View Poll Results: Is this class a good idea or bad idea?

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  • Good Idea, significantly different than Hunters

    80 50.31%
  • Bad Idea, still too much like Hunters

    79 49.69%
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  1. #1
    Merely a Setback Teriz's Avatar
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    My "Ranger" class idea (Long)

    Recently I created a thread talking about Tinkers or Rangers as a possible future class in WoW. In that thread, the Tinker won support across the board as more plausible than the Ranger. I largely agreed. However, since I do enjoy a challenge, and I do enjoy to theorycraft while I sit at my desk at work, I decided to develop a rough template of what a Ranger class could be like in WoW, and how they could be different than the current Hunter class. I'd like to hear your opinions on this idea, so I'll be posting up a poll so people can vote, and tell me how plausible this idea is.

    Why a Ranger class?

    First and foremost, people love archer classes. Hunters for example remain a fairly popular class. Demon Hunters were a favorite in Diablo 3. Legolas was a popular character in the LotR trilogy. In current WoW, the position of the archer class is taken up by the Hunter class. Hunters not only have numerous ranged attacks, but they also utilize pets which give them utility and increase their DPS. Despite their popularity, many Hunter players want to just be archers without having the pet around. This creates a tiny opening for another archer class to exist in the game. Then there is the not so-small matter of elves being the perennial archers of Warcraft and the fantasy genre in general. There is a fairly wide stylistic gap between a "hunter" and an elven "archer". The latter are far more mystical and utilize all sorts of elven magics to perform their abilities. Hunters are more like woodsmen or trackers, using their survival abilities to survive and tame the wilderness.

    In short, the Hunter class is more like the Beast Master, the Dwarven Riflemen, or the Troll Headhunters. The class I'm proposing is more like the Priestess of the Moon, the Huntress, the Archer, Dryads, the Warden, and the Dark Ranger. I hope that helps.

    Armor and bow/ranged holes in the loot tables is another small opening for this class. Mail armor is the only armor without 3 classes utilizing them, and Hunters enjoy the benefit of being the only class that can properly used ranged weapons.

    There are also quite a few popular Hero units from WC3 who haven't been utilized yet who could fit this archetype. Several players would love to be a Dark Ranger like Sylvanas, or simply a Huntress from WC3. This class idea makes that possible. You will hear more about them in the next section.

    The Basics

    Armor type: Leather until lvl 40, then Mail. Dark Rangers and Sentinels both can utilize INT Mail, and Wardens can use Agility mail.
    Weapons: Bows, Guns, 1h weapons (Warden Dual Wields)
    Resource: Mana
    Races: Night Elves, Blood Elves, Undead, Worgen(see Race section below)


    How to separate Rangers from Hunters?

    I came up with a unique take on this class. Where Hunters are more physical-based, this class would be darker and more magical, pulling from the more mystical roots of elves and shadow magic. There's also no pets to speak of in this class. There are things you can summon to assist you, but they are entirely magic based. The spec breakdown is something like this;

    Dark Ranger:



    Dark Rangers are similar to their incarnations in WC3 and WoW. Following the example of Sylvanas Windrunner, and the WC3 hero, this spec specializes in shadow magic and necromancy. Ironically, this spec could fulfill two goals at once: A Necromancer spec AND a petless Hunter spec. Dark Rangers can have a maximum of two skeleton minions at a time (unless talented or via Shadow Power). This spec would wear INT mail. Note: Choosing this spec will give you the option of giving your character an "undead" appearance ala Death Knights.

    Sample Abilities

    Dark Arrow: Signature Dark Ranger ability that applies a DoT. If the target dies while under its effects, a skeleton emerges.

    Shadow Shot: fires an explosive shadow arrow, dealing Shadow damage to a random enemy and their surrounding allies within 10 yards.

    Summon Skeleton: Dark Ranger summons two skeletons to fight for it for a short time.

    Life Drain: (Channeled) Drains the health from a target for 6 seconds. Every 2 seconds, the Dark Ranger will receive the "Satiated" buff, increasing its damage after Life Drain ends for 1 second. Satiated can stack up to 3 times. If the target dies during Life Drain, a skeleton will emerge from its corpse.

    Shade: Dark Ranger version of stealth or camouflage.

    Nightwing: Leaps behind the target and viciously stabs them with a dagger laced with shadow magic, healing the Dark Ranger in the process. Requires Shade.

    Banshee's mark: Dark Ranger places a curse on the target, increasing their chance to miss.

    Shadow Power: A buff that increases the power of the Dark Ranger's abilities.

    Different from Hunters: Hunters don't use shadow magic. Also they can't raise the dead and/or manipulate life energies.


