You decide: New class, Class skins, 4th specs, or New combos

[Three Faced Goddess]

Yes, i believe so.
It is a blueprint for playable Dark Rangers.

Now if I could get others to even see it/consider this way. :P

[FossilFree]

Orc Druids are actually quite possible, since Orcs have a very animalistic culture (there's even an Orc Druid in Ashran) and the fact that the Shadowmoon clan worships the stars.

That's exactly what class skins are for. To fulfill this missing Paladin aspect. Less so to create new classes.

I think Draenor had such a pronounced life theme with the Primals that it would be a shame to not utilize that for Mag'har druids.

Also, using class skins to allow for all classes on all races would be the best choice imo. Plus, it would help differentiate existing ones that maybe didn't fit that well even though they have already been unlocked, like Sunwalker tauren paladins, goblin shamans, lightforged draenei shadow priests, and void elf monks.

[username993720]

I think Draenor had such a pronounced life theme with the Primals that it would be a shame to not utilize that for Mag'har druids.

I don't know if Orcs are very much of tree-lovers.
They cut down, burn and destroy whole forests.

Also, using class skins to allow for all classes on all races would be the best choice imo. Plus, it would help differentiate existing ones that maybe didn't fit that well even though they have already been unlocked, like Sunwalker tauren paladins, goblin shamans, lightforged draenei shadow priests, and void elf monks.

You'd have to have a lore justification for that. You can't just freely give away classes. That would break immersion.

Lightforged Draenei Shadow Priests do not make much sense. They're more of a game mechanic than anything else. Void elves, like the rest, have a Pandaren-related background. There's no differentiation between Monk races.

[FossilFree]

I don't know if Orcs are very much of tree-lovers.
They cut down, burn and destroy whole forests.

Which is why the ones who break the mold and do their own thing would be so interesting to play, even if it's taboo in their society. Kind of like warlocks but the opposite: tree-lover orcs that are taboo in a society that doesn't respect plant life.

You'd have to have a lore justification for that. You can't just freely give away classes. That would break immersion.

Lightforged Draenei Shadow Priests do not make much sense. They're more of a game mechanic than anything else. Void elves, like the rest, have a Pandaren-related background. There's no differentiation between Monk races.

They can invent lore reasons for anything though.

Lightforged draenei shadow priests not making sense is exactly why giving them a class skin to turn their dps spells into light magic instead of shadow magic would work so well. Void elf monks also don't make much sense since constantly fighting off whispers in their minds wouldn't be very conducive to a calm and serene state of mind. They could get a shadowy skin for their abilities in place of the green mist effects and say they harness the whispers in combat for their ability to see all possible outcomes instead of chasing serenity.

[username993720]

Which is why the ones who break the mold and do their own thing would be so interesting to play, even if it's taboo in their society. Kind of like warlocks but the opposite: tree-lover orcs that are taboo in a society that doesn't respect plant life.

I'd go more with animalistic/lunar aspects.

They can invent lore reasons for anything though.

Lightforged draenei shadow priests not making sense is exactly why giving them a class skin to turn their dps spells into light magic instead of shadow magic would work so well. Void elf monks also don't make much sense since constantly fighting off whispers in their minds wouldn't be very conducive to a calm and serene state of mind. They could get a shadowy skin for their abilities in place of the green mist effects and say they harness the whispers in combat for their ability to see all possible outcomes instead of chasing serenity.

As for Lightforged Draenei shadow priests, there's already the discipline spec for dps.
As for Void elf Monks, shadow makes sense alongside light, if we take someone like Zenyatta from Overwatch, for example.

[FossilFree]

I'd go more with animalistic/lunar aspects.

As for Lightforged Draenei shadow priests, there's already the discipline spec for dps.
As for Void elf Monks, shadow makes sense alongside light, if we take someone like Zenyatta from Overwatch, for example.

Animalistic and lunar themes would certainly work as well. Especially if they are Shadowmoon clan orcs.

[Triceron]

I think Draenor had such a pronounced life theme with the Primals that it would be a shame to not utilize that for Mag'har druids.

I agree to an extent.

The primals lore is very unique and could be tapped into, but it really needs to be exclusive to Resto. It's not like we have Tree-version forms for Bear and Cat Night Elf Druid even though they have a very close connection to the plants and nature. They animal themes are still animal themes.

Kul Tiran are the weird ones with their Drust look, but I think that was more a visual decision to make em different and interesting than anything, since Kul Tirans don't really have any significant animal counterparts to draw from otherwise.

Mag'har on the other hand have very deep animal connections, and I think they could totally have their own animal-based forms of Draenor-themed creatures like the Wargs, Talbuks, Boars, Kaliri/Arrakoa and the like.

[threads]

class skins wouldnt fix how boring as shit most of the specs are nowadays.

[FossilFree]

I agree to an extent.

The primals lore is very unique and could be tapped into, but it really needs to be exclusive to Resto. It's not like we have Tree-version forms for Bear and Cat Night Elf Druid even though they have a very close connection to the plants and nature. They animal themes are still animal themes.

Kul Tiran are the weird ones with their Drust look, but I think that was more a visual decision to make em different and interesting than anything, since Kul Tirans don't really have any significant animal counterparts to draw from otherwise.

Mag'har on the other hand have very deep animal connections, and I think they could totally have their own animal-based forms of Draenor-themed creatures like the Wargs, Talbuks, Boars, Kaliri/Arrakoa and the like.

