Friday, May 9, 2008

Archetypes in WoW

I'm sure that there have been many a blog post on what the author's view of an archetype is in WoW. This is mine. 8~P Now, archetypes are not the most efficient builds, the best leveling specs, or the biggest money makers.

Let me first say, that I like playing archetypes. When I make an character and choose a talent build and profession combo that I think "fits" the character best, I have a more enjoyable experience. I feel like I'm actually role-playing THE archetype of what ever race/class that I've picked. My dwarf hunter is such an example.

I'm still trying to figure out how best to write this post, so please bear with me. I suppose I'll list my idea of some of my more favorite archetypes, or the ones I think are more obvious to me.

Dwarf Beast Master Hunter, Miner/Engineer. This is Dwarfvader.
Beast Master spec: Hunters have a special bond with their pet and this spec emphasizes the pet.
Miner: Uh...Dwarf = mines, right?
Engineer: DV uses guns because I think Dwarves should use guns. Bows are for Elves. So, using guns means making them as well as ammo. Ergo, engineer.

Night Elf/Blood Elf Beast Master Hunter, Skinner/Leatherworker. This is Rysteranch.
BM spec: See above.
Skinner: If you're going to be a LW, then you should be a skinner. Besides, hunting involves killing skinnable animals.
Leatherworker: If fletching was a profession, I'd probably pick that only if woodcutting was also available. Given that it's not an option, making leather/mail armor is the next best thing.

Night Elf/Tauren Druid, Herbalism/Alchemy. This is Flowerdax.
I am not stuck on a spec for Druids, although I do lean toward Feral because that seems to be the "typical" talent build, and I am more likely to be a bear or kitty.
Herbalism: I view Druids as flower picking, long haired, hippie freaks. So, this fits nicely.
Alchemy: Along with the flower picking, this goes with the hippie drug-culture theme.

Human Holy Priest, Tailoring/Enchanting. This is almost Human Daxe and BE Daxe.
Holy spec: When I think of "The Light" I can't help but think of the great cathedral in Stormwind; sorry, but the temple in Darnasty to Elune should be manned by Druids....
Tailoring: Priests, by nature, are soft handed, "inside" individuals more apt to read a book or pick up embroidering than get their hands dirty by mining, skinning, or actually working.
Enchanting: I see this profession as viable by any caster class, as it adds to the arcane or magic knowledge that would be inherent in knowing spells and the like.

Other race/class combos:
Orc warriors, warlocks, and shammys
Undead Shadow Priests, warlocks, and mages.
Tauren hunters - see Dwarf hunters, I see a lot of similarities between the two.
Gnome mages, warlocks, and rogues.
Blood Elf mages, warlocks, Shadow Priests, and hunters - They are Elves, ya know...
Draenai holy priests and paladins - The draenai seem to be very attuned to "the Light".
Troll hunters and shammys.

Some race/class combos I think are the anti-archetype include:
Blood Elf Holy Priests - Yes I have a couple, but that doesn't make it right.
Gnome Warriors - Sorry Wally, it's unconventional, which is cool. But cool doesn't make it right either...haha
Draenai Mages and shammys - the Draenai are tied to the Light, which means priests and pallys.
Dwarf rogues - pickpocket with those fat fingers? Right.

So, by listing some of the anti-archetypes, I also realize that a lot of fun can be had by playing such a character. Watching a gnome tank a fel reaver is a hoot! And, of course, one of my favorite combos is the pink haired female gnome warlocks; all the mastery of the dark arts wrapped up in a cute bubbly package!

I'm sure my two readers have their own archetypes in mind, feel free to list them in the comments.

EDIT: Fixed my poor spelling of archetype.../sigh.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I believe the word is "archetype."

Rusty said...

Right you are! Thanks for pointing that out.