Bending plants with arcane magic has repeatedly been shown to do things, usually in the form of dungeon and raid bosses we have to fight.
Technically none of the four playable Druid specs require a connection to the Emerald Dream, just someone to grant you the ability to shapeshift or manipulate magical balance.
Though if you want a connection to the Emerald Dream, that indeed makes the Dark Ancients a good choice, as Goldrinn explained about Lycanthoth:
You were brave to face down Lycanthoth, <name>. Like myself, he was a primal force of nature… but his origins were from a darker place.
Those who birthed that beast reached deep into the blackness, channeling powers never intended for this world.
And that sounds exactly like the kind of dark powers the Void Elves love researching into.
On the topic at hand, I will admit that I may be in the minority in that I actually like the vast majority of ARs in the game conceptually. I think that the execution on many of them was lackluster, or didn’t quite achieve their potential in terms of plain creativity or aesthetics … but the concept was there. The exceptions to this have oddly become the Lightforged and Highmountain.
So, in that spirit … I’m gonna get greedy.
I kind of would like to see the Jinyu as the next Alliance AR, and for the Alliance to start making inroads into Pandaria. I want more fish and aquatic varieties for them, with perhaps a more Koifish/Goldfish theme for the females.
I would like the Broken/Krokul to replace the Lightforged as the Draenei AR, with the Lightforged themselves becoming customization options for the base race.
Finally, I would like the Taunka to replace the Highmountain as the Mulgore Tauren AR, with the Highmountain also becoming customization options.
I have no clue what the final Horde AR could be…
There are many tweaks to the ARs I do conceptually like that I’d make to the ARs I do think have a lot of potential; to push them over the edge. HighElf forms for the VEs, much like the Worgen Two-Forms. Embracing the strange of the Junkers a little more, truly bringing about the weird with what should be creepily bizarre. “Cutting the Fat” a bit on the Kul Tirans, and putting a bit more Vrykul in them. More clear muscle-mass, less rotund. Things like this…
Amadis we just had a quest in BFA where we go to rescue ED from void infestation. If velves would get such a powers and constantly switch to ED with it they’d be danger to this realm.
If anything, you just pointed out how easily the Void Elves already have a connection to the Emerald Dream, and they could use their knowledge to help defend it.
Void elves don’t have connection to it. Void abberation slipped there and we went to purge them because they were danger to entire realm. It means that velves themselves would be danger to it too, in a same way thry were danger to Sunwell.
If the Void has a connection to the Emerald Dream then the Void Elves have access through that as well. And they could help research how the Void is getting in and help develop countermeasures to keeping them out a little more permanent than simply killing void minions and hoping more don’t show up later.
They have the animations, they’re just not enabled for the characters. Use a disguise toy of some kind to be a worgen or goblin (player models only) as a monk, and they’ll still have all the animations.
Who should also be on that list is Lightforged Monks. There literally was a Lightforged Monk raid boss in Dazar’alor until they hurriedly changed her to a regular draenei-- but kept her voicelines about fighting in the Twisting Nether for millenia. It’s almost laughable how they dig their heels in about stuff like this.
Belf, maybe.
Mechagnomes, absolutely not. It fits neither the race nor class fantasy for the combination, aside from “LOL TRANSFORMERS, IT’D BE SO FUNNY, GUYS”. Mechagnomes specifically live separate from nature to the point when even their “trees” and “gardens” in Mechagon are entirely synthetic and they pay little heed to environmental destruction on the island itself.
Forsaken being in constant agony sounds like a good reason not to have them, but hey, we got Lightforged Death Knights with no lore explanation, so why the hell not.
KT paladin would be fine, seeing as how there’s literally an Order of Embers Inquisitor with Crusader Strike and Flash of Light wielding a 2H sword in Drustvar, along with some implied Light worship that remains. There’s more lore precedent for KT Paladins than there was for the single KT Shaman that shows up in the recruitment quest.
Lorewise, because the need for Demon Hunters has dwindled. The desperation that came with defeating the Burning Legion has all but evaporated, so we’d instead have people trying to combat the Void.
Gamewise, I doubt Blizz would want to spend the time making more DH-specific skin options and applying the horns/blindfolds/etc., seeing as how they didn’t even make DK skin tones for the Allied Races.
Any race that can be Warrior and Priest should also have Paladin.
Mechagnome Druids - I would totally make one and call ‘em Tigerhawk. Gimme my Beast Wars: Transmetals. As Gnomes that are reconnectin’ with their mechanical heritage, have them gain the power from Freya, the very creator of the Emerald Dream, to be her new stewards or sometihn’.
