Scenario XP/RP Guide

Many players wonder how exactly the Renown Points and Experience is awarded in scenarios, and for a good reason. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try you get low XP/RP, while other times you'll enter the scenario halfway through, throw a couple of heals and get the most XP. This quick guide should answer some of your questions and teach you how to get more XP and RP. It's written with a Runepriest in mind, but most of the tactics can be used by any career.

I'm going to keep this short and simple, as there is a lot of misconceptions about how these two values are calculated. I gathered this data through testing and playing over 250 scenarios and accumulating around 11,000 RvR kills on a Runepriest! For the classes I list, assume the true is the same for the Destruction equivs. I am a Runepriest, so I will post some of my general farming tips and strategies for that class.

I've joined a match with only 7 minutes left to go, only to have 1,500 more Renown then anyone else in the entire match. I've joined matches late and earned the most RP/XP out of everyone in the scenario. Farming XP/RP is pretty straight forward, there is no complex math involved or crazy weird mechanics for calculating it. After reading this, you should be able to go out there and maximize your farmtr0n.

Experience Breakdown:

Experience (XP) is gained through kills and kills only. You do not gain XP for doing objectives, healing people, or damaging them. You gain much more XP for getting the killing blow, and even more XP if you get a solo kill.

To get a 'kill', you either need to be near the person when someone in your Team kills them, OR, you kill them, OR, you need to 'tag' them for death, aka, do any amount of damage to them atleast once. When they die, even if it's 10 minutes later, you will be credited for the kill. If you're a Runepriest, it's important to lay some of your crappy dots, or AoE dot, on enemies, just to 'tag' them for kills. By doing this as an RP, you can easily tie the lead for kills on your team, despite not really doing anything to anyone.

XP is ratio'd to your level. The higher level you are, the more XP you'll get out of the final XP pool for your team (more on this later). So if you find yourself 'doing' better then other players in your scenario but getting less XP, it's probably because they were 1) higher level then you, or 2) in a better team then you which earned more pool XP.

You also gain a Win XP bonus at the end. Currently a Tier 3 Win gives me 8,500 XP. I do not know the rates for the other Tiers.

Renown Breakdown:

Renown (RP) is gained by getting kills, killing people, and solo-killing people. You also gain it through healing people other then yourself. The general forumula for Renown from heals is the amount you healed the player for divided by 100 (rounded down). So if you heal someone for 370, you will get a +3 RP update. So if you are a Runepriest, having HoT's all over the place is pretty important for farming Renown. If someone falls into the lava, thank whoever knocked them there, and then spend all your AP healing them with Grungi's Gift untill they die. You'll get quite the RP for it, I promise

Much like XP, Renown is pooled for your team and split between you at the end of the match. It is not scaled to your level, so if you are low level, you can still farm high amounts of RP and beat out high levels on the final score chart.

You also gain a Win RP bonus at the end. Currently a Tier 3 Win gives me 600 RP. I do not know the rates for the other Tiers.

Team Breakdown (IMPORTANT):

Experience (XP) and Renown (RP) is shared with your team. If you play in your own team, you keep all the xp/rp you earn. If you suck at earning xp/rp, you'll want to join a team with xp/rp farmers (Runepriests & Brightwizards). If you are a Runepriest or Brightwizard, you probably will want to be in your very own team. Runepriests can't kill anyone, so you'll get crap XP, but you'll get the most Renown out of any class. My RP can farm 4,000 RP in a scenario, but I'll usually get less then 2,000 XP! My friends Brightwizard can farm 20,000 XP in a scenario, and also farm 4,000 RP as well. BW's are the scenario farming champs if they go solo, however, this is only true if they have a dedicated Runepriest in another team healing them.

Remember, everything you earn is shared with your team, and everything they earn is shared with you. If you are on a team and you are the best player in terms of earnings, this will work to your disadvantage. If you are a Brightwizard or Runepriests, try to get on to teams with other BW's and RP's. If you're on a team with nothing but tanks and melee, and they're higher level then you, they'll get 80% of everything you earn, leaving you with nothing much to brag about.

There are 5 teams available to join during a match. You can change teams at any time during the match by click on the White Flag button on your screen. You're usually put on Team 1 or 2, sometimes 3 if it's a full match (most players I've seen is 18 per side, aka 3 teams of 6 players per side). If you want to try solo, leave your Team and join an empty one like Team 4 or Team 5.

And that about wraps up the guide. To farm high XP/RP, you generally need to run strats different then strats needed to win the match, so you will need to find a nice balance between maximum farm-mode and win-mode, as winning in itself gives huge XP/RP bonuses. So don't exactly throw a match just to farm a bit of XP or RP, as it'll not be close to the bonuses you get from winning. However, if you already are going to lose, might as well stop playing to win and start playing to farm.

Thanks to Kuntz for sharing this! If you're looking for an awesome Warhammer strategy guide, check out Goblin's guide.

Shaman PvP Guide

This guide took a lot longer then I expected, I figured about a week, however it has been about two weeks. I wanted to make sure I did not make any mistakes with the Shaman as I am not heal spec'ed like most people believe I should be.

The first thing I wanted to make sure of before writing a guide is that I was at least in tier three, this is easily made with the Shaman, as he is almost in tier four:

I also wanted enough actual PvP experience, so my second goal was to participate in at least 1k kills, since I am approaching 3k that was no problem at all:

The Good:

Extremely versatile class, switching damage dealing to full healer in the switch of slotted tactics. Decent survivability for a healing class. The ability to leech AP really extends the power that the class can deal, either by healing or damage dealing.

