Tinker Class - With all of these machines everywhere, now IS the time! (MEGATHREAD)

Community General Discussion
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Sounds like the class should exist before the class exists?

You do know that Pandaria was not a concept in wow and has less references to it let alone the Monk class than the tinker does now prior to Pandaria and Monk became official.

If memory serves, the name was dropped by Chen in WC3 and it took what? Over a decade to bare the culmination of fruit with the MoP expansion?

The point is this, the seeds have been planted and have been since WC3 and in classic when WoW the mmo game officially started.

When it’s ready, I’m sure you will start seeing more breadcrumbs leading up to it.

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This is a weird point to make considering you respond and debunk it simultaneously.

Chen is a Pandaren. He had to come from somewhere. There had to be more of his kind. You’re comparing a job occupation which exists, in Engineering, to an entire race of beings.

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Define how this class would be different from the engineering profession and what unique benefits it should have. Also how this fantasy somehow hits in with a Strength Plate class… which is the under represented option on the loot tables right now.

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You seem to think that writers don’t leave breadcrumbs to come back to later to expand the story further in future patches and dare I say it… expansions.

Regardless, you are moving the goalpost. You asked for a single mob… I provided several. Then you ask for something in wow that acknowledges a tinker as a class, spec or otherwise… well a Tinker guild fits the parameters of being otherwise.

Look it’s fine if you don’t want it, but you can’t deny that the concept exists and just because you seem to think a profession is the end all be all of something that is a replacement of a potential class, then that’s your problem.

But that doesn’t detract from the breadcrumbs and the fully realization that a Tinker class can very easily be explored and expanded upon that does things so uniquely different than anything the engineering profession can offer.

So do what you like, but it seems you just moving the goal posts every time and in doing so, your being very disingenuous.

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You ignored quite literally the entire middle of my post to suit a narrative and respond to a question I didn’t ask. You voluntarily ignored multiple sentences, seemingly on purpose, to answer something that wasn’t requested.

You want to talk about “moving the goal posts” ? Yikes. Muting you, I can’t anymore. You aren’t interested in having a realistic conversation, only in MUH TINKERS NAOOOW.

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A turret-based class would be awful to play in any raid or dungeon situation. Constantly moving to avoid mechanics or progressing through an instance would limit your time of using any turret abilities. Part of the reason mage players hated Rune of Power.

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Someone’s in a mood.

You already moved the goalpost.

What you’re asking for (which I already responded with) is wanting a class before it’s officially a class.

A class starts the game before becoming a new class. Only with Hero Paths is that rule not followed.

Don’t you think it’s weird that other races can be monks outside of Pandas? Well no, because the lore they added had them teach other races to be Monks.

So you can start a Tinker in some future content/expansion pack and then they can teach others or rather… mentor other races to bring them up to speed with the Tinkers.

Just like how a sect of goblins joined the horde in cata, so too can a sect of tinkers join the factions at a later date. Yet we had goblins in the game as a non playable race and no affiliation with the later playable goblins.

You’re really making a mountain out of a mole hill. They have the breadcrumbs in place to easily bring Tinkers into the game in a very fitting way.

You just don’t want your head canon to be wrong and don’t want to be scrutinized over it it seems.

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Not sure who you’re directing this point towards or just a general thought.

But who says that a Tinker needs to be a turret based class?

I can see that as 1 aspect of its toolkit in some form. But there is a whole slew of possibilities that are far from the idea of a turret.

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Bro this is BRILLIANT, I would easily remake my Goblin Fury Warrior for this!

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not a popular enough idea.

wont happen

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Based on my previous post. I decided to write up a story that would indicate why we haven’t seen much if at all surrounding the topic of Tinkers.

I’ll write up some lore right now that can make sense why no Tinker is currently available to the wider community of the world (not allowing players to be Tinkers).

Alliance Tinker Lore

The Tinker King has spent a great deal of his time throughout the years looking into the radiation and Trogg disaster that has befallen Gnomeregan for many years.

He put together a specialized team and prepared them to the fullest extent and knowledge of all his engineering and tinkering expertise.

He sent the team deep into the depths of Gnomeregan, deeper than even the current residents were aware of in order to access a special laboratory filled with long lost and forgotten secrets known only to him.

Their goal was to restore the lab into a functional state in that they can work in secret to develop a remedy/cure to clear out the radiation for good and finally give his people back their long lost and abandoned home.

Overtime however, rumors started circulating about unspeakable horrors and blood curtailing screams and sounds that appear to be laser beams and bombs and explosions going off, being heard through the echoing of the city walls and tunnels.

