Neutral Hero skins for each Races

General Discussion
1

Thought I’d share a fun idea I had for Hero skins for Tavern heroes to make some fit the armies they’re used by.

Tavern Heroes don’t really fit the armies they fight for. A Pitlord is cool, but it doesn’t make sense leading Night Elves, or a Firelord leading the Undead. We have Hero skins available in Reforged, why not go a step further and reinvent Tavern Heroes with new skins.

My idea is to reimagine Tavern heroes into a new concept that fits the race they play for. This is not just an idea for a Leafy Armor Pitlord skin, these are new Night Elf viable concepts that would fit using the Pit Lord’s design.

Wild Guardian
Bear Ancient, Sons of Ursol/Ursoc
Night Elf skin for Pit Lord
What’s better than a giant, armored spirit bear leading the Night Elf army?

  • Thrash - Replaces Cleave
  • Moonfire - Replaces Rain of Fire, mini Starfall
  • Demoralizing Roar - Replaces Howl of Terror
  • Elune’s Wrath - Replaces Doom. Summons a Moonkin Spirit (Doomguard).

More concepts on the way.

18 Likes
2

That is just great, congratz! I love your work! However a Pitlord isn´t that much out of place in a NE army if you consider they have heroes like the Demon Hunter, who is dangerously close to demonic magic, and the Warden, which is a self-righteous lunatic who would probably even side to demons to achieve her goal. But it doesn´t matter, your idea is excellent anyway, and I would love to see it implemented!

5 Likes
3

The idea sound cool, but i don’t think that changing spells effects would be a good thing, they should remain unaffected (like they do on StarCraft 2 with projectiles and spells).

The only important thing is that said racial skins for neutral heroes would allow you to still recognize a Pit Lord as a Pit Lord or a Dark Ranger as a Dark Ranger for example

4 Likes
4

Im all down for skins and animations.

But hopefully some of them are free…

Cough “Micro Transactions”.

2 Likes
5

@BoxerPants
Thanks! I’m glad you like it :smiley: It’s true that Night Elves would still work with the Demon Hunter, but lorewise they aren’t doing it to get closer to the Legion, they’re fighting the Legion. Pit Lords are still agents of the Legion if they happen to be Merc heroes, so I thought this concept could be more fitting, as a fun skin idea anyways.

@DefilerRulez
I agree, if they do skins they would probably stick close to silhouettes and whatever is recognizeable for competitive sake. My ideas are not technically inclined, they’re more like client-side skins. I mean, overall, skins are all going to be client side anyways since you can play with someone playing old-graphics WC3 with no skins at all. In the case of competitive play, I think players should always have the option of what they want to see.

My focus is just on the ideas. This is probably the closest thing to new Faction heroes without screwing up the balance. The biggest problem really is how Neutral Heroes see play. I’ll admit, a Pitlord is not picked in any NE comps, but I still like the idea of having ‘lore-viable’ options for the sake of fluff.

1 Like
6

This is such a great idea, lore wise and aesthetic wise I’m for that with both of my hands. A bit of additional work for blizzard though It’s totally worth it, also you can sell skin compositions for taverns as well.

1 Like
7

To be honest I like tavern heroes to be ‘neutral’ best example are ofcourse Goblins you just pay them to fight for you, and ones like Firelord or Pit Lord are more of the guys that take control of the race you play instead of being mercenaries it is to me better to think this way (also fits the lore).

4 Likes
8

For the Pitlord taking over, that would make sense if you make a Pitlord as your main or first hero. This makes less sense if you have a balanced NE army, and you happen to take Pitlord 3rd hero. He ends up being the odd one out in the entire army.

Overall I’m fine with treating melee as its own thing that doesn’t need to fit any lore. I just think that if they already have a custom skin thing going on, this could be a fun idea to have without messing up the gameplay balance.

2 Likes
9

Not my strongest concept, but here’s something to fill a gap for the time being.

Cold Wraith
Tormented Soul of Fallen Heroes
Undead skin for Naga Sandwich
Forgotten by time, these lost souls of heroes and adventurers are bound by the Lich King’s will. This is a remix of a Warcraft 3 Alpha unit.

  • Withering Touch - Replaces Forked Lightning. WC2 DK’s Touch of Darkness graphics
  • Icy Talons - Replaces Frost Arrow
  • Restless Will - Replaces Mana Shield
  • Soulstorm - Replaces Tornado. WC2 DK’s Whirlwind graphics
5 Likes
10

Admiral
Human Naval officer, Tidelord of Kul Tiras
Human skin for Goblin Alchemist
A master and commander of the sea, the Admiral protects the lands from its enemies. He will travel to the ends of Azeroth to bring his foes to justice. This is a remix of a Daelin’s model and the burly BFA Kul Tiran.

  • Healing Rain - Replaces Healing Spray. A soothing rain heals all wounds.
  • Kul Tiran Cocktail - Replaces Acid Bomb. A strong alcoholic drink, enough to corrode steel!
  • Swashbuckler- Replaces Chemical Rage. Two cutlasses gets things done twice as fast.
  • Execute/Collect Bounty - Replaces Transmute. No man escapes his pursuit!
6 Likes
11

It’s a cool idea, but I would rather see developer resources spent on other things such as fixing bugs and developing balance, even creating new content.

