[Fan Concept] Survey Classes

[DatToffer]

I know the discussions about that survey on new classes are very past season and that not having any news ever since is not super hopeful.

But the usual topic for class speculations is still raging and that made me want to speculate again on those surveyed classes.

Mind you, I didn't intend to make all of them full classes ! It was my opinion from the start that some of those propositions looked more like spec, others like Hero Talents for existing classes and others still could be different interpretations of a same class.

So I toyed with the different concepts, mishmashed some into one class with a more generic name and added Hero Talents inspired by figures of lore that I could imagine attached to the various concepts. I won't post every one of them in one go, in order not to bloat the first post, so I'll make more posts under this one. I will start with the two most discussed classes in this place : the Bard and the Tinker.

Bard

From the Survey : Supporter, Healer and Tanks, that utilize the Song of Azeroth to cast mighty spells, support their allies and weaken their enemies. Bards shine in a group, empowering and improving the spells of others and at the same time bringing numerous songs and auras to help their group reach new heights.

My interpretation :

- Core -
For the core mechanic of the Bard, I imagined something similar to FF14 Dancer where playing spells in sequence would lead to special effects and of course a music being played. There could be an Ovation bar that fills up anytime you use a Performance ability, be it a Song, a Dance move, an Instrumental solo... And once the Ovation is ready, you could perform a Grand Finale combo where all Performance abilities used in a given time are empowered.

- Specializations -

Minstrel
The most classic bard archetype. This one is a Healer who uses the power of Azeroth's song to empower and heal their allies.

Rough Music
The Tank Spec and also the ETC archetype. With a 2H weapon, the battleground is a mosh pit where they bring the noise.

Wanderer
The DPS Spec and traveling bard. They alternate between Melee attacks and Performance spells to take down their foes while supporting their allies.

- Hero Talents -

Entertainer (Minstrel, Rough Music)
The Entertainers strength comes from their audience. Allies or foes, the bigger the crowd, the louder they get. Minstrels get more magical power the more they have allies to support, while Rough Musicians put on a better show when they face more enemies.

Soloist (Rough Music, Wanderer)
They get a Solo ability that allows them to show off their musical skills. This channeled ability is strengthened by the previous Performance spells and deals great damage in front of the character. It can evolve to be used while moving, as the character learns to powerslide into action !

Lorewalker (Minstrel, Wanderer)
The power of these Bards comes from the stories they tell, and none have more potent tales than a travelling Lorewalker. The Lorewalkers can select a story to tell that will grant additional benefits to their party when they use Performance spells.

Tinker

Tinker from the Survey : Genius inventors, who have uncovered the secrets of the titan technology, and using it to protect their allies, heal wounds and attack enemies. Through their understanding of machines. tinkers can create inventions (custom made skills/spells), control Mech-Suits and deploy mechanical constructs to create an advantage in combat.

And also Artificer from the Survey : Melee based Tanks,Damagedealer and Healer, that use a mix of handmade machines and titan-technology. Mechanic-reactive gear is the foundation of their power, while utilising new weapon types like extendable flails or reactive shields. This class is on the frontlines of battles and protects and supports their team with their inventions.

My interpretation :

- Core -
For this class, I took inspiration from the Scraps of Gazlowe in HotS. The Tinker gets 6 Scraps with which they can build their inventions, some like robot-bombs would cost 1, others like turrets would cost 2, etc. You only recover Scraps when the current invention expires (or you destroy it). An absorption force-field would cost stacks Scraps that would be recovered after enough damage is taken.

- Specializations -

Mechanic
This Tank Spec goes to war in a huge mecha, relies heavily on force-fields made with Scraps and gets a Steam bar with an Overheating mechanic. Steam would be similar to rage, being generated by taking damages or using some abilities and then spent on abilities who hinder enemies. When Overheating, the mecha does more damage to the detriment of its defense.

Inventor
The DPS spec using the base gameplay mechanics. Uses Scraps to summon moving robots, turrets for ranged attacks and bombs for AoE damage.

Medic
Healer spec using healing rays, force-fields, bio-enhancement pylons and jumper cables to keep their allies alive.

- Hero Talents -

Technomage (Mechanic, Inventor)
Inspired from the Nightborne and Blood elves golems. The Technomage mixes up magic and technology to summon extra Scraps for a rotation of constructs.

Artificer (Medic, Inventor)
These Talents are based on draenei technology, turning their turrets into chain-lightning crystal sentries and extending their force-fields to become multi-target. The character also gets a special Auchenai training and their BR will turn fallen allies into Vigilant constructs, granting them a temporary bonus in defense and attack.

