Why the lack of Customization?

Community General Discussion
5038

Well, they DID limit themselves to copy/paste the hair textures onto Velf haircuts (I frankly believed they were gonna copy the Belf haircuts with the hair textures and call it a day, lul), so they DO seem to want to keep some modicum of aesthetical differences, small as they are.

So maybe pointing to them HOW they can deliver to BOTH playerbases without resorting to cheap copy/pasting and limiting in colors may be a good idea. I honestly detest when posters come with that “genius” idea of cloning and limiting colors in these threads… i´m like “excuse me people, if you suffer from a chronic lack of creativity that´s a you thing, but i personally will find any tool at my disposal to get the stuff I want in as much colors as i can, period”.

Fen is someone I appreciate a lot… and guess which is his favorite color? It´s yellow. If Blizz follows the lazy path, someone like him WILL be screwed up on enjoyment simply because yellow is associated to “golden / light” and hardly a Void theme. And that´s silly.

Talking about Wei Wang art…

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/67/5f/58/675f58c416aed75c9bbc0dd15963489e.jpg
https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/6d8f2b27-4abe-4bb7-b099-8af6b1b0090f/d29j8wb-fb6f6e07-6de3-4753-b969-8b558f8876c1.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzZkOGYyYjI3LTRhYmUtNGJiNy1iMDk5LThhZjZiMWIwMDkwZlwvZDI5ajh3Yi1mYjZmNmUwNy02ZGUzLTQ3NTMtYjk2OS04YjU1OGY4ODc2YzEuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.RCxBD8wC7p6mTsl-eC1-QkxuaU4tW5FiKSyLdarez-4

If you zoom on the image, the Belf paladin? has not one but TWO scars on the face, one on his left cheek and one just below his right eye.

I was SO much hoping for this kind of customization options back in January and then all that was datamined was stripper jewerly and i was like “WTF, Blizz!!!”?

But please!!! on his “right cheek” to boot, i´m sure :smirk:

You can swing and look at all the fanart we have managed to recopile in there… as long as you don´t start with “Belves should only expand in Lighforged / Fel themes or GTFO” Bs, you will be good. We don´t “reject those” per se, what we reject is people telling us they are the ONLY path we can use to get unique stuff.

Heck, Fallynn has become basically our special guest star, after all the undead thalassian elf theme has been proposed and hard fought by her since like 3 years and counting. I sometimes suggest things to her too, and If I like something she has on her thread I ask if I can include for the regular Belves.

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5039

Because yellow is the superior color and all else are not worthy to stand next to such radiance.

5040

Personally, i´m partial to red… I always end up going back to tmogs similar to the one I have right now, you see?

Why do you think i detest the “current jewerly”? It´s so ridiculously limiting in tmog options is NOT funny.

5041

Yeah, it is extremely disappointing. Blizz made them but had no creativity for them.

The biggest thing is their plates which are fine and all but need more.

What I’d give them is symmetric “cracks” or marks on their skin from which light shines through this is alongside their tattoos .

Also crystal like overgrowing from parts of their body like the horns., and horns covered in metal.

Crests that shine on the hands. Maybe glowing hands too.

they could also have Naaru bits like floating in their backs like small wings, above their shoulders maybe.

And all the light parts should be customizable with colour for different lights.

I prefer Black, Blue and Silver personally.

Hence why silvermoon looks tacky to me lmao.

Rommath: I don’t trust Umbric and his caste, I don’t think they like the horde.
Halduron: Whaaaat? noooo I have never seen guys and gals more enthusiastic about the horde in my life.

Umbric and his caste:

5042

Preferably I wouldn’t expect void elves to get much more than actually getting a full tentacle toggle this run and Blood Elves would be next up (Or more they’d come before Void Elves get anything else). I don’t need them to get it in parity.

You can see most of the things I’ve requested in the Blood Elf thread for what I’m hoping for for Blood Elves themselves just like folk can see what I’ve put together for Void Elves themselves in my thread.

I think its a bit much for Mags to be calling me a straight up liar about my motives though regardless.

And what I suggested would still differentiate them.

Thats a very narrow and clearly false understanding of Void Elves. We have our own rangers in many places not to mention our own home.

My interests have always been for Void Elves. I don’t mind high elves but for me Blood Elves fit that bill since thats where the majority of the High elf story went.

Void Elves are new but they’re not going to forget their past for no reason and there isn’t any compelling reason why they’d lose their tattoos.

