Yeah, I hit Rank 27 2 nights ago, and I only max my Influence for Chapter 14 last night. I also spent some time re-spec into Khaine on my Swordmaster and my current gear is not working with it because I am mostly Toughness gear.
I also tried Vaul to get Vaul's buffer, but then again, my weapon and gear is low dps to take on a tanking mastery.
So, I end up going back to Hoeth which works for what I do, mostly pulling 4+ mobs at a time using a 2-Hand great sword.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Rank 26
I've been just following my list of Influence grind and managed to get to Rank 26 and currently doing Highelf Chapter 14 area. I will need to update my list soon.
I was doing Dwarf Chapter 14 killing 4 to 8 Black Orcs at a time that are Rank 28 to Rank 30.
Semihrage is Hoeth spec and uses Gusting Wind a lot.
I re-spec Nynaeave for Rune of Battle pulsing damage buff.
I was doing Dwarf Chapter 14 killing 4 to 8 Black Orcs at a time that are Rank 28 to Rank 30.
Semihrage is Hoeth spec and uses Gusting Wind a lot.
I re-spec Nynaeave for Rune of Battle pulsing damage buff.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Swordmaster's Way
At Rank 23
Phantom's Blade (Buff)
(23) All your melee attacks a 25% chance to activate a shield that absorbs up to 210 damage over 10 seconds.
Morales:
R1 Demolishing Strike
R2 Wings of Heaven.
R3 Bladeshield.
R4 Immaculate Defense
Tactics:
Ensorcelled Agony
Rugged
Winds' Force
Vaul's Buffer
Rugged
(23) Increases Toughness by 92.
Ensorcelled Agony
(23) Ensorcelled Blow will now cause an additional 115 Spiritual damage over 5 seconds.
Winds' Force
Gusting Wind's area of effect is increased to 30 feet
Ensorcelled Blow (Hex)
(23) A quick precision slash that calls out the enchantment in your blade dealing 70 Spirit damage.
Gusting Wind (Damaging)
(23) You execute a quick spin rending the air around you and producing a magical shockwave that which deals 82 damage to all opponents within 10 feet of you.
Rotation:
Taunt
Ensorcelled Blow
Intimidating Blow (Or Eagle's Flight vs. Melee)
Dragon's Talon (or Crushing Wave when you feel it's needed).
Gusting Winds when I have a ton of melee on me.
Intimidating Blow (Hex)
(23) An overpowering strike that deals 116 damage and decreases your opponent's morale by 100.
Eagle's Flight (Buff)
(23) A guarded strike that deals 93 damage and improves your chance to parry by 25% for 5 seconds.
Dragon's Talon (Hex)
(23) You release two rending blows that deal 70 Spirit damage each, crippling your target for 4 seconds and reducing the damage they deal with every attack by 20%.
Crashing Wave (Debuff)
You launch two powerful blows dealing a total of 224 Spirit damage and knocking your opponent down for 3 seconds.
Phantom's Blade (Buff)
(23) All your melee attacks a 25% chance to activate a shield that absorbs up to 210 damage over 10 seconds.
Morales:
R1 Demolishing Strike
R2 Wings of Heaven.
R3 Bladeshield.
R4 Immaculate Defense
Tactics:
Ensorcelled Agony
Rugged
Winds' Force
Vaul's Buffer
Rugged
(23) Increases Toughness by 92.
Ensorcelled Agony
(23) Ensorcelled Blow will now cause an additional 115 Spiritual damage over 5 seconds.
Winds' Force
Gusting Wind's area of effect is increased to 30 feet
Ensorcelled Blow (Hex)
(23) A quick precision slash that calls out the enchantment in your blade dealing 70 Spirit damage.
Gusting Wind (Damaging)
(23) You execute a quick spin rending the air around you and producing a magical shockwave that which deals 82 damage to all opponents within 10 feet of you.
Rotation:
Taunt
Ensorcelled Blow
Intimidating Blow (Or Eagle's Flight vs. Melee)
Dragon's Talon (or Crushing Wave when you feel it's needed).