Pandaren Demon Hunter - only 'cuz I saw a baller fan art of Illidan as a Pandaren. https://i.imgur.com/CMeu1OH.jpg
Thank you. That’s exactly what I was going for with a Mechagnome Druid.
I’m generally game for the classes becoming more loose skill sets than strict career fields. We’ve seen this pretty flagrantly with the Darkspear in particular, who have every class but Paladin and DH under the nebulous “Some sorta witch doctor, shadow hunter dude” umbrella.
I think it really only cheapens the fantasy if we go back to the Class Hall idea. Where my Undead Warrior felt really out of place in Valhalla (So… why didn’t y’all angel chicks come rescue me from certain death the first time). Or the Draenei and Tauren paladins looking real out of place in the psuedocatholic church.
Otherwise I think it just expands the type of fantasies you can have. For the Forsaken for example I think you could justify Druid as some sort of Apothecary order. Herbalism is pretty important to them and we know they have shapeshifting potions so that’s two aspects already sorted.
The main theme of Warlocks is the pursuit of power through courting dark forces. This is something pretty much every race in WoW has done at one point or another. How this power is used and why they want it is different for every Warlock, they’re really the most individualistic class that’s not really tied up in major themes for one race or another. This individualism makes it very easy to come up with a group of Warlocks for each race that’s sizable enough to justify it being a class, even if they are treated as outcasts. Which is still fine because that used to be the whole point of warlocks before society suddenly heel turned out of nowhere and started accepting them.
You’re telling me that there are absolutely no Night Elves who chose a less self-sacrificial path of fighting the Burning Legion with their own power than being a Demon Hunter, or even decided to study Fel far deeper than others in their society in order to help stop its corruption of Felwood and other such areas? That there weren’t any Tauren at all who felt vengeful after losing everything to the Tauren’s natural enemies and wanted to see that the Quillboar and Centaur encroaching on their people burned in fire and brimstone for their crimes?
No Zandalari ever decided they was disillusioned by the fickle nature of the Loa and decided to flip the script and be the master instead of the supplicant by enslaving demons for their own power?
No Draenei or Broken ever decided to use Fel without becoming Sargeras’ pawn? There could never have been an Illidan of the Draenei who learns their secrets and turns against them as a Warlock? Really? I’m supposed to somehow believe that after 25,000 years nothing like that has happened as they lost everything to the Legion again and again, planet after planet?
Humans can be Warlocks, so why can’t Kul Tirans? It’s not as if large people can’t cast Fel magic too, just look at Cho’gall or literally any Orc or Ogre Warlock. They’re already pretty loose with morality relative to their Stormwind cousins, who have Warlocks already, so what’s the deal?
I’m sure I’m missing some, but I think I’ve made my point regardless.
I totally agreed with this. I wanted to race change my Human Warlock to a Night Elf Warlock for the longest time. But then I got to race change my Human Warlock to a Void Elf Warlock, so I’m satisfied for now.
I agree, I think Shamans are much more flexible than their aesthetic and powers might first suggest. Personally I feel any race should be able to be any class, but the big one for me is specifically Warlocks.
Everyone should. The Goblins just make deals with them.
I had assumed, without even checking, the Goblin shaman story was going to be similar to the Belves. Oh they’re extracting the elemental’s powers out forcibly with machines but then they rediscover some actual Shamanistic tradition. And now we’ve goblin hippies or something.
But nah they just write contracts with storm, earth and fire. I’ve no earthly idea what I have a rock might want, but I guess Azeroth has some enterprising rocks. As that’s the case - why isn’t there everything Shamans?
Draenei Rogues (Including Lightforged) - Rangari taught.
Draenei Warlocks - Eradar
Draenei Druids - Because goat chickens
Night Elf Paladins - Battle priestess’ of the moon/night warriors
Night Elf shaman - Already meet every requirement needed to produce
Worgen Paladins - they were already paladins before
Worgen Shaman - Harvest witches but mail
Blood Elf Druids - They already have a history with nature. Literally a stereotype elf
Blood Elf Shaman - Same as druid
Undead Paladins - they were already paladins before and Sir Zeilik shows they don’t lose the ability.
Nightborne Paladin - They’re already priests, they have some way to control the light. give them armor and paladin it is.
Just my top list of wants. I for one see no reason for class locks to even exists. Give them a stupid long and difficult quest line/rep grind if you must to keep populations low. There exists no reason for any class to be locked to certain races. Especially if Lightforged can become deathknights…
