Here is some commentary on why a new class was not implemented by a blizzard dev.

[Demtros]

Quotes below, it's from a polygon interview posted on November 3rd, I can't post URLS yet.

Also... wtb Necromancers please. Shadowlands really is primarily a DK-themed expansion with the entrance to the Shadowlands being in the Lich King's domain, and the Lich King being a guide to the heroes of Azeroth with his experience/understanding of the Shadowlands.

Quotes from Polygon interview:

"...although it’s possible that what players learn in Shadowlands could lead to a new class in future expansions."

"It’s not clear when or if World of Warcraft will ever add another new character class, but there definitely won’t be one in Shadowlands; players will need to make do with the current roster of 12 classes for at least another two years."

"“I’ll also add that when we’re making those choices for classes and races and things like that, a lot of it’s informed by setting and story,” said Kubit. And looking at the setting of the Shadowlands, there wasn’t a class that jumped out like the Demon Hunter did in the past with Legion for example. So a lot of our focus is more on building the world of the Shadowlands.”"

[Khrux]

"there wasn’t a class that jumped out like the Demon Hunter did in the past with Legion for example"

People will jump on the Necromancer logic here, but again we have to argue how it would have impacted the DK experience as 2 classes sharing the same thematic even with differing roles/abilities.

No matter how much of a pro-necro player you are, you can't deny that there is considerable thematic cross-over with diseases, plagues, raising the dead, bone and blood, shadow magic and so on.

So I'd take their line about "a class didn't jump out like DH did" to be more likely "there wasn't a truly *unique* class that fit the theme and we didn't want to gut DK to try fit Necro in"....

The Demon Hunter fit Legion perfectly, but still came at the cost of reworking Demonology and still only allowed for design space for 2 specs for the DH (a first for WoW classes to date). I personally don't feel like adding a Necro at the cost of DK fantasy or cutting out some necro specs (tank/melee) to meet a role/spec quota would have been a positive net gain.

We would just have ended up with an expansion long balancing act for the new class and an even more busted DK experience than we have had for the last 2 xpacs. (See - Survival Hunter, Sub Rogue & Demo Lock)

[nysisyn]

While I would love tinker it's hard to make them fit an expansion theme unless it related to titanic tech for example.

Necromancer and Dark ranger bring very few regarding already existing class and could be done with just a class skin

So my best guess is a Dragon isle expansion with Dragonsworn class

[AssBreaker]

That's a lazy explanation.

They just didn't have the ressources to create a new class in time.

If the problem really was the lack of a theme they could have come up with 4th specs or class skins, but they only went with something very vague which is "unpruning". An unfinished concept for the moment whose goal is to give them another year to achieve something.

[Nevcairiel]

No matter how much of a pro-necro player you are, you can't deny that there is considerable thematic cross-over with diseases, plagues, raising the dead, bone and blood, shadow magic and so on.

Not even that, but a second class with short-term summoned pets like a Demo Lock would also infringe there. Just because you have undead pets instead of demons doesn't really present that huge of a difference in style.

Also, I don't actually think a Necromancer fits that well thematically with Shadowlands. Shadowlands is about the souls of the dead, interacting with them, helping them. Necromancers are far darker. They enslave the dead. They wouldn't be heroes here, they would be villains. Honestly I don't think a class solely focused on enslaving the dead fits into WoW at all.

Honestly, we also don't really need more classes, or more specs. It just makes a complicated situation worse. Re-focusing the specs we have and polishing them is a far better choice for the health of the game.

[sam86]

People will jump on the Necromancer logic here, but again we have to argue how it would have impacted the DK experience as 2 classes sharing the same thematic even with differing roles/abilities.

DH cannibalized warlock demonology to appear btw
also they still have sh8tload of spells not add yet to game or add to npc only, i admit i don't know how they will fit the game but idea-wise they still have a lot that can be added from the rpg books
Also we desperately need new ranged class, we have less ranged options than we did at launch!

That's a lazy explanation.

They just didn't have the ressources to create a new class in time.

If the problem really was the lack of a theme they could have come up with 4th specs or class skins, but they only went with something very vague which is "unpruning". An unfinished concept for the moment whose goal is to give them another year to achieve something.

they aren't even doing enough 'upgruning', we still have less abilities than in MoP for example
Also how exactly is unpruning taking effort? u literally undo mistakes u did, u had the spells out in game since ages and tested, u just removed them to do less effort in maintaining the game since manage 5 spells takes far less time than manage 50 to at least look ok

[Guildenstern]

More bs from the developers to justify laziness. Someone, remember this 'better world building' excuse. What will they say when they fail miserably I wonder.

[UndedoKoleda]

Well, Necromancer class wouldn't really fit in this expansion, would it? What does the Necromancer do? Brings beings back from the dead. Since we're going to the Shadowlands itself, where will he be bringing them back from during the course of the entire expansion? Shadowlands level 2? It just wouldn't work.

[Amerissis]

Source: Polygon

We’re focusing more on giving more character customization options. (...) Trolls and Dwarves especially are getting tons of new options.

First off, those options are nice, but they will keep us busy for an hour and then it's back to the game. You can't even see the customizations in play (how often do you zoom in on your char's face and how many tattoos do you see under your armor?). Second, if Trolls and Dwarves get tons, and that looks to be mostly umpteen different tattoos, then it will be very lackluster overall.

I'd rather have a new class.

[letssee]

hahaha complete BS

[Khrux]

The only remotely thematically appropriate class would have been Necro, which has so much overlap with warlock and death knight it would have to completely decimate both of those classes to try squeeze it in.

