Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[huth]

The three big mobs at the end of Spires of Ascension do this as well.

Based on what we know of the First Ones, sound seems to play a very major role in the formation of the world.

[Ersula]

Then they defo wont commit to balancing 12 new specs.

Honestly balancing a spec is a lot easier than balancing a class. So much so that the devs have already expressed this. Just crank that damage % up, a function they added in legion specifically for this reason.

Now imagine if they rolled Tinker and Bard into one class.

I did propose that a while back. 5e Bard doesn't necessarily have to be an expert in music: It's basically someone who's expertise in something mundane is lifted to supernatural levels: The College of Creation subclass for bard is typically characterized just like a Tinker.

[ercarp]

This is probably what it would be like to have a bard in your group.

[draugril]

As it already does. We had mobs and wars doing dmg and plethora of effects with shouts since Vanilla. Murmur in Shadow Labs was a creature that attacked with sound waves. People who say bards have no tools don't only lack imagination. They lack game knowledge.

My chief issue is that Bard is associated as heavily with the Support role as Priest is with the Healer role. You can bastardize the class and make it something else, but you lose the core gameplay identity of the class in the process. As WoW does not have a support role, I don't want to see the Bard class contorted into a mockery of what it could be.

[Sondrelk]

There are some things they could do, like a Air Drop mechanic in a Zone, maybe tinkered by Gnomes.
Or a launching pad, where you get catapulted in a choosen direction and a glider gets activated for 1 minute.
Even the hooks used in Stormheim were nice.
In think that these in conjuncture with the Flight Master´s whistle should already ease traveling a lot.

What I would love to see is a zone where a big mechanic is updrafts and similar.
Treasures could be hidden behind more intricate puzzles including jumps, parkour, and good use of updrafts to get higher than normal, letting you use a glider equivalent to get wherever you want.

And while it probably wouldn't happen I would love to see a version of flying where you need to continously try to gain Nair by hitting air currents or updrafts to prevent stalling, similar to how Minecraft dies flying with Elytra.
Then design zones so that skilled players can use these mechanics to get almost anywhere in a zone quickly if they find the Flight Master too restrictive.
Done well it could even finally take the place of the version of flying we currently have.

[Makabreska]

My chief issue is that Bard is associated as heavily with the Support role as Priest is with the Healer role. You can bastardize the class and make it something else, but you lose the core gameplay identity of the class in the process. As WoW does not have a support role, I don't want to see the Bard class contorted into a mockery of what it could be.

Bards are not established really, therefore they do not have core role in WoW. Blizz can make them into w/e with their songs and weapon usage. Dmg and support spells. Pals got crapton of support, but can still smite shit.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

Avatar of Vengeance, maybe. Special Blink double jump. And maybe come up with like a Penance Stare thing like Ghost Rider has? (Though without any paralyzing or the like)

It all seems superfluous. Again, why not just use Rogues? Wardens as Demon Hunters is impossible for me to buy simply because it contradicts everything we know about them. Fan of Knives, their most characteristic ability, is a Rogue ability. I really simply cannot see any reason to make Demon Hunters into Wardens, much less to simultaneously extend Wardens into the highly-distinct concept of Spellbreakers while they're at it.

[Ersula]

My chief issue is that Bard is associated as heavily with the Support role as Priest is with the Healer role. You can bastardize the class and make it something else, but you lose the core gameplay identity of the class in the process. As WoW does not have a support role, I don't want to see the Bard class contorted into a mockery of what it could be.

FFXIV doesn't have a Support role either & Bard & Dancer, especially Dancer are really popular there. I think the culture of WoW needs an anti-parse class: Dancers do decent DPS but are never on top of the DPS meters, but are still greatly desired in groups. Wow could use a class like that.

[SniperCT]

My chief issue is that Bard is associated as heavily with the Support role as Priest is with the Healer role. You can bastardize the class and make it something else, but you lose the core gameplay identity of the class in the process. As WoW does not have a support role, I don't want to see the Bard class contorted into a mockery of what it could be.

Maybe, but Lotro's minstrel is a healer that also has a pretty good DPS spec. A fun one too.

As for weapons, well


And I personally really like this one

[AOL Instant Messenger]

I really don't see Bards happening anytime soon, either. They simply seem out-of-place in Warcraft lore. It's too alien to the setting and would seem too awkward next to other classes.