Mad Science (Mechanic, Medic)
The Mad Scientist Hero Talents revolve around an Electric Coil ability that allows Tinkers to blast foes and charge up allies, extending the range of their inventions.


As a reminder, this is what the leaked survey had. You'll notice I didn't do anything for the Warden. That is because I have no idea how to turn that into a class and because it didn't fit any other archetypes in the survey.

Apothecary: Masters in the creation of potions and brews, which they use to harm enemies and empower and heal allies. They create unique combinations of elements, do give potions varieng effects, be it explosive, toxic or granting extreme power.

Astrologian: Mighty spellcasters that use the cosmic powers of the stars and gravity to deal devastating damage. They utilize celestial energies to cast spells, manipulate gravitational fields, summon meteor swarms and create star explosions.

Bard: Supporter, Healer and Tanks, that utilize the Song of Azeroth to cast mighty spells, support their allies and weaken their enemies. Bards shine in a group, empowering and improving the spells of others and at the same time bringing numerous songs and auras to help their group reach new heights.

Witch: Damagedealers and Healers that use “old magic” to reach towards darker, natural powers. They magic includes curses, familiars, rituals, spiritual connections, poisons, decay and more. This class builds onto the teachings of witches and dark magicians of WoW, including the witches of Drustvar, the gilnean harvest witches, the decay gnolls and troll hexes and spirit magic.

Celestials Lancer: Warrior, that use spears and titan magic, that are empowered by the gods for quick jumps and strikes.

Battlemage: Battlemages empower their weapons with the might of the elements, to aid their allies, weaken foes and create constructs to control the battlefield.

Artificer: Melee based Tanks,Damagedealer and Healer, that use a mix of handmade machines and titan-technology. Mechanic-reactive gear is the foundation of their power, while utilising new weapon types like extendable flails or reactive shields. This class is on the frontlines of battles and protects and supports their team with their inventions.

Leyweaver: Leywaver are connected via leylines to the natural powers of Azeroth. Their connection to these arcane power lines allows them to move quickly along them and to manipulate the unseen energies that flow through everything - they help allies, deal damage to enemies or buff and debuff as wanted.

Gunner: Quick, offensive ranged combat characters that wield two pistols at the same time. They apply different elemental effects to their weapons to create the deadliest arsenal of destruction against their foes.

Prismatic: As heirs to titanic Power, Prismatics are carriers of cosmic powers that can not only be used in their purest forms, but their transcending powers can be merged to new powers. They refine and focus the power of life to heal allies, or the powers of order to protect themself, or they merge the combined powers of death and shadow to deal damage to enemies.

Gunslinger: Cunning and agile melee combatants that use two pistols are once. Their sharp eyes allow them to see the weak points of enemies and deal with them quickly.

Titankiller: Titankillers combine the sword fragments of Taeshalach and Gorribal to use the powers of Gorshalach and connect to the cosmic powers of the titans, to destroy any threat to Azeroth.

Necromancer: Summon an army of undead that follow your commands and overrun enemies in combat. They combine different summoning spells to build the perfect army.

Tinker: Genius inventors, who have uncovered the secrets of the titan technology, and using it to protect their allies, heal wounds and attack enemies. Through their understanding of machines. tinkers can create inventions (custom made skills/spells), control Mech-Suits and deploy mechanical constructs to create an advantage in combat.

Warden: Versatile, armored hunters, who with their art of chakrams and traps, devastating ranged and melee attacks employ.

Spellbreaker: Melee characters that specialised in the combat against magical powers.They ward magic, but they can also empower their gear with the magic of their enemies to improve their combat capabilities.

- - - Updated - - -

Gunfighter

Gunner from the Survey : Quick, offensive ranged combat characters that wield two pistols at the same time. They apply different elemental effects to their weapons to create the deadliest arsenal of destruction against their foes.

And also Gunslinger from the Survey : Cunning and agile melee combatants that use two pistols are once. Their sharp eyes allow them to see the weak points of enemies and deal with them quickly.

My interpretation :

- Core -
Since the Gunner and the Gunslinger presentation looked like two interpretations of a same class, I brought them together into one and added a third spec. From the descriptions of the survey, this class would require a whole new type of weapons : 1H Gun. I didn’t go too much in depth with this class, but the inspiration is a mix of Rogue and Hunter. They are DPS ranged, except for one spec that alternates with melee and they’ve got 6 to 12 rounds to shoot their abilities.

