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Is there something I'm missing? I just don't see it.

Who loves the Altmer? Haughty banana people.

The Altmer are the essence of all that is good and superior in Tamriel. Its only natural that they be loved so.

You may be talking about the popularity of the Aldmeri Dominion in ESO? That's a gameplay thing more than anything else. The Aldmeri Dominion apparently has the best quests.

I concur with Legoless.

I meant the race not the Dominion. It seems like everywhere I go people talk about how awesome the Altmer. This is is the first forum I've been to that hasn't considered the Altmer to be the master race.

Well, people (in general,) love magic. Altmer are considered the defacto offensive spell-casting race in the game, always having the biggest magicka reserves at their disposal. This lets them (figuratively) turn just about anything into a pile of ashes on the ground.

Bretons are better. Altmer are too weak to magical attacks, and IIRC, their racial perks have been diminished in the newer games.

Pop psychology: the Altmer are "the Other" in the Elder Scrolls universe. An inordinate amount of TES fans are rather geeky and often feel like "the Other" amongst their peers. Hence, an inordinate amount of them may identify with the Altmer on a personal level.

Frankly, though, the Altmer can suck it, as far as I'm concerned. As Socrates said, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." The Altmer tend to fail this basic test of wisdom, and treat everyone else as ignorant savages. Ungracious as losers, cruel as winners. They can go to hell.

Plus, when you kill them they leave behind this smell. A curious blend of cheddar and mint.

Altmer are my favorite race.

I love magic, so they have to be the best, right?

Personally, I will never understand the strong following for the altmer. Part me holds it due to how they relate to other fantasy elven races, and that alone has a strong appeal.. and lets not forget the magic. On the other side, because their stereotypical ignorance and culture, we are kind of led to dislike them.. but as we all know others simply wish to oppose.. and so a minority becomes a majority.. that will tear out your throat if you could not agree with their opinions via the internet(partly an exaggeration with some truth)

I mean look at most altmer related topics, and how quickly they boil down to two strong-sided groups.. the ones who unconditionally/irrationally love them.. and those whom unconditionally/irrationally hate them. Even before the Thalmor added some wood to this fire, it existed, and is more or less a trend that seems like it's staying Another point to make is people love to dominate, to feel superior.. and in ever bit of sense.. the altmer enjoy the very same. This does not mean all altmer are inherently 'jerks', nor the same to their fans. It is just those with a more passionate opinion seem to be heard from amongst the crowd

Now, I have no issues if somebody enjoys this race or culture. My only objection is when one stops listening to reason and logic... and then tries to tear out my throat.. that last bit would normally do it...

Dark Spark wrote:Plus, when you kill them they leave behind this smell. A curious blend of cheddar and mint.

Lol I absolutely love this

Minor Edits wrote:Bretons are better. Altmer are too weak to magical attacks, and IIRC, their racial perks have been diminished in the newer games.
.

Morrowind - weakness to magic, weakness to elemental damage, tons of magicka.
Oblivion - weakness to elemental damage, not as much magicka, but still a nice amount.
Skyrim - no weakness at all, a measly 50 bonus magicka.


Which means that the race most attuned to magicka yet uniquely vulnerable to it are no longer vulnerable. Or that attuned to magicka.

yeah, i miss the old school Altmer vulnerability to magicka, they really shone as a race to play when you combined it with the Atronarch

it's negative psychology, Skyrim shows us how evil the Thalmor can be so everyone loves them. If only it worked with broccoli and herbal tea..

Mattbott wrote:...it's negative psychology, Skyrim shows us how evil the Thalmor can be so everyone loves them. If only it worked with broccoli and herbal tea..

Broccoli tastes better with cheddar. And there are herbal teas with mint.

Whoa.

Armaes of the Ansei wrote:This is the first forum I've been to that hasn't considered the Altmer to be the master race.

Not so fast.

Altmer are the master race, by several metrics. It's just that Imperials have had the dominant culture for a long while, and for good reasons.

