A discussion in defense of new race/class combinations
by Michael Sacco 
Aug 18th 2009 at 1:00PM
There's been a lot of news about possible new features arriving with the upcoming Cataclysm expansion. I covered one of those recently, that being the possibility of new race/class combinations, ones that were previously unavailable to player characters.
Now, this feature would actually make a ton of sense, especially taking the following into consideration:
- We've had the same 9 classes available for going on 5 years now.
- With new races being added in Cataclysm, there's almost certainly no hero class.
- It's quite likely that the new races will be unable to be Death Knights, at least at first.
- The leaked information from MMO-Champion suggests that Azeroth is getting a makeover, graphically and design-wise.
- The Paid Faction Switch service is coming soon, and adding these new combinations would bring almost 100% parity between factions in terms of classes available.
- Blizzard has been tossing quests that hint at these new combinations into the past few patches and onto the PTR.
But of course, the WoW community is a fickle beast, and what they seem to be focusing on here tends not to be the gameplay benefits of adding new race/class combinations, but the "lore-breaking" aspects of said combinations.
Well, I don't think any of these are unreasonable, and in fact many of them have precedents in lore. To make the discussion more interesting, I've brought in my lore-hound colleague Daniel Whitcomb, and we'll expound on each new possible option to give you clear reasons why they're not only plausible, but likely. On top of that, I'm bringing in our class columnists to give their insight on the new choices and explain their pros and cons in terms of gameplay!
Let's start, shall we?
TAUREN PALADINS AND PRIESTS
Daniel Whitcomb: Whereas for me, it's probably one of the ones I'm most excited about. Mythology and Religion have always been some of my favorite subjects, so the idea of Warcraft fleshing out the religions of the world is possibly my favorite possibility from the lore so far.
MS: Right. In the quest that was added in patch 3.2, Tahu Sagewind seems to be doubting that Night Elf-style moon worship is the right way to go for all spiritual Tauren; that there should be some balance between the sun and the moon, just as they worship their personifications, An'she and Mu'sha. Sun and Moon, male and female, light and darkness. He seems to think that pure Druidism is getting it wrong by not taking this balance into account.
DW: And given that whole sun worship hook, I'm really hopeful that the new Priests and Paladins are sun worshippers, using the power of the sun to cast their damage and healing spells in the same way Druids use arcane magic when casting moon-related spells. On top of that, Aponi Brightmane's conversation with Tahu does seem to suggest that she might have found something to admire in the Argent Crusaders and feels inspired to take up their abilities, so I can see that too. I'm really hoping it's sun worship though.
MS: Either way, we could be looking at the first Tauren Priest in conflicted druid Tahu, and the first Tauren Paladin in injured warrior Aponi.
DW: Aponi?
MS: Aponi.
DW: Wait ... Ghostcrawler promised us Aponi ... and he delivered!
Priest columnist Matt Low's perspective: Holy cow! I don't think anyone saw this one coming! Possible? Yes it is! Taurens can be Druids or Shamans. While it may not seem obvious, the Tauren have an affinity for healing. With Taurens being able to train for Priesthood now, they can add their own diversity and racial talents among Horde players.
Possible Tauren Priest names might be Holyhoof or Lighthorn.
Tactically speaking, the first thing that comes to mind is that Tauren Priests will have a defensive mechanism for anyone close by them. The War Stomp will be enough to stun and stall pesky players (such as Rogues) long enough for them to get clear or wait for reinforcements. If that's not enough, the base health increase allows them to survive a little bit longer. They'll probably survive an extra 2 seconds before they get turned into beef. Priests and Herbalism also go well together. I'm not quite sure how handy Nature Resistance is going to be. My first thought is that it'll increase their survivability against Chain Lightning and other related nature spells that are prominent in Ulduar.
DW: Seriously. In both Zul'aman and Zul'gurub as well as Zul'drak, we've seen Trolls channel animal Loa to gain power. It's certain possible that certain Troll Priests could call on their Loa for similar empowerment, and thereby gain Druid-like powers.
MS: Right. They have the pick of the pack in terms of animals to worship.
