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

[Jolly Roger]

Don’t forget everyone using the beta like it’s early access instead of testing, then a month or two into actual launch complaining there’s no content.

that is why im just gonna do leveling content and see how much i can break the game while gf ignores beta
that way i can blitz leveling while she gets lost clicking frog poop

[Teriz]

Would a class based entirely on earthen technology feel satisfying for Horde characters? They might be a neutral race, but their tech only really resembles dwarven and draenei tech, with some similarities to some gnomish tech due to the titanic connection. With the mogu tech the blood elves use now, most Horde tech is hydraulic and alchemical or explosive and spiky, whereas Alliance tech is mostly steamy, electronic, or crystal sci-fi. Azerite was great because it could be used as an alchemical fluid, a combustive powder, a powerful crystal, or a projectile in its own right. There was real potential for all of the engineering races to come together to create brand new, neutral azerite-based tech.

I'm hoping either the earthen storyline includes us teaching them new ways to use azerite or whatever other worldsoul crystals they have that leads to them expanding their capabilities and sharing their technology with us in the form of an artificer class, or another group provides the missing bridging tech for the Horde. I know it's very unlikely that we'd see a class with different visuals for each faction in modern WoW, but who knows. The Alliance using modified titan tech and the Horde using modified Legion tech would be very cool.

You can give different races different looking mechs, summons (turrets, bots), and mounts if you keep the number of available races for the class limited. Obviously you’re not going to get different visuals for abilities, which is why I doubt they’d incorporate Draenei tech into the mix. It’s far too different from the mechanical tech we see in the majority of tech-based races.

I doubt players would want to roll a Draenei “tinker” that drops pocket factories, Xplodium Charges, or turrets and has a robotic backpack with two robotic limbs.

[Varodoc]

Would a class based entirely on earthen technology feel satisfying for Horde characters?

As much as Death Knight felt "satisfying" for Alliance players.

Why must we reduce everything to factions? They really aren't that important.

[Nightshade711]

Anything is possible, but a Draenei-centric class in a Void Elf-based expansion is rather improbable. The fact that the potential class would be holy-based makes it even less probable.

So to you an artificer class doesn’t fit expansion where we join forces with the light to fight the void. But a goblin themed class fits in a Titan themed expansion when goblins don’t have any real connection to the titans?

[Teriz]

As for a tinker class, my opinion has changed over the years. I feel disinterested in generic, overly broad class concepts like warrior, rogue, mage, engineer, etc. I've seen them in countless games. I am more drawn to specific, defined class fantasies with narrow scope, such as frost death knights, warlocks, druids, demon hunters, dragoons from FF14, hammer wielding Untamed from GW2 who wield the goo magic of a petrified forest, or GW2's mechanist class which uses golems powered by jade that has been infused with magic, etc. So to me, a generic tinker class that can be played by multiple races sounds boring to me. I would rather get something really narrow with a unique spin, like using Mogu animus golems. That is a unique fusion of blood mage and engineer, and puts a grisly spin on the tinker idea. Piloting a goblin shredder would also be cool, but not quite as unique.

I personally believe that Blizzard is going to go in the direction of a Tinker class being titan based, because they made this a thing;



And Mimiron has already been called a Tinker in-game, and he has gifted players titan tech in the past. Also a titan-based class is rather fitting for the WSS.

You're still going to look like this though;



- - - Updated - - -

So to you an artificer class doesn’t fit expansion where we join forces with the light to fight the void. But a goblin themed class fits in a Titan themed expansion when goblins don’t have any real connection to the titans?

See above.

[Varodoc]

I mean, they also made this:




On top of several storylinwes featuring the Elves tinkering with technology and engineering new devices. Starting from TBC, where we had Sunfury engineers tinkering with Naaru technology at the Mechanar and Mana-forges.

[Reive]

we do you think we can expect another graphical update? even the new models are showing their age. i fear we'll have to wait the end of the worldsoul saga

[Teriz]

On top of several storylinwes featuring the Elves tinkering with technology and engineering new devices. Starting from TBC, where we had Sunfury engineers tinkering with Naaru technology at the Mechanar and Mana-forges.

Again, the tech class will need unique mechs, summons, mounts, etc. for each race, so I don't see them going beyond 5 races (Goblins/Vulpera, Gnomes/MGnomes, Earthen).

And yeah, Vulpera because they share a skeleton with Goblins.

[Varodoc]

Again, the tech class will need unique mechs, summons, mounts, etc. for each race.

As per usual, this is not a fact. Just a personal opinion/theory-crafting concept that you are trying to pass off as a fact.

[Teriz]

As per usual, this is not a fact. Just a personal opinion/theory-crafting concept that you are trying to pass off as a fact.

Uh we're already seeing signs of it;

[Varodoc]

Uh we're already seeing signs of it;

Right, I forgot that Elves don't have backs so they are physically incapable of carrying bags and bag-like objects.

Anyway, I have nothing left to gain from this exchange. You people clearly can't keep the Tinker stuff relegated to one thread.

[Ersula]

Again, the tech class will need unique mechs, summons, mounts, etc. for each race, so I don't see them going beyond 5 races (Goblins/Vulpera, Gnomes/MGnomes, Earthen).

And yeah, Vulpera because they share a skeleton with Goblins.

Why would that matter? They wouldn't need new semantic animations because every race already has crafting/hammering/shooting animations. How does it make sense to give a mechanical class to Vulpera over Forsaken, the famously mad-scientist race?

