Friday, September 12, 2008

My take on tank (tékohntanc?) and blabla

Being semi bored I'll just go blabla
I haven't tried the Black orc but did the 2 others on the order side. Basically by lvl 4 you usually have the mecanic of the class u use it seems. (time will tell if it changes at lvl 12 by much but seeing from the screens showing for each tree what ability it affects I sort of doubt it)

Chosen: Basically you have some abilities u use to hit and some that are auras. You can only use one aura at a time, however they stay 12s after u switch to another aura. So if you spend time switching u could have 2 at the same time. On paper it sounded good and usefull.
In reality it takes 1 second or so to cast, and u'd need to count time or amount of click to be really efficient with it. Basically I usually pick one aura then fight. If the fight longers I'll click on a second one after a few but you can focus on everything (esp that some doesn't stay, like the taunt) So: usefull in pve if worked with (but not tide turning) and almost useless in pvp cuz it's already hard to run around people and hit them.
It seems the Ironbreaker is sort of the same except that he just uses buffs instead of auras. But in the end it's just mash all the buttons u want/can when u can catch something.
Right now the tank seems to have a good survival (but is it really usefull?) in rvr and a very good one in 1v1 pvp, it's also usefull on some public quests (although sometime you spend the whole pq fighting and still manage to rank 7 or so only because u don't do much dps) but well...doesn't make it fun. It's really a boring class compared to the pro active combat from aoc, combat feels slow and not tactical at all. I'm not sure we need a balanced group like in aoc. Maybe a full dps group would be deadlier (when u see how kanu manages to kos everything on its way and survive :)).

Sorceress: I love it for two reasons: huge dps and ability to do even more :D. (u just need to manage your aggro but u get a detaunt etc...really lovely class)
It's a system I like, every hit/spell u make will fill up a gauge. When the gauge is maxed you use it to unleash an even more powerful skill. You don't have to wait for the gauge to be maxed out to use it but it's better of course. The Witch Hunter uses the same system but only with cc hits (so only hits you do with your sword counts, you need to do 5 hits to fill the gauge then can do a special pistol shot.)
Of course if you don't use your gauge it'll deplete (little by little for sorceress, completely for with hunter). I like the system because it brings a little change in the button mashing and it also allows you to plan ahead (yes I use the gauge now or not, if I do 2 hits now I can start shooting the next mob with a big hit) etc...
Right now those two classes are my favorite simply due to that system (and the fact that they aren't ugly)
Problem: Witch hunter doesn't deal as much dps as the sorceress, his pistol shot is very weak and it's really a cc class with the problems attached (running after people in pvp, no aoe) so in the end you're not ranked well in pq/pvp (I suspect it'll change for pvp once u get stealth, but am not really a stealth boy :/)

I also tried a few other classes:
The elven archmage is a mix of a healer and a mage. Problem is that I failed to see any specific mechanic to it.
The Warrior Priest is nice but he really does little to no dps. Fights last ages with him and I really don't feel like healing much (and by lvl 4-5 he already has 2 heals). I mean it's cool when u can heal yourself it's less cool when the responsibility on the group falls on your shoulder and YOU CANNOT FAIL O_O. ouch ehhe;) esp that targeting in the game isn't that easy (all kanu's fault for being so small ;) )

Finally the swordmaster: well I sort of like him because he builds up (a bit like black orc if I understood well) so basically u need to push 1 to get to 2 and then you can click 3. In pvp you just go 123,123,123.
Only thing that made if better for me is that the moves felt more natural and flowing (animations). It's still very basic but his dps aren't that bad (with 2h)

Oh I tried the white lion a little bit too but well, the pet almost never stays next to u (on aggressive he attacks everything even other people mobs, when u click attack he doesn't do anything so you're forced to have him on defense/follow and I fail to see the real point of him. esp that in pvp they seem rather weak) so I didn't feel like trying it more. Haven't been really pleased by the cc approach again.

I Know blinky likes the goblin shaman, nice dps and heals. She liked the witch elf too but it's cc so if it's ok in pve its running around people in pvp and she doesn't like that much.

Oh and funny thing on the Karak Norn server we created the order chars on it seems that the order is winning the fight lol. (there are tons of elves running around) so it seems that population is getting even on some servers.

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