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If Cataclysm were to include a new class, what would it be?
This morning I want to play the hypothetical game a bit and talk about what would happen if Cataclysm included a new class. Not only what it would be, but how it would fit into the overall balance of WoW. And just to be clear, there won't be a new class in Cataclysm. Numerous Blizzard employees have stated that doing one new class an expansion would be too much work (paraphrased, don't go complain to your favorite blue that this was a direct quote). The Death Knight in Wrath of the Lich King was the first class introduced to WoW, and it's inclusion in the game has had mixed reviews. Most folks agree that the class provided a great new element to play in the game, however its balance in raids and PvP is something that is constantly under the microscope. Ghostcrawler has mentioned numerous times that the Death Knight has taken up more time to balance in Wrath than any other class. This is problematic for numerous reasons, but has been able to be handled nicely by the designers and programmers (I'm sure there'll be some who disagree, however show some restraint in your disagreement).So now for the hypothetical part -- if Blizzard were to introduce a new class in Cataclysm, I would suspect that it would be the healing counterpart to the Death Knight. Mechanics of the class would probably operate similar to the Death Knight's rune system: each small heal or heal over time would be castable based on an available rune, which would in turn generate runic power for larger heals. The class would rely less on spam type heals (such as the Paladin, to some extent), and more on preventative heals (such as the Druid, to some extent).
Breakfast Topic: What do you think of new race and class combos?
One of the big things announced at BlizzCon were the new class and race combinations. These were originally datamined from patch 3.2.2 and include everything from Gnome Priests and Goblin Rogues to Worgen Druids. I'm especially excited about the last one.For years, the race you played has been indelibly linked with the class and defined how you play the game. Say, for example, you like playing Night Elves, you're limited class-wise to rolling Druid, Priests, Hunters, Rogues and Warriors. On the other hand, if it's a specific class then you are sometimes limited to a particular race. So Draenei are the only Alliance race which can current become Shamans while the same is true, Horde-side, for Blood Elves becoming Paladins.From a lore perspective, there is little preventing any of these combos. This is especially true as Azeroth expands and the game evolves. But readers, this is new territory for us, as WoW becomes more open. What do you think of the possibility of lore-centric or even playable class and race combinations?
Possible new race/class combinations datamined
Here's another whopper from Handclaw at Scrolls of Lore, who first uncovered the goblin and worgen masks a month ago. You may remember the quest added to Thunder Bluff recently, where two druids talk about the merits of following the Sun instead of the Moon. Well, on the 3.2.2 PTR, another new quest has been added, this time to Darnassus, where a Highborne mage asks for an audience with Tyrande to offer his services as a mage. While many speculated that the Thunder Bluff quest indicated a new class, they may be more correct than they think.In the Patch 3.2.2 PTR files, a number of new race/class combination NPCs were discovered. The data mined from MMO-Champion seems to indicate that several races will have the ability to roll classes previously unavailable to them. Unlike our confirmed addition of the new races, it is only speculation that these combinations will be playable, but with the addition of the class-related quests with each additional patch, it seems quite likely.The current list of these combinations is after the jump. Several races should prepare to jump for joy.
MapleStory set to be boarded, mateys
Ever wanted to take on monsters and swagger around, with nary a care for lesser landlubbers? Well Nexon's got just the thing for you in their newly created MapleStory player class - Pirates! Launching this month, the addition of the Pirate class adds a new facet on this already popular game. Players start with the Pirate, but can choose one of two job paths as their levels increase. At level 30, players can specialize in the fast melee attacks of the Brawler, or go for the ranged-attack prowess of the Gunslinger. Both job trees continue up to Buccaneer or Corsair at level 120, respectively. Additionally, pirates gain several fun new abilities like sneaking past monsters in barrels, the ability to summon sea creatures to help, and even transformative battle powers.As if that weren't timber-shivering enough to give players an incentive for rolling a Pirate, MapleStory is also adding in a series of new maps and areas to experience aboard the Pirate ship Nautilus, just full of new adventures. They're also planning a series of contests based around the new class, including a costume contest, a user-generated content contest and even a competition for pirate-themed guilds. To top it all off, MapleStory is introducing a new server for people to play on - Demethos - which should give new players a chance to be on a more even footing as everyone levels up. Sounds like some serious sea fun to us. Yarr!
Why there won't be a flood of death knights
Many people are predicting that "everyone" will make a new death knight character when the new expansion is going to come out -- so many that the world will seem full of them. While it is true that everyone may very well try out the first couple levels of the new death knight hero class, it's not true that every server will be overrun with them. Here's why:The addition of death knights to the game is in many ways like the addition of blood elves and draenei in The Burning Crusade. Many people made new characters just to see the new zones, but many others wanted to level their mains through Outland first. Many of those players who tried out the new races only played up to a certain point and then stopped to go back to their main characters. We never saw a flood of draenei and blood elves outnumbering all other races of Azeroth, and for the same reason we will not see a flood of new death knights. There are different things to do in the expansion, and different people make different choices about which to do first. There may be a contstant stream of new death knights, maybe even a river sometimes, but death knights will just feel like the newest kid in the WoW class, not a plague of locusts infesting the entire town.There's also a huge difference between trying out a death knight, and choosing one as your new main character. Wherever death knights start out in the world may be a crowded area for a while, but most players won't ever level them out of that starting zone. Unlike the Jedi in Star Wars, death knights are only one of many types of characters in Warcraft. Besides, the death knight play style and thematic mood simply isn't going to appeal to everyone, in the same way that most WoW players today do not play warlocks, notwithstanding the fact that warlocks are undoubtedly a powerful class. Most players prefer to do healing, shapeshifting, stealthing, ranged shots, totems, or any number of other abilities that death knights will never have, and they will stay with their favorite classes and play styles. Some players, like myself, probably just won't like their armor decorated with skulls all the time.
What would you like to see in the next expansion?
In WoW's first expansion we got many new toys: flying mounts of every variety, new races, new profession, arena pvp and a higher level cap along with those 41pt talents. It didn't take us long to start imagineering the next expansion, but now that many of us have hit level 70 with our mains, toyed with Dranei and Blood Elf alts and are hip deep in reputation grinds, it's worth revisiting the question: What would we like to see next?Blizzard is keeping tight lipped on the subject, probably holding back until Blizzcon 2007 at the beginning of August, but that hasn't stopped players from rolling out wish lists on the official forums. Some of the suggestions make sense. Others are ... on their own planet.
