The War Within 11.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[ercarp]

It's almost entirely the same assets. It's just nighttime and there's azerite stuff around.

Well, they seem to be doing a lot for the aesthetic then.

[Hitei]

I'm surprised to see Rogues that low.

They fell in popularity from Vanilla/BC until Legion, because they got very little while other classes were given all of their interesting things (easy slow application, stuns, sprint, invisibility, combo point systems, etc.) Outlaw wasn't hugely popular and the small interesting bits of the class haven't been maintained (Pick Pocket hasn't been decent since like MoP, lockpicking is both undermined by professions/races having the ability and lack of locks, etc.)

[Baraden]

Actually, Bard would be amazing (as would Tinker).

I'd just sit underneath a tree somewhere in the wilderness and play my lute or lyre all day long.

At least tinker is somewhat reasonable in WoW lore

Bards have never appeared in all of Warcraft history, they don't fit the lore at all imo

[flan1337]

I.. don't really think that is it, but I DO feel that there is a pretty good reason things aren't really "hyped" as it were.

The simple truth is, this is the first Expansion in a hot minute where we don't really know where we are going next. We knew the Legion was after WoD. We knew BFA/Old Gods was after Legion. We knew Shadowlands was after BFA.

We didn't know the exact details, but we had an inkling of where we were going.

I don't think the next expansion build up/hints are going to be from books. Right now, the biggest hint we have is everyone is talking about renewal and the World Tree being good for everyone on Azeroth. That makes me thing world revamp with a side of Void.

But honestly, we just don't have a way of knowing.

I also think the player base is fragmented. Right now on tiktok Classic Hardcore is popping off - which I love watching them. Thinking about it I never really gotten any retail base memes. Hell content creators have moved off wow now - at least the ones I watch so besides me visiting the forums wow hasn't been top of mind which I think for anyone not subbed/taking a break is probably on the same boat of just not really caring about retail.

This speculation cycle is definitely odd - I didn't really linger that long for Shadowlands but I feel like more people chatted about it.

[PotHockets]

At least tinker is somewhat reasonable in WoW lore

Bards have never appeared in all of Warcraft history, they don't fit the lore at all imo

but ETC tho

[Hitei]

At least tinker is somewhat reasonable in WoW lore

Bards have never appeared in all of Warcraft history, they don't fit the lore at all imo

Bard-like characters and mobs appear all over the place and are long-established in warcraft. They're just not explicitly called "bards".

[pacotaco]

Honestly I could see Warden become part of Sub Rogue; they already have so much shadow magic. Give Rogue warglaives and that cool mirror image ability as a talented AoE cooldown and I think it's there.

I very much want some form of Spellbreaker/Spellblade. I could see it as a mage melee spec but I so much would rather have it as a full class.

I'd prefer if Warden was it's own class. They could make a Night Warrior class with priest of the Moon (healer) and Huntress (support) and give it a more Elune theme.

Spellblade would be cool too. Spellbreaker being the tank spec, a DPS spec like the boss in Nighthold, and maybe a support spec.

[PotHockets]

I also think the player base is fragmented. Right now on tiktok Classic Hardcore is popping off - which I love watching them. Thinking about it I never really gotten any retail base memes. Hell content creators have moved off wow now - at least the ones I watch so besides me visiting the forums wow hasn't been top of mind which I think for anyone not subbed/taking a break is probably on the same boat of just not really caring about retail.

This speculation cycle is definitely odd - I didn't really linger that long for Shadowlands but I feel like more people chatted about it.

That was also mid Lockdowns/COVID when most people were stuck at home bouncing off the walls needing something to take their minds off of everything.

[Raetary]

Bards have never appeared in all of Warcraft history, they don't fit the lore at all imo

Wow is a fantasy franchise, you see bards and other musicians all over the place.

They just don't have a player archetype.

[Baraden]

Bard-like characters and mobs appear all over the place and are long-established in warcraft. They're just not explicitly called "bards".