- Specializations -

Gunner
I initially thought they could depend on a rotation of elemental ammos, but that felt a little too much like early Death Knight runes and there was a reason Blizz quickly gave up on it. But I think some elemental combo gameplay would be cool, like firing a round of Earth shards, melting it with a Fire ammo, blowing it up into shrapnel with a Wind bullet and finally freezing the enemies with a Water shot.

Gunslinger
The Gunslinger would have a lot less shazam and look the most like a ranged Rogue. They’ll focus on crippling foes and enhancing their own abilities against them. They’ll also get a Hail of bullets ability, very similar to Lord Godfrey’s signature move in Shadowfang Keep.

Musketeer
The spec that leaves one gun out for a blade. Or mace. Or whatever. They’ll have the most mobility to switch up between melee and ranged attack. I feel like they should also have some synergy with other characters, to live up to the musketeer archetype

-Hero Talents-

Cannoneer (Gunner, Gunslinger)
The Cannoneer Hero spec could be an opportunity to bring back the Cannonball AoE from Outlaw Rogue.

Sharpshooter (Gunslinger, Musketeer)
The Sharpshooter gets a High noon type of ability where they’ll shoot every enemy in sight, marking them for extra damage.

Hired Gun (Musketeer, Gunner)
The Hired Gun is the Hero spec that never runs out of bullets. Their mechanic would revolve around CD reduction.

Occultist

Witch from the Survey : Damagedealers and Healers that use “old magic” to reach towards darker, natural powers. They magic includes curses, familiars, rituals, spiritual connections, poisons, decay and more. This class builds onto the teachings of witches and dark magicians of WoW, including the witches of Drustvar, the gilnean harvest witches, the decay gnolls and troll hexes and spirit magic.

Also Apothecary from the Survey : Masters in the creation of potions and brews, which they use to harm enemies and empower and heal allies. They create unique combinations of elements, do give potions varying effects, be it explosive, toxic or granting extreme power.

And Necromancer from the Survey : Summon an army of undead that follow your commands and overrun enemies in combat. They combine different summoning spells to build the perfect army.

My interpretation :

- Core -
I know there’s a case to be made for each of the presented concepts to be its own class, but I thought there was enough proximity between them that they could be put together into one class. The common mechanic that I imagined for this class was a Dark Force bar whose regen would speed up as enemy health goes low and their main spells would be Curses.

- Specializations -

Necromancer
I don’t really know what they meant with the Necromancer combining “different summoning spells to build the perfect army”. Is it like [Summon Bone] makes a skeleton and [Summon Flesh] a ghoul, while [Summon Bone] + [Summon Flesh] makes an abomination ?

The way I saw it was that the Necromancer would be a DPS who summons undead and throws them at enemies to spread their Curses and control the field with corrupted ground.

Witch
Also a DPS, the Witch relies on CC more than pets to prevent enemies from coming close, all the while blasting Curses and empowering allies with dark magic.

Apothecary
The Healer spec who would use potions to deliver HoTs on allies and throw chemical bombs or Cursed mixtures at enemies.

-Hero Talents-

Plague Doctor (Apothecary, Necromancer)
As the fight goes on, the Plague Doctor comes up with new Strains of plague to afflict his enemies or new Remedies to cure his allies. The longer a fight lasts, the more efficient their abilities become.

Dark Harvester (Necromancer, Witch)
The Dark Harvesters empower their Curses with the ability to steal the life force of their enemies, which they’ll then use to increase their own health or the health of their servants.

Witch-Doctor (Witch, Apothecary)
The Witch-Doctor brings into the field a cauldron of unstable mixture that will spit out remedies and accursed brews, spreading around his currently used abilities.

Sorcerer

Leyweaver from the Survey : Leywaver are connected via leylines to the natural powers of Azeroth. Their connection to these arcane power lines allows them to move quickly along them and to manipulate the unseen energies that flow through everything - they help allies, deal damage to enemies or buff and debuff as wanted.

Also Spellbreaker from the Survey : Melee characters that specialised in the combat against magical powers.They ward magic, but they can also empower their gear with the magic of their enemies to improve their combat capabilities.

And Battlemage from the Survey : Battlemages empower their weapons with the might of the elements, to aid their allies, weaken foes and create constructs to control the battlefield.

My interpretation :

- Core -
Although the three concepts of Leyweaver, Spellbreaker and Battlemage share some similarities, they were not the most naturally combined here. Spellbreaker and Battlemage I can see very well because they are melee mages, but the Leyweaver seems more like an utility belt with support elements and good mobility.

