8.0 reveal classes and races

[Deleted]

We have enough discussions about the story and setting of the next expansion. Even I added one to the mix. Let's look at something else. Three topics to be specific.

1. Reveal

A lot of people are still under the impression that a gamescom reveal is dumb and everyone who expect it before Blizzcon is an idiot. But let's look at the numbers.

7.3 entered the PTR late june. 7.1 spent a month on the PTR while 7.2 spent two. So 7.3 should release between late july and late august. Of course the content will be staggered again so the final raid will be released between october and december. The shortest time between a release and an announcement was 11 months (MoP).

That would be 2018 July for a Gamescom reveal and 2018 October for a BlizzCon reveal.
So far each version of the game lasted around 2 years. Longest was vanilla with 26 months and the shortest was WoD with 21.
If we go with the previously established optimistic release days that would be 24 months for Gamescom and 27 months for Blizzcon.

If 7.3 spends as much time on the PTR as 7.2 it will release 11 months before the gamescom release date and 14 before the Blizzcon one. If we count from the actual raid release and calculate with 2 months of PTR and 3 months of staggering (december) that would give us 7 months for Gamescom and 10 for Blizzcon. Shortest so far was 7 for TBC and longest was 14 for WoD and Legion.

So in a nutshell a gamescom reveal doesn't really sound all that unreasonable. In fact if the development time won't be record short a Blizzcon release would make Legion the longest lasting WoW version ever.

2. Classes

Yes, I get it. A new class in consecutive expansions is impossible *glances at Final Fantasy XIV* I really do. But at the very least we need more race/class combination. Why? Well.....

Last time We only got 3 new possible race/class combos (Gnome Hunter, Nelf DH, Belf DH). Before that we got none.
Neither of the classes released since cataclysm are available to the cataclysm races. In fact Worgen and Goblins got zero new class options since Cata.
Neither of the current hero classes is available to Pandaren. They are the only race in this situation.
Draenei were the only race that did not get a new class option in Cataclysm. Since cata they only got Death Knight (available to every race at that time) and Monk (avaiable to all pre-cata races).

So we kinda need something for Worgen, Goblins, Pandaren and Draenei.

3. Races

No New race and class at the same time *looks at MoP* okay. But let's be honest. We havent got a new race since Mop. And Pandaren didn't really fit in with the Horde or the Alliance as our loyalty was a matter of choice, so we haven't had a faction specific race since Cataclysm.

[Bodakane]

We have enough discussions about the story and setting of the next expansion. Even I added one to the mix. Let's look at something else. Three topics to be specific.

1. Reveal

A lot of people are still under the impression that a gamescom reveal is dumb and everyone who expect it before Blizzcon is an idiot. But let's look at the numbers.

7.3 entered the PTR late june. 7.1 spent a month on the PTR while 7.2 spent two. So 7.3 should release between late july and late august. Of course the content will be staggered again so the final raid will be released between october and december. The shortest time between a release and an announcement was 11 months (MoP).

That would be 2018 July for a Gamescom reveal and 2018 October for a BlizzCon reveal.
So far each version of the game lasted around 2 years. Longest was vanilla with 26 months and the shortest was WoD with 21.
If we go with the previously established optimistic release days that would be 24 months for Gamescom and 27 months for Blizzcon.

If 7.3 spends as much time on the PTR as 7.2 it will release 11 months before the gamescom release date and 14 before the Blizzcon one. If we count from the actual raid release and calculate with 2 months of PTR and 3 months of staggering (december) that would give us 7 months for Gamescom and 10 for Blizzcon. Shortest so far was 7 for TBC and longest was 14 for WoD and Legion.

So in a nutshell a gamescom reveal doesn't really sound all that unreasonable. In fact if the development time won't be record short a Blizzcon release would make Legion the longest lasting WoW version ever.

2. Classes

Yes, I get it. A new class in consecutive expansions is impossible *glances at Final Fantasy XIV* I really do. But at the very least we need more race/class combination. Why? Well.....

Last time We only got 3 new possible race/class combos (Gnome Hunter, Nelf DH, Belf DH). Before that we got none.
Neither of the classes released since cataclysm are available to the cataclysm races. In fact Worgen and Goblins got zero new class options since Cata.
Neither of the current hero classes is available to Pandaren. They are the only race in this situation.
Draenei were the only race that did not get a new class option in Cataclysm. Since cata they only got Dark Knight (available to every race at that time) and Monk (avaiable to all pre-cata races).

So we kinda need something for Worgen, Goblins, Pandaren and Draenei.