I know you think that no farstrider would have gone with Umbric but you really don’t have much proof of that, and since there are rangers among their number the Void Elves obviously have some of that culture coming with them.

And again as far as tattoos its pretty reasonable that someone is going to look at Alleria and want to emulate her at the very least.

Farstiders Blood Elf side are not just their tattoos any more than Wildhammer are. I don’t get why you’re limiting them to something so base.

Absolutely.

Don’t see why not.

They’re more than just high elves. They’ve continued that story much farther along. Claiming they’re just high elves seem to be kinda weird. They are High Elves, but they’ve sacrificed a lot for the blood of their kin.

Blood Elves deserve their three main pillars of themeing: Magisters, Farstrider and Blood Knight just as much as any of the more minor themes they’ve potentially got available, but that doesn’t mean cross over is invalid for others.

I’ve no issue if those tattoos come under that concept instead. If calling them Farstrider is the main issue for it then I think you need to take a step back and realize what the requests actually are. (Or at the very least my request.)

5 Likes
5043

what is the point of void elves if youre just going to play them as blood elves and what can blood elves keep to reflect the fact that they are the high elves of this fantasy universe can you just answer this honestly?

ill just repost this

5044

I’ve definitely had my fair share of feeling people were doing entirely too much because they disagreed with my stance, asking me if they needed to chisel it in rocks etc for me to understand as if belittling etc, maybe its just too heated right now, sorry that’s the case I like you both.

Also I didn’t see this but wanted to add why do you think Farstriders were part of the initial batch of elves studying the void? Rangers I guess maybe but Farstriders are rather specific group

5045

Yup, basically this.

I love the whole evolution in the Belf trio dynamics tbqh… Halduron and Rommath not even liking each other and distrusting the other at the start just to end up literally conspiring behind Lor´themar´s back to get him err… “a girlfriend” -or a good time at the very least- was hilarious but very good writting.

Tbqh, Mag has quite a fundamentally unique perception on the Belf race… for her the concept of a High elf going back so much years later wasn´t as incoherent as it is for me, for example. She has this very WC2 concept in mind… ergo the velves getting the warpaint stuff DOES bother her a LOT.

She does seem to perceive them more under a celtic scope while some of us kinda see the Belf culture more under the WC3 / WoW oriental inspired perception.

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5046

Wasn’t there a story that Liadrin liked Lor’Themar before? or was it the other way around?

Anyway I figure she’s like. https://i.imgur.com/IV9Xkk0.png

After losing her chance. She also lose her chance at Malaadar in the AU.

5047

The other way around, frankly the devs -before Y´rel- seemed to have taken inspiration from Joan of Arc in regards to Liadrin (you see, a priestess who becomes moved by circumstances to become a warrior). The devs went as far as to give her preemptively a “child”, so she had no need of “no male” to “procreate” since TBC. She´s effectively the “virgin warrior” trope to a T.

Mickey Neilson was the one that tried to make Lor x Liadrin a thing, but Blizz apparently never was interested in this concept.

I don´t think she “canonically” cares… not from a “spurned lover” PoV at least.

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5048

Of course not. His mistake was being created an elf over a human.

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5049

Yrel*

And yeah that makes sense.

What’s funny is that Yrel was marketed with that concept, but she ended up being completely different. She was already a paladin, just in training. She lived in a society that was as pious a her, what made her special was not her faith but that she wanted to fight back unlike the rest.
And eventually eve her lines went more against blind faith and more about taking control oneself. “There’s a time for player, and a time to take action”.

Which is why it’s so bizarre they made her lightforged later.

Oh of course not, she wants a Draenei.

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5050

Tbh, I don’t think they actually Lightforged Yrel :thinking:

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5051

I’ll admit before you edited the initial quote on that I was a little hurt but context after your edit made it entirely fine for me.

I get the frustration. Especially with how little Blood Elves have gotten and I get that this one more thing given how most Helf folk keep going is a sore spot for everyone involved. In the end it’ll be Blizzard that decided and I’m betting they’ll take the easy route which sucks by copying whatever they do for one for the other.

While thats ok for some things, like ears and scars and such it gets more muddled as you get into more important things.

Farstider tattoos are touchy since they are so ingrained in what blood elf players have wanted for a long time and in what helf players have wanted for a long time. Both sides see their side as more deserving. Which they’re not.

Ultimately one side has the organization. And its not the Velvets.