It's probably more likely that they would have some kind of animal forms rather than using Primals like I suggested, but I thought they could go the Zandalari druid route with drastically different models based on entirely different animals (like bear vs dinosaur, or the High Arakkoa-based moonkin), or in this case the plant "animals" of Draenor (which are animal-like due to their mobility).

I was inspired by the druid artifact skins that use plants:





A Primal spin on these might work better than a straight-up Primal species like genesaur though. The rock bear with moss is especially appropriate for Mag'har, due to the Breaker origin of the orcs (basically, evolved rock people).

[DookuDookuTree]

Why bother, Blizzard closed their suggestion forum like a decade ago.

[Jinpachi]

New Class. New method of impacting the game outside of traditional tank/deeps/healz. OR how about just NOT making over half of our abilities useless on bosses?

[Triceron]

It's probably more likely that they would have some kind of animal forms rather than using Primals like I suggested, but I thought they could go the Zandalari druid route with drastically different models based on entirely different animals (like bear vs dinosaur, or the High Arakkoa-based moonkin), or in this case the plant "animals" of Draenor (which are animal-like due to their mobility).

I was inspired by the druid artifact skins that use plants:

A Primal spin on these might work better than a straight-up Primal species like genesaur though. The rock bear with moss is especially appropriate for Mag'har, due to the Breaker origin of the orcs (basically, evolved rock people).

I'd be open to this more than the Genesaur/Mandragora idea. I do think a breaker connection to Tanking form would be interesting, as well as primal for cat. I would want the animal themes to be carried over still, rather than straight up adapt all Botani/Primal forms of plant life.

[Acelius]

More specs for sure. New classes won't benefit players who have steady mains.

Class skins will add literally nothing to the game. If you find the game boring or stale, skins will do nothing to change that.

[FossilFree]

I'd be open to this more than the Genesaur/Mandragora idea. I do think a breaker connection to Tanking form would be interesting, as well as primal for cat. I would want the animal themes to be carried over still, rather than straight up adapt all Botani/Primal forms of plant life.

Good point. I'd like to see the Primal vs Breaker conflict play out in the Mag'har druid's theme and lore, so a mix of rock, plant, and animal would be a cool take on the druid class imo. I'm not married to the idea of the Primal species being used, but I just think Mag'har should reflect it somehow. Like you said before, having resto use some Primal stuff would be appropriate too.

[Teriz]

New classes won't benefit players who have steady mains.

New classes would benefit the game by attracting people currently not playing WoW.

[username993720]

Good point. I'd like to see the Primal vs Breaker conflict play out in the Mag'har druid's theme and lore, so a mix of rock, plant, and animal would be a cool take on the druid class imo. I'm not married to the idea of the Primal species being used, but I just think Mag'har should reflect it somehow. Like you said before, having resto use some Primal stuff would be appropriate too.

I don't know about the Druid stuff, but since the Breakers joined the Horde alongside the Mag'har during BfA and since the Botani came along and ran off to the Barrens, there is due to be a conflict.

[aceperson]

first and foremost, wow needs great class design again. it doesn't matter how bad the game actually is, if people find the core gameplay loop to be fun, they will play it for hours upon hours. during wod, i could play during the content droughts because hunter was just that fun to play for me. hunter lost a lot of that fun in legion, even more in bfa, and now has no fun for me.

gameplay > content > extras

if people don't want to play your classes, they certainly won't play your raids and dungeons. if people don't want to play your raids, dungeons, or world content, then you'll keep a dedicated set of players and lose everyone else over time. this could even be compared to pve content. the constant saying was bring the player and not the class. the other side wanted to bring the class and not the player (for personality and such). the answer is simple and complex. bring the player AND the class. when you only have one half of the whole, you're doing the other half a disservice. that's the simple part. the complex part is making a class that people will want to play and a game that can keep the player.

the last analogy i will make right now is a sandwich. if you only have bread, it's not a freaking sandwich. if you only have filling, then you might have something tasty but it'll be a mess. it takes both the bread and the filling to make a good sandwich.

[Acelius]

New classes would benefit the game by attracting people currently not playing WoW.

I highly doubt it. If people aren't interested in WoW because of the current roster of classes, they won't be interested in WoW after 1 more class.

[Teriz]

I highly doubt it. If people aren't interested in WoW because of the current roster of classes, they won't be interested in WoW after 1 more class.

Sure they are. There’s people who only play Warriors or Mages. Imagine if your favorite class is a Bard and in every MMO you ever played you’ve only played Bards, and you’d like to play WoW but there are no Bards. Wouldn’t WoW introducing a Bard class prompt such a player to play WoW?

[Khaza-R]

As far as new classes go, I don't think anything they could add would be super popular like DKs or DHs were.

4th spec is probably the best way for them to generate re-interest. However releasing 12 specs at once would be a nightmare for them. I've floated the idea of them adding shared thematic 4th specs between classes.

For instance :
Warlocks and Deathknight both gain access to a new 4th spec - "Necromancy"
Rogues and Priests both gain access to a new 4th spec - "Bard"
Mages and Warriors both gain access to a new 4th spec - "Spellbreaker"
Shaman and Monk both gain access to a new 4th spec - "Runemaster"
Paladin and DH both gain access to a new 4th spec - "Antipaladin"
Etc...

They could make the story build off your previous class halls in Legion and how two of the orders come together to create a new order to combat whatever trials face our heroes in 10.0. This would also allow them to toy with new combos and specs in the future without too much bloat.