Anyway, their common mechanic I figured would be Wild Magic. As the fight goes on, they drain more of it out of the ley lines, unlocking new abilities and empowering others.

- Specializations -

Leyweaver
Base DPS who simply generates Wild Magic over time. They could have ways to increase that flux through some form of Evocation spell. Again they get good mobility and utility and deliver DPS in explosive bursts of magic.

Spellbreaker
The Tank spec that turns taken damage into Wild Magic. They’ll have a better magic resistance, with maybe various elemental Wards and as the description says, they’d empower themselves with the magic of their enemies. I think that on top of a Spellsteal, this could be represented with a similar system to the DH where they tear up some magic fragment out of their target and pick it up to increase their own durability.

Battlemage
This one will generate Wild Magic by dealing damage to enemies, using it to unlock more powerful spells and summon arcane constructs to turn their surroundings into a magic minefield.

-Hero Talents-

Leywalker (Leyweaver, Battlemage)
The Leywalker Hero Talents would act on the mobility spells, unlocking the ability to cast a return, unleash Wild Magic surges wherever they move, granting them temporary defense bonus, etc.

Spellblade (Battlemage, Spellbreaker)
This one revolves around enchanted weapons, similar to Kael’thas raid encounter and Aluriel in Suramar. The Sorcerers empower their base attacks with even more magic power and summon other weapons to their aid.

Runemaster (Leyweaver, Spellbreaker)
This will take inspiration from both the martial artist Runemaster from the RPG and a more classical take of a Runemaster scholar. Those Hero Talents will passively grant buff to the character and their allies, while actively adding various effects to the Sorcerer spells.

- - - Updated - - -

Cosmic Wanderer

Astrologian from the Survey : Mighty spellcasters that use the cosmic powers of the stars and gravity to deal devastating damage. They utilize celestial energies to cast spells, manipulate gravitational fields, summon meteor swarms and create star explosions.

And Prismatic from the Survey : As heirs to titanic Power, Prismatics are carriers of cosmic powers that can not only be used in their purest forms, but their transcending powers can be merged to new powers. They refine and focus the power of life to heal allies, or the powers of order to protect themself, or they merge the combined powers of death and shadow to deal damage to enemies.

My interpretation :

- Core -
I initially thought of associating the Prismatic with the Titankiller and the Astrologian with the Celestial Lancer because of their common thematics, but realized it would be mixing up what was described as casters with what was described as melee fighters.

So after some stretches here and there, I’m putting the Prismatic and Astrologian together with a third spec of a class based on mixing cosmic powers. Nothing too deep came out of it, they use Starlights to power their spells, similar to how dracthyr use Draconic Essences no matter which flight their abilities are associated with. Another rainbow power class, yay !

Their fantasy is inspired by the cosmic traveler who gives us the transmog from Shadowlands premium edition.

- Specializations -

Astrologian
These guys rely mostly on the celestial power of the Titans. Control over gravity and cosmic waves for CC, blasts of meteors and star power to deal huge damage. It is not clear from their description what would differentiate them from a Balance Druid or an Arcane mage.

Prismatic
Although the Prismatic could have been the single name of the class, I found that it did not carry the whole archetype enough and decided to use it as a spec instead. Considering the description, I leaned more toward a Healer spec, focusing mostly on Life, Order and probably Light to heal and protect their allies.

Demiurge
A DPS spec I added in complement to the Prismatic. This one also uses multiple cosmic forces on top of celestial energy similar to the Astrologian but they focus mostly on the primordial powers that gave birth to the universe. They redirect the clashing forces of Light and Shadow against their enemies, use the entropic powers of Fel and Death to erode enemies defense, etc.

-Hero Talents-

Eonar’s Envoy (Prismatic, Astrologian)
Those Hero Talents are based on the Elune and Eonar situationship. Aman’thul will probably say they were roommates, but Eonar’s Envoys hold the secrets to unique ways of weaving Life and Order together, bringing either the fury or blessing of Elune into the mix.

Hand of Aman’thul (Astrologian, Demiurge)
Those Hero Talents are about the Titanic need for control and the Time magic mastered by Aman’thul. It will act on cooldowns and the regeneration of Starlights, granting the ability to freeze them in Time so they don’t get consumed.

Cypher Scholar (Demiurge, Prismatic)
The Cypher Scholar is inspired by the work of Firim in Zereth Mortis, assuming most of the First one magic takes the form of cyphers. These Talents are about using their powers to enhance the other cosmic abilities, extending them into fractals of energy that can affect multiple targets or causing a repeat.

