I was watching 11.2 gameplay on YouTube and once again, could not ignore the overwhelming presence of machinery on Karesh.
That marks all 3 major content patches for this expansion that are abundant with technology. We have Tinkers, Artificers, Mechanics, Scrappers, Demolitionists, Machinespeakers, Technomancers, Engineers, Apothecaries, Demolitionists, Machinists, Mekgineers, Inventors, Sparksmiths, Sappers, and more. These are all titles you can find in-game across all of the many sentient races of Azeroth.
There is no question that to all who hold any of these titles, Machinery is a way of life for them. It is a school of universal power all its own.
That said, Iâve seen (and participated) in almost all of the discussions on the forums regarding a Tinker class in the last 18 months and have come to a conclusion that a Tinker or Artificer class that focuses on Titan tech is the perfect crossroads so that almost all races could play this class, and it would have its own unique edge.
Titan tech has been ever-present in WoW for years, but really came front and centre with The War Within (as did Goblin tech and now Ethereal tech too), but I believe Titan Tech will also be the primary focus for The Last Titan- after all, the entire manifold/prison that Azeroth is contained within is of that very nature. Many of the keepers sworn allegiance to the Titans, but Freya, Mimiron, and Tyr have not. Mimiron is also the one we have historically been on the best terms with since we saved him from insanity. He helped Beast Mastery Hunters acquire (and use) his gun Titan strike, and showed a vested interest in Azerothâs wellbeing past simply hoping she stays alive.
All in all, I think The Last Titan is setting up Mimiron to almost act as the Class Leader of sorts for the Tinker, similarly to how Illidan was for Demon Hunters, or Darion Mograine was for the Death Knights. He is neutral to both factions, he will most likely be on our team against Thorim (who has lost the plot and forgotten us), Odyn (who has sworn loyalty to the Titans), Hodir (who has sworn himself to Odyn) and of course Amanâthul. We donât know where the other titans lay loyalty-wise, but it is a safe bet to say at least 2 or 3 of them will be on our side. My guess would be on Khazâgoroth and Eonar.
Titan tech will be the talk of the town (alongside other narratives) as all focus goes towards the Manifold and the complex network of machinery buried deep within our planet. Narratively it makes perfect sense for the inventors and brains of Azeroth to step up and take their ingenuity to the next level with Titan technology. The same way we have âstepped upâ in the past to learn new classes that directly aid our chances of success against the enemy. With Mimiron being the narrative reason as to why all of these Tinkers/Artificers/whatevers suddenly understand the complex machinery of Titan Tech.
I also believe Speaker Brintheâs very cool looking backpack is a tease, right under our noses for what is to come. We could very easily see Tinkers running around with backpack-mounted Exo-suits. Or straight up summoning Mechs like the Delve Curio. Besides the more spiritual and druidic races, virtually ever race also has unique machinery rooted into their culture, and a lore-accurate angle as to why theyâd become this new Tinker class. Some are more obvious than others, but even something like the Magâhar could be explained by saying they are former mechanics of the Iron Horde.
All in all, it really feels like seeds are being planted under our noses right now. So that when the time comes for the class to finally come out, it will be the crossroads of anticipation and logical conclusion. Where itâs what we all expect, and also what the story has been organically building up towards for years.
I wonât get into class gameplay ideas as this post is long enough- but I will say that after hearing Ionâs speech at the Nordic Game conference last month: I am utterly convinced. He expressed so clearly the importance of listening to player requests and player feedback. Understanding that the more this game goes on, the less it becomes a Blizzard product and the more it becomes âourâ product. I believe this is why they finally came around on giving us Player Housing, for one. It is also why I believe the Tinker class, which is by far the most requested thing after housing itself, having been requested by players as far back as Vanilla, seems inevitable to me.