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Tigole talks about Inscription and Hero Classes in Wrath
In an interview at Computer and Videogames, Tigole mostly discusses some things we've already heard about, such as the Lake Wintergrasp PvP zone and the process to unlock the Death Knight class, but also reveals a few very tasty little morsels of new information as well.First, he tells us a little bit more about Blizzard's philosophy behind Inscription, the new trade skill slated to be released with the expansion. While it appears that only one inscription will be allowed to be on a spell at one time, their goal is not to create one or two all-powerful inscriptions that will be used above all others, but to give players a variety of valid choices as to how to modify their spells. The example he gives is that of Frost Nova. One player might choose an inscription that gave their nova a longer range, while another might choose one that would lengthen the duration of the root associated with it. And what's this? More hero classes?
Will we ever see more hero classes?
I'm pretty sure we've all heard about the Death Knight by now and know that it is going to be the game's first "hero" class -- unlocked by a level 80 quest and starting at a higher level than a non-hero character. But I'm not really wondering about Death Knights right now, but instead about other hero classes that might be in our future. It struck me as an odd move to release an expansion with a single hero class purely for practical reasons -- as soon as people start hitting level 80 with their mains, we're going to see a swarm of new baby Death Knight alts. (That Death Knight Spree isn't just a joke!) The best counter to this, in my opinion, would be more than one hero class in the expansion. Of course we'd still wind up with a lot of new hero class players, but at least there would be a variety of them. And on the forums Nethaera gives a bit of hope for future hero classes, though not in this expansion:We are thinking at current that any future hero class additions will be made in expansions further along the line so that we can control just how many classes the game has and continue to work on attaining balance as we add them.I'm still hoping they'll come around to the idea of more hero classes sooner, rather than later.
Breakfast Topic: Runes and hero classes
As we look forward to the release of Wrath of the Lich King, I've been thinking on the new resource system they are introducing with the Death Knight. The runes carved into the Death Knight's blade are not necessarily unique amongst MMOs, but they are certainly new to WoW. I wonder though, as more hero classes are added to the game, will they use the new runic system? And how exactly would that work?I can see many classes as defined by their weapons, the Blade Master and his sword, the Archmage and his staff, so it's not too far off to expect that when we have access to new hero classes they might use this system, but they might not. Adding new novel ways that we play the game we love is one of the reasons I do love WoW so much. I admit more than a little curiosity as to how this might play out. What sort of resource system do you see being used by, say, the Demon Hunter? Would they use mana, energy, rage, runes, or something completely different? Are there any advantages to the runic system over the others?
Blizzard's Hero class implementation 101
Toeo of Dragonmaw wrote in to ask about a clarification on Hero classes (of which the Death Knight will be the first). What are they, what will they require, and what does it mean to be a Hero class? We are nothing if not helpful, so here's what we know about Hero classes (mostly from BlizzCon).There were a number of ideas floating around about how Blizzard might implement Hero classes (mostly from D&D, in which Prestige classes are the precursor), but what they landed on was an "unlockable class," that's opened up to your account via a quest with a level 80 character-- that quest hasn't been created yet, so we're not sure what it will require*. So, to play as a Death Knight, you get a character of any class to level 80, do the Death Knight quest, and once your character has completed the quest, you can log on, and create a new character (of any race, we're told) that is of the Death Knight class.That new character then starts at a higher level (anywhere from 55-70, but Blizzard hasn't decided where yet), with starter equipment of the appropriate level (again, Blizzard hasn't decided exactly which equipment yet or how it will work), and then the Death Knight character can work their way up to level 80 as well as a completely different character. Death Knights will have their own Rune resource system, and they will have their own three talent trees, just like all the other classes. It is a completely separate character, unlocked and able to be created when one of your level 80 characters finishes the quest.*Update: Commenter Avalanche makes a good point: we don't know much about the quest, but we know it will be similar to the Warlock epic mount quest, and that it will not require raiding. Thanks, A.!
Paladins and Death Knights
Now that Wrath of the Lich King and its first hero class is in the works, I've been thinking on the shifts the paladin has made in Warcraft of late. I'm not so much talking about how the class plays, but more what the class is about, its roots and changing story. Originally paladins are the holy warriors of Azeroth, wielding the power of the light of some divine entity, able to heal and to harm with its touch. When The Burning Crusade was released, the paladin class was added to the Horde faction, and we learned that this type of Paladin was a very different breed. The Blood Elf pally was a warrior who drew on the light as well, but funneled from a holy being. This parasitic nature of the paladin was definitely a dark twist on what was considered a decidedly good-goody class. Now the paladin was sucking the power they used from a captive Naaru.
