Since the announcement of patch 11.1 in the last Warcraft Direct, one thing has been on my mind. The Tinker class as a new playable one.
This idea is something that has been on my mind since several expansions ago, and more specifically since BFA, where both in the port of Boralus and in Zuldazar, in the island expedition area, there were several NPCs that served the role of tinkers.
In addition to all this, in BFA the zone of Mechagon was also added and the mechagnomes were introduced. At that time, it seemed like a missed opportunity not to introduce the Tinker class into the game, but Blizzard had never introduced something so novel in a patch in the entire history of WoW. All the new classes were part of entire expansions.
Having said this and having passed 3 expansions since that moment, we find ourselves in a similar situation again, but this time, the patch is even more focused on technology and tinkers-related content, if possible.
Blizzard already introduced a new spec in the middle of an expansion, such as the Augmentation Evoker in Dragonflight. Still, I find it impossible that they will add a new class in 11.1, especially considering it hasn’t been announced in the direct.
That said, I see the tinker as one of the most realistic possibilities to be a future playable class. I don’t know when it might happen, but following this 11.1 patch, after finishing the expansion and starting the pre-patch for the next one, it could be used as an excuse that the goblins of Undermine have taught our factions many things related to technology and to fight using it.
Having said all this, here are some of my ideas that I have come up with for this new class.
The main thing. The races that could be tinkers would be:
-
Horde
-Goblins
-Vulperas
-Terrans
-Undead
-(Orcs?) -
Alliance
-Gnomes
-Mecagnomes
-Terrans
-Dwarves
-Black Iron
-(Draenei?)
-(Forged by the light?)
Although really, and as we have been seeing lately, Blizzard wants to create as many race-class combinations as possible, so I wouldn’t find it strange if all the races we have could be tinkers.
Regarding the gear topic, I came up with a somewhat more novel idea compared to everything I’ve seen in forums or videos.
It would be a mail class, having 3 specs; one DPS, another tank, and another healer.
In addition to this, I thought of adding a new weapon to the game.
-NEW WEAPON. ONE-HANDED PISTOL/CROSSBOW.
The tinker class would have a mace, sword, or one-handed axe in their main-hand and then would have this new weapon (one-handed pistol/crossbow) in their off-hand.
All specs would focus on the use of both melee and ranged abilities, with the tank being the one that would focus the most on melee, followed by the DPS, which would be a hybrid of melee and ranged damage, and ending with the healer, who would always seek distance and use melee attacks as a last resort to inflict some damage.
Regarding the aesthetic aspect of these new weapons, they would be stored on your character’s back, remaining visible at all times like the hunters’ weapons. The one-handed swords, axes, or maces would go on the belt (except for the specific ones that are already stored on the back, which would cross with our pistol/crossbow).
Carrying a pistol or a crossbow is purely aesthetic and does not affect gameplay (like hunters using firearms, crossbows or bows).
Moreover, this new weapon would be useful for survival hunters and rogue outlaws, who also have attacks using this type of weapon.
Considering that demon hunters were the last to receive a new weapon, which was exclusive to them, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea to add something new that also serves other existing classes (which are precisely two of the least used and attractive specs today).
The range of the abilities with this new weapon would be like the pistol shot of the outlaw rogue, so that range can’t be abused too much without having to cast abilities. The basic attacks would all be melee, unlike the hunter or wand users who can auto-attack from a distance.
The tinkers will use a resource similar to focus called scrap, which will be spent on the use of certain abilities and will be generated gradually as well as in combat, since hitting enemies or healing allies can drop piles of scrap that you must collect by walking over them (There are 100 points of scrap in the resources bar). Additionally, it will have 4 overload points, which function similarly to the monks’ chi.
Once this is clarified, I will proceed to explain the abilities that the 3 tinker specs will share and then I will delve into each of the specs.
- General skills of the tinkers:
- Electric Strike: You hit the enemy with your melee weapon and generate one overload point and 30 scrap (Apply electrify).
- Quick Shot: You hit the enemy with your ranged weapon, spending 20 scrap points and generating one overload point.
- Fixed turret: You spend two overload points and summon a turret that shoots at a nearby target marked by electrify for 6 seconds. The damage bounces to targets with electrify active and is reduced based on the number of targets it hits.
- Flashbang Grenade: You throw a grenade in a marked area (selected with the mouse), spending 40 scrap points and dealing area damage to all enemies within it (Apply electrify).
- Repellent Mine: Spend 15 scrap points and place a mine at your feet, with 3 areas of different sizes marked by colors. When you use the ability again, the mine explodes and launches you in a direction and angle based on your position relative to the mine. The closest area sends you more upwards, the intermediate area sends you a medium distance with some elevation, and the farthest area sends you with very little elevation to a farther distance (this mine is only intended to be used for mobility, it does not deal damage or move allies).
- Get in the groove device: You spend one overload point and 20 scrap, launch a device that summons a turntable in the center, and all targets affected by its area are forced to dance for 4 seconds without being able to use abilities.
- H.I.P.E.R.C.H.A.R.G.E: You overload yourself, instantly generating 8 overload points (4 are temporarily added to the 4 you have as a base). Increases your damage and healing by 30% and your scrap generation by 75% for 10 seconds.
- Emergency parachute: Passive that activates every time the engineer is in free fall towards the ground to avoid taking damage (only activates if the fall is more than 1.5 seconds in the air). You can activate and deactivate the option for the parachute to deploy, but it cannot be deployed in mid-air at your own discretion, unlike the gliding of the dracthyr or the dh.
