Greetings everyone!
A lot has happened since the last time this thread has been updated, so I took the liberty to bring the requests and suggestions of the High Elf community up to date with respect to what has been granted and what has still yet to come.
This thread is for those specifically interested in discussing current and further options for Void Elves in regards to their High Elf aspect. The goal of this thread is to go into detail on as many requests as possible to cover all the bases the community desires.
Please understand that as a community we do not demand nor expect to receive all of these options through the future. Additionally, in no way do we believe that we should be given special treatment. Further options is something all races deserve, not just Void Elves. Rollouts of additional options should be granted equality across the board, no race should be a focus.
Let’s begin with some background on the High Elves, the Blood Elves, and the Void Elves beforehand: [To be added later]
Now onto the initial section of requests:
Given the lore of Void Elves, some of the key customization options that should be granted to Void Elves are what Blood Elves currently have. This means that each and every option within the Hair Style, Hair Color, Facial Hair, Jewelry, and Eye Color categories should be copied over from Blood Elves and granted to Void Elves as well.
Why, you might ask? This is simple: Void Elves=High Elves=Blood Elves.
Of course, I know that explanation will not be enough for some people so I will obviously go further with the details.
There are two primary justifications for why Void Elves should have those options (and future options) copied from Blood Elves and granted to them.
Justifications
- The initial group of Void Elves that we interact with during their initial recruitment scenario all come from a time before the new customization options added in Shadowlands were released (both in terms of real life and also canonically). By canonically, this means that you could theoretically argue that some/all of those new options added to Blood Elves were nonexistent back before the group that became the Void Elves were banished. Take a hair style for instance, at the time of banishment that style may not have been in fashion yet. Or in the case of jewelry, it may not have been invented yet. This would explain why they didn’t have those options yet. However, it doesn’t explain why they no longer have access to their original set of pre-Shadowlands options. That initial group of banished would-be Void Elves would have known about those styles and hair colors, and the Void wouldn’t have altered their ability to keep those.
- We know through interviews and in-game representation that the Void Elves are recruiting and welcoming in new members. Those High Elves and Blood Elves would have knowledge of these new Hair Styles, Hair Colors, Facial Hair Styles, and Jewelry. There is nothing stopping them from sharing that with the rest of the Void Elves and thus bringing those options from Blood Elves to Void Elves. The Void would not be stopping them from doing those new styles, wearing those styles of jewelry, etc. Additionally, those new members would have any additional options opened up to Blood Elves. For example, a Blood Elf that has become Felblood would be capable of joining the Void Elves which would thus open up Felblood options to Void Elves. This same logic applies to classes.
You may have noticed I have left out the eyes in my explanation.
All the eye colors have justification to be brought over. Not only are their eyes just as capable of shifting to representing the colors represented by the main magic they draw from (thus giving them the same standard reasonings for each color) but those colors would also have the duel ability to represent colors granted by their Void aspect as well through the many colors Void can appear as. Golden Eyes is the only one with the specific purpose of being a Void only representation, as it being a representation of the Light as well (with the dual representation concept) wouldn’t work as Light+Void cannot mix together.
That’s all for this section. I will leave it with this: Any further customization options granted to Blood Elves, through the justifications I have provided within this thread, are automatically eligible for being copied over to Void Elves as well. There is but one exception to this rule, and that is any Blood Elf options that very explicitly depict the main Blood Elf theme of the Holy Light. In such cases, they can be copied over after being made into Void colors.
Now onto additional, unique, requests:
Blizzard has confirmed that one thing they continue to discuss within the team is the expansion of Race-Class Combinations. Void Elves, in general, have all the justification necessary to grant them access to the Paladin and Demon Hunter classes simultaneously.
Why, you might ask? This is simple: Void Elves=High Elves=Blood Elves.
Of course, I know that explanation will not be enough for some people so I will obviously go further with the details.
Regarding Demon Hunter
There is little evidence to suggest that a Void Elf Demon Hunter would not be possible.
