This is just an idea I had - Not actually mentioned by Blizzard at all.
I'm sure there are plenty of people in this game that picked their race not for their looks, but because of the combat utilities and passive buffs that their race had. I for one am a Worgen Warrior because Worgen have the maximum dps output for my class (+1% Crit). Others aren't min/maxing to the extreme and simply play what they see fit, and there's no problem with that at all. I just figure that a large percentage of the gaming community; mostly people in the top 25 guilds, are forced to play certain races because they know what is best suited for their class.
Here is the idea I'm proposing: Get rid of all racial abilities that offer combat utility and replace them with new abilities that are fun and unique, and by no way influence anything in a raid group or pvp.
Note: This is just brainstorming, I'm not finished with this list.
Current Racial Abilities:
[*]Human
- Increased Spirit [ Remove ]
- Bonus to Reputations [ Keep ]
- Increased Sword and Mace Expertise [ Remove ]
- Every Man for Himself [ Remove ]
[*]Dwarf
- Stoneform [ Change ] (Gives your dwarf a stone looking texture - Can toggle on/off for cosmetic purposes.)
- Increased Crit with Guns [ Remove ]
- Archaeology Bonus [ Keep ]
- Increased Expertise with Maces [ Remove ]
* Allow Dwarves to summon a barrel of ale once every 2 hours to provide food and drink to all raid and party members.
[*]Night Elf
- Shadowmeld [ Keep ]
- More difficult to hit [ Remove ]
- Wisp Form [ Keep ]
- Faster Movement While Stealthed [Remove]
* Light of Elune - A beam of light appears of the night elf and regnerates health and mana while not in combat. 30 minute cooldown.
[*]Gnome
- Escape Artist [ Remove ]
- Increased Mana Pool [ Remove ]
- Engineering Increased [ Keep ]
- Increased Expertise with Daggers and Small Swords [ Remove ]
- Larger Mounts [ Keep ]
* Maybe allow Gnomes to have the Toy Making ability. They can make toys and stuff.
[*]Draenei
- Increased Jewelcrafting [ Keep ]
- Healing Ability [ Keep ]
- Increased Hit [ Remove ]
[*]Worgen
- Darkflight [ Keep ]
- Two Forms [ Change ] (Maybe as an added bonus, allow the Worgen to fight while in human form.)
- Running Wild [ Keep ]
- Increased Critical Chance [ Remove ]
- Increased Skinning Skill [ Keep ]
[*]Orc
- Enrage Effect [ Change ] (Maybe allow them to toggle on/off for cosmetics only)
- Resistant to Stuns [ Keep ]
- Damage Done by Pets Increased [ Remove ]
- Increased Expertise with Axes and Fist Weapons [ Remove ]
[*]Undead
- Can Remove Fear, Sleep, and Charm [ Remove ]
- Cannibalize [ Keep ]
- Underwater Breathing [ Keep ]
[*]Tauren
- Warstomp [ Remove ]
- Increased Health [ Remove ]
- Increased Herbalism Skill [ Keep ]
* Maybe add Plainsrunning (They had it in beta!)
[*]Troll
- Berserk [ Change ] (Allow them to toggle on/off for cosmetics only)
- Regeneration [ Change ] (Only out of combat)
- Damage Increased Versus Beasts [ Remove ]
- Increased Critical Chance with Bows and Throwing Weapons [ Remove ]
- Reduced Duration of Movement Impairing Effects [ Keep ]
[*]Blood Elf
- Enchanting Skill Increased [ Keep ]
- Can Restore Sources such as Mana or Energy [ Remove ]
- AOE Silence [ Remove ]
[*]Goblin
- Can Rocket Jump Forward [ Change ] (Allow them to use while out of combat.)
- Can Launch Rockets at Enemies [ Remove ]
- Receives Vendor Discounts [ Keep ]
- Can Periodically Summon a Bank [ Keep ]
- Haste Increased [ Remove ]
- Alchemy Skill Increased [Keep] but the Increased Potion healing [ Remove ]
Didn't show spell resistance racials because they're all getting removed next patch.
Another option I was exploring was giving every race the ability to teleport to their home city on an hour or so cooldown.
So what do you guys think? Do you want to cling to your current racial combat abilities and ignore the unbalance? Or would you rather have them replaced with non-combat related perks and play whatever race you saw fit? Also, share your ideas about new racials you might want to include to this list!
TLDR
Lets not be restricted by combat racials. Lets play whatever race we want to, and not have to worry about min-maxing. Non-combat racial abilities can be just as fun, if not more than the existing ones that we currently have!
Post on page 5:
Example:
"Dwarf Shadow Priest" is a prime example of someone who exists on one end of the spectrum when it comes to racial bonuses - He really has no need for them at all. He gains no benefit from having them and there is no fun to be had at all.
Then take someone like "Night Elf Bear Druid" who makes use of every single racial ability that a Night Elf has to offer whether passive or on use. This is a good thing, but a worgen bear can never be as good as a night elf bear with our current system. Night elf bear druids simply have more survivability. - Fact
The message I'm trying to send here is that every single race/class combination should have racial abilities that they find fun and interesting, whether passive or activated. But at the same time, they shouldn't make your class/race combo more efficient at healing, tanking, or damage dealing. Go ahead and take a look at the abilities I'm suggesting we should remove. A lot of them look like 1% crit, +3 expertise, 1% hit, etc. These are the same kind of boring abilities that Blizzard removed from our talent trees going into this expansion. They could do the same with these talents, and replace them with some new abilities that were actually fun and set the races apart.
I don't know how people can support the idea of having boring old stat stick talents that do nothing but create unbalance between races.