3. Races

No New race and class at the same time *looks at MoP* okay. But let's be honest. We havent got a new race since Mop. And Pandaren didn't really fit in with the Horde or the Alliance as our loyalty was a matter of choice, so we haven't had a faction specific race since Cataclysm.

I think they may be switching to choosing your faction. I think that's why they made the changes to name colors in the world.

[Deleted]

maybe. But can you imagine three consecutive expansions without a single new race?

[Deleted]

We have enough discussions about the story and setting of the next expansion. Even I added one to the mix. Let's look at something else. Three topics to be specific.

1. Reveal

A lot of people are still under the impression that a gamescom reveal is dumb and everyone who expect it before Blizzcon is an idiot. But let's look at the numbers.

7.3 entered the PTR late june. 7.1 spent a month on the PTR while 7.2 spent two. So 7.3 should release between late july and late august. Of course the content will be staggered again so the final raid will be released between october and december. The shortest time between a release and an announcement was 11 months (MoP).

That would be 2018 July for a Gamescom reveal and 2018 October for a BlizzCon reveal.
So far each version of the game lasted around 2 years. Longest was vanilla with 26 months and the shortest was WoD with 21.
If we go with the previously established optimistic release days that would be 24 months for Gamescom and 27 months for Blizzcon.

If 7.3 spends as much time on the PTR as 7.2 it will release 11 months before the gamescom release date and 14 before the Blizzcon one. If we count from the actual raid release and calculate with 2 months of PTR and 3 months of staggering (december) that would give us 7 months for Gamescom and 10 for Blizzcon. Shortest so far was 7 for TBC and longest was 14 for WoD and Legion.

So in a nutshell a gamescom reveal doesn't really sound all that unreasonable. In fact if the development time won't be record short a Blizzcon release would make Legion the longest lasting WoW version ever.

2. Classes

Yes, I get it. A new class in consecutive expansions is impossible *glances at Final Fantasy XIV* I really do. But at the very least we need more race/class combination. Why? Well.....

Last time We only got 3 new possible race/class combos (Gnome Hunter, Nelf DH, Belf DH). Before that we got none.
Neither of the classes released since cataclysm are available to the cataclysm races. In fact Worgen and Goblins got zero new class options since Cata.
Neither of the current hero classes is available to Pandaren. They are the only race in this situation.
Draenei were the only race that did not get a new class option in Cataclysm. Since cata they only got Dark Knight (available to every race at that time) and Monk (avaiable to all pre-cata races).

So we kinda need something for Worgen, Goblins, Pandaren and Draenei.

3. Races

No New race and class at the same time *looks at MoP* okay. But let's be honest. We havent got a new race since Mop. And Pandaren didn't really fit in with the Horde or the Alliance as our loyalty was a matter of choice, so we haven't had a faction specific race since Cataclysm.

7.3 is def after gamescom in august, they will showcase it there.

The raid will launch after or just before blizzcon, knowing blizzard.

Also... what the hell makes you think that 7.3 is the last patch? It's the last tier but there is plenty of room for a 7.4 patch to bridge the gap or even a 7.5 with a minor non-tier raid.

Blizzard has pushed out patches every 4-6 months unless my count is off this time, and I believe they will keep that up.

[Pull My Finger]

I think they may be switching to choosing your faction. I think that's why they made the changes to name colors in the world.

Very interesting thought, I'd love that.

[Kazlofski]

Tbh before adding new races, I'd rather they added subraces... It might take more work but that'd be awesome...

Also so far along in WoW, I don't care really for choosing a faction anymore and who to fight in BGs and such, quite the opposite - easier to queue to places, the story somewhat makes sense already being united against the void, there can always be traitors on either side so it's fine and it'd be different to kill hordies in BGs, feels a bit different :P

[Darthfartz]

We have enough discussions about the story and setting of the next expansion. Even I added one to the mix. Let's look at something else. Three topics to be specific.

1. Reveal

A lot of people are still under the impression that a gamescom reveal is dumb and everyone who expect it before Blizzcon is an idiot. But let's look at the numbers.

7.3 entered the PTR late june. 7.1 spent a month on the PTR while 7.2 spent two. So 7.3 should release between late july and late august. Of course the content will be staggered again so the final raid will be released between october and december. The shortest time between a release and an announcement was 11 months (MoP).

That would be 2018 July for a Gamescom reveal and 2018 October for a BlizzCon reveal.
So far each version of the game lasted around 2 years. Longest was vanilla with 26 months and the shortest was WoD with 21.
If we go with the previously established optimistic release days that would be 24 months for Gamescom and 27 months for Blizzcon.

