Excited about the news of the upcoming expansion announcement. And many have toyed the idea of the Dragon Isles. Since it’s been two expansions without a new class, many have also been saying this next expansion is likely going to have a new class, namely the tinker or a dragon-inspired class.
However, I think we might not get a new class.
Instead, I think Blizzard may take (steal) a page from GW2’s playbook and come up with a brand new spec for each existing class. They could go as far as calling it a “Dragon spec” of their class, giving us some kind of gated content we have to go through to unlock the “Dragon spec”. The benefit there is the characters you’ve already spent years playing will still have relevance, while offering up new playstyles. And, again like GW2, Blizz could offer up new weapon or armor choices too!
For example:
Hunters already have both ranged and melee specs, but what if they have a staff-based healing spec that has to do with wild spirits? Similar to druids, but still very much dependent on pets and using their life force.
Or giving mages a blade singer spec with daggers that gives them a melee option?
Or giving warlocks a tank spec that makes use of pets to tank and giving them the mace weapon skill?
Or a warrior ranged spec making use of bows and guns?
What about a ranged paladin staff and/or shield spec? A holy cleric like from D&D?
I have to appreciate GW2’s method of adding playstyles to existing classes just with the simple addition of new weapon skills. Blizzard could simply do the same thing here.
I’ve always thought monks would make super cool bow users and they are practically begging for a fourth spec. They’ve got a spec for the ox, the tiger, and the jade dragon but nothing for the Crane.
Your hunter-as-healer is intriguing and I love it.
I’d love to see a proper thief spec or a rogue spec that uses 2H and plays kind of like a ret pally with evasion moves instead of LoH/heals.
A proper necromancer spec for DK, where UH is more about diseases (maybe even gets a new slime pet for the toxicity) and Necro is more about lots of skeletons, summoning those big cauldrons they spill out of etc.
Alexstrasza: Hey it’s the age of mortals now we dragons are not immortal, and also are gonna take a backseat okay bye.
Blizzard: Now u all get to be a dragon with a dragon class on the dragon islands lol the age of mortals sucked anyway
In all sincerity I doubt they’re going to give us all a new spec. That’s a LOT of balancing to add into some already poor balancing - it’d be a total of 11 new specs, if my maths is right. At best we’ll get a new class. Given the popularity of allied races I suspect a new race. But, in fact I have a prediction that’s probably wrong but actually possible… and would be kinda cool.
New race AND class.
Lord of the Rings Online released the Beorning class ages ago, restricted to the Beorning race. So you can play as a Beorning Beorning. Basically they were a race of people with the special innate ability to turn into a bear. A very interesting choice.
Now hear me out.
What if they did that with dragons?
What if dragons became a race and a class - a class with four specs, one for each active dragonflight. Their “class mount” is their dragonform (like some other class mounts, altered based on spec), but otherwise they can appear as a variety of mortal races, with extra dragon bits (like horns or scales) attached, optionally. So for the first time in WoW’s history, we can actually play with dragonflight abilities on a dragon character - they do appear as mortals very often after all.
I doubt it’ll happen, but I think it could be cool and I hope it might happen.
Perfect class/spec balance isn’t a real goal in an MMO. ‘Balance’ is used as an excuse at times, sure, but it’s disingenuous. When a class is OP, it’s not because they couldn’t balance it. Everything is by design.
The classes as they are right now are so homogenous that I have the same ‘ability archetypes’ bound to the same key and mouse binds for every spec.
No, the hard part for them is letting specs shine as FotM that they themselves aren’t playing
Basically they were a race of people with the special innate ability to turn into a bear. A very interesting choice.