The only example those that disagree with this suggestion bring up is the raid boss Xhul’horac from HFC during WoD. He was a Void entity that was infused with Fel, and after absorbing too much began violently erupting. This isn’t speculation either, as it is specifically described in his journal entry that he is being filled with “overwhelming fel energy”. Anything, however, filled with an overwhelming amount of any cosmic force would result in violent eruptions. Thus, it has nothing to do with specifically the combination of Fel and Void occuring. The logical conclusion to this is that the combination of the two is completely fine, but once there becomes too much then there are problems.
These next two examples seem to get overlooked.
First we have Shadow-Lord Iskar, from the same raid. He was an Arakkoa cursed by the Void energies of Sethe. All cursed Arakkoa are, in a way, similar to Void Elves. Iskar eventually struck a deal with Gul’dan to be infused with Fel to return to his original form and granted the ability to fly once again. This is another example of Void and Fel being combined, and no where in his encounter does it imply he is experiencing and negative side effects. There are even constructs and abilities used during the fight that imply magic that is combining Fel and Void into singular attacks (Shadowfel).
Last, we move to the Felhounds of Sargeras. Both were demons (fel creatures) and one is described as having been infused with void energy. This is one of the clearest examples of fel and void mixing, and resulting in zero problematic outcomes. It’s basically Xhul’horac but in reverse.
Therefore, we can conclude that Void Elf Demon Hunters would be entirely possible within the lore. They would obviously not be part of the original group of Void Elves, as they wouldn’t have been capable of being part of the Illidari. Instead, they would be Blood Elf Demon Hunters that decided to join some of the other Blood Elves that are actively leaving the Horde and joining the Void Elves. We know through interviews and in-game NPC activity that High Elves and Blood Elves are joining the ranks of the Void Elves and are undergoing the ritual to become Void infused.
Regarding Paladin
There are two main arguments that people against giving Void Elves access to the Paladin class use.
First and foremost is that Void Elves can’t use the Light. This is a correct statement. Holy Priests and the Light aspect of Discipline Priests are non-canon to Void Elves. Their canon specialization for Priest is Shadow. However, what is truly being suggested is Void based Paladins rather than the traditional Light based ones we see most of the time.
The second argument is that Blood Elves and High Elves that use and worship the Light wouldn’t be interested in joining the Void Elves. However, we know this is a worthless argument because it’s proven false. Through the very existence of Priests being available to Void Elves, this means that there were Holy and Discipline Priests from High Elf and Blood Elf society that did willingly choose to set aside their Light worship to participate in the research, studying, and worship of the Void. These individuals then modified their abilities to use the Void rather than the Light going forward, and becoming Shadow Priests.
Because of this fact that there were Light wielding High Elves and Blood Elves swapping to wielding the Void and joining the Void Elves, not only Priests would be doing this but also Paladin. Thus, it’s entirely justifiable that there are High Elf and Blood Elf Paladins joining the ranks of the Void Elves to become Void Paladins. Additionally, it’d be entirely possible that similar to how the original Human Paladins were created, rather than Holy Priests and Warriors coming together to form Paladins of the Light, Void Elves could have Shadow Priests and Warriors coming together to form Paladins of the Void.
And before someone says Void Paladins aren’t a thing, they actually exist within the Twilight’s Hammer. https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Twilight_Vindicator
With all that in mind, Void based Paladins for Void Elves make sense. We do request, not only for Void Elves in terms of RP Tools but also for all other Paladin players of other races, that Glyphs are created to modify Paladin abilities to swap back and forth between Light and Void ability skins.
Let’s delve into customization in particular by focusing on each of the various micro-themes present within High Elves.
Farstrider Fantasy
Farstriders are the High Elf Elf ranger faction. They have minor nature themes and are seen in Warcraft 2 and 3. They’re an important part of the Thalassian military. Alleria Windrunner is a Farstrider.
Tattoos/Warpaint like the one seen in Warcraft 2. (Available in all colors represented by the Void Elf classes + Void colors)
Feathers in hair for a light nod to nature.
Braids both long and short to keep their hair from being caught in bow strings.
Magister Fantasy
Magisters are the High Elf caster fantasy. Powerful mages of Quel’thalas and an important part of the Thalassian nation. Magister Umbric is, well, a Magister.
Runic tattoos. (Available in all colors represented by the Void Elf classes + Void colors)
Longer hairstyles for ladies.