If 7.3 spends as much time on the PTR as 7.2 it will release 11 months before the gamescom release date and 14 before the Blizzcon one. If we count from the actual raid release and calculate with 2 months of PTR and 3 months of staggering (december) that would give us 7 months for Gamescom and 10 for Blizzcon. Shortest so far was 7 for TBC and longest was 14 for WoD and Legion.

So in a nutshell a gamescom reveal doesn't really sound all that unreasonable. In fact if the development time won't be record short a Blizzcon release would make Legion the longest lasting WoW version ever.

2. Classes

Yes, I get it. A new class in consecutive expansions is impossible *glances at Final Fantasy XIV* I really do. But at the very least we need more race/class combination. Why? Well.....

Last time We only got 3 new possible race/class combos (Gnome Hunter, Nelf DH, Belf DH). Before that we got none.
Neither of the classes released since cataclysm are available to the cataclysm races. In fact Worgen and Goblins got zero new class options since Cata.
Neither of the current hero classes is available to Pandaren. They are the only race in this situation.
Draenei were the only race that did not get a new class option in Cataclysm. Since cata they only got Dark Knight (available to every race at that time) and Monk (avaiable to all pre-cata races).

So we kinda need something for Worgen, Goblins, Pandaren and Draenei.

3. Races

No New race and class at the same time *looks at MoP* okay. But let's be honest. We havent got a new race since Mop. And Pandaren didn't really fit in with the Horde or the Alliance as our loyalty was a matter of choice, so we haven't had a faction specific race since Cataclysm.

new classes? i cant really see a new class being made to be honest (unless something stupid like tinkerer would be made) races i can see and maybe some other Race/class combination options. for example lets say there was an old god expac and the nagas that are no longer loyal joined the horde. When your a naga warrior you can have an extra passive ability like an extra passive slow for 2 seconds when using charge, or something more cosmetic like if your a naga warlock you can use fel lightning instead of incinerate (like the legion nagas off the broken shore.)

just throwing ideas out they arnt perfect lol.

and of course you can keep going more in depth with other races/combinations as well.

BTW i like the idea of taking a break from some crazy evil even though imo the void lords will be more powerful than the legion. Im pretty sure sargaras is scared of the void lords because he would rather destroy worlds than have the void lords corrupt them

- - - Updated - - -

i hope not...

[Azalar]

I'm personally a bit skeptical on Blizz releasing any info about next expac this early. We haven't even got to 7.3 yet D:

[Deleted]

Im leaning towards us either having to choose a faction (Or path) or Blizzard are gonna let us have a free for all with races and classes.

[Deleted]

7.3 is def after gamescom in august, they will showcase it there.

The raid will launch after or just before blizzcon, knowing blizzard.

Also... what the hell makes you think that 7.3 is the last patch? It's the last tier but there is plenty of room for a 7.4 patch to bridge the gap or even a 7.5 with a minor non-tier raid.

Blizzard has pushed out patches every 4-6 months unless my count is off this time, and I believe they will keep that up.

So gamescom will be devoted to a patch that has spent 2 months on the PTR already and has been datamined for every piece of info? Sure.

A 7.5 is nearly impossible as an x.5 patch hasn't been done since Vanilla. They might release a 7.4 with a non tier raid to reduce the content draught but this would still make Legion last longer than Vanilla. And we haven't seen a non-tier final raid since WotLK. It is possible but I wouldn't count on it.

[Nyel]

1. Revelation

I am sure that we won't see anything related to the new expansion at Gamescom. Gamescom will focus on 7.3 and maybe the end of Legion (7.4?). We will get the XPAC announcement at BlizzCon (I am 100% sure about that, we will have the announcement in November '17).

My "schedule":

7.3: End of August / September
7.3.5: Mid November (Antorus opening)

8.0 (Pre Patch): End of July '18
Release date of the next XPAC: September / October '18

2. Classes

No new class / race combinations and no new class.

As much as I'd love to have a new class (Mail says hello, Ranged DPS / Healer says hello) I don't see it happening in the next expansion. I'd rather see them giving us another artifact weapon 2.0 (not as a weapon but some kind of progression like that). I'd love to see a fourth spec for every class and maybe another system ("morphing" your skills, e.g. Fireball can be morphed into a) AoE-Fireball or b) ST that bursts Ignite etc.).

3. Races

At least one new race, depending on what the expansion will be like. I'd love to have Ethereals as playable race (for both factions). No Naga race (too difficult to adjust the equipment for them).

Maybe we don't get a new race but then we'll get much more character optimization things. New haircuts are long overdue.
_______

A little bit of joking in the end: maybe we'll get Path of the Titans? I mean, we're facing Titans on Argus so why not...

