Therefore, there will be new class combinations coming to World of Warcraft in 2010 when Cataclysm launches. Some are funny (cough … gnome priests … cough), some are obvious (human hunters), and some are just plain interesting. A class-race combo that falls firmly into the latter category is that of the dwarf shaman. The second class for the Alliance to collect the totems will be the Dwarf race, the same sturdy, beer-drinking little warriors that are currently Paladins, Hunters, and Rogues. So what will the new combo mean for gamers who have been fans of shamans or dwarves for a long time?

The short answer is, not much. Dwarves are fun because their tradition is so entertaining. They’re big and strong, so they’re not the joke that gnomes usually are, but they’re also hilarious in so many ways. So it’s a bit difficult to step back and think that they will be there with robes flying and totems spinning like the other races currently using shamanic arts.

The totems

One of the most important questions is what the totems will look like. How will Dwarf totems differ from Draenaeic or Tauren totems? We will most likely see something interesting like axes, hammers or stone totems and Blizzard has already confirmed that they will get their own totem skin.

The tradition

The story is going to be the most interesting part. At first, it seemed a bit like Blizzard was just doing this whole class race combo as a fan service, but now they’ve shown that they plan to integrate it all into the lore of the game and make it interesting. So what exactly will the Dwarves do by collecting totems and signing their spells? It will be a great new and interesting expansion for anyone who decides to reroll like this exciting new opportunity to play a shaman.