Looks like "Tinker" will be the Next Class

[Nulthoom-thrall]

Robot bodyguards

[Koshka-kelthuzad]

@Liianas-khaz-modan

Missile Barrages, Mech Suits, Turrets, Pocket Factories, anything like that.

yup, Tinker was a real class in Warcraft III and those were its abilities.
Robo-form would be its ultimate ability.

I think Tinker should be exclusive to Gnome/Goblin/Vulpera/Mechagnome

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

I personally consider the “Pocket Factory” from WC3 to be analogous to a Turret, obviously the two are somewhat different.
A pocket factory summons little bomb bots that walk towards the target and explode.

But If I were to take that ability and translate it into World of WarCraft, it would function better as a Turret.
You build it, it aims at a target and constantly fires explosives at them.

Pocket Factory could be a Major DPS cooldown Instead.

@Koshka-kelthuzad

Robo-form would be its ultimate ability.

I think Tinker should be exclusive to Gnome/Goblin/Vulpera/Mechagnome

100%. It’s not Tinker without a big bad mech suit.

[Kagehiro-zuljin]

I would more expect engineering to end up conceding ground to Tinkers if they existed. Kinda like how Warriors entirely lost darker themed armor sets to DKs. But engineering has had rockets/missiles, turrets, mechs (as a mount, granted) over the game’s history.

Leaving the aesthetic behind, whatever comes along should avoid being a melee or a tank. Ranged class prominence has been continually shrinking and that should be pushed back against imo, and tank performance has proven too tall an order to manage.

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

@Kagehiro-zuljin

I would more expect engineering to end up conceding ground to Tinkers if they existed. Kinda like how Warriors entirely lost darker themed armor sets to DKs. But engineering has had rockets/missiles, turrets, mechs (as a mount, granted) over the game’s history.

Engineering hasn’t had these things for a long long time.
Sky Golem was Pandaria, and that was HALF THE GAME AGO

Simply put, Engineering nowadays isn’t about that stuff anymore.
Engineer is now mostly focused on utility items and a Battle Res.

Looking that far in the past and pretending that Engineering is still built around that concept is just wrong.

To put it politely. What I’m trying to say is that Engineering has ALREADY Conceded ground to Tinkers. It’s just that a Tinker Class doesn’t exist yet.

@Kagehiro-zuljin

Leaving the aesthetic behind, whatever comes along should avoid being a melee or a tank

I can Agree with this only somewhat: Hear me out.

I think Tinker should have a Ranged DPS and a Ranged Healer, But also a Melee Tank spec.
for two reasons:

1. The Island Expedition tinkers were set up this way.
2. The Tinker Hero Unit in WC3 was one of the Tankiest, healthiest in the game. They had massive armor from their mech suit. IF they couldn’t tank, it would be disengenous to the source material.

[Kagehiro-zuljin]

I think the problem there is that professions have been in a pathetic and boring state for too long—interesting design sacrificed on the altar of balance and convenience.

Ultimately it is not up to me, though. I would rather see something new and unexpected, preferably ranged, that shakes up the existing class dynamic. I don’t expect WoW to stop being a formulaic slog any time soon, though, so we will see what 10.0 brings.

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

Another Day, More time to Farm the love rocket.

sigh
/Thread Bump.

@Kagehiro-zuljin

soon, though, so we will see what 10.0 brings.

Hopefully it goes well. We already got cross faction, that’s the big thing I really wanted.

[Pict-bronzebeard]

@Liianas-khaz-modan

I think Tinker should have a Ranged DPS and a Ranged Healer, But also a Melee Tank spec.
for two reasons:

1. The Island Expedition tinkers were set up this way.
2. The Tinker Hero Unit in WC3 was one of the Tankiest, healthiest in the game. They had massive armor from their mech suit. IF they couldn’t tank, it would be disengenous to the source material.

This.

I like this version a lot.

Fits easily for any particular type of Tinkerer one can imagine.

[Hyssix-emerald-dream]

@Kagehiro-zuljin

I think the problem there is that professions have been in a pathetic and boring state for too long—interesting design sacrificed on the altar of balance and convenience.

That’s the way it has to be. You can’t have profession items offering a ton of DPS, because then it forces players to spec into that profession at the expense of other professions. That’s exactly what happened with engineering leading up to Cataclysm, and why they were nerfed into the ground. Profession items are better served offering cosmetic utility or unique gear, not competitive abilities.

[Clockworth-terenas]

@Hyssix-emerald-dream

You can’t have profession items offering a ton of DPS, because then it forces players to spec into that profession at the expense of other professions.

