For the last two weeks, I have been running a poll to see what new class everyone will be rolling when World of Warcraft: Cataclysm launches. I’ll be honest I’m surprised at a few of the results.
For the Alliance, by far, it seems we will have a ton of new Worgen. Over 63% of the votes were for a Worgen. Human Hunter was next, followed by Dwarf Shaman and Night Elf Mage, who had only 1 vote separating the two. The wee Gnome Priest was second to last (I thought there would be a lot more votes for this one), and the Dwarf Mage got a frigid zero votes. No Dwarf Mages out there, huh?
So, it’s safe to say that none of the existing races and their new classes are luring people away from making a Worgen when Cataclysm launches.
Here we have the Alliance votes:
Now, let’s take a look at the Horde votes. Making a Goblin and Tauren Paladin were almost neck and neck for the entire duration of the poll. Only at the end did the Goblins pull away. It looks like there will be a strong influx of Tauren Paladins to balance out the still somewhat of a shortage on the Horde side.
Not trying to knock on Blood Elf Paladins, but a rugged, massive Tauren in plate armor wreaking havoc in PvP and raids is going to be awesome.
The Goblins will have a healthy amount of new characters too, but unlike the Worgen on the Alliance side, the allure is somewhat dimmed by the popularity of the Tauren Paladin.
I was surprised to see Blood Elf Warriors come in at number 3. I honestly thought they’d be last. Undead Hunters were 4th, followed closely by Troll Druids and Tauren Priests. I also thought Tauren Priests would be much higher on the list. Lastly, with one meager vote, was the Orc Mage.
Overall, the Horde Cataclysm classes seem to be much more balanced than the Alliance side in terms of players trying new classes out. Whether that will have any effect in the long run remains to be seen.
Here we have the Horde votes:
I will most likely roll worgen myself, possibly a druid and/or a hunter. It really gives the alliance a much needed aggressive looking race. A lot of people join the horde because the races look a lot more savage in comparison with the childish gnomes and dwarfs.
Worgen are going to be wildly popular. New race/class combos can’t hold a candle to a completely new race. It’s a totally new (savage) look for an Alliance character, and totally new content. I think it will lure many Horde players to try Alliance for a while.
Goblins by comparison are really not compelling at all. They’ve been in the game the whole time. Some of the pirate costumes have goblin frames, so we’ve all played one for at least a short time.
Unlike the hero class Death Knights, Worgen will be available to everyone, not just max-level people. I’m guessing there will be a fair number of brand new players starting out wolfy.
I’m scared to think how crowded it will be around the new starter areas at release. I’ll be leveling my main first.