During an April 28th Developer Interview on MrGM, Brian Holinka, World of Warcraft Lead Combat Designer, revealed World of Warcraft: Dragonflight will allow all races to play as Mages, Priests, and Rogues. This announcement is cause for celebration for players who have longed for the opportunity to finally create a Tauren rogue. This class change also allows Alliance players to roll a Draenei rogue, but while this alien race is equally imposing, they do not share the mystique of a sly minotaur assassin.
The image of a nimble-toed tauren rogue has persisted since the early days of World of Warcraft. How can such a massive character vanish into the shadows and sneak unseen into enemy strongholds? The answers to these questions were visited in a wonderful webcomic “Byron The Tauren Rogue.” Published on Wow.com in 2009-2010, it chronicled the journey of an ambitious young tauren to prove himself a rogue by penetrating Stormwind defenses on an impossible mission.
Class restrictions have been justified as conforming to class or racial lore; for example, an undead, cursed Forsaken cannot play as a Holy Light empowered Paladin. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm modified some these restrictions, allowing human hunters and tauren priests, as a necessary step to muster forces to battle Deathwing. As we approach Patch 10.0, the latest changes are in line with the evolving philosophy of expanding player customization options. It makes one wonder just how long until we see Forsaken paladins in Orgrimmar.