I fully assume they will add those customizations in the expansion following Shadowlands, just to focus on the “product” they are selling in SL (core race customizations).
This means that the High Elf debate and threads will continue through at least one more expansion. If increased AR customizations are released and there is no Alleria customization, then maybe it will be over (but it won’t stop the requests, I’m sure of that).
I know that but for arguments sake none had fel green until long after becoming blood elves. Liadrin is described as having purple/violet while in game they were green and now gold
There’s what’s been described, and then there’s what’s actually been presented.
Throughout the last 15 years and in almost all promotional material involving High Elves and Blood Elves, they’ve had blue or green eyes respectively.
It wasn’t until the artwork for the Lady Liadrin promotion for the Paladin Hero in Hearthstone was revealed that it was prominently suggested her eyes might be a different color. That was 2016. BFA didn’t come out until two years later, and the customization option came out in a later patch. Until that point, Blood Elves in box art, key art, card art, promotional art, and basically any material had green eyes. High elves had blue.
And while it’s probably likely they had myriad colors of some shade, there’s the very worthwhile consideration about the presentation of the world and those factions to drive home which races are involved in which factions.
When Blizzard spends a decade presenting blood elves and high elves a certain way, that matters. Sudden decisions to revert it are done at their own peril. I worry that after so long seeing elves with green eyes, the association that “blue eyes = Alliance” will do some damage to faction fantasy.
Just because I have played through Eversong and Ghostlands multiple times does not make the story contained therein any less of a mountain of utterly contrived 
I can’t wait for the new arc! I grew up with bleach dammit. Never was a fan of the anime filler but the fights were always amazing.
I think the constant let’s fight until we have to come together to fight a big bad did more damage to faction fantasy. Eyes will probably matter to some people. But likely not the majority. Most will likely have fun making different characters with different looks. Customization is a fun thing. It’s not that serious.
I’m not getting red eyes, Bards or Ogres out of this, but I’m not ready to take my toys and go home.
Customization is fun, but games live or die by their worldbuilding and how consistent they want to be with it. The eyes don’t matter as much as the constant spin that the High Elf Fantasy only belongs to the Horde, when in act, it’s been shared by both factions this whole time.
I’ve said a number of times now, at this point they should have a team just dedicated to cosmetics. It’s silly they don’t.
People go apeshis for cosmetics and looking pretty. When there’s nothing else to do - or even when there is - no insignificant number of people will go above and beyond to gather stuff to stand out and complete a look.
Whilst obviously I’d prefer they never ever ever do so; they could potentially make a mint on it if they had to like any number of other games do with cosmetics.
People love looking pretty/badass/customizing.
I don’t think that no High Elves of the Alliance will kill this game or it’d have already. Most seem excited about the customizations. And the ones that are upset will be for a time, then cool off. Some might leave for good, but then why would they stick around before?
Blue eyes on Blood elves mean nothing. They are still Blood Elves.
People just need a cross to climb up on that doesn’t actually involve any personal effort.
This one instances of inconsistency? No, probably not. But given how long High Elves have been associated with the Alliance, how long they’ve been requested, and Blizzard’s half-handed attempts to compromise with the Void Elves, it gives you an indication of what Blizzard thinks of its world.
If they’ll treat one of its longest-running world fixtures like this, what else are they willing to discard? It could be a death by bug bites if they apply their revisionist view of the world to other things.
I don’t think this would’ve happened if Metzen were still constructing the story.
I mean I’m happy with more options for customization. More is (almost) always better. And I don’t think we’ve seen the extent of it. Blizzard’s insistence of giving this to the blood elves but not giving comparable to the void elves, though, says something. Blizzard could fix this rather simply by letting Void Elves have a form like Alleria does. She leads them. She should be able to teach it to them.
I think it would, because they didn’t add Helves of the Alliance then either. They gave an update to the look of Ogres I think right before or after TBC. And that got hopes up of them being playable, and it never happened. There’s been so many things people have wanted that either never happened or were completely shot down.
It’s just that you don’t always get what you want.
They stated at Blizzcon that no allied races are getting customizations, yet. But they might in the future.
also a thought. just because “Elves” are getting blue eyes, doesn’t mean its the playable Blood Elven set.
High Elves, ie Silver Covenant, use the same model, yeh?
This isn’t just a matter of a feature being requested and denied. This is a feature being requested, told you’re wrong for requesting it, and giving it to the other team.
All the Alliance players want is to portray an Alliance race that has canonically been around since the game has been live. For Blizzard to say “no, that’s actually not an Alliance fantasy” despite the evidence for it, and then providing that pathway to the Horde, is just shy of antagonistic.
Yeah we really don’t know. I mean it was listed as Blood Elf customization. But we also don’t know if it’ll even make it into the final version. It’s very early in Alpha. And things change. Although with them saying there’s 40 customizations for Belves alone, it might be likely.
I just don’t think it means anything. Blue eyes don’t mean anything anyway. It’s just another eye color. And just means that the well being cleansed lead to some eyes switching back.
There’s a group of players on the forums that complain non stop about having Blizzard make high elves for the alliance to have. However as we all know, high elves are already faction bound to the horde with the name blood elves. This group refuses to acknowledge and accept that, though. Going so far as to mass report anyone who disagrees with them and any thread that they feel disagrees with their opinion.
Blizzard already stated blood elves would get their natural blue eye color back eventually, the huge point that all alliance high elf fans say would make them a completely different and unique allied race for the alliance.
Blizzard’s now giving blood elves their blue eyes back (seemingly) and therfore the main arguing point that high elves should be an alliance race is pretty much shattered as their only other points were “Well, you could give them tattoos, too!” as if that somehow defines and makes a race unique.
That also happened 13 years ago though. I get what they want and I feel for them. I don’t know what to say other then join me in the sad column. There might be some tears but there are also drinks!
Both the Alliance and Horde have a faction of High Elves. In the Alliance, they’re called Quel’dorei. On the Horde, t hey’re called Sin’dorei.
This is ironic, since you’re playing what is essentially a Horde Night Elf.
Some races are bound to their faction. The elves are not. The very real possibility of the Blood Elves rejoining the Alliance was a consideration in MOP.
Being told that the High Elf is a Horde fantasy is actually very recent, and it wasn’t an argument anyone was having before BfA. And this kind of statement is particularly egregious when there are still major leaders in the Alliance that are Quel’dorei.
There are no Quel’dorei in the Horde, but two of them are leaders of the Alliance. The association is still there.
People wanted Helves of the Alliance before they even were turned Belf and brought in with TBC. So it was a huge let down for some even then.
They shouldn’t be.
High Elf fans need to choose their words when arguing about this. It isn’t because Blook Elves are getting blue eyes that I dislike. Rather, it is the possibility that Blizzard themselves will use that as further reasoning to not have Quel’Dorei playable or perhaps eventually add Void Elf customisation to reflect a possible incorporation of Quel’Dorei into their ranks. Or indeed just straight up High Elves as an Allied Race.
It also doesn’t help that the usual suspects are using it to rub salt into the wound of Alliance players who have wanted them playable for over a decade.