Early this morning, a player by the name of Koosh posted an idea to the official achievements forum: Why not add
class- or role-specific achievements? If implemented, could these achievements be used to help players learn the specifics of their class? Koosh uses
Team Fortress 2 as an example, and I think it's an excellent one. If you're unfamiliar with the game,
Team Fortress 2 is a competitive (but light-hearted), class-based first-person shooter.
Here are some examples of
Team Fortress 2 class achievements:
- Scout Brushback: Stun 50 enemies while they are capturing a point or pushing the cart.
- Pyro Hot Potato: Reflect 100 projectiles with your compressed air blast.
- Soldier Death from Above: Rocket jump and kill 2 enemies before you land.
Achievements like this push you to learn how to play your class and how to play it well. It might be a very strong tool for training players in
World of Warcraft. Interrupt 1,000 spells as a rogue? Use
Anti-Magic Shell to absorb 1,000,000 damage? Replenish 150,000 points of other players' mana with
Innervate, as Koosh suggests?
Readers, do you think this would be a viable way to teach players how to use all of the tools at their disposal? What achievements do you think your class should have?
Tags: achievements, anti-magic-shell, class-achievements, forum-thread-of-the-day, innervate, koosh, pyro, role-achievements, scout, soldier
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Achievements
Jan 6th 2011 at 4:00PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
djwesche Jan 6th 2011 4:05PM
Thats actually a really good idea, I likey!!!
DuceWild Jan 6th 2011 4:13PM
Forming 25 man raid for BD.....please link class achievement. Just kidding....it is a good idea.
Jeremie Jan 6th 2011 4:18PM
"Forming 25 man raid for BD.....please link class achievement. Just kidding....it is a good idea."
Unfortunately could see that becoming a norm and you would still have people that don't know what they are doing.
Homeschool Jan 6th 2011 5:06PM
Ideally, they'd perhaps pair a training instance/phase of some sort with class achievements, along with a certification mark.
For example, at level 10 you pick your specialization. Say you're a Priest, and you pick Discipline. Your main abilities are Power Word: Shield and Penance. So, you go to the class trainer, and they send you into a practice chamber. You're then run through a training program, where they provide you two training dummies, one friendly and one hostile. Warning messages pop up, "Incoming damage - shield the friendly training dummy!", "The friendly training dummy took damage - heal it with Penance!", "The enemy training dummy is almost dead - finish it off with Penance!"
A simple guided exercise like this could be easily tailored to each class/spec combination, awarding an achievement (Completed the Level 10 Training), and granting your character a certification mark ("Completed level 10 certification in Discipline.") which would be visible on inspection. Every ten levels (plus level 85) a new certification could occur, introducing new skills and more complex techniques. Tanking specs could be taunt to control targets and protect allies; DPS to CC; healers to use all their spells... Perhaps even one which teaches not to stand in the fire...?
Thus, granting a means of training players on how to play their class, as well as a way of seeing how educated another player is (or should be) at a glance.
Robert Jan 6th 2011 5:27PM
It's a good idea but achievements like "Replenish 150,000 points of other players' mana with Innervate" would pretty much force a person into playing a casting spec for a druid, I don't think Blizzard want's to force people into playing a certain spec.
Robert Jan 6th 2011 5:41PM
A good feral druid will still innervate the healers.
Beli Jan 6th 2011 5:50PM
About the only improvement on the idea would be different levels/flavors for the achievements. Using innervate as an example...
innervate another player
innervate a healer during a boss fight
innervate for 5,000/10,000/100,000/200,000 mana (each time you reach a level, the next level is available).
The idea being that you want to reinforce these behaviors early in the game, like during the first dungeon run they do as that spec/role. Then continue on during the entire leveling process, reminding them that they're doing a good job. Ideally, you wouldn't max out your class/role-specific achievements until after you've been to a few raids. Until then, you're constantly working towards them in groupings, dungeons, and heroics.
Hih Jan 6th 2011 6:10PM
Robert, feral druids *can* innervate, but the thing is, it restores about 4k mana, compared to a resto or balance's 25k mana restored.
Astru Jan 6th 2011 6:18PM
As a main spec pally tank and a 2nd string druid healer I would LOVE that. Tanks are too brazen these days and dps dont give a damn about threat just "how much dps am I doing on the meter". If one couldnt progress until they got the fundamentals of their spec down then it would save us ALL a ton of time end game...
Robert Jan 6th 2011 6:33PM
I know feral druids can innvervate, but as stated already it restores about 4-5k mana, and since I'm always tanking on my druid, I Hardly ever have time to innervate as a tank.
Straz Jan 6th 2011 6:47PM
This isn't really a "new" concept. The class epic quests for Hunters and Priests from Molten Core were amazingly challenging at level (Hell, getting Benediction/Anathema at 80 was still tough) and you could assume that anyone who completed these quests were at least somewhat skilled at their class.
It is a wonderful idea, but I think I'd like to see more class quests instead of "Do X ability Y number of times," and give achievements for completing each these quests.
Andostre Jan 6th 2011 9:45PM
To address Robert's concerns, spec- or role-based achievements would have to be introduced along with class-based achievements.
Suzaku Jan 6th 2011 10:59PM
Homeschool: Conceptually an okay idea, but why does it have to be a training exercise? Rogues used to have quests to teach them how to stealth and pick pockets by actually going out and stealing things from mobs. Paladins had a quest revolving around learning and using resurrection.
They need to have more of those, with greater depth, and not just "go into the training room and train with training dummies."
There should be actual quests with actual stories, perhaps involving mock party situations with NPCs, in which you use specific class-based abilities to complete the quest. For example, having to keep an NPC alive while he fights a powerful enemy, with raid warnings popping up to offer hints.
They could periodically have these every 15-20 levels. They could offer nice rewards and achievements. Completing them all, along with class-based dungeon quests, could be used to reward players with a class-based title.
cyanea85 Jan 7th 2011 4:52AM
I second the reward of a class-based title for these achievements.
After questing in Deepholm on my Shaman, I wanted nothing more than to be called "Windwalker Kedria" or "Flamespeaker Kedria".
Get to it, Blizz. The masses have spoken.
coreycubed Jan 7th 2011 9:23AM
cyanea85 ≠ "the masses"
better ideas than this one with far greater support from the community have been passed over. just sayin'.
cyanea85 Jan 7th 2011 3:37PM
You read things too literally. Shut up.
Just sayin'.
Hangk Jan 6th 2011 4:05PM
That's just about the best idea I've heard all day.
zubbiefish Jan 11th 2011 1:08PM
You may be right, but it may not go far enough.
I think that achievements couldn't hurt. If something like some of the early quests, charge a dummy, etc., were to be expanded to include more techniques, which awarded an achievement, it would draw attention to the achievements, and perhaps encourage improved play.
I don't realy think class based achievements on thier own would do it, but ability based quests, tied to an escalating series of achievements, certainly could do the trick.
Dawts Jan 6th 2011 4:08PM
I think this an epic idea, but I can already see floods of QQ "my class acheives are to hard compared to your class".
shomechely Jan 6th 2011 4:31PM
"You can lead a horse to water..."
Super good idea. I would like to be a part of this development team.