Eyes that match spell color effects for various casters such as orange for fire.
Hair crystals.
Phoenix motif.
Blood Knight Fantasy
Blood Knights are the High Elf Paladin faction. Once gritty, they’ve been redeemed by the Light.
Scars because of close combat injuries.
Torn or damaged ears.
Light colored tattoos to go with their golden eyes.
(Light color, as explained in this thread, would be given through Void color representation)
Darkfallen Fantasy
Darkfallen are undead High Elves, found in various locations. They come in many forms, the primary two being San’layn and Dark Rangers. Most were High Elves killed by the Scourge and Arthas and raised to join their attacker before gaining freedom.
Undead skin tones.
Red eyes.
Bat-like ears.
Claws.
Fangs.
Possibly bat wings.
Felblood Fantasy
Felblood Elves are High Elves who overloaded on the Fel and underwent changes. They have bright colorful skin, horns, blackened hands, and little feathery winglets.
Colorful skins with darkened cracked hands.
Additional Demon Hunter features like horns.
Wings/winglets, dark, light, possibly matching hair color.
Other Additions:
Jewelry
Allow males to use jewelry.
More Metal and Gem colors for Jewelry.
More Jewelry Types. (Chokers, Metal Feathers/Feathers and Eye/Nose/Lip Piercings, etc.)
Hair
Strawberry Blonde hair color.
Pure white hair color.
Two-tone hair colors.
Luminescent two-tone light hair. (Similar to DI fire hair but light.)
Possibly unrealistic anime hair colors.
Separate the Tiaras/Headbands from specific hairstyles.
Eyebrow Size Options.
Facial Hair
Wizard beards.
Skin
Freckles.
Shiny/Metallic skin tones to reflect the magical nature of High Elves.
Ears
Ear armor.
Eyes
Amber.
Orange.
Pink.
Black.
Teals.
In-between colors.
Magic effect (akin to Demon Hunter fire eyes and Death Knight wispy frost eyes).
Heterochromia Eye Options.
Void-Forged themes
Halos.
Auras.
Glowing Tattoos.
Runes.
Miasma.
Entropic Embrace color options & on/off toggle.
Additional Heritage Armor tints.
Heritage Weapons.
Heritage Mounts.
(Due to these representing Void and the High Elf aspects together, these can be available in all the colors present in Void which also are represented in High Elves and thus Blood Elves.)
Tentacle Toggle for all hair to add tentacles to hair that doesn’t have them and to remove tentacles to hair that does.
For more good suggestions, see the Void Aspect thread for additions like Starcursed hair.
Void Elf Customization Thread (For The Void Aspect)
You might notice that some of these requests are similar to or replicate that which is requested by Blood Elves. Why, you might ask? This is simple: Void Elves=High Elves=Blood Elves. If you don’t understand how it’d be justified for those to be copied over, scroll back up and read the justification points.
That’s all for this section. I will leave it with this: Any further customization options granted to Blood Elves, through the justifications I have provided within this thread, are automatically eligible for being copied over to Void Elves as well. There is but one exception to this rule, and that is any Blood Elf options that very explicitly depict the main Blood Elf theme of the Holy Light. In such cases, they can be copied over after being made into Void colors.
Common Points of Discussion:
X isn’t a color represented by the Void
Here’s all the colors represented by the Void, you can find these throughout several different Void creatures.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/9QN5b8d/d2f707f1
Void Elves=High Elves=Blood Elves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BsxB4NJIBs
Ion: “High Elves? Honestly, spoilers guys, Blood Elves are pretty much High Elves. Void Elves are also pretty much another flavor of High Elves.”
Ion’s use of the words “also” and “another” directly imply that he was using the word “flavor” to describe both Blood Elves and Void Elves as both High Elves. If you agree that Blood Elves are High Elves, through this source you must also believe that Void Elves are High Elves too.
Ion is saying Blood Elves and Void Elves are both equally High Elves.
