I’ve chosen to use my COVID-quarantine time to jot down some of the ideas I’ve pooped out over the years into text documents. And then I decided to share them on the forums! Because why not?
If you’re interested in seeing any of my other Pie In The Sky posts, here’s a couple of links:
•Pie in the Sky: Dread Lord Hero Class - #5 by Phekk-kaelthas
•Pie in the Sky: Demon Hunter Race Proliferation
•Pie in the Sky: Final BfA Allied Races
•Pie in the Sky: More Minions for Warlocks - #4 by Katherinê-moon-guard
I like the idea of hero classes in WoW gradually incorporating the various Warcraft 3 heroes that don’t 100% translate into the playable class schemes of our beloved MMO. Yet, as somebody pointed out in a reply to my daydreaming about a Dread Lord hero class, it’s worth noting that both hero classes in the game thus far have… decidedly villainous themes to them.
So in this writeup, I’m going to be talking about two faction-exclusive hero classes that are actually kinda heroic: the Mountain King and the Shadow Hunter.
PRELUDE: INTRODUCTION TO DUN KALDUZ
No, Dun Kalduz isn’t some obscure lore reference. I see it as the main setting for the Mountain King and Shadow Hunter hero classes.
I see Dun Kalduz as a snowy valley somewhere in the mountains around Dun Morogh. Isolated for much of its history, it holds two ruins left over from the War of Three Hammers: on one side, an old Bronzebeard fortress called Kalduz Castle; on the other, an ancient Dark Iron stronghold called Redhammer Keep.
On the Alliance side, you start play as one of a small number of Dwarven (and Dark Iron) explorers that find their way into Kalduz Castle. There, you uncover an ancient Dwarven armory, wherein are housed ancient weapons and armor, as well as the spirits of long-dead Dwarven warriors. You and some others among the explorers bond with these spirits, gaining access to the strength of the mountains themselves (as well as the storms that blanket their highest peaks). You become Mountain Kings – the Thanes of Dun Kalduz. And it’s not long after finishing the opening questline in the catacombs of Kalduz Castle that you learn the other side of the valley has also been breached by the vile Frostmane Trolls. Thus, you gain the mission that defines your class: purging the sacred valley of Dun Kalduz of the filthy Troll infestation.
Meanwhile, on the Horde side… the war between the Dwarves of Khaz Modan and the Frostmane Trolls rages as fierce as ever. The remnants of the Frostmane Trolls have managed to find their way into a previously hidden valley – Dun Kalduz – and have fortified in the ruins of Redhammer Keep against an oncoming Dwarven assault. They have prayed for victory to Ogoun, the Loa of War, and he has heard their pleas. Ogoun sends out a summons to the Shadow Hunters of every Troll race and tribe, and has bidden them to fight on behalf of the Frostmane. You, as a young Troll (or Zandalari) Shadow Hunter initiate, pass through a portal in the Echo Isles (or Dazar’Alor) and arrive in Redhammer Keep. After assisting the Frostmane trolls in shoring up their defenses and summoning the aid and influence of additional loa, the Frostmane Tribe is compelled to swear fealty to the Horde.
HEY WAIT, WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THIS PLACE?
Much like some of the other battlegrounds in the game, the zone of Dun Kalduz doesn’t really fit into the existing world map. However, it’s less like places like Alterac Valley in that its existence persists without an actual battleground event to generate an instance of the zone.
I picture Dun Kalduz being a bit like Tol Barad, Ashran or Wintergrasp, only different: a large PvP-enabled zone that’s constantly active, has world PvP events (like in Hellfire and Zangarmarsh), and rep-granting world quests.
KINGS OF THE MOUNTAIN
The Mountain King is basically a flavor variant of the Warrior, available to Dwarves and Dark Iron Dwarves only. They can tank, heal and DPS, and have several abilities that emphasize stuns, PBAOE damage and lightning-based spell attacks.
Resources : Rather than invent new resources for the Mountain Kings, their abilities would use a mix of Rage and Mana.
Armor : Mountain Kings are plate-wearers. They never use shields.
Weapons : Mountain Kings wield one-handed weapons exclusively – typically axes and maces, but they are not above using swords. Mountain Kings never have a good reason not to dual-wield.
Specs : Mountain Kings have four specs, two for damage and one each for healing and tanking:
• Hammer & Axe – These Thanes are DPS weapon specialists. They dual-wield (probably maces and axes exclusively, if only to make the spec name make sense), and can fight either in melee or at range with the Dwarven Thrower ability that lets them throw their equipped hammers and axes.
• Thunderclap – These Mountain Kings specialize in lightning-based attacks and can perform several PBAOE attacks to damage multiple mobs at once. Their specialty is dealing lightning damage and using stuns and slows to control the battle.
• Dwarven Defender – These Mountain Kings can adopt a special Avatar Form to draw in the spirit of the warrior that provides them with their powers and enhance their durability and defensive capability.
• Earthen Renewal – Earthen Mountain Kings can adopt a special Avatar Form that resembles one of the Earthen. In this form, the Thane taps into the natural healing powers of the earth.
Special Features :
• Vault of the Ancient Thanes – After breaching the Vault in Kalduz Castle, the Mountain Kings gain access to several unique armor and weapon transmogs that enhance the class’ unique look.
• Hearthstone of the Great Hall of Kalduz – All Mountain Kings receive a hearthstone that will take them to the Great Hall in Castle Kalduz. Additionally, Dark Iron Mountain Kings will get a mole machine location just outside the castle.
