Why are there no new classes in Shadowlands?!

[TheRainman]

Blizzard cant even balance what we have. We don't need new classes right now. And Shadowlands is bringing back focus on the classes we do have

I agree with that. Really, I do. But according to Ion, the WoW team is bigger than it's ever been. Does your reasoning still hold? Can they really not manage to do both? With all that money and talent, they can't fix the classes we have, un-prune them, etc etc, and still incorporate a new one?

Shadowlands seems very lackluster so far, for reasons other than a lack of a new class. Though that being said, a new class would help, even if I agree that the game doesn't need one.

[Aleloron]

Oh God more Tinker stuff.

We get it, we get it - some of you want Tinkers. Okay, cool. You can stop beating that poor dead horse now.

[clownpenisfart]

Maybe blizzard finally remembered their old, good game design practice of "quality over quantity".

A counter example of this being overwatch, where they keep piling up more and more gimmick characters, diluting whatever good gun fighting gameplay that the game ever had in the process.

[Teriz]

Oh God more Tinker stuff.

We get it, we get it - some of you want Tinkers. Okay, cool. You can stop beating that poor dead horse now.

Yes, let's not talk about a Warcraft-based class in a Warcraft-based forum in a thread talking about Warcraft based classes....

[TheFirstOnes]

The fact we didn't get a Necromancer class pisses me off...

[Teriz]

I agree with that. Really, I do. But according to Ion, the WoW team is bigger than it's ever been. Does your reasoning still hold? Can they really not manage to do both? With all that money and talent, they can't fix the classes we have, un-prune them, etc etc, and still incorporate a new one?

Shadowlands seems very lackluster so far, for reasons other than a lack of a new class. Though that being said, a new class would help, even if I agree that the game doesn't need one.

There was no class added because the only logical class for a death-themed expansion would be a necromancer. However, we already have a necromancer class in the Death Knight, so there you go.

Blizzard is perfectly capable of adding a class and providing robust gameplay for the existing classes. MoP and WotLK are prime examples of this.

[lummiuster]

There's actually plenty of material for a Tinker class. Not only do you have WC3 and HotS abilities, but abilities from various mech NPCs throughout WoW. Coming up with 3-4 unique specs shouldn't be an issue. You can't really say that with any other WoW-related class concept.

no tinker. What a childish idea.it doesnt belong in a warcraft game. Try hellokity

[klaps_05]

Tbh, any kind of resemblance of spec balance will never be possible if classes keep getting added. Every year people want new talents. Every 2 years people want a new class or a new spec. Then blame blizzard for meta being a shitshow. You can say, sure, but they can take their time to balance it - but then again people bitch when an expansion takes a day over 2 years to finish.

Not defending here, but is it really reasonable to expect blizzard to
- give about 100 new talents per expansion,
- new classes every other year which means multiple specialization
- and about 60 new spells while also incorporating them into the meta immediately
- by also addressing utilities they provide
- and all of that taken into consideration when designing raids, m+, bgs, pvp, world quests, leveling, etc.
- but also making sure they are significantly diverse in what each spec does?

And people bitching about every single detail of the above for their own agenda 24/7/365? With that in mind, would you really plan to add another class?

[Teriz]

no tinker. What a childish idea.it doesnt belong in a warcraft game. Try hellokity

Yet the Tinker has been in every Warcraft and Warcraft related game since WC3. This includes WoW itself.

[sam86]

Maybe blizzard finally remembered their old, good game design practice of "quality over quantity".

A counter example of this being overwatch, where they keep piling up more and more gimmick characters, diluting whatever good gun fighting gameplay that the game ever had in the process.

u honestly gave the worst example possible
overwatch is first person dota style game, or 'hero shooter', yet for a 'hero shooter' game, they add piss poor collection of heroes, most games even now have mirror heroes still
Overwatch queues now are getting way longer since after blizzcon

regarding topic, no the reason they didn't bother to spend resources of more work is because gamers will pay money anyway whatever activision do, that's literally a quote Bobby Kotick said over 15 years ago regarding games, he view us as idiots who will pay for even a pile of sh8t as long it is called game


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Yet the Tinker has been in every Warcraft and Warcraft related game since WC3. This includes WoW itself.

and wc2...
goblin sappers were summoned in tinker-like building, goblin tinker is very iconic to wow, even more than gnomes

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because it is same blizz that apologized for not giving 5 new spells in wrath due to time release constrains and promised to add more spells mid-wrath (they did, but it was never up to 5 and for some classes)
because they set standard, don't blame us for expecting them to actually stick their own words, they should said from start their word is shit and has zero value, something that 'from titan pov' ended any doubt i had about

[lummiuster]

Yet the Tinker has been in every Warcraft and Warcraft related game since WC3. This includes WoW itself.

Yeah it's called engineering profession. Not a class.

