by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

In a disappointing announcement via Twitter, Blizzard Senior Art Director Chris G. Robinson declared that blood elf models will not be available at launch of Warlords of Draenor but will come in a later patch. Since Draenei play a heavy part in Warlords their models will not be delayed (and if you’ve missed the artcraft for the male and female draenei, here’s your chance to catch up). Blood elves are definitely a very popular Horde race (female blood elves are the most populous female model on US realms, and second in the EU), but the model restructuring has reportedly been a huge undertaking by Blizzard’s art crew.

It’s important to remember that at BlizzCon last year, it was stated that the BC races were not originally slated to make the cut for release, so ultimately this should not really be much of a surprise. Moreover, today’s Artcraft, which showed off facial customizations and expanded on the amount of effort involved with updating the facial geometry, should give an indication of how much work is involved with this process, which hopefully ought to garner some forgiveness for Robinson and his team.

We are working hard to complete the models and get them in-game, but that won’t happen until sometime post WoD launch.

— Chris G. Robinson (@artofcgrobinson) July 30, 2014

Robinson also mentioned that an Artcraft for trolls will be posted in the next few weeks. As a fan of the race, new models have me excited; if Vol’jin’s model in the SoO cinematic is any indication to where the team is heading, it will be an impressive update.

What do you think about Blizzard postponing the release of new models for Blood Elves? Does this play favorably for a release in September or October? Let us know know in the comments below.