This is based on my own perception of threads on this forum and various online polls I've come across. The Aldmeri appear to be the least popular faction. Why is that? Is it race-driven? Is it something do with lore? (Am relatively new to ES lore)? Have I simply misinterpreted their popularity? Please educate me. Thanks!

As for me - I'll likely join Daggerfall. Primarily because I chose to play an Orc in the beta, and now feel some level of affinity to the faction. That's really it.

I thought the Dominion was going to be the most popular, because elves and pretty zones.

I dunno i get my hate for them when i played skyrim lol. guess im still fighting for the stormcloaks deep inside.

They seem pretty popular to me. There certainly are a large number of guilds for that Alliance.

Most of the objections I've seen is that folks in a roleplay or lore sense consider them arrogant tyrants intent on making every other race subservient to them. In a 'Why help them win to make yourselves slaves?' thought process.

Or they just hate elves in general.

Have to admit in Skyrim I do tend to go out of my way to attack Altmer NPC groups wandering down the road.

From what I can tell, a large number of people seem to be leaning towards Aldmeri Dominion. Popular streamers like Angry Joe, Force and ShoddyCast all seem to be leaning towards Dominion; mostly because of their packed in starter zones and the added fact that they have some of the most powerful races. One of the best sorcerer contenders; the Altmer, and two strong Nightblade races; the Bosmer and Khajiit.

There's a bit of controversy surrounding the Khajiit and their seemingly overpowered Carnage ability at the moment.

If you head on over to Tamriel Foundry, their numbers indicate the following:

Ebonheart Pact - 4412

Aldmeri Dominion - 4158

Daggerfall Covenant - 3308

I can't see how they are any less, or any more for that matter, popular than any of the other alliances. The http://tesocensus.info/ still has them about as even as one expect... or not expect, I should say. It's amazing how close they are. It's the same with every poll taken. It ends up an even split.

And the fact that every map I looked at showed a lot of yellow keeps. I'd say they are rather popular.

pure jealousy and envy in the presence of the glorious Altmer master race.

Didn't realize it was. We were getting our butts handed to use in the Ebonheart Pact, and it was AD delivering it.

For me, it's because of the way the elven races have be portrayed since I started playing Elder Scrolls. Their lore and history is full of betrayals and quests for exterminating some rival, usually a rival race of elves.

I damn sure got sick and tired of them in Morrowind. I started clearing out whole villages of the haughty, slave owning evil bastids. And then Skyrim come along, and I hear the Aldmeri Dominion got back up and started another war, forcing other elves to join whether they wanted to or not, and then releasing those Thalmor on everybody. I literally killed every Thalmor I could.

Finally ... pretty elves have never been my thing. The closest I get to liking elves is liking orcs, and orcs don't much care for elves either. And pretty areas? I ain't no sissy.

Legolas. Strong enough for a man, but made to look like a woman.

Mostly because of the anti-altmer human propaganda on previous TES games.

A huge part of TES lore is based on npc's opinions/prejudices and books that were written by equally biased characters. It is like real life history, really, and that's what I like the most about TES lore.

Many fans only played Skyrim. Some of them disregard all the nice Altmeri npcs on the game and seems to believe that every Altmer shares the visions of the Thalmor, which simply is not true. They think they are evil for banishing the worship of Talos, but they have no idea of everything Tiber Septim did. After what he did to the Altmer, it would be a surprise if they actually accepted the worship of Talos.

I wanted to play on the dominion to see how much of what we think we knew about the Altmer is just human propaganda, and after two betas I must say that Queen Ayrenn is the only monarch that I would fight for.

Being a bunch of elf nazis?

Just a guess

People in general dislike the Altmer because in previous TES games they have been perceived as looking down their nose on other races and feel they are the race most deserving of honor and rulership. The Queen even thinks of Man as a babe race with not the wisdom or intelligence to rule tamriel.

Also.. in Skyrim... Thalmor left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll be playing a Wood Elf deserter in the Daggerfall Covenant.

Whatever way you look at it, each race and alliance has people that will be prejudiced against it even though each has good points and good honorable people and bad points and twisted mother [censored]s.

I couldnt say for sure.

I Like them and ill be playing my main there (Altmer dragonknight). Perhaps because it is ruled by the Altmer (khajiit and bosmer dont really shine) and people see the high elves as self absorbed looking down on you type of person?

The Altmer have historically had the highest threshold of power in the Elder Scrolls game's franchise.

Their bad reputation is a noob trap to keep people from achieving what they're truly capable of through the prison of their own irrational hatred.

1. Not a fan of elves. Which is going to sound odd since I plan on maining a Dunmer, but Dunmer are one of the few elf races I can tolerate. Besides the ears, they really don't fit the average elf stereotype.

2. I favor the smaller, independent guy. Both Aldmeri and Imperials would like to unite all of Tamriel under their rule.

3. Experiences bleeding over into TESO. For example in WoW I played horde side and learned to loathe Night Elf hunters. Even though it is a completely different game and franchise, I will still be hunting down Bosmer bow-users in Cyrodiil

I don't like the way those elves look or cats.

Elevenkind have always been portrayed as looking like a big bunch of jessies. The men are always effeminate looking... That said they are always my first cab off the rank.

Oblivion not as much, but Skyrim certainly hit hard with elven racist behavior through the story line. I'm sure that has something to do with it in recent time, mind you the numbers currently don't support that. Not all elves in TES have been like that of course, not according to lore anyways.

I feel like something horrible happened.

Like, Ayrenn was murdered or something. Or maybe her heirs, down the timeline.

Right now, the situation of the Khajiit and the Bosmer is pretty good in the Dominion because Ayrenn sees them as equals. The Dominion actually is the alliance that has less conflict between the races that forms it, having to deal mostly with the maomer and a rabid supremacist altmeri group (enemies, not friendly npcs).

On the Covenant, you have the problem that friendly bretons hate the orsimer (and the orsimer are not huge fans of them either, since the bretons and redguards have the annoying habit of cutting down the orsimeri population from time to time). And I don't think I have to talk about the problems with the Pact

But it makes sense for you to play as a Bosmer in the Covenant. I think it is the alliance with more "foreign" npcs, or at least it gave me that impression.

This one does not like the way you look.

Posts like this start with a logical fallacy. First you must demonstrate that they are, in fact, unpopular.

I like it when there's elves around...

To kill.......

Most of us have had past experience with the Altmer with the Thalmor epitomising it totally.

In the past HEs had a real problem in their arrogance and weakness to magic but just like the Breton;s spell R

being decreased/virtually removed the weakness has gone west also and possibly the arrogance.

From the pure magic POV they have a marked advantage over most others although from what I read here

it may not be as clear an advantage as it seems .

I played all three alliances this time: in Ebonheart there seemed more Nords than Dunmer and very few argonians.

In Daggerfall Bretons and Redguards seemed about equal while there wre more orcs relatively than Argonians.

In the Dominion Altmer wre the most common by far with the Bosmer next and some Kahjit(about equal to the Orcs)

Mind you this is not a survey but an impression. In Cyrodil I saw loads of Altmer, Nords and Dunmer. Bretons probably also

but I was never as certain as I did not get too close after a while : )

I think he means the Altmer, you know the neo nazis who took away my favorite god in the elderscrolls in skyrim :3

AD had the largest amount of players accross the pvp campaigns in the last beta, I dont think they are the least popular.

I do hate the racist thalmor tho .