Mechagnome Allied Race Discussion

Community General Discussion
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Update: Mechagnomes are now live! :robot: :heart:

Gnomest has created a new mechagnome discord server, for those who want to share art and ideas and continue the discussion: Mechagon Factory.

Update: Patch 8.3 PTR

It really happened — mechagnome allied race CONFIRMED! Resistance is futile! What do we know about these mechagnomes so far?

Unlock Requirements

  • Reach Exalted with the Rustbolt Resistance
  • Earn Achievement The Mechagonian Threat

It appears that mythic-only Operation: Mechagon will be split into two heroic dungeons: Operation: Mechagon – Junkyard and Operation: Mechagon – Workshop. This should satisfy the final step toward the achievement.

Classes

  • Mage, warlock, priest, rogue, monk, hunter, warrior

Although nothing has been announced at this point, death knight textures were also datamined for pandaren and allied races, including mechagnomes.

Racials

  • Combat Analysis : You gather and analyze combat data every 5 sec, increasing your primary stat by 50, stacking up to 8 times. The data decays while out of combat.
  • Hyper Organic Light Originator : Summon Organic Light duplicates to distract your foes.
  • Mastercraft : You function as a personal Blacksmithing Anvil, Cooking Fire, and Mining Forge. In addition, your limbs include every profession tool.
  • Re-Arm : When you fall below 20% health, heal for 20% of your maximum health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 2.5 min.
  • Skeleton Pinkie : Allows opening of locked chests and doors that require a skill level up to 100.

Mount and Heritage Armor

This image shows the mount and heritage armor, which gives the appearance of full mechanization like the hostile sentries on Mechagon:

Update: Mechagon Comic

With the release of Patch 8.2 around the corner, Blizzard has published a new comic about Mechagon! The story and art are very well done, and the comic shows the nuance and tragedy of Mechagon along with the origins of the Rustbolt Resistance.

Update: Patch 8.2 PTR

With the release of the Patch 8.2 PTR, we have more news and information on mechagnomes! It is apparent that a lot of effort and imagination have gone into their design.

Story and Faction

We assist Tinkmaster Overspark in locating the lost island of Mechagon. There we meet Prince Erazmin, the leader of the Rustbolt Resistance of free mechagnomes. We then work with the Resistance to overthrow the mad King Mechagon, who wants to reverse the curse of the flesh and turn everybody into full machines:

Models and Animations

Both male and female mechagnomes have a full array of cybernetic face, arm, and leg customization options, in addition to metal body colors, hairstyles, hair colors, and facial hair options. Plus they can equip player armor.

Build your own mechagnome here:

Alternatively, here is a video showing some of these cool customization options:

Mechagnomes also have several new animations, which are still being implemented on the PTR. Female mechagnomes have new cheer, rude, and salute animations along with a new dance animation! Their dance is (drumroll please…) the robot:

Original Post

Justification in Lore

After being teased with their disappearance at the Abandoned Junkheap in Tiragarde Sound, we will finally be solving the mystery of the missing gnomes! Patch 8.2 will lead us to Mechagon, an ancient lost island where the Kul Tiran gnomish population seems to have gone.

According to Blizzard, “the beginning of the adventure is within the Junker Wastes where heroes will be beset by death robots, but there are potential allies nearby. Hunted by robots themselves, the mechagnomes introduce you to a whole new society and take you to where higher cast gnomes live who have dedicated themselves to their king and have embraced robotics. King Mechagon has a vision to return anyone of flesh into more pure robotic parts and it’s up to you to put a stop to him.”

Potential allies? How about potential allied race! I am excited to befriend these mechagnomes and find out more about their culture, history, appearances, and architecture. With a whole zone and mega-dungeon of their own, they have a chance to be really fleshed out (heh) and given enough interesting lore to make them an awesome addition to the Alliance!

Customization Options

The following slide from Blizzcon in November 2018 shows some exciting concept art for a mechagnome allied race. The variety of robotic “upgrades” plus hairstyles makes me hopeful that these guys are intended to be playable one day. The hairstyles of the ladygnomes look super rockabilly—I am digging the victory rolls! The hairstyles of the dudegnomes are a little more generic—I hope they can get some fun pompadours and other iconic 50s looks. Two words… Hand. Clamps. Unfortunately, I do not have the permission to embed images:

https://wow.zamimg.com/uploads/screenshots/normal/802876.jpg

Potential Classes

Probable:

The following classes are baseline for most races and make sense for mechagnomes as well. I included monk because nearly all the allied races have been given this class option, regardless of strong justification in the lore.