The Bad:

While I can deal out decent healing, I cannot even think about coming close to a virgin heal spec'ed Zealot, I believe this would still be true even if I went with a virgin heal build on the Shaman.

The Ugly:

Face it, you are a goblin! There are only two Goblin classes in WAR, healer and ranged DPS, both of these are prime targets for enemy players. When they see a Goblin, they look for a staff or bow and react accordingly. The only class that gets more focus fired upon then my Shaman is my WE. When you notice your front line starting to collapse, you need to MOVE ASAP.

Decent Skills:

'Ere we Go' = Adds damage to your groups next attack. This is probably the skill that I really need to use more of, instant and useful. If you are in "heal mode" and you have no targets that need healed, this is the first spell you should fire off.(Assuming you are in a full group)

Yer not so bad = Leeches your current target for AP and gives that AP to yourself. Awesome skill here with a short cool down. You should pop this anytime your AP gets close to 50%, and then just mana burn.(I guess in WAR mana burn would actually be "AP burn")

Brain Bursta = this is your staple damage spell, nothing special however, it is mostly used in PvE.

Big Waaagh = This has a short cool down and should be one of your second most used spells anytime you are in "damage mode" in PvP.

Life Leaka = instant and modified by a slotted tactic ability in damage mode. At level 29 the tactic removes 150 Willpower and 150 Intelligence for 15 seconds. Useful against healers and nukers, if they are not attacking you they are attacking your teammates, so it is always useful.

Bunch o' Waaagh = Channeled damage, this is my "thought you could run" spell. I always use this when my target has 20% or less of their health. Usually noob players(Yes, there are a decent amount of noobs or unskilled players in PvP in tier three) always try to run away way too late.

Da Waaagh is coming = this attacks acts like a "chain lighting" attack in Diablo 2. Hits one target then branches out to hit two more and branches one other time to hit yet another two targets. ONLY use this when you are hitting someone that has 4-6 people around them. It is an extremely inefficient spell if you only have one target that is alone.

Eeeek = Knocks back EVERYONE within it's range, and also knocks you in a random direction. Awesome ability, however it will cost you your life if used often in places like Tor Anroc.(It is still usually worth it however) You cannot predict which direction you will be knocked in, however you will know where your enemies are going. If you line up face to face they will be knocked straight back, line up to their left and they will be knocked back far to their right. Think of you as a "gallon of water", when you click the ability the "gallon" hits the surface of the water and a wave goes out, originating in the middle, that "wave" is your knock-back and is exactly how this spell works.

Mork's Buffer = This is an hour long buff that adds to all resists for an hour,(For your whole group) you really need to get in the habit of using this automatically anytime after you die and are brought back to life.

Gather Round = What "seems" to be a lobie group heal. Costs a really expensive 65 AP! I have noticed however then when slotted for healing,(tactics = Plus to WP and plus to % to crit heal) it does a very decent heal, as much as 250% of the heal listed in the tooltip. Using this spell if you are damage spec'ed is a total waste.

Bigger, Better, An' Greener = greatly interruptible direct heal spell. You really will not use this a lot. You should use your shield and your big HOT, before this is even thought about. The ability bar does get knocked back quite a bit if you take any damage while trying to use this ability.

Bleed Fer' Me = instant, 24 second low damage DOT spell, however it does heal your defensive target for the full amount. I only use this if I know the enemy target is going to be alive for awhile.(Such as a tank class) It does help quite a bit if you have already used your shield and big HOT, and you are under attack. Of course if you are not under attack, simply use "Bigger, Better, An' Greener".

Gork'll Fix It = A small direct heal with a little better HOT for 9 seconds. Use this instead of "Bigger, Better, An' Greener", if you are under attack.

'Ey, Quit Bleedin = a 30 AP spell that heals for 1130 over 15 seconds at level 29. This will be your most used spell, whether you are healing or doing damage. If you are tactic slotted for healing, this will do an average of about 1500 over 15 seconds making it heal 100 health every second on average.

Don't Feel Nothing = instant shield that mitigates 500 damage at level 29. Another very commonly used ability.

General Notes:

I really have two "modes" for my Shaman, I must choose one before I enter PvP. I either choose "damage mode" or "healing mode". If in damage mode I slot "Divine Fury"(Adds 25% more damage at the cost of 20% of your healing power) and "Leaky Brainz".(Life Leaka will now also reduce your target's WP and INT by 150 for 15 seconds) If I am in healing mode I slot "Discipline" (Raises WP by 116) and "Extra Special Mushrooms".(Raises your chance to crit heal by 10%)

As I have said before I was a little concerned that by doing a damage build, I would actually greatly gimp my healing abilities, this turned out to be incorrect. A Zealot, spec'ing in healing and being a dedicated healer in a PvP scenario usually averages between 70k and 100k in healing. Being damage spec'ed and entering a PvP scenario slotted for healing and with nothing on my mind but healing, I usually average between 40k and 60k in healing.(Not as good as a Zealot, but certainly not gimped.)

Since I am a "must win at any cost" type of player, sometimes I find myself in a PvP scenario where I must continuously utilize my abilities, such as running up to the Order and Eeeek'ing them, forcing them to take a lava bath.(In Tor Anroc) Since I am not a noob and know how to play my class, I can also use my Shaman as a utility toon such as flag/bauble holder. I try to do what the team needs to win, whether it is healing, damage, or utility.

Magus Builds

We are going to go with a mid-range build here. Your three top stats will be:

• Intelligence = adds to magic damage


• Wounds = adds to hit points


• Willpower = adds to "chance to disrupt" enemy spells

The 25 points will be placed as follows: (There will be a few extra points awarded for RvR, however we will not use them here)

15 in "Changing"
Buy the following skills in the Changing tree for one point each:

• Seed of Chaos


• Endless Pandemonium


• Indigo Fire of Change


• Wild Changing


• Dissolving Mist


• Daemonic Scream

Skills in the tree you do not buy: "Infernal Pain".