Gusting Winds when I have a ton of melee on me.
Intimidating Blow (Hex)
(23) An overpowering strike that deals 116 damage and decreases your opponent's morale by 100.
Eagle's Flight (Buff)
(23) A guarded strike that deals 93 damage and improves your chance to parry by 25% for 5 seconds.
Dragon's Talon (Hex)
(23) You release two rending blows that deal 70 Spirit damage each, crippling your target for 4 seconds and reducing the damage they deal with every attack by 20%.
Crashing Wave (Debuff)
You launch two powerful blows dealing a total of 224 Spirit damage and knocking your opponent down for 3 seconds.
Cycle in Leveling + Power Level Notes
Cycle in Leveling + Power Level Notes
It's a cycle in this game. It sucks, then it's fun.
Being low ranks eligible to join the current tier = food for the higher tier.
In tier 1, it was fun and fast to level. A few Nordland scenarios, and you're Rank 4, 6 and closing to 8 in one evening. It's relatively easy to get to Rank 9, 10 and 11 and enjoy the rank advantage in Tier 1 scenarios.
Then in Tier 2, it's noticeable how Rank 12s get eaten up by a Rank 20s. The rank difference is stacked to the higher players Even the xp gains in the scenario benefits the higher levels more.
The Renown weapons from R9 sucked by Rank 12 and weapon upgrade is available at Rank 14. So the next best alternative is to grind Influence some decent upgrades. The problem is, same Rank Champion/Hero packs is tough, so I end up doing 1 Chapter below, or just grind the first phase 4 or 5 times until max influence.
The fast queues in Tier 2 was a saving grace to reach Rank 21+. It was more time efficient to hang out in Marsh of Madness and complete repeatable scenario and kill enemy quests for 2900 xp.
At Rank 20 and 21, I was getting around 5%-7% xp and renown for every win--that's with the 2900 xp from the 2 repeatable scenarion/kill quests.
Being Rank 19+ was a huge advantage also due to the RR weapon and gear upgrades available.
But by then, after nearing 80+ Mourkain Temple scenarios, it too feels like a sucky grind. Sure there are 2 other Tier 2 scenarrio, but the xp gains was not as good as Mourkain, and the queue is slower.
So now that I'm Tier 3, I plan to grind a few Influence gear upgrades before I hit the scenarios around Rank 28. But damn, influence grinds are just teh suck.
Power Level Notes
I rolled a Witch Hunter.
I had my 22 Rune Priest followed, and ungrouped.
- Buy +str +weapon +initiative from Auction House
- But Talisman and +Strength potion from Auction House
- The Kill Quest works by having my WH do the killing blow. This means if the mob is dotted by my RP and it died from the dot, my WH will not get kill credit even if the WH tagged the mob. It is faster to group with the RP and kill the needed mobs.
Chapter 1 Influence Grind went fast because it was just my 2 and 1 other noob. I had to do Chapter 1 PQ twice to max influence.
Chapter 2 Influence Grind went fairly fast also even with a few noobs leeching. The Rune Priest does ok AoE. Run around dotting every Rank 4 mobs, then 2 AoEs.
Chapter 3 Influence Grind was slow, and I could not kill the Rank 7 Hero spider because it kept spawning Rank 7 spiderlings that ate thru my shield and hots that I did not have enough AP to do damage. The extra spawns too kept agroing on my lowbie WH.
The best was to deal with it was have the WH solo mobs in Phase 1 for 100 Influence each.
- Any heals done to WH does not take away from the 100 infuence.
- When grouped, influence is split 50-50, but zeri xp for the WH.
- When not grouped and RP does damage, influence is split by damage, and xp gained on the Wh who tagged the mob is less also.
- Between bubble + 2 hots, my WH can kill. The only time savingw in this method is there is no downtime for healing. The WH still have to pause to get some AP back before pulling the next spider--and moving to the next spawn location.
- Having a high level healer follow along definitely makes questing go fast.
