Blizzard wants to make the classes more unique again and at the same time clears our overcrowded banks in World of Warcraft!
Strengthening the Fantasy behind the Classes
As with every expansion of World of Warcraft, the goal is again to strengthen the identity of the classes with Legion. A Mage should distinctly differ from a Warlock and a Death Knight should be very different from a Warrior. Blizzard makes these changes evident with two examples.
Shadow Priests are being thoroughly revamped, as they always felt a bit like the “unloved brother of the Affliction Warlock. They have dots, vampiric abilities, and mind manipulation, but it never really fit together. They needed something new that united them, that hits the core of their class. What could be better than Madness and the Old Gods?” They no longer need mana, but receive the new resource “Madness” instead. Their spells slowly build up Madness while their Shadow form becomes darker and ultimately even manifests tentacles, until the Priest fully embraces this form for a short time.
Demonology Warlocks had a hard time accepting that they would lose their Metamorphosis. “Demonology should revolve around summoning numerous demons and not becoming a demon yourself. It doesn’t really fit in there.” Therefore, the Fel junkies get numerous new creatures they can summon from the Nether.
Personally, I find the explanation for the Warlocks a bit flimsy, as Demonology has always been about dark pacts and the slow “demonizing” of the Warlock through the consumption of Fel blood or similar – the change to this class seems a bit forced to give the Demon Hunter a unique selling point.
The Wardrobe – A bit copied here, a bit taken there…
A second major change will especially please long-time collecting fans. Blizzard is finally implementing a wardrobe system and draws on known systems from WildStar or SWTOR. The basic principle is simple but popular: Once you loot an item (and it becomes bound to you), you unlock the appearance of the object in a collection. Afterwards, you can use this skin for transmogging and throw away the corresponding item.
But the news gets even better: This collection is account-wide (although the same transmog restrictions as before apply – no plate for Mages, etc.) and all skins from quests you have completed in the past will also be unlocked, even skins from rewards you did not choose! The astonishment and joy at this announcement was overwhelming, and Blizzard is now under strong pressure to deliver this feature exactly as announced.
Shirts and tabards will also be included in the system. The developers joked a bit about what will happen to the Empty Bank, as it loses a large part of its utility.
For more information from BlizzCon about the new features in Legion, check out our World of Warcraft theme page.
