Because Ethenil keeps not making the thread, I figure I'd start this one up myself. The short version is this: in a world where the broad strokes of World of Warcraft still happen but the details are altered in order to make a more story-intensive and lore-consistent game, one of the things I'd love to see is more class-exclusive content. Legion is really the first time we've seen Team 2 deliver on class-exclusive content for all classes, but looking back at the original WoW, you had epic weapon acquisition chains for some classes, epic mount acquisition chains for others, and if that had been done properly for all classes and made a standard of the expansion, it would provide a lot of additional replayability for each class.

The weapons and equipment listed for each class are meant to be legendary weapons, which you'll note that very few of them are actually legendary in the game, but in the remix, they would be. The intent is that this would end up being the ultimate weapon for the class for the tier it's acquired in, and while you could replace it in future tiers, you've got a chance of acquiring an item that lets you upgrade the legendary to the current tier. This pattern would keep up until the next expansion drops and we trade in our leggos for quest greens, as the prophecy foretold.

The factions listed with each class are intended to be similar to the class orders we have in Legion: in effect, they're the parent organization we're working for during the class campaign content. This doesn't have to be linked with an actual rep faction (the class orders aren't, obviously) there you'll notice that there's some overlap between the two.

Finally, the summary is just intended to be a quick idea of what the class campaign would largely focus on. Stuff like ability questlines (which we saw eliminated with Cataclysm), higher ranks of existing abilities, priest racials, and other class-oriented stuff would also be interwoven with this overall campaign of stuff that you're doing as a part of your class. The dream scenario would be having class quests that take you into certain dungeons, just as the warlock and paladin mount chains did in Classic and the epic flight form chain for druids did in BC.

Without further ado, let's get started.

Classic WoW

• Druid: The Cenarion Circle. The Idol of Malorne. With Malfurion Stormrage trapped in the Emerald Dream, and with the insurgent leadership of Fandral Staghelm, the Cenarion Circle struggles to address the threats they see against the natural order of Azeroth. What's worse, the dragons of the brood of Ysera, long allies of the druids, have become silent, even hostile to outsiders. (This would help to seed the Dragons of Nightmare bosses and the fight with Eranikus as part of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline, while also building on Fandral as a possible future antagonist.)
• Hunter: The Unseen Path. Rhok'delar/Lok'dhelar. The Unseen Path has been protecting Azeroth by eliminating threats outside the view of the common people. Their latest objectives are a quartet of demons who have subtly sown chaos since the War of the Ancients, up to and including a dismantling of the Unseen Path itself. (This would help to establish the Unseen Path as another major kaldorei organization that was drastically impacted by the Third War. This helps to build towards Emmarel Shadewarden wanting to rebuild the order in a more robust manner during Legion.)
• Mage: The Kirin Tor. Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian. The Kirin Tor want to protect Azeroth against magical threats in the absence of a Guardian (since Medivh and Aegwynn kinda ruined the program) but need to focus on rebuilding Dalaran. Getting into Karazhan (in the hopes that something in there will help in restoring Dalaran) is a big component of their narrative. (This allows Dalaran and the Kirin Tor to play a role in the Classic game despite not really appearing dramatically until Karazhan comes into play in Burning Crusade. And yes, making Atiesh a mage legendary instead of one available to other casters kinda sucks, but if everyone gets a legendary that's more acceptable.)
• Paladin (Alliance Only): The Silver Hand. Solheft, Light's Judgement. The Silver Hand's objective is to protect the Alliance against evil, and reacquiring Solheft, which was Uther the Lightbringer's Warhammer, is a huge part of doing that. (This is a perfect opportunity to do a very Alliance-focused narrative, since Paladins are Alliance-exclusive at this stage. Solheft having two-handed and one-handed versions to suit all three specs would also be a reasonable measure.)
• Priest: (Each race has their own version that includes all the same steps, while also feeding priest racial abilities and specific lore). Benediction/Anathema. The different faiths all end up addressing the same key threats against the Light, culminating in absolving Eris Havenfire of her failure to protect the people of Stratholme. (Yeah, it sucks that Discipline doesn't get something keyed to them as well, but not sure how to accomplish that.)
• Rogue: Ravenholdt. Vis'kag the Bloodletter. Jorach Ravenholdt has seen his organization fractured since the Third War, and is now engaged in a power struggle against the Syndicate for control of the criminal underworld. This struggle was partly fomented by the Black Dragonflight, making Onyxia and Nefarian both targets of Ravenholdt's ire. (Setting up Ravenholdt as a spymaster and manipulator who has lost control of his organization because of the Syndicate defecting away from him and the Black Flight interfering because they want to be the only game in town helps to really characterized the underworld beneath the human kingdoms and sets the stage for the Uncrowned.)
• Shaman (Horde Only): The Earthen Ring. Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros. The Earthen Ring recognizes elemental threats as the greatest threats to the world, and the resurgence of Ragnaros beneath Blackrock Mountain (after his accidental summoning by the dark iron centuries ago) is one of their biggest problems to solve. Crafting a weapon infused with the power of elemental fire is key to banishing Ragnaros back to the Firelands. The part where it needs to be crafted using the Doomhammer also allows Thrall to be directly involved and ties a thread to the Blackhand comic that established the Doomhammer being used in the crafting of weapons. (Again, a Horde-exclusive class means a very Horde-involved narrative.)
• Warlock: The Black Harvest. The Tome of Chaos. Kanrethad Ebonlocke wants to use evil powers to protect Azeroth from the Burning Legion. The dichotomy between mages and warlocks (one studies power in order to use to safely, the other uses/abuses power regardless of the danger in order to defeat enemies) is key. Also, the Tome of Chaos grants access to legendary demons for the warlock to summon: a Dreadlord for Affliction, a Doomlord for Demonology, and an Infernal for Destruction. (I like the idea of establishing that warlocks get diversified not because of a powerful weapon, but by powerful demonic forces. This sets them apart from other casters in a way.)
• Warrior: The Brawlers' Guild. Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood. Most other organizations are about defending Azeroth from threats in one form or another. The Brawler's Guild just likes fighting. So warriors get together to beat the snot out of each other for prizes, and occasionally challenge each other to take on bigger, meaner fighters who aren't tough enough to come test their skills in the arena. ("But wait crow, isn't Brawlers' Guild/Brawl'gar Pub supposed to be a fun side-thing everyone can do?" Sure, but that doesn't mean that Fray Island and the various arenas around the world can't have an additional layer about warrior-exclusive high-stakes combat, while the fight club stuff is there for shits and giggles. This also presents an opportunity to incorporate the Varian-as-a-gladiator narrative in a manner that might be more palatable than Thrall just ignoring slavery in the Horde's demesne.)