I think this is a very important point that tends to be overlooked. Engineering for weapon/armor upgrades, weapon crafting, teleporters and vehicle crafting should be the focus of Engineering. Little gadgets that offer QoL and novelties, not combat.

Tinker solves the issue of the lack of tech DPS and enhances Engineering by giving it a new class to craft for.

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

@Clockworth-terenas

I think this is a very important point that tends to be overlooked. Engineering for weapon/armor upgrades, weapon crafting, teleporters and vehicle crafting should be the focus of Engineering. Little gadgets that offer QoL and novelties, not combat.

A Profession that provides a significant increase to your DPS, by throwing consumable Bombs instead of using your class abilities is a HUGE balance issue!

And I’m amazed how few people actually see how that could be a problem.

Imagine if all of your class abilities and interactions were insignificant compared to consumable bombs with no interplay or gameplay behind “grind mats —> Throw bombs”

It would be awful.

Also, thanks to our friend Rakxil, we have a new thread.

The lack of a technology class in WoW is pretty glaring

So pretty much every applicable MMO has a tech-based class except for WoW, and it’s kind of weird because there’s a LOT of steampunk/sci fi elements in the game. There’s even technology-based races like Gnomes, Goblins, Draenei and Nightborne that use mechanical or magical technology. So where’s the technology class? I know there’s a tech-based profession, but there’s also a magic-based profession and multiple-magic based classes, so that’s not really an excuse either. Just look at the list; G…

INB4: hundreds of comments saying there’s too many threads.

[Kagehiro-zuljin]

I am well aware this game has long abandoned all else in pursuit of hypertuned encounters and homogenous class design. The fact that me lamenting professions being pathetic/boring was immediately met with an argument that professions shouldn’t do dps probably highlights how complacent the community has become about afterthought design (and is not an argument I made).

Let me try this, even though I was not asking for WotLK Era profs: if professions can’t influence core gameplay or combat due to balance concerns, why are they all so restricted/preclusive?

And just for the sake of clarity, I’ll add that while I think engineering could satisfy a Tinker concept, my more fundamental beef with it as presented is that it will be another Frankenstein of existing class mechanics that makes existing tank balance even worse. If it brought something new to the table I would be more open to the concept.

In general, most of my gripes with WoW on a design level stem from how much distance it continually adds between the game and the RPG.

[Thogar-the-scryers]

Guessing if it has a DPS spec, it will be yet another melee spec. Just what this game needs.

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

Nah the Island Expedition teams were Ranged DPS and Ranged Healer, with a Melee Tank spec.

[Frostzadan-quelthalas]

Yes please so I can play gnome

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

I’d love to finally make a Gnome Character, But I’m put off because there ENTIRE race is built around Tinkers, and I can’t be one.

It’s like if Night Elves couldn’t be Druids, or Pandas couldn’t be Monks.

[Pict-bronzebeard]

Or if a necromancer had to wear plate and be melee.

(I’m poking fun)

But yeah. I get that feeling. Being a hunter with engineering and mechanical pets is a good start for me, but the moment Tinker comes out you can bet I’ll be re-rolling this toon right quick.

[Liianas-khaz-modan]

@Pict-bronzebeard

But yeah. I get that feeling. Being a hunter with engineering and mechanical pets is a good start for me

It’s soooooooo not a good start. Not for me.

I’m very opinionated on the matter, But I hate the comparison of “Hunter with Mechanical pets” to Tinker.

Hunter is still using:

• Aspect of the Wild
• Various Animal Aspects
• Cobra Shot
• Several Abilities that exclusively shoot arrows even if you equip a gun
• Abilities like “Eyes of the Beast” and “Tame Beast” and “scare beast”
• Cooldowns like “Beastial Wrath” and “Primal Rage”

100% of Hunter’s Class fantasy is tightly tied to Nature and Archery.
If Hunter didn’t have ANY of these things, then MAYBE they could be comparable.
But unless Hunter players want to lose 99% of their abilities, they will always be a Nature/Animal themed class

[Pict-bronzebeard]

Hey no complaints from me on that view.

Hunter, while it can be versatile in a head Canon, it’s still what it is.

Like you say they’re nature based and there isn’t any changin that.

Tinkerer would be a real tech class and finally let folk play a class they’ve been dreamin of for years.

I don’t mean this against you, but it feels the same as the necromancer debacle to me. DK has aspects of it and all but it ain’t it. (at least it’s the same power source though.)

[Jirash-moon-guard]

WC3 Mortar Team plz