Most of World of Warcraft’s races got a visual overhaul in the game’s latest expansion, Warlords of Draenor. Players running Blood Elf characters, however, drew the short straw.
Fortunately Blizzard is working on an upgrade for elves too, acknowledging that “it’s not ideal to see a mix of older player character models next to newer player character models”.
“The Horde has classically been about brutes, blood, and thunder,” explains senior artist Dusty Nolting. “The Blood Elves bring a bit of subtlety to the Horde, and I think that was one of the most important aspects of the Blood Elves to maintain. For the female specifically, something we did often was move things around in small but deliberate increments, to make sure everything was just right. It’s the delicate details like her nose shape or fingertips that represent the most challenging parts of upgrading the female.”
For the Blood Elf male, meanwhile, Blizzard is trying to keep the existing model’s signature pose and look, but senior artist Joe Keller says his “anatomy, facial features, and hair will all get an update while still maintaining his iconic look, bringing him to the level of the other new character models.”
Blizzard doesn’t have an ETA for the new elf models, but says they are working “as quickly as possible” to get them in the game without sacrificing quality.
