The Warhammer Hype Machine Keeps On Rollin'
Ok, there is a new, official trailer for Warhammer. This time it's bigger and in English. [UPDATE] And now there has been footage posted of actual gameplay.
Personally, I am looking forward to dwarves with guns. Not to mention manning the siege engines and artillery. That's right, it seems you can man dwarven cannon, Imperial Hellblaster, etc. (I think it plays like a mini game with range and ballistics when you shoot at the enemy)
The following is a pretty good writeup by Thrawnseg that I found over at this thread on Forumopolis (along with screenshots and plenty of back and forth discussion and silly questions from me).
General Class Overview
Ok guys, heres a general class overview of what i've played. I've gotten just about every class between 10-20, in WAR you get the bulk of your abilities before 10 and after that you begin learning tactics, morale abilities and other class perks.
The other thing you need to know is that pretty much every class has a mirror on the opposite faction. When I say mirror they have the same unique mechanic (i'll explain these a little later) and their skills are very similar. I'll explain these classes together.
Ironbreaker: A pretty unique take on a very traditional concept. Ironbreakers are tanks, but in PvP they double as a support class. They work on "grudge", in that everytime you are attacked you gain 5 points of "grudge" out of 100. Some abilities consume grudge, others get stronger the more grudge the Ironbreaker has. What really makes them interesting however is the ability to pledge an "oath" to another player in your group. Whenever that player is attacked you'll get 10 grudge, and a lot of your abiltiies will buff them as well, always with some sort of decreased defence.
In terms of actual playstyle you'll oath a healer and the two of you will run around owning face. He gains defensive buffs and a personal bodyguard, you gain permahealing making an already unkillable class unstoppable. If you like being independant this isn't the class for you, and if theres no healer in your party (which happens in scenarios quite a bit) you are in for an uphill battle.
This is by and large the hardest class to kill.
Chosen: A very strong class at the moment, Chosen are melee tanks with offensive auras. They generally drain enemy stats in an area, and a lot of their attacks have debuffs. They are really the "anti" Ironbreaker in that instead of helping a single ally they screw over an entire enemy team. Like the Ironbreaker they are very hard to kill, but pose more of an immediate threat.
Runepriest/Zealot: These guys are the purest support classes in the game. Damage output is terrible, though their healing is top notch. Their unique mechanic is the ability to give party members buffs, which apart from stat bonus's give them an extra ability: for example, an AoE attack. If you like healing this is the class for you, they top the healing scoreboards consistantly.
Engineer/Magus: These are both ranged attack classes with the ability to summon a stationary platform which attacks. Engineers build turrents, the Magus summon demons. These are defensive ranged classes that suit a conservative playstyle. You won't top the scoreboards in damage, but you are versatile and pretty stress free compared to a lot of other classes.
Witch Hunter/Witch Elf: These are your "rogue" type classes, though in War stealth isn't as huge as it is in other MMO's. Both these classes build points for finishers, out of 5, pretty much identical to the WoW Rogue system. Don't expect to be able to stunlock people however, crowd control is very minimal in War. These guys do enormous amounts of damage, and Witch Hunters have the best asthetic in the game. Unlike WoW these guys aren't even close to being overplayed. A no nonsense melee damage class.
Bright Wizard/Sorceress: Want to deal so much damage you can actually blow yourself up? This is the class for you. These guys deal INSANE amounts of damage, and I mean absolutely insane. They have the best AoE in the game and with every attack they build up points /100. The more points, the more damage they deal, but at the same time they can damage themselves. At 100 you will be throwing nuclear weapons around, but killing yourself is VERY easy to do. Much less conservative than the engineer/magus but with more damage.
You'll be a high priority to the enemy and you'll die ALOT.
Warrior Priest/Disciple of Khaine: These guys are melee battle mages. Most of your abilities are focused on melee damage, and you have some support buffs/heals as well. Your heals are dots, however, so you can't spam people into life like the other healing classes. The weakest of the 6 healers, they also have strong armor and good DPS abilities. In 1v1 they are unbeatable, and in groups they are a generalist class with no real focus.
