Warhammer online - Land Of The Dead Trailer

We're on the cusp of public testing for Warhammer Online's first expansion, Land of the Dead, and while WoW's Wrath of the Lich King has its Arthas, Land of the Dead has a similarly megalomaniacal arch-fiend, King Amenhen... something. We'll just call him the Vulture King, leader of the newest army to grace Warhammer Online (the Tomb Kings). Rest assured that he's just as ferocious as the pronunciation of his name, and this video proves it.

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Dark Elf Black Guard review

Overview:
Not just any Dark Elf can hold the relished title of Black Guard. As the elite guards of the Witch King Lord Malekith, these soldiers are cool, efficient, and show no mercy to anyone in combat. Deadly with a halberd, they stand on the front lines of battle and protect their group with the ferocity you'd see from of any good tank. This class adds more variety to the battlefield and finally breaks up the Chosen/Black Orc duo.

Strengths:

• Damage actually increases attack power


• Can use a Halberd vs sword and board


• Abilities aren't based on Action Points

Weaknesses:

• Lack of ranged attacks mean combat must be up close


• Has trouble defending against ranged DPS classes


• Class is still being adjusted

PvE Overview
Black Guards are an offensive tank who utilize hate mechanics very similar to the Grudge of the Iron Breaker. When damage is taken, or Action Points expended it allows the use of certain abilities which can translate into attacks, buffs, or debuffs.

In a group, the Black Guard has a very clear tanking role which will put them right in the mix. They can be speced to serve a variety of playstyles which can include increasing block, parry, or focusing on debuffs and damage. They willl pull their weight as well as any Chosen or Black Orc

RvR Overview
The Black Guard has a very simple role in RvR, to rush the enemy with a focus on ranged casters and healers. While they will need a healer themselves to be effective, pairing up with an Chosen or Black Orc could prove to be a very dangerous combination.

In a keep siege a Black Guard will likely find themselves trying to hold a doorway or keeping ranged classes busy by charging. In more open situations, a solid tank like this can occupy a number of DPS which would have normally targetted weaker classes. Plan to make room in your warband for plenty of these as they are sure to be popular.

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Empire Knight of the Blazing Sun Review

Overview:
Heavily armored, notoriously crafty and exceptionally dangerous at close when in the midst of their troops, the Knight of the Blazing Sun should be a prime target for any assault. If you are able to strike down the Knight, his allies will become demoralized and weakened by panic – making them far easier to defeat. Be wary of the fact that – unlike members of other knightly orders – the Knights of the Blazing Sun are not at all averse to trickery and feel no obligation to engage their foes with what some regard as “honor.” A Knight of the Blazing Sun is more than willing to disarm an opponent and then take their head.

Knight of the Blazing Sun Quick Info

Faction: Order

Race: Empire

Role: Tank

Armor: Heavy

Primary Weapons: Sword

Primary Stats: Strength, Toughness

Strengths:

• Uses AE to buff allies and debuff enemies


• Uses shields for long survivability


• Uses damage reflection to mitigate attacks against them

Weaknesses:

• Lack of ranged attacks mean combat must be up close


• Has trouble defending against ranged DPS classes


• Class is still being adjusted

PvE Overview
Knights of the Blazing Sun affect the battle through the use of Battlefield Commands which debuff enemies and buff allies. Using a sword and shield they are strong enough to sustain an enormous amount of damage.

In a group, the Knight has a clear tanking role which will put them on the front lines of any engagement. They can be speced for specific Battlefield Command sets but can do increased damage, buffing, or debuffing to suit the situation. Truly excelling while working with a healer and DPS, they make an exceptional addition and can replace any Ironbreaker or Swordmaster if necessary.

RvR Overview
The Knight has a very simple role in RvR, to rush the enemy with a focus on ranged casters and healers. While they will need a healer themselves to be effective, pairing up with an Ironbreaker or Swordmaster will prove to be a very dangerous combination.

In a keep siege a Knight will likely find themselves trying to hold a doorway or tying up a Black Orc or Chosen. In more open situations, a solid tank like this can occupy a number of DPS which would have normally been targetting weaker classes. They will take damage, and lots of it all for the glory of their group.

Knight of the Blazing Sun Mastery Paths
Path of Conquest: Knights who choose the Path of Conquest will become experts at pushing the battle line forward. Their battlefield commands focus on bolstering the fighting strength of their allies to take advantage of their opponent's weaknesses. Knights focused on Conquest traditionally forego the use of a sword and shield in favor of the more offensively oriented great sword.

Path of Vigilance: The Path of Vigilance focuses on building a strong defense to cripple opponents and protect allies. Knights choosing this mastery have a variety of commands that will increase their defensive prowess as well as those of nearby allies. This allows them to dig in and hold against almost any assault. Masters of the Path of Vigilance generally choose a stout shield and broadsword combination when defending their allies.

Path of Glory: Knights mastering the Path of Glory excel at inspiring troops to ever greater feats of courage. As such, these Knights can be found almost anywhere on the battlefield leading by example and are a welcome addition to both defensive and offensive maneuvers. Glory can be found regardless of arms and armor, and as such Knights of this mastery can be found wielding either a great sword or sword and shield combination.


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WoW vs. WAR

World of Warcraft and Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, the MvP vs the new comer pretty much. I will just contrast the two games, as I have played WoW for 4 years, and played a good amount of Warhammer Beta, getting 4 toons to 20.

-RACES-

.:WoW-Races:. .:WAR-Races:.
Alliance - Order

Night Elves <--> High Elves
Humans <--> Empire
Dwarves <--> Dwarves
Gnomes
Draenei

Horde - Destruction

Orcs <--> Orcs
Trolls <--> Goblin
Blood Elves <--> Dark Elves
Tauren Chaos
Undead

Race Conclusion
World of Warcraft obviously has more races, some very similar to the few found in Warhammer. WoW has 10 Races, WAR is short by three.

-CLASSES-
.:WoW-Classes:.
Druid
Hunter
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Warlock
Warrior

.:WAR Classes:.


.:Classes Conclusion:.
Once again, WoW has more choice than WAR. Though the segregation of roles in WAR is more solid in WoW, making a PvE / RvR(PvP) group easier to organize than it would be in WoW. Where in WoW there are many specs for the classes, though not all of those specs are really in demand, leaving you groupless.

-CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION-
.:WoW:. .:WAR:.
<--Hair-->
<--Face-->
<--Piercings/scars/etc;-->
<--Skin Tone-->
Eyes
Armor Dye
Trophies

Character Customization Conclusion
WAR has really more choices than WoW to customize and individualize your character. It is very rare, that one would see another player that looks alike. You can dye your armor in WAR with dye's, and you can also equip trophies, that appear on you character (placement varies on race).

LEVELING/QUESTING
If you have ever played WoW you would know that questing was a big hassle, especially if the quests were "kill X and get me # of Y" and Y would never drop. In WAR when you have those type of those quests, Y will always drop! Questing in WAR is a very big improvement from WoW's.

In WAR there are PQ's also known as Public Quest's. PQ's is a good way to get gear, there are certain zones in which these PQ's are active. They reset every 2 minutes after one is done. To get gear in a PQ you must contribute by either, healing / tanking / dps'ing.

PVP / RVR
PvP, player versus player. RvR, realm versus realm. In WoW PvP is really just a grind fest. Farm honor, farm BG marks, farm TONS of honor and marks. WAR has a different approach to gearing through killing enemy players. RvR is two realms competing in a Scenario(SC).

When you kill an enemy player in WAR you gain exp., renown pts., gold, and sometimes even GEAR when you loot their dead bodies. The more you contributed into killing the enemy the more likely an item will drop for you. Healers can do the same, just how much healing they put out on those around.

WAR has three kinds / types of PvP. Skirmishes, the basic world RvR enabled areas. Battlefields, open world RvR, with strategic points that need to be captured. Battlefields require the usage of artillery and siege weapons, to destroy the enemy factions castle. Lastly there are the Scenarios, Scenarios are instanced, where there are strategic pts and all objectives of the SC's vary.

FINAL VERDICT
WAR imo, seems to be the better choice for casual players and players who just want to get straight to the action of killing and gearing themselves. They really cut down all the down time, that players would find when playing WoW. Also WAR supplies a large amount of individualism in the game, the way you can customize your character. The character customizations make up for the lack of races.

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Marauder Class Review

Overview:
Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of the weak-bodied souls of the Order more than the grotesque vision of the Chaos Marauder charging towards them. Thought to be blessed by their Gods, these ferocious creatures fight in the name of faith and do so mercilessly. Their strength lends them the ability to cleave through enemies thoughtlessly and their corrupted mutations give power that go beyond mortal capability.