  • Warrior
  • Hunter
  • Rogue
  • Mage
  • Monk

Possible:

I think there is a good chance that mechagnomes could be either paladins and priests or shamans.

Paladins are righteous warriors who protect the weak and bring justice to their foes. If we are allying with mechagnome freedom fighters who are trying to overthrow a tyrannical ruler, then I can see these guys being more zealous and ideological than your garden-variety gnomes. Like the humans idolized the watcher Tyr and formed a paladin order around his sacrifice, I can see mechagnomes idolizing Mimiron and forming an order around his ingenuity. If mechagnomes can be paladins, then priests should be available to them as well.

Shaman are spiritual masters who balance the elemental forces and channel them to their own ends. In Legion, beastmaster hunters learned that Mimiron devised the Thunderspark, which harnessed the essence of storms and focused it into concentrated blasts of energy. This sounds a good deal like what an elemental shaman does! Similar to their creator, I can see mechagnomes being proficient with lightning and storms, and perhaps even reverent when it comes to the spark of life and the elusive element of spirit. Mechagnomes are the ghost in the machine, and I can see them having a unique perspective on technoshamanism.

  • Paladin
  • Priest
    or
  • Shaman

Unlikely:

The gnomes of Kul Tiras have not really been exposed to the Burning Legion and fel magic like the gnomes of the Eastern Kingdoms, so I can see losing warlocks as a tradeoff for gaining paladins or shamans.

And as awesome as mechagnome transformers would be, I do not think there is a high probability for druid to be a class option. If the tinker becomes a class in the future and mech suits are a defining feature, then maybe we will get some sweet gnome-style shapeshift forms.

  • Warlock
  • Druid

Almost certainly not:

So far, hero classes have not been given to any of the allied races, probably because of their higher starting level.

  • Death Knight
  • Demon Hunter

Racial Abilities

I was more creative coming up with the names than the actual abilities, so take all of these ideas with a block of salt!

  • Arm and a leg: Good thing you have spare parts on you at all times. The amount of materials needed for crafting recipes is reduced by X%.
  • Ghost in the machine: X% chance to resurrect on death.
  • Resistance is not futile: Resistance to death magic (or whatever) is increased by X%.
  • Unpuntable: A reinforced elementium endoskeleton has its advantages. X% of damage taken is reflected back at the attacker. (Could be a low % passive or a high % active ability that lasts X seconds.)

Mounts

Mechagnomes could get a reskinned mechanostrider, but there are so many cool gnomish mounts these days. Mechanowolves are relatively new models that have been featured in the Broken Isles and Kul Tiras—put a saddle on ‘em! Spider tanks are another gnomish mount that I hope becomes available to players one day:

https://wow.zamimg.com/uploads/screenshots/normal/570322-dx-9000-spider-tank-legionkiller.jpg

Emotes

/dance: Like most allied races, mechagnomes would probably get the same dances as their parent race. But how cool would the robot be?!
/charge: Resistance is futile!
/silly and /flirt: Not my forte. What are your ideas?

I am so excited for Thursday and the reveal of more information on Patch 8.2. Who else is getting hyped for mechagnomes?

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Doesn’t sound very edible

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Oh I’d love a mech druid. It’s probably the only way I’d play a junker gnome. But even if not if others want them and will enjoy them then I’m all for them being added. After all, every allied race added is a new mount in my collection lol.

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These things are going to be Alliance only, right?

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Please no.

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I just realised that the mechagnomes shown in the 8.2 preview aren’t an allied race… they’re just the npcs.

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I welcome our potential mechanical allies with open arms.

Almost certainly not:

So far, hero classes have not been given to any of the allied races, probably because of their higher starting level.

  • Death Knight
    *** Demon Hunter**

You haven’t seen the half of it. Just trust me on this.

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Count me in the minority, but mechagnomes could be pretty neat if backed by decent lore from Mechagon. I’d level one for the heritage set in any case.

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Our options are limited so far, its either Mecha Gnomes or Leper Gnomes. So your choices are Gnomes who gave up their limbs or those who lose their limbs.

