Friday, November 03, 2006

What Class Would you Like to See in WoW?

As we all disappointingly know there will be no new classes in the Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft. But for the longest time before we got this information people loved to theorycraft on what classes might make an appearance in the game. Everything had been suggested from old Everquest favorites to even more exotic classes from rare DnD manuals. After fighting Lefty the monk in the Tier 0.5 Arena event I've been thinking about how I missed new classes. Blizzard has stately numerous times they don't wish to create any overlap by introducing new classes that have the same roles as current ones. Dealing with that that limitation what do you think will be the most likely new class?

Here are some suggestions which I faintly remember from discussions of theory craft, forums posts, and even some barrens chat (god help us all).

Ninja:
One of the more talked about choices since the costume was provided by use of the Orb of Deception. Originally suggested as the Hero class for rogues it could also be playable as a separate class though it would probably have a lot of overlap with the current backstab professionals. The main thought would be that a ninja would be a cloth wearing dps class that would have very powerful initial attacks and finishing attacks like execute but be lacking in stable dps. Basically a rogue without sinister strikes but an ambush and eviscerate to die for. Because of their lack of armor the class would have to be much more careful at pulling aggro then rogues.

Pirate:
Another obvious choice because of the Orb of Deception and the general internet rivalry with ninjas. Pirates would also be a cloth wearing dps class but would use swashbuckling to avoid taking damage. Thus they would have skills and abilities for parrying and blocking but would take heavy damage from attacks that got through. They could also have the auto shoot ability but be limited to using guns. Also many suggest that they should have parrot companions like the mobs in the Deadmines which are very weak pets.

Necromancer:
World of Warcraft already has an evil caster class but a lot of people still miss the standard Necromancer. Plus its not like the lore of the game doesn't support the class since several dungeon bosses are Necromancers. Basically if this class was ever implemented it would have to have something to greatly distinguish itself from warlocks. One suggestion was to make their damage spells cold and disease based and really make their pets unique. Perhaps enable them to have multiple pets but only be able to summon them around recently defeated foes. Or make them sort of like hunters where they have to track down and kill certain mobs to be able to raise them as different types of undead. Thus if they wanted to summon a skeleton they would have to kill a human but if they wanted a ghost they would have to kill an elf.

Enchanter/Mesmer:
Since World of Warcraft tries to balance itself on PvP combat as well as PvE combat they have given almost every class a means of crowd control. This has really defused the need to have a pure crowd control class like an Enchanter in the game. Yet an Enchanter would open up a entirely new type of class since their sole purpose would be to crowd control. They could have minor arcane damage abilities like a mage but their greatest benefit would be able to crowd control more then one mob at a time. Also allow them the ability to mind control like a priest but with more control of their targets.

Templar/Zealot
Basically this would be a class set up just like the Enchanter but instead of having damage spells like a mage they would have healing spells like a paladin. The Templar would be like a preacher or religious zealot whose crowd control stems more from his ability to brainwash then cast spells. The class would be harder to solo then an Enchanter since they would have no offensive spells. To compensate they could wear plate armor just like a paladin. I mainly think of this class whenever someone mentions the mobs of the Scarlet Crusade. Plus in my opinion more classes that can heal need to be put into the game.

Bard:
A mild dps class that would be able to use AoE songs to cast buffs or debuffs. Unlike casters the singing ability would be able to be used while attacking but just like channeling would be interrupted when attacked. Thus the key to using a bard would be knowing when to stay in combat range and when to back off. The class should probably be able to wear at least mail armor since AoE debuffs will probably pull aggro one or twice no matter what the player does. The song ability would work a lot like totems but the Bard would be more melee oriented then the Shaman. Also limiting the bard to only one handed weapons would further separate them from the other hybrid classes.

Monks:
The bare fist fighter. Monks would be limited to only fist weapons and leather armor but would have a natural high armor class. Monks should be thought of as rogues with perhaps a bit of healer thrown in. I would like to see monks as a class that could heal and dispel themselves. Perhaps tie their heals and dispels to a combo point system like the rogue class. To make them wanted in groups and raids have them able to get out of almost every type of crowd control so that they would be useful for powerful debuff fights. To limit them from being overpowered in PvP make sure they have almost no form of crowd control ability themselves. The class would be like a hunter in that it would be very good at soloing but would also be useful in dungeons for getting aggro off the healers and not requiring much healing in return. Basically a dps class that doesn't subtract healing from the tank if he mismanages aggro.

I am sure there a million other classes from all the theory craft posts I have missed. If anyone wants to add one or points a forum threat discussing the topic feel free to list it in a comment.

13 comments:

TV by the Numbers said...
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Anonymous said...

Well, before Blizzard announced that Dranei was gonna be the alliance race, I often hoped that they'd make Pandaren the alliance race. If they did that, they could add Brewmasters to Pandaren and Spellbreakers to the Blood elves, which both are lore based classes.