- I found some spots where there are fast spawns that might be a good candidate for AoE; but still, the kill rate depends on the lower character being power levelled.
Being low ranks eligible to join the current tier = food for the higher tier.
In tier 1, it was fun and fast to level. A few Nordland scenarios, and you're Rank 4, 6 and closing to 8 in one evening. It's relatively easy to get to Rank 9, 10 and 11 and enjoy the rank advantage in Tier 1 scenarios.
Then in Tier 2, it's noticeable how Rank 12s get eaten up by a Rank 20s. The rank difference is stacked to the higher players Even the xp gains in the scenario benefits the higher levels more.
The Renown weapons from R9 sucked by Rank 12 and weapon upgrade is available at Rank 14. So the next best alternative is to grind Influence some decent upgrades. The problem is, same Rank Champion/Hero packs is tough, so I end up doing 1 Chapter below, or just grind the first phase 4 or 5 times until max influence.
The fast queues in Tier 2 was a saving grace to reach Rank 21+. It was more time efficient to hang out in Marsh of Madness and complete repeatable scenario and kill enemy quests for 2900 xp.
At Rank 20 and 21, I was getting around 5%-7% xp and renown for every win--that's with the 2900 xp from the 2 repeatable scenarion/kill quests.
Being Rank 19+ was a huge advantage also due to the RR weapon and gear upgrades available.
But by then, after nearing 80+ Mourkain Temple scenarios, it too feels like a sucky grind. Sure there are 2 other Tier 2 scenarrio, but the xp gains was not as good as Mourkain, and the queue is slower.
So now that I'm Tier 3, I plan to grind a few Influence gear upgrades before I hit the scenarios around Rank 28. But damn, influence grinds are just teh suck.
Power Level Notes
I rolled a Witch Hunter.
I had my 22 Rune Priest followed, and ungrouped.
- Buy +str +weapon +initiative from Auction House
- But Talisman and +Strength potion from Auction House
- The Kill Quest works by having my WH do the killing blow. This means if the mob is dotted by my RP and it died from the dot, my WH will not get kill credit even if the WH tagged the mob. It is faster to group with the RP and kill the needed mobs.
Chapter 1 Influence Grind went fast because it was just my 2 and 1 other noob. I had to do Chapter 1 PQ twice to max influence.
Chapter 2 Influence Grind went fairly fast also even with a few noobs leeching. The Rune Priest does ok AoE. Run around dotting every Rank 4 mobs, then 2 AoEs.
Chapter 3 Influence Grind was slow, and I could not kill the Rank 7 Hero spider because it kept spawning Rank 7 spiderlings that ate thru my shield and hots that I did not have enough AP to do damage. The extra spawns too kept agroing on my lowbie WH.
The best was to deal with it was have the WH solo mobs in Phase 1 for 100 Influence each.
- Any heals done to WH does not take away from the 100 infuence.
- When grouped, influence is split 50-50, but zeri xp for the WH.
- When not grouped and RP does damage, influence is split by damage, and xp gained on the Wh who tagged the mob is less also.
- Between bubble + 2 hots, my WH can kill. The only time savingw in this method is there is no downtime for healing. The WH still have to pause to get some AP back before pulling the next spider--and moving to the next spawn location.
- Having a high level healer follow along definitely makes questing go fast.
- I found some spots where there are fast spawns that might be a good candidate for AoE; but still, the kill rate depends on the lower character being power levelled.
WAR - Alternates Galore
I missed Tier 2 when my 2-box team was in the front lines taking advantage of their level at Rank 20 and 21.
But at Rank 22, now 23, my low level is mostly food for the bigger fishes in Tier 3. So, once again, leveling feels like a slow grind. I only managed to do quests in the Highelf land obtaining maximum influence in Chapter 10.
I then moved to Empire Chapter 11 in Highpass zone.
In between this grind, I managed to roll 2 Shadow Warriors to Rank 6, power levelled a Witch Hunter to Rank 7 also.