Titanic Champion

Titankiller from the Survey : Titankillers combine the sword fragments of Taeshalach and Gorribal to use the powers of Gorshalach and connect to the cosmic powers of the titans, to destroy any threat to Azeroth.

And Celestial Lancer from the Survey : Warrior, that use spears and titan magic, that are empowered by the gods for quick jumps and strikes.

My interpretation :

- Core -
Not much depth for this concept either, but since they look obviously warrior based, I guess they could have a Cosmic Power bar that is similar to Rage.

- Specializations -

Titankiller
The description kinda brings a novel concept, although I don’t exactly know how that would work. Do you start off with your two 1H weapons and sometimes combine them into Gorshalach for finishing moves ? Or do you get to also carry a 2H weapon too ? I guess both could be a possibility and that the most important thing is you’ll do massive cleaving damage, since they look so much like the equivalent to Fury Warriors.

Celestial Lancer
Based on the description, this one feels like a mixture of Dragoon from FF and Pantheon from LoL. High mobility relying on leaps and jumps, quick devastating strikes. I’m guessing they are the single target DPS spec.

Stellar Ward
This third spec I added is a Tank spec that carries a shield and a 2H weapon. Pretty aggressive tanking where they use titanic power to protect themselves while delivering a flurry of cosmic assaults to enemies in front of them. Similar to the Celestial Lancer, they’d have a good deal of leap abilities for mobility.

- Hero Talents -

Herald of Sargeras (Celestial Lancer, Titankiller)
Inspired by a certain Silver herald of a cosmic threat, this Hero spec is about being the champion of the Dark Titan, bringing an end to the worlds he decided to target. The Talents revolve around a world-ending cleave ability that shatters the defenses of enemies in front of the character.

Heir of Aggramar (Titankiller, Stellar Ward)
Based on the creation of Grond, this spec is about shaping the elements to empower your own attacks or defenses.

Reach of the Constellar (Stellar Ward, Celestial Lancer)
These Hero Talents grant additional range to your base attacks and unlock a long ranged AoE ability.

[Teriz]

Very nice write up. I can tell you spent quite some time on this. Based on my Bard thread, I found this little tidbit interesting, and something that I had completely forgot about;

From the Survey : Bards: Supporter, Healer and Tanks, that utilize the Song of Azeroth to cast mighty spells, support their allies and weaken their enemies. Bards shine in a group, empowering and improving the spells of others and at the same time bringing numerous songs and auras to help their group reach new heights.

The ETC is pretty much the only tanking Bard I'm aware of, and it's thoroughly a Blizzard invention. If this is real, it seems that the ETC-based Bard might be in the cards after all.

[TBM X]

These are some top notch classes! I would love to see them in the game, but knowing Blizzard they wouldn't do something such like this. The gunfighter class and occultist are my two favorite so far.

[username993720]

Props for the effort.

but, you combined some unrelated archetypes here.
Firstly, you lost me at Bard using Radiant Song and once again applying E.T.C and Hearthstone like Teriz did.

Then, your Tinker concept also incorporates alchemy, which makes some sense, but could be a separate archetype. You also combined the artificer, or whatever magical and sci-fi elements, into the Tinker, which i dislike.

Then, with the Gunslinger, which i'm very keen on because it can be taken into the Vampire slayer\Witch Hunter trope which can be attributed to Dark Rangers (in my view), or just be a wild west bounty hunter, you kinda repeated a theme that exists with Outlaw Rogues.

Then, with the Witch, another desired concept for me, you incorporated the necromancer and apothecary. Now, i'm not saying necromancy wouldn't be part of the witch, but it can't be as prevalent as the Death Knight. Second of all, while i agree that a witch would use poisons and potions, i feel like a mad scientist would be a different concept. The witch is kinda primitive and superstitious, while a doctor would be more scientific.

Then, i lost interest with the other concepts, since i'm not interested in them, but noticed you combined the Spellbreaker and Runemaster together, which doesn't make much sense to me.

The gunfighter class and occultist are my two favorite so far.

Mine too, buddy.

[Al Gorefiend]

These are very top notch. I haven't looked through them all but from what I've skimmed through so far, your interpretation of Bard is exactly what I'm thinking of.

You've done for Occultist what I've been trying to tell people to do in the other new class thread. The best cases for creating new classes is combining multiple different specializations and concepts into a single coherent overarching theme. Instead of hyper-niche racial restricted classes, the class serves more as an umbrella that ties together multiple different styles of combat. That's exactly what a witch/necromancer cloth class should look like and a niche still missing in WoW. Very well done.

