Class Lore 'What If' Post

Heads up, this is a long post. Sorry about that!

The other night I had two ideas:
1 - What if the the VIP class archetypes had different names and lore reasons behind them (for funsies).
2 - What if each of the currently implemented classes had more lore regarding their origins and how they came to be popularized within the cannon world of Wynncraft.

This is not meant to be a series post 'this is how things should be!' post, just an series of ideas I can't get out of my head. I'll split each of the two above ideas into two sections below:
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1 - VIP Archetype Renames
I tried to keep each archetype related to the original one.
None of this changes gameplay in any way, shape, or form!

Warrior -> Knight
Fallen -> Risen
(Lore-wise instead of falling to Corruption it can be the story of someone who was able to rise free from it).
Battle Monk -> Mercenary
(I like the idea of someone leaving their discipline/teachings in order to use their skills for monetary gains. Battle Monk to Mercenary just seemed to fit!)
Paladin -> Oath Breaker
(This one is a dungeons and dragons reference. There's a subclass for Paladins called 'Oath Breakers', who break the vows which give them power, causing them to lose and gain different abilities. A knight who breaks their oath just seemed right.)

Shaman -> Skyseer
Summoner -> Necromancer
(TBH I don't think there should be a necromancer in Wynncraft as a class. The whole reason Wynncraft's class system works so well is because of its simplistic beginnings. However, the idea of cute goblin skeletons and necromancy being used as an archetype for flavor and lore isn't too bad, so here it is!)
Ritualist -> Unhallowed
(I struggled with this one for a while. What finally set me on the term 'Unhallowed' was when I looked at Ritualist from the perspective of spiritualistic respect- to follow the teachings passed down through generations, whereas unhallowed is a term used for unholy places and people, perhaps someone who has forsaken their ancestors intentions and turned their teachings into something far more wicked).
Acolyte -> Apostate
(Real life acolytes are known for being religious. The literal definition is ' person assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession', an Apostate is the opposite, its definition meaning 'a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle'. To stick with the sacrificing health abilities, perhaps an Acolyte uses their own life force or smth. Again, I'm just writing down a bunch of my ideas here! Please, tell me your thoughts as well).

Archer -> Hunter
Sharpshooter -> Deadeye
(This one is a reference to both the fabled weapon by the same name and the comic anti-hero marksman also by the same name. The bow's old fabled effect turned arrow storm into a single-shot spell while the anti-hero was known for only needing 1 bullet to take out his targets, hence his name (depending on DC/Marvel/Other stuff).
Trapper -> Bounty Hunter
(I LOVED the idea of a bounty hunting type flavor text and trapper was the best pairing for it in my opinion because bounty hunting isn't about killing a target- that's head hunting or assassination. Bounty hunting is about tracking and catching someone or something alive {like with a trap} to collect on payments or to return them to prison or something similar, although it can still be used to describe a trained hitman. Since Trapper has beasts that can hunt and corner a target it seemed like a perfect fit right here).
Boltslinger -> Hookbombarder
(This one's simple, Archers use arrows/bolts while a Hunter uses hooks. Bombarding is a synonym of Slinging that sounds cool. While looking up different words for this one I learned the difference between bombarder and bombardier. 'I can now mark this as educational!' -The Click).

Assassin -> Ninja
(Note: I didn't like Assassin's VIP class being called Ninja at first but it grew on me + all the crazy stuff in Wynncraft made me realize that Ninja's just fit right in).
Shadestepper -> Cloudwalker
(This one near instantly came to me. It just fits! Shadesteppers walk in the shaddows while Cloudwalkers walk on air! I suppose Cloudrunner work to but Cloudwalker just sounds cooler in my opinion. The only thing I don't like is that there's already Riftwalker so having Cloudwalker feels like kicking a dead horse, you know?)
Trickster -> Disciple
(I STRUGGLED with this one and Acrobat, but eventually Disciple is what I landed on after a long time of research and thinking. Instead of using the name as a perspective, I used the abilities. At first I was going to make it something like Trapezist to go for a circus vibe but it was too close to Trickster for me. Tricksters are all about making clones of themselves and use their spells through these clones. I finally had the idea of this actually being something that could be taught and passed down, which is where the name Disciple comes from. Again, not a big fan of it but after struggling with it for a long while I'm cool with it).
Acrobat -> Gargoyle
(Again, I STRUGGLED with this one. Aerialist was the previous one I had here but it bothered me so dang much, also put Trapezist here for a bit. What finally settled me on Gargoyle was when I decided to take a step back from the assassin/ninja idea. Acrobat is about flying in the air to deal damage. Gargoyles are basically the same- flying around and using their abilities to fight off their opponents, what's stopping a ninja from creating a fighting style after studying the monstrous race? I don't like this one either since it feels like I strayed away from the original idea too much but again, spent a long time thinking about it and I'm fine with it).

