New races; Do we really need them?

[Deleted]

but why is it required that every race be developed equally and at the same time? why shouldnt we expect for them to be developed when it makes sense for the story?

even if it were still just the vanilla races we would have this same problem, we shouldnt expect for every race to always have their moment in the spotlight all the time

I do agree with you. However, judging by the forums, that's not the opinion others hold (constant moaning about draenei, gnomes, worgen etc.).

[Teriz]

You reading the stats wrong........

At level 90 it's 16.1% Human and 10.5% Night Elf. That makes a total of 26.6% And not over 50%.
And there are some very important reasons:

Look at the stats again. I said ALLIANCE players, not all players. At level 90, 34% of alliance players are Human, and 21% are Night Elves. Click the faction chart right above the race chart. That will show you what players play what on each faction.

Not that it matters because the percentiles are the same even when you factor both factions together.

So at max level, 55% of Alliance players are 2 races out of 6 possible options. Now people are advocating for more? Really?

You are reading too much into these stats. Since they also include toons that may not have been played in a long time.
And regarding the polls. They only reflect nerd opinion somewhat. A few hundred WoW nerds on the specialized platform MMO Champion are hardly any valuable representation compared to the millions of players, of which the vast majority never bothers to use any online platform like this site or others at all.
We here are an extreme minority. Our opinions are anecdotal at the best.

So then who's opinion matters? Are we to just assume that people feel a certain way based on no evidence whatsoever?

[Hyde]

Also High Elves are ridiculous and don't exist anymore. The 'High Elves' you see in the game are Blood Elves in denial, who refuse to take the name to honour the fact that 90% of their race died in a horrible catastrophe, refused help rebuild their homeland and assist their people in their greatest time in need, and instead chose to abandon them all, then join their enemies, then kill them. High Elves are a very small band of sociopathic traitors, it beggars belief that the Alliance would even take them in (High Elves were never a part of this Alliance).

High Elves died with the despoiling of Quel'thalas. The silver covenant are a bunch of children who think by preserving the past in a jar they somehow can deny the present; who enjoy the luxury of looking down upon the blood elves for the measures they took to survive, whilst enjoying the fruits those measures secured (in the blood elf outland campaign and rebuilding/purging of undeath from Quel'thalas- resulting ultimately in a reignited sunwell).

Yup, their politic is like Tushui's and Hojin's separation of views; same race, differing ideologies.

[Deleted]

I don't think that there is any 'need' for new races, I would much prefer Blizzard to focus on updating the old races and their cities.

If Blizzard want to offer more choice to players, then they could simply make some existing races available to both Alliance and Horde, similar to how Pandaren can choose their faction. I think the following races could work as cross faction:

Blood Elves, shocked by the actions of both the Horde and the Sunreavers, and encouraged by Varians diplomatic endeavors some Blood Elves might choose to join the Alliance.

Dwarves, disappointed with the weak leadership of their Queen, many Dark Irons could prefer to throw their lot in with the more aggressive and dominant Horde.

Tauren, frustrated with the never ending war mongering of Garrosh, his murder of Cairne, the peace loving Tauren, encouraged by Malfurion join with the Night Elves to live in druidic harmony with nature.

Humans, the former humans of Lordaeron, the Forsaken discover that by using the Sunwell they can reclaim their status as living Humans. However upon having their lives restored they choose to stay with the Horde as the Horde stood by them in their hour of greatest need, rather than join with the Humans of the Alliance that tried to slaughter them and take their rightful lands.

[Deleted]

I don't really feel we "need" them, but if they fit, I'm fine with them being added. The problem I have is I'm worried the Horde / Alliance will feel too diluted, Worgen, Draenei and Goblins I already feel are a bit of a loose connection, that they don't really "fit" as well as the other races, adding more races just because they feel the expansion could use a race#, or because one faction has a fitting race and then needing to whip up another so it's fair and balanced isn't needed.

I wouldn't mind seeing Ogres added to horde for example, since a lot of lore during Cata points in that direction, but I can't think of anything particularly interesting for the Alliance (and female ogres don't really exist right now, but I'd frankly be fine with a one gender race, gender equality be damned, if it was more fitting than inventing a new gender).

[Gimlix]

We don't NEED new races, but we WANT new races.
Races aren't like classes you can't unbalance them, you can play the race if you like them, Someone like me doesn't care about racial, i play the race i like the most.

[Thimagryn]

You make a good point, Teriz. A majority of players are Human, Night Elf and Blood Elf. I think these are the ones they should focus their character revamps on, and they could probably skip over the rest.

In fact, the logical conclusion would be to remove the most unpopular races since they're not being played much anyways. Saves a ton of work for Blizzard and they don't need to make armor sets that fit the very small and very large body frames. Wouldn't that be ideal? We don't need any races besides the popular ones anyways.

[Teriz]

You make a good point, Teriz. A majority of players are Human, Night Elf and Blood Elf. I think these are the ones they should focus their character revamps on, and they could probably skip over the rest.