Burning Crusade

• Druid: Cenarion Expedition. Idol of Tarlna the Ageless. The Cenarion Circle wants to investigate the flora and fauna of Outland, and has organized an expedition to head in and see what's up.
• Hunter: Rexxar's Request. Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury. Rexxar, the mok'nathal survivalist who once served the Horde, seeks to reconnect with his ancestral homeland, but it has changed drastically in the time he's been gone.
• Mage: Nethergarde Keep. Staff of Disintegration. The Kirin Tor want to reconnect with Khadgar and understand the new magical frontiers of Outland. Also, securing the Dark Portal to ensure that nothing that happens on Outland can inadvertently impact Azeroth.
• Paladin: Arator's Quest. The Divine Arms of Karabor. Arator the Redeemer scours Outland in search of clues about his parents, the paladin Turalyon and the ranger-general Alleria Windrunner.
• Priest: The Aldor. Staff of the Redeemer. Eager for any aid in their ongoing war for survival against the many enemies arrayed against them on Outland, the Aldor priesthood welcome any fellow adherents of the Light.
• Rogue: Stillblade's School of Skullduggery & Sneaking. The Warglaives of Azzinoth. Lonika Stillblade wants to start an academy for rogues, and decided that war-torn Outland was the perfect test market.
• Shaman: The Vault of the Earth. Blessings of the Throne. What remains of the shamanic order that once shepherded the people of Draenor is eager to welcome Nobundo and Thrall back to their world to calm the raging elements.
• Warlock: The Shadow Council. The Skull of Gul'dan. The war over Outland pits the Legion and their Shadow Council servants against the forces of the Illidari, while all manner of other forces with their own secrets are arrayed across the broken land.
• Warrior: Ring of Blood. Cataclysm's Edge/King's Defender. Reconnecting with Azeroth allows the commanders of the Horde and Alliance forces in Hellfire Peninsula (Nazgrel and Danath Trollbane) to renew their ties with the arena community. This propels the warrior on a mission to fight the biggest and baddest fighters on Outland.