I mean look at the skills or talents from warlock;

Agony - inflicts agony on the target
Corruption - corrupts the target
Siphon Life - siphon's the targets life essence
Unstable affliction - afflicts the target with shadow damage
Haunt - a ghostly soul haunts the target
Phantom singularity - places a phantom above the target
Dark Soul - infuses your soul with the misery of fallen foes
Death Bolt - launches a bolt of death
Drain Soul - drain's the target's soul
Mortal Coil/Fear - horrify/fear your target
Creeping death - the name alone..


Then look at deathknight skills/talents;

Death Coil - blasts an enemy with unholy energy
Scourge Strike - an unholy strike
Army of the dead - says it all
Raise dead - says it all
Death grip - says it all
Unholy Blight - surround yourself with a swarm of insects
Ebon Fever - virulent plague
Soul Reaper - Rip out an enemy's soul
Grip of the Dead - says it all
Death's Reach - says it all
Death and Decay - corrupts the targeted ground
Wraith Walk - step into the shadowlands
Death Pact - says it all
Death's advance - says it all
Pestilence, epidemic, defile - says it all
Note: I'm not including blood spec because I cba and its just a repeat of the above - says it all.

^ everything listed above covers the thematic of a Necro, manipulating souls, unholy energy, resurrecting the dead, spreading disease, plague, manipulating blood of living creatures. No chance.

At bare minimum to bring a Necro would mean cannibalizing most of the Unholy and Blood DK, some of the warlock and a ton of talent/skill names from one or the other. DH took enough from Warlock, they won't bring a class that will hit warlock again and basically overwrite unholy DK if not Blood at the same time.

[Yriel]

People will jump on the Necromancer logic here, but again we have to argue how it would have impacted the DK experience as 2 classes sharing the same thematic even with differing roles/abilities.

No matter how much of a pro-necro player you are, you can't deny that there is considerable thematic cross-over with diseases, plagues, raising the dead, bone and blood, shadow magic and so on.

Not necessary, the Necro could be a caster class. And they could make one like in Diablo where you have a lot of weaker pets. Daoc did something similar with the bonedancer, you could summon skeletal heroes, close combat, ranged combat and healer pets and you could have five or six pets.
Just because it has to do with the same thematics doesn't mean it plays the same.

[Nnyco]

I mean we really didnt need a necromancer considerin we already got death knight and demo lock.

[Molis]

WoW did not need another class to go with the "theme" that would destroy two other classes. Demo Lock never recovered.

A lot of arm chair developers calling people lazy.

[Khrux]

Not necessary, the Necro could be a caster class. And they could make one like in Diablo where you have a lot of weaker pets. Daoc did something similar with the bonedancer, you could summon skeletal heroes, close combat, ranged combat and healer pets and you could have five or six pets.
Just because it has to do with the same thematics doesn't mean it plays the same.

I posted in another thread so I'm not going to repeat it here, but take a look down the skill and talent lists for Affliction, Blood and Unholy specs. Look at the tooltip names, the description of the effects, the terminology being used. Then look at the actual gameplay and experience of playing Affliction, Unholy, Blood or Demonology.

There is no way around it, a Necromancer class will overlap heavily with both Warlock and Deathknights. They could never add it in without taking from the others, doesn't matter if the Necro can tank, heal, range or melee dps. Its a class about death, decay, disease and plague, manipulating blood and soul energy, summoning minions long and short duration.

Everything 4 other specs already do. Throwing a staff on a Deathknight and making them ranged with a combo of affliction/demo/unholy/blood spells and you have a Necromancer already.

[unbound]

So, we just need to get Blizz to do an April Fool's Day joke about Necromancers, and they'll make an entire expansion around the concept, right?

Shadowlands is supposed to be set in the afterlife...what is more Necromancery than that?

Sorry, the is just Blizz PR talking point to distract. Of course they could have put in a new class...Blizz just didn't want to put that much effort into it.

[Khrux]

Of course they could have put in a new class...Blizz just didn't want to put that much effort into it.

Probably the single biggest expansion selling feature for WoW, but sure "they just cba" right?

Idiotic argument.

[Yriel]

I posted in another thread so I'm not going to repeat it here, but take a look down the skill and talent lists for Affliction, Blood and Unholy specs. Look at the tooltip names, the description of the effects, the terminology being used. Then look at the actual gameplay and experience of playing Affliction, Unholy, Blood or Demonology.

There is no way around it, a Necromancer class will overlap heavily with both Warlock and Deathknights. They could never add it in without taking from the others, doesn't matter if the Necro can tank, heal, range or melee dps. Its a class about death, decay, disease and plague, manipulating blood and soul energy, summoning minions long and short duration.

Everything 4 other specs already do. Throwing a staff on a Deathknight and making them ranged with a combo of affliction/demo/unholy/blood spells and you have a Necromancer already.

Yes and that would be the easiest but worst possible way.
But you can make a Necro class that is unique. Hell if they'd just copy the Diablo 2 Necro 1:1 and throw in a bit extra fluff you would have something entirely different than the DK.
Or make them like the Theurg or Bonedancer in Daoc. There are countless cool concepts of Nercomancer classes that are totaly different from the DK/Warlock ow WoW aside from the basic theming.

[Colonel Sandor]

We dont need another class. 12 is enough.

[Hastis]

Please dont compare dk to necro cuz if you wanna play like that i can say that why we have paladins and priests both of them are light themed classes so one take something from the other one. Necro =/ Dk
I dont understand why people want to take something from Everyone insted of giving something to everyone and make a use of it.
From my point of view i would like to see necromancer than pandaren dk

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So just dont play as a new class, its not a big deal