This is a development of the Hero trees I’d like to see: more choices of Hero specs.
First, I notice most of the Hero Trees could fit their missing spec too, actually. At least lore-wise, and probably also gameplay-wise.
Then many of the current pairings of heroic trees x spec seem quite arbitrary, maybe just not to overwhelm us with too many choices.
Mage
Fire Spellslinger: quite obviously legit
Frost Sunfury: oh I wish I could summon a frost phoenix (but I can see the theme’s limit)
Arcane Frostfire: would not fit well except if you consider “Archmage”, a guy using all the three schools of damage at once (amazing!) a bit like the Healer Mage of WoW SoD.
Priest
Shadow Oracle: most lore-fitting since many Oracle NPCs are in fact, shadow in the lore (Scarlet Crusade…)
Discipline Archon: I can’t see anything that could prevent this to happen either
Holy Voidweaver: least sound combination, but could become the Holy Lightweaver to desing a pure DPS holy spec to revive the Classic Smite Priest.
Warlock
Demonology Hellcaller
Destruction Soul Harvester
Affliction Diabolist
All three seem reasonable combinations.
Rogue
Outlaw Deathstalker: a cursed pirate or outcast
Assasination Trickster: well, basically a hashashin
Subtelty Fatebound: a Fatebound who is subtle
Druid
It’s a bigger mess and it aleady lacks Guardian x Restoration and Balance x Feral combos. Also
Restoration Elune’s Chosen
Guardian Wildstalker
Feral Keeper of the Grove
for the most obvious ones.
Monk
Windwalker Master of harmony
the other two hero trees are very pandaria-specific sadly, Brewmaster Conduit of …Niuzao perhaps
Hunter
Survival Dark Ranger: very solid choice, like, Velonara herself uses swords
Beast Mastery Sentinel
Marksmanship Pack leader: for pet-using, trap-using snipers (somehow a Classic survival spec vibe)
Shaman
Enhancement Farseer: “battle alongside your ancestors”, like, yes of course we would!
Elemental Totemic
Restoration Stormbringer: a more offensive healer like Discipline Priest maybe
Evoker
Devastation Chronowarden
Augmentation Flameshaper
Preservation Scalecommander
All work on paper.
Paladin
Holy Templar: real melee healer
Protection Herald of the sun: why not
Retribution Lightsmith
Warrior
Fury Colossus
Arms Mountain Thane
Protection Slayer: less solid
Death Knight
Unholy Deathbringer: of course yes
Blood Rider of the Apocalypse: sure
Frost San’layn: why not?! ALSO why not the Darkfallen skin customisation on DK already??? I mean? San’layn??? HELLO?
But they’re not OK or “solid” unless you play Blood or Night Elf. Dark Rangers literally are undead Silvermoon Rangers that are now following Sylvanas, while Sentinels are the military arm of Night Elf society. Playing a Gnome Sentinel Hunter is like being a Latvian soldier and calling your unit “US Marines”. It’s weird.
Likewise, other Hero talents are also very clearly themed after certain races. Mountain Thanes are Dwarves, Deathstalkers re Forsaken, Herald of the Sun is clearly Tauren themed, San’layn are Vampire High Elves, Farseers are Orc Shamans, Elune’s Chosen are Night Elves, Hellcallers are Satyrs, Sunfury is Blood Elf themed, and so on.
I do think it’s a bit lazy to just take a unit from WC3 and just assign it to everyone playing the class. My Undead Hunter will never be a Sentinel or a Dark Ranger, because she is not an Elf. My Draenei Shaman is not an Orcish Farseer. My Draenei Mage will never be a Blood Elf. My Worgen Warrior - despite being just as hairy - will never be a Dwarf. They should never have linked those talents to specific races IMO.
I think they need to get rid of either Dark Ranger or Sentinel. 2/3 hero specs being uniquely elven is a very bad idea. They ruined the class fantasy in my opinion, that Dwarf Hunters had before with these Riflemen from WC3. There is also no sensible hero spec for Farstriders, normal Archers, gnomes/goblins, Troll Hunters, Pandaren, etc.
Especially Sentinel only really makes sense thematically, if you’re a nightelf, but why didn’t they try to put all arcane archer themes into a more general group? I feel like Blizzard sometimes forgets the players, when they create stuff like this. I think it’s important that it’s recognizable without being too specific.
They should give every race a unique hero spec for every class that race can be.
With unique visuals in terms of skills/spells, but also in terms of unique character customization and even a unique transmog set.
They could make it faction-specific, so the likelihood is higher, that there is something you like. They also wouldn’t need to change the visuals, but instead do something like:
Sentinel for alliance, and if you play Horde it’s called Farstrider
Dark Ranger for Horde turns into Voidstrider for alliance as another example
Now, this is sadly still not perfect, and some themes get lost, but it’s twice as good as now at least
The whole notion of hero specs ‘just being a few extra talents’ is highly flawed imo and I do think it needs to include visuals to really feed into that fantasy. But for that to work, there’d have to be either options per race to fit their themes and fantasies or it would all have to be race-agnostic, which means stuff like Dark Ranger, Mountain King and whatnot is off the table completely.
I absolutely agree they let an undue choice to the players there so they can make an inconsistent character.
Also this is the wider problem: we lack options for any given Spec.
As an (High/Blood) Elven Ranger I can go for Sentinel without any big scruple. Yes the name is specific to NE culture but IRL we get the common sense beyond that.
But if you play a Rifleman you are screwd, and allowing Pack leader for Marksman will not adress this.
When I think about this today, I would actually suggest to split up the hunter class into two. There are too many types of fantasies they wanna have with just this one class, and I think it’s better to split it up. Maybe Marksmanship should be its own class as an archer, and they should split it from survival/beastmaster.