This melee DPS class is not only a blast to play, but also extremely capable in RvR and PvE combat. You'll find the mutations add, not only a distinct splash of flavor, but also an aspect of gameplay that can become a valuable asset when mastered. If you are looking for a hands on damage focused Destruction class, the Marauder is a perfect option.

Strengths:

• Hands on DPS makes for great close contact battle


• Mutations allow for amazing damage and variety of playstyle


• Fast and harsh damage plows through enemies at a high pace

Weaknesses:

• Medium armor means weaker defenses


• High damage makes this class a primary target on the battlefield


• Mutations take some knowledge of class to be properly effective

PvE Overview
The Marauder plays well in the PvP environment whether you go at it solo or hang with a group. Regardless of how you play, the very first order of business is getting to know your mutations. These "buffs" are key in your success as a player and having the right mutation for the right circumstance can be invaluable.

This class has the great benefit of being a powerful melee DPS class and still being able to take a hit, just don't be the target for long because it won't last!

RvR Overview
Prepare for a fight because this class will always be right in the fray of battle! Being a solid DPS class, the Marauder has the unfortunate trouble of being a focus of Order attacks. They want you gone and they want you gone now. The benefit of this class though is the various mutation allow for somewhat of a change up in technique that will keep the opposition on their toes.

Use your tank as your distraction then go in with the mind of playing aggressively and unpredictably. Your best line of defense will always be to kill them before they even know you were coming.

Marauder Mastery Paths
Path of Brutality: The Path of Brutality is focused around the Marauder's ability to warp his arm into a sharpened spike of bone. This blade-like appendage can deal horrifying injuries to an enemy, and a player specialized deeply in Brutality will likely be dealing the most damage possible against a single enemy, especially if the foe is distracted by others.

Path of Savagery: The Path of Savagery leads to a Marauder changing their arm into a monstrous claw, capable of tearing at enemies to cripple and hinder them while they quickly bleed to death. While perhaps not dealing as much immediately obvious damage as his other mutations, a master of Savagery kills his enemies in a more insidious way, weakening the target steadily so that they never realize just how much danger they're in until it's already too late.

Path of Monstrosity: The Path of Monstrosity focuses on the Marauder mutating their arm into a hideous club-like bludgeon of flesh and gore. The master of Monstrosity can use the massive bulk of their warped arm to defend themselves somewhat, and can sweep their limb around in broad, arcing swings, capable of damaging several enemies with each single smash.

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Witch Elf class Review

Overview:
The Witch Elf dances with death, wielding her two daggers with an ease borne of ultimate confidence and her faith in Khaine. Don't get to close, as those blades bite with more than just their sharpened edge. This lady carries with her deadly poisons that she applies in battle, weakening the enemy's defenses and boiling his blood. Before he knows she is there, she emerges from the shadows and inflicts multiple debilitating wounds.

The longer she fights, the better she becomes as she builds up a pool of Blood Lust. The more Blood Lust she holds, the more damage her attacks deal out as she focuses her strength in one giant blow. Always on the move, looking for any weakness in the enemy's defenses, the Witch Elf never stands still.



Strengths:

• Quick and penetrating damage


• Attacks have potential to ignore armor


• Stealthed movement and sneak attacks

Weaknesses:

• Action Points pool runs out quickly


• Light armor means battles must end quickly


• Heavily dependent on potions

PvE Overview
A Witch Elf is an expert in quick and dirty fighting. Her poisons are her strength, and often several different Damage Over Time abilities can stack to more effectively eat away at the enemy's health. One on One battles should be chosen carefully. A Witch Elf will need to be able to kill the target quickly, or risk taking more damage than her Light (almost nothing!) Armor can protect her from. She will always be using her Action Points pool, and as such will want to carry yellow potions to replenish them quickly, along with health restorers for the longer fights.

RvR Overview
The Witch Elf shines in a group attack. With another to hold the attention of their foes, she is free to move behind the forces of Order, utilizing her strongest abilities from behind. Her expertise with poisons and debuffs creates vulnerabilities that her warband can take advantage of. She benefits her comrades further with her ability to severe a magic user's connection to their magic, and with a skill to regenerate the group's Action Points. With no specific taunts and Light Armor besides, the Witch Elf's place is to aid the tank.

Witch Elf Mastery Paths
Path of Carnage: The Path of Carnage is mainly concerned with quickly and directly slaughtering anything that presents itself to the Witch Elf. Eschewing subtlety, a specialist in this path prefers to confront her enemies face-to-face...or at least, face-to-what's-left-of-their-face.

Path of Suffering: The Path of Suffering focuses more on effects that linger for some time, and a master in this path takes pleasure in leading her victims into a false sense of security. While her attacks may not seem dangerous at first, it's only moments later that the Witch Elf's enemy suddenly realizes that their death is imminent and there's nothing they can do to stop it.

Path of Treachery: The Path of Treachery appeals to those Witch Elves who prefer to stalk their prey, attacking when the target is unsuspecting. A master of this path performs best in the thick of large, chaotic combats, where her victims are kept busy and unsuspecting, and she prefers to strike the enemy at their unprotected flanks.

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Dwarf Ironbreaker Review

Overview:
The Ironbreaker willingly and gladly positions himself in the front lines during battle and holds Grudges against those who harm his allies. In this way, he manages to simultaneously epitomize the role of the tank without being a boring warrior that can only try to control aggro and wait for his friends to do the rest of the work. Despite a disposition that is gruff, quarrelsome and taciturn, the Ironbreaker is your best friend on the field of battle. He is easy to spot in his gleaming and ornately adorned gromril armor. The Ironbreaker often carries a massive shield as well.



Strengths:

• The ability to take great damage and get stronger because of it.


• Oathfriend can make any group last longer when things go bad.


• An integral part in a winning RvR team.

Weaknesses:

• So powerful in RvR that they can be targeted over healers.


• Low DPS depending on build.


• Grudges take time, which makes the Ironbreaker a slow starter.

PvE Overview
Ironbreakers are an asset to any group because of their stalwart defenses and the effect their Grudges have on a battle. Most groups will lean on the Ironbreaker as the main tank over a Swordmaster--if for no other reason--because of the Ironbreakers Oathfriend ability. When the Ironbreaker uses this buff on a healer or melee DPS who frequently draws aggro, the entire group's chances of survival increase.

Ironbreakers who specialize in the path of Vengeance will be able to contribute a fair amount of damage to a single foe, but the Ironbreaker truly shines when he concentrates on pure tanking (Path of Stone) or bolstering his allies (Path of Brotherhood).

RvR Overview
The roles of the Ironbreaker in RvR play is to break enemy lines and to keep distance between the forces of Destruction and her allies. She is hearty enough to survive the assault of several foes at once long enough to disrupt enemy formations, and a Ironbreaker with a reliable healer can outlast many foes.

Ironbreakers who are not focused on damage through the Path of Vengeance may not get many kills, but they'll be able to make the forces of Order last longer as their taunts in RvR battles cause enemy attacks to become less effectively against everyone except for the Ironbreaker. Combine that knowledge with an understanding of Oathfriend and the Path of Stone, and they day could very well belong to Order.

Ironbreaker Mastery Paths
Path of Vengeance: Some Ironbreakers hold their Grudges close to their heart, slowly nurturing them until they are filled with the fury of Grimnir himself. With a single-minded focus, a specialist in this path becomes more and more dangerous with every Grudge he holds, pushing himself to fight more brutally as he strives to avenge the insults that have been dealt.

Path of Stone: As stubborn and unyielding as the mountains themselves, Ironbreakers who master this path are specialists in defense and will expend every last ounce of energy protecting their sworn oath friends. Since an Ironbreaker builds up Grudges quickly when under direct attack, this mastery takes advantage of that by consuming his Grudges to fuel potent defensive abilities.

Path of Brotherhood: A specialist in this path understands the balance between camaraderie and retribution, and is a natural leader on the battleground. Alternately holding and discharging his Grudges, the master of Brotherhood serves as a shining example of the greatest of Dwarf traits, inspiring his allies to push onwards to greater heights. Equally adept at breaking the enemy line or standing his ground and holding back waves of foes, the master of this path has the ability to bolster his Oath Friend as well as himself.


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White Lion Class Review

Sorry for the picture, but I coulden't ressit ;-)

Overview:
In a world fraught with war and torn by savage battles there is often no one that a lone fighter can depend upon, heart and soul, for protection and companionship. This does not stand true for the brave hunter class, the White Lion. The High Elves have mastered the beautiful synchronicity between elf and beast, coupling pure cunning with raw power and channeling it towards the protection of their people and the destruction of their enemies.



This moderately armored class chooses just how to use their lion companion in battle. Through the various masteries the beast can either fulfill a true combat duo or he may work with his trusted hunter in more of a support role. Regardless, the lion is an essential part of this mighty warrior's ability to withstand the evil of the Destruction.

