Something I’ve often thought about is how cool some races are, but that it doesn’t always feel like some classes don’t perfectly line up with them. For example, I actually really dig the Draenei (not suggesting they be in Classic+, just using as an example); I really love their whole “vibe”, the crystals theme is super distinct and pretty interesting I think.
Thing is, there’s really no class that quite captures that same flavor. They’re often depicted as Paladins, but where the class is very “traditional holy knight” coded, it’s doesn’t have a lot of visual or thematic overlap with the Draenei. Shamans do get some crystal-looking totems, but it doesn’t feel like there’s much cultural connection beyond that.
Another example might be Priests in general, who have always struggled with a specific identity, so they wind up generally adhering to very traditional “human Cleric” theming, which leaves Night Elves in sort of an odd position where Priestesses of the Moon are the most vaunted order, yet there’s virtually no connection to them via gameplay – in fact, a Balance Druid is arguably much closer to a “Priestess of the Moon” than the actual Priest class.
In an alternate reality, I could almost seem a universe in which each Race was its own “Class”, where you might get “specs” dedicated to different aspects of their culture, but staying firmly within their culture specifically.
That’s obviously not going to happen, though.
That said, it does make me wonder if there could be room for more unique Race-specific “stuff” in the game.
For example, maybe a Gnome Rogue can make a little clockwork toy to distract enemies to sneak past enemies or lower their threat, where a Dwarf Rogue might chug some ale to briefly increase their dodge rating and/or throw the mug at their enemy. Or maybe a Gnome Mage could amplify their personal engineering items or goggles with arcane energies, while a Troll Mage would have a better grap of ley-lines and could periodically spawn a rune of power somewhere nearby.
Okay, maybe not the greatest ideas in the world, but I’m just spitballing. The general idea being; that your Race does something a little more significant to affect the overall “experience” of your character, instead of JUST the class.
I dunno, just curious where you guys would stand on the idea? Maybe okay with extremely minor additions, but nothing dramatic? Maybe you do want significant changes, or something akin to Priest racial spells? Or do you hate racials with a burning passion and want it to be a purely aesthetic choice?