@Swiftwynd See, what you're saying is fine and all, but it's founded on the premise that modern gaming must give full control over character representation. That the times have changed and the industry with it; such that gamers deserve, and should definitely be given, a large spectrum of choice in avatars.
That's a fundamental point that, I think, we disagree on. I love choice and I certainly don't prefer games that don't give me great control over my avatar, normally, but it's not always mandatory either; Witcher 3 or Diablo is a keen example of this.
"Harking back to old RPGS" and high fantasy isn't an excuse to limit choice but an explanation to explain why they chose the spectrum of choices they did give. Excuse implies that they have to justify or apologies for something and an explanation simply implies and elaboration on reasoning given. The former isn't always later unless you choose to interpret it as such. As you said they made their choices, and just as we can criticize or praise them for it, that doesn't make them inherently wrong for having others disagree with it.
*shrug* I actually do feel that the current models make the elves distinct. Whether or not they look cool or could be better though is an opinion. You know mine and I know yours, but a this point I think it comes down to what the majority of their audience thinks....which is what the EA is for :P Feedback
Edit: As for gender framing being a problem, I point to my original points on high fantasy...it's not a problem in my opinion. On this, I feel, it's basically coming down to your sensibilities and political and philosophical stances. You're on the right track arguing for more options being wanted..now it's just a case of convincing people it should be a priority....I don't think arguing wrongness though is how you should do it; that's an opinion. The old elf lady spewing curses is a good example of more options being desirable. But if age was part of your avatar options, wouldn't you want story elements to show that? Each new option in this game adds exponentially more resources. It's an important point to consider.
Greater armor options would be much easier to include though I think and would satisfy many