Strengths:

• Pet class allows for diverse play style


• Ranged attacks


• Higher damage positional attacks

Weaknesses:

• Pet dependant


• Low defense


• Split DPS between hunter and lion

PvE Overview
As melee DPS class, the White Lion shines in both group and solo game play.
In a group positional attacks and the use of the pet add to the overall damage output greatly. As with most pet classes, the lion allows for solo play that can go above and beyond what non-pet classes can do. The hunter gains either a tank or a DPS companion with your war lion without ever having to wait for playmates.

RvR Overview
In RvR the hunter's war lion makes an excellent source of distraction in combat. Using him to bait your opponent while you either attack via ranged or work out your own positioning works well. When enemies hone in on the hunter instead, keep the lion in the fray and he can potentially go unnoticed.
The White Lion class can be a valuable asset in team play, backing up the tank classes and aiding in the protection of the mages and healers.

White Lion Mastery Paths
Path Of the Hunter: White Lions who choose the path of the Hunter embrace the ways of the wild and fight shoulder to shoulder with their War Lion. The two stride into battle side by side in a balanced assault that is capable of spreading damage around to multiple targets with ease. This path requires the least amount of Master & Pet coordination so damage against a single foe is lessened.

Path of the Axeman: White Lions who choose this path focus on the Mastery of their fine woodsman axes, preferring instead to use their lions as distractions as they approach from the side or Rear. The path of the Axeman requires good coordination with your War Lion or your group members so you can be allowed to strike from an unguarded flank.

Path of the Guardian: White Lions who choose this path focus on diverting attention from their War Lion or Group members so that they can do maximum damage. The path of the guardian does not directly increase the White Lion's own defenses significantly but focuses more on reducing his opponents damage output and distracting them from the War Lion or individual group mates.



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Zealot Review

Overview:
While we've all made fun of the early screenshots of the Chaos Zealot who looked like Lemmy from Motorhead, these fanatics are no laughing matter. The healer class for the Norse followers of the Raven God, the Zealot is a healing machine. With strong offensive casting capabilities, their great sense of fashion (each Zealot has a belt whose buckle is made of of a human face, possibly right off the skull he holds in his/her left hand) and incredible healing powers, it's not hard to see why this class will be a popular healer. There may be a reason why the Zealot looks like Lemmy, because much like the Motorhead song goes, pick this class and it's time to play "The Game".

Strengths:

• Distance. Zealots can hurl heals and spells from a huge distance, allowing you to stay out of the thick of things while still doing your job... which is looking good.


• Zealots don't need to be directly in combat to fuel their healing abilities.


• Zealots are a good cross between caster and healer. Their offensive spells do pretty good damage and their heals are, of course, their specialty.

Weaknesses:

• Zealots don't have a lot of hit points to begin with and can be melee'd to death easier than some of the other healers in the game.


• Zealots tend to lack a high level of damage mitigation, which makes them weaker against physical attacks.


• Zealots can run out of power quickly if they're not careful since they have no mechanic in place that replenishes it on the fly.

PvE Overview
The Chaos Zealot can be an unstoppable force in PvE play. The ability to hit from long distances and powerful heals that can be used during combat give the Zealot the space and time he needs to whittle foes down with his offensive spells. Their powerful healing spells can even help them outlast multiple attackers and even take down Champion class foes a few levels lower than they are.

In a group, the Zealot has got what you need baby and he's happy to give you your healing/buff fix. The first taste is free, but after that you have to protect him from harm of else he'll cut you off, cold turkey. Mainly because they'll probably be dead.

RvR Overview
If the Zealot was a element on the periodic table of RvR, it would be Ze for "Zerged". As a Zealot, your ability to cast heavy duty heals from range as well as do a decent amount of damage with your marks makes you the #1 target for everyone in RvR, and much like the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker core, they love to gang up on you. The key to a long and healthy life is stay out of combat, but close to the Black Orc and Chosen tanks. These classes get hooked on having their heal-orin fix and as such, will usually work to keep you alive.

If you manage to get in combat, you're not totally without a way to defend yourself. You can do pretty well in one on one by spamming the heals interlaced with a few specific debuffs and your insta-cast damage and DoT spells. If you are up against multiple people though, you're in trouble, so don't stick around and wait for the "Order Friends" to show up.



Chaos Zealot Mastery Paths
Path of Alchemy: This path is all about the healing. You hook players up with the candy that makes life worth living and now, it's much more potent. While they'll not be an offensive juggernaut, the player who specializes in the path of Alchemy will become the healer extraordinaire and be known as "Dr. Feelgood".

Path of Witchcraft: Not simply happy to keep others healthy, the follower of this path wants to cause pain and suffering in mass quantities. The Path of Witchcraft bolsters the offensive capability of the Zealot and can make him a stronger caster than healer.

Path of Ritual: The Path of Ritual is about boosting your allies and tearing down your enemies. Enhancing your buffs and Debuffs, this path gives you sway over the tide of battle and how quickly it will turn in your favor. All hail Tzeentch!

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Disciple of Khaine Review

Overview:
Introduced to the Warhammer universe as the healer class for the Dark Elves, the Disciple of Khaine weilds both sword and sorcery in an odd style of blood magic. In true Druchii spirit, they require the blood of their enemies in order to fuel their healing magic, and thus are always on the front lines of combat hacking and slashing people for the glory of the God of Murder. This odd mix of melee and healing abilities give them a surprisingly high survivability rating in the thick of combat for a healer. If you were thinking of playing a healer in WAR, but are a "get in and get dirty" type of player, this might just be the class for you.



Strengths:

• Disciples of Khaine fuel their abilities through direct melee combat so there's no more sitting back and being bored healing.


• Since they power their healing abilities through melee combat, they have a higher chance of survival when in the thick of combat


• Disciples of Khaine are equally at home in both solo PvE and RvR play.

Weaknesses:

• Disciples of Khaine have to get up close and personal in order to heal.
• While this presents better opportunities for aggresive playstyle while still being a healer, you're still a healer and being smack dab in the middle of combat isn't usually the healthiest place for a healer to be.


• Disciples have few ranged attacks compared to other healers.


• Disciples of Khaine fuel their power through attacking. If you're not attacking anyone, then you run out of Blood points quickly and lose your healing abilities.

PvE Overview
The Disciple of Khaine fears little in PvE. Since they power their healing abilities though combat, a player who can learn how to play a Disciple early on will be able to solo Champion class foes in single combat. The only thing that can truly stop a Disciple is just sheer numbers. This is makes the Disciple of Khaine so popular as a class, since they do have a high probability for survival in most fights.

In a group, the Disciple of Khaine works best as an off tank. They do enough damage to be helpful, and should the need arise, can hold down one or two strong foes long enough for the tank to get back n the fight and start taunting away. However, with their healing abilities healing the tank as they fight side by side, that probably won't happen often.

RvR Overview
Disciples of Khaine are wicked in RvR combat. Since they do a decent amount of melee damage and can heal well during combat, it's rare that you'll find a class that can stand up to them one on one. If you get two Disciples working in tandem, that can be a sight to behold as they cut through just about anything you have to offer. On the average, it will usually take at least two people to take down a well played Disciple of Khaine.

Melee combat is your friend. If you get caught out in the open with no one to cut on and attacked at range? You're a goner. While you have 250 blood points to burn through, it does you no good if you can't replenish them. As a Disciple of Khaine, as long as you have people to cut, you'll have blood points to spend in healing and if you can keep the heals going, you can outlast even the most dedicated Melee DPS class.



Disciple of Khaine Mastery Paths
Path of Ritual: The Path of Ritual focuses on increasing your healing abilities. This will make it easier for you to heal more efficiently, incurring less overall cost for your healing abilities.

Path of Torture: This Path of Mastery focuses on causing more damage with your attacks. Of course Khaine absolutely loves this. Coupled with your already impressive healing abilities, this can be a wicked path to master for the Disciple.

Path of Sacrifice: This Path of Mastery is about debuffing your enemy into oblivion. It raises your attack power and lowers your foes abilities and skills. This causes them to visit less damage upon you and yours, thus ensuring victory for your side.

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Dwarf Rune Priest Review

Overview:
Don't ever let a dwarf hear you call his healing ability "magic." The art of rune marking is a long studied skill that the Dwarfs hold close to their own. With their rune marking, armor and weapons of the Rune Priest and his allies become enhanced; damaged armor becomes more resilient, a swing of a sword burns through the enemy. Marking a party member not only buffs their natural abilities, it can also give them an extra "spell" they can activate themselves as needed. Runes ensure that depleted health can be returned, and the dead returned to the battlefield.

