BlizzCon Reactions: New Races and Class Combinations

Worgen and Golbins... well, they're official. Also, we're getting new class/race combinations. Blizzard is definitely mixing things up a bit this time around. Some of them make sense, some.... not so much. At any rate, though, more variety is pretty nice, right? Right?

I'll start off with Worgen. We've seen them in game, primarily in Shadowfang Keep. Not much is known about them, short of they used to be human. So Worgen have a chance to really juice up the story of the cultures and civilizations of WoW, which I dig. They're also a race that we haven't seen that much of (SFK is about the extent of it). From a lore point of view, I was a little thrown off by why the Alliance would even bother with them. They're not humans anymore. The Alliance has generally not been accepting of imperfect races (Blood Elves, Forsaken). But it's primarily the Humans that are the racist bunch in the game. If you watch the Cataclysm trailer, you'll see it's the Night Elves (referred to as "Old Friends" iirc) that make the first move, possibly hinting that the Night Elves tried to assist the people of Gilneas when the affliction struck that area.

From a gameplay perspective, I'm pretty excited about Worgen. There are a lot of unique things about them. What first got me excited, though, was Karazhan, or more specifically, Torment of the Worgen. That item game me a chance to play as a Worgen for a brief few seconds, and I liked it. The animations were very animalistic, and I'd imagine they have been improved for Catacylsm. I can't wait to see their druid forms, either. Gilneas, too, is shaping up nicely. You can get a great view in the trailer. The town really gives off that "Don't go out past midnight" vibe. It's very stale and foggy. It doesn't posses the lavish color and flamboyance of Silvermoon City, or the modern (for the time) developments of Stormwind. It looks like it truly has spent the better part of a decade behind a massive wall, locked off from the rest of the world. All said, the Worgen should add a unique perspective to the Alliance, and I can't wait to give 'em a go.

Now, Goblins. Where do I begin with how much I don't want this to happen...

Goblins have been around for a long time, since back in the Warcraft II days (and possibly Warcraft, though I don't recall seeing them). They have always been traders, leading the different trade cartels around the world. They have also been a neutral faction the whole time (though in the past have shown preference for the Horde). From a lore view, it's a bit odd that the Horde would accept them into their ranks, but I'm told the starter quests (which are supposed to be as if not more epic than the Death Knight zone) explain the peril of this particular trade cartel and their need to join the horde for survival, so I won't complain too much until I get a chance to run through it. If nothing else, some little cannon fodder packing high explosives will help clear the way for the REAL Horde.

I don't see myself actually playing a Goblin for too long. Oh sure, I'll play one. I may even play two. But the chances I'll have one at max level are kind of slim. Who knows, though. This may be the first character animation that actually makes me WANT to level a mage (because for the life of me I just can't do it). It will be a tad odd seeing a Goblin main-tank a boss. The Alliance have had a similar view watching Gnome tanks in action, which really just seems bizarre to me. At any rate, the jury's still out on this one. At first I was terribly against it, though every time I get more on the story behind their perils, I get a little more intrigued. Time will tell.

Finally, I'd like to briefly discuss the new class/race combinations. If you want a list of them, they're floating around all over the place. Go look. Okay, first off, Tauren Priests and Paladins. Wow, I was against this when I heard it. I was legitimately MAD that this was happening. That is, until I reminded myself of a new quest and a conversation that takes place in Thunderbluff. In it, a wounded soldier and a Shaman or Druid, for the life of me I can't remember, nor can I be bothered to go look, are discussing the ways of Tauren Druidism, and how they may be leaving out half of the story by worshiping only An'she (the moon), and not including Mu'sha (sun). The sun is light, and Paladins/Priests are followers of the light, so this is a step forward in Tauren religion which, again, I like.

Troll druids; I wanted to hate this so much, but I couldn't help saying YES. There was that odd lore thing bugging me again. Yeah, I know that Trolls have been known to transform into animals, I ran Zul'Aman. Quite a lot, actually. But those were Amani trolls in ZA. I'm sure the Darkspear can do it to, but they've never really played up that angle. Once again, though, the trailer shines new light on this vague acquisition of power by the Trolls. In so many words, they have decided to embrace this power to help strengthen the Horde ranks with more diversity. They have willingly accepted the trials to becoming a druid. I'm okay with that, too. I'm so okay with this, actually, that I would transfer my Druid into a troll in a heartbeat if Blizzard were to give me that option (please? PLEASE?).

The rest of the new combos are less exciting/game breaking/paradigm shifting. More hunters, great. As if Forsaken didn't attract enough little kids, now they can be hunters. Gnomes get a healer. Enjoy. I may roll a Dwarf Shaman purely for the novelty (and I like shaman). More Mages get thrown around. Yawn. More options is (usually) not a bad thing, so maybe this will finally get players to roll alts who haven't already. I know I will be rolling at least 5 more toons when the expansion hits.