DW: What's really intriguing to me is which set of Loa player-character Troll Druids might call upon. As Darkspears originally hail from Stranglethorn, they might call upon the jungle Loa of Zul'grub, assuming they're now freed from the influence of Hakkar. On the other hand, Zul'aman offers more immediate analogues to current Druid forms, including Bear, Cat, and Bird Loas.
MS: For me, the Stranglethorn bunch seems much more likely, actually. If you've ever quested in Zabra'jin, you do some scouting on Lost One Druids in Feralfen Village for the Troll Shaman Seer Janidi, and she says, "No self-respecting Darkspear troll engages in bird worship. Their spirits are weak, capricious, and best left to the Amani."
DW: Right, which brings up the question: Does that mean, perhaps, different animals for Troll Druid forms? The possibilities certainly have me excited!
MS: After all, it's not called Storm Crow Form, it's called Flight Form. Maybe we'll see Bat Form for flying Troll Druids. Maybe their cat form could be a badass tiger with 80s hair.
DW: Yeah, and Serpent or Spider Tank form? I'm on board. But then again, I'm not sure if Blizzard wants to take the plunge and make that much of a change to class flavor, even if the basic mechanics and numbers behind the spells and forms are the same. They could just go the other way and allow some Trolls to get buddy buddy with the Tauren and learn Druidism from them -- or they could introduce a whole new set of Loas or mix and match Loas. Like I said, I love fictional religion and mythology, and I've been in love with troll Loas since I first read about Eraka no Kimbul and Ueetay no Mueh'zala in Zul'Farrak. So, I'm hoping it's all about Loas and not just a bunch of Trolls converting to Earthmother worship a la Tauren.
Druid columnist Allison Robert's perspective: We know that Trolls are perfectly capable of managing the shapeshifting mechanic (e.g. Zul'Gurub, Zul'Aman, and Gun'drak), so the most class-defining part of being a Druid isn't really a stretch for them. Moreover, Trolls are already capable Shaman, and the two classes' views on the world aren't entirely dissimilar. Lorewise the only thing that's kind of tough to accept is that the Trolls would willingly join a class so inextricably linked to Night Elven civilization and culture, but better them than the Blood Elves (who were perhaps the other likely choice). Trolls are still the least-played Hordeside race (possibly the least-played race in the game, period) and so they're unlikely to impact the population advantage still held by the Night Elves, but I might have had to kill myself if Blood Elves got Druids.
Now, frankly, Troll racials are amazingly bad for Druids. This is the one area where Horde would have been better off getting Blood Elves as Druids; BE racials would have been fantastic for the class. Beast Slaying has situational use, and isn't likely to have a significant impact on either PvE or PvP. Bow and Throwing Weapon Specialization are both useless for druids. Da Voodoo Shuffle is hardly a big deal for a class that can already shift out of most movement impairing effects. Regeneration is pretty meh. Helpful while grinding, to be sure, but as with Beast Slaying, it's situational.
Berserking is slightly different. Useless for Balance and Resto, somewhat useful for Feral. Oddly enough, Bears might get better use from it than Cats, because +haste (which is basically what Berserking is) still isn't a great stat for kitty; even with Savage Roar, the vast majority of our damage comes from special attacks dependent on Energy ticks and not white hits. I can see Berserking being a nice but not overwhelming DPS boost for cats, but helpful for Bear threat generation in 5-mans, especially if combined with Berserk. In raids, well...how close to the hard expertise cap are you?
Filed under: Druid, Lore, Expansions, Warrior, Shaman, Priest, Paladin, Mage, Hunter, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 9)
xoonaka Aug 18th 2009 2:18PM
Well, if we're going with the "quest hints" towards these class changes, do you remember the goblin in Borean Tundra trying to get the flying machine working? He has a shaman helping him, telling him the powers of the elements far exceed anything he's trying to accomplish, and the quest chain ends with the goblin giving up on engineering.
