Sorry but there is absolutely no conceivable way Blizzard create an expansion this overloaded with robots and machines to such an overarching degree that the Tinker class isn’t on the horizon. I’m going to guess it will arrive for the Last Titan expansion, but we might get a major bombshell drop for Season 2 or 3 of War Within.
you had to have been watching this Warcraft Direct with your eyes closed to have seen all of those robots, mech suits, cars, and machines and thought “yeah but we have Engineering as a profession already”. That trailer just summarized the sort of stuff that many of us want from a Tinker class. So now at least it’s there in plain sight and not a matter of imaginative speculation anymore. What we want from the class is literally right there, in WoW, useable by NPCs but not us, but hopefully for not much longer.
I’m seeing a bunch of other Tinker posts and am adding to the pile. If we got an expansion where we were shown imagery of Lutes and Guitars every other minute for 2 years straight I’m sure the bard-wanters would be thinking the same thing for themselves too lol.
They had all the draenei artificers in the heritage quest. Then the Earthen and Arathi coming in with all the tech. The goblins next patch after Gazlowe’s short story about him trying to get goblins to make better quality, more consistent tech.
I personally want a tinker class. I used to not get the hype, but after doing the draenei heritage quest and seeing all the artificers it really warmed me to the idea of them. There’s a lot of flavor they could pull from multiple different races.
I’m really really really really hopeful for Tinker class. Even if it’ll shoot the engineer class in the foot… That didnt stop them from gutting Demo Warlocks making Demon Hunters.
I think it’s an extremely safe bet to assume the tank spec would be in an exosuit like what Mekkatorque or Gallywix or Gazlowe have, and a ranged dps spec that would function like Torbjorn from Overwatch (aka the traditional gun + turret + wrench) style.
They have the easiest template of their lives, as Final Fantasy 14, Warhammer Online, Maplestory, and Guild Wars 2 all have Engineer/Mechanic/Tinker archetype classes that they can use as a template. All of which are incredibly fun to play too.
3rd spec could be a toss up between a Mad Scientist Healer fantasy, or the Buzzsaw Shredder backpack Melee DPS style like Gazlowe is in Heroes of the Storm
Here’s a megathread I made on it that’s still going
You should check out that megathread, but in a detailed nutshell expanding on what others have said-
The Tinker class fantasy is effectively being a magic-less being that compensates for what they lack in strength or magics with their ingenuity via inventions and machines instead.
Some notable examples of Tinkers in WoW already are Gallywix, High Tinker Mekkatorque, Keeper Mimiron and more. Though the Tinkers were originally a Goblin/Gnome thing, pretty much every race has NPCs that are proficient with machinery as their primary ‘class’. The exceptions would be the Tauren, Night Elves, Worgen, Kul Tiran, and Troll races, but nothing says they’re incapable of learning. As such the class would most likely be for everyone, similarly to how Monk is, lore wise, taught to your character if you’re not a Pandaren.
The class would likely entail the use of exosuits for melee dps or tanking, turrets, flamethrowers, missiles, mini-mechs, and bombs for a ranged dps, and wild concotions and a very dr jekyll/mr hyde mad scientist fantasy for a healer spec
Others have already said it but I think it would be an all-races type thing tbh. It’s been so many years now that virtually every race has proficient engineer/tinker npcs
Could definitely go the route of unique mech appearances for each race similarly to how racial druid forms work. That much variety would honestly be so friggin sick
I mean, I kind of agree but at the same time Blizzard as also dangled Silver Covenant High elves in front of Alliance players for years now only to turn around and toss Void elves at them in the end.