- Decoy: When you receive fatal damage, you summon a mannequin that redirects all your generated threat towards it and forces enemies to attack it. Upon being defeated, it heals the tinker for a certain amount of health. It can only occur once every 5 minutes.
Now we will talk about all 3 specs of the tinker and some of their habilities.
- Explosive DPS skills.
- The more, the worse: The Explosive specialization is capable of deploying two fixed turrets instead of one and increases their active duration from 6 to 9 seconds.
- F.U.E.L Shot: You spend one overload point and 30 scrap. You fire a bomb with your secondary weapon at the selected target, and upon impact, the bomb releases a flammable liquid that is applied to the primary target and all nearby ones.
- Spark Strike: You spend 1 overload point and make a melee attack against one target. If it is stained with flammable liquid, it begins to burn and transfer the effect to nearby targets that were previously under the effect of the flammable liquid, causing damage over time.
- Brakeless skates: You spend 15 scrap points and get on explosive skates that make you charge forward at a 100% increased speed on land for 2 seconds, without being able to change direction. If you hit an enemy, you generate two overload points and stun them for 2 seconds. If you miss, you will get stunned 0.5 seconds. If you manage to hit a target affected by the flammable liquid, it will start to burn.
- K.Boom: You spend 30 scrap points and 3 overload points. You hit with your melee weapon while firing a shot with your pistol and inflict a great amount of damage.
- Mechanical limbs: Upon activating H.I.P.E.R.C.H.A.R.G.E, the tinker deploys two mechanical limbs from his back. One is a saw that inflicts a large amount of damage to a target and applies electrify. The other is a flamethrower that spits fire, dealing area damage to all targets the tinker has in front of him, also applying the burning effect as long as the affected targets are under the effect of flammable liquid.
The idea of this DPS is to keep you mobile all the time. You have the possibility to attack from a distance, but you will always be forced to get into melee range to deal the maximum amount of damage possible.
- Tank “Mechanized” Abilities
- Screwyou Bot: (2 charges) Spend 30 scrap points and summon a robot in the area (selected with the mouse) that directs all enemy threat towards it. After 5 seconds, it explodes and deals area damage, applies electrify, and redirects the threat to the tinker who launched it.
- Electric shield: You spend one Overload point and generate a shield in front of you that reduces all damage received by 30%. It has two charges and lasts 10 seconds.
- Flame Spinning Top: You spend 20 scrap points and activate your propulsor wristbands, causing you to spin around for a brief moment, dealing area damage and leaving an area on the ground that inflicts damage over time.
- Cheerleader bot: You spend 2 overcharge points and 30 scrap to summon a bot that provides a 20% damage reduction to the entire group while it lasts.
- Anti-gravity field: You deploy a device at your feet that, upon contact with an enemy, activates and causes all nearby targets to rise 1 meter off the ground and be unable to use abilities for 3 seconds.
- Steel Suit: When using H.I.P.E.R.C.H.A.R.G.E, the tinker equips a robotic armor that reduces all received damage by 50%. Additionally, you reflect the spells cast on you (this can only happen every 2 seconds during the duration of H.I.P.E.R.C.H.A.R.G.E).
The idea of this tank is that your screwyou bots are responsible for taking damage while they are active, and once they explode, you yourself become the one who receives the threat and the attacks from the enemies, having to use abilities like electric shield, anti-gravity field, or cheerleader bot until you can summon another screwyou bot.
It’s a rotation of distributing damage between you and your bots and knowing when or not to activate your electric shield.
- Healer abilities “Repairer”
- Stimulating Shot: You shoot a stimulant at the selected target, which heals them for 15 seconds over time and applies the stimulated effect.
- Syringe turret: You spend two overload points and summon a turret that fires healing doses at nearby targets affected by stimulation, and they bounce between them.
- Medical grenade: You spend 40 scrap points and throw a grenade in an area (selected with the mouse) that, upon exploding, heals all allies affected by the explosion for a fixed amount and applies stimulation to them.
- Vein shot: You focus on aiming and shoot the selected target with an antidote that instantly heals them a certain amount of health. This ability generates an overload point and has a 1.5 second cast time.
- Healbot: You spend two overload points and 30 scrap points to summon a bot that runs between your group members, healing them a fixed amount each time it reaches them. This bot applies the stimulated effect.
- SoShield: You throw a device that deploys a dome lasting 4 seconds, making all allies inside immune to damage (It has a long cooldown time).
- X Glasses: When you activate H.I.P.E.R.C.H.A.R.G.E, you put on a helmet with X-ray vision glasses that allow you to apply an absorption shield to the targets by healing them above their maximum health up to a total of 50% of their maximum life.
The idea of this heal is somewhat novel, as it would be the first to not use mana.
His rotation would be based on keeping the entire group under the stimulated effect to generate passive healing for most of the group members for as long as possible. You could also focus on a more weakened target using vein shot (in addition to this ability being your main source of generating overcharge).
In summary, these would be some of the main abilities of the tinkers and each of their specializations. Obviously, there are many numerical details missing, more passives, and some additional abilities as well. But as I said, it’s just an initial idea that I think captures the essence of a tinker in a good way.
I wanted to capture this essence by including certainly “absurd” skills like the robot theme, the get in the groove device, the roller skates, or the repellent mine. I think this would bring a touch of healthy chaos to every group with a tinker.
Moreover, I believe that each spec has its own significant differences compared to the others and would have very fun ways to play.
I would be delighted to see comments providing ideas or giving their opinion.