Their unique mechanic is that using melee skills builds points out of 250, and healing skills drains those points. Hence you have to attack to heal. Unlike Paladins in WoW playing a Warrior Priest is not about buffing yourself passively. You have one general buff your your party and the rest of your skills are HoTs and damage skills, so don't expect to be running around autoattacking.
Swordmaster/Black Orc: Melee tanks with a strong offensive focus. Their unique mechanic is that by using skills in specific orders they unlock certain abilities. For the Swordmaster its "balance", using some skills to get into better balance, from there others to send them into perfect balance. The same system applied for the Black Orc but with "da gud plan". Because of this you can't just spam random abilities, you have to work your way into the stronger abilities and be a little clever about it. They are very hard to kill, and work well by themselves.
Squig Herder/White Lion: These are the games pet classes, White Lions being melee and Squig Herders being ranged. Squig Herders have 3 "squigs" to choose from, each with a different focus (tank, melee dps, ranged dps) that give the herder buffs. White lions get a single lion, though they both play as you would expect. Its all about micromanaging your pets and dealing damage. They are very independant and are very strong in PvE.
Shadow Warrior/Marauder: These are your "adapt to the situation" classes. The Shadow Warrior is ranged, the Marauder is melee. Both of these classes have the ability to manipulate themselves to deal with different situations. Shadow Warriors have different stances depending on what range you are attacking from, switching between them unlocks different abilities.
Marauders have this fucking hardcore ability to mutate their arm into different weapons. A giant arm for DoTs, a giant bone blade for instant damage, and a giant club for AoE attacks. If you like the idea of being able to indentify and adapt to different situations, these are the classes for you.
Goblin Shaman/Archmage: These are your ranged dps/healer classes, with a very involved mechanic. By using damaging abilities, you build points on one side of a two sided icon (for the Archmage its a ying yang, for the Goblin Shaman its two wooden tablets). After 5 damaging abilities you'll be able to unleash a very powerful healing attack, and vice versa. Its all about switching between damage and healing at the right time to keep a good momentum going.
They can do about as much damage as the melee support classes (warrior priest/disciple of khaine), but they have better healing and worse defences.
General PvP Notes:
- You can have both an offensive and defensive target, at the same time. For example, if I click on an enemy, hes my offensive target, and all my damaging spells go to him. If I click on a friendly, all my healing goes to him. This can get confusing and can mean you'll be healing someone instead of yourself. Press F1 to reset the defensive target to yourself.
- Watch for abilities that buff your "defensive target". This can either be you, or someone else. Warrior Priests/Disciples of Khaine have many melee attacks that buff a defensive target, and this doesn't always have to be you
- Every class uses "AP" or action points. Theres no mana/energy/whatever in the game, though some classes have unique resources
- Chosen and Shamans are very popular. Shamans in particular are very strong and give destruction a guarenteed source of healing in most circumstances
- Order Tanks are unplayed: want groups? Play an Ironbreaker
- Destruction outnumber Order about 3:2
- Classes in general are very hard to kill, tank classes are practically unkillable for any one person. "One shotting" never happens
- There isn't a huge amount of AoE in the game, and whats there isn't all that powerful
- Many buffs don't stack, so having mutiples in your team is a waste of resources
- Movement speed is generally quite slow, the ability to "run" costs you all your action points leaving you unable to do anything
- When your HP is low your movement slows to a crawl
- Crowd control is scarce
- Disciple of Khaine / Warrior Priest are probably overpowered at the moment. They can do lots of damage and dish out a lot of healing, which means they earn a shitload of experience/renown points
- Doing PvP earns you renown. Renown unlocks buffs and entire sets of gear
- Doing scenarios is the fastest way to level
Personally, I am looking forward to dwarves with guns. Not to mention manning the siege engines and artillery. That's right, it seems you can man dwarven cannon, Imperial Hellblaster, etc. (I think it plays like a mini game with range and ballistics when you shoot at the enemy)
The following is a pretty good writeup by Thrawnseg that I found over at this thread on Forumopolis (along with screenshots and plenty of back and forth discussion and silly questions from me).
