Nightbourne: Why aren't we seeing druids?

[LowestFormOfWit]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Now before I get any snap-reaction flak for this, hear me out.

While I see that Horde will already be getting two extra druid options in Highmountain Tauren (which, aside from just being Tauren, I don't understand why they are getting druid), and Zandalari Trolls (which I fully support due to Loa connections), I'd like to make the case for Nightbourne druids.

The first and strongest point I'll make is that the entirety of the Nightfallen storyline in Suramar is about striking a balance between nature and arcane energies to use the arcan'dor to restore the Nightfallen people from their withering. I don't see how this doesn't perfectly align with Balance Druids.

Secondly: The Nightbourne were Night Elven, more than that, a major part of the Night Elf empire prior to their isolation. It's kind of odd that, at the very least, the knowledge of druidism would completely die out. High/Blood Elves who were exiled from Night Elven society specifically were so because they rehected druidism and delved into the arcane, while Nightbourne seemed to feed off arcane out of necessity and desparation.

Lastly: I feel that it's sort of a waste to add extra races if you aren't going to use them as vessels to give us some class combos we haven't seen. As of right now, we're not getting any "interesting" class/race combos with BfA, which feels strange in an expansion where the Allied Race system is a major feature.

I feel at least one "oddball" class option for these new Allied races will help distinguish them as more than a "reskin" which is what the prevailing complaint about them seems to be.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Because for the last 10,000 years the Nightborne have slanted heavily toward the arcane side, not balance.

Also because the Horde currently dominated druidism 4-2. We assume Kul'tirasians will be added to make it 4-3, but still.

[gcsmith]

Cus the nightbourne don't have druids. Eating the fruit from a tree does not make you a druid.

[Kathranis]

Don't think I saw a single Nightborne druid in all of Suramar.

[WoolferRU]

10000 years ago there was only one night elf druid, and Malfurion was not nightbourne. Then they was isolated from outside world in city, where you have no source for druidism.

[Gaidax]

I grew a tree, ama druid now!

Nightborne have nothing to do with that. MAYBE down the road they will grow to use that kind of stuff, but right now they are basically magical city elves barely having anything to do with nature.

[LowestFormOfWit]

Cus the nightbourne don't have druids. Eating the fruit from a tree does not make you a druid.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think I saw Highmountain druids either. I feel like going forward as a race, I could see some Player character Nightbourne going forward as druids.

The greater concern I have is that the new races (on both factions) really are just reskins of existing options. New trolls and tauren, but no new class combos to accompany them (in fact, less options) seems really silly.

[Jokubas]

I'm torn. On the one hand, it makes sense thematically. The nightborne are from the highborne caste which eschewed druidism to begin with, and they've spent the last ten thousand years doubling down on the arcane with their Nightwell addiction. The nightborne also do have Warlock as an option, which doesn't make them distinct from the Horde blood elves, but does make them distinct from their night elven friends and family.

On the other hand, the nightborne had druid-like botanists. Perhaps the real problem is that druids don't actually have a plant combat spec, despite having the most specs out of any class.

[LowestFormOfWit]

I'm torn. On the one hand, it makes sense thematically. The nightborne are from the highborne caste which eschewed druidism to begin with, and they've spent the last ten thousand years doubling down on the arcane with their Nightwell addiction. The nightborne also do have Warlock as an option, which doesn't make them distinct from the Horde blood elves, but does make them distinct from their night elven friends and family.

On the other hand, the nightborne had druid-like botanists. Perhaps the real problem is that druids don't actually have a plant combat spec, despite having the most specs out of any class.

I almost forgot about the Warlock option. This choice makes so much less sense than something like Druid.

We spent the whole campaign freeing Suramar from Legion/fel taint, killing "Felbourne" who followed down the Legion's influence, and we're letting them continue on as Warlocks?

I really think it's a case of copy pasting the majority of Blood Elf classes.

[Tehterokkar]

Nightborne are much closer to Blood elves in terms of their affinity with magic. Nightborne are worshippers of Arcane, not Nature like their Night Elven friends.

[Beastnar]

[LowestFormOfWit]

Nightborne are much closer to Blood elves in terms of their affinity with magic. Nightborne are worshippers of Arcane, not Nature like their Night Elven friends.

Again, the arcane affinity was due to necessity. They don't "worship" the arcane. It was merely all they had when they secluded themselves from the outside world, sunlight, moonlight, etc. Their similarity to Blood Elves is pretty much the reason Horde is getting them. But to not throw any new flavors of class combo our way is kind of meh. All these combos are ones Blood Elves can do, and less.

[Spotnick]

Because it's too long to make the bear/boomkin/cat forms.

[LowestFormOfWit]

Because it's too long to make the bear/boomkin/cat forms.

I think is always what it comes down to, and why we still have so few Druid race options available. I'm wondering if they regret making racial distinctions between druid forms at all.

Highmountain druid forms will all look the same as Tauren plus antlers. Zandalari Druids will just be modified troll ones. It's a real bummer.

I'd love to see Nightbourne modifications to Night elf forms, arcane runes and magic feathers and whatnot.

[Drikkink]

I almost forgot about the Warlock option. This choice makes so much less sense than something like Druid.

We spent the whole campaign freeing Suramar from Legion/fel taint, killing "Felbourne" who followed down the Legion's influence, and we're letting them continue on as Warlocks?

I really think it's a case of copy pasting the majority of Blood Elf classes.

Well lore-wise, no one is really "accepting" of warlocks. At best they see them as fighting fire with fire. At worst they see them as being as bad as the Legion themselves. There was a reason Garrosh murdered warlock trainers in MoP. There is a lore-based reason for Nightborne to be Warlock because of the felborne mobs. We saw exactly 0 instances of Nightborne using any druidic magic. They've lived inside a bubble for forever. That bubble encompassed a city, a lake and like 5 trees. They don't have any "dreamers." They lost all connection with nature. It seems like a copy/paste of Blood Elves because they have essentially the same history.

[Nuba]

this is easy:
the nightborne were trapped inside the dome of arcane magic they build when they were still night elves, they were literally trapped on a bubble for 10k years. No natural things = no nature = no druids

[tristannarutofan]

10000 years ago there was only one night elf druid, and Malfurion was not nightbourne. Then they was isolated from outside world in city, where you have no source for druidism.

i dont think they should have druids but this is a bad reason. we didnt have monks int he last few years but all it took was some pandaren going around teaching it to get them.

nothing to say the new races cant be any class. heck even the Lich King created 4 new deathknights so even pandaren deathknights are feasable.

[zlygork]

I think is always what it comes down to, and why we still have so few Druid race options available. I'm wondering if they regret making racial distinctions between druid forms at all.

Highmountain druid forms will all look the same as Tauren plus antlers. Zandalari Druids will just be modified troll ones. It's a real bummer.

I'd love to see Nightbourne modifications to Night elf forms, arcane runes and magic feathers and whatnot.

All we know about Zandalari forms thus far is that their travel form is a raptor, unlike darkspear's stag

[Hitei]

Because they had to abandon the entire druid storyline for it to make sense that the Nightborne joined the Horde and not Alliance.

[Dastreus]

It's rather interesting. They can't be druids but they can be monks. Two things that aren't in their civilisations. It just feels random to me

Void elfs being monks also doesn't make sense, since monk is all about "balance of self" or some shit.