The last 4 points will be put in "Daemonology". Any additional points should also be placed in "Daemonology", In this tree you want to pick up the "Chaotic Attunement" skill for one point.

80 RvR points to be placed in:

• Acumen level 1 = 1 point


• Acumen level 2 = 3 points


• Acumen level 3 = 6 points


• Acumen level 4 = 10 points


• Acumen level 5 = 14 points

• Resolve level 1 = 1 point


• Resolve level 2 = 3 points

• Sage level 1 = 2 points


• Sage level 2 = 4 points


• Sage level 3 = 6 points

• Focused Power level 1 = 5 points


• Focused Power level 2 = 10 points


• Focused Power level 3 = 15 points

This was rather a difficult build for me as I wanted to go short range, however the survivability was just not there in PvP. If I wanted long range DPS I would play a Sorc, so I took the middle road with this build.

Here are the planned active morale skills:

• Level 1 = Mage Bolt


• Level 2 = Roiling Winds


• Level 3 = Scintillating Energy


• Level 4 = Daemonic Scream

Slotted Tactics can be changed "on the fly", as long as you are not in combat. Since there are 5 quick slots available, I would change each group depending on what situation you are in. One for PvP Group, one for PvP Solo, one for PvE Group, and one for PvE solo. Here is my choice for a "PvP Group":

• Chaotic Attunement


• Endless Pandemonium


• Devour Energy


• Wild Changing

Build Strength:

Very decent PvP utility abilities

In a PvP group you will really help out here with this mid-range build, and since it is medium range, you will have a little better survival rate then a short range build. Instantly summoning pets,(Taking time to summon pets in PvP really kicks me in the butt) the knock back of Warping Blast, the 50% chance to freely instantly reapply Pandemonium, and Indigo Fire of Change(if you kill an enemy with this, they become a daemon and attack their own kind for 30 seconds) all bring quite a bit of utility to this Magus in PvP. This is not going to be as easy to play as some other classes, however the extra power and utility are worth it if you have the patience to learn the class.


Build Weakness:

It has a sharper learning curve then other classes, especially with a build like this.(You cannot just sit back and spam click two or three buttons.) You are still a paper wearing class so you CANNOT allow melee classes to close with you.

Witch Elf Career Overview

The Witch Elf dances with death, wielding her two daggers with an ease borne of ultimate confidence and her faith in Khaine. Don't get to close, as those blades bite with more than just their sharpened edge. This lady carries with her deadly poisons that she applies in battle, weakening the enemy's defenses and boiling his blood. Before he knows she is there, she emerges from the shadows and inflicts multiple debilitating wounds.

The longer she fights, the better she becomes as she builds up a pool of Blood Lust. The more Blood Lust she holds, the more damage her attacks deal out as she focuses her strength in one giant blow. Always on the move, looking for any weakness in the enemy's defenses, the Witch Elf never stands still.

Strengths:

• Quick and penetrating damage


• Attacks have potential to ignore armor


• Stealthed movement and sneak attacks

Weaknesses:

• Action Points pool runs out quickly


• Light armor means battles must end quickly


• Heavily dependent on potions

PvE Overview
A Witch Elf is an expert in quick and dirty fighting. Her poisons are her strength, and often several different Damage Over Time abilities can stack to more effectively eat away at the enemy's health. One on One battles should be chosen carefully. A Witch Elf will need to be able to kill the target quickly, or risk taking more damage than her Light (almost nothing!) Armor can protect her from. She will always be using her Action Points pool, and as such will want to carry yellow potions to replenish them quickly, along with health restorers for the longer fights.

RvR Overview
The Witch Elf shines in a group attack. With another to hold the attention of their foes, she is free to move behind the forces of Order, utilizing her strongest abilities from behind. Her expertise with poisons and debuffs creates vulnerabilities that her warband can take advantage of. She benefits her comrades further with her ability to severe a magic user's connection to their magic, and with a skill to regenerate the group's Action Points. With no specific taunts and Light Armor besides, the Witch Elf's place is to aid the tank.

Witch Elf Mastery Paths
Path of Carnage: The Path of Carnage is mainly concerned with quickly and directly slaughtering anything that presents itself to the Witch Elf. Eschewing subtlety, a specialist in this path prefers to confront her enemies face-to-face...or at least, face-to-what's-left-of-their-face.

Path of Suffering: The Path of Suffering focuses more on effects that linger for some time, and a master in this path takes pleasure in leading her victims into a false sense of security. While her attacks may not seem dangerous at first, it's only moments later that the Witch Elf's enemy suddenly realizes that their death is imminent and there's nothing they can do to stop it.

Path of Treachery: The Path of Treachery appeals to those Witch Elves who prefer to stalk their prey, attacking when the target is unsuspecting. A master of this path performs best in the thick of large, chaotic combats, where her victims are kept busy and unsuspecting, and she prefers to strike the enemy at their unprotected flanks.

Marauder Career Overview

Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of the weak-bodied souls of the Order more than the grotesque vision of the Chaos Marauder charging towards them. Thought to be blessed by their Gods, these ferocious creatures fight in the name of faith and do so mercilessly. Their strength lends them the ability to cleave through enemies thoughtlessly and their corrupted mutations give power that go beyond mortal capability.