A Rune Priest can choose how he will spend his time in battles. Staying in the rear with the lighter armored casters, he maintains the buffs he marked his comrades with before the battle, and uses his wide range of heals to keep everyone alive. His art provides for several longer ranged attacks as well. However, the strength he gains by rune marking himself makes him ready to jump to the front, weilding his massive rune staff with studied skill.

Strengths:

• Many strong heals; direct and heal over time


• Strong buffs and damage wards


• In combat resurrection

Weaknesses:

• Some heals need time to power up


• Medium armor can't withstand direct assault for long


• Few damage spells

PvE Overview
A Rune Priest is primarily a healer and supportive class, and will cautiously enter a battle situation on his own. One on one, his buffs and varied heals can keep him alive for quite some time, while his damaging spells and heavy Staff work to tear the enemy down. Maintaining the runes that protect the priest is key, to avoid having to run a quick retreat. Several of the Rune Priest's heals rely on time to set up and build up, so several large and quick attacks can prove problematic.

RvR Overview
This Dwarf is a huge aid to any group or warband. Left free to practice his specialty of bolstering and maintaining his buffs and heals, he is truly a force to be reckoned with. The in combat resurrection ability means fallen allies can be brought back in their same position quickly, keeping the integrity of the battle's front lines. A Rune Priest's staff and his few damaging attack spells create a light DPS addition to the group as well.

Rune Priest Mastery Paths

Path of Grungni: A master of this path focuses on powerful and direct effects, learning to both restore his allies and smite his enemies with equal skill. The path of Grungni is for those who prefer to focus on a single target at a time, be they friend or foe, and unleash powerful effects upon them.

Path of Valaya: An arguably more subtle mastery, the path of Valaya is focused on effects which continue to linger after they've been invoked. A master of this path prefers to stick to tested, tried, and true slow-and-steady abilities, whether he's building up his allies' strength until they become unstoppable, or whether he's grinding his enemies down with inevitable and unescapable doom.

Path of Grimnir: This path is concerned with runes which affect large, sweeping areas as they unleash their innate power. A specialist in this path is an expert at changing the ebb and tide of combat by either bolstering his allies' entire front line, or by sending vast swaths of crushing power across the enemy masses.

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Elder Patch 4.1 post from the devs.

We know everyone is waiting anxiously to get back into the WAR and try out the new 4.1 patch. Our production team has been working tirelessly to fix bugs, make tweaks, add polish and put in additional features. When all is said and done, it’s an immense amount of work that's been done to the game and we are eager to have you test it. Please note: This will be an early version of this patch and it may suffer from CTD and stability issues. We would rather get you testing this as soon as possible and have some risk involved, but you should be forewarned that there may be issues. Obviously we will work hard to avoid such issues, but this is part of being Elder testers.

Some of the areas where you’ll notice changes include:

• Careers and Classes


• Death System


• Guild Standards


• Content (both PvE and RvR)


• Guild Vaults, Taxes and Tithes


• Scenario updates


• Cities updates


• Tome of Knowledge

Also, we have added two highly-anticipated new features:

• Personal Vaults


• Auction House

A ton of fixes have been made, and we encourage you to get into the game and beat on all of them! Use the in-game bug reports and feedback as well as the beta forums to provide us with feedback on problems you may find and how you feel about all the changes. Remember, this is an early version of the 4.1 patch that we are giving to you to test first, so that you can help us with this final phase before Open Beta. You are our elite testers, chosen to see all of this new content before the throngs of thousands bombard our servers, and so your feedback is more important now than ever before.

As soon as we are ready to go with the new patch, we will let you know so you can get into the game and start testing. Thanks to all of our beta testers. Your help and dedication has been crucial in making Warhammer Online the best game it can be and we look forward to working with you through this crucial phase, taking us one step closer to our goal.

Check here for the latest update on when 4.1 will go live.

WAAAGH!

If you patch to 4.1 you can look at the new graphics options that should be available today:




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Warhammer online Crafting Review

Introduction
Warhammer Online is attempting something different from other MMORPGs with their crafting system. Their aim is to a make a fun, and ultimately rewarding system that doesn’t feel like a grind. They have expressed that they want everyone out there in the battlefield and have allowed their system to let you craft/gather while you are exploring and killing!

No Recipes! In Warhammer there are no set recipes for your crafting. Basically, this means that instead of picking something out of a list, you gather up a few ingredients and throw them into a pot and hope something cool comes out when you are done.

Example:

A recipe based system would have you choose out of a list of potions. Say you wanted to make a healing potion, you would typically pull out your recipe list and see you needed A, B, and C to make the potion. You go to a merchant and purchase the items you need, or gather the items from monsters as required, and a short while later you have your healing potion. The value of this potion is constant so you are always sure of what you’ll get.

Overview
The Warhammer method involves a lot of guess work and luck, but also rewards you for trying out odd combinations. You may get something much better than you intended or you may get something horribly wrong. Another great plus is you do NOT have to be at a certain area to craft. Provided you have the necessary items in your inventory, you can craft anything anywhere.

Example:

Let's say you have been asked by a friend to make him a couple of healing potions for RvR™ later. From experience you know that a certain herb works really well for healing potions so you go out and gather what you need. However, you also know that you can’t just make a healing potion with just the herb, you’ll need other ingredients as well.From experience you have found that cheap wine helps stabilize the healing potions so you go gather that from passed out dwarves. On the way back to your friend you are suddenly attacked by a ravenous fairy! After the fight you decide to clip her wings, thinking it may help strengthen your potion.


So you’ve made it back to your friend alive and you start on your potions. The first one turns out normal, you’ve added all the typical ingredients you use and the potion comes out the way it usually does. The second one you’ve added all the normal ingredients but you’ve had a stroke of luck! Your potion has come out just a little bit stronger than normal, good for you! For the last potion you decide to drop in the fairy wings when your friend isn’t looking, just to see what would happen. By now your friend is giving you a funny look. The last potion is bubbling and spewing out multi-colored smoke, not to mention the sickingly sweet smell it’s putting off. When things settle down you quickly realized you’ve made a discovery! Your simple healing potion now offers a greater chance to dodge enemy attacks, WAY TO GO!

Note: The obvious drawback of this plan is that it is likely in the near future that we will see all known combinations published on the internet and this will, with time, turn into a recipe based system.

A breakdown of the System
Two crafting skills are currently available:

• Apothecary


• Talisman Crafting

And four gathering skills:

• Butchering


• Cultivating


• Magical Salvaging


• Scavenging

You can only choose one crafting and one gathering skill, so pick wisely! Keep in mind what you want to do. If you want to make highly magical Talisman’s you might want to consider taking up Magical Salvaging as your gathering skill. If you want to make powerful potions, you may wish to take up Cultivating so you can get the herbs you need.

A breakdown of the Gathering Skills

Butchering
What this involves is searching a killed monster for resources. This only applies to non-sentient beasts and is used to salvage bones, meat, and skins. You will be able to identify if a monster can be harvested by noticing the flies buzzing around the corpse. A simple click allows you to butcher, provided you have the skill trained.

Cultivating
There’s no flower picking in WAR boy! Weeds, fungi and herbs are some of the main subjects involved. For this you are going to need to buy some things and carry them around to make this work. First off you are going to need a pot to grow your plants in. You’ll also need things like; soil, seeds and spores. Seeds and spores can be obtained as loot from monsters, as rewards from quests, and bought or traded from other players. Pots and soil can be purchased from merchants.

So you’ve got your items and are ready to do some cultivating! What you need to do is this;
1- Place your seeds or spores inside your pot. Easy enough.
2- Water your little pot and carry that thing around with you a little while. Things take time to grow man!
3-To make your plant healthy you can add nutrients or other things you want to try. Always wondered what to do with that spectral essence? Well add it to your soil and find out!
4-Your plant is done growing, time to find out what you got!

When you harvest you will either get a new type of seed (to be used in growing an even stronger plant), or an ingredient that you can use with the apothecary skill.

When all is said and done the now empty pot will go into your backpack to be used again.

Magical Salvaging
You too can be an all powerful magical expert! This is a pretty basic system that involves extracting the magical properties from items. What you’ll need to accomplish this is any magical item that has some sort of bonus on it (i.e. +10 Power or +3 to health). Using your deeply arcane and magical skill you will be able to extract one of these bonuses off the item. The drawback to this is the item you are salvaging will be lost in the process, so keep that in mind when you are attempting to withdraw one of its magical properties. If the item has more than one bonus on it, you will only be able to remove one property, so keep that in mind as well and choose the power that benefits you the most.

Example:

You are exploring a new area of the woods and are attacked by a blood-thirsty Cabbit! After a long and exhausting fight you manage to defeat the beast and discovery a shimmering amulet around its neck. Using your powers of deduction you realize this amulet has a +5 Intelligence and +7 Agility bonus. You can’t really use the amulet yourself but you could really use the agility on something else, so you decide to extract that bonus. The process is pretty involved and the amulet is destroyed but you are left with a trinket that will allow you to use that +7 Agility on a Talisman in the future!

