The New Class WoW Needs
WoW’s next class? It needs to be the Fighter-Mage.
Basically this idea came about because I love tanking, but I prefer ranged DPS to melee DPS. The only way to have both Ranged DPS and tanking would be to roll a druid, but if you don’t enjoy Boomkin and Guardian you are out of luck. It’s time to change that.
In my days playing Pen and Paper DnD there was this concept of playing a dual classed character. What if we brought that to WoW?
Currently you are limited to 2 specs from a choice of three. What I propose is to make that a choice of 2 specs from a choice of 33. Maybe you are an Arm Warrior/Frost Mage, or a Holy Priest/Demonology Warlock. I would make mine a Protection Paladin/Beastmastery Hunter.
Since the introduction of the new talent system, the individual specs of the classes have become more and more distinct. Each spec has a specific kit of tools. A Retribution Paladin has more in common with an Arms Warrior than he does with a Prot or Holy Paladin. He can’t even consecrate for crying out loud!
Bring the Player
This idea would also help the Pure DPS classes. The hybrid tax is largely gone, and no one has felt the effects more than Rogues. With MoP, Blizzard introduced another leather wearing 3 way hybrid. The Monk can tank, heal and melee dps. The Rogue can just DPS. The game has three three way hybrids (Monk, Druid, Paladin), four two way hybrids (Warrior, Priest, Shaman, Death Knight) and four Pure DPS classes (Warlock, Mage, Hunter, Rogue). This change would level the playing field and make every toon a three way hybrid.
This would also help fill out raids and reduce queue times. Everyone of your raiders is a potential tank, healer or DPS.
There is an encounter in Throne of Thunder that is punishing if you don’t have Paladins, or Priests in your raid makeup. The mobs put a 5 minute disease on a player. Priests and Paladins can cleanse it, but Shamans and Druids can’t. This would let one of those Druids change their secondary spec to a Priest, and suddenly they can do the encounter no problem.
This is basically Bring the Player, Not the Class taken to its highest, logical end.
Choosing a Kit, not a Class
Each class contains certain baseline skills. Those would simply become part of the kit. All Paladins get Judgment for example. Judgment becomes part of each Paladin specs kit. But if you aren’t in a Paladin spec, you wouldn’t. When I am in my Protection Paladin spec, I have Judgment. When I’m in my Beastmastery Hunter spec, I wouldn’t.
The time to introduce this would be with the Proving Grounds concept the developers discussed. Proving Grounds are single player scenarios (like the ones you do to advance the Island of Thunder through it stages). In Proving Grounds, you have to tank, or heal or DPS. Before the game would let you queue for LFR, or LFD with your new spec, you would have to pass the appropriate Proving Ground (using the Challenge mode gear scaling mechanic so as not to punish undergeared or overgeared people).
If you have a dedicated group that wants to take you in your new spec, more power to you and your friends.
Loot
How would loot be handled? Exactly like it is today. Whatever spec you are in for the kill is the table that LFR looks at for your loot.
And talk about stuff not being sharded! You’d still have most guilds use main spec over off spec, but every piece of gear would be potentially useful if someone wanted it. This would also give a boon to 25 mans who usually have more ‘extra’ gear to give away than 10 mans.
I know its highly unlikely this ever happens, but I think this idea would be fantastic!
What do you think?
Basically this idea came about because I love tanking, but I prefer ranged DPS to melee DPS. The only way to have both Ranged DPS and tanking would be to roll a druid, but if you don’t enjoy Boomkin and Guardian you are out of luck. It’s time to change that.
In my days playing Pen and Paper DnD there was this concept of playing a dual classed character. What if we brought that to WoW?
Currently you are limited to 2 specs from a choice of three. What I propose is to make that a choice of 2 specs from a choice of 33. Maybe you are an Arm Warrior/Frost Mage, or a Holy Priest/Demonology Warlock. I would make mine a Protection Paladin/Beastmastery Hunter.
Since the introduction of the new talent system, the individual specs of the classes have become more and more distinct. Each spec has a specific kit of tools. A Retribution Paladin has more in common with an Arms Warrior than he does with a Prot or Holy Paladin. He can’t even consecrate for crying out loud!
Bring the Player
This idea would also help the Pure DPS classes. The hybrid tax is largely gone, and no one has felt the effects more than Rogues. With MoP, Blizzard introduced another leather wearing 3 way hybrid. The Monk can tank, heal and melee dps. The Rogue can just DPS. The game has three three way hybrids (Monk, Druid, Paladin), four two way hybrids (Warrior, Priest, Shaman, Death Knight) and four Pure DPS classes (Warlock, Mage, Hunter, Rogue). This change would level the playing field and make every toon a three way hybrid.
This would also help fill out raids and reduce queue times. Everyone of your raiders is a potential tank, healer or DPS.
There is an encounter in Throne of Thunder that is punishing if you don’t have Paladins, or Priests in your raid makeup. The mobs put a 5 minute disease on a player. Priests and Paladins can cleanse it, but Shamans and Druids can’t. This would let one of those Druids change their secondary spec to a Priest, and suddenly they can do the encounter no problem.
This is basically Bring the Player, Not the Class taken to its highest, logical end.
Choosing a Kit, not a Class
Each class contains certain baseline skills. Those would simply become part of the kit. All Paladins get Judgment for example. Judgment becomes part of each Paladin specs kit. But if you aren’t in a Paladin spec, you wouldn’t. When I am in my Protection Paladin spec, I have Judgment. When I’m in my Beastmastery Hunter spec, I wouldn’t.
The time to introduce this would be with the Proving Grounds concept the developers discussed. Proving Grounds are single player scenarios (like the ones you do to advance the Island of Thunder through it stages). In Proving Grounds, you have to tank, or heal or DPS. Before the game would let you queue for LFR, or LFD with your new spec, you would have to pass the appropriate Proving Ground (using the Challenge mode gear scaling mechanic so as not to punish undergeared or overgeared people).
If you have a dedicated group that wants to take you in your new spec, more power to you and your friends.
Loot
How would loot be handled? Exactly like it is today. Whatever spec you are in for the kill is the table that LFR looks at for your loot.
And talk about stuff not being sharded! You’d still have most guilds use main spec over off spec, but every piece of gear would be potentially useful if someone wanted it. This would also give a boon to 25 mans who usually have more ‘extra’ gear to give away than 10 mans.
I know its highly unlikely this ever happens, but I think this idea would be fantastic!
What do you think?
Comments
Think the build your own class design would be fine for a brand new MMORPG but may be hard to retrofit into WoW.
Even if we just had a regular class with a Ranged DPS spec and a Tank spec, that would be exciting for me.
Although after seeign the shuffle mechanic, I'm not sure how they could make another tanking mechanic for this new tank.