This melee DPS class is not only a blast to play, but also extremely capable in RvR and PvE combat. You'll find the mutations add, not only a distinct splash of flavor, but also an aspect of gameplay that can become a valuable asset when mastered. If you are looking for a hands on damage focused Destruction class, the Marauder is a perfect option.

Strengths:

• Hands on DPS makes for great close contact battle


• Mutations allow for amazing damage and variety of playstyle


• Fast and harsh damage plows through enemies at a high pace

Weaknesses:

• Medium armor means weaker defenses


• High damage makes this class a primary target on the battlefield


• Mutations take some knowledge of class to be properly effective
  

PvE Overview
The Marauder plays well in the PvP environment whether you go at it solo or hang with a group. Regardless of how you play, the very first order of business is getting to know your mutations. These "buffs" are key in your success as a player and having the right mutation for the right circumstance can be invaluable.

This class has the great benefit of being a powerful melee DPS class and still being able to take a hit, just don't be the target for long because it won't last!

RvR Overview
Prepare for a fight because this class will always be right in the fray of battle! Being a solid DPS class, the Marauder has the unfortunate trouble of being a focus of Order attacks. They want you gone and they want you gone now. The benefit of this class though is the various mutation allow for somewhat of a change up in technique that will keep the opposition on their toes.

Use your tank as your distraction then go in with the mind of playing aggressively and unpredictably. Your best line of defense will always be to kill them before they even know you were coming.

Marauder Mastery Paths

Path of Brutality: The Path of Brutality is focused around the Marauder's ability to warp his arm into a sharpened spike of bone. This blade-like appendage can deal horrifying injuries to an enemy, and a player specialized deeply in Brutality will likely be dealing the most damage possible against a single enemy, especially if the foe is distracted by others.

Path of Savagery: The Path of Savagery leads to a Marauder changing their arm into a monstrous claw, capable of tearing at enemies to cripple and hinder them while they quickly bleed to death. While perhaps not dealing as much immediately obvious damage as his other mutations, a master of Savagery kills his enemies in a more insidious way, weakening the target steadily so that they never realize just how much danger they're in until it's already too late.

Path of Monstrosity: The Path of Monstrosity focuses on the Marauder mutating their arm into a hideous club-like bludgeon of flesh and gore. The master of Monstrosity can use the massive bulk of their warped arm to defend themselves somewhat, and can sweep their limb around in broad, arcing swings, capable of damaging several enemies with each single smash.

Learn more about Marauder career!

Warhammer Online Character Attributes

Here's a breakdown of basic character attributes (stats) in Warhammer Online to help you figure out what kind of items you should be aiming at:

Strength
Increases your melee damage and makes it harder for enemies to parry or block your attacks.

Willpower
Increases your chances to disrupt hostile spells and increases all healing you do.

Toughness
Reduces the damage you take from all sources.

Wounds
Increases your maximum hitpoints.

Initiative
Increases your chance to dodge ranged attacks and makes it more difficult for enemies to critically hit you.

Weapon
Increases your chances to parry melee attacks and allows your melee attacks to bypass a portion of the enemy's armor.

Ballistic
Increases your ranged damage and makes it harder for your enemies to block or dodge your ranged attacks.

Intelligence
Increases your magical damage and makes it harder for enemies to disrupt or block your attacks.

Dwarf Ironbreaker Overview

The Ironbreaker willingly and gladly positions himself in the front lines during battle and holds Grudges against those who harm his allies. In this way, he manages to simultaneously epitomize the role of the tank without being a boring warrior that can only try to control aggro and wait for his friends to do the rest of the work. Despite a disposition that is gruff, quarrelsome and taciturn, the Ironbreaker is your best friend on the field of battle. He is easy to spot in his gleaming and ornately adorned gromril armor. The Ironbreaker often carries a massive shield as well.



Strengths:

• The ability to take great damage and get stronger because of it.


• Oathfriend can make any group last longer when things go bad.


• An integral part in a winning RvR team.

Weaknesses:

• So powerful in RvR that they can be targeted over healers.


• Low DPS depending on build.


• Grudges take time, which makes the Ironbreaker a slow starter.

PvE Overview
Ironbreakers are an asset to any group because of their stalwart defenses and the effect their Grudges have on a battle. Most groups will lean on the Ironbreaker as the main tank over a Swordmaster--if for no other reason--because of the Ironbreakers Oathfriend ability. When the Ironbreaker uses this buff on a healer or melee DPS who frequently draws aggro, the entire group's chances of survival increase.

Ironbreakers who specialize in the path of Vengeance will be able to contribute a fair amount of damage to a single foe, but the Ironbreaker truly shines when he concentrates on pure tanking (Path of Stone) or bolstering his allies (Path of Brotherhood).

RvR Overview
The roles of the Ironbreaker in RvR play is to break enemy lines and to keep distance between the forces of Destruction and her allies. She is hearty enough to survive the assault of several foes at once long enough to disrupt enemy formations, and a Ironbreaker with a reliable healer can outlast many foes.

Ironbreakers who are not focused on damage through the Path of Vengeance may not get many kills, but they'll be able to make the forces of Order last longer as their taunts in RvR battles cause enemy attacks to become less effectively against everyone except for the Ironbreaker. Combine that knowledge with an understanding of Oathfriend and the Path of Stone, and they day could very well belong to Order.

Ironbreaker Mastery Paths
Path of Vengeance: Some Ironbreakers hold their Grudges close to their heart, slowly nurturing them until they are filled with the fury of Grimnir himself. With a single-minded focus, a specialist in this path becomes more and more dangerous with every Grudge he holds, pushing himself to fight more brutally as he strives to avenge the insults that have been dealt.