General Class Overview
Ok guys, heres a general class overview of what i've played. I've gotten just about every class between 10-20, in WAR you get the bulk of your abilities before 10 and after that you begin learning tactics, morale abilities and other class perks.
The other thing you need to know is that pretty much every class has a mirror on the opposite faction. When I say mirror they have the same unique mechanic (i'll explain these a little later) and their skills are very similar. I'll explain these classes together.
Ironbreaker: A pretty unique take on a very traditional concept. Ironbreakers are tanks, but in PvP they double as a support class. They work on "grudge", in that everytime you are attacked you gain 5 points of "grudge" out of 100. Some abilities consume grudge, others get stronger the more grudge the Ironbreaker has. What really makes them interesting however is the ability to pledge an "oath" to another player in your group. Whenever that player is attacked you'll get 10 grudge, and a lot of your abiltiies will buff them as well, always with some sort of decreased defence.
In terms of actual playstyle you'll oath a healer and the two of you will run around owning face. He gains defensive buffs and a personal bodyguard, you gain permahealing making an already unkillable class unstoppable. If you like being independant this isn't the class for you, and if theres no healer in your party (which happens in scenarios quite a bit) you are in for an uphill battle.
This is by and large the hardest class to kill.
Chosen: A very strong class at the moment, Chosen are melee tanks with offensive auras. They generally drain enemy stats in an area, and a lot of their attacks have debuffs. They are really the "anti" Ironbreaker in that instead of helping a single ally they screw over an entire enemy team. Like the Ironbreaker they are very hard to kill, but pose more of an immediate threat.
Runepriest/Zealot: These guys are the purest support classes in the game. Damage output is terrible, though their healing is top notch. Their unique mechanic is the ability to give party members buffs, which apart from stat bonus's give them an extra ability: for example, an AoE attack. If you like healing this is the class for you, they top the healing scoreboards consistantly.
Engineer/Magus: These are both ranged attack classes with the ability to summon a stationary platform which attacks. Engineers build turrents, the Magus summon demons. These are defensive ranged classes that suit a conservative playstyle. You won't top the scoreboards in damage, but you are versatile and pretty stress free compared to a lot of other classes.
Witch Hunter/Witch Elf: These are your "rogue" type classes, though in War stealth isn't as huge as it is in other MMO's. Both these classes build points for finishers, out of 5, pretty much identical to the WoW Rogue system. Don't expect to be able to stunlock people however, crowd control is very minimal in War. These guys do enormous amounts of damage, and Witch Hunters have the best asthetic in the game. Unlike WoW these guys aren't even close to being overplayed. A no nonsense melee damage class.
Bright Wizard/Sorceress: Want to deal so much damage you can actually blow yourself up? This is the class for you. These guys deal INSANE amounts of damage, and I mean absolutely insane. They have the best AoE in the game and with every attack they build up points /100. The more points, the more damage they deal, but at the same time they can damage themselves. At 100 you will be throwing nuclear weapons around, but killing yourself is VERY easy to do. Much less conservative than the engineer/magus but with more damage.
You'll be a high priority to the enemy and you'll die ALOT.
Warrior Priest/Disciple of Khaine: These guys are melee battle mages. Most of your abilities are focused on melee damage, and you have some support buffs/heals as well. Your heals are dots, however, so you can't spam people into life like the other healing classes. The weakest of the 6 healers, they also have strong armor and good DPS abilities. In 1v1 they are unbeatable, and in groups they are a generalist class with no real focus.
Their unique mechanic is that using melee skills builds points out of 250, and healing skills drains those points. Hence you have to attack to heal. Unlike Paladins in WoW playing a Warrior Priest is not about buffing yourself passively. You have one general buff your your party and the rest of your skills are HoTs and damage skills, so don't expect to be running around autoattacking.