    Sentinel



    Sentinels were by far the toughest spec to theorycraft. However, this spec would specialize in speed, imbued arrows, and manipulation of the battlefield. Not as sexy as the Dark Ranger, but I think it would still be an interesting spec to play as. Modeled mainly after the Priestess of the Moon and the Dryad unit from WC3, but also utilizing abilities from various other WC3 heroes as well as the DH from D3. This spec would wear INT mail.

    Sample Abilities

    Searing Arrow: Fires an arrow imbued with flames. This applies a DoT after initial damage.

    Cold Arrow: Fires an arrow imbued with cold. This damages and slows the target's movement speed.

    Celestial Arrow: Fires an arrow imbued with arcane power. On impact it damages all targets in an 6 yard radius. (cast time and brief CD)

    Gust Arrow: Fires an arrow imbued with nature magic. It deals nature damage, pushes the target back, and dazes them. (brief CD)

    Atonement: (passive) While firing your arrows, you have a chance to gain a buff. Searing: Your next searing arrow will be a critical hit. Cold: Your next Cold Arrow has a chance to freeze your target. Celestial: Your next Celestial Arrow resets its cooldown, and your next Celestial arrow will be instant cast and cost no mana. Gust: Resets its CD, and your next Gust Arrow will silence the target for 2 seconds.

    Dryad Shot: Fires an arrow that removes one beneficial magic buff from the target, and applies poison/slow. (cast time and brief CD)

    Starshards: Rains starshards down on the enemy target, causing Arcane damage over 10 sec (brief CD)

    Mana Dragon Sphere: Summons a sphere of energy above the Ranger's head. Whenever a damaging spell hits the Ranger, the sphere immediately sends out a mana flare, damaging the caster for a % of the damage, and causing a lockout of that magic school for 2 seconds.

    Bow Strike: (melee range) Strikes the target with your bow, stunning them for a few seconds.


    Different from Hunters:Sentinels use more magical abilities. They are also far more anti-caster. I had more anti-magic abilities planned for this spec, but I ran out of space.

    Wardens




    A popular unit from WC3 that is often requested, but tough to implement. This spec would specialize in more close to mid-ranged combat than its sister specs. Modeled after the Warden and the Demon Hunter from Diablo 3, this spec would wear agility based mail armor, dual wield, and specialize in poisons and Shadow Magic. This spec should be very strong against melee classes.

    Raven Blade: Slashes with a Raven Blade, dealing increased weapon damage, and increasing the duration of Shadow Strike.

    Shadow Strike: Hurls a poisoned dagger which deals large initial damage, and then deals damage over time. The poisoned unit has its movement rate slowed for a short duration.

    Fan of Blades: The Warden flings a flurry of Raven Blades at multiple enemy targets around it.

    Shadow Port: The Warden teleports up to 20 yards in any direction. After using Shadow Port, Raven Blade, Fan of Blades, and Shadow Strike's damage are increased for 2 seconds.

    Raven Return: Throws a shadow glaive forward for 25 yards, damaging all targets in its path. When it returns to the warden, it is healed for % of the damage done.

    Spirit of Vengeance: You sacrifice a portion of your health and mana to summon a spirit of a fallen warden to assist you in battle.

    Vengeance: You sacrifice a portion of your health and mana to create a powerful avatar that summons spirits to attack your enemies. When the Avatar of Vengeance dies, the spirits vanish. Wardens can also become avatars of vengeance if they die in battle.

    Different from Hunters: Hunters aren't melee anymore, they can't teleport, and Wardens are more bad-ass by default.

    Shared Abilities:

    Charm: Charms a target to fight for you.

    Owl Scout: Summons a spectral owl that can scout the area for you. You can also command it to perch, and it will stay in an area for an increased duration. Can see invisible units. The Dark Ranger's Shadow Power alters this ability.

    Piercing Arrow: Fires an Arrow that pierces through a target, hitting other targets nearby. (Sentinel and Dark Ranger)

    Shadow Net: Places a net of shadow energy around a target, holding them in place and damaging them. If any outside damage occurs, the enemy is freed. (Warden and Dark Ranger)

    Alignment: Reduces Magic damage by 15%, Increases your magic damage by 10%

    Moon Well: Summons a moon well at the target location. Allies who stand within 5 yards of the well are instantly healed. 5 charges.

    Ultravision: (CD) Greatly improves the ranger's chance to see invisible enemies for 10 seconds.

    Vault: The Ranger somersaults forwards or backwards 15 yards. Sentinels get an improved version of this ability (25 yards/Physical damage reduction while vaulting).



    Races

    This one was a bit tough, but this pic pretty much convinced me to heavily limit the racial options of this class.



    So here are the races that can be this class.