Path of Stone: As stubborn and unyielding as the mountains themselves, Ironbreakers who master this path are specialists in defense and will expend every last ounce of energy protecting their sworn oath friends. Since an Ironbreaker builds up Grudges quickly when under direct attack, this mastery takes advantage of that by consuming his Grudges to fuel potent defensive abilities.

Path of Brotherhood: A specialist in this path understands the balance between camaraderie and retribution, and is a natural leader on the battleground. Alternately holding and discharging his Grudges, the master of Brotherhood serves as a shining example of the greatest of Dwarf traits, inspiring his allies to push onwards to greater heights. Equally adept at breaking the enemy line or standing his ground and holding back waves of foes, the master of this path has the ability to bolster his Oath Friend as well as himself.

Basic Scenario Tactics

I am never really sure the value of "winning" the respective scenarios but I try to compulsively, even at the expense of my own numbers. As a result though, I am always looking for ways to get the tactical advantage. Here are a couple things (standard fare really) that I have found effective. (T1 & T2)

1. If there are flags, be on one.
Defense = on your flag
Offense = on their flag
With a clarification that around ≠ on, that only on = on.
If you are ranged, then be at your minimum range, and when you are hurt, don't run away. Stay on the objective.

2. Be Offense or be defense or switch between. Know which one you are at each moment and then see tactic 1.

3. Don't retreat to their objective. If you are losing a fight, running to the place where they get to capture your flag, or attack the relic holder etc. is probably not the best place to die.

4. "/sc Help our flag" , "/sc flag unguarded" etc. Meaning communicate.

5. Telling the rest of your team they suck (or equivalent) never helps. And by that I mean it never helps. Never. It never helps. Ever.

6. If a healer isn't healing you, there is a reason. Asking for heals mid fray is not going to help. If you are the fc, or the rc, say so. Macro "/sc fc is dying" or the like. And yelling at healers for not healing you . . . see tacic 5.

7. Establish the running game early. Make sure you have at least some offense going after objectives. This prevents them from dedicating their entire group on offense. In Nordwatch, sending one or two to Barracks or Lighthouse respectively will pull forces from the fortress. In Phoenix, I always do a ninja flag run right off the bat, just to let them know they are going to need defense.

8. Attack healers. I don't think I have ever killed any healer outright (not including hybrids) but hitting them limits the amount they can heal their defensive target. And ironically they seem to always run away even though I am not really a threat to them.

9. Dog race. When a large opposing force is approaching an objective, I will often charge into, then through them. I am constantly amazed how often this pulls half or more of their offense with me, and I will lead them right back to where they started. If a few teammates follow, this can easily result in a capture or cap.

10. If you are part of a large offensive, don't go chasing the one guy who charges into, then through you.

I know there are many other tactics and I hope folks will add and if they like rebut. I intentionally didn't mention turtling. Even though it may be effective its kind of cheap and more than a little boring. I don't join RVR matches to avoid RVR.

Realm vs. Realm (RvR) in Warhammer Online

One of the more unique features of Warhammer online is it's Realm vs Realm system pitting players against each other in meaningful PvP combat. Fighting for control of territory across the entire game, each contribution adds to the whole ending in a siege of one sides capital city. If you haven't had what we'd like to call "pleasant" experiences with player vs player or are new then we are here to help. We'll examine the elements of what RvR is, what tactics you can use to keep yourself alive longer, and how you can participate in the overall fight.

What is RvR?
Realm vs Realm content is a unique form of play that has only been seen in Dark Age of Camelot before. Mythic Entertainment states the following in their FAQ:

"Realm vs. Realm, or RvR, is a term trademarked by Mythic during the development of Dark Age of Camelot. RvR is team-based Player vs. Player (PVP) game-play where each realm works together toward a common goal. Players choose a side by selecting a race and, in the case of Warhammer online, they battle it out in areas and work toward goals provided by the game, including Scenarios, Keep Siege, and City Siege. It means that a player never has to fight alone because there is always an army of allies that has his back. Players can choose to level up in RvR areas, or stay in safer, Player vs. Environment (PvE) areas until they are ready to jump into the real battles of Warhammer online."

That is a pretty good definition, but the most important component of that is this is not a one on one PvP system. There isn't a significant advantage for one player to fight on their own and in most situations that would put them in a severe disadvantage. There is strength in numbers and large groups are pushed to certain areas of the game. While there are scenarios which will put a set number of players against each other, these aren't arena fights where it's five vs five. The RvR areas are completely open combat and can contain theoretically dozens of people.

What Benefits do I get from RvR?
Ignoring that RvR combat is the cornerstone of the game and the entire purpose of your existence in Warhammer online is to participate, let's look at what RvR can do for you. First is the Renown gear made available based on your rank. Renown gear merchants are located across the land allowing players to purchase, for a nominal fee, equipment unavailable elsewhere. Now granted, early on you can work your way up through PvE and Chapter quests for comparable gear, but the level requirements are higher. The Renown gear is always available to you earlier so there is always that motivation.

It's almost important to remember that you will have 80 Renown Ranks meaning PvE gear is only going to get you so far. Mythic has stated the best gear is always available from RvR and while it won't give players an overwhelming advantage, it will be noticeable. If that isn't enough? All the cool kids will be doing it.

If you are participating in a guild, this is also a great way to increase your rank effectively. One of the major benefits of Guild rank provides a Battle Standard which can be carried on the field. This Standard can give all sorts of bonuses to things like damage and experience depending on the guild preferences.

How Does my Side Win?
Nobody likes a grind, and Warhammer online has an ultimate RvR goal for Destruction and Order players that should alleviate that. The sieging of a capital city is the end game and requires a series of victories throughout the different Tier zones. Not happening often it will require coordinated attacks that could take weeks to accomplish but provide unrivaled bragging rights to the winner.

