Is it time to remove race restrictions on Classes?

[dragi]

As far as i remember someone mentioned about some combination race class are irrational. Something about flying cow and DH.
Can you imagine big fat tauren or orc gently sneaking for prey? Elves are meybe a bit wrong example since we are learned by fantasy books that elves are stronger then human. But gnomes or goblins not. When you see in D3 barbarian's women you know she is able to lift heavy sword. It's many irrational changes in game made only for easier or better game experience. We don't need any big story behind.

[Adramalech]

Tauren warlocks already exist via fel totem.

This was such a wasted chance, in my opinion. Highmountain Tauren have such a lackluster selection of classes (as do Lightforged, for that matter), that adding a bit of lore saying that what remains of the Bloodtotem tribe rejoined the rest of Highmountain after the events of Legion, bringing with them less traditional classes for them. Namely Warlocks, but I could also shove Rogues in there (inb4 tauren rogue memes).
That would make them far more distinct from regular Tauren not just in terms of their visuals, but class selection. As it stands now they feel like pre-Cataclysm Tauren, but with Monks in the mix. Giving Mag'har the Priest class instead of Warlock created a small but very important distinction between the two orcish variants, I feel like Warlocks and/or Rogues could have done the same for Highmountain.

[Kyphael]

Nah, I like the idea of something fresh becoming playable, like when we got human hunters, and night elf mages, but I sure as hell don't want goblin paladins or orc druids, it just doesn't sound right.

Class/race combos I think would make sense or could be interesting are blood elf druids and human shamans just to name a couple.

[Florena]

I think blizzard is hesitant to do this because 'racial identity' is a bigger part of WoW than it is say, FFXIV for the most part.

They have made some compromises, but largely out of neccessity. Tauren Paladins are the big one. With Cata they wanted to give the horde more than one paladin option. They also wanted to give Tauren new classes, which every race except Draenei was getting in Cata. (To be fair draenei came with a healthy amount of races while Tauren was lacking back in Cata with I think only druid, hunter, shaman and warrior. And DK. So five.) So they killed two birds with one stone.

Just because they did this one thing with a 'sun druid for paladin' thing doesn't neccisarily mean they can or should completely tear down the walls of their class/race combo philosophy. But at this point I wouldn't really complain if they did.

I think the biggest barrier however is going to be druids and demon hunters. All the new races getting the classes would require either a lot of new form models or folding races into the existing ones. Plus paladin mounts.

Side note: Give lightforged monks please. They deserve a leather class.

[A Chozo]

Gameplay class ≠ in universe profession.

Taurens and Zandalari Trolls are "Paladins" mechanically, but they are most certainly not Holy Paladins in the lore.

They are Holy paladins. It's just that their religion and deities are different, and their concept of what the Light is is also different. But Sunwalkers aren't using, let's say, Sun Magic or whatever. It's Holy.

[socialmaker]

I guess any class can be a Warrior/Hunter for the keks but I already lost interest at gnome priests and even paladin taurens so they could go full ham on anything from my point of view.

[tankbug]

Okay. That's fine. I'll just explain it better: gnomes can become strong, while Taurens can't become smaller.

Fine, that's your opinion, and mine is that either of those are "stupidly unrealistic" and claim that they're both magic to any extent you want, and that one is implemented, and one isn't, even though they could both be either be accepted or rejected, depending on how much you freedom from realism you will allow.

[Directionalk9]

No, definitely not, they need to remove some if anything.

[nnelson54]

Letting pandas be DKs was the end of anything making sense anymore. Might as well have goblin rocket dildo druids.

Pandarian Death Knights don't make any less sense than any other race. They live, they die, they get raised by the Lich King.

[schwank05]

Yes, the Lore is already fucked starting in Pandaland. Let me be a Forsaken Paladin.

[Sharby]

People arguing against hooved rogues when said races can literally drink an invisibility potion and stealth just as well as anyone else?

I think blizzard is hesitant to do this because 'racial identity' is a bigger part of WoW than it is say, FFXIV for the most part.

They have made some compromises, but largely out of neccessity. Tauren Paladins are the big one. With Cata they wanted to give the horde more than one paladin option. They also wanted to give Tauren new classes, which every race except Draenei was getting in Cata. (To be fair draenei came with a healthy amount of races while Tauren was lacking back in Cata with I think only druid, hunter, shaman and warrior. And DK. So five.) So they killed two birds with one stone.

Just because they did this one thing with a 'sun druid for paladin' thing doesn't neccisarily mean they can or should completely tear down the walls of their class/race combo philosophy. But at this point I wouldn't really complain if they did.

I think the biggest barrier however is going to be druids and demon hunters. All the new races getting the classes would require either a lot of new form models or folding races into the existing ones. Plus paladin mounts.