I prefer the Ayleids, better at Magic(Possibly, we don't really know, but Welkynd stones were awesome and OP) and have you seen Umaril? If only we could play as Ayleids in vanilla games(Modded Oblivion to crashing point, I have a level 10 slaughterfish in there somewhere)

Emzi 43 wrote:I prefer the Ayleids, better at Magic(Possibly, we don't really know, but Welkynd stones were awesome and OP) and have you seen Umaril?

Remember that Umaril was only half Ayleid and half winged demigod. He was also functionally Daedric when we see him in Oblivion, meaning he could have reformed his body in any way he wanted. Not a great biological representation.

I don't think they're loved much more than most other races; they're very equally hated, especially on the Skyrim forum. If anything, they're a race that erupts the strongest feelings, one way or another.

I think Altmer are not so much "loved" as they are "pitied".

Anaemia isn't very pleasant. And their livers must be absolutely shot.

Plus all their hairstyles look stupid.

The average fan who thinks Altmer are great are probably relatively new to the series and making the mistaken comparison that they're like the High Elves/ Light Elves of other comparable fiction series.

On the surface the comparison holds.

As for the people who know what the Altmer are and believe and still admire them...well...

Your local library probably has a number of tomes on the phenomenon of sociopaths.

Novelty is drawn to the brightest lights of your ambition, to grab for hope.

Experience allows you to warp what you've found into new and decidedly twisted fashions.

They'll learn. Then they'll hate the Altmer as much as we do.

Pilaf The Defiler wrote: ...Your local library probably has a number of tomes on the phenomenon of sociopaths.

Unfortunately, I don't need such a book. All I need is a mirror.
Just kidding.

Altmer have always gone through phases, sometimes they are a bit like TV's Sheldon Cooper, sometimes they are a bit like the Red Queen from Lewis Carroll, sometimes they aren't as likeable as either. In Morrowind they were amongst the only people who would actually talk to you when you were a vampire and that made them alright to me

as a pc race i always liked their focus on magic in the earlier TES games but now racial bonuses are a bit watered down they have lost that.. it gave them a vulnerability which they no longer have

tbh the dwemer ruins in Skyrim indicate a cruel and aloof race and I can't help thinking the Thalmor aspire in some way to what the Dwemer achieved (assuming the Dwarves didnt all die and go to a rather unpleasant corner of oblivion reserved for cruel and aloof races)

Archer wrote:The Altmer are the essence of all that is good and superior in Tamriel. Its only natural that they be loved so.

Exactly. With such grace, intelligence, beauty, and superiority, who wouldn't be loved?

Believe, you have a funny haircut! Ha ha but in all seriousness, I like to play Altmer because I enjoy roleplaying a conceited primadonna who likes to get her own way by cutting words or a fireball spell.

Pilaf The Defiler wrote:As for the people who know what the Altmer are and believe and still admire them...well...

Your local library probably has a number of tomes on the phenomenon of sociopaths.

Only the most enlightened TES fans know this truth, buried in a code from St. Kirkbride's Protocols of the Elders of Alinor. If the average, low-information TES fan had this knowledge, that the Altmer, collectively, as a race, are actively trying to smuggle a dirty soul gem into White-Gold Tower and blow up the world... well, then their ire could be based on solid evidence, instead of what it's based on in the majority of avowed cases: the fact that a yellow guy (insert skin color joke) made an unkind remark to their character in game, and it hurt their feelings!

Will Zurmacht wrote:

Pilaf The Defiler wrote:As for the people who know what the Altmer are and believe and still admire them...well...

Your local library probably has a number of tomes on the phenomenon of sociopaths.

Only the most enlightened TES fans know this truth, buried in a code from St. Kirkbride's Protocols of the Elders of Alinor. If the average, low-information TES fan had this knowledge, that the Altmer, collectively, as a race, are actively trying to smuggle a dirty soul gem into White-Gold Tower and blow up the world... well, then their ire could be based on solid evidence, instead of what it's based on in the majority of avowed cases: the fact that a yellow guy (insert skin color joke) made an unkind remark to their character in game, and it hurt their feelings!

The point is about the people who do know, though.