What can you do? There are two ways you can contribute to your side as early as level 2 or 3. The first is helping take battlefield objectives on the battlefields in every Tier area. These are clearly marked on your map but are usually next to a warcamp hub. Taking all of them gives your side "control" of that area and a hefty bonus to your renown. The other is participating in scenarios which are quick 5-10 minute battles inside an instance and available from any location in the zone. You can join one by clicking the symbol next your mini map in the upper right corner.

Beginning in Tier 2, taking control of an area will require the siege of Keeps. Unoccupied Keeps have nothing more than meager enemy NPC's which guard the structure and end with a fight against the Keep Lord. Any large group can quickly break through the door and clear the building with little effort. Occupied however and siege equipment becomes available which can chew right through clumps of enemies and will provide a significantly harder fight.

Do I have to RvR All the Time?
Warhammer online has two different types of servers available for play. The first called Open, has no limitations on PvP other than the chicken system which keeps higher level players from ganking lower levels. The other called Core, provides clearly marked areas of RvR which start off small in first tier but increase as you get higher. Entering these areas will give you a brief warning then flag you for RvR meaning you can be killed by any flagged player even in safe areas. It is advisable you consider how much you want to PvP when selecting a server at launch. There will be safer areas such as cities in Open but in order to have a no gank PvP experience, you might want to choose Core.

There is only one other way you can be flagged for RvR which is by healing or assisting a flagged player. If their name is bolded in yellow carefully decide the risks in helping out as it only takes one Destruction player in hiding to punish you for being a Good Samaritan.

What do I need to know?
Now that you understand a few of the basic terms and how RvR works it's important to know just how you fit in. There are a few simple strategies and practices you can implement in your RvR gameplay that can increase your survival odds at least 300% (which is a number we just completely made up). While we can't guarantee success, all of the following are critical to playing effectively.

Groups
In traditional MMOG's we've all had "that" experience where you've been in a group so unbelievably horrible that you swore to never talk to strangers again no matter what kind of candy they had. Many of us have spent much of our time playing solo and only banding together with good friends to accomplish what we couldn't alone. While there will always be the poor groups and annoying experiences, Warhammer online is the first game in awhile to heavily encourage grouping.

Battlefield RvR is designed for large groups to duke it out over objectives. When solo, even if you are running around with others, there is a lack of cohesion inherent with disorganization. One group with a single objective can quickly route another twice it's size with little effort. This means you should certainly take every effort to join up with other people whenever possible. In areas with heavy activity you can usually find a Warband (group of 24) which is ideal for coordinating large scale assaults.

Battlefields
Every battlefield has certain variations setting it apart from all the others. First it is important to know the terrain. If you are playing on a core server, where are the lines that flag you for RvR? Where can you run for safety from the five people that decided to chase you? Are there mountains or rivers that will slow your progress? Where is the Warcamp that has quests, merchants, trainers, and everything else you could possibly need?

Finally, where are the objectives you need to capture? They could be in a town square that needs defense on 3 sides or in a building with only one way out. Where are the most tactical areas around them? Perhaps there is a roof you can jump on to fire down on invaders or a rock you can stand behind that obscures you a little. Knowing your way around the area is not only strategic but generally wise.

Know Your Class
This particular piece of advice cannot be stressed enough. It is of the utmost importance that you understand your class and it's role in battle. Countless groups have been torn apart because a healer charged into battle or a DPS got a little too anxious to fight. This isn't to say there won't be a learning curve as you start out, but if you hit Rank 40 and are still trying to go melee with a Bright Wizard, you might want to consider a different career choice.

Fortunately all of Warhammer online's classes fall into one of four categories: Tank, Healer, Melee DPS, and Ranged DPS. As a tank you should be on the front lines pulling attackers off your healers and making charges into the enemy lines. As a healer your role should be fairly clear, to keep everyone you possibly can alive including the casters and ranged DPS huddling around you. Melee DPS should pick their attacks carefully by hitting tanks who charge the lines or casters/healers standing off to the side. Ranged DPS is one of the most simple of all, stay back and keep shooting as long as possible.

Learn more about RvR in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Squig Herder Overview

The squig herder is the ranged DPS class for the greenskins. Small and quick, his job is to slip in and lay some hurt on targets. With a squig at his side, the herder can tackle just about anything that gets thrown at him, given he's at the range to plink away with arrers. The class can be compared to in mechanics like the hunter class in daoc or in WoW, but has it's own unique abilities. Without learning how to become one with your squig, you can't unlock the full potential of the Squig Herder.

Squig Herder Masteries
This is your bread and butter line. It deals the most damage, and will be where most Squig Herders spend their points. This line specializes in stationary archery that can hit for big numbers. You'l need some good coordination with your squig as well as getting to know when to use your detaunt ability. You must be mindful however, that you do most of your damage sitting still, so be on the lookout always for any monsters (or players) that may be coming a little to close. The role of someone who specializes in Big Shootin is to pump out Big numbers for damage. In PvP, pick a target that's occupied with something, such as one concentrating on attacking. They'l notice much later that they're being hit than someone who is not engaged in combat. The gas squig from this specline gives a 10% bonus to range. Your primary skills used will be lots o shootin, Poisen Arrer and Plink.




