Originally Posted by
Teriz
NOTE: This is NOT about what class you want to see in 10.0. In this thread, I simply want to ask a few questions;
1. Does WoW need a new class for 10.0? In other words, do you feel that the lack of a new class in this expansion hurt the game, and another expansion without a new class would hurt the game further?
I don't think so. I feel there are enough classes at this point to cater for every playstyle, and it would be challenging to design a class that feels genuinely new and sufficiently different from the other ones.
2. Do you think a new class in Shadowlands would have made this expansion better/more interesting?
Honestly, it might have made the expansion WORSE. Developer / programmer / artist hours are kind of a finite ressource, so devoting a large number of them to developing a new class means other stuff gets neglected.
A new class would mean having to consider how to integrate it into older content, at the very least the Legion class halls that were a big part of that expansion. You'd need to design artifact weapons, a class hall, at least the bare bones of a class campaign, or risk the new class feeling very lackluster. It wouldn't have tier sets for 8 expansions' worth of content, unless you go back and add them all. Transmog is a big part of the game now, after all.
Also, balancing issues. It's bad enough now, with the number of classes in the game, plus the racials. Throwing a new class into the mix, that has limited testing data on how it interacts with other classes and skills, would be a balancing nightmare. The new class would be either totally overpowered or underpowered, and it would take months of live gameplay to get it fixed.
3. If there is NO new class introduced in 10.0, will that effect your purchase of the next expansion?
Probably not. Sure, a new class could be fun, but so are new zones and new story and new mechanics and systems.
The last class to enter the game was Demon Hunter in 2016. If there's no class announced later this year when the next expansion is set to be announced, that would mean that we won't be getting a new class until 2024 at the earliest. That would be 8 years without a new class in WoW. I'm curious what effect do you think the lack of a new class would have on the game for that stretch of time.
Again, please do not bring up any specific classes in this thread. This is about new classes in general, and the effect that new classes have on WoW in of itself, not anything specific class-wise.