[Teriz]

Yeah it's called engineering profession. Not a class.

And yet the engineering profession doesn't contain any of the abilities shown by the Tinker in WC3, HotS, or even WoW itself. The professions are based on the items and item shops of WC3. WoW classes are mainly based on WC3 heroes. The Tinker was a WC3 hero, not part of the item shop.

[lummiuster]

And yet the engineering profession doesn't contain any of the abilities shown by the Tinker in WC3, HotS, or even WoW itself. The professions are based on the items and item shops of WC3. WoW classes are mainly based on WC3 heroes. The Tinker was a WC3 hero, not part of the item shop.

Man the tinker was just a thing to tease the players. Like the cow level in diablo. It's not a real character. It does not belong in wow, it makes no sense. We're supposed to have characters who gain strength and power by training and killing mobs. A machine does not change this fantasy. It's just wrong man. Like if they add it in wow it should only be in darkmoon fair.

[Edlarel]

Dorkly Comic

So, loot boxes?

[Teriz]

Man the tinker was just a thing to tease the players. Like the cow level in diablo. It's not a real character. It does not belong in wow, it makes no sense. We're supposed to have characters who gain strength and power by training and killing mobs. A machine does not change this fantasy. It's just wrong man. Like if they add it in wow it should only be in darkmoon fair.

Gelbin Mekkatorque, Helix Blackfuse, Malificent Manastorm, and Gazlowe aren't real characters?

[Rinaul]

Let’s get High Elves too!

[ravenmoon]

They probably baked a new class concept with new artifact system into the covenant.

i think they're tired of having so many specs. and aren't giving new classes now, which is why i support Class skins and identities.

Here is what I wrote in another topic.

We could really do with a revamping of the class system to freshen it up and expand it. Allied races did revamp the races, allowing us to have more options. We need a way to have at least more class fantasies too.

I still want to play as a Moon Priest, Ranger, Star Augur, Locus Walker, Runemaster, Blademaster, Necromancer, Tinker etc etc.

Face it, there are too many desirable class fantasy to ever make it as full new classes, for the next 20 years at the rate blizzard introduces full new classes -- so i propose a more creative solution to come with a new class option for 10.0

Class Skins and Identities

A class skin is simply given a distinctive look to a class to fill provide a fantasy.
e.g. Moon Priestess is a class skin for potentially Night elf and Nightborne Priests. Ranger a class skin for all Elven Hunters, whiles Mountaineer a class skin for dwarven hunters: When in game, members of those races can begin a quest to attain the class identity.
Some are even smaller changes that are meaningful:
e.g. Void Hunter has void coloured arrows instead of normal, while a Lightforged one has light ones and a Nightborne one has arcane coloured ones. Think also of Lightforged priests having a shadow spec that is light damage instead and a void priest having the healing spec using void instead instead of light as the only changes their versions get.

A class identity - takes this further and completely disguises an existing class as something else in lore - abilities are renamed, with unique special effects, visuals and animations that fit the fantasy completley:
e.g. A Blademaster can simply take the Demon Hunter class and re-dress it: Rename all the abilities and change the animations and effects for the abilities, change the iconic weapon from warglaive to Longsword - and now on non-elven races, the demon hunter class slot is replaced by the Blademaster for races. You would have to role most of thses from scratch as they open new options, however where the race allows it, you can retrain your current class to one of these. Unlike class skins, existing characters that convert cannot change back.

Other Applications & Implications

: These can be used to provide interesting new classes that are appropriate for certain races. As well as sufficient new class/race combos that fit the lore:
e.g. A Locus Walker would be a new new class for Void Elves and is essentially a re-dressed mage.
e.g. An Entropist is a redressed Shaman that provides the shaman option for Humans and Forsaken

All of these are essentially the same thing that highlight 3 differnt ways they can be applied.

EXAMPLES

Class Skins:

Ranger & Dark Ranger - hunter skin for all elves
Mountaineer - Hunter skin for all dwarves
Witch Doctor - Shaman skin for Trolls
Shadowhunter - Hunter skin for Trolls
Spirit Walker - Priest skin for Mag'har and Tauren
Necromancer - Warlock skin all races that can be warlock
Moon Priestess - Priest skin for Night elves and Nightborne
Sunwalker - Priest and Paladin skin for Tauren
Warden - Rogue skin for night elves
Valewalker - Druid skin for night elves
Tidesage - Shaman skin for Kul'tirans

Class Identities:

Runemaster - Prestige class that uses the
Blademaster - Prestige class that uses the Demon hunter class mechanics for its playstyle
Star Augur - New class that uses the shaman for its playstyle
Locus Walker - A new class that uses the Mage for its playstyle
Spellblade - A new class that uses the Paladin for its playstyle

New Race/Class Combos:

Spirit Walker - A new identity for Orc Priests
Entropist - A new identity for human/forsaken/Elven shaman
Tidesage - Identiy for human and forsaken shaman (this is also a skin for Kul'tiran shaman)
Botanist: - Identity for Blood elf and Void elf druids
Valewalkers - Nightborne druids
Sunwalkers - Highmountain Priests and Paladins
Night Warrior - Night elf paladins
Void Knight - Void elf paladins

New Class

Tinker - Like the current classes, the Tinker can have skins and identities to produce playable options on other races.
Dragon Lance: A class identity using the Tinker class mechanics for its playstyle: Available to
Artificers: A tinker class skin for Draenei



Please help me out with examples. I'll edit this post to add more.