Swordmaster/Black Orc: Melee tanks with a strong offensive focus. Their unique mechanic is that by using skills in specific orders they unlock certain abilities. For the Swordmaster its "balance", using some skills to get into better balance, from there others to send them into perfect balance. The same system applied for the Black Orc but with "da gud plan". Because of this you can't just spam random abilities, you have to work your way into the stronger abilities and be a little clever about it. They are very hard to kill, and work well by themselves.
Squig Herder/White Lion: These are the games pet classes, White Lions being melee and Squig Herders being ranged. Squig Herders have 3 "squigs" to choose from, each with a different focus (tank, melee dps, ranged dps) that give the herder buffs. White lions get a single lion, though they both play as you would expect. Its all about micromanaging your pets and dealing damage. They are very independant and are very strong in PvE.
Shadow Warrior/Marauder: These are your "adapt to the situation" classes. The Shadow Warrior is ranged, the Marauder is melee. Both of these classes have the ability to manipulate themselves to deal with different situations. Shadow Warriors have different stances depending on what range you are attacking from, switching between them unlocks different abilities.
Marauders have this fucking hardcore ability to mutate their arm into different weapons. A giant arm for DoTs, a giant bone blade for instant damage, and a giant club for AoE attacks. If you like the idea of being able to indentify and adapt to different situations, these are the classes for you.
Goblin Shaman/Archmage: These are your ranged dps/healer classes, with a very involved mechanic. By using damaging abilities, you build points on one side of a two sided icon (for the Archmage its a ying yang, for the Goblin Shaman its two wooden tablets). After 5 damaging abilities you'll be able to unleash a very powerful healing attack, and vice versa. Its all about switching between damage and healing at the right time to keep a good momentum going.
They can do about as much damage as the melee support classes (warrior priest/disciple of khaine), but they have better healing and worse defences.
General PvP Notes:
- You can have both an offensive and defensive target, at the same time. For example, if I click on an enemy, hes my offensive target, and all my damaging spells go to him. If I click on a friendly, all my healing goes to him. This can get confusing and can mean you'll be healing someone instead of yourself. Press F1 to reset the defensive target to yourself.
- Watch for abilities that buff your "defensive target". This can either be you, or someone else. Warrior Priests/Disciples of Khaine have many melee attacks that buff a defensive target, and this doesn't always have to be you
- Every class uses "AP" or action points. Theres no mana/energy/whatever in the game, though some classes have unique resources
- Chosen and Shamans are very popular. Shamans in particular are very strong and give destruction a guarenteed source of healing in most circumstances
- Order Tanks are unplayed: want groups? Play an Ironbreaker
- Destruction outnumber Order about 3:2
- Classes in general are very hard to kill, tank classes are practically unkillable for any one person. "One shotting" never happens
- There isn't a huge amount of AoE in the game, and whats there isn't all that powerful
- Many buffs don't stack, so having mutiples in your team is a waste of resources
- Movement speed is generally quite slow, the ability to "run" costs you all your action points leaving you unable to do anything
- When your HP is low your movement slows to a crawl
- Crowd control is scarce
- Disciple of Khaine / Warrior Priest are probably overpowered at the moment. They can do lots of damage and dish out a lot of healing, which means they earn a shitload of experience/renown points
- Doing PvP earns you renown. Renown unlocks buffs and entire sets of gear
- Doing scenarios is the fastest way to level
posted by InkTank at
11:03 AM
4 Comments:
Can I use the "my irrelivance makes for poor bullet points" line?
By all means. It's a painful, universal truth (according to all the messages I've gotten). ;)
a little off the topic, while staying true to the topic.. Dawn of war 2 is coming out soon too
www.dawnofwar2.com
check out the eldar preview... it's awesome.
I WANT 40K ONLINE!!!!
But this will do for now.
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