I get that it's a stretch, but I think it's not a lot different then the explanation for Draenai shaman.
micgillam Aug 18th 2009 5:19PM
Based on Suzaku's listing of race/class combinations (which calculates the apparently leaked but still unconfirmed new combinations for existing races), here's a prediction:
Goblin: Priest, Mage, Paladin, Rogue, Warrior
Worgen: Shaman, Druid, Warlock, Rogue, Warrior, Hunter
That is strictly following a pattern of giving the class to only the one with a lower amount (i.e. Warlocks: Alliance = 2, Horde = 3, therefore I gave warlock to Worgen but not Goblin), and giving it to both if they are tied (as is the case for warrior and rogue). I didn't apply any further reasoning or lore (yes, a goblin paladin seems odd to me. If it was a previously non-existent gnome warrior I would say it seems odd too though).
Note that there are 5 goblin and 6 worgen classes, based on that prediction. Also note that Draeni came out with Shaman, Paladin, Hunter, Warrior, Priest, Mage - that's 6, and Blood Elves came out with Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock - also 6. So if I were to guess, I'd say either drop druid from worgen (sorry future worgen druids, night elves are a lot more popular than tauren, and each druid race/class combination calls for a whole new set of models for all the forms... it seems like a logical place to give), or the inclusion of warlocks for goblins, making it the one class with an imbalance of options.
No fact here, just adding another layer of "what if..?"
Wrabbit Aug 18th 2009 9:18PM
To micgillam -
I think giving Goblins warlocks to bring them to 6 is the most likely option, rather than taking away druids for Worgen. And, its all the more reason to give Dwarves WARLOCK intstead of Mage. Man, I've wanted a Dwarf Lock for so long... I hope Blizz hears me
dkslatten Aug 18th 2009 1:38PM
Just another step in the homginization activision is placing on a game that people once enjoyed.
F this, now we get to see every class as noob NEs or BEs...
I would hope that for game balancingcould occur without making races nothing more than racial abilities.
t0xic Aug 18th 2009 2:12PM
"F this, now we get to see every class as noob NEs or BEs..."
I'm pretty sure "noobs" roll all classes and races, even today.
Your problem seems to be with "noobs", not the number of class/race combinations that could be coming.
Bob Aug 18th 2009 1:44PM
Worgen Druid perhaps? =)
Meethan Aug 18th 2009 1:53PM
Ghostcrawler promised us Aponi!!!!
Chad Aug 18th 2009 1:53PM
Perhaps and the 'leaks' pre-TBC were so wildly off-base as to be no better than bad fan-fiction. Most of what is being put forward for Cataclysm makes no sense in lore, in design, or in Blizzard's past history so I am quite content to remain skeptical.
Chad Aug 18th 2009 1:54PM
*meant as a reply to above*
Keyra Aug 18th 2009 1:56PM
So, the Horde are getting two druid classes, leaving the alliance with only one. Interesting.
Troll druids? Tauren paladins? Orc mages? How do THESE work into their respective cultures? Tauren priests I can see, and I'm wondering why it wasn't already there to begin with. But paladins? Trolls are voodoo-types, so...druids? Orcs are shamanistic, not arcane...
Blood elf warriors - again, why wasn't this there to begin with? Every other race has warriors.
Now, here's the kicker...
Goblins. IF they will be a playable race...what faction? Goblins have always been neutral. Perhaps they still will be? Allowable in both Stormwind and Orgrimmar unless/until you get more reputation in one and lose it from another?
Which side gets the worgen if they're playable? Or will they be neutral as well?
Because of these questions, the whole "leak" thing just seems to be more in line with wishful thinking on the part of long-term players than something that is actually workable into the game. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see some of it implemented, and it would be nice if they would also revamp some of the older racial models (humans especially...yuck), plus the idea of restyling the world a bit to allow flying mounts in more regions than just Northrend and Outland is a bonus...
Still, I'll wait until more of an official announcement is forthcoming before I start making plans for a goblin Death Knight :-)
Michael Sacco Aug 18th 2009 1:57PM
The post addresses many of your complaints, if you read it.
Keyra Aug 18th 2009 2:05PM
I did read it, and I still have the same questions. They were addressed somewhat ambiguously for my tastes. Still, we'll wait and see, I suppose.
