Originally Posted by
Teriz
People often make this argument in support of a DH class implementation, but I simply don't believe that such an implementation would have such a positive impact on the game. In fact, I believe that such an implementation would have a negative impact on the game.
One only needs to look towards the DK implementation back in WotLK for evidence. DKs, while eventually a solid addition to the class lineup, also spurred a lot of negative feelings among the established community. Many people viewed them with disdain due to their free level up to 55, their ridiculous power levels, and the type of crowd they attracted. I couldn't have been the only person who saw many guilds refusing to allow DKs into raids and dungeon runs.
As DKs balanced out, their popularity waned. They went from being the most popular class in WoW, to being about mid-tier. To this day, many people STILL have issues with DKs being in the game. Despite the Monk class not setting the world on fire in terms of adoption, many people still said that Monks were better implemented than DKs, and Monk players in general get more respect than DK players do.
A DH addition would be even worse than the DK addition. Why? Because a Demon Hunter class implementation immediately damages three existing classes; Rogues, Hunters, and especially Warlocks. At least DKs were unique, and didn't really step on the toes of existing classes. The very name Demon Hunter overlaps with the vanilla Hunter class. The DH playstyle would immediately eclipse Rogues and Warlocks because DHs would almost assuredly enter the game as a hero class.
DH fans, please tell me why anyone would roll a Rogue or a Warlock when a DH has been shown to be able to stealth, dual-wield, teleport through shadows, use demonic magic, use demonic minions, use ranged magic, transform into a demon, tank, AND start at level 55-75? I know I wouldn't play as a Warlock or a Rogue if a Demon Hunter was in the game. Why bother? The DH does everything both of those classes do, only better and with a lot more style.
If I had leveled my Rogue or Warlock to 100, and Blizzard brought a class into the game that pretty much renders my main class obsolete, I wouldn't be happy about it. If I had Rogue and Warlock friends who quit WoW because their class got hijacked by this new OP class, I wouldn't be happy about it. If I were a raid leader who had to deal with a sudden influx of melee DHs trying to get raid spots, I wouldn't be happy about it. If I were a PvPer that had to deal with yet another OP hero class that every FotMer was rolling, I wouldn't be happy about it. If I was relaxing outside of Goldshire and suddenly see hundreds of Night Elves running around with names like XxIllidanXxX I wouldn't be happy about it.
And on and on and on.
In short, there's very little positive that this class would bring into the game. A mechanical/technology class on the other hand would be extremely positive for the game because it doesn't trample on any existing class themes, probably wouldn't be a hero class, gives Gnomes and Goblins a class that reflects their engineering culture, and represents a part of WoW that is underrepresented in the classes. Would there be ton of players for this tech class? Probably not as many as a DH class, but the tech class wouldn't negatively impact the game as much as a DH class would.