Most of us were pretty sure that a new expansion for World of Warcraft would be announced at BlizzCon 2013. With the pace Mists of Pandaria was setting on content, it seemed logical that something big needed to happen soon. With the thought of a new expansion, speculation ran high on what the class and race would be in the expansion. After all, there had to be a new class or a new race right?

Then came the news. Like a sucker punch to the face, it was revealed that Warlords of Draenor would have neither a new class or a new race. After the intital shock, I found that I was extraordinarily fine with this revelation. In fact, after some deep thinking, I believe that adding a new class and/or race would have caused far more problems than what they would be worth. Think I may be slightly touched in the head? Here are five reasons why not adding a class or race to Warlords of Draenor is an A-OK idea:

Class Redundancy

While redundancy may not be a problem for races, it certainly is for classes in the game. World of Warcraft currently hosts eleven very different classes for players to choose from. For now, each class has it's own unique feel, even if some are slightly similar.

Now sit back and try to think what other classes could be added to the game based on Warcraft lore. Necromancer? Assassin? Ranger? All great ideas, but redundant nonetheless. You see, all of these ideas are just plays on classes we already have available in game. In fact, if you sit down and really think about it, this holds true for most new class ideas. While a new class sounds good in theory, World of Warcraft has the grand majority of them covered and to add another without careful thought would cause redundancy that would be sure to disappoint.

Pandaren Monk

With all the clamor for a new race and class, it almost seems like we haven't had one for awhile. Of course that is simply not true. The Pandaren race and Monk class were just added in the Mists of Pandaria, which was released in September of 2012, just a little over a year ago. You remember the Pandaren Monk...right?

With a new class and race under our belt in the last expansion, it seems logical that Blizzard would choose not to add more in Warlords of Draenor. Never before have we gotten a new race or class in every expansion, why we expect that to start now is a mystery. If for some reason no race or class shows up in the expansion after Warlords, then we can raise some eyebrows.

More Focus Elsewhere

Creating and fleshing out a new race or class is a lot of work. If you create a new class you need to decide what type, what stats, what races it will be available for and much, much more. If a new race is added the developers need to flesh out the back story, create a unique look and feel, and decide which faction it will belong to. Not to mention the potential addition of another race for the opposing faction.

While new races and classes are certainly exciting, I would much rather have the developers at Blizzard take the time they would spend on these things and use it to perfect and enhance the game we already have. Give me better quests, PvP, world events, rewards, systems, and dungeons and raids. A better in-game experience is well worth the sacrifice of a new race or class, at least in my opinion.

Ethereals? Naga? Ogres?

Just like picking a class, picking a new race is tough. Not only does the race have to fit into Warcraft lore, it also has to make sense to join either the Horde or the Alliance. There are a ton of races out there that I would love to see playable, however, I'm not so sure that any of them would actually join one faction or the other or be an interesting contributor to that particular faction. That's not to say that in future expansions the addition of some of these races won't make sense, for example a future expansion where Queen Azshara is defeated would be a great time for the Naga to pick a side. However, with the current expansion in mind, there just doesn't seem to be a logical reason for any of the in-game races to join up with Horde or Alliance. With all this in mind, I think sticking with what we have is the best solution and ultimately makes the most sense.

Updated Character Models

While we might not be getting a brand new class or race, our current characters are getting a shiny new coat of paint. Every single character we play should feel almost like brand new. Visually, these characters will be as we have never seen them before. So while a new class or race may have been more exciting, we have to admit that updated character models are way overdue. Not to mention, it will undoubtedly give us something to look forward to. Sure there is no new lore or starting zones, but as mentioned previously, it is about time that some of the old things are updated and perfected. So here's to ten fabulous looking "new: races in Warlords of Draenor.

That concludes my top 5 reasons for agreeing with Blizzard's choice not to add a class or race to the Warlords of Draenor expansion. Do you think another race or class should have been added? What would race or class would you have liked to see in the game? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Byron has been playing and writing about World of Warcraft for the past ten years. He also plays pretty much ever other Blizzard game, currently focusing on Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, while still finding time to jump into Diablo III with his son.

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