I tried 3-boxing using a friend's Rune Priest, but I got my main laptop to crash everytime in form the group. I isolated the issue with a macro where I invited over 7 names. Some of the names are other alt characters in my accounts. Either I had too many people invited in the macro, or there was an empty line after the /invites. I had to reboot the machine around 10 when I gave up the 3-box. By the time I fixed the issue, I was back 2-boxing.
The power level of the Witch Hunter with a 22 Rune Priest tagging along was kinda ok. I got Chapter 1 and 2 influence--doing AoE with the Rune Priest versus Rank 4 mobs. In Empire Chapter 3, my Rune Priest died 3x before I gave up fighting a Rank 7 hero spider. What sucked was this mob created more normal Rank 7 spiderlings that ate at my Shield + 2x Heal Over Time, while I run out of Action Points to do damage. Plus the adds agro on the Witch Hunter that I had to spend time micro-managing heals and attacks.
I actually played a bit of DotA for some needed change of pace and fun. There is a new dota map 6.55b with 2 new heroes; and bigger map tweaking.
But at Rank 22, now 23, my low level is mostly food for the bigger fishes in Tier 3. So, once again, leveling feels like a slow grind. I only managed to do quests in the Highelf land obtaining maximum influence in Chapter 10.
I then moved to Empire Chapter 11 in Highpass zone.
In between this grind, I managed to roll 2 Shadow Warriors to Rank 6, power levelled a Witch Hunter to Rank 7 also.
I tried 3-boxing using a friend's Rune Priest, but I got my main laptop to crash everytime in form the group. I isolated the issue with a macro where I invited over 7 names. Some of the names are other alt characters in my accounts. Either I had too many people invited in the macro, or there was an empty line after the /invites. I had to reboot the machine around 10 when I gave up the 3-box. By the time I fixed the issue, I was back 2-boxing.
The power level of the Witch Hunter with a 22 Rune Priest tagging along was kinda ok. I got Chapter 1 and 2 influence--doing AoE with the Rune Priest versus Rank 4 mobs. In Empire Chapter 3, my Rune Priest died 3x before I gave up fighting a Rank 7 hero spider. What sucked was this mob created more normal Rank 7 spiderlings that ate at my Shield + 2x Heal Over Time, while I run out of Action Points to do damage. Plus the adds agro on the Witch Hunter that I had to spend time micro-managing heals and attacks.
I actually played a bit of DotA for some needed change of pace and fun. There is a new dota map 6.55b with 2 new heroes; and bigger map tweaking.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
WAR - Rank 20 - 28 Plans
I hit Rank 20 on Semihrage and Nynaeave 2 nights ago. I played a few T2 Mourkain Temple last night only.
I end up installing WAR on my 3rd computer, but does not run in portrait monitor mode, so I need to adjust my desktop arrangement again.
My plan is to get to Rank 22 via Mourkain Temple grind. Then I will work on doing PvE Influence gear in the low 20s until Rank 26 or 28 before I play in the T3 scenario.