I always envisioned combining Gunslinger with Tinker to create a ranged tech class, I like this idea a lot too. Possibly... I even like it more than my own.

[username993720]

These are very top notch. I haven't looked through them all but from what I've skimmed through so far, your interpretation of Bard is exactly what I'm thinking of.

You've done for Occultist what I've been trying to tell people to do in the other new class thread. The best cases for creating new classes is combining multiple different specializations and concepts into a single coherent overarching theme. Instead of hyper-niche racial restricted classes, the class serves more as an umbrella that ties together multiple different styles of combat. That's exactly what a witch/necromancer cloth class should look like and a niche still missing in WoW. Very well done.

I always envisioned combining Gunslinger with Tinker to create a ranged tech class, I like this idea a lot too. Possibly... I even like it more than my own.

There's being general and there's being non-rational. An occultist isn't race specific. Like, it isn't just Troll Witch Doctors. It's drustvar witchcraft and gilnean harvest witches, too. You see, incorporating the necromancer into it would mean that, suddenly, high tech and advanced races would be included too, which doesn't make much sense. Witchcraft is kinda primitive and superstitious and it doesn't fit races like the Gnomes, the Draenei and the elves. The Tinker and the gunslinger, too. There's no correlation.

[Al Gorefiend]

There's being general and there's being non-rational. An occultist isn't race specific. Like, it isn't just Troll Witch Doctors. It's drustvar witchcraft and gilnean harvest witches, too. You see, incorporating the necromancer into it would mean that, suddenly, high tech and advanced races would be included too, which doesn't make much sense. Witchcraft is kinda primitive and superstitious and it doesn't fit races like the Gnomes, the Draenei and the elves. The Tinker and the gunslinger, too. There's no correlation.

I don't know if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me here.

[username993720]

I don't know if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me here.

Disagreeing. Hard.

[DatToffer]

First of all, I wasn't aware that the forum would merge my following posts into one big thread, so thanks to all of you who scrolled all the way down. I knew I should have posted smaller pictures.

Very nice write up. I can tell you spent quite some time on this. Based on my Bard thread, I found this little tidbit interesting, and something that I had completely forgot about;

The ETC is pretty much the only tanking Bard I'm aware of, and it's thoroughly a Blizzard invention. If this is real, it seems that the ETC-based Bard might be in the cards after all.

Thank you and yes, when I saw the survey mentioning Tank Bards, I too immediately thought of the metalhead archetype. After all ETC in HotS is tagged as a Tank Hero. But it could also very well be a Dancer whose tanking revolves around dodging, pretty much like the Monk or Druid nowadays

These are some top notch classes! I would love to see them in the game, but knowing Blizzard they wouldn't do something such like this. The gunfighter class and occultist are my two favorite so far.

Thank you ! it's all from that survey that was leaked from the german website so if it's legit, it means Blizzard is actually thinking about some of these. Not in the way I made them of course, but still.

Props for the effort.

but, you combined some unrelated archetypes here.
Firstly, you lost me at Bard using Radiant Song and once again applying E.T.C and Hearthstone like Teriz did.

Then, your Tinker concept also incorporates alchemy, which makes some sense, but could be a separate archetype. You also combined the artificer, or whatever magical and sci-fi elements, into the Tinker, which i dislike.

Then, with the Gunslinger, which i'm very keen on because it can be taken into the Vampire slayer\Witch Hunter trope which can be attributed to Dark Rangers (in my view), or just be a wild west bounty hunter, you kinda repeated a theme that exists with Outlaw Rogues.

Then, with the Witch, another desired concept for me, you incorporated the necromancer and apothecary. Now, i'm not saying necromancy wouldn't be part of the witch, but it can't be as prevalent as the Death Knight. Second of all, while i agree that a witch would use poisons and potions, i feel like a mad scientist would be a different concept. The witch is kinda primitive and superstitious, while a doctor would be more scientific.

Then, i lost interest with the other concepts, since i'm not interested in them, but noticed you combined the Spellbreaker and Runemaster together, which doesn't make much sense to me.

