Altophiles Anonymous: A T1 Alt for all Seasons (Part 2)

Hello, my name is Ysharros and I’m an altoholic. By now, I’m sure you know the drill.

Many careers in WAR take a little while to mature, and going at least to Rank 10 is helpful if you think you like a career but you’re not entirely sure. What may seem underpowered at 3 can change quite drastically by 8 or 11, and a lot of the “core” abilities are handed out right around 7-11–such as taunts (or detaunts), Guard for tanks, stealth for Witch Hunters and Witch Elves, and so on.

I was finally able to take a few *cough* of my other alts to 10 in the last few days, which while technically not exactly all the way through tier 1, is still within spitting distance. Joining the ranks of the other alts whose path through T1 I previously described, this week we have Misericorde the Witch Hunter, Incendia the Bright Wizard, and Meabh the Ironbreaker. I should have made a Rune Priest and then I’d have had all four archetypes, but even I have only so much alt-stamina in me. Even so, those three characters were an interesting contrast to each other.

Misericorde, Witch Hunter and Dedicated Follower of Fashion

There’s something about Witch Hunters that screams “ultra-cool!” Just as well, too, since Order needs all the cool it can get to counterbalance those metal-encased Chosen and emo yet spikily attractive dark elves. Even Zealots have a strange allure…in the right light…okay, maybe it’s just me. Anyway, Order needs more cool, and Witch Hunters have it in spades.

What they don’t have much of is survivability, especially in the first few levels, but that’s counterbalanced by the nasty amounts of damage they can do. If you play a witch hunter, expect to be dead a lot, and expect to be chased a lot; on the bright side, you’ll do just as much killing and chasing. By R10, witch hunters have the snaring shot (only from behind now, sadly), a stackable DoT, a couple of Executions (which to my mind remain a little underpowered in the wake of the end-of-beta damage reduction), and a positional armor-ignoring stab that will make grown Chosen cry…right before they die. For added coolness, that Torment stab has a great lunge animation.

One thing all budding Witch Hunters (and Witch Elves, who share the mechanic) should know is that while it’s usually better to use your Executions (finishing moves) only when you have all 5 accusations stacked, sometimes it pays to use them sooner. Witch Hunters get buffs that will proc on Executions regardless of how many Accusations you have, so you can use them to debuff the enemy and buff yourself. By R10 WHs have 2 such buffs to choose from, one of which steals/restores action points while the other steals Initiative (a very, very handy stat for WHs).

Witch Hunter is one of those careers that takes skill and support to play really well. A little healing goes an incredibly long way given that the Witch Hunter needs to mix it up in melee but only gets light armor. Two Witch Hunters on a target, with or without healing support, is sheer heretic-burning joy; and WH + tank means you can cheerfully carve the kidneys out of enemies while the tank takes the damage. Then again, I have’t met a duo combination in WAR that I don’t like, in PvE or RvR.

So far, the biggest issue I’ve had with my witch hunters (and I’ve had it since beta) is managing my action pool. All those lovely snickety-snacky abilities are easily spammable, but doing so is costly and ultimately counter-productive… though I did once, somehow, kill a Marauder before he killed me just by getting really mad (I was already almost dead when he reached me) and mashing every action key I had, at once. He must have been having a bad day, or there was a Bright Wizard watching over me. A Witch Hunter with no AP is nothing more than a target dummy in really tight suede breeches–pretty, but soon to be dead.

All in all, Witch Hunters are huge fun: fast-paced, nice damage, good looks. Plus, they’re teaching me to play smart, because there’s a very small gap between “kick-ass heretic burner” and “dead heretic-burner,” and that’ll help with all my other characters.

Incendia the Bright Wizard

First off, if you can’t find a fire-based name, you’re nothing! (Okay, I’m kidding. Besides, most of them are already taken.) Secondly, whatever name you have, prepare to do ridiculously high amounts of damage. Bright Wizards already have a reputation as overpowered walking flamethrowers, and I’m not sure it’s entirely undeserved. The downside, of course, is that you’re also walking around with a giant KILL ME! sign over your head.

The thing with flavor-of-the-month careers in WAR is that their popularity actually seems to be deserved–though in my opinion there are no bad classes in WAR, just classes that suit a given player’s style more or less closely. Bright Wizards are no exception.

For one, they are really, really easy to play. Wind up, PHWOOMPH!, dead enemy; if that isn’t enough, throw a DoT or a slightly quicker damage spell (the really big one having a 3 second cast time). If they’re not broiled to perfection by then, you probably pulled a champion mob and didn’t notice.