[Deleted]

I dont think we will see new races or subraces. I think they will expand the appearance customization options (Demon Hunter style), maybe with things like body format choices (like in SWTOR). Quite a few subraces should be covered by that.

[Unholyground]

The only class that fits in the current lore is Dark Ranger. Sylvanas and Nathanos are the only ones who train them so one of them will become Neutral at some point to do it. All the lore points to Sylvanas doing something not even the Horde can condone so my guess is Sylvanas will be leaving the Horde to do her own thing.

[Mojo03]

I'd be surprised if they didn't announce expansion at Gamescon, it'll still be a year away from announcement and we've now seen all the "major" patch tiers.

They need to keep people looking forward to something.

[Dracullus]

I'm personally a bit skeptical on Blizz releasing any info about next expac this early. We haven't even got to 7.3 yet D:

Actually, Gamescom reveal looks very likely now.

1) 7.3 will be released, let's say September and it's climax of Legion (if not last .X.0 patch) = 8.0 reveal will happen this year.

2) By Gamescom we will know a lot about 7.3 and maybe they will even start some initial raid testing,

3) Now Blizzard had a lot of games, if reveal will happen on Blizzcon, it will just get max 15 minutes on opening ceremony. Of course we have WoW panels, but they are closed for broader audience,

4) Legion reveal was a success - we all got hyped up despite the fact that 6.2 was very, very bad (and we just got the news that there won't be any 6.3), we had solid 1 hour reveal panel and still ton of more info on Blizzcon.

So in my opinion Gamescom reveal was kinda desperate move in 2015, but it's turned out very well - so why not repeat this? They for sure will be ready for that by August - they just got major concept, art for 4 zones and few dungeons ready for Legion annoucement.

[Paulosio]

I think they may be switching to choosing your faction. I think that's why they made the changes to name colors in the world.

I think it was nothing more than a way of making the other faction more visible / noticeable to you (even on a PVE realm).

[Deleted]

1. Revelation

I am sure that we won't see anything related to the new expansion at Gamescom. Gamescom will focus on 7.3 and maybe the end of Legion (7.4?). We will get the XPAC announcement at BlizzCon (I am 100% sure about that, we will have the announcement in November '17).

My "schedule":

7.3: End of August / September
7.3.5: Mid November (Antorus opening)

8.0 (Pre Patch): End of July '18
Release date of the next XPAC: September / October '18
September? A 10 month long development? That's very optimistic of you. But maybe you get lucky.
2. Classes

No new class / race combinations and no new class.
Why not?
As much as I'd love to have a new class (Mail says hello, Ranged DPS / Healer says hello) I don't see it happening in the next expansion. I'd rather see them giving us another artifact weapon 2.0 (not as a weapon but some kind of progression like that). I'd love to see a fourth spec for every class and maybe another system ("morphing" your skills, e.g. Fireball can be morphed into a) AoE-Fireball or b) ST that bursts Ignite etc.).
I'm sure this would take longer than 11 months to develop

3. Races

At least one new race, depending on what the expansion will be like. I'd love to have Ethereals as playable race (for both factions). No Naga race (too difficult to adjust the equipment for them).

Maybe we don't get a new race but then we'll get much more character optimization things. New haircuts are long overdue.
No argument there. Some MMOs have more hair colors available than wow has customization options.
_______

A little bit of joking in the end: maybe we'll get Path of the Titans? I mean, we're facing Titans on Argus so why not...

PotT Would be nice actually. At this point the progression system gives us way too many empty levels with nothing to gain. A bonus system would help with that.

[Skoll Shorties]

New Class Tinker please with a Mech Suit as its main focus. The weapon of choice being range weapons. The armor type being mail. Three Specs with one being Dps: This mecha-suit having turrets on its shoulders and main focus being damage dealing, of course. Heal-Mecha focuses on vitalizing on healing others with magical beams or band-aid cannons? And lastly a Tank-tank Mecha-Suit heavily armor plated and focused on drawing the attention onto its armored pad body - kind of like Mekkatorque's own suit.

Two New Races: Ogres for Horde, Vyrkul for Alliance.

Bim bam boom. That's just my idea though.

[TriHard]

My bet is on sub races as well as a new race just to satisfy those that are tired of the current ones. ( A sub race isn't really going to fix that)
but judging from the new hairstyles and the eyes of the army of the light Draenei, I think we're getting sub races.

As for class, I don't think we'll get a new one. I think we might get a 4th spec though

[Mojo03]

I doubt there will be a new class.

Either there will be new races or they will do a mad overhaul of the existing with a lot more options (I'd bet on this). Maybe both.

They aren't gonna do sub-races as a feature, but might add the ability to look like one with existing options. (iron dwarf, red draenai, etc.)