Scavenging
This involves recovering hidden items from more intelligent creatures, i.e. sentient. Basically you are rummaging through the dead body’s possessions to see if you can find anything of worth. As with Butchering you will be able to identify a body that can be scavenged by the flies that are buzzing around it. You will, as with Butchering, simply need to click on the corpse to recover items of worth, provided you have the skill trained.

Apothecary
So you want to create some potions, lotions and powders do you? Well in order to do this you will need training in the Apothecary skill. To be successful you’ll need some items such as a container, a main ingredient, and support ingredients.

A breakdown:

• The type of container you use will determine how many support ingredients you can add to your mixture.


• The main ingredient determines what type of potion you will end up with.


• Support ingredients assist in the creation.

A note: All main ingredients are unstable so you will need these support ingredients in order to increase the chance of a successful potion or the possibility of creating something new and exciting.

Example:
Using our previous example of the healing potion we’ll break down the parts.

• 1- You had your container that you used to make your potion in.


• 2- The herbs you gathered were your main ingredient that’s used in all healing potions.


• 3- The cheap wine you scavenged from the dwarves was a support ingredient.


• 4- The fairy wings were another support ingredient you decided to add as well.

Keep in mind that not all support ingredients you add are going to produce results. For example, you decide to use your old combination that you discovered when you made that last healing potion. This time you decide to try and add some left over frog legs as well. Everything seems to be going fine until the mixture starts to bubble rapidly and emit a thick black smoke. After a few tense moments wondering if you are going to survive this experiment, the smoke clears and you take a look inside. Nothing useful was produced! Obviously this is not a good combination and you make a note of it.

In keeping with the WAR effort and encouraging players to get out there and battle, specific things must be done in order to make certain potions. For example you may have had to capture the enemy’s territory in order to cultivate a certain rare fungi. Or you may have had to defeat Glowworm the Great in order to acquire some other special ingredient.

Side note: All potions have a chance of failing. If this happens your container may break and become unusable, however the ingredients you used will not go away and may be used again.

Talisman Crafting
Talisman Crafting is basically the process of creating things that provide bonuses to worn items and armor. In order to make a talisman you are going to need a container just like with Apothecary. You’ll also need various items from crafting/gathering skills and at least one item from magical salvaging. Like Apothecary you’ll need your main ingredient (item from magical salvaging), and your support ingredients. Talisman crafting can imbue bonuses such as; additional stats, bonuses to armor, and bonuses to resistances.

Example:

• You’re ready to make your Talisman so you’ve got your container set.


• You apply the item you got from magical salvaging.


• You apply the necessary support ingredients that are needed to facilitate the process.


• FLASH…BOOM… you’re all done and now have a highly magical item that you can equip!

Note: Only rare and powerful items can have Talisman’s attached to them.

Conclusion
Based on all the information, we can see that early on there is a lot of guess work involved with Warhammer Online crafting. With thousands of different possibilities out there for making items, it will be a fun and challenging experience to discover them all! Additionally, in order to make some of the more powerful items, you’re going to need to work with other players. This is where having a good guild or network of crafters comes into play. Crafting won’t be quite so easy at first, but in my opinion this system should prove to be extremely fun and rewarding, a stark contrast to current crafting systems out there today!

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Dwarf Engineer Guide review

Overview:
As a race of tinkerers and builders, no career comes more naturally to a Dwarf than that of Engineer. Using a combination of machinery, ingenuity, and brute force they are able to harness technology to defeat their enemies. Sturdy and reliable, the Engineer provides damage support on the battlefield making him a valuable ally.

An Engineer carries quite an arsenal with him, which can include turrets, mines, hand grenades, and a large wrench. His automated turrets bring fire support to combat by using bullets, grenades, and even a flame thrower. A long rifle allows Engineers to fire at a distance keeping them away from danger but doing significant damage to his enemies.

Strengths:

• Automated turrets that can fire without assistance


• Long range attacks


• Area of effect damage through grenades and turrets

Weaknesses:

• Vulnerable to melee


• Light armor


• Turret setup requires time

PvE Overview
An Engineer depends heavily on his gear and well placed turrets can be key to survival. If placement weren't enough the Engineer must carefully choose what type of to use, as a stray grenade blast or burst of flame could easily turn their one problem into many. Turret fire mixed with a few shots from their long rifle will significantly reduce enemy health long before they are in attack range allowing a few swings of a hammer or wrench to finish the job. While they can stand on their own against single targets, when working in harmony with a tank class, the Engineer is a versatile addition to any PvE party. They are not built to withstand heavy amounts of damage however, so direct conflict with multiple foes requires a hasty retreat.

RvR Overview
In RvR combat, the Engineer moves from a sturdy damage machine to a support role on the battlefield. Concentrated attacks from casters or a rush from a tank can make short work of Engineers thanks to their light armor. You will see many rush forward to drop a turret and run to the back lines with casters to fire off rifle shots. One of their best roles is in defense of a battlefield objective where they can set up defensive positions and damage enemies attempting to move in. Their grenades and mines also make nice additions to large concentrations of enemy forces.



Engineer Mastery Paths

Path of The Rifleman: This path focuses on long-range attacks, and taking your time with carefully aimed precision shots. A master of this path prefers to stand back away from the hectic front lines of battle, and dispatch his enemies quickly and cleanly from behind defensive cover.

Path of the Grenadier: This mastery is primarily focused on grenades and bombs, powerful explosives which may be quickly tossed into the middle of a fray to wreak havoc on enemies. While their effective range may be shorter than a gun's - after all, Dwarf arms aren't exactly build to throw for distance - grenades make up for this through sheer stopping power and swift arming times.

Path of the Tinkerer: A specialist in this path is concerned mainly with his deployable contructs, preferring to fight from near the safety of his turrets while he lays out his foes with swings of his heavy steel wrench. Master tinkerers have also been known to use additional deployable devices above and beyond turrets as well, and many are the Engineers who've been banned for life from a blacksmith's forge after trying to test and improve the heat thresholds of land mines.



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Dark Elf Sorceress review

Overview:
A Sorceress is a master of Dhar, the Dark Magic that feeds her power. Her spells assault her enemies with incredible force, as she forces the magic to do her bidding. She is able to harvest the Dark Magic from her spell weavings, storing it for massive blasts. The higher the level of Dark Magic, the greater the damage she can do. However, she must be prepared for a Backlash effect that may whip back and smack her down.

A Sorceress lightly covers herself in spectacular robes that leave little to the imagination, and they suit her attitude well. She carries a staff pulsing with energy to aid her spell weaving, but will rather not use it to smack her foes. A Sorceress is a ranged DPS class who fights more strongly from the rear where the enemy weapons do not reach. Her light armor makes her vulnerable to projectiles and other other spell casters, but only if they catch her first.

Strengths:

• High spell damage


• Very long range spells


• Area of effect attacks

Weaknesses:

• Vulnerable to melee


• Light armor


• Spells can backlash

PvE Overview
A Sorceress has the beauty of the Dark Elves, and the confidence of a high damage dealer wrapped into an incredible DPS class. While soloing, the Sorceress takes the fight to her enemies long before they see her. She must judge her enemy well, and take him down before he can get in close for a hit with his weapons. The Sorceress must rely on a party member to heal them, or keep potions on hand for the more difficult fights. Against Champion and Hero enemies, with higher health pools and armor, a Sorceress may struggle without a groupmate to distract and deflect the incoming damage.

RvR Overview
The chaos and violence of RvR combat draws the Sorceress, where her ranged attacks are very effective. Letting the melee classes stay up front to meet any advance, the Sorceress is free to pick her targets well, be they healers or other ranged combatants from the enemy. While staying back from the fight is safest, she should be ready to change positions often to make it more difficult to be targeted. A Sorceress' debuffs are in high demand, as they will open up weaknesses in the enemy defenses, which her comrades will then quickly exploit.

Sorceress Mastery Paths
Path of Agony: The Path of Agony is mainly concerned with slaughtering individual enemies in the messiest and most direct ways possible. This path contains a somewhat equal mix of volatile Dark Magic spells and more stable magic.

Path of Calamity: The Path of Calamity is favored by the more subtle and insidious covens of Sorceresses, and is primarily focused on longer-duration effects. A Master of Calamity prefers to hinder and wound their enemies over time, until the effects have built up enough that their foes are already dead, and just don't realize it yet. This path has fewer Dark Magic abilities, and relies more on a steady pace of destructive stable magic.