The spellbreakers could be wearin' mail, and very effectively dispell magics, steall buffs (before it was announced that the ability are given to mages), steal pets for a while, and interupt and silence spellcasters.

The Brewmasters could be like a staffusing blademaster /alchymist, with high dps, low armour, and a few build-in selfheals with decent cooldowns.
They could also have the fire breathin' ability, which could be mainly for finishing foes off.

Those classes could be like the replacements to shamans/paladin, faction only wisely.

Of course they were way overpowered and needed adjustement, but hey, I hoped!

Anonymous said...

Ever noticed the bracers that drop when you kill an elemental. I was thinking it would be cool if there was a class that could craft the bracers that animate and bind elemental.

Elementalist: I'm not sure what their spell repetoire would look like. I'd like to see them craft bracers of binding that they have to keep in their inventory (much like totems). They can use these to attempt to summon or bind an elemental pet. Elementa's can be banished for a one time effect such as a large AoE blast of damage or a party or personal buff. I see the Elementalist as a cloth wearer that can wear leather at 40+, so leather working would be important for them. Depending on what type of elemental they have summoned they gain a personal aura that boosts resistance to the opposing element. I'm just rambling now, so I'll stop. :)

Heath said...

Runemaster (Dwarven and I believe Tauren for the Horde, but not sure). It's in the lore and I believe there was even a blue comment on it ages ago.

Heath said...

...Monk is a cool idea too.

but whatever it is, it can't be restricted to cloth armor after lvl 40.

>40 there's 2 plate, 2 mail, 2 leather, and 3 cloth wearing classes

Relmstein said...

WoW I am really seeing a lot of positive feedback about having a Monk class. When I have some more time I'll add a couple of the other suggested classes to the post.

Jack Barrier said...

Death Knight: A tank who has the ability to suck the life from living-friend or foe- and use it to his advantage whether it be re-releasing the power in a strike or drinking the power for HP regen. Mind control on undead only, and the power to harvest corpses for temporary enchants. Full plate Armor but have mail armor available that grants the DN perks for slimming down such as faster cast time, more efficient soul drain. ect

Jack Barrier said...

WoW thats funny. I honestly had no clue there were Death Knights in WOW haha but on the other hand, why not make a class that is truly evil in WoW? The Horde in my opinion are kinda softies compared to what they could be.

New story: the lich king dies and the scourge get their souls back and now they are at war with the Alliance as well. Invent Necromancers and Death Knights for the Horde, Alliance get monks and ninjas, case closed new expansion :)

Anonymous said...

Monk
I'd give it a big twist, going for the rune-dude that there is already concept artwork for.
They cannot wear any armour, but get a Dissenchant-like ability that allows them to still use gear by learning what gives the gear its power and making tattoos with the knowledge.
They get an armour bonus drawn from one of their stats, which can of course be boosted by armour-tattoos.
Thy would be a DPS class, with some Healing and Buffs.
They have an ability called "Meditate" which would give them buffs and abilities according to how long they rest for. This wouldn't be an overpowered thing - it would be core.
Their talent trees would be based around three aspects of the class - Martial Artist, Tattooist, Spiritualist.
Martial Artist centers on unarmed combat and DPS.
Tattooist increases their powers to create tattoos, opening up more powerful options, maybe even high-armour tattoos to allow the possibility of tanking to a degree.
Spiritualist is more about the heals and buffs, allowing you to use staves.
I guess because during the course of writing this, they have become more of a multi-class type (unlike druids, shamans, and pallies; they're main focus would be dps, not healing), each tree would still have abilities that blur the line of what the tree provides.
For example, the Spiritualist tree is focused on healing, but in giving the use of the staff as a weapon, also gives some interesting combat options.

Anonymous said...

if you want all these "133t0" classes, go to EQ or Vanguard. Or better yet, shut the comp off, and go Play some D&D

Anonymous said...

I always thought another faction could add a whole new part to the game. There could be awesome 3-way BG's, opprotunity for new classes and races we have been wantign to see forever, and maybe even a side choosing aspect, like being able to converse/group with players of one faction but not the other, while being your own faction. (Half-Alliance Half-*NEW FACTION HERE*, and same for Horde.)

Anonymous said...

I'd be pretty cool if you could do a series of quests at a certain level to become a "hero" class. The key is you don't necessarily do more damage alone, but when grouped up with other classes, you gain access to new skills and increased damage. Hopefully people smarter than me can design the dungeons so that they don't require a warlock\priest "hero" combo. But that would be a way to keep the existing structure and make the dungeons a little different each time.

Anonymous said...

What about a 4th talent tree for all classes, or more unique spells / abilities found inside the talent trees (pyroblast, aimed shot, mind flay, mortal strike, etc etc...)

The last straw in the ruining of Ultima Online was when they added the Paladin & Necromancer...