Thanks ! And yes, like I said in the thread, I put together some archetypes that could have been classes by themselves. Both the Witch and the Necromancer could be their own thing, except I don't really see the Necromancer being much more than a DK-flavored Warlock. I think the Apothecary fits the fantasy pretty well because it is a more primitive and superstitious version of the Alchemist. I think for me the Apothecary associates pretty well with the herbalist archetype, while the Alchemist is more (pseudo)science and acting on matter (like transmutation), which is why I put the Mad Scientist as a Tinker Hero Talents and the Plague Doctor with the Occultist. My mistake was probably illustrating the Plague Doctor with a gnome in a lab coat though.

Also for the Musketeer Gunfighter, the difference with the Outlaw Rogue is pretty obvious. One is a Gun class using a Sword, while the other is a Sword class using a Gun. They are like DH and Warlock, one gets what the other couldn't keep.

The combination of Spellbreaker and Runemaster was a bit of a stretch for me too. All I knew is that I wanted the runemaster to appear in this concept. I gave it to the Spellbreaker because warding spells are more likely to be applied in the form of runes, in my opinion, and because mastering the runes means being able to use them to counter others.

These are very top notch. I haven't looked through them all but from what I've skimmed through so far, your interpretation of Bard is exactly what I'm thinking of.

You've done for Occultist what I've been trying to tell people to do in the other new class thread. The best cases for creating new classes is combining multiple different specializations and concepts into a single coherent overarching theme. Instead of hyper-niche racial restricted classes, the class serves more as an umbrella that ties together multiple different styles of combat. That's exactly what a witch/necromancer cloth class should look like and a niche still missing in WoW. Very well done.

I always envisioned combining Gunslinger with Tinker to create a ranged tech class, I like this idea a lot too. Possibly... I even like it more than my own.

Thanks ! I believe it is possible to extend a concept out of its niche, it's not always easy, which is why I chose to combine some here. Plus even the current classes have different specializations who sometimes convey very different fantasies.

Initially I wasn't even planning on inventing my own specs and intended to just leave the Gunner/Gunslinger, Prismatic/Astrologian, Titankiller/Celestial Lancer as two-spec Classes, but I decided to put in a little more effort for the sake of having more interesting Hero Talents.

I think the Gunslinger Tinker could work too if you think about it ? The Gunner is presented as using elemental ammos, but a Tinker Gunslinger could very well use plenty of gadget ammos too !

[Wyrt]

I am very much here for Spellbreaker/Battlemage/Spellblade type class, but I think the 3rd spec should be a magic archer type rather than a caster. that'd probably share too many similarities with mages. I know that wasn't in the survey though.

[username993720]

Thanks ! And yes, like I said in the thread, I put together some archetypes that could have been classes by themselves. Both the Witch and the Necromancer could be their own thing, except I don't really see the Necromancer being much more than a DK-flavored Warlock. I think the Apothecary fits the fantasy pretty well because it is a more primitive and superstitious version of the Alchemist. I think for me the Apothecary associates pretty well with the herbalist archetype, while the Alchemist is more (pseudo)science and acting on matter (like transmutation), which is why I put the Mad Scientist as a Tinker Hero Talents and the Plague Doctor with the Occultist. My mistake was probably illustrating the Plague Doctor with a gnome in a lab coat though.

The doctor can come from varied backgrounds, depending on the race. It can be primitive and it can be more scientifically-accurate. Thing is, what makes them one class is their focus on alchemy.

Also for the Musketeer Gunfighter, the difference with the Outlaw Rogue is pretty obvious. One is a Gun class using a Sword, while the other is a Sword class using a Gun. They are like DH and Warlock, one gets what the other couldn't keep.

Oh. I don't know if it's enough to distinguish them, though.

The combination of Spellbreaker and Runemaster was a bit of a stretch for me too. All I knew is that I wanted the runemaster to appear in this concept. I gave it to the Spellbreaker because warding spells are more likely to be applied in the form of runes, in my opinion, and because mastering the runes means being able to use them to counter others.

I get it.
But, i don't see spellbreakers fighting unarmed.

[DatToffer]

I am very much here for Spellbreaker/Battlemage/Spellblade type class, but I think the 3rd spec should be a magic archer type rather than a caster. that'd probably share too many similarities with mages. I know that wasn't in the survey though.

A mage archer could be the first ranged with magic auto attacks, best of both worlds. Plus it could lean way more into the summoning arrows and elemental attacks than the current hunter. It has potential I would say. I didn't really specify it, but the Leyweaver is melee too, I guess alternating between ranged and melee thanks to their great mobility.

The doctor can come from varied backgrounds, depending on the race. It can be primitive and it can be more scientifically-accurate. Thing is, what makes them one class is their focus on alchemy.