[Kiivar86]

It all seems superfluous. Again, why not just use Rogues? Wardens as Demon Hunters is impossible for me to buy simply because it contradicts everything we know about them. Fan of Knives, their most characteristic ability, is a Rogue ability. I really simply cannot see any reason to make Demon Hunters into Wardens, much less to simultaneously extend Wardens into the highly-distinct concept of Spellbreakers while they're at it.

You won't get much argument from me, I'm not a fan of Wardens being shackled to DHs, as I don't like how they play much and I'd love to play a Warden.

Just putting forward some ideas.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

Maybe, but Lotro's minstrel is a healer that also has a pretty good DPS spec. A fun one too.

As for weapons, well


And I personally really like this one

I'm highly doubtful we'd get Guitar Hero as a mainstay in the canon lore of a High Fantasy setting. There's two dubiously canon meme bands to that effect, but nothing in actual, established canon to suggest that this would be a thing.

[Makabreska]

I really don't see Bards happening anytime soon, either. They simply seem out-of-place in Warcraft lore. It's too alien to the setting and would seem too awkward next to other classes.

TBH they are more at home for me than tinkers, even with all the tech we had in game since Warcraft 2. Bards simply universally fit classic fantasy setting.

[draugril]

Bards are not established really, therefore they do not have core role in WoW. Blizz can make them into w/e with their songs. Dmg and support spells. Pals got crapton of support, but can still smite shit.

I'm still salty about Shamans being gutted of the support role, and what wasn't removed being diluted across all the classes. Paladins, at WoW's inception, were also a support class primarily. They, too, were gutted, but they survived the transition a lot better. Shaman hasn't had a niche since.

And yes, as I said, they absolutely could bastardize the class by forcing it to fit in WoW's infrastructure. But like Bard in FFXIV, I would rather not have it at all than get a butchered version. Implement a class that can be fully realized instead.

[AOL Instant Messenger]

TBH they are more at home for me than tinkers, even with all the tech we has in game since Warcraft 2. Bards simply universally fit classic fantasy setting.

But they're alien to the setting in particular. Tinkers have been established in the setting for some time but there have been very few canonical Bards. Of those Bards, most are entirely tertiary to any setting we find them in and only exist in vague and referential roles. There is no basis for a Bard class aside from a few tertiary NPCs. We have plenty of iconic Tinkers. There's also the complete lack of relevancy they have to the lore in general.

[Chickat]

If I remember correctly, it had him stomping her only for her to reverse it with some bullshit later in the fight. Which would have been so much better.

Yeah, a moment where she bargains with the jailer for more power.

[Bsirk]

Hoping we get some new world content in 9.2.5 or Shadowlands season 4. Zereth Mortis, while an amazing zone, is pretty much already spent in terms of world content. I was thinking they might be setting up for some holding back the scourge type WQ/Dailies in Northrend/Eastern Kingdoms with the dialogue from Bolvar/Darion.

Could you imagine that we start getting WQ/Dailies popping up all over Azeroth that end up culminating into a huge battle/assault that Alliance and Horde both join to save the area. I think that would be fun. Toss in some transmogs and I'm sold!

[draugril]

Could you imagine that we start getting WQ/Dailies popping up all over Azeroth that end up culminating into a huge battle/assault that Alliance and Horde both join to save the area. I think that would be fun. Toss in some transmogs and I'm sold!

Moreover... I want world content that has a lose condition. Not enough people defend the zone? It's overrun for a day or two while WQs spawn there to clear it out.

[Vakir]

Notice how the devs said the second Hearthstone expansion for 2022 had to do with something specific to what was going on in World of Warcraft right now & now the Year of the Hydra video conspicuously lacks the visual teaser for the other two expansions that's become a staple of these videos? Nothing to see here.

I noticed the lack of teasers as well. But we did dragons so, so very recently. They also didn't say that about it being current-WoW related explicitly. But even then, wouldn't that mean Shadowlands more likely? That's a theme that's ripe that we haven't touched (imagine Covenant decks, MTG style) whereas Dragons are a thing basically every Core set and then some.

My ears perked at Hydra too as I pointed out but I feel like now people are getting ahead of themselves.

[Bsirk]

Moreover... I want world content that has a lose condition. Not enough people defend the zone? It's overrun for a day or two while WQs spawn there to clear it out.

I actually thought about that when I was typing it out, but you can almost hear the screams on the forums from people not able to fly into their flight path for a day.