Mags said something above that makes me wonder if so long as the “Alleria designed” version of those tattoos were perhaps clearly voidy would anyone care?

Lets say they had a starcursed affect or a purple glow (regardless of the tattoos color).

Also Mags and you are just as valid here as I am or anyone else. I respect Mags for the most part for their sheer determined defense of the Blood Elves aesthetic, as well as other things. They’re a good person who is rightly a little miffed about how their favorite race is being treated. And you I count as a very good friend, and you are also entirely valid in your defense of the Blood Elf aesthetics.

I wish Blizzard had treated customizations a lot better. We all might be much less heated had they done something to give differentiation while still providing options people were requesting.

Thats fair to ask, and I am guilty of using “farstrider” a little too liberally there. I mostly mean Rangers and the culture rangers have in blood elven society(And high elf technically)

However, I also don’t see it as unreasonable for a Farstrider proper to have been with them for any particular reason. But I have as much proof of that as Mags has that they wouldn’t.

Also since Farstriders are a big thing for Blood Elves any Rangers who would have gone with Umbric would likely come from a culture that idolizes those tattoos (or at least their concept and meaning) then combining that with Alleria being one of their leadership and I think its reasonable that the Void Elves would consider applying that style to themselves.

Which again leads into why I would see a difference between the “farstrider” style tattoos between sides.

I’m still of the opinion that differences between void elves and blood elves is a good thing even as they share some things.

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5052

Being a Farstrider is also very widespread, every BE ranger made becomes a Farstrider just like every Human/Dwarf Paladin gets sworn into the Silver Hand right away.

Since that’s something that existed since TBC (the Farstrider bit), it’s not unimaginable to think some of the Umbral Rangers were former Farstriders.

Heck there’s still a Farstrider Lodge that is part of Alliance territory. With a (former) Farstrider quest giver.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Vyrin_Swiftwind

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5053

Yeah ultimately farstriders also fit the concept of high elves as a subrace, which WAS condoned by Blizzard.

Yeah, she’s nonforged in the game. But she’s still the leader of the lightforged. And I’m sure if she appears later she’ll have a custom LF model.

5054

I simply think it’s silly for anyone to be like “Hey this customization on your faction leader, you can’t have it, it should be limited to the opposite faction players instead.”

Like, I don’t see Blizzard looking at that and going, “yup that totally makes sense.”

At worst, no one gets it, and best - both sides do. If only 1 side were to get it, I’d bet on Alliance Void Elves, since it’s literally on their current acting leader.

2 Likes
5055

here we go again, gunning for more blood elf stuff instead of void

Roughly 500 years ago, a group of similarly dedicated fighters formed and officially took on the name “Farstriders.” Their mandate was, originally, to protect Quel’Thalas far beyond its actual borders and look after high elf interests all over Azeroth, and while the Farstriders still see their mission as a broad one, this ambitious goal narrowed over time; today, the Farstriders rarely range beyond Quel’Thalas. The commander of the Farstriders was given a unique, historic title: Ranger-General of Silvermoon.[1]

While many of their brethren focus on magical supremacy and the wonders of the arcane, the Farstriders retain some of their forebears’ connection to nature, feeling at home in the forests and finding allies in the wilderness - while Silvermoon has many political divisions, in nature the Farstriders find allies that do not know deceit.[17] Intimately bound to the wildlands,[2] the Farstriders are experts at their craft and know the forests of Quel’Thalas like no others, outclassing even their ancient enemy the Amani in terms of woodsmanship and stealth

A few days later Lor’themar, atop his hawkstrider, picked his way through the northern foothills of the Eastern Plaguelands. He winced to look at the land; he was an elf, and, moreover, a ranger—a child of the open woods, of clear water and golden leaves. The sight of the cracked, foamy soil and withered trees of eastern Lordaeron twisted his heart and nearly made him retch.

pious priests and outdoorsy farstriders arent going to seek out the void elves. ‘period’

5056

Just posting here, that I am still waiting for spell cosmetics. Said elsewhere that rank 4 essences would have been cool to adapt to similar spells. But that content is gone and ex-post facto reward design is bad (aka missed opportunity). Why are warlocks the only class capable of changing their spells with green fire (yes I am aware that this is just destro these days), with the rest of us stuck with glyphs?

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5057

Pretty much, I’d be bizarre for Alleria look like the other side’s elves instead, with the special stuff, specially when trying to separate them.

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