In fact, the logical conclusion would be to remove the most unpopular races since they're not being played much anyways. Saves a ton of work for Blizzard and they don't need to make armor sets that fit the very small and very large body frames. Wouldn't that be ideal? We don't need any races besides the popular ones anyways.

That wouldn't be logical because they're already in the game, and people are playing them. What would be a more logical option is to add lore and storylines to the races we already have and increase their populations. Blizzard should do that instead of investing resources in opening cinematics, starter zones, animations, etc. for races that are all but forgotten when the expansion is over. Look at the Pandarens. They're already starting to get pushed out of the narrative of their own expansion. Worgen and Goblins got dropped off of the lore train almost as soon as Cataclysm started.

Don't get me started on the Draenei. The Blood Elves are finally getting some decent lore due to them having involvement with Dalaran.

The point is, I think most of the playerbase would prefer if we improve the existing races, and aim for better race distribution, instead of adding more races to the game with no lore behind them.

[Wildtree]

Look at the stats again. I said ALLIANCE players, not all players. At level 90, 34% of alliance players are Human, and 21% are Night Elves. Click the faction chart right above the race chart. That will show you what players play what on each faction.

Not that it matters because the percentiles are the same even when you factor both factions together.

So at max level, 55% of Alliance players are 2 races out of 6 possible options. Now people are advocating for more? Really?




So then who's opinion matters? Are we to just assume that people feel a certain way based on no evidence whatsoever?

I gave you the reasons for the presence of Humans and Night Elfs. They are primarily based on the racial traits.

As for your last two questions...
Every ones opinion matters as much as the next ones does. Out of that is a majority opinion or tendency created. We have no access to that, since we are the absolute minority and even a biased minority.
Let's leave the game for a second and move to a different platform.
You can conduct a survey amongst hardcore fans of let's say any random sport. You will likely get a whole different result from the hardcore community, than you will get from the conventional crowd that has no further motivation other than watching the sport here and there.

As for the assuming... We (all of us) are influenced by our immediate surrounding. While we are visiting this platform here, we are subject to exposure of various topics and themes. These create an influence on us. But the influence - again - comes from a biased minority.
Example: Just because there are 100 topics about new races created by members of this biased nerd community does not mean that there is any interest in that amongst the 7+ million other players who never resort to fan sites or forums whatsoever.
The absolute majority of the game uses it for what it is. A game with features and mechanics, provided by the creator.

[Rhamses]

I kind of agree with the OP. We have a good amount of racial diversity in the game as it is. After looking at the "Choose your alliance race" thread, the options for future races just seems sort of....stupid? I mean, people are talking about making members of Hogger's race or Murlocs into something playable. When it gets to that point, you've pretty much run the well dry IMO.

[Deleted]

No I don't think WoW needs more playable races, there are already way too many of them, same can be said about classes.
Besides WoW has very little character costumization in comparation to more recent games, I think they should really focus more on that instead of creating new playable races.

[dokilar]

because its an mmo they will continue to develop and implement new races and classes. a vocal amount of people will emphasize that this is the reason they play the game while others will say that the addition of new classes/races devalues their experience.

i got the first warcraft rts for christmas back in 1994. i was 10, i fought with my dad for computer time when playing it. blizzard games in the 90s and early 2000s were ones that i cherished. ive played so many lan games of starcraft, warcraft and diablo campaigns i can probably recite them in my sleep. despite my love for those games the blizzard company as a whole, in my humble opinion, has evolved into something that i feel is more about making money and appealing to the masses than actual gameplay and lore. again this is just my opinion.

like someone has already stated the more they keep adding to the game it makes it feel less and less like the warcraft games ive played and grew up on. im not saying that the genre of warcraft is bad or has developed into a bad thing. its just that someone like me, who has basically grew up on the theme of orcs and humans, with a mere handful of other races thrown in, has developed and evolved into something unrecognizable for me

[Teriz]

I gave you the reasons for the presence of Humans and Night Elfs. They are primarily based on the racial traits.

Unlikely, since the vast majority of Alliance players (almost 70%) are PVE, not PvP.

Also if that theory held, the Undead would be the most played race on the Horde, not the Blood Elves.

[Yarathir]

I would've said no, I don't need them - but I want new races, but I actually don't anymore.




Seeing as high elves are so popular that they may as well be confirmed as new race, I'd rather not have any new races at all than that waste of time that shouldn't even exist anymore. But I guess, as long as it tickles people's Lord of the Rings-love, it should be a race. hobbits for Horde race, high elves for Alliance race! Woooh! Go! Because high elves totally bring so much to the table that we can't help but want them. Their culture is so profound and beautiful, their shining diversity!


But no, now that people are all cray-cray over blue-eyed blood elves, I'd rather not have a new race. Rather no race than a waste of time-race as I'll only get frustrated at how unique and interesting the new race could've actually been instead of copy-elves every time I see them running around.

[Cernunnos]

If races where a little closer like they are in some DND games where isn't only a matter of a difference between stats (half orcs more strength, elves more dexterity), then yes, I wouldn't mind a few more races in WOW.

