What most Classic World of Warcraft players already knew was made official at the recent BlizzCon event. The Burning Crusade expansion is scheduled for release sometime in the next year, and there’s already chatter on every server — who is moving to the new servers, and who is staying behind? And what about the sneaky monetization scheme that Blizzard is tacking on to squeeze every last dime out of the next expansion?
One of the biggest changes the new expansion saw was the addition of two new races, the cosmic Draenei and the arcanist Blood Elves. Players were wondering what had happened to the High Eves of Warcraft 3, and the Horde needed an Elven race, thus the Sin’dorei joined the Horde. This was an interesting development from a lore perspective, bringing some of Sylvanas Windrunner’s story to the forefront and continuing the story of the Burning Legion. Soon it’ll be time to roll a Blood Elf, so here are a few things you need to know about Azeroth’s most decadent and beautiful race.
10 Blood Elves Have Sweet Racial Bonuses
In a game where the most lethal damage dealers are those that specialize in the arcane, increases to any kind of resistance to magical damage are valuable assets. All Blood Elves get a 1% bonus to their arcane resistance regardless of class, and any spellcasters get a 1% bonus to their critical strike rating. Then there are perks like Arcane Torrent, an AOE ability that restores mana and removes beneficial buffs from any enemy within 8 yards. How handy is that for the new Horde Paladin class?
9 That’s Literally Their Name
The name “Blood Elves” isn’t just a nickname meant to convey the horrors of the Third War or express their prowess in battle. In fact, during the era when the High Elves were helping the human forces to fight the Scourge, they took on mostly support roles as Mages and healers. After most of the population was killed, the surviving Blood Elves took this name to commemorate the event. The name in Thalassian (which is the Blood Elf language) is Sin’dorei, and that translates literally as “Children of the Blood.”
8 They Have Druids and Paladins
The descendants of the Kal’dorei haven’t lost their connection to the natural world entirely, although years of living as arcane mages and fighting against the Troll and their Loa have weakened it considerably. There are Druids among the Sin’dorei, they just aren’t playable races and they never have been, not even in the Warcraft 3 RTS games.
The new class that the Blood Elves bring to the Horde is the Paladin, previously available only to two of the Alliance races. They were natural selections for the Demon Hunter class in the Legion expansion since many of the Sin’dorei were traveling to Outland to fight demons anyway.
7 Blood Elves Evolved From Night Elves
After the Well of Eternity was destroyed, the leaders of the Night Elves exiled the remaining Highborne to the Eastern Kingdoms. They settled in Tirisfal Glades for a while, but the servant of an old god was buried nearby and its evil whispers tormented them because of their sensitivity to its magical powers.
They moved further west, displacing the Trolls and starting a rivalry that would last centuries, before settling on the northern coast and founding Quel’Thelas. During these hundreds of years, they also made the fundamental change of activity during daylight and resting at night, and lived by a node of magical energy called the Sunwell. This led to the smaller stature and change in skin color.
6 They’re the High Elves from Warcraft 3
Just to clarify for those that are coming straight from the lore of Warcraft 3, these are the same as the High Elves from the older games. After the Burning Crusade expansion, their culture and society changed considerably. Only a few of them are still kicking around in the modern games, and these would have to be the only ones to have refused the call of Kael’thas Sunstrider to become Blood Elves.
It makes sense that these few stragglers would seek refuge with the Alliance, which is where you can find the occasional High Elf NPC. Blizzard argues they can’t be a playable race simply because there aren’t enough of them left to make it realistic.
5 They Joined the Horde Because of Sylvanas
Any player that’s knows anything about the lore of WoW might ask why, in spite of this history, the people formerly known as the High Elves and staunch allies of the humans would join forces with the Horde. A lot of that can be explained by the former High Elf that’s currently acting as one of the Horde’s most prominent leaders, Sylvanas Windrunner.
RELATED: World Of Warcraft: 10 Things You Need To Know About Sylvanas Windrunner
The Windrunner family has a tragic history that unfolds with the Burning Crusade expansion, leading from the ruined woods of the Ghostlands to the harsh moonscape that lies beyond the Dark Portal. The Blood Elves were relieved to find one of the Windrunner sisters has survived, as it were, and allied themselves with their former Ranger guardian.
4 Blood Elves Are Fluent in Most Azerothian Languages
In accordance with how the tension between both factions is supposed to work in the game, Blood Elves as a playable race are limited to two tongues. These would be their native language of Thalrassian and the Horde vernacular, Orc. Their story in the lore is slightly different, and it’s interesting to know if you have plans for RP with a Blood Elf character. Being a race that’s mostly dedicated to arcane studies, the High Elves had a global reputation for being multi-lingual and were even known for being able to read lost or ancient languages.
3 Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider Missed the Third War
Some call it fate, others destiny, but it’s really just plot armor. Fortunately, the prince of Quel’Thalas was in Dalaran when his city was attacked by the Scourge and nearly destroyed. Thus he survived to drive most of the plot of the Burning Crusade expansion by aligning with Illidan, the half-demon exile, in the hopes that he could save the Blood Elves from their magical addiction. In the game, this leads to several new questlines, factions to gain rep with, and a few new raids and dungeons in both Outland and Azeroth.
2 Hawksriders Are The Racial Mount
“Those mecha-striders the Gnomes have sure are cool,” said no Horde player ever. However, it seems that someone with an influential position on the design team thought both factions needed a big bird to ride, and maybe that’s why the Blood Elves ended up with the hawkstriders.
The mount has been popular in the retail version since the expansion first rolled out in 2006, but it’s still not as popular as the big cats of the Night Elves or the Troll dinosaurs. There are different colors and epic versions available provided you’re a Blood Elf or exalted with their faction.
1 Eastern Kingdoms Starting Area
Given the common history that the Forsaken and the Blood Elves share concerning Arthas Menethil, it’s not a surprise that they not only start on the same continent but their capital cities are also closely connected. After low-level Blood Elf characters advance from the starting area and discover Silvermoon City, they can use a device called the Orb of Translocation to reach Undercity. There are actually a few starter quests that reveal more of the story of the Scourge invasion, including one in which the player interacts with Sylvanas herself.
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