Void Elves are growing in number
Danuser: “The Void Elves were a case where we didn’t want the Allied Races to be something you were always familiar with before. We wanted to introduce new ideas, and new opportunities,” Danuser says. With Alleria Windrunner’s story being an internal success on Argus, the team saw it as the opportunity for a new twist on elves. There’s just one question: If they come from a small group of Silvermoon Exiles, how are they an Allied Race? Where do the numbers come from?
Danuser: “They start out as a small group,” Danuser continues. “But it’s natural as other elves have found out about them — elves who are interested in new sources of magic, power, or opportunities — would see if they could undergo a similar process. They’re not … recruiting , necessarily, but they’re open to those who show a similar interest.”
Danuser is explaining how a small elite squad became playable. That’s because, while they did start off as a small group, other High Elves and Blood Elves have learned of them and are seeking the Void Elves out to join them which causes their population to steadily grow.
This can be seen not only through the many High Elves and Blood Elves seen wandering Stormwind, but also through new High Elves and Blood Elves actively entering Telogrus Rift. The Void Elves aren’t going out to recruit, hence the “not recruiting necessarily”, but they are welcoming in those that found them on their own. The use of “would see if they could undergo a similar process” is in reference to the mindset those elves have, not in terms of the ritual itself being ready or not. In fact, both the addition of non-Void skin tones and the fact that many more Void Elves have been seen than the ones in the original group, this proves that these new High Elves and Blood Elves have already been learning to harness the Void and going through a new process.
Another piece of evidence, outside of this interview and the NPCs shown in game, is through the very ability for Void Elves to play the Monk class. We know that the group that would eventually be exiled and become the Void Elves began their research after the Sunwell was restored at the end of The Burning Crusade. Grand Magister Rommath felt that the Void posed such a threat to the Sunwell that Magister Umbric and his followers were punished with banishment for delving into it. Because of how harsh Rommath’s punishment was, it stands to reason that Umbric and his followers would not have been allowed to conduct their Void research for very long. If we assume that they researched for 3 years, which is vastly more time than they likely were actually given and thus is incredibly generous for this proof, they would have gone through all of Wrath of the Lich King (27 years after the Opening of the Dark Portal) and all of Cataclysm before being banished just before Mists of Pandaria (30 years after the Opening of the Dark Portal). By the time Mists of Pandaria began, Magister Umbric and his followers would have long since been banished and found their way onto Telogrus Rift. Because of this, there would not have been a single High Elf or Blood Elf Monk within his group of followers. Not only was there no Pandaren to train anyone in his group prior to their banishment, there was also no Pandaren to train them after their intro experience. Every race that was granted Monk was also given a Pandaren Monk Class Trainer in their starting zones to show that the reason the class has been granted is due to that particular Pandaren Monk visiting during MoP and teaching new adventurers of that race. Void Elves do not have such a character in Telogrus Rift and thus this shows that these Void Elf Monks have already been introduced to the Monk concept. The only way this would have been possible is if Void Elf Monks are actually present day High Elf and Blood Elf monks that are (as mentioned in this thread with proof) joining the Void Elf ranks.
Visual Distinction is wrong
This argument is flawed for many reasons, and both does and doesn’t exist (both in ways that don’t favor those that actually use it as an argument).
For starters, it already exists in the clearest way possible. No matter what distance or faction you are, you can easily determine whether the player in your sights is a Void Elf or a Blood elf through multiple methods: Name/NamePlate Color, UnitFrame Color, and Tooltip Race.
Secondly, it already doesn’t exist. A Void Elf and a Blood Elf can already look the same through the use of helmets or the bald hair option.
Regarding sharing options
Demon Hunters - A group of Fel infused elves. Some had visible mutations, others had no changes occur at all (outside of the burning out of their eyes which was part of the ritual). Like Void Elves, they also have different colored blood. Since some had no visible changes to their body, they are capable of looking exactly like a non-Demon Hunter (minus the eyes).
Death Knights - A group of undead, infused with Death magic. Some didn’t retain their original looks due to decay (Undead), but some are also able to look exactly like their original selves minus their eyes.
Void Elves - Group of Void infused High Elves. Some underwent visible changes, some didn’t. They are gaining more and more control over the Void within them, making them capable of looking less and less Void infused on the outside. You should be able to make an exact copy of their pre-ritual, just like with Demon Hunters and Death Knights.