The problem is, in WOW the racial bonuses can be very powerful in certain areas of the game. Is it really a surprise the sheer number of Humans in PVP due to the EMFH racial, or the numbers of orcs and trolls in PVE due to their racials being very very powerful.


To be honest though I wouldn't mind subracing to add more flavor. Icemist Tauren are now part of the horde, being a Taunka might be fun RP wise, so would being a Maghar orc or even a dragonmaw orc. Dark Iron dwarves are more welcomed in the alliance these days as well. Night Elf Mages are suppose to be part of the once shunned Highborne arcane users (who later became High Elves and eventually blood elves) or something aren't they?





On another note, can we get more letters available for names too, hehe. 12 isn't enough. So many good names that won't fit because they have too many letters in them, even without worrying about a SPACE or apostrophe between them. I could live with Davrosrockhammer instead of Davros Rockhammer for a dwarf and Graktharsteelbreaker instead of Grak'thar Steelbreaker for an orc.

[Immitis]

until one of you can come up with something other than races or classes that can offer a major thematic addition to the game that cant be achieved through something like transmog theres no reason to assume we wont be getting new races as long as the game lives.

something like tails or auras or some other vanity thingy like that other games have? that can just be achieved through transmog and expansion of transmog.

sub races? i assume will get them eventually but thats a heavy undertaking, every race would require one otherwise it would be unfair, and all the races that would be added would require remodels to be as good as the normal race models and not to mention some races would require new lore and even new beings to be created to even have a sub race, this undertaking would be similar to the model revamp were nearly confirmed to be getting next expansion.

a model revamp could be a good substitute but thats a one off thing, atleast for a long time.

were getting new races whether you like it or not

[Deleted]

You make a good point, Teriz. A majority of players are Human, Night Elf and Blood Elf. I think these are the ones they should focus their character revamps on, and they could probably skip over the rest.

In fact, the logical conclusion would be to remove the most unpopular races since they're not being played much anyways. Saves a ton of work for Blizzard and they don't need to make armor sets that fit the very small and very large body frames. Wouldn't that be ideal? We don't need any races besides the popular ones anyways.

I see what you did there :-)

Anyway.. I'm not exactly sure that "the majority of the player base" will even care about the race distribution. They'll just play the race they want to play anyway.

Also let's keep in mind these are statistics about characters, not players.

[Northem]

Also High Elves are ridiculous and don't exist anymore. The 'High Elves' you see in the game are Blood Elves in denial, who refuse to take the name to honour the fact that 90% of their race died in a horrible catastrophe, refused help rebuild their homeland and assist their people in their greatest time in need, and instead chose to abandon them all, then join their enemies, then kill them. High Elves are a very small band of sociopathic traitors, it beggars belief that the Alliance would even take them in (High Elves were never a part of this Alliance).

High Elves died with the despoiling of Quel'thalas. The silver covenant are a bunch of children who think by preserving the past in a jar they somehow can deny the present; who enjoy the luxury of looking down upon the blood elves for the measures they took to survive, whilst enjoying the fruits those measures secured (in the blood elf outland campaign and rebuilding/purging of undeath from Quel'thalas- resulting ultimately in a reignited sunwell).

It is nonsense answering messages like this... but anyway... let's honor the Quel'dorei, the most demanded race of the Alliance for years.

The High Elves exist (spite of some) and are more numerous than the Darkspear Trolls or the Goblins who survived the escape from Kezan and their shipwreck. Moreover, the number of the High Elves has not done anything but to increase recently.

The High Elves are a key member of the Alliance since long before the creation of the Alliance itself, as human-elf relations date back to the empire of Arathor, thousands of years ago. The High Elves and humans are natural allies, and have always fought side by side, helping each other. It's a perfect relationship, even to this day (as you can see ingame).

The real honorable people here are the High Elves. The Blood Elves betrayed their beliefs and their lineage through the contamination with fel magic. Also they caused the revoking of all their customs and actually drove the High Elves of their own homes because they refused to partake of that betrayal.

Furthermore, the Blood Elves betrayed, besides to their own people and to themselves, to the Alliance, which had been always their allies for generations. The Sin'dorei sided with the enemy, the Horde, nest of corruption and decay, formed by orcs, trolls and undead, the natural enemies of the elven race.

The Silver Covenant has been only the beginning of the resurgence of the Quel'dorei, very soon the rest of the High Elves scattered throughout Azeroth, Outland and other worlds will gather around Alleria Windrunner for fight for their future, the future that was snatched from themselves by those of their own kind.

The silver unicorn flag will wave again! First in Greenwood and then in the rest of Azeroth and the other worlds. The Quel'dorei, proud of what they are, soon will prove to the world that they are still there, fighting alongside their comrades of the Alliance.

Ashal'anore! Ashal Thalas'din belore!

Long live Alleria Windrunner, the hope of the high elves!

For the Alliance!

[Planetarism]

Don't need new races just need more model/graphic customization options ~ best would be an animations studio, same as dance studio but for all animations including combat ones, instead of just /dance.

[Wazooty]

Why not? New races have virtually zero impact on the game. They simply allow more personal choice.


Don't play it if you don't want to.