Suzaku Aug 18th 2009 2:41PM
"Troll druids?"
Trolls worship animal loas, the same way Druids of the Wild bond with animal totems. There are troll shapeshifters in virtually every Troll instance in the game.
"Tauren paladins?"
This has been explained and discussed in detail. There's a new quest in Patch 3.2 which leads to NPC dialogue where a couple tauren discuss the sun, its relationship to the moon, and the lack of balance in elven teaching. This implies that some tauren will begin to worship the sun god, An'she, and through those beliefs will be able to weild the "Holy Light". Similar to the way the humans and dwarves draw their power from their philosphical belief in the "light", the draenei through the naaru, and the blood elves through the Sunwell.
"Orc mages?"
Orcs are already warlocks, and warlocks simply practice a more corrupt, dark form of magic. If someone can be a warlock, they should be able to be a mage simply by dialing down the evil.
"Goblins have always been neutral."
If by "always" you mean, "since World of Warcraft came out."
All of the leaks, both from MMO Champion's, and from WoW Insider's own sources, have said that goblin would be Horde and worgen Alliance.
ash Aug 18th 2009 3:57PM
I think Keyra has a point. Some of these contrivances just don't fit very well. Maybe it's a personal thing, who knows, but I don't think you can say that once you've provided some explanation that's more than enough irrespective of the quality of the explanation.
I actually think opening up more class combinations is a good idea. Its just the lore behind them, whether what's currently in the game or what you guys have brought up does not fit as well for all of them and Blizz will need to do a lot of work, lore-side, to make it better.
Bassdude Aug 18th 2009 1:56PM
Indeed ^^;;
sek Aug 18th 2009 2:04PM
I won't be happy until there are tauren rogues!
Agony Aug 18th 2009 2:08PM
Our story opens with the shadow of a huge bull-man stealthily sneaked up behind the gnome to pick-pocket him...
LOL
Orisai Aug 18th 2009 2:05PM
Lots of people claim to be former Blizzard employees or have close friends inside the company. All of them coming with amazing news of future WoW expansions, very creative to say the least, but pure bullshit at the end of the day.
People inside or related to development teams sign long-term NDAs with Blizzard to keep whatever the company is working on, or will work in the future, as trade secrets for years, even if the cited employee leaves the company for whatever the reason to leave is. So, even former Blizzard employees are still bound to NDAs for years.
If all this information is true, then someone broke his NDA and will be most likely sued by Blizzard. Then, everything posted so far related to "Cataclysm" will be deleted as Cease and Desist letters arrive to every fansite administrator's mailbox.
T Aug 18th 2009 2:17PM
Yes, because that is precisely what happened last time around when MMO Champion broke the news of WotLK ahead of the 2007 Blizzcon. You can even go find the post on their website, made by the same guy as this year's leak post. Turns out practically everything from the WotLK was true. And the responses afterwards were the same--nuh uh, can't be true, Deathknights are preposterous, blah blah blah. Don't believe it if you want, but at least learn from the past.
Irem Aug 18th 2009 2:20PM
There have been accurate leaks every expansion. Blizzard is a smart company, and they know leaks occur, and might even have engineered quite a few of them to drum up hype. I'm not one of those conspiracy theorists that thinks that MMO-Champion is taking cash to make stuff up and advertise the paid Blizzcon stream, but I think it's entirely possible that Blizzard allows stuff to get out a week or so beforehand and put everyone on the edge of their seats.
Some people think all of this is a red herring that Blizz is waving around in order to distract from what they're actually going to announce, but there's so much detail here and people are so excited that by putting out disinformation on this scale they'd be shooting themselves in the foot if the "real" info didn't live up to the "fake" info in terms of fan popularity.
When Blizzard's had a problem with people breaking the NDA before, they've said so (as with the Wrath beta wiki). Everything they've done and said so far points to us being led to put all this together ourselves, since they know we follow their every movement with a microscope and love a good mystery and speculation session. Now "Cataclysm" is all players can talk about--that's excellent PR.