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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: What class would you like to see added to the game?
by Adam Parkinson 
Oct 15th 2010 at 8:00AM
Let us ponder upon classes, the very thing that defines one's playstyle the most in World of Warcraft. Whether it be the ever-gorgeous, plate-clad warrior who shouts, "I HAZ TWO ROCKET SWORDZ, UR POINT IZ INVALID," the warlock-hating mage or the mage-hating warlock, or even the druid who thinks that Woodstock was really great, we all have our preferences on what we think is the best class of them all.
Yet if Blizzard has taught us anything, it is to plan for upsets or twists in class selection. Remember the great death knight massacre of 2008? Everyone and his great-grandmother's mailman had a death knight. They were easy to acquire, incredibly powerful and just a blast to play. Yet modern death knights are shells of what they once were. They play like the polar opposite of paladins now, but upon their initial release, they felt more like a battle mage class. Now, thanks to a complete revamp of the death knight class, the closest thing to a battle mage is long gone, leaving those who enjoyed the class idea from different roleplaying games feeling rather empty and disappointed, much the same way as when we discovered that the delicious cake we were promised was actually a lie.
It leaves us with a curious idea, though. Considering that the idea of a battle mage in WoW is doable, could it be brought in as its own class? Or would Blizzard dare to put in a totally different class?
I personally would love the idea of a monk class being brought into WoW. A class that specializes in staffs, polearms, fist weapons or just good ol' fashioned, unarmed, beat-down-style fighting would be a blast. Maybe even have a healing class that uses chants (much like a priest) but has a completely different resource known as meditative power as its ability fuel. They could switch into different trances to gain certain abilities, much how a hunter's aspects work.
If you could have any new class (whether it be from a roleplaying game of old or maybe a class you enjoyed from another MMO), what would it be? How would the class work? How would the class fit in lore-wise?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 17)
Fuzzfuzz Oct 15th 2010 9:24AM
I say we go with the Marine.
Imnick Oct 15th 2010 9:58AM
Not really Jack; mages, priests and shamans do fine at range without pets.
They just need a better way to snare/slow and perhaps not have a minimum range.
mdisloki Oct 15th 2010 10:14AM
I don't particularly like playing ranged DPS but I do like the idea of a ranged DPS with strong melee abilities. How about The Gunslinger.
Pistol whip stun move and rifle swipe.
Quick draw skill that allows you to always get the first shot.
Dual wielding pistols, or main hand pistol/off hand dagger.
Quick-switch pistol to rifle to shotgun for different situations.
First ever sniper-mode skill where you can hit the targer with one shot from double to distance of any other class.
Several evasive talents.
Opening quest chain could be a tribute to The Dark Tower.
Siorra Oct 15th 2010 2:06PM
I always thought a Shadow-Hunter/Voodoo kinda thing would be amazing. Another class to effectively use bows and possibly heal as well. Two needed birds with 1 stone!
Artificial Oct 15th 2010 3:25PM
Troll axe-throwers were a basic unit in Warcraft II, and have made an appearance in every Warcraft Universe game since. It's really shocking when you think about it that there is no class in the game today that makes significant use of throwing weapons. Rogues have one skill to support them, and that's it. So, yes, thumbs up for the throwing-weapons class, it's long overdue and a gaping hole in the game vs. the lore...
Angus Oct 15th 2010 8:08AM
Brewmaster!!!! Buffing people with drinks so they fight better. Like a shaman, but a mobile party instead of a guy with sticks in the ground.
(The fact that it cause Pandarans to have to be in the game is completely incidental, honest.)
;)
Jay Oct 15th 2010 8:30AM
I acctually think this sounds like a good idea. Not the Pandaren och drinking part but the buff part.
I would want a 'Commander' talent tree for some class that is used in raids i.e. They would be channeling buffers, and boss phases would be designed around this.
Example:
Big Bad Boss goes into a crazy frenzy and hits a couple of tanks hard as hell. To manage this heals have to be increased. All healers locate to one spot. The Commander then "commands" them to heal better through a channled spell. At the same time adds spawn to eliminate the Commander and the dps have to take care of them before the Commanders are dead/or spells broken. Frenzy wears of and fight proceeds as usual.
Same thing could be done with dps increase, resistance increase or a combination. I think this could be a fun addition to game play.
Angus Oct 15th 2010 8:36AM
Jay: you then NEED one of these classes in the raid.
Bring the player, playa, not the class.
Jay Oct 15th 2010 8:41AM
Well you also NEED healers and you NEED tanks as well as you NEED dps. You would in this case NEED a commander. The talent tree wouldn't ofcourse be limited to one class, but several would have the ability to command forces. This would be an addition to already existing talents trees.
