It’s simply a re-organisation of character creation and racial optionis - that’s it.
For Amani trolls and some others like Naga & Ethereals - these would have to be a new allied race and a new race. Amani and Drakkari Forest and Ice trolls need their own rig.
However, High elves, Wild Hammer, Sand Trolls, Emerald Dream Worgen, Highborne are all just easily achievable by.
- Re-organising character creation
- A short intro quest and narrative - which all races should have if selecting Exile Reach
- Active Racial swap option
1. Re-organising Character Creation
Blizzard would need to review and bolster up specific customisations for High elf, Sand Trolls, Wild Hammer - but here is how you could do it.
Option A:
Add Appearance customisation tabs on races where it applies:
e.g:
Void elves:
- Click on Void elf , you will get Appearance Options with a picture of a void elf and that of a high elf:
- If you press continue without selecting one, you will choose a class and then customise with ALL the options seen.
- However if you selected High Elf, you would get classes available to that appearance - once selected
- Takes you customisations that have the ones for high elves clickable and at the top, the void elf specific ones are still available, but greyed out, you can choose to unlock any of them if you want to make a more interesting elf.
- Racials: Entropic embrace and Spatial rift - gain light visuals and arcane colour schemes respectively and also get a different name - they are glyphable to the void versions later if you prefer.
- Might have certain classes greyed out, but could potentially have Paladin available on this - presumably Paladin would have a void visuals version incoming at some point, selecting high elf will use the normal Paladin on, but the class visual can be switched form void to light via glyph or trainer.
- Tailored opening narrative, and a bunch of high elf NPCs will offer
Pressing enter with high elf appearance will change the void elf opening narrative to a new one: both narrative cinematics for void elf and high elf can be viewed in the starting area
Before exile reach, you have the "return player experience that instead has a short quest where you meet the high elves, and their connection to the void elves explained.
Option B
Have a race version of the faction page. [View as Races] or View As Faction.
As view as races, Here you have Humans, Trolls, Elves, Draenei, Tauren etc , not as main race and allied race.
e.g. you select Elf: you would then have Night or Day:
Click on Night you select Darnassian Night elf, Highborne, Illidari, Nightborne, Felborne - Nightborne and Felborne are on one side with Horde above them, Darnassian , Highborne and Illidari are on the right with Alliance over them.
Click on Day: you get Void elf, High elf, Darkfallen to one side and Blood Elf, Illidari, San’layn to the other. Vvoid elf, high elf and Darkfallen on the right with Alliance above them, Blood elf, Illidari and San’layn on the left
Void elf and Blood elf will be the first option and beneath each would be high elf and Darkfallen, then Illidari and San’layn
this is because selecting them is the actual race option, and selecting High elf or San’layn will just be a void elf and a blood elf with greyed out or hidden options that include the void elf and blood elf unique customisations, which you can choose to reval extra options when under high elf to have void elf options to hcoose rom s but certiain options may invalidate
Example of other races:
Night elves - Adds the Highborne, Illidari and Darnassian tab
the
- Illidari: Night elf leaf hair/beard options, jewellery options, antler options and Elune arcane options not selectable (not even greyed out) option will restrict your classes to Demon hunter and Warlock (blizzard can decide if players can use the illidari appearance for other classes down the line]
- Highborne has some new fancy hairstyles and beards, extra jewlery and arcane artifact customisations as well as access to the night warrior arcane glowy tatoos and the star ones Elune’s Avatar had, these are highlighted, however the leafy hair/beard options are greyed out and the tattoo options that are non-glowy will be greyed out [can be unlcoked], all classes Druid class selection adds the name Druidic Botanist
- Darnassian: will have the ornate jewellery and Highborne hairstyles greyed out, but Elune/arcane glowy edges and the stars on the face tatoos are all selectable
Shadowmeld can be swapped for something else: You can switch this via a glyph as and when you choose.
Troll: Sand troll, Jungle Troll - [
- Sand troll - sandy and grey skin customisation highlighted, to decide if any classes will be greyed out. clicking on greyed out options will auto de-select the Sand troll tag, but will warn you
- Jungle troll - the above are greyed out, but can be selected by click on them and ticking the option.
Dwarf: Wildhammer, Bronzebeard
- Wildhammer - wildhammer options are selectable at the top, mage/lock options greyed out, but you can select them - hovering over will have some script explaining, Wildhammer aren’t typically these classes but have become available since relations with Ironforge improved.
- Bronzebeard: Wildhammer tattoo options are greyed out, but can be unlocked, Shaman class also greyed out but selectable with etc
Other Race Examples:
Draenei: Man’ari (red skinned ones) and Eredar
Mag’har : [options by Orc clans: Dragonmaw, Blackrock etc organised that way]
2. A short intro Quest or Narrative
This can be extremely helpful in explaining some of the lore and the current situation of the sub-races or factions we have additional customisations for.
- Short intro Quest after logging in
- And/OR Narrative in the opening load
I’m in favour of a unique Narrative rather than a quest, with options to view the racial narrative later.
For races that start in Exile reach I would send them first to Jaina or Thrall just like the returning players get, but instead of class catch up, you get a short introduction with Jaina/Thrall AND/or their racial leader and countrymen- so it would be the sub-faction e.g. Sand Troll opening and once you go through that
3. Racials Swapping
Several ways to do this:
- glyph racials… certain sub-factions like High elves, Highborne, Sand Trolls and Warhammer can have unique versions or cosmetics replacing one of the races racials - when you select their customisation appearances, you will get that version as your main racial.
however, you can then glyph the original later in if you prefer those instead and vice versa - this can be an item glyph from an NPC or a feature in the spell book - I would recommend an NPC - in the case of safe high elf - you would get the high elf version from the high elf NPC and the void elf version from a void elf NPC right next to them. But you will have to go home to switch - because it kinda is something tied to your sub-faction, but obviously flexible as void elves can become high elves and vice versa. Wildhammers can choose to follow the Bronzebeard path etc.
- Design a new racial pool system - so there is a pool of racials races have, and you can swap some for others.
a) The best design for this is like a column with talent nodes. Giving you the options you can choose for each.
But unlike class talents, thsese can’t be easily changed, as some of them are fixed on character creation and require
b) This might also mean expanding each races pool of racials, but only being able to select the original number you can just swap certain options round to fit your fantasy theme, or class
c) Just do glyphs, you can glyph in the appropriate one, although you might enforce certain restrictions, like you can’t select the light high elf option with purple void elf skin customisation … you’d have to change that first in barber shop then go change the racial. Like this they can actually have “key customisations” that would make a tlaent node available, - and if a new player wants that option but can’t select it, hovering over the node will say: Only High elves can be this, you must switch your racial appearance to high elf in the barber shop to have htis option available.