Side note: Give lightforged monks please. They deserve a leather class.

I won't argue against that, I think certain things should be kept exclusive out of practicality like DH/Druid, but everything else doesn't make sense to keep exclusive, especially considering we have stuff like Vulpera being warlocks but LFD can't be monks?


EDIT 2: Though I def feel that if Blizzard wants to revitalize the game they will eventually have to start doing impractical stuff and go all the way with some features.

[Raugnaut]

Wasn't too long ago Gnomes were too fucking stupid to be Hunters..

It wasn't that Gnomes were too stupid, but Blizz was of the opinion that Gnomes were too small to "dominate/tame" ravenous, angry, hungry animals. Note that at the same time Gnomes could become hunters, Blizz also added mechanical pets to fit their theme.

[Kyphael]

Pandarian Death Knights don't make any less sense than any other race. They live, they die, they get raised by the Lich King.

Like Tauren Paladins and Gnome Hunters.

[Tartys]

This leaves the outliers..Shaman, Druids, and Demon Hunters

Every race can commune with elements... or nature. Its only about teach them how...

Just like showed on the cosmology map from Chronicles, "reality" is in the middle... so every force can influence us despite the race.

[Katchii]

Letting pandas be DKs was the end of anything making sense anymore. Might as well have goblin rocket dildo druids.

The new races being DK's is supported by the in-game lore. Gnomes and/or Goblins being druids really isn't.

You can always find an exception of one super specific gnome/goblin ignoring their heritage after being dropped in a river as an infant to be found and raised raised by wolves and nature spirits and becoming attuned to nature magic as a result, or whatever the fuck crazy back story you want to come up with... that doesn't mean it makes sense for every member of the race to become a druid.

[Eazy]

Fine, that's your opinion, and mine is that either of those are "stupidly unrealistic" and claim that they're both magic to any extent you want, and that one is implemented, and one isn't, even though they could both be either be accepted or rejected, depending on how much you freedom from realism you will allow.

Then we both agree.

I'm not saying anything about my opinion, because for myself orcs and kul'tirans are too big for being rogues. I'm just trying to see it from the Blizzard perspective.

[StillMcfuu]

The thing is..., Shaman IS NOT nature based.. It's 100% tied to wielding the elements, NOT nature.

Also, I once saw some numbers (but can't find them again) that DH was not elf only; 70% NE, 20% BE, 5% Human and 5% other races.

Shaman are more like priests than mages.

[Sharby]

The new races being DK's is supported by the in-game lore. Gnomes and/or Goblins being druids really isn't.

You can always find an exception of one super specific gnome/goblin ignoring their heritage after being dropped in a river as an infant to be found and raised raised by wolves and nature spirits and becoming attuned to nature magic as a result, or whatever the fuck crazy back story you want to come up with... that doesn't mean it makes sense for every member of the race to become a druid.

Except every member of the race wouldn't be a druid, the player character has technically done things no other member of said race has even come close to accomplishing it doesn't mean Gnome culture is suddenly saving the world x10 over.

Most of the race/class combos never show up in the lore anyhow, so its not like we would suddenly get a cinematic showing a Gnome Paladin.


KT Druids are literally a tiny subset of the race, all they have to do is make like 5 npcs with 2 or 3 lines of dialogue and it'd be justified in-lore.

[Katchii]

Except every member of the race wouldn't be a druid, the player character has technically done things no other member of said race has even come close to accomplishing it doesn't mean Gnome culture is suddenly saving the world x10 over.

Most of the race/class combos never show up in the lore anyhow, so its not like we would suddenly get a cinematic showing a Gnome Paladin.


KT Druids are literally a tiny subset of the race, all they have to do is make like 5 npcs with 2 or 3 lines of dialogue and it'd be justified in-lore.

While true, they haven't done that yet. So I suppose it's possible, but that would feel extremely forced to me. For some of the races, the idea that any of them would dabble in certain things....like the Draenei or Lightforged Draenei doing anything Fel related, would be a bit ridiculous.

[Sharby]

While true, they haven't done that yet. So I suppose it's possible, but that would feel extremely forced to me. For some of the races, the idea that any of them would dabble in certain things....like the Draenei or Lightforged Draenei doing anything Fel related, would be a bit ridiculous.

I agree that there would be consequences, namely the fact that racial identity would be muddled a bit, but I think we have much to gain from loosening the rigidity in WoW, the PC should have focus as an individual not a member of a race as our PC's are completely unique compared to anyone else.

I think every race should have a distinct culture, but it shouldn't be portrayed as if there are zero deviation from it, because then the cracks that are already present stick-out even more I.E, LFD being able to be Spreists and Unholy DK's.