    Alliance: Night Elves, Worgen
    Horde: Blood Elves, Undead

    Why? I think its time we go back to classes being limited to only a few races. Druids have the lowest race combinations available, and its one of the most popular classes in the game. I just don't see many races being able to be this class. Also this helps with class lore without this proposed class losing its flavor.

    In the case of the Undead, when you select this class, your character will automatically change to an undead version of a High Elf. Get ready for the Sylvanas clones!!!

    Note: Worgen were added because poster Constellation rightfully mentioned that Moonclaw Worgen have been added to the ranks of Sentinels, and are being trained by Shandris Feathermoon. Thank you for that information.

    Conclusion



    Though I don't think this class will ever be implemented, I hope this post demonstrates how it could be achieved. Considering that Sylvanas is one of my favorite WoW characters, and the Warden is one of my favorite units from WC3, I would love to see this appear in WoW. Unfortunately, I know that it has a slim possibility of occurring. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this write up, and I look forward to your responses.

  2. #2
    Id love a ranger class in WoW or even make MM away from useing a pet and leave that only for BM. I do like hunter but i hate having to control a pet aswell. Id love to just fire arrows into a persons face (its why my warlock alt takes the spec to kill the pet off for more damage)

  3. #3
    I don't find the idea bad or anything, but is it not better to actually upgrade the current hunter to a ranger archetype? Because the 90% of hunters chose that class because of the archer/ranger theme and that would obviously ruin the Hunter playerbase. Same goes with the Demon Hunter example, where the Warlock playerbase will be devastated.

    However, it is still highly possible that the next hero-class will feature Mail and Bows/Guns and probably the Arcane element. Although that won't be a Ranger, it is still the only way to introduce another archer class.

  4. #4
    Merely a Setback Teriz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by deviantcultist View Post
    I don't find the idea bad or anything, but is it not better to actually upgrade the current hunter to a ranger archetype? Because the 90% of hunters chose that class because of the archer/ranger theme and that would obviously ruin the Hunter playerbase. Same goes with the Demon Hunter example, where the Warlock playerbase will be devastated.

    However, it is still highly possible that the next hero-class will feature Mail and Bows/Guns and probably the Arcane element. Although that won't be a Ranger, it is still the only way to introduce another archer class.
    Well that can be done as well. Hunters in general are more physical based with few magic based spells, so there's a clear dividing line there. If you're into Pets, more traditional archers, and traps/explosives, Hunter would be your class. If you're more into magic, elves, Sylvanas, and ranged/melee hybrid combat, this would be your class. In short, Hunters are more broad, this class is more specialized.

  5. #5
    High Overlord Soth's Avatar
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    Cool idea. I'd get behind it. I definitely like the idea of limiting what race it's available to as well, although you would need to pick a second Alliance race to keep it even (as you know Blizzard will).
    Lightninghoof - US : @WoWNivan

  6. #6
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    I would definitely play new ranger class that's not a Huntard

  7. #7
    Merely a Setback Teriz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Soth View Post
    Cool idea. I'd get behind it. I definitely like the idea of limiting what race it's available to as well, although you would need to pick a second Alliance race to keep it even (as you know Blizzard will).
    I just can't figure out an alliance race outside of Night Elves where this would work. I don't want it to be humans, and I really can't see any other race pulling it off. Because of that, I really don't mind the single alliance representative for this class. Afterall, look how long the Horde only had one type of Paladin while alliance had 3. I also think limiting the races capable of playing this class makes it more distinct from Hunters, since so many races can be Hunters now.

  8. #8
    I'd definately like to try out a dark ranger, preferably one like Sylvanas.

    There also appears to be an error in that Sylvanas picture. She is actually...... wearing pants. About 98% of her artists never draw pants for her :P

  9. #9
    You need to open up the races. We have like 13 races and only 3 are able to play as a new class, you're going to severely limit popularity and accessibility to make them worthwhile. You're going to have every Alliance Ranger look exactly like each other in the end game (Night Elf wearing Tier X armor using End Game Bow/Gun).

    Add human, dwarf, worgen, pandaren, troll, goblin.
    Last edited by Thimagryn; 2013-01-31 at 04:34 PM.

  10. #10
    Field Marshal Gorthok's Avatar
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    Loved your Tinker post, and love this one as well. You use great models from previous games and popular lore characters that a lot of people would like to be. I'd definitely play Ranger class, I have yet to make a max lvl hunter cuz of the way their class is.

  11. #11
    Deleted
    I don't think the idea of a ranger class is that bad at all, but I still prefer the idea of tinkers.

