Forum post of the day: You stay classy
by Amanda Dean 
Dec 12th 2008 at 1:00PM
It seems Blizzard has been listening to the complaints and concerns of players. I've been taken aback by the implementation of paid name changes, PvE to PvP transfers and gender changes. For years, I've read clamoring for race, faction and class changes.Zarhym weighed in Wolfbite of Chromaggus' thread in the general forums requesting class changes. Name and appearance changes are purely cosmetic, while allowing class changes would affect the overall dynamics of the game. Later in the thread Zarhym stated that this is partially to avoid creating a "flavor of the month" class, and would prefer to address player concerns. Rerolling was the most common prescription amongst posters to solve the original poster's issue.
Leveling has become vastly easier over the years. Low-level questing has been nerfed and the requirements for levels more lax. Especially when you add in the amazing benefits of the Recruit a Friend promotion, leveling is quite speedy. But that's not necessarily for the best. Some responders are concerned that class changes would promote more players who really don't know what they're doing. I'm afraid RAF has the same draw back (says the woman with the Mage and Rogue that she has no idea what to do with). I'm not entirely convinced that RAF is not indirectly equated to paid race, class, and faction changes.
As for thee flavor of the month, I can't swing a cat without hitting a Death Knight. I hope that the classes rebalance themselves out as we grow used to, and bored with this class. Then again, Blizzard has hinted that there will be more heroic classes in the future.
I don't think it will happen in the near future, as I believe Zarhym when he says there are no current plans on the table. But how many times have we heard that there will never be PvE to PvP transfers or gender changes? Customization for profit seems to be the in thing this holiday seeason.
Blizz, if you're listening to player requests, I'm just asking for one little thing: give Undead the Thriller dance.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Blizzard, Classes, Forum Post of the Day
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
John Dec 12th 2008 1:06PM
I would delete all my old characters and go strictly undead if that happened.
DataShade Dec 12th 2008 1:06PM
I would like to see race changes included in the name/face/gender tableau; as long as you don't allow changes across factions, I don't see why it's a real problem.
Elmo Dec 12th 2008 1:12PM
because races can become part of the FotM thing.
example: I rolled a Orc Warrior but when I PvP I find out Taurens warstomp is overpowered and insta wins fights (this is not true, it's just an example) then I don't change class or faction but still change race for a racial advantage this will also vastly increase the number of Tauren warriors suddenly.
(assuming I ain't the only one)
while changing gender, hair, faces etc. is purely cosmetic
Birdfall Dec 12th 2008 1:35PM
The change of a race would be a lot less game-breaking than changing a full class. While you might end up getting a better racial, it also keeps players from having to completely re-level the exact same class if they get sick of their race.
Orc to Tauren, to use your example -- that player might do it for the stomp and then realize how annoying it is to have a huge Tauren covering your screen in raids. You can't see the room around you sometimes.
People usually think the grass is greener elsewhere, but everything comes with its own problems.
Nikkodemus Dec 12th 2008 2:01PM
Because Race isn't cosmetic.
Specifically, racial abilities, and starting factions are tied to race. Especially factions I think they are afraid to muck with.
Chump Dec 12th 2008 2:22PM
I disagree, I think BLizz should open all races to either side. I mean in war you have sympathizers on each side. I should be able to pick a human for the horde. In fact that would have been a better solution IMO to the pally shaman issue but instead the horde got gay blood elves.
Jack Spicer Dec 12th 2008 3:07PM
I think the real reason behind no-race changes is really simple, not all races have the same classes.
I know that might sound dumb, but think about it for a second. As soon as they allow racial changes, if you're a Horde warrior, you can't be a blood elf. If you're a druid, then you can't change race at all. Allowing racial changes would be inherently unfair to some players, and Blizzard wouldn't support it because of that one fact.
Todd Dec 12th 2008 1:08PM
Let people change classes... so what? Just means that priest who wants to be a warrior will end up with a crap load of useless spirited cloth gear.
Jeff Dec 12th 2008 1:50PM
Or a Paladin that wants to be a Mage will be effectively nude when first logging in after the "change."
pew pew Dec 12th 2008 2:12PM
@Todd
I'd agree with you if it wasn't for the fact that that lvl 80 warrior has no idea what he's doing and if you pug with him you're gonna wipe over and over.
