Culturally however, the Nightborne link all Highborne held nothing but disdain for the natural world, preferring their artificial. arcane powered paradise.
The first druids were the Keepers, who are the Proto-druids, and the Highborne, their goal was to make balance between arcane and the nature.
So Highborne taking a way into the “druidism” in one way or another is not something new.
There are many Nightborne naturalists (not botanists, naturalists) who have followed that path, they are seen growing plant-life in Suramar without the help of sun-light nor the moonlight, that being said, the Nightborne druids might be the first arcane druids, who use the rejuvenation of the nature through arcane.
We already have many races which does not match with the Druid ideology, or the teachings of Cenarius, such as Zandalari Dinomancers, Kul’tiran Thornspeakers, and etc.
Also remember Tel’Arn’s words?
“-Suramar owes its beauty to my blooms! I alone have mastered the delicate intertwining of magic into nature’s grand cycle.”
This what the keepers were trying to do for millennia, and Tel’Arn was the first elf who did it.
As for the conclusion, if some Zandalari trolls been caught casting paladin spells in the Throne of Thunder, and gained the access to Paladin class, why cannot the Nightborne seen casting Druid spells such as Wraith, Thorns, Roots, and etc, was not enough to give Nightborne druids?
1 Like
Valewalker Farodin: This arcan’dor is one of an ancient species. They were not bred, but created. In them the arcane and primitive druidic magics merged into something greater than both.
Valewalker Farodin: The arcane will soon devour it whole.
Valewalker Farodin: We can restore balance, but it will require wild magic. Magic trapped in another realm.
Valewalker Farodin: You must enter the Emerald Dreamway and bring back the essence of life itself.
Valewalker Farodin: Only then can the arcan’dor find stability and begin to thrive once more.
Considering the origin of the arcan’dor and its newfound importance to the Nightborne, that may no longer be the case.
(Also, R.I.P. to Valewalker Farodin’s voice actor who I just learned passed away in 2017. 
)
1 Like
Small indie company.
1 Like
For me, I think it’s because they were isolated in a magic bubble and had no interest in reaching out to Elune or the Wild Gods. The lore implies they abandoned worship of Elune for worship of the Nightwell and thought they were Azeroth’s only survivors for 10,000 years.
Night Elves started embracing nature after they left their fantastical, decidedly non-natural, arcane city. Theoretically there could be Nightborne druids, but they’d have to have converted recently.
I was thinking this today after doing the questline, Nightborne literally have been touched by the Emerald Dream, and have been converted by a druid Valewalker Farodin which they’re not the same as other Nightbornes and have Nature and Arcane flowing through their veins and the worgens were taught how to be druids in a questline back in the day (dont know if its still in game)
1 Like
I mean, it didn’t help that they didn’t have a choice in the matter.
If Illidan didn’t dick around with trying to make new WOEs or Tyrande/Malf didn’t exile anyone not willing to give up the skills they built up over many mortal lifetimes, you’d have probably seen a lot more Nelves stay living arcane lifestyles
Some Nightbourne may choose to explore druidism, it doesn’t help that they’re neighbors with Highmountain and Val’sharah, but there’s not an ultimatum over their heads forcing the issue.
Newer lore muddled this a lil bit. A lot of mages seemed really fine with it. Back in OG lore they actually explained the gender disparity away with it. The Moon Guard was originally written as a brotherhood, renounced the arcane after the lore and in mass turned to Malfurion’s new powers.
From what we could see, it was mainly the Highborne. And it’s fair to point out it took a few thousand years for the Highborne to eventually lose their cool and conjure an arcane storm over Ashenvale. Which, if anything, really only proved Tyrande and Malfurion’s point. They weren’t responsible with their magic and weren’t, to our knowledge, pushing to use it as a tool to further the new cause of the Kaldorei as guardians of Kalimdor.
Night Elves getting mages is arguably more a result of gameplay constraining the lore or retcons to how arcane worked from it’s earliest incarnations, but I do think it’s not that unreasonable to think they just recognized that humanity did have some disciplined individuals who weren’t just using magic for trivial things. Versus the Highborne, who even after really just used it as a tool of colonization and forcing their will on an entire region.
Because Blizzard doesn’t want to design new forms for Nightborne. Hell, they barely tried with playable Nightborne as it is. Take a Nighborne character and stand by a Surumar NPC. Big downgrade look wise.
In terms of lore, the only race that feasibly might not be able to be a druid is undead. Every other race in lore could learn how to harness the Emerald Dream and cast nature magic.
It’s been done.
If we ever got undead druids I’d hate if they were lazy skeleton forms or zombie bears or whatever
Give me something nuts, really play into the idea that life can spring from death, maybe something carrion or fungal related
1 Like
I think it would compromise the identity of ‘nature’ as a force in the setting if it’s not at least acknowledged to ‘harm’ them like using the light does. Since Undead arent really a natural instance of death, but an unnatural breach of the cycle tied to these things.
1 Like
Yeah, in an entirely other setting. I’m not saying I’m opposed to undead druids. I just said it MIGHT be impossible for them due to lore. Of course, them being priests and paladins was supposed to be impossible too but they didn’t want to lock them to shadow spec in Vanilla so here we are. If Blizzard wanted to design undead druid forms I’d be all for it. Kul’tiran forms already get close.
Lore has yet to address that question directly. Indirectly, the existence of Undead Hunters actually lends support to the notion. Death after all is a part of Nature.
they already have models for them and if they didn’t, just give them the arcane artifact bear form and the mana saber cat which their are tons around legion area
Yeah, I’m sure Nightborne players would love getting an artifact skin and reused mob models instead of getting unique looks like everyone else.
well its already has been done and on top of it they would only need to retexture the bear to match the manasaber model, since its all they do 80% of the time with our forms and only 1% still use their default forms