10.09.2008 Plan Rank 20 - 28
Semihrage, Swordmaster
Gear Objective: Tanking
Gear Weight: Toughness (1.2) + Wounds + Initiative (0.75) + Weapon Skill (0.25)
Nynaeave, Rune Priest
Gear Objective: PvP Healing
Gear Weight: Will Power (1.2) + Toughness (1.1) + Wound + Initiative (0.9)
Rank 20
Highelf Ch 10
NPC: Cirribhir Strongwing @ Avelorn (north center)
(1) +3 Toughness Talisman
(2) - RP Boots
(3) - RP Gloves
(2) - SM Boots
(3) - SM Gloves
Rank 21
R21/RR14 - SM Boots
Rank 22
Empire Ch 11
NPC: Grizela Hirtzel @ Highpass (center, north-east, inside tower)
(1) +3 Strength / Willpower Talisman
(2) - RP Boots
(3) - RP Body
(2) - SM Boots
(3) - SM Shoulder
Rank 24
R24/RR16 - SM 1H Sword
Empire Ch 12
NPC: Konrad Riese @ Highpass (center, south, east)
(2) - RP Shoulder
(3) - RP junk
(2) - SM Gloves
(3) - SM Shield
Dwarf Ch 12
NPC: Varmir Proudrock @ Black Fire Pass (south-east, south)
(2) - RP junk
(3) - RP Staff
(2) - Shoulder
(3) - SM 2H Sword
Rank 25
R25/RR17 - SM Body
Rank 26
R26/RR18 - SM Boots
Dwarf Ch 13
NPC: Dunhilda Grodrikson @ The Badlands (center, north)
(2) - RP Cape
(3) - RP Helm
(2) - Cape
(3) - SM Helm
Rank 27
Highelf Ch 14
NPC: Menuhil Fargaze @ Saphery (south-east, east)
(2) - RP junk
(3) - RP Body
(3) - SM Boody
Dwarf Ch 14
NPC: Athran Ironbreard @ The Badlands (center, north-east, north)
(2) - RP Boots
(3) - RP Ring
(2) - SM Helm or Shoulder
(3) - SM 2H Sword or Ring
I end up installing WAR on my 3rd computer, but does not run in portrait monitor mode, so I need to adjust my desktop arrangement again.
My plan is to get to Rank 22 via Mourkain Temple grind. Then I will work on doing PvE Influence gear in the low 20s until Rank 26 or 28 before I play in the T3 scenario.
10.09.2008 Plan Rank 20 - 28
Semihrage, Swordmaster
Gear Objective: Tanking
Gear Weight: Toughness (1.2) + Wounds + Initiative (0.75) + Weapon Skill (0.25)
Nynaeave, Rune Priest
Gear Objective: PvP Healing
Gear Weight: Will Power (1.2) + Toughness (1.1) + Wound + Initiative (0.9)
Rank 20
Highelf Ch 10
NPC: Cirribhir Strongwing @ Avelorn (north center)
(1) +3 Toughness Talisman
(2) - RP Boots
(3) - RP Gloves
(2) - SM Boots
(3) - SM Gloves
Rank 21
R21/RR14 - SM Boots
Rank 22
Empire Ch 11
NPC: Grizela Hirtzel @ Highpass (center, north-east, inside tower)
(1) +3 Strength / Willpower Talisman
(2) - RP Boots
(3) - RP Body
(2) - SM Boots
(3) - SM Shoulder
Rank 24
R24/RR16 - SM 1H Sword
Empire Ch 12
NPC: Konrad Riese @ Highpass (center, south, east)
(2) - RP Shoulder
(3) - RP junk
(2) - SM Gloves
(3) - SM Shield
Dwarf Ch 12
NPC: Varmir Proudrock @ Black Fire Pass (south-east, south)
(2) - RP junk
(3) - RP Staff
(2) - Shoulder
(3) - SM 2H Sword
Rank 25
R25/RR17 - SM Body
Rank 26
R26/RR18 - SM Boots
Dwarf Ch 13
NPC: Dunhilda Grodrikson @ The Badlands (center, north)
(2) - RP Cape
(3) - RP Helm
(2) - Cape
(3) - SM Helm
Rank 27
Highelf Ch 14
NPC: Menuhil Fargaze @ Saphery (south-east, east)
(2) - RP junk
(3) - RP Body
(3) - SM Boody
Dwarf Ch 14
NPC: Athran Ironbreard @ The Badlands (center, north-east, north)
(2) - RP Boots
(3) - RP Ring
(2) - SM Helm or Shoulder
(3) - SM 2H Sword or Ring
Monday, October 6, 2008
WAR - Vortex Server
Well, it looks like The Cabal is staying in Vortex server, Order side for good.
I was feeling burnt out playing Ironbreaker + Rune Priest from beta, to Skull Throne, to Drakwald, and Azazel. So I was slow going in Vortex.
I actually started Rosie, a female dwarf IronBreaker with Rachelray a female dwarf Rune Priest for a non-commital test run in Votex to Rank 8 and 6. But when Vortex became official, I re-rolled to proper name characters.