Sure, if there was a tutorial that explained every warrior aspect that you get when you level up from 1-80, then I'd have nothing against it. But then they might as well implement an english test after login that I've wanted since I ran my first pug. EU servers FTL.
Todd Dec 12th 2008 2:29PM
Hah hah, you two crack me up.
Todd Dec 12th 2008 2:31PM
Hah hah, you two crack me up.
Clevins Dec 12th 2008 2:43PM
Just nerf the person's level back 10 levels or so. Heck nerf them to 55 so they start like DKs. That way they get to learn the class before they're at endgame.
I don't care how easy leveling is, rerolling and leveling 1-80 isn't really an answer. I've been told that a few times and it's not really an option for anyone other than a very serious player. Even if it takes only 15 days /played that's 15*24 hours... 360 hours. And outside of RAF, I can't see most players getting 1-80 in significantly less than that time.
Arras Dec 12th 2008 1:10PM
the gender changes are nice, but the poster is right (sorta), it's just a cosmetic thing. Personally, I don't get the point of changing something about your character everytime the wind blows. The characters I play are an extension of myself - my gnome warlock is that little evil voice in my head that wants chaos, destruction and terror, my play style on him reflects that. My hunter is quick-witter, resourceful and will fight to the end.
No, I don't RP, most of these characterizations are internal to me.
To each their own, I suppose.
I would seriously consider paying money to be able to start a character at 58 for a nominal fee...in the $20-30 range would be reasonable I think.
Birdfall Dec 12th 2008 1:37PM
I'm the same. I love cosmetic changes, but I don't actually use them. I do things right in the creation panel. ;)
zappo Dec 12th 2008 1:44PM
A bit tough in the creation panel when you can't zoom in and hardly even see some races. Trolls not only have bad lighting but a really bad angle too boot. I actually have to create the character, then log in to really look at them. You do that like 5 times and it gets old fast.
Worth it not to get a character which you hate to look at, but a major pain.
Menchi Dec 12th 2008 1:11PM
Here's my argument for paid class changes.
In BC the game was very class oriented you had to have a ton of classes specific for every fight to get it done without huge issues. Wrath however was specifically designed opposite of this and with the merging of buffs some classes are probably wondering why they still play this class as they are now lacking that uniqueness that made them desirable. Another thing is with the addition of yet another melee dps class (not mention the new most popular class in the game) some melee dps might be feeling like their raid spots are vanishing as they have to share a lot more while those range slots barely fill (In the case of my guild we ran with 9 melee and 3 casters). So being able to just switch would be nice in order to fit better in your guild.
Yes i know all the implications of being able to switch but to me i would still prefer to have it.
darian Dec 12th 2008 2:23PM
I think the argument is fundamentally flawed. You're arguing that because Blizzard reduced uniqueness through buff/debuff normalization and adding another melee class we should further reduce uniqueness by allowing players to swap classes. If uniqueness is the issue it does not follow that one should make this change.
Menchi Dec 12th 2008 2:45PM
No what i was trying to say was that because many people rolled classes that would be highly valued in BC content raids they may find that since their class is no longer higher priority they might want to play something different. Like a dps shaman who didn't really want to ever heal roll a pure class who will now do more damage.
Ashivor Dec 12th 2008 1:14PM
The problems with the DK being the flavor of the month will die down over the next few months.
As for the customization, many people are glad to be able to change their character. As for me, I really don't care about the feature. Once you have your armor and stuff on can you really see much of the skin or face color of your character? On my Belf DK you can't even see his face in most of the gear unless you turn off the helm option, and you can't really see much of his skin either.
As for people who are worried over the gender change... Get over it. I personally have both male and female characters, including: 1 male tauren, 1 male Belf, 1 Male orc, 3 female belf. Again who cares.
As for the refer a friend, yes you can power level your characters too quickly. I leveled a Rogue to ~ 45 while barely playing it thanks to the "grant a level". Thankfully I also play a feral druid so I know dps pretty well, but the point is people really don't get to know some of their characters if they power level them.