Thoughts on WoW
I've a few things that's been cluttering my head for quite awhile. One of them have been some ruminations about the upcoming expansion, The Burning Crusade. (At the time of writing, I have no real idea about the Alliance race; I do feel for the Blood Elves but that leaves the remaining non-aligned High Elves out in the cold.) Much of my musings are purely conceptual, although I have been seeing signs of possibilities for later growth.
In any case...
1) More Battlegrounds
One of the few things that's attractive about WoW is the inherent Battlegrounds (BGs) that people can enter without having to do outside duels. It's no-holds-barred combat, achieving goals and other fun stuff. Many talent builds have been geared towards combat (such as the feared ReckonBomber paladin build--which capitalizes on an ability called Reckoning, which allows the paladin to unleash up to 5 melee strikes in one blow. Couple it with the right gear, and you've got a nasty damage powerhouse in the field.)
However... there isn't a lot of options for BGs. I mean, there's currently Capture the Flag, Resource Holding (basically multiple-point King of the Hill,) and full-out War.
What I would like to see are more variations. Things that offer a significantly different playstyle. I've asked about this before, and I got a few replys, of which I agree in different ways. Here's a short list of possible BGs:
-Deathmatch, where the object is to reach a kill total before the other side does. It's just raw fighting; no nonsense about honor and mercy. Get the people who just want the honorkills out of the people who want to really play the BGs. Make them run around in a fendishly complicated maze, sussing out the other team before they do to you. Best for guild wars, too; I'd set up an actual method for partnering desired groups with other groups--even extend it into full-blown raid groups for fun.
-Battle of the Titans, where each side choose a Titan to sponsor and then assist it in battle against the other team's Titan. This is a very support-heavy group, but warriors/hunters can still pick off the support team. The Titans themselves wouldn't necessarily be actual titans; I can see big dragons, giants, and elementals go toe-to-toe at each other. There is a catch, though... once you die, you respawn at a location where you can't assist the Titans afterwards. (This can be optional; I'd offer this as an internal vote just as much as the choice of Titan would be.)
-Resource Gathering, which is basicaly what was taken out of Alterac Valley (BG War) in patch 1.10. The way this works is not unlike Resource Holding, but instead of defending different points, you'd be gathering actual resources. The catch is that if you get doinked by the other team, they get what you got, and vice versa. I propose that a special bag that's not connected to the actual inventory be used; once keyrings become viable, the same code can be used here as well. The synergistics would be rather interesting; I surmise that at least a paired method would come up; one fast collector, with another guarding him from roving "killstealers." Mind you, the guard would be hard pressed in keeping more than two attackers away from the runner...
So far, this just speculation; I'm eagerly awating word about Forlorn Ridge in Asherza. I'm sure plenty have noticed the empty Alliance encampment on the south side, and the equally empty Horde encampment on the north...
2) Hero classes
Now, Blizzard has been making noises about this, but they've kept it deeply under wraps to get any real information about this. But... given their track record, they'd prolly drop one for each class, and call it quits while they fine-tune them. But that's not really fair, is it? Well, they did mention that they were also planning on ways to enhance racial traits... so why not do both? Give each race two Hero classes; one melee, the other caster. Make both revolve around what each race's ideals espouse, and use their traits as their base abilities.
Let's tale an example... Tauren are noted for their great prowress in battle, and are deeply connected to Mother Earth. That's primarily Warrior and Shaman, in game terms. So where do we go from there? How about this: the melee Hero class is the Tribal Guardian, with some aura-like combat abilities, and the caster Hero class is the Spirit Guide, who can conjure more elemental abilities while bonding deeper with their prospective elements. There--we've taken two of their racial abilities: the War Stomp ability and the bonus to their Nature resistance, and associated the Hero classes with them. Note that the two sound a bit like Paladins and Mages, in retrospect.
Honestly, it's not that hard. The trick is thinking about what kind of abilities the race doesn't have access to, and give methods to mimic them to some degree.
Further suggestions would be to just give them one talent tree to spec into; I see no point in adding more when you've essentially taken four talent trees after getting a Hero class. (Although a good stipulation would be to restrict the training points earned while in your Hero class to that specific tree.)
4) Pandarens in General
I want to save this for another post; I can be long-winded if I choose to, and I'd like to take my time with this particular point. Long and short of it, it encapsulates some thoughts related to this particular page. Stuff worthy of another expansion, if you like. :)
5) General odds and ends
-I'd love to see some real differentation between the night elf and tauren Druid forms. Get rid of the silly ears/horns, and make them look different without compromising the natural look. Like, for example, look at the basic differences beyond racial tack-ons with Cat forms. Night elves have a thematically black panther look, while taurens have savanna lions suited to their plains style. That's what we need without making them look silly. (And, seriously, we only have two races with access to the Druid class.)
