Do you think WoW will ever get a Bard class? I was introduced to the DND style of fantasy through wow, so I find it odd that out of all the things they copied from DND, they didn’t take the concept of bards.
I think that the more classes, the merrier. I think that a bard class could be very fun because players seem to like the concept of a support playstyle that isn’t strictly healing (augmentation evoker). Perhaps a bard could have most if not all of it’s specs focused on buffing allies.
They would need to be careful to not pull what they did for monks, though. I feel like the biggest problem monks have is how little they match with the common fantasy in warcraft. It’s really hard to get immersed in a class fantasy when you are playing as a drunk brawler that likes beer. Windwalker monks have a bit of a stronger fantasy imo, but why be a ninja when you could be a demon ninja with a demon hunter. I felt like the healing spec for monks was the only one I thought had a cool fantasy, because it felt kind of like a mix between a druid and a shaman in terms of looks.
There are a lot of ways they could make bards cool and fit with the lore of warcraft. A lot of green drops since classic reference bards.
If they explain why bards weren’t a thing until this theoretical time when they are added by something like “bards were always hanging around taverns raising people’s spirits, but now they decided to join in with the rest of the adventurers of azeroth”, I think that would be very weak. It’s possible to just add a class and not really explain why they weren’t a thing until now. Maybe use the bronze dragons to get a “get out of jail free card” on why it makes sense.
I feel like bards should wear leather, but since we have too many leather wearers, a cloth wearer would be nice. It would be cool if bards made wands+off hand tomes viable again like they were in classic. The damage that wands deal now makes them useless, and we rarely see them equipped. Every class aside from dracthyr should be able to be a bard.
As much as I wish that we had more tank specs in the game, I think Blizzard missed an easy win with the evoker where they could have used black dragon magic for a tanking spec. I don’t think bards could have a tanking spec, which is unfortunate because the game needs more tanking specs. Instead, I feel like it would be most appropriate for the bard to have the following three specs:
Inspiration Bard: Support - An easy to play healer that provides passive buffs to allies. Similar to disc priest in the sense that you can focus mostly on hitting the enemy. Would reinvigorate the classic wow “world buff” mindset, where people like knowing that they are stronger without the downside of losing the buffs.
Harmony Bard: Support - Healer spec that focuses more on direct healing through songs than inspiration bard. Could have a cool rhythm combo system to heal more. Could be fun and have a high skill ceiling, kind of like combo points but for healing.
Psychic Bard: Damage - The void elves have long researched how the control and harness the psychic powers of the Old Gods. I personally loved mind control for shadow priests, and I think it could be expanded into a seperate spec. Psychic bards could be chaotic ranged dps who thrive against large groups of enemies. They could have abilities that manipulate threat, causing enemies to attack each other in a haze of confusion. Could focus more on the “space void” magic we saw in the Edge of The Void wing of Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible. It would be nice to contract the whole “power of music” thing that the other specs have with something more traditionally warcraft, like void and mind control.
Conclusion
I think something more traditional like a bard would be an awesome thing to add for a “wow world revamp”. Classic wow was heavily inspired by DnD, and it would make a lot of sense to have a bard introduced when they revamp all of classic Azeroth.