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Maybe not for the refined palate of a Zandalari, but the Mag’har brought goren with them from Draenor, who seem like the natural enemies of a metal-based people!

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Junker gnomes seem like a bad idea for an allied race.

  • Unless their prosthetic limbs show all the time, they’ll just look like regular gnomes when wearing armor, which kinda defeats the purpose.
  • I love them but gnomes are one of the lesser played races. Not exactly a lot of call for another race of them. (Then again, they’re about equal with dwarves and people seemed to like Dark Irons, so this might not be a big deal).
  • Kinda messed up to say people with prosthetic limbs are a different race.

Even though I don’t play Alliance I hope they get something new and cool for their next allied race, like some sort of new Naga or something. Seems messed up to give Horde the new (even if they are based on the goblin model) Vulpera race (fingers crossed) and then go ‘Hey, Alliance, here’s some more gnomes.’

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There are some people who would rather gnomes weren’t even in the game to begin with. Don’t let the naysayers bother you. It is about time gnomes got some more attention and love.

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Thank you for seeing how ridiculous this would be from a druids perspective.

Great writeup and some interesting ideas!

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Yea. I’ve seen many ask for mechagnome druids in the past. The tinker class and druids are inherently contradictory to each other.

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I wouldn’t play one but I hope you guys get what you want as well. Mechas don’t sound terrible in my opinion and can be cool for those that enjoy gnomes.

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Mechagnome armor could have cutouts that show off their mechanical features, similar to Forsaken armor showing off their bones. And as Testdemo said earlier, the ability to hide most armor pieces in the future will make this a non-issue for all of the allied races that look like their parent races while wearing armor, such as lightforged draenei or Mag’har orcs.

The trend seems to be that the original races each recruit an associated allied race based on their model, with Kul Tiran humans as an exception. There is nothing to say that this trend will continue, but now that the most popular races have received their new customizations and story developments, I hope that gnomes and the other remaining less popular races get their fair dues.

I do not believe that mechagnomes are othering of people with prosthetics or disabilities, but I would agree that the word “race” is fraught with connotations of assumed difference. Most allied “races” are probably more akin to allied cultures, tribes, sects, or societies.

For example, the lightforged draenei are just draenei who have chosen to undergo a ritual transformation into what they see as a purer and more powerful state by fusing with the Light. Mechagnomes are just gnomes that have chosen to undergo a different transformation toward their own idealized state by trying to reverse the curse of the flesh. Mag’har orcs are just orcs who were never transformed by drinking demon blood in the first place.

We will probably have to agree to disagree on this point, but robots are an archetype that has not really been represented in game yet, and I think mechagnomes have the potential to be as cool as any other allied race! I am a fan of the diminutive but persevering, clever, and scrappy types, so I am looking forward to what lies in store for the goblins and vulpera as well.

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They look atrocious, I love playing dwarves and gnomes mainly, dark iron dwarves were absolute hit, but mechagnomes are not what you show in this thread, this is junker gnomes, gnomes with robot limbs. Mechagnomes are gnomes unaffected by curse of flesh, appearance similar to Mimiron.

If you really want mechagnomes, research Mimiron and even Blingtron, as it could be one of customizations for mechagnomes. If you however want junkergnomes, I doubt there’ll be much support, the limbs alone would work terrible with mogs, and they look straight out creepy.

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  • Well, Lightforged and Highmountain, in full armor, can only be distinguishable of Draenei and Tauren because of the Hair and Horns. If Mechagnome AR follows the style of the shown NPCs, they’ll have pretty unique head features.
  • Tauren and Dwarves had little representation too and they got
  • Same thing applies to the Highmountain… Their only physical feature is another kind of horn.

I think, at least analyzing all the points you put out, Mechagnomes fall perfectly into an AR spot, if we compare to what we got already.

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So question: are the cyborg gnomes that way due to choice or via external events necessitating the use of artificial limbs?

If it’s the former, then the Borean Tundra quest line, Re-cursive shows that Gnomes can be reverted to Mechagnomes and then back into regular Gnomes thus meaning the cyborgs could easily go back to being fully fleshed. (As fully mechanical gnomes are gender neutral, identical, and without personality.)

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I’m honestly expecting alliance to get them and horde to get Vulpera.

Inb4 “all alliance races are generic.”

I think they look neat/different enough to make an awesome playable race though.

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