[Nolan]

On this subject that is both mysterious and murky to my eyes, I'm calling on anyone interested to help me uncover at least some of the facts to this alien species lifespan and their possible extended longevity.

All I know for sure is that there are Draenei older than 10,000 years which begs many questions. How long is their pregnancy term? What is the rate they age at? How do they sustain themselves into such lofty years? The questions go on!

I can't wait to hear some info!

[Tirien]

Well. Like any near-immortal race. They likely age as normal until they look like an adult (and attractive) and then slow down from there. As for specifics? I am unsure. I feel like they might have an inherent link to some form of magic to sustain their age.

[Cerestal]

You can thank Blizzard and their super retcon for any lack of information on the draenei - the original draenei are now the Broken/lost ones and we got the walking Russian goats from space only at BC's launch.

Velen (and at least a few other NPCs I can think of, given dialogue) are at least 25 000 years old, as that's when they fled their homeworld on a giant diamond piloted by a floating windchime.

Unlike the night elves, I can buy into the idea that pregnancy/childhood is much longer than a humans - not just because of their lifespan, but their race wouldn't have evolved to deal with surviving war and replenishing numbers. They still have people from the same generation as Velen who originally fled Argus. I contrast this to the night elves - who everyone says takes about 300 years to grow up - came to existence warring trolls and possibly aqir. They would've evolved to breed as fast as the trolls to survive and sustain long-term warfare.

Oh, and draenei blood is blue. (See what I did there?)

[Nolan]

Cerestal, it sounds like you don't much care for my dear Draenei brethren or the luminous Naaru...

So you would say that an equivalent young adult, between 18 - 25 years of age in human years, would be something like 800 to 2200 years old? (No math involved there, just a very rough guesstimate)

I mean if that's the case then Draenei must be SUPER intelligent and their bodies are SUPER efficient at consuming, storing, and using energy.

It also makes me feel bad for them, to be stranded in space and then come to find what happened to those left behind. How far their own relatives and friends had devolved, becoming hunched, crippled primitives living on a ruined husk of a world... Great for roleplay, bad for emotions!

[Cerestal]

Hey. I have nothing against walking, immortal, tentacle-bearded Russian goats from space that was the result of a blizz employee saying 'Hey! Archimonde and Akama look kinda similar, y'know?' and was subsequently given a massive raise and was able to buy a boat.

Where was I going with this?

Oh. I would rather have gotten Broken or better yet - lost ones for a playable race. Always wanted to RP a Lost One. And I'm not sure what gives the immortality, though I think the Light has something to do with it.

-----

Can I point out at this time that night elves and draenei should have massive death rates for cancer? Because aging is the body's natural response to it.

[Grathier]

Hey. I have nothing against walking, immortal, tentacle-bearded Russian goats from space that was the result of a blizz employee saying 'Hey! Archimonde and Akama look kinda similar, y'know?' and was subsequently given a massive raise and was able to buy a boat.

u mad?

[Nolan]

Alright... can we please keep on the facts and the lore?

I can definitely see you don't like Draenei Cerestal. Please don't elaborate. >.>

So it's possibly a connection to the Light that has allowed the Draenei to live so long and healthily? How would that explain a multi-century childhood?

[LEGION]

Unlike the night elves, I can buy into the idea that pregnancy/childhood is much longer than a humans - not just because of their lifespan, but their race wouldn't have evolved to deal with surviving war and replenishing numbers. They still have people from the same generation as Velen who originally fled Argus. I contrast this to the night elves - who everyone says takes about 300 years to grow up - came to existence warring trolls and possibly aqir. They would've evolved to breed as fast as the trolls to survive and sustain long-term warfare.

What confuses me though is the fact that in game, we almost NEVER see Night Elf children running around, whereas we see Draenei children thick as whelplings. Go figure.

Edit: I think it would be hilarious to discover that Night Elves don't reproduce in any way like humans, and that they have gigantic, Alienesque hatcheries. :: warms her dark, Dworgen heart with the ridicule of Floppy-Eared, Mailbox Maulers ::

As to your question, Nolan, I have distinctly avoided Draenei lore, even on my Draenei (who is the other half of Oolaki, and was as close to approximating a demon as the Dark Portal could manage when separating The Oolakis).

[Lukar]

Well, most of the Night Elf men went to sleep for quite a long time, so there weren't a lot of kids to run around. Also Night Elf children are considered to be extremely precious, likely meaning that pregnancy is not all that common for them.

As for Night Elf aging, they age at the same rate as anyone else. They just aren't considered mature until they're around 400 or so. They're like the Asari from Mass Effect in that regard.

[Resileaf]

To be fair, or unfair, there probably aren't visible Night elf children because Blizz is too lazy to make models. For example, in Liara's quest chain, they gave her daughter a Blood elf child model.