The abilities granted through the Big shootin line are:

• 3 mastery: Aimin Quickly(tactic)- reduces the cooldown by 1 second on "Plink"


• 5 mastery: Shrapnel arrer- (2s cast, 10s recast)Hits your target doing X damage then doing Y DoT damage to enemies near the target


• 7 mastery: I Feelz your pain(tactic)- Critical hits will recover your action points by 50


• 9 mastery: Poison Arrer- (3s cast, 5s recast)Deals a large amount of corporeal damage to your target


• 11 mastery: Clever shootin(tactic)- All path of big shootin abilities cost 35% less Action points


• 13 mastery: Finish em off- Deals a large amount of damage if your target is below 20% health, or a small amount if they are not


• 15 mastery: Lots of shootin(rank 4 morale)- Deals an extreme amount of damage to all enemy targets near you

The abilities enhanced by mastery in the Big Shootin line are:

• Exploding Arrer- (2s cast, 10s recast) Does a small amount of damage to your target and those around it, then also hits them with a small DoT


• Choking Arrer- (1s cast, 30s recast)Deals a small amount of damage and silences your target for 5 seconds.


• Plink- (2s cast) Deals a moderate amount of damage to your target
  Lots o Arrers- (3s concentrated cast, 7s recast)You concentrate for 3 seconds on your target sending a barrage of arrows at them


• What Blocka?- (1.5s cast, 5s recast) An undefendable attack which deals a medium amount of damage.


• Gas Squig

Path of Stabbin'
Despite how the official description may sound, this mastery line has limited use. Squig herders have a low melee damage potential that is improved only moderately by spending mastery points. While melee may work out alright when you're doing pve and fighting some weakened monsters, getting into melee range of a MDPS in PVP means you're going to be eating dirt before know what happened. Squig herders have light armor, but the horned squig provides a 100% armor bonus effectively giving you about the absorbsion of medium armor. It's not a very good idea to engage a tank or mdps, especially if they see you coming. In pve and against light armor classes like the bright wizard, you can tear them up fairly quickly combined with your squig. The horned squig is powerful against melee damage and deals the 2nd highest damage of the squigs. Your squig is absolutely vital to your success, don't sacrifice it carelessly and always keep it by your side as if it's too far away your bonus disappears. You will have a multitude of quick attacks to use and your primary attacks will be Stabbity, cut ya, don't hit me, spin n slash and Drop That.


Path of Quick Shootin
This is the line of the mid range skirmisher. The benefits of this line can be most appreciated for the PvP oriented player. If you're planning to go solo or in a smaller 3-6 man group in pvp, this is the spec for you. This is just an unrivaled spec line for the pvp player. However, for it's great effectiveness in pvp, comes a cost for PvE. This line is not quite as useful in pve as the Big Shootin line, but it can work for group play. The role of someone who specializes in the Quick shootin line is moreso of a harasser than one putting out big damage. Your job is to fling around DoTs and snares as well as damage while you persist as a less deadly, but highly mobile threat. Abilities in this line are mostly instant cast or will continue to build while you are moving. This line is great for chasing down the enemy, as well as snaring enemies so your friends can get away(or so that your enemies can't). The spiked squig does the highest damage of all the pets and will help your damage. The learning curve for this spec is different than your average caster and may take time getting used to the kind of tactics and movement necessary instead of standing still and blasting. The spiked squig gives a 5% bonus to your critical hit rate. Your primary abilities used will be Stop runnin, Yer Bleedin, Run N Shoot and Shoot through ya.

The abilities granted through the Quick Shootin line are:

• 3 mastery: Splintering arrers(tactic)- Run N Shoot will now hit all enemies within 20 feet of your target


• 5 mastery: Run Away!-(instant cast, 45s recast) You command your squig to taunt all enemies near you, and knock yourself forward


• 7 mastery: The Waagh is Strong(tactic)- Increases duration of Yer bleedin to 24s, as well as the durations of Stop runnin and not so fast to 15s


• 9 mastery: Rotten Arrer- (instant cast, no recast) Deals a large amount of damage to your target over 9 seconds and incoming heals to them are 50% less effective. (usable only on a target that is ailing)


• 11 mastery: Shootin wif da wind(tactic)- All quick shootin abilities have their range increased by 50%


• 13 mastery: Behind Ya- (instant cast, 10s recast) You deal a moderate amount of damage to your target and they must be facing away from you


• 15 mastery: Arrer of Mork- (rank 4 morale) Deals a very large amount of amount of damage to all targets within 40 feet in front of you, then a very large amount of damage over 10 seconds..

The abilities enhanced by mastery in the Quick Shootin line are

• Stop Runnin: (1s cast, 2s recast)deals a small amount of damage to your target and snares them for 10s. Usable while moving


• Yer Bleedin: (instant cast)deals a moderate amount of damage over 15s to your target


• Run N Shoot: (1s cast)Deals a small amount of damage to your target. Usable while moving


• Not So Fast: (1s cast, 10s recast) Deals a small amount of damage and reduces your target's initiative for 10s. Usable while moving


• Shoot through ya: (2s cast) deals a moderate amount of damage to all enemies in front of you up to 65 feet away. Usable while moving


• Spiked Squig

Note about masteries:
Mastery abilities must first be unlocked. A mastery ability like Splintering Arrers has a lv3 requirement. That means you must spend 3 points in the line to unlock it. You must then spend a 4th point to purchase the ability if you choose to. So Effectively if you wanted the Shootin Wif da wind tactic in the Quick shootin line, you must spend 16 points to acquire it if you also purchased all the abilities in the line before it. Hopefully this will clear up confusion for people thinking they should have the ability but it's not on any lists.

Stats
I've decided to divide stats into tiers, noting their importance.

Tier 1
Ballistics skill: Nothing is more important than this. This is the sole stat that determines your damage with a bow. Value this over anything else

Wounds: This increases your HP by 10 for each point. It's also important to get this up if you can, as it increases your survivability greatly. One of your top 3 stats.