There is zero lore that goes against what is being requested in this thread. Lore wise, Void Elves should 100% have access to the Blood Elf options. There is no debating it, since it’s valid in the lore and that is all that matters.
Nothing is stopping a Void Elf from styling/growing/coloring their hair in a particular way, their jewelry wouldn’t have magically vanished, etc. and they wouldn’t lose their access and training to being a Demon Hunter or Paladin.
Turning Void Elves into something they aren’t
As mentioned already, Void Elves (as stated by Blizzard) are High Elves. Giving them more non-Void options doesn’t take away the fact that they’re also infused with Void energy. This will continue to be seen through their racial abilities, heritage armor (and hopeful addition of heritage weapons and mounts), and their eyes.
Player Agency
One of the things that players have wanted in WoW for so long is better character customization options to reflect themselves. Not just that, but whatever fantastical character they want to portray. Sarah and Patrick spoke on why now was the right time to include these updates.
It was important for them to do the update right, and allow players the option of properly being able to represent themselves if that was what they wanted for the character fantasy. As to why now? Bouilan Verral said: “Shadowlands is all about player agency. It’s the core theme of the expansion.” Choices are a big part of the expansion: What Covenant did you choose? How does your character develop over Shadowlands? What Legendary are you going to make?
Choices in how you look comes into that player agency, and so they didn’t take it lightly. They wanted to be inclusive “to make everyone feel like they had a home in our game, and the sooner the better.” Seeing the reaction of fans for the current updates for customization has through posts on Reddit has also been incredibly heartwarming.
Dawson said: “Ultimately, just to do it right took a massive undertaking, and a lot of development time, and we wanted to make sure that we committed to that in Shadowlands.”
“This is just the beginning for our character customization, I’m sure there will be more hair styles and eye colors, different things that we add throughout the course of what we’re learning from what people want in the community as a result of that.”
The team are incredibly proud of and happy with the additions for players in being able to express their fantasy, with Dawson adding: “We hit the mark, there’s still more to go, but we hit the mark.”
Q: In the dwarf starting area, you are very much a Bronzebeard dwarf. That’s quite explicit in the story that’s being told there when you start a dwarf character. With the introduction of something like the Wildhammer tattoos, which obviously make you look like a Wildhammer, are you a Wildhammer if you use those tattoos?
A: It’s a little complex because we asked ourselves the question of, we have these really cool options like Wildhammer tattoos, but does that mean we need to make a Wildhammer starting experience? If we give trolls skin options that look like other troll tribes besides Darkspear, does that mean we have to make new starting experiences for them as well? The onus of that would’ve meant that we couldn’t do these things because that would be so much time and would consume so many resources to be able to do that, that it just wouldn’t have been practical for us to do. And so then the question is, do we limit the options that we give players because of some storyline concern, or resource concern, or anything like that? And we said, no. We’re not gonna’ do that. So while we’re not gonna’ give you a dedicated Wildhammer starting experience if you pick those tattoos, the freedom should be there in your mind to roleplay your character how you want to roleplay them. Whatever tattoos, customizations, whatever skin color options you pick, come up with a story that fits your character, and that’s your place in the world. And regardless of what quest text is, or how it refers to you, remember that it’s your choice and your character, and you get to express yourself that way. That’s at the bottom line of what we want Azeroth to be. We want it to be this welcoming place that lets all those options be out there, lets people experience them, and again, choose the path that your character wants to be. And don’t let anyone else tell you what your character can or can’t be. You decide that.
RP Tools is mostly wrong and used incorrectly
As shown in the “Player Agency” section, the added customization for various races are intended to allow you to play your character how you want to play them. You are given what people are referring to as “RP Tools”. However, this is specifically in the context of options that don’t make sense with the actual race’s story.
What I mean by that is this, if a race is given customization purely for roleplay purposes that aren’t technically justified by the lore then it’s an “RP Tool” and if it is justified by the lore then they are real options rather than “fake” options intended for pretend.
