It’s no big secret that racial traits and skills are getting a revamp in Cataclysm. We’ve already seen some examples of new talents in recent times, such as the inclusion of Every Man For Himself in the human racials (which I am finding pretty useful, thanks for asking), but for the most part racial skills tend to be rather… well, underwhelming. 5% more damage on Beasts? +1% chance to crit with throwing weapons? 2% frost resistance? Sure, some of them are pretty useful – there’s no denying the usefulness of Blood Fury for DPS or Diplomacy for rep grinds – but for the most part they’re underpowered.
Especially underpowered when you compare them to, say, the proposed list of racial skills for worgen and goblins. Granted, they’re clearly up for change – at this point, what isn’t? – but the sheer usefulness (and number!) of skills for worgen and goblins makes it pretty obvious the other races are going to get a serious rebalancing act. Heck, the goblins are kind of OP at this point… or at least, they have a crapton of utility skills. Check it:
Worgen:
- Darkflight – instant, 3 minute cooldown – Activate your true form, increasing movement speed by 70% for 6 seconds.
- Viciousness – passive – Increase damage dealt by 1%.
- Aberration – passive – 15% reduced duration on Curses and Diseases used against you.
- Flayer – passive – Skinning skill +15, skinning speed increase, no knife required.
- Two Forms – instant, 1.5 sec cooldown – Transform into your currently inactive form (human to worgen and back again).
Goblins:
- Rocket Jump – instant, 2 minute cooldown (shared with Rocket Barrage) – Activate your rocket belt to jump up to 20 yards.
- Rocket Barrage – instant, 2 minute cooldown (shared with Rocket Jump) – Fire your belt rockets at an enemy within 30 yards.
- Time is Money – passive – 1% increase to attack and casting speed.
- Best Deals Anywhere – passive – Always get the best possible discounts, regardless of reputation.
- Pack Hobgoblin – instant, 30 minute cooldown – Calls in your personal servant, allowing you bank access every 30 minutes.
- Better Living Through Chemistry – Alchemy skill +15, your potions give more health/mana.
So keeping in mind that these are the new baselines for racial traits, what would you like to see for your race? Let’s hear some wild ideas in the comments.
Would it be too much to ask for stoneform to come back in it’s original glory?
I want a nerf to heroic Presence so I won't be kicked out of the guild for race changing to Dwarf
To contrast to that, I'd like a good reason to change my shaman to a dwarf. I want to, I really do, but I know I'd miss that 1% hit. Stoneform, Find Treasure, and Frost Resistance aren't gonna cut it, so what's left – mace specialization? For elemental/resto? No thanks.
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to [...]
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to [...]
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to [...]
Both the goblin rocket jump and the worgen sprint will be very useful in PvP; this comes at the same time as Will of the Forsaken going on shared cooldown with pvp trinkets and the introduction of pvp trinkets with extra useful stats making both WotF and every man for himself less game-changing abilities. I foresee a lot of race changes to take advantage of the new racials. What's big here is that both, to some extent, replicate existing class abilities; sprint and disengage. Think how far a hunter will be able to jump by chaining disengage and rocket jump, and just how much ground a rogue will be covering if he also uses darkflight when sprint expires.
I reckon either we'll see buffs to other racials, making choice of race a bigger deal in both pve and pvp, or these will be toned down. Which doesn't bother me, but it may well bother a lot of serious pvpers who'll be forced into paid race changes to remain competitive.
Either all racials will get a revamp, or these will be reduced drastically.
Who would dps as anything but a worgen if you got a natural 1% increase?
@Bellwether – Mightn't 3 free Expertise, ceteris paribus, equal more than 1% increase in damage? How about 1% Crit on bows/guns, keeping in mind talents like Mortal Shots and Piercing Shots?
I would like to see a dwarf resistence to fear… call it pride, give them a 10% chance to resist fear, and have it stack with number of dwarves in the group
How about Making Trolls "Regeneration" Useful ish? i'm at lvl 72 and in battle i get 2hp every tick.. D:
Maybe something useable? not a heal but like.. out of combat natural regeneration is doubled, 3 min CD 15 sec last? *shrugs*
something simila to frenzied regeneration would definatly be nice to see as a troll.
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to [...]
With the way Flayer is designed, we can probably expect Cultivation to receive identical changes.
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in [...]
It has already been stated at Blizzcon, that there will be some changes to racials, but I didnt expect a nerf to WotF, atm I dont think wotf is the strongest racial, especially since it is useless against most classes in pvp, and there arent many pve fights where I use a pvp trinket that can be put on cooldown by wotf. So by balancing racials the first step would be not nerfing the existing ones:D. That said, I dont think that buffing up racials would be a too good idea, ofc there are some like trolls, that need a bit of balance, but just think of this for a moment: Goblin mage, with blink never on CD, Worgen rogue with double sprint + preparation. If we are to balance the current racials with thiese, then Belf's would get an aoe silence with 30yd range, UD's permanently immune to fear and Orc's to stuns, Nelf's not coming out of shadowmeld when damaging enemies and so on… My point is that while its nice to see some strong racials, it can be a gamebreaking experience to get raped by someone, just because their racial is much superior in the current situation.
