WoW Announces A Blurring Of The Lines - 22.7.06

It used to be the World of Warcraft was very clear-cut in who could play what. But, it seems The Burning Crusade expansion pack will change all that.

The new expansion will not only introduce two new character classes – the Draenei and the Blood Elves – but it will also allow Alliance players to create Draenei shaman while the Horde will have access to Blood Elf paladins. The character classes will have many of the same features as their predecessors, but each will come with some special abilities, as well.

This doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal on the surface, but with the way WoW is set up, it actually has some pretty big potential implications. Right now, the Horde doesn’t have access to paladins and the Alliance finds itself shaman-less.

This change will, presumably, balance out the sides a little more evenly while also giving players more of a choice when it comes to character classes. WoW's official site has some interesting lore to explain the change.

What all of this will mean for the balance within WoW, only time will tell. But, I have to admit, I’ve always been baffled as to why both character classes were limited to one side only. Shaman, in particular, seem to fit on both sides of the line between good and evil rather well and lawful evil paladins are not unheard of in the world of RPGs.

I understand Blizzard wanted to give each side something special, but still I was never turned on by the idea of shaman having to be Horde. It's in the Top 10 list of reasons why I haven't picked up a copy of WoW as of yet, but that's another story.

At any rate, there’s still no firm date on the expansion, but with shaman falling in on the side of good – finally – my interest is starting to pique in WoW. With more than 6 million people playing right now, there’s got to be something to it. Right?

Check out the official site by clicking here.

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