5 NPCs in the entire game; and they are just bards as in entertainers, nothing about them suggests they are bards the way we imagine them in DnD etc

[D4NNYB0Y]

That's an extremely flawed line of reasoning. Mechanic classes are rarely popular in any game. DH wasn't added until 2017, do you know what people did instead? Played Night Elf rogues and warriors and wore demon-huntery transmogs. They are unpopular because they are unpopular.

Do you have any data to back up this argument? In my experience, energy weapons/explosives/heavy weapons classes are wildly popular in video games. Engineering classes are a very broad space for game design. They don't need to be pet or turret classes or gadgeteers.

Here's a breakdown for WoW's arguably biggest competitor FFXIV as of August 2023:

https://ffxivcensus.com/#class

Machinist is actually more popular than a number of classes.

With all due respect, it sounds as if you don't particularly enjoy engineering/tech class themes (which is fine) and are extrapolating that to mean a majority of other players share similar views. These arguments sound similar to other posters in this thread claiming we can't possibly have an underground or hollow Azeroth expansion because they personally don't like those themes.

I understand not wanting Blizzard to spend resources on something you don't enjoy, but ultimately they will design the game based on whatever features they feel will be most beneficial to player retention and attracting new players. Whether that is adding a bard or engineering class I can't say.

[Leowyld]

Aside from the Tauren Chieftains, who have been around for a long time, we also had Pedgi show up in Dragonflight. If bard were to become a class, he would be one.

[Baraden]

but ETC tho

ETC members are different classes; why do you think they all wear different class tier 6 gear sets

[pacotaco]

Goblins and Gnomes aside, there’s a few races that would be strong contenders for playable Tinkers.

- Humans
- Dwarves
- Dark Iron
- Draenei
- Lightforged
- Orcs
- Mag’har
- Vulpera
- Blood Elves

You could probably justify Nightborne, Forsaken and Kul Tirans too.

Gazlowe's tinker team in Island Expeditions has 2 goblin and a forsaken.

[Baraden]

Wow is a fantasy franchise, you see bards and other musicians all over the place.

They just don't have a player archetype.

And nor should they; it's a lame class that barely anyone would play and has never been featured in the lore

[Cheezits]

Arguing about a class not happening when it doesn't exist in WoW.... when the new class is EVOKER.

Go ahead and argue that Bards and other new classes shouldn't be a class, but Blizz will add new things. They don't care. You wouldn't have gotten Draenei boobs without OCshit.

[matijwow]

Arguing about a class not happening when it doesn't exist in WoW.... when the new class is EVOKER.

Go ahead and argue that Bards and other new classes shouldn't be a class, but Blizz will add new things. They don't care.

Is there any class that would get as much hype and play as DK and DH?

I used to think Dark Ranger would do that but they turned it into a hunter skin for elves.

[Baraden]

Arguing about a class not happening when it doesn't exist in WoW.... when the new class is EVOKER.

Go ahead and argue that Bards and other new classes shouldn't be a class, but Blizz will add new things. They don't care.

Evoker is just the name they chose for a dragon based class; draconic powers and magic have been a staple of Warcraft for years

[Floot]

Here's a breakdown for WoW's arguably biggest competitor FFXIV as of August 2023:

https://ffxivcensus.com/#class

Machinist is actually more popular than a number of classes.

I'm not sure what graph you're looking at, but Machinist is one of the least placed classes on that graph too... bottom 30%.

[Leowyld]

Is there any class that would get as much hype and play as DK and DH?

I used to think Dark Ranger would do that but they turned it into a hunter skin for elves.

DK was never really my style and DH was only elves. So, personally, I would be much more hyped for either tinker or bard than either of those. But that's just me.

Probably Tinker would be more hype for me. I'm very much about the whole gadgetry aesthetic/concept. I also have engineer as a profession on my main, my first vulpera main had it as part of his core concept. I play Machinist on FFXIV. Mechanist on Guild Wars 2. But I also do deeply love music IRL, so I wouldn't complain about bard.