I guess a case could be made for the Apothecary to be its own class too. One that would borrow from the Alchemist hero of Warcraft 3, the apothecaries in wow and the Witch doctor. Indeed I could see it too.

Oh. I don't know if it's enough to distinguish them, though.

That would be mostly in the gameplay and the aesthetic for sure. Sadly I didn't find a really Musketeer illustration in Hearthstone or WoW. Maybe I should have just go with one of those gilnean musketeer npc.

I get it.
But, i don't see spellbreakers fighting unarmed.

Yes, this is why I mentioned the Runemaster would combine both the unique version of the RPG and a more classical archetype of a scholar. Runes will enhance the abilities of both the Leyweaver and Spellbreaker but not completely changing their playstyle (not too much because the point of the Hero Talents is still to shake things up).

[FossilFree]

I like how you were able to match so many up together in ways that make sense! The Sorcerer would be especially fitting for Midnight too.

[NZephyrus]

I don't know enough about how to properly balance classes to comment a lot, but I do like a lot of this!

I very much liked that the Bard encompasses multiple styles of musicians/entertainers to allow for some personal preference, and I especially like the Lorewalker HT leaning into existing WoW characters and lore. I'd prefer my Bard to be a more traditional type, at least in aesthetics/concept, but I admit if I didn't at least have the option to transmog the weapons (or "weapons") into rock guitars for Trial of Style, I'd be a little sad, ha!

I also like the idea of the Tinker healer using jumper cables, especially since my engineer never got to use hers to revive my guildmates; I presume that would probably be the Battle-Rez in this concept? I really like that, I think it fits the base aesthetic you provided, especially with goblins.

I also like the idea of the Gunfighter being able to dual-wield 1-handed guns. I know that this is much lower in priority to making a class actually play well, but I really like the transmog possibilities that would open up.

I don't really have anything else worth saying, but thought you'd like the little bits of positive feedback!

[DatToffer]

I like how you were able to match so many up together in ways that make sense! The Sorcerer would be especially fitting for Midnight too.

Thanks ! Even though I doubt we'll get a new class for Midnight, it has that thematic written all over it !

I don't know enough about how to properly balance classes to comment a lot, but I do like a lot of this!

I very much liked that the Bard encompasses multiple styles of musicians/entertainers to allow for some personal preference, and I especially like the Lorewalker HT leaning into existing WoW characters and lore. I'd prefer my Bard to be a more traditional type, at least in aesthetics/concept, but I admit if I didn't at least have the option to transmog the weapons (or "weapons") into rock guitars for Trial of Style, I'd be a little sad, ha!

I also like the idea of the Tinker healer using jumper cables, especially since my engineer never got to use hers to revive my guildmates; I presume that would probably be the Battle-Rez in this concept? I really like that, I think it fits the base aesthetic you provided, especially with goblins.

I also like the idea of the Gunfighter being able to dual-wield 1-handed guns. I know that this is much lower in priority to making a class actually play well, but I really like the transmog possibilities that would open up.

I don't really have anything else worth saying, but thought you'd like the little bits of positive feedback!

Thank you very much ! I too don't know much how to balance a class, this is why I keep to surface level and try to simply come up with new gameplay and ideas.

My main problem with the Bard was that unless we'd get proper instruments and animations, we would miss on the different cultures of playable races. So I think using weapons already in the game would provide some variety in that sense at least.

The Tinker jumper cables would be indeed a Battle Rez, it simply would be carried by a bot so you can cast it from a distance, like most BRez.

For the dual wielding Gunfighter, I simply followed the presentation of the survey who mentioned it. Which is pretty cool if Blizzard really is thinking about it !

[username993720]

I also like the idea of the Gunfighter being able to dual-wield 1-handed guns. I know that this is much lower in priority to making a class actually play well, but I really like the transmog possibilities that would open up.

Did you expect it to wield one pistol?

[NZephyrus]

Did you expect it to wield one pistol?

I mean, one of the concept's specs technically would!

They would certainly be a nice addition to the current 2-hand ones Hunters use!

[username993720]

I mean, one of the concept's specs technically would!

They would certainly be a nice addition to the current 2-hand ones Hunters use!

That would just be a more frequent outlaw Rogue's pistol shot.

[DatToffer]

That would just be a more frequent outlaw Rogue's pistol shot.

It's actually gonna be a more frequent Outlaw Rogue's grappling hook.

[username993720]

It's actually gonna be a more frequent Outlaw Rogue's grappling hook.

Huh?
You're shooting a pistol, aren't you?