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to TDQ Filed [...]
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to [...]
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to TDQ Filed under: [...]
Well, every race should get a bonus to some profession. Mining would go to dwarves. Is there any question about that? Inscription, Blacksmithing and Leatherworking would be left for the Orcs, Humans, Night Elves and Trolls to fight over. Hmm, or maybe they need a new primary profession in Cataclysm so there's 12?
Dwarves could potentially get an Archaeology racial. However, I'd prefer them to have a Mining or Blacksmithing racial, and buff Find Treasure to simply make Archaeology easier without giving it an actual number bonus.
I agree that each race should excel in a particular profession. I think each prof-related racial should come with 1) a number bonus, and 2) a subtle benefit that does not have a direct impact to one's playability in PvP or PvE if a player of that race does not choose to take advantage of that profession. For example:
Enchanting: Chance on disenchanting to receive extra materials.
Engineering: Increased chance of non-combat engineered items working as intended.
As for matching professions to races, the existing racials have already messed up a few of the ties I would have thought more obvious (Herbalism for Night Elves, Leatherworking for Tauren, or giving Undead Alchemy), but here's how I would make it work as they are:
ALLIANCE
Humans – Generic, passive number bonus to all professions.
Dwarves – Blacksmithing
Gnomes – Engineering
Night Elves – Leatherworking
Draenei – Jewelcrafting
Worgen – Skinning
HORDE
Orcs – Mining
Tauren – Herbalism
Trolls – Inscription
Undead – Tailoring
Blood Elves – Enchanting
Goblins – Alchemy
Justification for choices:
I went with Blacksmithing for Dwarves because, except for Tauren and Draenei (which already have profession-related racials), no other race will have access to all Plate and Mail classes. Leatherworking went to Night Elves for similar reasons (as well as flavor), as did Tailoring to Undead.
Of course, there would be one race lacking a profession, so I gave Humans a generic boost for being the definitive generic race. They get no side-bonuses, but they get a smaller boost for any professions they choose (which includes all secondary and both primary professions).
[...] Stoppable Force asks a question. What racials would you like to see your race get in Cataclysm? Click here to submit a link to [...]
Also, not sure if anyone cares, but awhile back I tried to see if I could "fix" the other racials on my own. Here are some examples of what I came up with:
Gnome Racials:
*Escape Artist – Instant – 1.75 min cooldown
Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect.
*Expansive Mind – Passive
Intellect increased by 5%.
*Nimble Feet – Passive
Agility increased by 5%.
*Arcane Resistance – Passive
Reduces the chance you will be hit by Arcane spells by 5%.
*My Little Gnomie – 30 min cooldown
Summons a personal Gnomie™ repair-bot. Repairs items at half the normal cost.
*Engineering Specialist – Passive
Engineering skill increased by 15. In addition, many engineered devices have a greater chance of working as intended.
—–
Undead Racials:
*Will of the Forsaken – Instant – 2 min cooldown
Activate to remove any fear, sleep, and charm effects.
*Life Leech – Passive
Returns 2% of all damage or healing done as health.
*Reanimate – Instant – 30 min cooldown
Return from the grave after a death. (Only usable outside of combat.)
*Cannibalize – Instant – 2 min cooldown
Activate to regenerate 10% of total health every 2 seconds for 10 seconds. Only works on Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yards.
*Underwater Breathing – Passive
Underwater breath lasts 233% longer than normal.
*Shadow Resistance – Passive
Reduces the chance you will be hit by Shadow spells by 5%.
*Master of Stitches
Tailoring skill increased by 15. In addition, there is a chance that you will be able to loot extra cloth from enemies.
—————————————
The idea is to create a set of racials that will justify any class played as that race, balanced to every other racial/class combination. (That's why I gave Gnomes a boost to both Intellect and Agility. If your class cannot take advantage of one, it can take advantage of the other.)
In addition, a number of "utility" racials add a little fun and convenience specific to that race without impacting PvP or PvE play. This is evidenced in the profession bonuses, Two Forms, Best Deals Anywhere, My Little Gnomie, Reanimate/Cannibalize/Underwater Breathing, etc.
For gnomes, I'm kind of hoping for a passive ability that makes them harder to hit. Maybe a 1 or 2% chance less likely to be hit by enemies. Could be called "Tiny Target". They (or maybe night elves) could have some sort of "Fleet Footed" racial that increases their run speed by 5% passively as well.
For Dwarves, I was thinking maybe a passive increase on armor of 2%, which would go well with Stoneform. Lofty's idea of increasing race's professions skill points is a good idea too, though I always saw Forsaken as being alot better at Alchemy. But I also see Goblins as getting +alchemy as really odd, as I thought they would get +engineering, even if that would put them at odds with gnomes.
[...] racials are underpowered, just like everyone elses. The Stoppable Force had an article today about racial abilities. Rather than take up enormous space in his comments [...]
[...] 2. The Gift of Foresight Should you wish to view to know of what you might expect to see in your future, I offer you three Gifts of Foresight. [...]