The king could no longer ignore this growing concern and decided to recruit a team of local adventurers to investigate the sounds and with any luck, get answers to what happened with his special ops team.

The group of adventurers eventually locate the secret facility and discover all sorts of strange and mysterious technologies and evidence of brutal experiments that would make one loose their lunch.

The adventures take back what they found and learned to the King and that is when he informed them of what truly went down and that he needs to prepare them to go back once more to put an end to the cause of this terrible tragedy.

Enter Alliance Tinkers with a mini starting zone and dungeon and a threat to neutralize.

Along the way of the starter zone, the Tinkers will slowly learn and get accustomed to their spells and abilities as well as gaining additional specialization unlocks.

Horde Tinker Lore

The Venture company has been dealing with rough times. The recent conflicts with the Horde and Alliance had drained their resources and their numbers have dwindled significantly.

One day, one of the Venture Company Forman’s was exploring a much deeper cavernous section of one cave as he had been ordered. Seemingly unaware, his miners must of dug too deep in the wrong area and he slipped and fell down a dark vast chamber.

Some time later, the cavern site was all in a buzz as the higher ups within the venture company have arrived and demanding why the project was behind schedule and to inquire what these rumors are about of so many missing workers and every search crew sent to search for the missing workers just end up missing themselves.

During the meeting of the Venture company high command, a slight rumbling sound was heard… no it was a voice… no a scream!?

Suddenly everyone was running away from the cave while others seemed to be attempting to fight back… no, they are… wait are they planting dynamite charges!?

Moments later, during the panic and chaos all around them… BOOM!!!

The entrance of the cave collapsed… with a faint hint of some toxic green gas with a pungent odor seemingly leaking out and dissipating outwards from the cave entrance.

Days later, the Tinker Union Guild have arrived. They set up a temporary laboratory and production facility and get straight to work. They clear the entrance and start making their way through the vast cave network, determined to get to the bottom of this and excited for what sort of knowledge and technology they will acquire per their contract with the Venture Company, how nice of them to offer up any spoils freely without even the hint of negotiations.

Days later, what’s left of the Tinker Guild returned, battered, bruised and exhausted. With such a loss in personal and now even the Tinker Guild in its weakened state, the idea of reopening up talks of neutrality with the horde might not be such a horrible decision. Perhaps making a deal with Gazlowe isn’t the worse decision… Perhaps.

Weeks later, Gazlowe shows up with his team and they promptly survey the site and start making preparations. The deal for the Tinkers Guild to share their vast knowledge and expertise with his own hand picked crew isn’t so bad is it? Hopefully it won’t blow up in their face… hopefully.

Enter Horde Tinkers with a mini starting zone and dungeon and a threat to neutralize.

Along the way of the starter zone, the Tinkers will slowly learn and get accustomed to their spells and abilities as well as gaining additional specialization unlocks.

The way I crafted the story took into consideration my specialization ideas for. Tinker seen here…
Tinker Idea Post

With the following specs for Tinker…

  • Mechanic (Melee Tank)
  • Technician (Ranged DPS)
  • Chemist (Healer/enhancer)

Start out as the Technician and unlock Mechanic and Chemist during the intro.

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Sure! Here’s a few for ya. I tossed a few vendors in there for fun.

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I want tinker. But see, I have a goblin engineer. I wanted to make her all about bombs and devices, but modern bombs kind of suck now. She’s a fire mage because it still makes things go boom, and it’s a smarty pants class, but I wanted her identity to be about tinkering, not magic.

If tinker became a class I would remake her in an instant, but then I would have to relevel engineering and that’s just a pain. If tinker drops, and I hope it does, I beg Blizzard for a chance to just class change into it rather than having to start from scratch.

But if I had to start over, I would in a heartbeat just to have the class fantasy I’ve always wanted for my goblin. It’s weird that her profession is more important to my character’s identity than her class is.

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HHNNNGGGGGGG

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The argument against Tinkers is a logical as the flat earth argument…

Tinker tech is already all around us, to refute its existence/presence in the game is ludicrous.

What we Tinkers want is a way to finally and fully express the Tinker fantasy as the player character. It’s that simple and there’s PLENTY of narrative to allow the introduction at any time really.

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Sounds like you’re playing Warcraft wanting it to be Middle-Earth or something. Not all fantasy are (or even need to be) swords and shields and medieval analogue-locked. Runeterra (Riot’s universe) is another great example of that, where one nation are your stormwind parallel (Demacia), where another is at the pinnacle of fantasy-based technology. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist lmao. Do you close your eyes every time you see a gnome or goblin? Or anytime anyone runs around in a mechanical mount or literal vehicle?