1 Like
12

Since these are primarily art assets and art is outsourced, technically all the dlc skins would not use much developer resource at all. They amount to less work than moba skins, which they do inhouse.

The people who balance the game are not impacted by outsourced art.

13

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BDUBnzaSpsI/maxresdefault.jpg

Witch Hunter
Half-Human Inquisitor, Expert Marksman
Human Skin for Dark Ranger
Once a zealous opposer of the dark arts, he has been cursed with an insatiable thirst for blood and supernatural powers. His lack of control lead to the destruction of his hometown. Now he atones for his sins by hunting down the agents of darkness.
This skin can have two variations, one cursed by Vampyrs (ie San’layn) and one cursed by Worgen. Vampyr variation would have a large scarf covering the face, Worgen variation would look as above.

  • Tainted Bullet - Replaces Black Arrow. A crimson bullet, soaked in his own blood
  • Worgen/Wretched - Units killed by Tainted Bullet spawn an emaciated Wretched (if Vampyr) or a Worgen (if Worgen).
  • Blood Funnel - Replaces Life Drain. Tracking prey makes for thirsty work
  • Curse of Tongues - Replaces Silence. His mere presence befuddles the mind
  • Conversion - Replaces Charm. Those who do not break will bend to his will
3 Likes
14

i think that too, but my think is stay only in my head, tnx for the tread i “like” it.

15

Warlock
Orc/Eredar Summoner, (Former) Agent of the Burning Legion
Orc/Undead/Neutral skin for Beastmaster
These dark practitioners have come out of hiding, offering their services to those willing to bargain.

  • Summon Felguard - Replaces Summon Bear Fearless and unwaveringly loyal
  • Summon Imp - Replaces Summon Quillbeast. Wild Imps are the simplest to command, and the hardest to keep quiet
  • Summon Darkglare- Replaces Summon Hawk. Kilrogg’s Eye is upon you
  • Cry Havoc - Replaces Stampede. Summons Dreadstalkers Let slip the Dogs of War!

This was a tricky one. Most of the Tavern Heroes are already thematic to Orcs so it’s not easy coming up with ideas for them. I decided to take a more neutral theme that can be applied to Orcs, Undead or fit alongside the Pitlord.

This skin is themed on WoW’s Warlock, which is the lore precedent I’m using to fit them in the Horde.

2 Likes
16

Dreamweaver
Green Dragon, Daughters of Ysera, Watchers of the Emerald Dream
Night Elf skin for Tinker
Protector of the Emerald Dream, the Dreamweaver draws her power from the spiritual domain. The are tasked by Ysera to aid the Night Elves in safeguarding the world from all who seek to destroy or corrupt the land.

  • Emerald Breath - Replaces Cluster Rockets.
  • Dreamblossom - Replaces Pocket Factory. Grow a large spirit flower.
  • Dream Lashers - Replaces Clockwork Goblin. Tiny walking thorn plants
  • Lucidity- Replaces Engineering Upgrade
  • Dragon Form - Replaces RoboGoblin. Behold my true form!
3 Likes
17

Plaguedoctor
Grand Apothecary of the Cult of the Damned, Deathbringers
Undead skin for Firelord
They are the masterminds behind the creation of the Plaguelands. The Plague Doctors toil endlessly to perfect the Lich King’s blight.

  • Blight Barrel - Replaces Soul Burn Embrace the Plague!
  • Unstable Catalyst - Replaces Incinerate. Your body produces chemicals waiting to explode, I’m just helping it
  • Summon Volatile Ooze- Replaces Lava Spawn. I call it… Bottled Abomination Burp!
  • Plague Cauldron - Replaces Volcano. Summons a giant bubbling cauldron that spreads poison. Double, Double, Toil and Trouble!
4 Likes
18

Thanks for providing all these ideas @Triceron

I like most of them and hope a dev would stop by this thread and see what you have proposed so far. Even if a just a few among these were implemented, it’d go a long way to make the game more expansive and sustainable

Edit: but you referring to her as Naga “Sandwich”… :no_mouth: Mate, it’s not like either “Sea” or “Witch” are hard words. Fine. It’s your post. Your responsibility. :smirk:

2 Likes
19

Overall, I’m not sure about the idea. Recognizability goes out of the window. Making client-side skins is a novel idea never tried before.

A Night Elven non-Pit Lord would work weirdly in team games where a DK can Coil him.

And my own selfish argument - when I watch streams (VoDs, I hate live casts), seeing a hero I enjoy looking at (a Pit Lord) among the race I hate the sight of (the pink-skinned Kaldorei) benefits my mental health.

Tying them to arbitrary factions is a weird idea, too. A clearly Night Elven Wild God does fit exclusively one race, but an Eredar Warlock would be a nice addition as the master of any society (is that why you added “Neutral”? Interesting).

Turning my most-despised theme (a wild PETA barbarian) into a favourite flavour of mine? Hmmm.

But how are they recognizable? Not at all.

By the way, in custom maps, the Pocket Factory is constantly used to simulate rifts to the Twisting Nether / Void that summon Voidwalkers.

1 Like