drunken ex.
I don't demand anything out of this. I just want to expose the feelings WoW's story once brought for me. I am sure anyone who's read this far can remember their first levels in their game, their first NPCs and quests and how and when they learned the tricks of the trade of their class. But only for one race in the game, have those memories been replaced with slaughter for the purpose of mockery, contempt and 'empowerments' made fruitless by logistical stalemates for the sake of a story that, going by precedent, your people will never have a place in.
If you read it, thanks for your time and understanding.
6 Likes
This is my soul in written form... I have been a Night Elf fan since Warcraft three, and I have been RPing a Night Elf since Cata, and leading a Night Elf RP Guild since MoP. Each new bit of Night Elf lore that comes out has felt like a systematic deconstruction of the Night Elf race. It does not feel like blunders or oversights, it feels like the intentional homogenization of the Alliance, making everyone, Night Elves more than any, to be more like humans.
I will never stop bumping this thread, because this is important, and Blizzard needs to see it.
I will never stop bumping this thread, because this is important, and Blizzard needs to see it.
I couldn't of have said it better myself, thank you for saying how and what we all feel. There's also a quest in the upcoming patch that has Horde capture the Night Elves Nightsabers and use them as mounts for their own. It's disgusting and it makes me wonder if Blizzard really does do this on purpose? I don't mind Horde having having Nightsabers mounts but really? "Captured Kaldorei Nightsaber" is the name for it?
1 Like
This is Blizzard's protocol regarding the thoughts of nelf fans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yZzmH7ksYE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yZzmH7ksYE
Very well written. Thank You
I think it says something that I'm someone who hates nelfs and I agree with this
Really well said
I don't mean to derail, but could you elaborate how you identify with Night Elves?
The same way anyone might identify with a character or faction in a story. Someone might identify with Tirion Lannister from Game of Thrones maybe because of his value on intelligence, or maybe they relate with being under appreciated, Or not living up to the expectations of a role model or parent, or maybe because they are also dealing with being a little person in today's society. Everyone has their own reasons.
Why I identify with them? Because they are a strong, female dominated culture. As a woman, I found powerful and capable women like Tyrande, Shandris and Maiev being depicted as a brutal and physically powerful force empowering, and it instilled confidence in me growing up. It was refreshing to see women in fantasy and video games who weren't victims or plot devices for a male protagonist. Or victimized for the sake of "Phoenix rising" story telling. Tyrande didn't need to be a Victim to be powerful. How far has she fallen.
Why I identify with them? Because they are a strong, female dominated culture. As a woman, I found powerful and capable women like Tyrande, Shandris and Maiev being depicted as a brutal and physically powerful force empowering, and it instilled confidence in me growing up. It was refreshing to see women in fantasy and video games who weren't victims or plot devices for a male protagonist. Or victimized for the sake of "Phoenix rising" story telling. Tyrande didn't need to be a Victim to be powerful. How far has she fallen.
It might be more apt to say that the night elves' story resonates with them the most.10/18/2018 05:02 PMPosted by RidgetI don't mean to derail, but could you elaborate how you identify with Night Elves?
A well thought out and written post?
*triggered*
Get outta here you degenerate! We don't take kindly to your kind on these forums!
JK good read!
*triggered*
Get outta here you degenerate! We don't take kindly to your kind on these forums!
JK good read!
Here here!
*claps*
*claps*
didn't read the post, just came here to say that if you like night elves just let go of them. blizzard will only hurt you with them. blizzard actually killed off my love for night elves. there's no reason to be invested in them anymore. for your own sake, just put the night elf story in the back of your mind. completely drop it. unsub if you have to. don't give blizzard the satisfaction of believing their writing is good because the treatment of the night elves pains you.
just let go. it's not worth the increased blood pressure.
just let go. it's not worth the increased blood pressure.
I was really excited when I first went to Suramar.
Did not turn out well for the NE, I would say.
Did not turn out well for the NE, I would say.
Hello everyone, thanks for the kind words and all.
I really hope this is something that can catch the Devs' attention. At this point, it's all one can hope for. As I admitted earlier, I am angry and despondent, just that I'm bringing those feelings forward in the forms of a letter instead of sardonic memes. But I know those have their place, still, sadly, they don't achieve much.
I will do my best to keep the thread alive with whatever relevant things I can add. But I'd loathe to end up just self bumping my thread.
I could. But like you, I fear like it could derail the thing a bit. If you're curious of my perspective, I'd prefer to share it privately. If you think it's something that can shine more light on the concerns being brought up here, any enrichening experience makes sense.
I do think Cantaloup might be right, and perhaps wording it as "the story resonating" the most fits better. But I still think it's fair use of words just for getting the point across.
I apologize I can't post very often.
I really hope this is something that can catch the Devs' attention. At this point, it's all one can hope for. As I admitted earlier, I am angry and despondent, just that I'm bringing those feelings forward in the forms of a letter instead of sardonic memes. But I know those have their place, still, sadly, they don't achieve much.
I will do my best to keep the thread alive with whatever relevant things I can add. But I'd loathe to end up just self bumping my thread.
10/18/2018 05:02 PMPosted by RidgetI don't mean to derail, but could you elaborate how you identify with Night Elves?
I could. But like you, I fear like it could derail the thing a bit. If you're curious of my perspective, I'd prefer to share it privately. If you think it's something that can shine more light on the concerns being brought up here, any enrichening experience makes sense.
I do think Cantaloup might be right, and perhaps wording it as "the story resonating" the most fits better. But I still think it's fair use of words just for getting the point across.
I apologize I can't post very often.
Have you considered posting this in GD OP? Because Blues rarely visit the Story Forums, if ever.
10/18/2018 08:13 PMPosted by MurdraHave you considered posting this in GD OP? Because Blues rarely visit the Story Forums, if ever.
Which honestly is a damn shame, here you have people who genuinly care about the state of their story versus the...letâs say less attentive players, one ones for whom gameplay is more important.
10/18/2018 08:16 PMPosted by Saiphas10/18/2018 08:13 PMPosted by MurdraHave you considered posting this in GD OP? Because Blues rarely visit the Story Forums, if ever.
Which honestly is a damn shame, here you have people who genuinly care about the state of their story versus the...letâs say less attentive players, one ones for whom gameplay is more important.
It always amuses me when people come to these forums and call people out for taking the story too seriously.
I'm like "no !@#$, that's why we're on the Story Forums to begin with lol".
10/18/2018 08:13 PMPosted by MurdraHave you considered posting this in GD OP? Because Blues rarely visit the Story Forums, if ever.
Forgive my ignorance, but, what exactly does GD mean?
10/18/2018 08:17 PMPosted by Murdra<span class="truncated">...</span>
Which honestly is a damn shame, here you have people who genuinly care about the state of their story versus the...letâs say less attentive players, one ones for whom gameplay is more important.
It always amuses me when people come to these forums and call people out for taking the story too seriously.
I'm like "no !@#$, that's why we're on the Story Forums to begin with lol".
Like I truly get that in many respects itâs generic power fantasy. But that doesnât mean I donât care about that power fantasy lol
Edit:@OP it means the General Discussion forum