Blood elf (playable)

This article is about the blood elf playable race. For blood elves in general, see blood elf.

Blood elves
Character classes	Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warlock Death knight Warrior Monk
Main language	Thalassian
Secondary language	Orcish
Starting zone	Sunstrider Isle, Eversong Woods
Racial leader	Lord Lor'themar Theron
Capital	Silvermoon City
Racial mount	Hawkstrider

The blood elves of Quel'thalas are a race introduced in the Burning Crusade expansion. They start in the Eversong Woods, the northern section of Quel'Thalas. Farther south is the Ghostlands, a level 10-20 zone.

Background

The Icon of Blood

The past few years have seen unprecedented changes within the eternal land of Quel'Thalas. The blood elves, following the will of their crazed leader, Kael'thas Sunstrider, channeled dangerous, chaotic magicks to transform their sacred Sunwell into a gateway of unspeakable evil. While Kael'thas and his demonic masters were eventually defeated, a different transformation occurred within the Sunwell itself as a dying naaru sacrificed its life essence to reignite the Sunwell as a font of holy energy. Now, the blood elf regent, Lor'themar Theron, sees a new hope on the horizon for his people. Over time, the Sunwell's Light could cure the blood elves of their cursed state but many still cling to the arcane powers they procured and are hesitant to relinquish them. As one of the remaining blood elves, you must fight to protect Quel'Thalas and help redeem the soul of your ancient people.

Long ago the exiled high elves landed on the shores of Lordaeron. They struck out to find a new home, and after many battles with the trolls, established the kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Using a vial of sacred water stolen from the first Well of Eternity, the high elves created a fount of mystical power at a convergence of ley energies in Quel'Thalas. They named this fountain the Sunwell. Its potent arcane magic fed and strengthened the high elves, and soon the wondrous city of Silvermoon was established.

Protected by a magical barrier, the high elves enjoyed peace for roughly four thousand years, but that peace was not meant to last. The Amani trolls gathered an immense army and assaulted the elven kingdom. Vastly outnumbered, the high elves hastily struck an alliance with the human nation of Arathor. The elves taught a small number of humans how to wield magic. In exchange the humans aided the elves in destroying the trolls' power base forever. Over the following years the high elves returned to their reclusive ways, but during the Third War, the diabolical Prince Arthas Menethil brought battle once again to their doorstep. Arthas required the power of the Sunwell to revive the necromancer Kel'Thuzad and raise him as a lich. He invaded Quel'Thalas and wiped out most of its population. In the end, even King Anasterian Sunstrider lay dead.

Additionally it became clear that the high elves had become addicted to the Sunwell's arcane energies. Now that the source of their magic was gone, the few remaining high elves quickly grew ill and apathetic. Prince Kael'thas, last of the royal line, returned from his studies in Dalaran to find Quel'Thalas in ruins. Thirsting for vengeance, he gathered the survivors, renamed them blood elves, and took a group of the strongest fighters to join Lordaeron's campaign against the Scourge.

Due to human prejudice, Kael'thas was forced to accept the assistance of Lady Vashj and her reptilian naga. When the humans discovered that the blood elves had been working with the naga, Kael'thas and the others were imprisoned and condemned to death. Lady Vashj soon arrived to set them free, leading them through a portal and into the broken wastes of Outland. There, the elves met the one being capable of putting an end to their hunger: the renegade night elf/demon, Illidan Stormrage. Certain that the blood elves would die without Illidan's assistance, Kael'thas agreed to serve the Betrayer.

A lone representative, Rommath, was sent back to Azeroth with a message of hope for the blood elves remaining in Quel'Thalas: that one day Kael'thas would return to lead his people to paradise. Rommath had made great progress in teaching the blood elves advanced techniques to manipulate arcane energies. With renewed purpose, the blood elves have rebuilt the city of Silvermoon, though it is powered by volatile magics. Emboldened by the promise of Kael'thas' return, the weary citizens of Quel'Thalas now focus on regaining their strength, even as they forge a new path into an uncertain future.

Kael'thas would eventually return to Quel'Thalas, having forsaken his people for the Burning Legion. Taking the Naaru M'uru with him to the Isle of Quel'Danas, he sought to bring the demon Kil'jaeden into Azeroth. He was foiled by the forces of the Shattered Sun Offensive and the Sunwell was restored by the prophet Velen, using the spark of the dying M'uru to rekindle it as a source of Light.

Mounts

Mount Name		Availability	Required riding skill	Required Level
Black Hawkstrider	[Black Hawkstrider]	1	Riding (75)	20
Blue Hawkstrider	[Blue Hawkstrider]	1	Riding (75)	20
Purple Hawkstrider	[Purple Hawkstrider]	1	Riding (75)	20
Red Hawkstrider	[Red Hawkstrider]	1	Riding (75)	20
Swift Purple Hawkstrider	[Swift Purple Hawkstrider]	10	Riding (150)	40
Swift Green Hawkstrider	[Swift Green Hawkstrider]	10	Riding (150)	40
Swift Pink Hawkstrider	[Swift Pink Hawkstrider]	10	Riding (150)	40

Normal

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  Black

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  Blue

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  Purple

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  Red

Epic

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  Purple

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  Pink

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  Green

The hawkstrider is the blood elves' racial mount. It was formerly called a cockatrice but was later changed, though that mythical beast remains the inspiration for the hawkstrider. As their name implies, hawkstriders resemble other members of the tallstrider family, though their plumage is both larger and more vibrant. They come in a variety of bright colors and have a thin, curved beak and burning orange eyes. Epic versions include decorative armor on the chest and head. The hawkstrider's movements exhibit the same rhythmic, back-and-forth motion which characterizes the other two-legged mounts. They use a heavily modified tallstrider model, but they possess a wildly different looking exterior and a unique standing-jump and running animation. The Blood Elven Blood Knight use a darker form of the charger with a dark red armor unlike the Alliance races who receive a blue armored version.

