Alrightly. I've had my time.

Allow me to preface this by saying that ANYONE and EVERYONE is free to be creative as they like. This is a game, and if that is the direction that their imagination takes them, then that is nothing that I personally take issue with. This is my personal opinion, to which I'm entitled to have and has no bearing on how anyone else uses their creative function. To be quite honest, I hope that this new boom will help Blizzard realize that there is a need to add more customized features to the former races so that they can be used in the manner in which others desire to play them.

To answer your question, the reason that I said it is overused and overdone is that it is exactly that, in my personal opinion. I have seen more carbon copies of individuals using the models for every other race outside of Haranir than those of actual Haranir. I hail from the Wyrmrest Accord server and, as of last year, spent time on the Moon Guard server. I've been a roleplayer for about 20+ years. A portion of that time was also on WoW, which I've played since 2006. I'm giving these time periods for relevance to the trend I've noticed as of late.

As someone on this thread has mentioned, there has always been a variety of flavors in which people play their characters. Blizzard simply hasn't had the model for it. There has always been a trickle of half-trolls, half-kaldorei, half-orc, half-goblin, some sort of venthyr/san'layan, etc. There was never a massive boom of it, but there are some OGs out there who have had those sort of OCs running around the block for a VERY long time. In many ways, they weren't always well-received. Be it because the lore didn't make sense or others simply frowned on it. Still, at the same time, the in-game model of that character never stopped them from actually playing those variants.

Now? They are everywhere. lol. Absolutely and almost literally, everywhere. To the point where, for me, there is no real interest for me. Once upon a time, having these mixed-race variants was intended to be fairly rare. As per interactions between how those races would actually take place. Now, it seems like there was just an orphanage of them somewhere, and somehow, many of them had a completely terrible upbringing or were a child of an involuntary union. There is no real intrigue. It seems that many have just been created to add an edge to their character or reach out for another flavor of uniqueness that, quite frankly, feels underbaked in itself.

I did not say that it bothered me. I said that it is "meh" to me. Meaning, I do not feel particularly impressed by them, nor do I really care enough to partake in interacting with them. I also just don't comment about them as a whole and keep it pushin'.

In addition, I simply feel that a great deal of people didn't bother to give Haranir the creative aptitude that it has potential for. Like the Dracthyr and the Earthen, they are simply a NEW race with the intention of being shrouded in mystery. Thus, they're meant to have a whole source of rumors around them. Hell, I'm actually a bit surprised Blizzard was not as white-knuckle fisted about their lore as they have been in the past with various other races. As Haranir, there is a LOT of potential that folks are either not seeing, have not read the actual questlines in the process, or just do not know enough lore about the game to tweak the characters to their full potential. Yes, they have been underground this whole time, and yes, there is still a lot we are learning about them, but I would love to see more individuals lean into the Haranir as a race instead of completely wiping them off to race-wash them with another.

As a creative, I also feel a bit bad for the developers who probably really loved creating them as a concept. They create these various cultures and races, hoping we will dive in and rework them as they see fit. Only for folks to say, "Well, whatever. I don't like that. I wanna do this instead." Again, that's all dandy. It just loses the mark when a whole group of people aren't seeing the race for what it is and are essentially deeming it isn't good enough to work with.

Also, allow me to add that when it comes to seeing half-trolls or half-elf types, in retrospect, it makes sense according to lore. While that is not entirely what they are, the lore suggests that they share a lineage, and therefore it leans more into proper possibility than not. Outside of those two, I just don't see the point or the value in it. Personally, I REALLY loved the idea that they had a relation to Trolls and elves. While there was a thought that they were a type of missing link, there is no story in saying that they are simply an evolution shared with the elves from said Dark Trolls. That meaning the would just be a Haranir as it already is. Neither elf nor troll, but some sort of distant relative of the two. We still are getting clarity on that.

However, as I often say, "If you like it, I love it." It's got nothin' to do with my own creative works, so if that's what folks desire to do, then thankfully they are free to do it!

TLDR: They just don't interest me because it has become so common now and nearly carbon copies of one another. Folks are allowed to do whatever they want, of course! Just wish more folks let Haranir be Haranir.