The Cool Kids Table

With all the super-hype of the upcoming Slayer/Choppageddon, one wonders two things:

1. Maybe Mythic should've cut all but six classes prior to release, one for each race, and slowly added the remaining 18 back in -- think of all the PR! ("We're the only MMO that's added, FOR FREE, 18 new classes after release!")
2. Will the sheer number of future Slayers and Choppas blot out the sun?

Greg covers the second question quite well, but it bears further musing. The Knight and Black Guard were seen as "cool" prior to their arrival, and their subsequent numbers have certainly boosted the tank population on both sides. It's hard to go into a scenario now and throw a stone without it bouncing off the armored hide of one of these beasts. While more tanks were needed a few months ago -- sorely needed -- I don't think the game's exactly been lacking for melee DPSers.

In watching the videos that the dev guys have done for these two newish careers, an ominous voice pipes up from somewhere behind me: "The flood is coming!"  Granted, it could be my plumber warning me of frozen pipes, but I think there's a legitimate concern that servers might buckle under the weight of all of the rerolls to happen.  A few reasons leap to mind why this promises to be an even greater influx of a class than the tanks last December:

1. Dwarf vs. Greenskin is the #1 most promoted aspect of WAR, from pre-release through now.
2. Slayers are pretty much the de facto mascot of WAR.
3. The poor Orcs have only had the Black Orc to represent their kind until now.
4. By the devs' admission, this is a pretty basic, straight-forward class that should appeal to any button-masher -- just hotkey everything on your keyboard to hit one of your skills, charge into battle and slam your hand down.  You really can't go wrong there.

So yeah, loads of people will roll one -- including yours truly -- and eventually it'll all settle down and we'll be at our full 24-career strength.  It does make me feel a little sorry for two archtypes, however.  Other melee DPSers, like the Marauder or the White Lion will probably become quickly outnumbered by their dual-wielding counterparts.

Healers might have it even worse.  It's bad enough that the Shaman/Archmage are seen as somewhat underjuiced and unloved these days, and it's even worse that tanks and melee DPS got this recent boost of popularity (nobody will be rushing the gates to reroll a healer, in other words).  But now the game's introducing two careers who look to be a healer's worst nightmare -- a class that wades into the thick of the action without heavy armor, losing defense the more beserk that they build up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty psyched about the Bitter Rivals live event and the class release, I just think these factors deserve a little consideration before we jump in all willy-nilly.