How does everyone feel about this aesthetic? Does anyone else suspect this seems to be a generic tech style that would fit every race? It's both masculine enough for the rustic races & elegant enough for the sophisticate races.

[Nightshade711]

Again, the tech class will need unique mechs, summons, mounts, etc. for each race, so I don't see them going beyond 5 races (Goblins/Vulpera, Gnomes/MGnomes, Earthen).

And yeah, Vulpera because they share a skeleton with Goblins.

Vulpera have no tech. So what would their unique mechs/summons be? Would their mech just be an alpaca caravan?
Or are they going to use goblin tech and defeat the purpose of needing unique models?

Plus each race doesn’t “need” unique models. All of it can be baked into the customization of the class. Maybe they’d use the system for the customizable mounts for the tinker mech.

Would make sense given engineering isn’t race locked & we have examples of almost every race being tinkers/engineers/artificers etc.

[Teriz]

Right, I forgot that Elves don't have backs so they are physically incapable of carrying bags and bag-like objects.

Anyway, I have nothing left to gain from this exchange. You people clearly can't keep the Tinker stuff relegated to one thread.

Completely irrelevant. The problem is creating mechs, summons, and mounts for every applicable race. It's the same reason the Druid class is limited in available races, and likely will never be expanded to all races despite it being a classic class. The same applies to Demon Hunters. There are simply too many art assets to spread the class to all or even the majority of playable races.

[Dracullus]

Sigh, so no early flaging. Will be wonderful when all people will try to download Beta at same time.

It'd be nice if our MoP remix characters converted into Dragonflight season 4 characters with equivalent gear so you can go smash some mythic DF raids before the season ended. But if Blizzard wants to deliever on their aspirations of faster expansions then the prepatch would have to come within a couple weeks of remix's end at most.

I think it will be much better if Remix ends on last day of patch for people who want to collect everything. And making option to get out of Remix earlier would create needless technical issues (not to mention dealing with idiots who would spam ticket system cause they change mind and want to go back to Remix). No, most logical way is to move DF and Remix characters on same time during transition to 11.0.

Also, nothing stops you on playing M+ during pre-patch, all raids will open too for S4 gear. And when pre-patch event drop 1-3 weeks later, you will be able to gear up ultra fast with 489 1/8 gear I believe.

[Teriz]

Vulpera have no tech. So what would their unique mechs/summons be? Would their mech just be an alpaca caravan?
Or are they going to use goblin tech and defeat the purpose of needing unique models?

Junker tech. Similar to something like this;



It would also match their desert origins, and work well with Goblin tech abilities.

Plus each race doesn’t “need” unique models. All of it can be baked into the customization of the class. Maybe they’d use the system for the customizable mounts for the tinker mech.

Blizzard hinted at each Tinker race getting unique models in the Island Expedition teams and with Speaker Brinthe having a unique Earthen style claw pack. In addition, I believe Blizzard would make every effort to avoid a generic tech class.

Speaking of which, we should also expect the claw pack to have a variable race-dependent model.

Would make sense given engineering isn’t race locked & we have examples of almost every race being tinkers/engineers/artificers etc.

Engineering is a profession, and has little to do with a technology based class. Just like Enchanting has little to do with the Mage class.

[Xilurm]

we do you think we can expect another graphical update? even the new models are showing their age. i fear we'll have to wait the end of the worldsoul saga

It's already been 10 years since the model revamps, as much time had passed from Vanilla until the model revamps. But tbh I don't think we're getting them any time soon.

[Nightshade711]

Junker tech. Similar to something like this;



It would also match their desert origins, and work well with Goblin tech abilities.

That already exists via Mechagnomes/rustbolt. Hell in the files they were called junker gnomes for the longest time.
Hell, did you forget about the entire gameplay loop of Mechagon involving “Junkyard tinkering” using spare/scrap parts?

Blizzard hinted at each Tinker race getting unique models in the Island Expedition teams and with Speaker Brinthe having a unique Earthen style claw pack. In addition, I believe Blizzard would make every effort to avoid a generic tech class.

They’ve hinted more recently at races like the Earthen implementing resources/technology from other races.
So maybe they won’t go the race specific route.

[Nathanyel]

They’ve hinted more recently at races like the Earthen implementing resources/technology from other races.
So maybe they won’t go the race specific route.

It would explain why there's a shared aesthetic between Tinker races (and mirror RL tech development getting "inspired" by or outright stealing from competitors) and at the same time justify that not every race gets unique customizations.

[Teriz]

That already exists via Mechagnomes/rustbolt. Hell in the files they were called junker gnomes for the longest time.
Hell, did you forget about the entire gameplay loop of Mechagon involving “Junkyard tinkering” using spare/scrap parts?

While they were called Junker Gnomes and lived below a scrap heap, their tech was decidedly not junker style;

They’ve hinted more recently at races like the Earthen implementing resources/technology from other races.
So maybe they won’t go the race specific route.

Yeah, the tech class isn't dominated by what the Earthen are doing. The Earthen in regards to a tech class are simply additional tech races for both factions, and possibly an opening to link such a class to Azerite and Titan concepts.

Again, we're having this discussion because of Gazlowe's appearance as a semi-major character in the next expansion. That happened because Gazlowe is the technology hero of Warcraft. It's been that way since at least WC3, so it's baffling how so many posters don't understand that any technology class is going to be filtered through Gazlowe and the Goblin Tinker. It was always going to be that way.