Do give you more breathing room, you hold out on a new class, and instead now give cosmetic variations to available classes, use it as a means to give new classes which aren't new playstyle/mechanics.

Look at it this way. When you think of the Shaman class what do you think of? A tribal witch doctor type figure that communicates with dead and elemental spirits using totems and elemental power to rush though its enemies? or do you think of a calss with 3 spec, one that is ranged magical dps, the other melee dps that uses minor buffs to enhance its damage and the other healing?

Well both would be right. In lore terms, the first is how the playstyle is dressed. Who's to say how a shaman actually plays like in your video game world?A class is essentially the way you operate a character fantasy like the shamn in the video game world. It's how you go about doing things. And each class is a different playstyle. While lore has informed the name and appearance of the abilities, how they operate is a feature that doesn't depend on the lore.

So you can take the mechanics of the shaman class, and but make it another class in the lore by simply renaming it's abilities and changing its visuals so it fits the new class you want. This is essentially what a new class identity is. Rather than develop a whole new playstyle every time you want to introduce a new class, you instead give it a new identity. That class is actually a new class, but it's not a new playstyle. The advantages are listed above. Elves can't be shaman, but an Arcane Elemntalist (call it an Entropist or Thermatuge) or Star Augur for Night/Nightborne elves that suit the night elven races much better than a tribal witch doctor.

Like this you can actually get a many more classes out, much more often and more frequently. Gives you more time to come up with a new playstyle/mechanic which can in turn bet he base for several new identities, have several skins too and well take a long time to come out.

[Teriz]

They probably baked a new class concept with new artifact system into the covenant.

i think they're tired of having so many specs. and aren't giving new classes now, which is why i support Class skins and identities.

Here is what I wrote in another topic.



Do give you more breathing room, you hold out on a new class, and instead now give cosmetic variations to available classes, use it as a means to give new classes which aren't new playstyle/mechanics.

Look at it this way. When you think of the Shaman class what do you think of? A tribal witch doctor type figure that communicates with dead and elemental spirits using totems and elemental power to rush though its enemies? or do you think of a calss with 3 spec, one that is ranged magical dps, the other melee dps that uses minor buffs to enhance its damage and the other healing?

Well both would be right. In lore terms, the first is how the playstyle is dressed. Who's to say how a shaman actually plays like in your video game world?A class is essentially the way you operate a character fantasy like the shamn in the video game world. It's how you go about doing things. And each class is a different playstyle. While lore has informed the name and appearance of the abilities, how they operate is a feature that doesn't depend on the lore.

So you can take the mechanics of the shaman class, and but make it another class in the lore by simply renaming it's abilities and changing its visuals so it fits the new class you want. This is essentially what a new class identity is. Rather than develop a whole new playstyle every time you want to introduce a new class, you instead give it a new identity. That class is actually a new class, but it's not a new playstyle. The advantages are listed above. Elves can't be shaman, but an Arcane Elemntalist (call it an Entropist or Thermatuge) or Star Augur for Night/Nightborne elves that suit the night elven races much better than a tribal witch doctor.

Like this you can actually get a many more classes out, much more often and more frequently. Gives you more time to come up with a new playstyle/mechanic which can in turn bet he base for several new identities, have several skins too and well take a long time to come out.

Yeah, class skins can definitely work towards mopping up the clone class concepts like Dark Rangers and Necromancers which are nothing more than variations of existing classes.

It's pretty obvious that the only truly unique WC-related class concept left is the Tinker.

[huth]

Gelbin Mekkatorque, Helix Blackfuse, Malificent Manastorm, and Gazlowe aren't real characters?

And Pandaren don't exist, either. Same logic.

[lummiuster]

Gelbin Mekkatorque, Helix Blackfuse, Malificent Manastorm, and Gazlowe aren't real characters?

Man... Google all these guys, their place is clearly in a mini game like darkmoon fair. Look at Blackfuse, this guy fights in a giant robot. They all do.
A character using robotics to fight does not belong as a class in warcraft universe. What is strenght/agility/intelect gonna do to them? He'll press heavier buttons/ press buttons faster/be wiser at pressing buttons? Commone it makes no sense. Gotta be a bit serious man.