They literally use Magic to enhance their Melee Skills, and they use their Melee Skills to enhance their Magic.
That is texbook battlemage, at least to me. It could not be better.
If a seperate battlemage class was designed, I would worry that it would take something that Shaman already has.
If aesthetics are your arguing point. I can’t help you.
How about just fixing mages? They can’t get the classes they have right.
Each class has it’s own fantasy. We could use your same logic with tinkers vs hunters and claim hunters fill the niche via their use of guns, bombs and traps.
Same with dk vs necromancer.
Also with the game now designed with unique power resource systems it is very easy to design something unique for their game play vs shamans.
And btw according to blizz shamans lightning is there unique feature it seems.
So. I agree, to a point.
Tinkers and Hunters are very clearly a Different fantasy. They’re based on Different Hero Units, and have Different Abilies. (Goblin Tinker VS a Mixture of Beastmaster and Priestess of the Moon)
Similarly, A Shaman and A Battlemage would have different fantasy, and be based on different hero units.
(Farseer + ShadowHunter = Shaman. Where I imagine a spell blade would Borrow Heavily from the Elven Spellbreaker, and probably use things like the Night Elf Dryad being able to “Abolish Magic” Right? Please Clarify wether or not we agree on this premise. Where classes are based on Unit Abilites from WarCraft 3)
My problem is not one of Fantasy, or unique abilities. My issue would specifically be with Implimentation.
And Enhancement shaman is, quite obviously what most people think of when they picture a battlemage’s gameplay. Melee and Spells mixed together.
So a Battlemage would have to be something different. Maybe using something similar to old school paladin seals and Judgements? or Maybe focusing on being a spellbreaker.
Tl;Dr. What im trying to say is a Battlemage could work. You’d just have to make it very different from a class we already have that Mixes spells and Melee together.
Just so I can see them explode…be nice if you added the whole quote CNN
So explain Ancestral Recall then.
I want iterate to everyone in this thread, I created it to talk about battle mages and try to brainstorm ideas of what it can be. I did not create it to talk about paladins.
And no, I do not think paladins should get an arcane class skin. Nor shammies get a battlemage skin.
They both have their own flavors after all.
In a way yes. They would have a purge I imagine in a form of a melee strike (as a form of keepsake from spellbreakers in lore to show they can and are trained to, strike at mana) I think for the third spec I would implement a 2 meter to balance system what would call ley bars, once they are full I would have it do a 2 weapon animation attack doing frostfire damage. The ley bars fills one side with fire strikes, the other with ice strikes.
Also to state more clearer, I think animations of battle mages striking with fire with say the left-handed weapon, and frost with the right-handed attacks rather then weapon buffs like shammies has. I would also not have battle mages the ability to summon any elementals, but they could share say a blink-like ability with mages.
Fun fact, spell steal was inspired by spellbreakers.
This is something I think I’d disagree and stress to avoid. There is so much possibilities one can do with arcane magic, copying what the light can do would just devalue it entirely.
Oh I understand that. Which is why I’m open for the 2nd spec to be a tank (we do not have a DW tank yet really, I don’t count monks because they don’t use weapons oftenly) A dps sheild and sword would also be cool. They can say the sheild has arcane circles/runes that upon activation expells magic from the front of the sheild for damage.
Edited OP to include forsaken since I forgot to.
For a Battlemage, I’d rather the class be predominantly Arcane, rather than elemental like a Shaman or a regular Mage.
Give them Chronomancy as their healing spec, Spellblade as a possible tanking or melee spec and then a ranged dps spec.
They’d wear either Mail or Plate.
This is merely my personal vision of what I’d prefer for a potential Battlemage class 
It is more appropriately a mage spec.
I disagree, mages do not like battle and are not in their craft as military units while battle mages are. Yes a mage can fight, but that is not why they became mages.
There is also the fact mages does not know swordplay, it is better off as it’s own class.
I like your ideas. Thankfully how ever arcane can use fire and frost magic so it does work out.
Blah edit lol I meant not in there craft to be military units.