Place in the World

The Orb of Translocation

Starting blood elf characters can use a Orb of Translocation to get to the entrance of Undercity. The Orb works both ways, so characters can easily travel between the two capitals without having to go through the Plaguelands, which are much higher level zones than the Undead and Blood Elf starting areas. Note that Blood Elf players begin with a "Friendly" status with the Forsaken while being Neutral with other members. The orb can be easily located using the Silvermoon map.

Appearance

Males of the race are tall and slender, standing above the average human, and characterized by a lean, athletic musculature, making them seem somewhat thin when compared to larger races such as orcs. Females stand somewhat shorter, just above a human male in height, and have slender, delicate builds. They have a wide range of hair colours spanning from charcoal black to nearly white and a spectrum of skin colours ranging from pale to tan to ruddy. Blood elves have very long and thin ears, however their ears differ greatly from a night elf's. The ears of a blood elf point vertically, whereas a night elf's ears point behind them. Blood elves also have eyebrows that extend well off of their faces like whiskers. Both males and females are what would typically be considered exceptionally beautiful, with chiseled, refined features; males can also sport some facial hair, in the form of goatees. Their eyes glow green due to the influence of the fel energies they turned to with the destruction of the Sunwell.

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  Two blood elves in-game.

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  Two blood elves in art.

Leadership in Quel'Thalas

Although led under Lor'themar Theron, many other factions in Silvermoon have leadership which also act as advisers to the lord.

• Lor'themar Theron
• Rommath
• Halduron Brightwing
• Aethas Sunreaver
• Lady Liadrin

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  Lor'themar Theron, Lord of Quel'Thalas

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  Rommath, Grand Magister of the Magisters

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  Halduron Brightwing, Ranger-general of the Farstriders

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  Aethas Sunreaver, Archmage of the Sunreavers

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  Liadrin, Matriarch of the Blood Knights

Starting attributes

	Base	Mage	Rogue	Warlock	Hunter	Paladin	Priest	Death knight	Warrior
Strength	17	17	18	17	17	19	17	105	20
Agility	22	22	25	22	25	22	22	75	22
Stamina	18	18	19	19	19	20	18	99	20
Intellect	24	27	24	26	24	24	26	32	24
Spirit	19	21	19	21	20	20	22	40	19

Racial traits

[Arcane Torrent] (2 min cooldown)
Silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec and restores 6% of your Mana (or 15 Energy, Focus, Rage, or Runic Power). Non-player victim spellcasting is also interrupted for 3 sec.
[Arcane Affinity] (Passive)
Enchanting skill increased by 10 (this raises the cap by 10 at each level of enchanting).
[Arcane Resistance] (Passive)
Reduces Arcane damage taken by 1%.

Removed from game

[Mana Tap]
Reduces target's mana by X and charges you with Arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times.

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  [Mana Tap]

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  [Arcane Torrent]

Reasons

Arcane Torrent comes as a natural manipulation of Arcane energies from the Sunwell and allows the elves to tap into and unleash the magic that is their birth right. The elves have long delved into the magical and arcane as evident by their cultural centerpiece, the Sunwell. Thus, they have developed a natural Arcane Affinity as a result of the well's magical presence, making the blood elves naturally skilled with arcane arts such as Enchanting. The elves' constant exposure to magic also gave them a natural defense against many kinds of magical manipulation, granting them a natural Arcane Resistance. Mana Tap was previously used to drain magic from the environment, but was no longer necessary when the Sunwell was restored.

Trivia

Farstrider ranger

• The female blood elf dance is derived from the dance routine in the music video for Britney Spears' song "Toxic".
• The male blood elf dance is almost exactly identical to the dance that Napoleon does in the movie Napoleon Dynamite.
• Contrary to popular belief, blood elves still have a strong affinity with nature, especially the Farstrider rangers. Like the quel'dorei before them, the sin'dorei have druids, but they are not the same as kaldorei or tauren druids; the blood elf variety of druids are closer to traditional "medieval" druids, working to conserve and maintain the natural environment of Quel'Thalas. While most cannot shape-shift, they share some of the same druid spells such as Speak with Plants. However, there is at least one shape-shifting druid (High Botanist Freywinn).
• Blood elf NPCs are the only Horde race that do not call out for help when an Alliance player attacks them. This is most likely due to an oversight by Blizzard during production of The Burning Crusade. Getting too close to or attacking a blood elf NPC will still summon guards to protect the town or city.

Silvermoon City Guardian

• Blood elf guards (spell breakers) in Silvermoon City and other parts of Quel'Thalas have a distinctly different model and portrait than those used by playable blood elves and by other blood elf and high elf NPCs; their models were not updated from the ones used in the Burning Crusade beta. They share animations with male night elf models and have unique aggro and death sounds. Their models are very similar to the spell breaker in WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne.
• Blood elf guards are the only guards with mana.
• All blood elf guards are male unlike guards for most other races of Azeroth, except for Ironforge guards. Conversely, all night elf guards happen to be female.
• Although blood elf eyes supposedly glow green, their model's eyes do not actually glow in the dark. Possibly an oversight.

Videos

• Blood elf opening cinematic since Cataclysm
• Blood elf opening cinematic from Burning Crusade