-Speaking of silly... the sea lion? I call them "shaved bears." Since the ability doesn't work out of the water, it would have made better sense to use dolphins or some decent sea critter.
-And along that line of thought... we could aim for some nice different looks for travel forms as well--Tauren should have plainstriders instead. It makes sense.
-Even further along that line... I can understand why Blizzard doesn't want flying mounts, but... Horizon fixed that issue with flying dragons. It's called a "height cap." Trust me, the druids want their Stormcrow forms. I'd save it for 50-55, near the point for geting a flying mount in Burning Crusade. Which also gives players the opportunity to use those same mounts in Azeroth, as well, if you think about it. I desire reaching several nooks and crannies that I see on Gryphon-back, but can't do so naturally on foot.
-Hunters need more fun critters to tame. Like kodos/storm lizards. Or rams. Defintly not cows, though--I don't want to think about it. Especially if you sic one on a Tauren.
-Make getting main faction rep a bit easier; I would like to see continued use of the Comendation Officers in some form of another. Add some sort of repeatable quest that gives out commendation insignias and keep the existing 1 and 10 amount turn-ins availiable.
-Have lower-level BGs available even when you're already past the level cap for it. Best way to fix it is to temporarily lower stats and disalow abilities/talents/gear rated above the max cap for that particular instance. Since it's already an inventory nightmare to gear up for such, it wouldn't need any more restrictions afterwards. (Of course, talents could be an issue, but if you kept track of when you took a particular talent/increase...)
-I keep hearing about the disportionate levels when getting an Arathi Basin BG instance; according to many it's because it's easier to do it with mounts than before. There is a very simple way to fix this; disallow speed boosts in the instance, whether it's mounts, potions, or abilities. One of the biggest rule-of-thumb in BGs is always level the playing field. As long as people aren't driven by a need for mounts in Arathi Basin, this should open the lower level instance to more players.
Alterac Valley needn't apply.
6) Random Thoughts
-If I'm a druid, and I run around in Bear form most of the time... then what gender is the bear, if I'm gonna look at its butt? And why do I have the strange urge to sing "The Bear Necessities?"
-Why can Hunters tame raptors, when there's a quest line in the Barrens that gives evidence to their intelligence, even if it's just base-line?
-Sometimes I have the urge to defy the constant rules. This makes my Tauren Shaman want to burn Undercity clean of Forsaken from time to time, no matter that they're on "our" side. Man, for some negative Reputation modifiers...
-I have another urge to change my druid's Restoration spec to Balance, just so that I can get Moonkin form and dance the hours away in Ironforge. For no reason. (At least it's better than Bear form dancing. They need to make that look better.)
In any case...
1) More Battlegrounds
One of the few things that's attractive about WoW is the inherent Battlegrounds (BGs) that people can enter without having to do outside duels. It's no-holds-barred combat, achieving goals and other fun stuff. Many talent builds have been geared towards combat (such as the feared ReckonBomber paladin build--which capitalizes on an ability called Reckoning, which allows the paladin to unleash up to 5 melee strikes in one blow. Couple it with the right gear, and you've got a nasty damage powerhouse in the field.)
However... there isn't a lot of options for BGs. I mean, there's currently Capture the Flag, Resource Holding (basically multiple-point King of the Hill,) and full-out War.
What I would like to see are more variations. Things that offer a significantly different playstyle. I've asked about this before, and I got a few replys, of which I agree in different ways. Here's a short list of possible BGs:
-Deathmatch, where the object is to reach a kill total before the other side does. It's just raw fighting; no nonsense about honor and mercy. Get the people who just want the honorkills out of the people who want to really play the BGs. Make them run around in a fendishly complicated maze, sussing out the other team before they do to you. Best for guild wars, too; I'd set up an actual method for partnering desired groups with other groups--even extend it into full-blown raid groups for fun.
-Battle of the Titans, where each side choose a Titan to sponsor and then assist it in battle against the other team's Titan. This is a very support-heavy group, but warriors/hunters can still pick off the support team. The Titans themselves wouldn't necessarily be actual titans; I can see big dragons, giants, and elementals go toe-to-toe at each other. There is a catch, though... once you die, you respawn at a location where you can't assist the Titans afterwards. (This can be optional; I'd offer this as an internal vote just as much as the choice of Titan would be.)
-Resource Gathering, which is basicaly what was taken out of Alterac Valley (BG War) in patch 1.10. The way this works is not unlike Resource Holding, but instead of defending different points, you'd be gathering actual resources. The catch is that if you get doinked by the other team, they get what you got, and vice versa. I propose that a special bag that's not connected to the actual inventory be used; once keyrings become viable, the same code can be used here as well. The synergistics would be rather interesting; I surmise that at least a paired method would come up; one fast collector, with another guarding him from roving "killstealers." Mind you, the guard would be hard pressed in keeping more than two attackers away from the runner...