Even for someone like you who is clearly preferential to “traditional fantasy” (which, again, why are you invested in Warcraft when it’s never been just that), the Machinespeaker angle is exactly my point. It reinforces the existence of that archetype across both magic, cosmic, and grounded elements of WoW. We got an entire expansion where the main villains were an alien horde using Iron monstrosities. We got another where both the Alliance and the Horde utilized Azerite to fuel machines of their own, just like the Machine Speakers do with their edicts. Before any of that, Titan tech has existed for over a decade, deeply rooted in the canon. It was even shouted out by Metzen at Blizzcon, and the panel expressedly discussed the intricacies of the Machinespeaker.

All of that already justifies the existence of the class as more than just a meager profession- but when you include the very real & overwhelming presence of Goblin, Gnome & Mechagnome Tinkers, Human and Dwarven Engineers, Draenei Artificiers (which mind you are literally from another planet, so this is not even an Azeroth-exclusive concept), Mag’har and Orc Mechanics, Undead Apothecaries, Earthen Machinespeakers, and Eleven Arcanomachinery? You’re making about as much sense as a Flat Earther lol. Just being ignorant to what is fact.

Again- What game are you playing?? You’re creating that attempt to just… deny(?) the existence of these things because??? I’m not sure why you’re so hateful of it all.

And neither did the Evoker. Which was created out of the thinnest lore known at the time. If that can exist and seamlessly integrate into WoW, I’m pretty certain a class that already has 2 decades of reinforced lore, NPCs, and story presence will do just fine.

I’d happily concede that Engineering (the profession) was sufficient for the fantasy, if the NPCs didn’t proceed to demonstrate machine-prowess that far exceeds the capabilities of the profession. If the profession lets me create an exo suit, deploy, repair, and fight alongside turrets, create several classes of micro-bots, or infuse any of my machinery with Azerite, then I’ll be satisfied.

But it doesn’t. It lets you create goggles, a belt enchant, toys, Battle Pets, and a seasonal throwable bomb that becomes obsolete once the first patch of the expansion is over.

And this is where the curtain is pulled back. Speaking as someone who works in game development I cannot stress enough how annoying takes like these are. There are numerous departments. There are numerous teams. The WoW team has over 400 people, and I assure you’re they’re not just standing in a single-file line, handling one issue at a time. The creation of new features does not delay the arrival of other features or fixes as you so badly want. Your frustrations with Tinker of all things seem more credibly attributed to your frustrations with the game, and false pretenses that their creation or existence would detract from your own personal grievances being fixed.

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LMFAO cook that bozo. what a historic display of copium to deny that tinkers exist in WoW ahahahaha

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I’m not saying Tinker has to be turret based (though I do support the idea personally), but Shaman searing flame totem was lowkey the traditional MMO turret (like guild wars 2 engineers) before it got removed. That worked just fine in dungeons, as you’d just thunk it down somewhere else.

If the class had anything like this for its ranged spec, I’d assume the designers would make the Turret ability a primary ability (also like the searing flame totem) with a short cooldown if destroyed (just like Torbjorn’s). Or they could make it immune/heavily resistant to aoe damage like shaman totems are as well.

Seems like a non-issue to me /shrug

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It’s Blizzard’s fault that I got hyped for Tinkers tbh, I never cared until I met these 3 in an island expedition:
Gazlowe
Skaggit
Lady Sena

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Thank you! :saluting_face::sparkling_heart: Much appreciated!!

Sure! :arrow_down: Here’s a write up I did on how I’d personally design the class, though there are many other great ideas from other people here too.

If you’re short for time, I also included this in that class write-up;

(But I also go into detail how the Tank spec would wield 1-handers + shields for when they’re outside of their exo-suits). I also think they’d likely roll on Intellect Plate too, as thematically this is a class that is metal-proficient while also being on the smarter end of the IQ scale.

Cosmetically, there are also many plate (and cosmetic) sets that are heavily themed off of forge/gears/machine imagery. Small few that come to mind would be:

  • Iron Horde Plate Transmog set (from Garrison Bunker/War Mill)
  • Mythic Blackrock Foundry Warrior set lookalike (Buzzsaw shoulders, flames)
  • The newest Recruit-A-Friend Helm, Fist Weapon, Backpiece (Goblin tinker-themed)
  • Gnome, Goblin, Mechagnome Heritage sets
  • Uldir Plate set
  • Amirdrassil Plate set lookalike (heavily reinforced metals, chains, flames and smoke)

There are also a ton of guns & one-handed weapons (and more) that match the Titan technology/Mortal technology themes across Ulduar, Uldir, Isle of Mechagon/Dungeon, Trial of the Crusader, Gnomeregan, profession weapons, etc.

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