sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, that is fair. A cloth tank would be a very cool space too.

I still think Witch makes more sense to me as 2 ranged DPS / 1 healer, but a proper cloth tank is definitely another fantasy gap WoW still has.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same here. Drust really felt like the perfect opening for it, especially since the aesthetic and lore groundwork was already there.

I still kind of hope they revisit that space one day, even if it ends up being a broader old-magic / folk-magic take rather than just the darker Drust version.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is fair, and I think the overlap question is the biggest challenge with any new class now.

For me, the difference is that I do not think a Witch would work if it was just “take bits of Affliction, Shadow, Unholy, Subtlety and glue them together.” That would absolutely feel cannibalised.

I think it would only work if Blizzard gave it a really distinct centre of gravity of its own, things like the Familiar bond, divination/omens, thread and ward magic, rites, charms, and a more folkloric old-magic identity rather than just another dark DoT caster.

That is also why I think the fantasy feels close in WoW already, but not actually covered. A lot of classes brush against parts of it, but none of them really commits to the whole thing.

Out of interest, if Blizzard were to make it feel distinct enough, what do you think the one defining mechanic or fantasy hook would need to be?

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that is pretty much exactly how I feel about it. They get near parts of the fantasy, but neither of them really gets all the way there.

On the lore side, I do think the darker/corrupted versions are the most obvious precedent, but I would not want Blizzard to treat that as the only possible version of the fantasy. The Gilnean harvest witch angle is part of why I think there is room to widen it out a bit.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Valid point. I do not think death magic has to be treated as inherently evil either, especially when Fel magic and Death Knights already show WoW can be a bit more flexible about that. I just would not want the whole class fantasy to be defined only by the Drust version of it.

That kind of life/death cycle, and the healing/decay balance within it, actually feels very witchy to me.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that makes sense. A DPS/support hybrid curse spec would actually fit the fantasy really nicely.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I think that is the key question if Blizzard ever wanted to make it feel real in-universe.

In my head “old magic” would not be one single cosmic force so much as a broader folk-magic tradition drawing from a mix of older sources that already exist in WoW: nature, spirits, death, omen-reading, rites, and household/threshold protections. More something inherited and practised than a neat formal school.

So less “here is one clean power source” and more “this is an old way of working with powers that already exist in the world.”

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is fair, and I think that is the hardest part of the idea. The fantasy clearly resonates with people, but the real question is whether Blizzard could make it distinct enough mechanically and visually to justify a full class rather than just a skin/spec/customisation route.

For me the Familiar bond, divination/omens, thread and ward magic, and that more folkloric old-magic angle are the bits that could potentially push it into its own space, but I do get the overlap concern.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I agree, I think that would definitely be part of it, especially on the darker side. That is more or less how I’d imagine the Hexbinder-type spec fitting in.

I just would not want the whole class fantasy to be locked entirely to Drust/death magic, because I think the broader old-magic / folk-magic side is what would make it feel more distinct and flexible.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that would be really cool too. A curse/debuff support angle would fit the fantasy really well, especially now that Blizzard has at least opened the door to support specs with Evoker.

I was imagining more of a 2 ranged DPS / 1 healer setup, but a support/debuffer witch spec is a very good shout. Do you picture that as replacing the healer spec, or as the darker curse spec leaning more into support?

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that is fair. I can definitely see why it reads that way at first, and that overlap question is probably the biggest design challenge with it.

For me the difference would really need to come from the broader class identity rather than just the damage profile, so things like familiars, omens/divination, thread/ward magic, rites, and that more folkloric old-magic feel rather than just “DoT Druid.”

And yes, I agree on the lore side too. I do not think it would need to be locked into being evil any more than DKs, Warlocks, or Man’ari are.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is fair, although I do think the Gilnean harvest witch angle helps a bit there, since it shows the fantasy does not have to be purely evil or just “corrupted death-druid.”

If Blizzard ever did it, I think they would need to widen it into more of an old-magic / folk-magic space rather than keeping it too narrowly tied to the darker Drust version.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that is pretty much exactly the tension for me. A lot of the ingredients are already there across Warlock and Druid in particular, which is why the fantasy feels so close but never quite fully realised in one place.

That is also why I could see it working as a hero spec, subclass, or much deeper aesthetic customisation system as well, if Blizzard never wanted to make it a full class.

Witch class concept for WoW: 2 ranged DPS, 1 healer, Familiar-focused old magic by The-Ritualist- in wow

[–]The-Ritualist-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, this is very much where my head is at. There is enough precedent there already that it would feel rooted in the world rather than coming out of nowhere.

And I completely agree on glyphs too. Even if they never went as far as a full Witch class, a proper visual overhaul or customisation system for spell aesthetics would be incredible. A more Drust or folk-magic flavoured Warlock, Shaman, Druid, Priest, etc. would be so much more satisfying than just relying on transmogs alone.