Mage -> Dark Wizard
Riftwalker -> Timecleaver
(This one was real easy for me. The term 'Riftwalker' makes me think of traversing space in some way, so going for a Time theme with a class that gets stronger over time was easy enough. Cleaver came from the show Star Versus The Forces Of Evil, where in later seasons the concept of cleaving (magically) became very important. I won't spoil anything but I will say that it makes sense for the class as far as I'm concerned. And it sounds cool).
Lightbender -> Gloomshifter
(I wanted to stray away from the light/dark trope since corruption, darkness, and various other terms are already used so much in Wynncraft. Idk what made me think of Gloom but I like it! As for shifter, well there aren't many words that are synonymous with 'bender'. Visually a Gloomshifter would manipulate the darkness in certain spots so that only light remains, thereby still being able to wield Orphion's light. Also {again} it just sounds cool. Gloomshifter)
Arcanist -> Occultist
(I don't feel I need to explain this one. People have talked about warlock classes before, this is probably the closest you'll get. Drawing about dark being for wild magical power is awesome but from a new player standpoint can be a bit overwhelming for Wynncraft specifically, so we'll stick to it being a lore thing),

A reminder, this is all for funsies! I don't ever expect anything like this in Wynncraft, it's just a concept.
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2 - Popularized Class Origins
(It's 6:32 AM for me on a Sunday, I will not regret this tomorrow hopefully. I'll probably pass out minutes after posting this haha).

Warriors/Knights - Originating from the plains of Wynn, this technique was developed by humans. It's where two of the largest cities of Wynn are located so creating a fighting style that prefers an open area and up-front confrontation where cover isn't always an option is ideal. Note that I thought about a Fruma connection but I don't want to over complicate it.

Archers/Hunters - Originating from the villagers of Llevigar who migrated south across the ocean to Wynn, this technique was prefered in the forests of the norther continent and made its way down when villagers migrated. The first time we see any type of archery is outside of Ragni's walls- it's almost iconic for new players to kill things alongside the sniper towers near the identifer on the emerald trail. This technique became popularized in Wynn as villager influence grew. Note that Maltic, the first villager settlement in Wynn, isn't that far away from Nivla forest or Mt. Wynn- not to mention the coast is covered in large rock formations, archers would have many vantage points and advantages in the somewhat nearby areas.

Assassin/Ninja - Originating in the deserts & mesa of Almuj & Rymek respectively, is a combat technique all about fast damage and using the environment to your advantage. The sandstorms of Almuj and the Plateau's of Rymek are the perfect hunting grounds for this form of survival that withstood the test of time. As Almuj and Rymek became more livable and populated, so to did these techniques become popularised amonst the people. Note that Almuj and Rymek are known for its many, many, MANY assassins and thieves and such. What more can I say?

Mage/Dark Wizard - Originating in the tundras of Nesaak, where magic is wildly used and has had a large historical influence on the area, was bound to become popular amongst the people eventually. The Twains, the Tower of Ascension, mortal fascination with magic (especially magic that no harmful to themselves and therefor can be exploited...) Magecraft has become so popular that the more dedicated members have made their own island that connects to places all over the world! Note that I wanted to keep all of the 5 classes within Wynn because of their relevance as a class we can start with, and with all of the crazy magic stuff going on there it felt like the right place to put it.

