I know the system has copped a lot of flak for forcing you to grind for something that launches with most other expansion, but we got four new races per faction instead of just one per each, so I’m actually okay with it.
The execution has been … off, I don’t think anyone would protest that looks at his beloved Mag’har but overall, its been a good system for adding variety to the game’s playable races.
So, that said … who comes next?
For the Alliance!
- Ethereals: Following their Crownless Prince we met in Legion and brought into the Alliance under the auspices of the Ren’dorei, at least one faction of the Ethereals put their hopes in the Alliance, and bring powerful grasps of Void Magic and the knowledge of the Great Dark Beyond. The Alliance’s growing reliance upon the Light, the natural enemy of the Void and the Voidwalkers that have been hounding and harassing the Ethereals for thousands of years also sweetens the deal for the Ethereals.
Ethereals possess the ability to partially phase out of reality, gaining enhanced dodge once per two minutes, a cooldown on all Hearthstone/Portal usage, a 15 feet Blink-like effect useable once every minute, a magic/mechanical mount something similar to the hover-bikes used in Return of the Jedi and no gorram belly-dancers or harems!
- Dryads and Keepers: Angered by their Father’s refusal to aid the Kaldorei and the continued degradation of Azeroth by both the Horde and the Alliance and their endless one-upping each other in an effort to finally win their interminable conflicts, the Dryads and Keepers side with the Alliance to guide their allies away from future destruction and to force the Horde back at spear-point from more reckless expansionism.
Keepers and Dryads do not display leg armor due to their model design, but have all other armor slots on display. They are their own mount, to use a flying mount, the Dryads and Keepers turn into Stormcrows rather than mount an actual creature, they have resistance to Nature damage and can trigger an ability that renders all non-Instanced Beast-type enemies neutral towards them. They can also carry one ally upon their back.
- Broken: Emerging from the shattered realms of Outland, the Broken seek out the Alliance for aid and shelter as their ruined home comes under assault by Legion remnants, bringing with them knowledge of the dark forces the Alliance and Horde have been ignoring for the past few years and hints of a familiar yet dangerous foe from across the stars who comes for vengeance …
Broken bring the ability to gather bonus materials when mining, skinning or harvesting herbs, the legacy of scraping out an existence on the harsh lands of Draenor. They have resistance to Void energies and use Talbukk as their racial mounts, and their racial ‘Remember the Light’ grants them a short-lived immunity from Daze and Confusion effects (3 seconds).
For the Horde!
- Mok’Nathal: Fleeing a Legion assault on the Blades-Edge Mountains that has set their homeland ablaze with Fel-fire and maddened Demons, the Mok’nathal seek shelter under the banner of the Horde, following in the path of Rexxar despite Leoroxx’s disdain for his ‘wayward’ son and their reservations about the paths the Horde has walked in past years. Bringing a deep knowledge of nature and balance to a Horde wracked with multiple different Warchiefs in the space of a decade and dozens of conflicts that have tested and strained the Horde’s idealized concept of itself, the Mok’Nathal inclusion may be the small act that restores the heart of the Horde after all these tragedies.
Mok’Nathal bring the ability to leap vast distances in a single bound similar to Heroic Leap, the ability to call upon a random natural animal to aid them in combat once every five minutes for 20 seconds, a natural resistance to poison and disease and strong legs as fast as any horse or riding wolf to carry them across Azeroth and beyond.
- Centaur: Following in the hoofprints of Dorthar of the Garad’kra unit, Centaurs from many of the surviving tribes of Kalimdor come to swear allegiance to the Horde, seeing the disparate races as their best, and possibly last, chance to survive as a species in the aftermath of so many devastating set-backs and losses. Fierce, proud and eager to prove their heritage can be as noble and respectable as any Orc, Human or Elf can claim, the Centaur are quick to move to the front of any battle and prove their loyalty, especially to the Tauren of the Horde.
Centaur, much like the Dryads and Keepers, are their own mounts but fly in modified versions of the new Horde Zeppelins remodelled to accommodate the Centaurs’ unusual frames, and while they do not display leg-armor models, do show all other armor slots on their frames. Centaur have a resistance to Daze effects, a mean kick that can stun an enemy for a short while (but only from behind), the ability to sprint indoors, reaching their mount-speed for five seconds every three minutes and Blessings of Therazane, granting them 2% bonus Versatility.
- Gnolls: Born mercenaries and rootless vagabonds, the Gnolls have forever been seen as a burden and a threat to most of the other races of Azeroth. Constantly hired by Goblins as muscle and labourers, several Tribes and Clans reach out to Gazlowe, known as someone that can be trusted by his hirelings, after a strange disease begins afflicting their people. Agreeing to hire the Gnolls on as additional help in exchange for turning the Horde’s shamans, druids, apothecaries and priests to the cure, the Gnolls find themselves enjoying their new ‘employment’ under the Horde, especially the respect of the Horde’s races, and the concept of finally having a homeland of their own, even if they must share it with the rest of the Horde.
Gnolls possess the ‘ravenous appetite’ ability. When used on a living enemy (humanoid, beast, dragonkin) of the appropriate type, the Gnoll deals X% damage and recovers Y% health. Gnolls are also resistant to nature damage and have the ability ‘cackle’, which can unnerve targets that are not immune to fear effects, lowering their attack speed by 5% for 10 seconds. Their mount is a ragged looking Horse in ramshackle barding, as the Vulpera already have Hyena mounts.
Which races would you add to the Alliance and the Horde, and why? What do they bring to the table that makes them worthy of a seat within the Alliance or Horde? Is their relationship one of simple convenience or is there a deeper tie that brings them together? Do they have something to prove, or do they feel that it is the Megafaction that must prove worthy of their aid instead?
and we must have fandering to sell copies.