But just to make you glad we can add Pandaren and make them shower us with their brew while we fight :D
Vogie Oct 15th 2010 8:58AM
What Jay is Saying is that the MMO Trinity should be turned into a square
Having 3-4 classes with a "command" mindset & spec available Demo locks, unholy DKs & BM hunters, as well as the New Class. Then you'd need for a raid 1-2 tanks, 2-3 healers, 1-2 commanders, and the rest DPS.
But then again, I'm the one with crazy Ideas like this. While most players play from a third person perspective, I'd love to see at least one class (marks?) play as FPS, and these Commanders play as RTS. Same game, different input.
Scomparsa Oct 15th 2010 9:02AM
I could see the "commander" idea working but not as a player class, but as an NPC that accompanies you on your raid. They're implementing that kind of thing in Cataclysm with the questgivers that follow you. Why not an NPC that follows a raid through the instance and buffs people and attracts aggro?
Jay Oct 15th 2010 9:49AM
To give an example of a proper new class then.
Alliance: Sentinel
The nightelf Sentinels has due to recent cataclysmic events decided to train other races in their sentinel ranks.
Talent trees
Archer - ranged physical dps/ potent cc
Forest Guardian - melee dps / owl pet
Sentinel Commander - commander / potent cc
This making the commander spec an assisst spec. While being able to dish out moderate damage with their bows their real strenght lies in Commanding the forces boosting morale and soothing minds as well as inducing fear in the attacking forces thus keeping their own alive.
KJ118 Oct 15th 2010 10:27AM
I don't really see this as beeing a smart thing to try doing. They wouldnt be willing to give some classes 4 talent trees and most people arent going to be happy if blizzard told them "sorry your favorite spec of your class has been changed into the buff spec so we need to nerf your ability to do other roles"
Angus Oct 15th 2010 5:08PM
Jay: the problem lies in the fact that no one will like being a commander for very long.
"What do you do in a fight?"
"I hide in the casters and make a woogie woogie motion with my hands like this and they kill stuff. I also try not to stand in fire. You?"
"I do something useful, like kill stuff you buffbot. Man even shaman do more than you..."
Swifteye Oct 15th 2010 8:09AM
I've always loved bards, and I would love to see how Blizz might handle the class.
Unfortunately it's hard for me to picture how they would be viable in solo play... I see them more as a class that is almost solely group oriented, a buff-via-music class that would probably take the place of a DPS in a five-man, that didn't actually DO hardly any DPS at all, but whose group buffs were so powerful that the other two DPS hit harder enough, the tank soaked enough additional damage and the healer's abilities were improved enough that the lack of a third DPS didn't negatively affect the outcome.
The bard's buffs should be channeled, though; they actually have to keep playing for the group to keep benefitting from their buffs, it's not like "I pluck my lute string once and you have an hour long PW:F-style buff!".
I suppose they could have a healing spec too though; I believe bards that follow general D&D rules have more than enough healing spell options to be viable in that role.
I dunno... I'm sure Blizz would never introduce a class that didn't have at least one halfway-viable soloing spec, and I'm not sure how you'd make a bard capable of solo-killing at a reasonable pace, but still... I'm sure they could think of SOMETHING, and I think it'd be really awesome! ^_^
kvanje Oct 15th 2010 8:31AM
I think the soloing aspect could be solved with channeled, short duration pets, ala AotD, that are then buffed and sustained with more channels. That way the bards would also get similar playstyles solo and grouped.
Jack Spicer Oct 15th 2010 8:54AM
I would love to see a bard added. I think I am just enamored with the idea of fighting evil with the power of music.
It wouldn't be too difficult to make a bard be able to solo. If you think about the classic D&D bard, they are kind of a cross between a rogue and a mage with the added utility of songs, so there are plenty of ways there for them to be offensive.
SunGod228 Oct 15th 2010 8:54AM
IDK something about:
GM: "A giant cyclopes walks into the room what do you do!!??!?!"
Bard: "I pick up my Lute and strike up a tune."
Didn't appeal to me.
Anilore Oct 19th 2010 2:14PM
I think a Bard would be great. One spec could be healing based, another DPS based and the final a Buff/De-buff based. They would be able to equip instruments instead of ranged weapons. They would of course mostly be a AoE class but I think there is a place for them. They just need a way not to brake crowd control.
Zheo Oct 15th 2010 10:25AM
I can singlehandedly solve your soloing issue.
Face-melting Guitar Solo
Channeled
Gradually melts target's face over X seconds.