Take the Wildhammer example within the “Player Agency” section: The core Dwarf playable race is from the Bronzebeard clan. When you use Wildhammer clan customization, you are using “RP Tools” because your selected race isn’t actually a Wildhammer. Their starting experience, their race tooltip, quest text, racials, etc. all show that they are canonically a Bronzebeard. This is why, no matter how much you use these “RP Tools” you will never actually be a Wildhammer and thus why the core Dwarf race (due to being Bronzebeard) would never get the Druid class.
In the case of Void Elves, their new customization options aren’t “RP Tools”. They have very clear and easily explained lore that justified the existence of those options.
Let’s focus on their added normal skin tones. When Alleria first consumed Lu’ra and became the first Void Elf, her skin was immediately changed to being Void colored and her Entropic Embrace was activated. After a very short period of time, Alleria mastered that new power within her and became capable of suppressing it to the point of her not looking Void infused at all. She gained total control over her power, and has since been able to activate her Entropic Embrace at will.
Now let’s look at the Void Elf race as a whole. When they first became Void infused, they too had their skin changed to being Void colored. However, just like Alleria and shown through their Shadowlands customization additions, they too gained the ability to suppress the Void within them to regain their normal skin tones. And as shown with their racial, they already had the ability to control their Entropic Embrace to some degree.
This shows that their race is progressing, along the same path as Alleria due to her being their guide. This progression would continue, and explains that what people consider “High Elf RP Tools” aren’t actually “RP Tools” but are genuinely canon customization options.
Void Elves don’t currently have “RP Tools”, but I have suggested in the “Paladin” section that there is an addition that should be added which would qualify as an “RP Tool”. This addition would be Paladin Class Skin Glyphs that would include a Light Glyph so a Void Elf could RP as a Light Based Thalassian that wasn’t infused with Void. Because such a thing isn’t canon (due to the character canonically being Void infused and also because Light + Void can’t mix) this would classify properly as an “RP Tool”.
Blizzard adds options that are appropriate
Q: What is the process for choosing what sort of customization options each race gets? We’ve seen a steady stream of updates for each race, with some updated over several months such as Orcs getting their fist round in April and then another round today in July. Are some races revisited to add more options pending community feedback?
A: We try to make choices for race customization that are appropriate for their race, ie Night Elf hairstyles and ornamentation core to their fantasy. Of course, some races have gotten more customization that others, and we make those choices vey specifically and we try to make use of our resources the best possible way to make sure we provide the best possible value for our time.
This shows that they only add customization that makes sense and lore abiding, which shows through the addition of non-Void options are compliant with the canon.
More High Elf customization on the table, says Blizzard
Q: According to a dev interview Ion gave several months ago, Blood Elves were originally unintended to have blue eyes in Shadowlands, but later on that decision was reversed following team discussions. If the art department was involved, what was the reasoning that led to blue eyes being added for Void Elves and Blood Elves?
A: This is another place where there was a race, High Elves, in the game which hadn’t really been represented on player characters. Blood Elves were the closest, but had felt green eyes. It was an opportunity where we had a number of elven races, and we could tie it back to their roots, letting players choose where they want to align and what fantasy to play out. We did have a lot of discussion about it, ultimately we might do more in the future, but for now we’re providing the option to have a few High Elf customizations available.
This is talking about both Void Elves and Blood Elves having High Elf Customizations available to choose where they want to align and what fantasy they want to play out. It also mentions that more High Elf customization may be added in the future.
Few and far between is wrong
Surviving high elves comprise a mere 1% of the original high elven population, with the blood elves accounting for the remaining 9% of it. Since Kael’thas took 15% of the blood elves to Outland (i.e. 1.35% of the original high elf population), and since Kael’thas’ army numbered at least 2,000 it follows that the total high elf population is currently at least 1,481 (and at least ~148,000 prior to the Third War).
That is all!
Thank you for taking the time to read through this thread. We appreciate your support, and look forward to seeing what the Blizzard Team has in store for Void Elves and others.
I’d like to remind everyone that we do not tolerate the breaking of the Code of Conduct in this thread. This includes, but is not limited to: Spamming, Trolling, Harassment, etc.
What we do tolerate is civil discussion, continued and friendly support, and the maintaining of a peaceful atmosphere.
Updates will continue to be made going forward, especially in regards to adding pictures.