So far, this just speculation; I'm eagerly awating word about Forlorn Ridge in Asherza. I'm sure plenty have noticed the empty Alliance encampment on the south side, and the equally empty Horde encampment on the north...
2) Hero classes
Now, Blizzard has been making noises about this, but they've kept it deeply under wraps to get any real information about this. But... given their track record, they'd prolly drop one for each class, and call it quits while they fine-tune them. But that's not really fair, is it? Well, they did mention that they were also planning on ways to enhance racial traits... so why not do both? Give each race two Hero classes; one melee, the other caster. Make both revolve around what each race's ideals espouse, and use their traits as their base abilities.
Let's tale an example... Tauren are noted for their great prowress in battle, and are deeply connected to Mother Earth. That's primarily Warrior and Shaman, in game terms. So where do we go from there? How about this: the melee Hero class is the Tribal Guardian, with some aura-like combat abilities, and the caster Hero class is the Spirit Guide, who can conjure more elemental abilities while bonding deeper with their prospective elements. There--we've taken two of their racial abilities: the War Stomp ability and the bonus to their Nature resistance, and associated the Hero classes with them. Note that the two sound a bit like Paladins and Mages, in retrospect.
Honestly, it's not that hard. The trick is thinking about what kind of abilities the race doesn't have access to, and give methods to mimic them to some degree.
Further suggestions would be to just give them one talent tree to spec into; I see no point in adding more when you've essentially taken four talent trees after getting a Hero class. (Although a good stipulation would be to restrict the training points earned while in your Hero class to that specific tree.)
4) Pandarens in General
I want to save this for another post; I can be long-winded if I choose to, and I'd like to take my time with this particular point. Long and short of it, it encapsulates some thoughts related to this particular page. Stuff worthy of another expansion, if you like. :)
5) General odds and ends
-I'd love to see some real differentation between the night elf and tauren Druid forms. Get rid of the silly ears/horns, and make them look different without compromising the natural look. Like, for example, look at the basic differences beyond racial tack-ons with Cat forms. Night elves have a thematically black panther look, while taurens have savanna lions suited to their plains style. That's what we need without making them look silly. (And, seriously, we only have two races with access to the Druid class.)
-Speaking of silly... the sea lion? I call them "shaved bears." Since the ability doesn't work out of the water, it would have made better sense to use dolphins or some decent sea critter.
-And along that line of thought... we could aim for some nice different looks for travel forms as well--Tauren should have plainstriders instead. It makes sense.
-Even further along that line... I can understand why Blizzard doesn't want flying mounts, but... Horizon fixed that issue with flying dragons. It's called a "height cap." Trust me, the druids want their Stormcrow forms. I'd save it for 50-55, near the point for geting a flying mount in Burning Crusade. Which also gives players the opportunity to use those same mounts in Azeroth, as well, if you think about it. I desire reaching several nooks and crannies that I see on Gryphon-back, but can't do so naturally on foot.
-Hunters need more fun critters to tame. Like kodos/storm lizards. Or rams. Defintly not cows, though--I don't want to think about it. Especially if you sic one on a Tauren.
-Make getting main faction rep a bit easier; I would like to see continued use of the Comendation Officers in some form of another. Add some sort of repeatable quest that gives out commendation insignias and keep the existing 1 and 10 amount turn-ins availiable.
-Have lower-level BGs available even when you're already past the level cap for it. Best way to fix it is to temporarily lower stats and disalow abilities/talents/gear rated above the max cap for that particular instance. Since it's already an inventory nightmare to gear up for such, it wouldn't need any more restrictions afterwards. (Of course, talents could be an issue, but if you kept track of when you took a particular talent/increase...)
-I keep hearing about the disportionate levels when getting an Arathi Basin BG instance; according to many it's because it's easier to do it with mounts than before. There is a very simple way to fix this; disallow speed boosts in the instance, whether it's mounts, potions, or abilities. One of the biggest rule-of-thumb in BGs is always level the playing field. As long as people aren't driven by a need for mounts in Arathi Basin, this should open the lower level instance to more players.
Alterac Valley needn't apply.
6) Random Thoughts
-If I'm a druid, and I run around in Bear form most of the time... then what gender is the bear, if I'm gonna look at its butt? And why do I have the strange urge to sing "The Bear Necessities?"
-Why can Hunters tame raptors, when there's a quest line in the Barrens that gives evidence to their intelligence, even if it's just base-line?
-Sometimes I have the urge to defy the constant rules. This makes my Tauren Shaman want to burn Undercity clean of Forsaken from time to time, no matter that they're on "our" side. Man, for some negative Reputation modifiers...
-I have another urge to change my druid's Restoration spec to Balance, just so that I can get Moonkin form and dance the hours away in Ironforge. For no reason. (At least it's better than Bear form dancing. They need to make that look better.)
posted by Alan at 12:58 PM
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