  12. #12
    Deleted
    Nice detail but as a "hero" class it'd have to be open to all races - as per DK's (I think!) so with that in mind, a Tauren Ranger doesn't fit :/

  13. #13
    MM spec should focus on being an actual marksman and not just another hunter with a pet. Also, just to even your class balance, Night Elf and Worgen for the Alliance. Worgen women have joined the ranks of the Sentinels in Cata training under Shandris Feathermoon. Sentinels are also warriors, not just archers.
    Last edited by Justignoreme; 2013-01-31 at 04:59 PM.

  14. #14
    Why exactly do undead get to be rangers, but humans don't?

    The class should be available for a lot more races imo. I'd probably balance it like this:

    Alliance: Night elf, worgen and human

    Horde: Blood elf, undead and troll

    If I'd give each faction 1 more, than dwarf for Alliance and orc for Horde

  15. #15
    Merely a Setback Teriz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ashankt View Post
    Nice detail but as a "hero" class it'd have to be open to all races - as per DK's (I think!) so with that in mind, a Tauren Ranger doesn't fit :/
    I wasn't really aiming for this to be a hero class.

    ---------- Post added 2013-01-31 at 05:06 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Gorthok View Post
    Loved your Tinker post, and love this one as well. You use great models from previous games and popular lore characters that a lot of people would like to be. I'd definitely play Ranger class, I have yet to make a max lvl hunter cuz of the way their class is.
    Hey thanks for the kind words man! I'm glad you enjoy my class ideas.

    ---------- Post added 2013-01-31 at 05:08 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by McNeil View Post
    Why exactly do undead get to be rangers, but humans don't?

    The class should be available for a lot more races imo. I'd probably balance it like this:

    Alliance: Night elf, worgen and human

    Horde: Blood elf, undead and troll

    If I'd give each faction 1 more, than dwarf for Alliance and orc for Horde

    Only 4 races can be Druids. Only 4 races can be this class. Druids are still a very popular class despite their race limitations.

    Also the reason the Undead can be this class and Humans can't is because the Undead Rangers are actually Undead high elves.

  16. #16
    Fluffy Kitten Taurenburger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nemro82 View Post
    I would definitely play new ranger class that's not a Huntard
    A person makes the huntard, not the class...

    It's a nice idea, but I saw quite some things similar to a hunter's abilities so I don't know if it's going to work. Also, it's not fair that two Horde races and only one alliance race can be a ranger.

  17. #17
    Merely a Setback Teriz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by taurenburger View Post
    A person makes the huntard, not the class...

    It's a nice idea, but I saw quite some things similar to a hunter's abilities so I don't know if it's going to work. Also, it's not fair that two Horde races and only one alliance race can be a ranger.
    Which abilities? Please let me know so I can review, and possibly edit them.

    Also I decided to allow Worgen to also be this class since the Night Elves are training them to be Sentinels, so it's all even.

    ---------- Post added 2013-01-31 at 05:16 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Thimagryn View Post
    You need to open up the races. We have like 13 races and only 3 are able to play as a new class, you're going to severely limit popularity and accessibility to make them worthwhile. You're going to have every Alliance Ranger look exactly like each other in the end game (Night Elf wearing Tier X armor using End Game Bow/Gun).

    Add human, dwarf, worgen, pandaren, troll, goblin.
    Keep in mind, this isn't just a class where people pick up bows and arrows and start shooting stuff to eventually become super archers. To be this class, the race has to be highly involved in Elven culture, martial ways, and magic. I can somewhat understand Worgens, since its been established that the Night Elves are heavily influencing their development via druidism and Sentinel training. The Undead makes sense because Sylvanas is actively resurrecting and training undead elves to become Dark Rangers. There's a certain level of exclusivity that is tied to this class. I personally think that would make them even more popular....

    If it was ever implemented of course.

  18. #18
    Immortal rcshaggy's Avatar
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    I got a good question what spec is Tank, DPS, and the healing one.
    Besides this I'm looking forward to leveling a Night Elf Warden Ranger, and even get a Blood Elf Dark Ranger as well. :P
    For the Horde!

  19. #19
    Merely a Setback Teriz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klaxxar View Post
    I got a good question what spec is Tank, DPS, and the healing one.
    Besides this I'm looking forward to leveling a Night Elf Warden Ranger, and even get a Blood Elf Dark Ranger as well. :P
    I don't know if any of these specs could do that. It seems that they're a lot more "free" when you just make them DPS. If any of them had the potential to be Tank it would probably be the Warden, since its Melee, and based on my build, has some control methods like Shadow Strike, and AoE like Raven Return and Fan of Blades.

    I don't know if Blizzard would add another "pure" class to the game though.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by nemro82 View Post
    I would definitely play new ranger class that's not a Huntard
    Same here. Pet classes bore the crap out of me.

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