(Black Orc) Da Best Plan: Reloaded

Hello again fellow WARheads. I am back, bringing Bartlebee the Black Orc for a second write-up on his later levels of development. At this point, as most people who have rolled the career already know, Black Orcs are a mighty force to be reckoned with, no matter what their mastery specialization. This article will focus on my personal experiences with the Black Orc at higher levels (through level 37) as well as some possible mastery builds for those inquisitive minds.

Throughout Tier 3 and Tier 4, I was increasingly pleased with the Black Orc’s progress in PvE encounters. At my current rank, 37, I can successful solo a champion mob that is at least 2 ranks higher than me, no potions required. I can take on at least 4 normal mobs with a sword/shield out or a 2-handed weapon. It feels as if there is nothing that I can’t accomplish by myself, in terms of quests.

Personally, I feel like a sword/shield combo is the most effective PvE choice for the Black Orc. He can take a tremendous amount of punishment, generate an extremely high block percentage, and still kill mobs at a quick pace.

Here are some possible builds for an easy PvE experience. I will list the mastery points spent in a x/y/z fashion for the respective trees of Brawler, Toughest, and Greenest. I will then give commentary on which abilities I chose and why.

18/7/0

Sword and Shield damage dealer. Tough and dangerous.

Da Brawler Skills

Keep it Goin’: A great, strong tactic that makes a huge difference in PvE encounter. You can use the AoE effect of Big Slash to knock mobs down, as well as kill many of them at once. This tactic turns a good skill into an amazing one.

Gork Smash: This is a strong tactic that will greatly decrease your time to kill from mob to mob. Using a sword/shield is time consuming unless you have some abilities that can bring some damage to the table. This tactic certainly will.

T’ree Hit Combo: This is your bread and butter damage dealing ability. This is an important part to any finishing combo set. Due to its 20 second cooldown, it is good to have a few others on the tool bar at the same time. Skull Thumper and Savin’ Me Hide should work just fine to both deal damage and keep you nice and sturdy.

Da Toughest Skills

Less Stabbin’ Me: Having a high block rate makes all the difference in easy leveling. Blocking in this game is a mind bogglingly useful ability to have. You can block anything from melee attacks to spells to DoT abilities. With a high block rate, you can negate any sort of incoming, threatening attacks. A no-brainier.

Ya Missed Me: This is a useful opener to have on your toolbar. Being undefendable and reducing the physical damage a mob deals is extremely useful. Seeing as how almost all mobs resort to wacking you with their weapon once you get up close, making sure they deal 20% less damage to you is worth its weight in gold.

Tactics Used

Keep It Goin’, Gork Smash, Less Stabbin’ Me, Good Wif Shield: This set up should lend you an extremely high block rate as well as allow you to shell out some serious damage once you get rolling.

0-7-18

Group buffing battle tank. A front line defender and invaluable team player.

Da Toughest Skills

Same as above.

Da Greenest Skills

We’z Bigger: This is a great ability for any Black Orc to have if he plans on traveling with groups and fighting in organized parties. This ability is a nice transitional skill on any combo lineup and has the obvious benefit of helping all group members with a hefty armor buff. On top of dealing decent damage by itself, it is a wonderful skill to have that your groupmates will thank you for. Whats good for them is good for you!

Rock ‘Ard: This is an ability that I believe it underestimated. Tossing up a protective shield around you every 10 seconds that protects against incoming damage is a great proc. If you keep it in constant use, having a shield up whenever the cooldown pops, the damage that is absorbed will truly add up. Remember, this build is all about keeping you alive so you can take down that boss monster or weather all of the incoming enemy fireballs that will lead your team to victory.

No Choppin’ Me: This build is also about buffing your group, as well as yourself, so you can all charge to victory together, alive and well. This ability is a great one to pick up. Seeing as how Follow Me Lead is one of the best openers in the game and should be in constant use, spreading its wonderful buff to your teammates makes it solid gold.

WAAAAAAAGH!: This is an amazing ability to have in any situation. Aside from doing decent AoE corporal damage, it also has an added benefit of helping your teammates do more corporal damage. With only a 5 second cooldown to boot, this is an amazing choice for any Black Orc looking to enable victory for his team.

Tactics Used

Less Stabbin’ Me, Good Wif Shield, No Choppin’ Me, Rugged: This setup is focused on keeping you alive under any amount of enemy pressure. It gives you a solid block rate, helps you buff you teammates, and makes you tough as nails.

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These are just two possible builds for the Black Orc that are sure to lead to positive results. He has so many useful skills and tactics that the possibilities are nearly limitless. As anyone can see, I am a big supporter of using a shield and acquiring the highest block rate possible, and these builds reflect that. Both of them can be modified with any of the other useful skills the Black Orc possess.

I hope you found something interesting in this article or found it enlightening. To all the Black Orcs out there, happy hunting and keep up the good fight. Waaagh!