Feedback is appreciated.

__________________


Expect nothing and anything will surprise you.

I like the general idea and such.. Do we know when the black harvest first formed?

__________________
Fucking Epic :X

I really like the idea behind Class Halls, and think they would make a perfect replacement if they ever decide getting rid of the faction war narrative, either because its tiring/nonsensical at this point, or because they realized it promotes racism and xenophobia, and its 2018 and we cant have anything like that triggering people. The best examples of class halls done right were the DH, DK, and Warlock ones, and I would really like to see those continue as the game expansions advance. I would like to see the opinions of certain characters in class halls about the new developments.


Unfortunately, a change like that would make Warcraft feel less like Warcraft. For so many people, the faction war makes (and breaks) the franchise.

I might suggest having the warlocks get the Book of Medivh during Vanilla or TBC. Mages should get the Eye of Dalaran at some point, too. Druids should also have the Horn of Cenarius.

__________________
Daelin was right.

Looks good, agree with most of the choices. I would suggest an Apexis staff for priest personally. Something made by both Anhar and Skalax. Though could be redundant with Benediction being holy/shadow, still think it would be nice to have one of them to have an arrakoan background.

I would also throw out the idea of Glaive of the Aspects but I'm not sure for whom (maybe warrior?) or if there is a strong theme there.

I get the sense that it came together during Mists, when the green fire chain was introduced. Part of the idea of the remix, though (at least for me) is finding ways to introduce concepts from later in WoW's development at an earlier point in order to allow them to develop more over time.

One of the reasons I'd want to see Kanrethad and/or the Black Harvest in Classic WoW would be to provide a stronger class narrative for warlocks and a greater justification for why these are heroic characters, and moreover provide more justification for why the factions are both uneasy about them and willing to utilize their power.

I don't really want to get into a debate about the faction war narrative, but in my thinking, class campaigns would mainly be something to complement the expansion narratives on the whole. Wrathion's legendary chain in Mists, the garrison campaign in WoD and the order hall campaigns in Legion are all interlinked with the expansions they're in, but the focus is closer to the player character rather than the bigger lore characters of the franchise. And that's one of the key things about the order hall campaign that's cool: it makes the player character more important specifically because of properties of that character (in this case class) instead of simply being a random hero that shows up.

Book of Medivh is a good idea, actually, especially if mages are getting Atiesh. It feeds into the idea that Medivh was pretty much both a mage and a warlock, which in turn feeds into the rivalry between mages and warlocks in general. And the fact that it would provide a warlock with information on summoning demons would cement that to some extent.

Eye of Dalaran and Horn of Cenarius feel like reasonable quest objectives, but I'm a little wary of trying to turn them into legendary arms. I don't think every named item in the franchise has to become a piece of equipment at some point, and part of what I'm doing with this remix is trying to use existing stuff (specifically stuff that's already equipment) as much as possible.

Yeah, Benediction/Anathema is something that works in context, but I was reaching (and in a rush) to find something for priests in BC, so that definitely needs more work... but I'm reminded of the arakkoa Rilak the Redeemed and Kirrik the Awakened as angles to get some folks with more shadow-knowledge into the orbit of the Aldor. Because the Aldor would need someone else to educate them about the shadow, and the arakkoa are honestly the best ones to do that.

The Glaive of the Aspects just strikes me as an oddity more than anything else. Like, when in the War of the Ancients was there even an opportunity for its creation? It feels like a quest designer seeding a concept to maybe re-empower the aspects at some future point.

__________________


Expect nothing and anything will surprise you.

As far as i'm concerned the Warrior is a basic foot soldier, and should always have been portrayed to start out like that.

Stormwind Footie? Prot Warrior.
Orc Berserker? Mostly Arms with a fuckhuge axe or a fury.
Overwhelming majority of non-mana mobs? Warrior.

You know what would have been the best Order Hall theme for Warriors? The goddamn Garisson. Thematically, it was PERFECT. Instead we got Vrykul Heaven, and Vrykul aren't even playable yet.