Plans for Cataclysm

I’m looking ahead a bit towards Cataclysm right now, trying to decide what I want to do. Me being me, the first thing I’m probably going to do is run a ton of alts and not even bother looking at end game. I might rush my Mage or Druid to 85 for the sake of doing it and getting some gold from the new profession mats, but most of my time will initially be spent on trying out all the new starting areas.

I know without a doubt that I want to level one of every race, and one of every class to at least level 20. That much I know for sure. What I haven’t set in stone just yet, is which races with be teamed up with which classes. So today that’s what I’m aiming to do is to solidify, or at least narrow down, those choices and set a firm plan for the new expansion.

These combinations are because I want to see the game from each class’s and race’s perspective. The characters that get rolled for this will end up getting deleted almost without exception. After reaching 20 with them all I’ll delete them and then reroll the ones I really like on my real server(s) to actually play them and level them beyond 20.

Existing Knowledge
We know we’re getting some new combinations of races and classes in Cataclysm, and while there are still several things that might change in it, here’s what we know so far for new combinations:

Orc: Mage
Undead: Hunter
Tauren: Paladin, Priest
Troll: Druid, Warlock*
Blood Elf: Warrior

Human: Hunter
Dwarf: Mage, Shaman, Warlock*
Night Elf: Mage
Gnome: Priest
Draenei: nothing at all…

_{*Warlock: Recent blue posts indicated that Warlock has been added to Dwarf and Troll, which are the only combinations (that I know of) that have been added since the initial announcement in Blizzcon ’09.}

From that list alone there are already some that draw my attention, and some that I couldn’t care less about. The ones I have no interest in are: Orc Mage, Tauren Priest, Troll Druid. The rest I’m at least somewhat interested in or excited about, and a couple I’m really excited to try out. Neither of the Tauren options really do anything for me, but I think that’s because I’m not a huge cow fan to begin with. Surprisingly I’m actually excited about all three Dwarf options as well as the Gnome addition. Surprising because those are two of my least favorite races in the game.

We also know that we’re gaining two new races which have their own class combinations.

Worgen: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior
Goblin: Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior

My initial thoughts during last year’s Blizzcon were Worgen Druid and Goblin Shaman, straight out of the box. Since then I’ve changed quite a bit.

I’m not super thrilled about the Worgen Druid idea anymore. I might go ahead and do it, especially if I decide to level Feral this time, but I’m just not quite sure. Adding wolf to the mix of possible forms for the druid sounded really cool, but since my existing druid is an inscriptionist I can already turn myself into a wolf so it’s not quite as appealing from that standpoint. While I like the shapechange mechanic of the Worgen, I don’t really like how that plays out for casters. I don’t quite see the whole “I cast stronger spells because I now have teeth and furs!” thing makes sense. It’s sort of like the Orc racial in that regard where yeah it still works, but eh, only just.

Goblins I’m just really not all that into. I like some of the things we’ve seen about their starting area, but…I don’t know, they just don’t appeal to me. I may end up going with the generic Goblin Rogue and turning him into my Horde bank alt, but the more I think about it Warlock seems a more appropriate feel for them as I picture a Voidwalker or Felguard standing watch over me as I take care of my transactions. Hunter, Mage, and Priest just don’t scream “goblin” to me, so I’m not thrilled there at all.

Looking over the list right now I’m leaning towards…Feral Druid, BM Hunter, SPriest, or Warrior for the Worgen, and Sub Rogue, Elem Shaman, or Warlock for the Goblin. Though I don’t like the idea of Worgen casters much, I love the thought of a shadow priest look applied to the wolfman. Other options for the goblin just don’t appeal to me.

Decisions, as They Stand Now
The combinations I know for sure that I want to level in Cataclysm is pretty small. If they made some other combinations open up, such as the Night Elf Warlock, I’d be all over that. Since they haven’t though, this is the list I’m going to work with for now, and if things change then things change.

Druid: Night Elf (Worgen)
The ones in parenthesis are ones that I’m considering as replacements. I know I want to level another Druid, but I’m not sure on the race. I do know it’s not going to be a flipping Troll with their hideous skins as they are right now. I really wanted to roll a Worgen Druid when Blizzcon announced it, but now I’m not that into the idea. It’s still a possibility though given that I’m not super thrilled about rolling yet another Night Elf Druid.