Shaman/Skyseer - Originating in the jungles of Troms among the tribes there, these techniques have only recently been popularized (that part is canon) and as such are a bit different. Light cannot exist without darkness, it is only when one attempts to conquer the other than an issue occurs. Shamans/Skyseers call upon the darkness in the world that keeps the light in balance, and as such has become trustworthy given its many useful abilities. As the tribespeople become closer to the people of Troms and the rest of Wynn as a whole- their teachings, beliefs and ways of life are being widely accepted to the point where they've reached Ragni as a viable teaching for new soldiers. Note that when Shamans came out, a 6th class was supposed to be released alongside them. Salted confirmed this in a recent interview with Olinus10 in a Youtube video called 'A new class with the Fruma expansion???' As Salted himself has stated the 6th class didn't get finished in time and he still wants to release it- which is an entirely different discussion in itself because of the community's thoughts on new classes.
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Alright, that's all of my brain goop on a page. Hope any & all of you who took the time to read it (or didn't- it's a bit of a mess, I know) have a great day/night!

 

Should go in general suggestions but I think it’s good! Gives a lot more changes to VIP classes without being pay to win but I do I have some issues

assassin
Cloud walker sounds good for acrobat, but not shade stepper,
Same with the trickster reskin
Warrior
Battle monk needs to be named something different

other than that I like it!

 

I can agree with all of that! Especially the cloudwalker/acrobat one, I didn't even think of how well those work together. Maybe shadowstepper can be called 'Living Shade' or something? Any suggestions on other names? Also, is there a way to move a post to a different forum? Or would I need to copy-paste this all to general suggestions? (if that's allowed)

 

Nightstrider for Shadestepper?

Uh in Olinus10’s podcast with Xavier, he mentioned wanting to do this exact same thing. The reskinned classes will have unique reskinned archetypes and abilities.

From what I know, there isn’t a way to move a post, you’ll need to copy-paste. However, I don’t think this should go to General Suggestions. If you have to move it, put it in Your Work, but since this is not a suggestion, it should not go there IMO. The person might do the thing…

But anyway, great ideas and concepts!

 

Olinus10! It was in his video that I mentioned (the one about the 6th class) that got me thinking about all of this.

Nightstridder sounds cool but it's super close to Shadestepper, I feel like the reskins should have a sense of uniqueness to them, otherwise it feels superficial. Does that make sense? & I'll just leave my post here as-is. Unless I turn it into a suggesstion, but I think I'll wait a week or two before doing that. Compile my thoughts and the opinions of others first. Thanks tho!

 

I've been renaming abilities as well for fun

Mage
Lightning storm -> Pulsar
Burning Sigil -> Cosmic Rune
Arcane Transfer -> Dark Energy Transfer
Sunshower -> Stellar Burst
Sunflare -> Supernova
Ophanim -> Gaze of Darkness
Timelocked -> Astral Projection

Archer
Guardian Angels -> Dart Fairies
Twain's Arc -> Mael's Arc
Basaltic Trap -> Claymore Snare
Crepuscular Ray -> Eagle Eye Barrage
Phantom Ray -> Fiery Spirits

Assassin
Vanish -> Cloak
Backstab -> Assassination
Lacerate -> shadow slash / Whirlwind
Nightcloak knife -> Shadow Kunai
Clones -> Shadow Clones

Shaman
Puppet Master -> Spirits Master
Effigy -> Homunculus
Masks -> Crystals?

It's hard cuz most reskin names are already taken in the archetype

 

Cool but the archetypes arent canon. Stuff like Fallen especially is not really lore compliant, they're just fun gameplay things

 

TBH someone capable of become corrupted without literally killing everything insight and manage to go back to normal would be broken in term of lore

I think

 

this is not naruto
it's wynn

 

I thought MMORPG's were about lore?

 

MMORPG by definition is more of
Massive Multiplayer Online Role Play game so it does not necessery need lore heavy and beside not everything need to about lore, sometime it's just there for gameplay purpose

 

What does that have to do with it? Wynncraft has an absolute metric ton of lore, but gameplay stuff like Key Collectors, blacksmiths in raids, dungeons being able to be replayed, content book having information on high level quests when you first start out, loot chests, etc is just that: gameplay.

 

oh ok