Obviously, we’ve seen the Devs say they want to start moving towards a WoW that doesn’t have ANY Race-Class restrictions, and that appears to be starting with the likes of the Priest, Mage, and Rogue classes.
However, I personally feel the idea of opening up too many of these Race/Class combos could be actively harmful to WoW and its Lore – as some past combos already have proven.
Now, I think adding SOME additional ones would make sense – an “Eredar” or Nightborne Demon Hunter, for example – but I think SOME restrictions are absolutely, fundamentally important.
To me, while people love citing D&D as an example for “why people should be able to do anything they want”, I would argue D&D is also fundamentally very different.
See, D&D ISN’T about the “world” or the setting; it’s about the players. People don’t “get to know the game-world” beforehand; they create a character and backstory from scratch, and LEARN about the world as they go.
But WoW’s appeal has always been the WORLD of Warcraft, getting to see and experience all these new, interesting cultures. As an extension of the RTS games, those races/factions were not all “the same but with different skins”. Night Elves and Undead, for example, were extraordinarily different, both culturally and mechanically, and that was conveyed in how vastly different all of their units and buildings were.
And Race/Class combinations are an extension of those cultures.
Now, obviously WoW can’t convert every single unit into its own individual Class, but most of those same archetypes can be found represented quite evidently in the Classes that WoW launched with.
Only certain races can be Druids; that immediately communicates that Druids are a class that have a deep connection to nature, and that races that CAN be a Druid ARE connected to nature, culturally. while Orcs may have a deep respect for the elemental spirits – allowing them to be Shamans – they are most certainly NOT “custodians of nature”, thus further showcasing the cultural difference between both Shaman and Druid, as well as Orc and Tauren.
Letting Night Elves and Orcs be Mages was a terrible idea, because for the former, that was LITERALLY the cultural distinction that lead to the Highborne breaking away and eventually evolving into High/Blood Elves, and for the latter, Orcs have NEVER been “studious, scholary wizards”, which is what sets Mages apart from “just anyone with any sort of magical aptitude”.
Now, I’m not opposed to “adding new Lore to JUSTIFY new combos”, although there’s rarely been the case. Tauren Paladins, for example, remain COMPLETELY disconnected from the Paladin class. They’re literally just “Sun Druids”, and that means “Paladin” is just a series of buttons.
And that’s it; not only does each RACE have a rich, interesting history behind it, but so does every CLASS. But when you just say “eff it, everyone can be everything, it doesn’t matter”, you’re throwing away ALL of that history. Races become nothing BUT “how they look”, and Classes become nothing BUT “the buttons you push”.
So as much as I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve heard about Dragonflight, this specific thing makes me INCREDIBLY nervous. Because it undermines both Races and the rich history and cultures they bring, and it also undermines the Classes and the history they bring as well.
Now, am I against ANY new Race-Class combos? Not necessarily; I just want options that I feel fit culturally. And at the same time, such as with the Demon Hunter, I can also understand that sometimes perhaps things can be a bit TOO restrictive, so Lore can and perhaps should be expanded to allow for new options.
Dwarf Shamans were a great example of an addition that made a TON of sense. Similarly, it ENHANCED the Dwarven culture, because Humans AREN’T Shamans, it showcased how their cultures differed.
In short; these “restrictions” help tell the story of the world, without even having to TELL you a story.
Now, if Blizzard wants to continue adding some “Allied Races” or “Subraces” or even rebrand them as “Heritage”, I could see being more lenient. For example, adding a sect of “Eredar who seek to mend the rift since seeing their brethren return home”, I could totally see adding an “Eredar” option that DOES have access to the Rogue, or the Warlock, but NOT things like Paladin, Shaman, or Priest. Lord knows I love customization.
But I also love having a world that feels truly immerse yourself in. Having been playing a lot of WoW Classic lately, I’m struck by just how much I miss its slower-paced, more “mundane” sort of world-building and storytelling. And frankly, some of the Race-Class combos are part of that; yes, ANYONE can pick up a gun or a bow, but is that really ALL that makes a “Hunter”? ANYONE can pick up a dagger, but does that suddenly qualify them as a “Rogue”, a class literally known for being expert assassins, pragmatic utilitarians that openly fight without any semblance of honor?
I think opening up certain options simply betray WHO the Races (or Classes) are, thematically and culturally.
Add some more Demon Hunters, and I’m totally down for Dracthyr getting other class options. And if I had the option, I might even consider even removing certain particularly heinous options (NE and Orc Mages, and Tauren Paladins; those are probably the most egregious), giving them free race-changes in the process.
I sincerely hope Blizzard reconsiders this idea of “letting everyone be everything”, and chooses only those who feel genuinely appropriate to the game’s world, and each race’s culture. Because otherwise, I think doing so could prove actively harmful to the game.