Hunter: Human and Undead
I don’t have the slightest clue how in the world we’ve come this far in the game and still not seen Human Hunters. I mean…seriously? Human’s can’t kill things with a bow by now? It’s about time, so I’m going to make it so. I’m also rolling an Undead Hunter because it’s one of the two combinations I’ve always wanted for the Undead. They haven’t given us Undead Paladins yet, but I’m not giving up hope on that one. One of these days, to Fel with the lore, I’ll have an Undead Paladin.

Mage: Draenei (Night Elf, Troll, Undead)
The mage is going to be a Draenei, but I really don’t know why. Actually, I do know why. I don’t like Spacegoats, but I had to use one somewhere to see their new starting area. They make good Mages (nothing like throwing a racial HoT on yourself before casting Ice Block to get the full heal without fear of dying after all. I’ve always been curious about a Night Elf Mage since Shadowmeld is such a wonderfully useful ability, so it’s still a possibility. I may go Troll if I don’t feel like another Warlock, or possibly Undead just because I love Undead so much.

Paladin: Tauren (Human)
Paladin isn’t a very hard choice. Since cows are getting the priesthood I figured I might as well roll one and give that cowtank a shot. Human is really the only other race I care to have as a Paladin that we have access to. I’d take Undead in a heartbeat if they gave it to us, and the same for Orc, but they haven’t so I can’t.

Priest: Gnome and Blood Elf (Priest)
Priest gets two races this time around. The Gnome simply because I don’t want a Gnome of any of the other classes available to them. I hate Gnomes. They’re the only race that comes close to Trolls on my hate list. I know some of my tweeps love them, but not me. I could handle their size, and the squished look of their gear if they would just change their voices and stupid sayings like, “My! You’re a tall one!” I hate them, but I have to see their starting area so I’m rolling one anyway.

Priest also goes to Blood Elf because I love the male’s cast animation for healing spells. I think the spiffy twirly braids of the female dwarf is the only animation that comes close. If something looks stupid I can’t play it even if it’s cool. If something looks cool, I can play it even if it sucks (to some degree).

Rogue: Worgen (Night Elf, Goblin)
Rogue goes to the Worgen where I can be both agile and brutal at the same time. It’s one of the best combinations for the race in my opinion. I hate that their racial ability makes their spells stronger from a believability standpoint. I just don’t see how my fireballs would hurt any more than normal just because I suddenly get hairy and grow fangs; it just doesn’t compute with me. So I’m going melee with them instead.

Shaman: Dwarf (Goblin)
Shaman is for Dwarves. I gave a lot of thought to making my Dwarf a Mage or possibly a Warlock. Mage was my initial thought as a nod to one of my favorite fantasy series, the one that got me started on them in the first place, The Belgariad which was written by the late David Eddings. In that book was a twisted, disfigured dwarf “mage” named Beldin who worked some of the most beautiful magic in the world as a balance to his ugliness. He turned into beautiful creatures and he was a horrible, disgusting figure when in his natural form. I love the character and the image. His most well known animal form is a blue banded hawk, so if Dwarves could be Druids I would leap at the opportunity. Since they can’t be druids though, I’m going to combine Beldin with another character from the books, Belgarath, which was another “mage” and known for taking the form of a wolf. So I’m ditching the Mage class for the Spirit Wolf form of the Shaman and using the Dwarf race to tie the two together into one.

Warlock: Goblin and Troll
Warlock of the Demonology variety goes to the Goblin because while I see most people going Rogue with them for bank alts, I’m going Warlock because I picture my Goblin not as a thief but more as a loan shark. And rather than slitting your throat and stealing your purse, I’m just going to have my big friend here, the Felguard, bash in your face if you don’t give me my money back. Now here’s the 10g you need and I expect to have 50g from you sitting on my desk by Tuesday morning.

Warlock of the Affliction variety goes to the Trolls. My most hated race in the entire game. There’s really nothing at all that I like about this race. I’m going to take them anyway though so that I can have him dance with his Imp. I don’t want to miss any of the starting areas from their race’s perspective, otherwise I wouldn’t be rolling one to begin with.

Warrior: Orc
Warrior is the favored class of the Orc. It’s a strong, brutal race of warriors and that’s the kind of thing I can really get into. When I think Orc, I think big axes and splitting skulls, and right now the Warrior is the best class available to them for doing that.