Path of Destruction: The Path of Destruction is for the Sorceress who believes that killing one enemy is nothing but a waste of time that could be much better spent killing ALL of their enemies. Spreading vast, sweeping swaths of darkness and death across the battlefield, the Masters of Destruction gamble the most heavily on numerous Dark Magic spells.

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Empire Witch Hunter review

Overview:
Service to the Empire is honor, privilege, and the singular purpose of a Witch Hunter. Showing unrelenting dedication to the purge of Chaos, they follow the teachings of Sigmar which make up the very core of their soul. Masters of the blade and one of the few classes utilizing firearms, they bring forth judgment against their enemies with no mercy. Using stealth and combination attacks, the Witch Hunter inflicts incredible amounts of damage with exacting precision and is a formidable foe on the battlefield.

Strengths:

• The ability to inflict a high amount of damage quickly or over time.


• The ability to move in stealth and utilize special surprise attacks.


• Can build up points to use execution finishing moves which do high levels of damage

Weaknesses:

• Is not a tank class and is susceptible to damage


• Stealth abilities reduce movement speed


• Ranged attack is relatively weak and short range

PvE Overview
The Witch Hunter's main role as DPS provides players the ability to deal heavy amounts of damage at the price of survivability. They can dispatch a single target extremely quickly but any additional encounters could kill them in short order.

Working much like the Rogue classes in other MMOG's the Witch Hunter builds up points in order to do finishing moves which can provide a variety of effects from normal damage, to an armor debuff. They also have skills which can only be used from stealth giving the Witch Hunter a great balance in PvE combat.

RvR Overview
The Witch Hunter almost has a support role in RvR combat, meaning they can't rush into a one on one battle no matter how badly they want to. However, their versatility provide a number of combat options which can make them invaluable. If two well matched tanks are beating on each other, the Witch Hunter can turn the tide. Perhaps there is a particularly pesky healer or caster harassing people at long range. A Witch Hunter can move in, make short work of them and escape long before anyone figures out what happened. The only downside to the Witch Hunter is their inherent squishyness. When targeted by tanks or a pair of casters, they can be chewed up and spit out pretty quickly.

Witch Hunter Mastery Paths
Path of Confession: The Path of Confession is direct and uncompromising, and focused primarily on direct and immediate opposition to heresy. A specialist in Confession will eschew subtlety and lengthy investigations in favor of simply approaching their enemy and beating the truth out of them. While not necessarily the most powerful approach, it is effective in its straightforward brutality, and provides a small measure of increased protection when the Witch Hunter finds themselves under direct attack.

Path of Inquisition: The Path of Inquisition is focused on longer and detailed investigations, weakening and progressively working over an enemy until the victim's guilt is all but assured. A player with heavy Inquisition Mastery may appear less powerful at first glance, but the devastating effects of their attacks are felt more and more as the fight progresses.

Path of Judgement: The Path of Judgment is taken by Witch Hunters who are assured that their targets are guilty and no questioning is needed. They tend to take their suspects by surprise, and are at their best when the enemy's attention is elsewhere. A Master of Judgment will seek to avoid face-to-face confrontations, and will be at their most powerful when they have allies nearby that can distract their enemies, allowing the Witch Hunter to lay down very potent attacks.

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Squig Herder class review

The squig herder is the ranged DPS class for the greenskins. Small and quick, his job is to slip in and lay some hurt on targets. With a squig at his side, the herder can tackle just about anything that gets thrown at him, given he's at the range to plink away with arrers. The class can be compared to in mechanics like the hunter class in daoc or in WoW, but has it's own unique abilities. Without learning how to become one with your squig, you can't unlock the full potential of the Squig Herder.

Squig Herder Masteries
This is your bread and butter line. It deals the most damage, and will be where most Squig Herders spend their points. This line specializes in stationary archery that can hit for big numbers. You'l need some good coordination with your squig as well as getting to know when to use your detaunt ability. You must be mindful however, that you do most of your damage sitting still, so be on the lookout always for any monsters (or players) that may be coming a little to close. The role of someone who specializes in Big Shootin is to pump out Big numbers for damage. In PvP, pick a target that's occupied with something, such as one concentrating on attacking. They'l notice much later that they're being hit than someone who is not engaged in combat. The gas squig from this specline gives a 10% bonus to range. Your primary skills used will be lots o shootin, Poisen Arrer and Plink.




The abilities granted through the Big shootin line are:

• 3 mastery: Aimin Quickly(tactic)- reduces the cooldown by 1 second on "Plink"


• 5 mastery: Shrapnel arrer- (2s cast, 10s recast)Hits your target doing X damage then doing Y DoT damage to enemies near the target


• 7 mastery: I Feelz your pain(tactic)- Critical hits will recover your action points by 50


• 9 mastery: Poison Arrer- (3s cast, 5s recast)Deals a large amount of corporeal damage to your target


• 11 mastery: Clever shootin(tactic)- All path of big shootin abilities cost 35% less Action points


• 13 mastery: Finish em off- Deals a large amount of damage if your target is below 20% health, or a small amount if they are not


• 15 mastery: Lots of shootin(rank 4 morale)- Deals an extreme amount of damage to all enemy targets near you

The abilities enhanced by mastery in the Big Shootin line are:

• Exploding Arrer- (2s cast, 10s recast) Does a small amount of damage to your target and those around it, then also hits them with a small DoT


• Choking Arrer- (1s cast, 30s recast)Deals a small amount of damage and silences your target for 5 seconds.


• Plink- (2s cast) Deals a moderate amount of damage to your target
  Lots o Arrers- (3s concentrated cast, 7s recast)You concentrate for 3 seconds on your target sending a barrage of arrows at them


• What Blocka?- (1.5s cast, 5s recast) An undefendable attack which deals a medium amount of damage.


• Gas Squig

Path of Stabbin'
Despite how the official description may sound, this mastery line has limited use. Squig herders have a low melee damage potential that is improved only moderately by spending mastery points. While melee may work out alright when you're doing pve and fighting some weakened monsters, getting into melee range of a MDPS in PVP means you're going to be eating dirt before know what happened. Squig herders have light armor, but the horned squig provides a 100% armor bonus effectively giving you about the absorbsion of medium armor. It's not a very good idea to engage a tank or mdps, especially if they see you coming. In pve and against light armor classes like the bright wizard, you can tear them up fairly quickly combined with your squig. The horned squig is powerful against melee damage and deals the 2nd highest damage of the squigs. Your squig is absolutely vital to your success, don't sacrifice it carelessly and always keep it by your side as if it's too far away your bonus disappears. You will have a multitude of quick attacks to use and your primary attacks will be Stabbity, cut ya, don't hit me, spin n slash and Drop That.


Path of Quick Shootin
This is the line of the mid range skirmisher. The benefits of this line can be most appreciated for the PvP oriented player. If you're planning to go solo or in a smaller 3-6 man group in pvp, this is the spec for you. This is just an unrivaled spec line for the pvp player. However, for it's great effectiveness in pvp, comes a cost for PvE. This line is not quite as useful in pve as the Big Shootin line, but it can work for group play. The role of someone who specializes in the Quick shootin line is moreso of a harasser than one putting out big damage. Your job is to fling around DoTs and snares as well as damage while you persist as a less deadly, but highly mobile threat. Abilities in this line are mostly instant cast or will continue to build while you are moving. This line is great for chasing down the enemy, as well as snaring enemies so your friends can get away(or so that your enemies can't). The spiked squig does the highest damage of all the pets and will help your damage. The learning curve for this spec is different than your average caster and may take time getting used to the kind of tactics and movement necessary instead of standing still and blasting. The spiked squig gives a 5% bonus to your critical hit rate. Your primary abilities used will be Stop runnin, Yer Bleedin, Run N Shoot and Shoot through ya.

The abilities granted through the Quick Shootin line are:

• 3 mastery: Splintering arrers(tactic)- Run N Shoot will now hit all enemies within 20 feet of your target


• 5 mastery: Run Away!-(instant cast, 45s recast) You command your squig to taunt all enemies near you, and knock yourself forward


• 7 mastery: The Waagh is Strong(tactic)- Increases duration of Yer bleedin to 24s, as well as the durations of Stop runnin and not so fast to 15s


• 9 mastery: Rotten Arrer- (instant cast, no recast) Deals a large amount of damage to your target over 9 seconds and incoming heals to them are 50% less effective. (usable only on a target that is ailing)


• 11 mastery: Shootin wif da wind(tactic)- All quick shootin abilities have their range increased by 50%


• 13 mastery: Behind Ya- (instant cast, 10s recast) You deal a moderate amount of damage to your target and they must be facing away from you


• 15 mastery: Arrer of Mork- (rank 4 morale) Deals a very large amount of amount of damage to all targets within 40 feet in front of you, then a very large amount of damage over 10 seconds..