So I then rolled Semihrage, a female high-elf Swordmaster with Moghedein, a femail high-elf Archmage. I got both of them to Rank 6. When I was not liking the Archmage's dynamics as a healer, I re-rolled Nynaeave, another female dwarf Rune Priest.
I think last Thursday, Semihrage was Rank 10 while Nynaeave was Rank 8. I then decided to grind Chapter 5 Influences until Nynaeave got to Rank 10.
Friday night and into Saturday, I got Nyna Eave to Rank 14, and Semihrage was Rank 16. When I let my son play for a bit, I solo played Semihrage into Rank 17.
On Sunday, I decided to solo play Nynaeave from Rank 14 to 18 solely on Morkain Temple T2 scenario. I then played a few games to get both to Rank 18.
I suppose I will push for Rank 20 this week just doing Morkain Temple. I am also thinking of grinding gear upgrades from Chapter 9 and 10 before hitting Rank 21.
I was feeling burnt out playing Ironbreaker + Rune Priest from beta, to Skull Throne, to Drakwald, and Azazel. So I was slow going in Vortex.
I actually started Rosie, a female dwarf IronBreaker with Rachelray a female dwarf Rune Priest for a non-commital test run in Votex to Rank 8 and 6. But when Vortex became official, I re-rolled to proper name characters.
So I then rolled Semihrage, a female high-elf Swordmaster with Moghedein, a femail high-elf Archmage. I got both of them to Rank 6. When I was not liking the Archmage's dynamics as a healer, I re-rolled Nynaeave, another female dwarf Rune Priest.
I think last Thursday, Semihrage was Rank 10 while Nynaeave was Rank 8. I then decided to grind Chapter 5 Influences until Nynaeave got to Rank 10.
Friday night and into Saturday, I got Nyna Eave to Rank 14, and Semihrage was Rank 16. When I let my son play for a bit, I solo played Semihrage into Rank 17.
On Sunday, I decided to solo play Nynaeave from Rank 14 to 18 solely on Morkain Temple T2 scenario. I then played a few games to get both to Rank 18.
I suppose I will push for Rank 20 this week just doing Morkain Temple. I am also thinking of grinding gear upgrades from Chapter 9 and 10 before hitting Rank 21.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
WAR - Sword Master
The Cabal, my guild moved and found a new server to play in. We're in Vortex playing Order.
As we goofed around last weekend testing out different servers for scenario queue times and server wait queue times, I made a female dwarf IB named Rosie and paired it with Rachelray, another female dwarf Rune Priest. I got them to Rank 8/7 but then when the guild announced that Vortex will be our home, I just had to reroll and not keep Rosie + Rachelray.
By this time, I felt burnt out playing IB, so I rolled Sword Master and Arch Mage combo. I'm not liking the Arch Mage for healing, so after Rank 6/5, I decided to re-roll a Rune Priest with my Sword Master.
Semihrage, Sword Master, Rank 10
Nynaeave, Rune Priest, Rank 9
Anyway, I wrote up a quick class review:
Rune Priests owns in healing bar none.
Rune Priest has the best means to spike/burst heals.
A Rune Priest can spec damage but it is still gimp damage, imo.
It sucks to solo as Rune Priest, and you will always hope there's a tank around to put Guard on you.
Ironbreaker is a solid tank class that can last in battle, and is capable to dish more damage the longer he's in the fight due to the Grudge mechanic.
There is no current mirror class for the IB, so he's a unique class for the Order.
The IB has more tools to protect one other character via Oath Friend mechanic. Abilities that increases Toughness, Armor, and Strength goes a long way for squishy class such as healers/casters.
Add the standard tank Guard ability, and some cc such as Snare, Knock Down, and Knock Back, an Ironbreaker + any healer can last.
Damage wise, Grudge points builds up during the fight to deal more damage. One of the most damaging combo is stripping the target's Armor by 75%, using an ability that ignores armor, and Taunt which does 30% damage for a few seconds.
