Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Constant Influx: Races

As I was talking about in the previous post, every expansion has given us an incentive to roll up a new character, whether it be new races, new classes, or both (or new ways to combine old races and classes.) While I personally find new classes the most exciting way to do this, it's obvious that new races are a much simpler thing to bring into the game. With Mists of Pandaria, we'll be up to 5 new (as in, not from Vanilla) races against 2 new classes.

Races obviously require a lot more work from the creative side of things - creating an effective backstory, giving that side a reason to join its respective faction, and creating a part of the world that has, to this point, prevented them from stepping into the global fray.

One of the downsides of constantly introducing new races is that some stories can fall by the wayside. The Draenei, for instance, haven't had a huge amount of plot development since Burning Crusade. The Worgen didn't even get much screen time in their own introductory expansion (if I had to guess, I think Blizzard settled on Worgen as the new Alliance race much later in the process than when they chose Goblins for the Horde - which was probably the very instant they decided to introduce new races.)

Still, new races are fun, and I always like to imagine what a player in 2004 would think if they could see a  their trusty Night Elf hanging out with Space Goats, Werewolves and a Panda-man. They add new visual variety, and can change the tone of things.

Also, once they've created the new models and made the starting zone, they're basically done - no serious balance-tweaking unless someone winds up with an amazing set of racials.

Anyway, I seriously doubt that the influx of new races is going to stop any time soon, so let's talk about possibilities. While the Pandaren are available to both sides, I don't think (and in fact, I would not prefer) that all future playable races will be split like that - unless the big twist is that the factions are going to get united once we depose Garrosh - which I think is basically never going to happen in a million years.)

So, without further ado, the possible races:

Naga:
Obviously, the biggest hurdle here is how the hell they'd be able to use a mount. I can kind of imagine them draping their tail over the mount. The other is how you'd handle boots, which I'd have to say could be done as a sort of "tail cap." Story-wise, I think there's a decent possibility for them as a Horde race. While the Naga were transformed by the Old Gods, that doesn't necessarily mean they're possessed the way Deathwing was. One could imagine it being more akin to the Curse of Flesh. Anyway, one could imagine a splinter group that has lost faith in Azshara. Their animosity toward the Night Elves (and vice versa) would be far too great to put them in the Alliance, but their shared history with the Blood Elves and their general cunning and military strength would be valued by the Horde. Also, obvious racial bonus: faster swim speed.

Ogre:
Another obvious Horde race - there's even Ogres friendly to the Horde already, so it's no big stretch that you'd be able to get a playable faction. They are a bit on the large side (and Tauren already have trouble fitting through some tight spots - especially if they're mounted) but I could definitely see them working out.

Ethereals:
Quasi-Arabic Space Goblins made of Energy? These are a stretch, especially given their non-corporeality. Still, I think they would be very, very popular. Not sure which side they'd go to, though the Alliance could use a somewhat callous, ruthless addition. For customization, you'd have to look at the wrappings mainly, though you could also change the color of the glowy-essence within.

Vrykul:
While the Vrykul are not exactly the most friendly people, and their alliance with the Lich King made them even worse, I could imagine a group of Vrykul that denounced Ymiron and maybe even remembers their human offspring, and would probably never bow down before a Warchief of some alien race, though they might respect a King who is almost like them, so I'd put these guys on team Blue.

Murlocs:
Hilarious, yes, but I think these guys are best as the kings of the "minor threat races," like Gnolls, Kobolds, and Troggs.

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