• Kalduz Portal Connections – Portals located within Kalduz Castle connect the zone to Ironforge, Aerie Peak and Kirthaven. These portals are the only way for non-Mountain King members of the Alliance to access Dun Kalduz.
• Class Mounts – Any hero class that’s worth anything will have at least one class mount. Any or all of the following would be an adequate fit for the Mountain King:
-Thane’s War Ram (a lightningy, spirit beasty ram)
-Thane’s War Bear (a lightningy, spirit beasty bear)
-Thane’s War Hound (a lightningy, spirit beasty core hound)
-Thane’s War Bird (a lightningy, spirit beasty gryphon)
VENGEANCE FOR FROSTMANE
The Shadow Hunter is a Shaman-ish caster class, available only to Trolls and Zandalari Trolls. They have four specs: melee DPS, ranged DPS, tanking and healing. In all of their specs, they derive their powers by taking on the aspects of various loa.
Resources : Shadow Hunters use Mana to cast spells in all four of their specs. They also have a special Totem resource that behaves like the Warlock’s soulstones; as the Shadow Hunter uses certain mana-consuming abilities, their totems are charged with power and can be spent on powerful totemic spells.
Armor : Shadow Hunters are mail-wearers. They can use shields.
Weapons : Shadow Hunters can wield daggers, warglaives, polearms, one-handed swords, axes and maces, and ranged weapons.
Specs : Shadow Hunters have four specs:
• Speaker of Akali – The Shadow Hunter tanking spec, fueled by the power of the Rhino Loa. Fights with a one-handed weapon and shield, and emphasizes charges, knockbacks and stuns. Can channel a PBAOE shield effect ala “Big Bad Voodoo” from WC3.
• Speaker of Har’koa – A melee DPS spec, fueled by the power of the Jaguar Loa. Uses dual-wielded one-handed weapons, emphasizing bleeds and cleaves.
• Speaker of Hethiss – A ranged DPS spec, fueled by the power of the Serpent Loa. This is the spec that gets the iconic Serpent Ward spell. Hethiss Shadow Hunters can equip ranged weapons, warglaives, one-handed axes and polearms; in addition to auto-shoot, they have an auto-throw ability that allows them to use their melee weapons as if they were ranged weapons. When wielding one-handed axes, they can dual-wield (like a true axe-thrower should).
• Speaker of Krag’wa – The ever popular Frog Loa is the sponsor of this spec, which is the Shadow Hunter’s healer spec. Has a range of poison- and water-based magic, in addition to Krag’wa’s Hex.
Special Features :
• Trove of the War Loa – Before sending his Shadow Hunters off to battle, Ogoun provides them with a supply of loa-blessed weapons and armor, perfect for creating a Shadow Hunter-themed transmog set for your new character.
• Frostmane Recall – Shadow Hunters get a unique Recall spell that takes them directly to the Throne Room of Redhammer Keep.
• Redhammer Portal Connections – Portals within Redhammer Keep connect the zone to the Echo Isles, Dazar’Alor and Revantusk Village. These portals are the only way for non-Shadow Hunter members of the Horde to access Dun Kalduz.
• Class Mounts – As with the Mountain Kings, the Shadow Hunters get a new set of troll-appropriate mounts:
-Shadow Hunter’s War Raptor (a raptor adorned with troll shields and masks)
-Shadow Hunter’s War Bear (a bear, adorned with various totems and masks)
-Shadow Hunter’s War Direhorn (a direhorn, adorned with swords, axes and a warglaive strapped to its howdah)
-Shadow Hunter’s War Bat (a bat whose saddle is adorned with masks, skulls, a quiver of arrows and a quiver of spears)
ON BALANCE
I am aware that the most problematic aspect of this idea – even if the rest of it is something I find generally kinda fun – is balancing the Shadow Hunter and Mountain King against each other.
Making the two classes as parallel as possible works only up to a point; if they too closely mirror each other, it becomes worth asking why they are even two separate classes to begin with.
It brings everything back around to a struggle that is as old as WoW itself: managing PvP balance against basically every other mechanic in the game. But, because this is a fun pie-in-the-sky post, I’m not going to break my brain thinking too much about the priors and particulars of making this aspect of it work.
A TALE OF TWO REP FACTIONS
The action in Dun Kalduz provides rep for your faction’s side in the Battle of Dun Kalduz.
On the Alliance, the rep faction is the Thanes of Dun Kalduz – an assortment of Dwarves, Earthen and the ancient spirits of slain Dwarven warriors whose goal is to reclaim the Kalduz valley as a bastion for Dwarvendom. They are the keepers of the secrets of the Mountain Kings, and they jealously guard what they know and the treasures they gave their mortal lives defending.
On the Horde side, the rep faction is the Frostmane Tribe, a beleaguered tribe of Trolls that is teetering on the brink of extinction thanks to a protracted war against Khaz Modan – a war that escalated after the Cataclysm, and whose progression has not seen much benefit for the Frostmanes. The few Frostmanes that are left have given themselves over to the Loa of War, Ogoun, and they have pledged their fealty to the Horde in exchange for the assistance of the Horde’s Shadow Hunters.
Rep grinding with these factions would, in the tradition of vanilla battleground rep factions, provide rewards to both the hero classed members of these factions – Mountain Kings and Shadow Hunters – but also to the various heroes of the Horde and Alliance who visit Dun Kalduz through portals.
Mounts? Battle pets? Toys? Transmogs? Tabards?
Yes to all! It should almost go without saying that little Avatar- and loa-themed battle pets ought to be a mandatory part of the reward scheme for Dun Kalduz factions.