Sword Masters is another tank but I did not play this class higher in the teens. From reading the SM's abilities, the mechanic revolved around stripping Spirit Resistance and dealing Spirit damage to a lot of targets.
The fighting mechanics on the SM is chain-based abilties, meaning Hit 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd finisher.
I'm currently playing the SM now after rolling 2 IBs in the mid teens, and one up to Rank 20. I can tell that the SM does more damage from the combo "chains" abilities.
At Tier 1 levels, I can mow down a squishy faster with a SM than I could with the IB simply because the combo chain does more damage, while the IB's early ability are more buffing (+Toughness, +Strength, +Armor) and a Grudge that does some Dot.
Warrior Priest I played back in beta and it looked good on paper to be paired with an Iron Breaker. The extra buffs from the IB's Oath Friend mechanic helps the Warrior Priest stay in battle so that his Heal Over Time works.
From my little experience with WP, being able to swing in battle allows you to use your damage and healing abilities most efficiently. But without a shield, a WP cannot last long in focus fire in the front lines.
A WP uses either a 2H Hammer, or a 1H with a book. The damage and healing abilities mirror the Disciple of Khaine, but the DoK dual wields.
As we goofed around last weekend testing out different servers for scenario queue times and server wait queue times, I made a female dwarf IB named Rosie and paired it with Rachelray, another female dwarf Rune Priest. I got them to Rank 8/7 but then when the guild announced that Vortex will be our home, I just had to reroll and not keep Rosie + Rachelray.
By this time, I felt burnt out playing IB, so I rolled Sword Master and Arch Mage combo. I'm not liking the Arch Mage for healing, so after Rank 6/5, I decided to re-roll a Rune Priest with my Sword Master.
Semihrage, Sword Master, Rank 10
Nynaeave, Rune Priest, Rank 9
Anyway, I wrote up a quick class review:
Rune Priests owns in healing bar none.
Rune Priest has the best means to spike/burst heals.
A Rune Priest can spec damage but it is still gimp damage, imo.
It sucks to solo as Rune Priest, and you will always hope there's a tank around to put Guard on you.
Ironbreaker is a solid tank class that can last in battle, and is capable to dish more damage the longer he's in the fight due to the Grudge mechanic.
There is no current mirror class for the IB, so he's a unique class for the Order.
The IB has more tools to protect one other character via Oath Friend mechanic. Abilities that increases Toughness, Armor, and Strength goes a long way for squishy class such as healers/casters.
Add the standard tank Guard ability, and some cc such as Snare, Knock Down, and Knock Back, an Ironbreaker + any healer can last.
Damage wise, Grudge points builds up during the fight to deal more damage. One of the most damaging combo is stripping the target's Armor by 75%, using an ability that ignores armor, and Taunt which does 30% damage for a few seconds.
Sword Masters is another tank but I did not play this class higher in the teens. From reading the SM's abilities, the mechanic revolved around stripping Spirit Resistance and dealing Spirit damage to a lot of targets.
The fighting mechanics on the SM is chain-based abilties, meaning Hit 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd finisher.
I'm currently playing the SM now after rolling 2 IBs in the mid teens, and one up to Rank 20. I can tell that the SM does more damage from the combo "chains" abilities.
At Tier 1 levels, I can mow down a squishy faster with a SM than I could with the IB simply because the combo chain does more damage, while the IB's early ability are more buffing (+Toughness, +Strength, +Armor) and a Grudge that does some Dot.
Warrior Priest I played back in beta and it looked good on paper to be paired with an Iron Breaker. The extra buffs from the IB's Oath Friend mechanic helps the Warrior Priest stay in battle so that his Heal Over Time works.
From my little experience with WP, being able to swing in battle allows you to use your damage and healing abilities most efficiently. But without a shield, a WP cannot last long in focus fire in the front lines.
A WP uses either a 2H Hammer, or a 1H with a book. The damage and healing abilities mirror the Disciple of Khaine, but the DoK dual wields.
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