I don't really hate elves, but I suppose that's because I haven't had much interaction with their trope outside of Lord of the Rings and Warcraft III/Frozen Throne, both of which have neutral to good characterization of the species and their conflicts/culture/whatever.

Because ten thousand elves couldn't hold up one candle to a Slayer like Gotrek.

1) The fact that they're better than everyone else
Elves are the most Mary Sue race - they're pretty, immortal humans with pointy ears and they're all unimaginably pure and wise and stuff, and agile, and superhuman with no interesting downsides. Oh and of course they're the best archers and when they fall in love with a human it's not creepy, it's tragic because the Elf lives so much longer and will be all sad because the human doesn't live very long.

2) The fact that they ACT like they're better than everyone else
If there's one thing I hate more than a Mary Sue race it's one that won't shut up about it. It's always "we're the wisest", "you short lived foolish humans couldn't possibly understand how much better we are at everything" and "your sinful nature is driving us out of middle Earth because I guess you ruin everything". might be more tolerable if writers ever allowed them to be wrong for once.

3) Their love of nature
This isn't such a big deal, it's more that they're always "in tune" with nature and have a "special connection" to it nobody else does. Other than that a bunch of tree people are kind of cool as a concept.

4) Their effeminacy
It's a stylistic thing, I don't begrudge it. The fact they look so human is worse. I mean, at the very least it's a slight, insignificant downside to being an elf, which is needed.

5) Their attractiveness (to girls, usually)
Yeah, the fact Elves always look like much prettier versions of humans bugs me, because it gets back to the "Mary Sue race" thing. You never see old or fat or bearded elves nor do they ever have scars - it's more than a little implausible.

6) The fact that they're little more than humans with pointy ears
So much. Of all the races you can have in fantasy, the standard is "normal human", "short human" and "pretty human". It's stupidly boring and as a concept makes no sense - why are their ears pointy? why are they so human? Why did they get all the good genetics if they're so obviously related to our species?

Which is why I picked 7) All of the above

The same reason I don't like the Na'vi or any other "superior" race. It's not exactly the fact that they're usually "better" than most other races(e.g. wise, long-lived, always fair, in tune with nature, etc.), that can make for interesting story-telling when used well. What bothers me is when that race is put on a pedestal and we're essentially told "This is perfection. Everything associated with this race is good while everything not this is at best flawed, if not downright evil."

Because they're holier than thou stuck up pretentious, arrogant, stuck up, effeminate little bastards. They're all, "Oh, look how superior we are, you stupid other races."

I always like dwarves, the antithesis of an elf.

I just find them kinda tacky, to be honest. At least Dwarves are stout and tend to be party-animals. Elves in most mythos seem so...stuck up. And they're major hippies.

I don't hate them, I love them. Mainly because they're better than humans.

DustyDrB:

Ragsnstitches:
snip

I know they can play around with the tropes, and even subvert our understanding of them. But I'm saying I want something that feels new. I always like to point out Mass Effect in this regard. All the races were new and unfamiliar. I had no baggage, no baseline understanding. Every conversation with a member of a different race brought this sense of discovery that I haven't experienced in fantasy in...I can't even remember. It was wonderful.

I think it's funny, because a lot of people consider asari (and quarians to a lesser extent) to be "space elves."

I've always been a Dwarves fan personally, if a book I'm reading has elves in it and something unexplainable is happening I will always blame the elves. Damn pointy ears are always up to something.

Because they're boring fantasy tropes and don't make much sense in their own contexts, largely.

Also, what's wrong with them being effeminate? Also... how exactly ARE they effeminate?

Mad Sun:

Chimichanga:
For the uncreative, they are practically the same except that they may be a slightly different color (*COUGHCOUGH"darkelves"COUGHCOUGH*).

Why the hate against Dark Elves? What are you, a white supremacist? :P

Dark elves (and regular elves for that matter) were both a part of classic Norse mythology. Dwarves too, though that was obvious.

Huh - well the more you know. I always assumed they just started with Tolkien since that's what most elf archetypes seem to be based on.

And the latter parts of your post, I agree with - I'd also like to see more african/indian/middle eastern mythology thrown into the fantasy mix since some of their stuff really is kind of cool and "out there". Shame no one seems to want to implement any of it.

I hate traditional elves and dwarves because everyone seems to copy and paste them from either Dungeons&Dragons or Lord of the Rings. Elves are nature-loving, holier-than-thou, and just boring. Dwarves need to get out of their mines and do something else for a change. And elves need to get out of the forest and make computers or something.

I dislike how they have ridiculously long life spans and always seem to always have super human abilities despite being little more than humans with pointy ears.Some of their skill seems to come from training for a very long time thanks to their lifespans but some of the shit they pull off is just sometimes outright ridiculous.Though ive never met an elf so I cant really be too sure.

Zakarath:
I like elves. But then, I actually am an intelligent hippy environmentalist with maybe just a little arrogance. So I can relate to them (the tropey version of them at least, elder scrolls not so much) better than I can relate to dwarves.

I am basically the same way, plus I cannot stand alcohol and I am not insecure about my masculinty (whatever that is) like the vast majority of males. I guess many men do not like effeminate men for they unconsciously know that most women prefer them (studies have shown that women tend to prefer the more effeminate men for they believe that those men will be more likely to help them with chores and be better care givers).

Elves seems to be the Mary-Sue of the fantasy world. I find it hard to relate to characters who are too perfect. There also seems to be lack in conflict when it comes to elves. The most popular strife they have is being depressed over the fact that they are old and dying out... for some (usually) stupid reason(like "fate" and such).

On the other hand, I rarely have problems with Wood or Wild elves. They are usually portrayed as primitive, dimwitted and (sometimes) naïve, and I can relate to that.

People hate elves?
I did not know that.

I love elves. Elf-guys tend to be hot. I romanced the hell out of Fenris. :)

Because they're over-used, badly used and are the most likely of the traditional fantasy races to get mary-sue treatment.

Because Orcs are simply better.

I like elves. I tend to have more of them in Dragon Age: Origins than anything else.
Granted, in DA:O, they're basically the lowest class in Ferelden and everyone treats them like shit, hahahaha.

erttheking:
Because they outlaw the worship of Talos.

This. Sons of Skyrim unite. Fucking Thalmor

I guess many men do not like effeminate men for they unconsciously know that most women prefer them (studies have shown that women tend to prefer the more effeminate men for they believe that those men will be more likely to help them with chores and be better care givers).

lol. the guys in your region in the world must be hideous than. I don't know who did this study, but in practice thats bull. I can drink beer, barely come home and be generally ignorant but as long a I act like a man I'm gonna find a woman to be with. If your effeminate your more likely to be friend-zoned. Not saying I am a beer swilling ignoramus but In my experience it never hurts. I also find a tan goes miles. totally off topic. sorry everyone!

Also sorry for the double post.

I'm so getting flamed

gigastrike:

Crazy Zaul:
Cos the took over Elswyer so so they can't set the next game there.
Otherwise I like elves. I never liked dwarfs though.

The Elder Scrolls Online is supposed to include all land "from Elswyer to Skyrim."

I think he meant a proper elder scrolls game made by the elder scroll team. not the obvious milking attempt by zenimax