By R10, Bright Wizards already have a versatile arsenal: direct damage at huge range, a couple of DoTs (one of which debuffs), a self-based AoE and one you can use at a distance, because you can never have too much damage, a buff, a hex-remover, and an AoE root. If that sounds pretty gross…it is.

I won’t even go into PvE because like I said, the only time you may get into slight trouble is if you pull a champ-type mob without looking. Adds can get nasty, of course, but even those aren’t too much of a hassle if the fire cage works as it should.

RvR is another matter. For one, the career appears to pull in every last–how do I put this tactfully?–trigger-happy moron (is that tactful?) who ever bought a WAR subscription. Which, given the kablooie-factor of the class, is probably not surprising. Also, while Bright Wizards are easy to make, like every other class it takes skill to play one really well. If you blast away like a maniac, the combustion mechanic which increases crit chances and damage will eventually kill you; and here’s a tip: if you can’t manage your own combustion (and it’s not that hard) to stay alive while doing damage, don’t whine about not being healed. That’s probably what steams me the most about BWs: yes, having more combustion means more damage for your side, but there are half a dozen other classes out there who also need healing and playing nursemaid to wacky-haired pyromaniacs is not a healer’s primary objective, nor should it be.

Like their mirror-mechanic Sorceresses, Bright Wizards need to walk the fine line between doing disgusting amounts of damage and blowing themselves up. This is partly why you’ll see BWs repeatedly spamming their AOE when out of combat: it builds quick combustion which pumps up crit chances and can lead to some embarrassingly quick deaths for the opposition. It’s also why you’ll see smart BWs who: keep an eye on healers who may return the favor; avoid the front lines where possible (really, Big Damage won’t save you from a determined posse of…anything); thin out any attempted incursions past their own front line; and take out any squishy foolish enough to get within fireball range.

Playing a Bright Wizard well is about more than just winding up those fireballs. And, as with any other class in WAR, learning how to play them well is a mixture of fun and frustration. The idea is not to top the scenario damage charts, which is hard to avoid when you’re a BW; it’s to play well with the rest of your side. A cooperative BW is a pleasure. A whiny self-explody one is just a drag on the whole side.

Meabh the Ironbreaker

Originally intended as a partner for hubby’s Witch Hunter, Meabh (”Mayv,” for those who were wondering) ended up being the meatshield for his Shadow Warrior instead–the point being, Ironbreakers really, really need to be teamed up with someone. Their entire mechanic is based on protecting that special buddy (even if it’s just for one scenario), and getting ear-steamingly pissed when anyone hurts said special buddy. The only thing an Ironbreaker takes more seriously than grudges is beer. Beer and grudges is what Saturday nights are all about.

The basic Ironbreaker mechanic is based around getting hit. Ironbreakers not only accept getting hit, they want it, they demand it, and they thrive on it. Taking a beating increases an Ironbreaker’s Grudge-meter, which makes that IB more effective and gives access to a number of Grudge-based abilities, some of which will reduce Grudge by a certain amount when used. Very early on an IB can already increase her armor, increase her toughness, strength and willpower (all of which also affect the oath-friend if they’re in range), deal out several different DoTs (one of which snares), taunt and guard like all tanks, and knock opponents flat on a successful block (requires shield).

Ironbreakers may not look as mean and intimidating as Chosen or Black Orcs but, like Swordmasters, underestimating one will usually end badly for the opposition. A charging Ironbreaker can wreak havoc on the enemy squishy lines, even without burst damage, simply because they’re just as hard to kill as any other tank, while on the defensive line they can be infuriatingly hard to budge. The oath-friend mechanic provides helpful buffs and survivability for both partners involved, and will benefit anyone on the home team. You can play things even more cleverly once you get Guard, by Oath-friending a not-quite-squishy on or near the front line to help boost your grudge and share your buffs and Guarding a different team-mate who could benefit from the damage-sharing and hate reduction (healers are, of course, great candidates for this, but so are ranged DPS).

This may sound a little tired by now, but again… playing an Ironbreaker well takes skill and skill takes practice. Tanks are so hard to hurt that playing them is easy, even in RvR…but playing one to the fullest extent of their abilities takes foresight, tactical vision, and a little dedication. Tanks have got the short end of the stick in many other games, but in WAR they’re an integral and irreplaceable part of the Army, even if they’re not as glamorous or visible as some of the other classes. The only thing that really bothers me about playing one is how little recognition the scenario and PQ mechanics give to tanks who do their jobs: if you’re going to make damage soaking and protection meaningful, which WAR does, then you should pair that with accurate damage-soaking recognition in the game systems.

If you’ve read this far, congratulations–you’re either an altoholic already, or you will be one just as soon as this Mind Control article is over. See you next week!