The abilities enhanced by mastery in the Quick Shootin line are

• Stop Runnin: (1s cast, 2s recast)deals a small amount of damage to your target and snares them for 10s. Usable while moving


• Yer Bleedin: (instant cast)deals a moderate amount of damage over 15s to your target


• Run N Shoot: (1s cast)Deals a small amount of damage to your target. Usable while moving


• Not So Fast: (1s cast, 10s recast) Deals a small amount of damage and reduces your target's initiative for 10s. Usable while moving


• Shoot through ya: (2s cast) deals a moderate amount of damage to all enemies in front of you up to 65 feet away. Usable while moving


• Spiked Squig

Note about masteries:
Mastery abilities must first be unlocked. A mastery ability like Splintering Arrers has a lv3 requirement. That means you must spend 3 points in the line to unlock it. You must then spend a 4th point to purchase the ability if you choose to. So Effectively if you wanted the Shootin Wif da wind tactic in the Quick shootin line, you must spend 16 points to acquire it if you also purchased all the abilities in the line before it. Hopefully this will clear up confusion for people thinking they should have the ability but it's not on any lists.

Stats
I've decided to divide stats into tiers, noting their importance.

Tier 1
Ballistics skill: Nothing is more important than this. This is the sole stat that determines your damage with a bow. Value this over anything else

Wounds: This increases your HP by 10 for each point. It's also important to get this up if you can, as it increases your survivability greatly. One of your top 3 stats.

Elemental resist: Most important magic resist. This will bring down those big number bright wizard attacks

Tier 2
Strength: if you plan to melee, put some points into this, otherwise it's not that important. You will be doing some melee in pve

Toughness: Reduces the amount of melee damage you take. Useful for pve, but if you get hit by melee in RvR you're going to be dead anyway

Initiative: Increases your dodge rate and reduces your chance to be critically hit.

Corporeal: second most important magic resist

Spiritual: third most important magic

Tier 3
Intelligence: You shoot arrers, you don't cast spells. This is a worthless stat.
Willpower: increases chance you'l disrupt a magic attack, and also increases healing amount(we don't heal) this stat isn't really worth pursuing
Weaponskill: this increases armor penetration for melee weapons. You're much better off getting ballistics because it's a lot more beneficial

General PvE Advice
The class in PVE plays similar to a hunter in world of warcraft. This is not to say you're going to have the same experience. It has much different abilities and will still be a refreshing change. As you are leveling up, you'l want to try out every ability in combat for a decent amount of time, even if what you have is working for now. You will often find incorporating this new ability that sounded like it wouldn't be much use will make you much stronger and more effective. Give everything a chance and you will find a skillset that suits your playstyle best. There are a very large number of abilties, and you'l be swamped with trying to pick out the ones you like best or will use the most so it's important to go into the UI tab and make 2 action bars available. Between the 2, you should be able to fit everything you're going to be using on them.

Now, for quite possibly the most important thing for Pve. Gathering skills. Training up skills costs money, and a lot at that. You're going to be very poor while leveling and will find it hard to just keep up with skills. This is why you need to get a gathering skill. I personally reccomend the Scavenging skill. What it does is it allows you to scavenge and loot the bodies a second time of a sentient monster. Sentient meaning something that has at least some limited thought or self awareness like a human, dwarf or troll. A majority of the monsters you will be fighting will fall under this category. Items gained through scavenging however, are not normal loot items, but instead crafting materials. That doesn't mean however that they won't sell to vendors and give you a bit of extra cash. Bodies can only be scavenged after they've been fully looted. You can identify bodies that can be scavenged because they will have flies buzzing around them. You can also scavenge bodies that don't belong to you. It is impolite to do so if someone is also scavenging themselves, but if they aren't, then it's fair game. A good way to get this skill raised is in public quests where large amounts of monsters are being killed. You can first aquire a gathering skill In the second town along the road you will find from your starting area with your starting town being the first. This will be home of the Chapter 2 public quests. keep in mind, that if your scavenging skill isn't kept up to date, you won't be able to scavenge the higher level monsters.

Overall, PVE works the way you want it to. Experiment with your abilities with trying different combinations or casting orders and you'l be fine. You won't start getting master points until rank 11 and by that time you should have a good idea of what kind of squig herder you'd like to be.

General RvR Advice
Playing a squig herder can be a lot of fun, especially chasing down someone for that kill or inching just a bit closer to be able to shoot at that bright wizard. Because of this, people tend to get focused and lose sight of your surroundings. This is an often fatal mistake. Often people are trying to flank you from the side, so make sure you're always panning the camera with your mouse to identify threats that may be coming. It's also a good idea to keep in mind that just because you can't see anyone, doesn't mean there isn't someone there. Witch Hunters have the ability to stealth and love to position themselves to hide in the spots casters are most likely to sneak up on. A Witch hunter will almost always wait for the right moment and catch you off guard while you are busy fighting. They will tear you up generally before you get the chance to react. Squig herders are also a favorite target of Empire casters, and likewise they should also be your favorite target. This is why it's very important to be watching your own health bar as well as your enemy's. Sneaking up a couple of feet will likely spark some bright wizards or engineers to sneak up a bit and focus their fire on you rather than the tank you're standing next to. Be aware of the movement of your enemy's front line. If you see a caster moving towards you... assume it's you that they want to kill.

Many people view the squig herder as an easy kill because you are a Ranged DPS type. So it's important to be paranoid and assume that everyone is out to get you. Pre kiting is a vital skill that will often save your life. If you see a tank running in your direction, Pop off a Stop Runnin shot and run a bit away. Often, this will trigger the tank/MDPS into thinking you have no intention of fighting and they likely won't catch you. So they will turn their attention to whatever may be closest to them at the time, which often can be another tank. Don't wait for them to get to you and start hitting for you to decide you want to keep your distance as this will often lead to you eating dirt. Even if they're hitting someone else near you like a marauder, if you're close, they may decide that you're an easier target and turn their aggression to you. It's best to try and keep a distance of around 70-80 feet between your enemies, in particular if you're spec is Big shooting. You want a bit of an extra buffer for some extra shots when your target decides to start running away, as well as to give you some space to pre-kite.

Conclusions
A squig herder is a fun and interactive class. There are many different ways to play one and all of them provide a unique experience.

Just keep an open mind while staying hidden and keeping on eye on your surroundings and you should be successful with whatever you do.

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Performance Example Videos

This is only some short clips to show that there is no such thing as animation latency anymore. Since it works exactly like WoW, the argument "omg teh combatz suxxorz" is no longer valid.

Animation starts before the server recognition. You can see this when you target non-targetable NPCs and try to heal them. You will start the healing spell, but half way through (or fully completed if it is an instant spell) and you get a message saying something along the lines of "you cannot perform that action on that NPC, you moron."

Warrior Priest (soloing a Champion + Add)

Warrior Priest (soloing a Champion + Add) - Funny bloopers are a click away

Witch Hunter in PQ Taking on Mobs Higher Lvl

Witch Hunter in PQ Taking on Mobs Higher Lvl - The best video clips are here

Performance Example Video - Runepriest

Performance Example Video - Watch more amazing videos here

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Tome of Knowledge Achievements

I haven't seen any recent post about this at mmOverload, so here is what little bird told me. It's all I have access to as I am still patching. ToK fans rejoice.

=Titles=

Achievements

The Cutpurse - loot 10 items
The Pirate - loot 100 items
The Hoarder - loot 1,000 items
The Pawner - earn 1 gold
The Loaded - earn 50 gold
The Wise - 10 tome unlocks
The Adventurer - 50 tome unlocks
The Never-Rester - 100 tome unlocks
The Overachiever - 250 tome unlocks
The Omniscient - 500 tome unlocks
The Friendly - add 5 people to your friends list
The Conscript - join 10 groups
Ow My Eye - clicked self 100 times
The Vain - clicked self 5,000 times
The Talker - use the tell command 50 times
The Peon - gain 1,000 Influence
The Influential - gain 10,000 Influence
The Prominent - gain 100,000 Influence
Snuffed - die 10 times
Victim - die 100 times
The Green - die 10 times in RvR
Meat Shield - die 100 times in RvR
The Lucky - kill 10 players in RvR
The Mauler - kill 100 players in RvR
Spark Snuffer - kill 10 players that are more than twice your Renown Rank
Run Away! - died 10 times to monsters
The Bait - Died 100 times from a monster
The Wasteful - destroy 10 items
The Garbage Disposal - destroy 100 items
The Lint Looter - scavenge 50 corpses
The Body Searcher - Scavenged 1,000 corpses
The Skinner - Butcher 50 corpses

Exploration

The Impure - kill Keltherian Darklust, interact with Book of Innocence; around 240, 40650, west of Fortress of Korhandrid (west of Goldmead, DE Chap 9 hub), in the hills near the very edge of the map, in Ellyrion.

Heroic

Foe of the Cannibal - unlocked by talking to a sickly man outside a cave in Marshes of Madness, I think southwest of Oathhold

The Intractable: Kill any Cold One in the pit around 14323, 14564 (I think, it's the area between Rock of Galirian and Serynal), in the Shadowlands.

Killing

Echo Hunter - kill a Neborhest Bat in Marshes of Madness. They can be found south of Oathhold and in the marsh south of Thurarikson's Warcamp.

The Huntsman - walk through the mob of pigs around the Public Quest Pillage and Plunder (51613,63055), in Norsca. (possibly Destruction only)

The Scout - Examine Unfortunate Victim at 37683, 34796, in Nordland.

Questing

Silly

Once Bitten, Twice Shy - talk to Kormina Falinsodtr at the Pick and Goggles tavern in the Dwarf starting zone.

The Dawnbringer - interact with the Vampire Effigy next to the mountainside near the Plaguesworn Cultists southeast of the Neborhest's Vanguard PQ in Marshes of Madness

The Lumberjack - interact with the corpse of a Tree-kin in the are around Dark Elf Chapter 7 (on the way to the NPCs for the last part of Heads Will Roll!, above the Gate at the very south of Shadowlands)

The Peculiar - throw a rock on the head of the sleeping Snotling in the woods just outside and east of Tor Aendris, in The Blighted Isle

Skaven Splitter - interact with the Man Trap in Warpclaw Hideout, a cave near the SW corner, in The Badlands.

Scorp Squisher - kill Baneclaw, a Champion scorpion, at approximately 6400, 62500 (SW corner of the beach), in Chrace.

The Skeleton Hunter - interact with the Marked Grave in the graveyard west of Grimmenhagen Village, in Nordland.

The Spider Slayer - kill a Dark Hollowfang at the Suskarg Cave in Stormblighthollow, in Troll Country (around 2400, 35219).

The Fearless - walk inside Amund's Barrow close to at roughly 48572,44251, in Norsca (possibly Destruction only).

Unconfirmed/Rumored/Unknown or fuzzy triggers:

The Grounded - trigger unknown

Scourge of the Asur - kill 100 High Elves (possibly Dark Elf only)

Favored of Malekith - kill 1,000 High Elves (possibly Dark Elf only)

The Crusher - kill an Ogre Bull (clarification needed: which one, where is he?)

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3.1 T1/T2 Black Orc Class Review

Ok, Here is the second installment of Class Reviews from 3.1. The Black Orc, I will be doing a couple of Order classes next, just to be fair.

Quests / Public Quests in all zones
Scenarios in all zones
Open RvR in all zones

Intro:
I had a good time playing the class. The first couple of levels are OMG boring for this class though. Very limited in what you can do. I think Rank 8 (I cant really remember when it was) when your skill selection is getting good, and you have a moral ability, is where it started getting interesting. Da Good Plan - Da Best Plan very interesting mechanic as well. Your first attack can be a high aggro generating attack, a armor debuff or a weapon skill increase. So depending on what you are doing you have to choose. Then your second skill in the chain can be a snare/dot, a armor buff for you, or a weapon skill debuff for your target. Then your 3rd is a big DPS dump.

I am not going to go into when and how to use the skills, but I will say I never hit the same ones in the same order when I am in PvP. They all depend on who is getting hit, and if I am defensive or offensive or any other number of things going on. Man I love that aspect of no rolling your head on the keyboard and being successful.

Solo PvE Leveling via Quests:
I didnt have any problems with very many quests. The couple of quests I did have problems with were the ones that had pretty much instant respawn timers, so I would be fighting 6-8 mobs back to back most of them 2 at a time. The fact that I was able to last as long as I did was a testament to thier survivability. The lack of 2 handers at low levels really limits your options, which I think Mythic is going to change (I think I read somewhere that they are adding a twohander early on to help with this)

Public Quests:
Here is your oportunity to get some gear. As a black orc after you get your taunt ability, you should be coming in first or second in just about every PQ there is. I believe that the calculations on threat and tanking are very favorable to the BO, especially in PQs that only have 2 stages (which seems to be what most people use to max influence). If you dont have a healer you will die and you will not come in first/second. Stage 1 just grab every mob you can. Tank them and let people DPS them off of you. You arent being greedy, this is a TANKS job. Keep as much aggro on you as your healers can handle. Champion and Hero fights should be all the Tanks fighting for aggro, keep aggro the longest and you should come in first. Again, only take as much as your healers can handle. You will get a feel early on in a PQ if shamans are healing (which they should because it counts WAY more in contribution than DPS, this is just my opinion but to me when I Was on the shaman it really "FELT" that way).


PvP Scenarios:
Good place for a Black Orc to get RPs. I did this way more on the BO than I did on the Shaman. I will explain more in the Open RvR part why. Your ability to change your role is very important. If you can learn to do this, you will make a GREAT black orc, and kill many many "stunties".

Role 1: DPS. Pull out that two hander and go to town. This role is most effective if you have a pocket healer. What is a pocket healer you ask? Well, a pocket healer is a friend that you know is going to heal you first and formost above anyone else. Granted, any class with a pocket healer is going to shine. On my shaman, I pocket healed a witchelf one game. End stats were Destruction Damange 36k, Witch Elf Damage 19k. She did more than half of all of Destruction damage. I had 17k healed that game ROFL. On my BO, in T2 Chaos Scenario I had 37k damage. Only one above me was a Sorc (expected). Everyone else was 10k below us.

Role 2: Defensive Tank. Dont discount the amount of DPS you can put out in this role. You can still kill stuff, you just cant pump out the DPS like the other weapon. Your strengh here is your guard ability, and your morale increase regen rate ability. If you are wearing a sword and board and you are not moving your guard from player to play, then I dont think you are being as effective as you can be. In any given engagement I will switch my guard 3 to 10 times. YES that many. Whoever is getting focused gets my guard. Even if I have a pocket healer. at level 11 I had over 2k hits, that is usally over 600 more than any melee DPS and 800 more than squishys. You switching your guard will be the difference between a healer having time to keep someone healed, and someone getting focused down in 3 seconds flat.

Role 3: Offensive Soak. That is what I like to call it. Run out there, get aggro from every Order player and take one for the team. Depending on your healers, you can keep them busy enough for your DPS train to kill off a few squishies.. How do I make sure that they all focus on me? EASY... RUN RIGHT THROUGH AND ATTACK THIER HEALERS. YOU WILL GET FOCUSED WHEN YOU DO THAT. Well unless they suck, in which case you just kill thier healer or lock him/her down so they cant heal anyone but themselves. In which case you are being successful anyways.


Open RvR:
This is where playing the class may become a struggle. Once a keep door goes down and you are fighting the PvE part of it you are fine. But when you are taking it down, or you are trying to push into the Lord Room. You pretty much have to hope your healers can try and keep up with the damage you are taking. Expect to die, but its ok, you are supposed to die. Keep takes arent that bad though and can actually be REALLY fun. The frustrating part is when you are in zerg on zerg standoffs. Man those can be anoying. I usually make it my goal to pick out some "I like to DPS but cant heal" class and kill them before I die. So I basicall find a with hunter, or caster dps and charge them from the side and try and kill them before I get focused down. 4 times out of 10 it will work. Most the time I just die and consider myself lucky to give my orc blood to the gods that demand it.

When I have my peeps around me (peeps being guildies or people who will listen) I will flank the zergs and do some OMG damage to thier support in the back. Man that is fun. When you are able to get small scale stuff in the open, you are able to see why this game will be an amazing game. Zerg v Zerg is fun like crazy when the standoff finally ends and the 2 zergs decide to make an epic battle. During these you do the best you can to use your skills. But it is hard in the heart pounding action of epic-ness. When the cities do get sieged. Man it is going to be NUTZ!


PvP WEAKNESS:
The one glaring weakness of the Orc is one that a lot of Melee classes will suffer during zerg v zerg standoffs. There really isnt much you can do but charge, die, and hope you were able to stop the standoff. Or you can sit back and pick off the one or two melee that charge (can get boring if no one ever charges). If you are not getting heals. You will release often. (kinda true with any class) but even more true of melee in general.
Oh and as a BIG fatty. You make an easy target (which I guess is good since you ARE a tank), however it may just be me, but I feel my Black Orc gets kyted much easier than my other classes. I dont know if it is because my snare is only 30% or if it is because I am a fatty and cant cut the corners like the skinny elves can.

NOTE: If I play destruction, odds are this will be the class I play as my main. And not just because my guild needs me to. Maybe I just like being a big fatty. The key mechanics that makes me love this class are the way the attacks works.

Da Good Plan - Da Best Plan very interesting mechanic.

Again, if this is helping people, I will keep them coming.


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