Elemental resist: Most important magic resist. This will bring down those big number bright wizard attacks

Tier 2
Strength: if you plan to melee, put some points into this, otherwise it's not that important. You will be doing some melee in pve

Toughness: Reduces the amount of melee damage you take. Useful for pve, but if you get hit by melee in RvR you're going to be dead anyway

Initiative: Increases your dodge rate and reduces your chance to be critically hit.

Corporeal: second most important magic resist

Spiritual: third most important magic

Tier 3
Intelligence: You shoot arrers, you don't cast spells. This is a worthless stat.
Willpower: increases chance you'l disrupt a magic attack, and also increases healing amount(we don't heal) this stat isn't really worth pursuing
Weaponskill: this increases armor penetration for melee weapons. You're much better off getting ballistics because it's a lot more beneficial

General PvE Advice
The class in PVE plays similar to a hunter in World of Warcraft. This is not to say you're going to have the same experience. It has much different abilities and will still be a refreshing change. As you are leveling up, you'l want to try out every ability in combat for a decent amount of time, even if what you have is working for now. You will often find incorporating this new ability that sounded like it wouldn't be much use will make you much stronger and more effective. Give everything a chance and you will find a skillset that suits your playstyle best. There are a very large number of abilties, and you'l be swamped with trying to pick out the ones you like best or will use the most so it's important to go into the UI tab and make 2 action bars available. Between the 2, you should be able to fit everything you're going to be using on them.

Now, for quite possibly the most important thing for Pve. Gathering skills. Training up skills costs money, and a lot at that. You're going to be very poor while leveling and will find it hard to just keep up with skills. This is why you need to get a gathering skill. I personally reccomend the Scavenging skill. What it does is it allows you to scavenge and loot the bodies a second time of a sentient monster. Sentient meaning something that has at least some limited thought or self awareness like a human, dwarf or troll. A majority of the monsters you will be fighting will fall under this category. Items gained through scavenging however, are not normal loot items, but instead crafting materials. That doesn't mean however that they won't sell to vendors and give you a bit of extra cash. Bodies can only be scavenged after they've been fully looted. You can identify bodies that can be scavenged because they will have flies buzzing around them. You can also scavenge bodies that don't belong to you. It is impolite to do so if someone is also scavenging themselves, but if they aren't, then it's fair game. A good way to get this skill raised is in public quests where large amounts of monsters are being killed. You can first aquire a gathering skill In the second town along the road you will find from your starting area with your starting town being the first. This will be home of the Chapter 2 public quests. keep in mind, that if your scavenging skill isn't kept up to date, you won't be able to scavenge the higher level monsters.

Overall, PVE works the way you want it to. Experiment with your abilities with trying different combinations or casting orders and you'l be fine. You won't start getting master points until rank 11 and by that time you should have a good idea of what kind of Squig Herder you'd like to be.

General RvR Advice
Playing a squig herder can be a lot of fun, especially chasing down someone for that kill or inching just a bit closer to be able to shoot at that bright wizard. Because of this, people tend to get focused and lose sight of your surroundings. This is an often fatal mistake. Often people are trying to flank you from the side, so make sure you're always panning the camera with your mouse to identify threats that may be coming. It's also a good idea to keep in mind that just because you can't see anyone, doesn't mean there isn't someone there. Witch Hunters have the ability to stealth and love to position themselves to hide in the spots casters are most likely to sneak up on. A Witch hunter will almost always wait for the right moment and catch you off guard while you are busy fighting. They will tear you up generally before you get the chance to react. Squig herders are also a favorite target of Empire casters, and likewise they should also be your favorite target. This is why it's very important to be watching your own health bar as well as your enemy's. Sneaking up a couple of feet will likely spark some bright wizards or engineers to sneak up a bit and focus their fire on you rather than the tank you're standing next to. Be aware of the movement of your enemy's front line. If you see a caster moving towards you... assume it's you that they want to kill.

Many people view the squig herder as an easy kill because you are a Ranged DPS type. So it's important to be paranoid and assume that everyone is out to get you. Pre kiting is a vital skill that will often save your life. If you see a tank running in your direction, Pop off a Stop Runnin shot and run a bit away. Often, this will trigger the tank/MDPS into thinking you have no intention of fighting and they likely won't catch you. So they will turn their attention to whatever may be closest to them at the time, which often can be another tank. Don't wait for them to get to you and start hitting for you to decide you want to keep your distance as this will often lead to you eating dirt. Even if they're hitting someone else near you like a marauder, if you're close, they may decide that you're an easier target and turn their aggression to you. It's best to try and keep a distance of around 70-80 feet between your enemies, in particular if you're spec is Big shooting. You want a bit of an extra buffer for some extra shots when your target decides to start running away, as well as to give you some space to pre-kite.

Conclusions
A squig herder is a fun and interactive class. There are many different ways to play one and all of them provide a unique experience.

Just keep an open mind while staying hidden and keeping on eye on your surroundings and you should be successful with whatever you do.

For a Squig Herder leveling guide click here!

Get Top Healing With Any Career

As you may have noticed when you complete a scenario you can sort ranking by different categories: DPS, Healing, XP, KB's etc. As some of you have surely noticed some classes will have about 3k healing (T1) and not be a healing class (WE, WH etc). This is because of the bolster. When you participate in an SC under level 8, you are "bolstered" or boosted to the stats of a level 8. This means your health goes up each time you leave the starting area.

There is a boundary around the starting area in an SC, at which point if you cross you get the "bolster" effect. Crossing this line repeatedly will raise you + healing no matter your class. The easiest way to get up there is to enter the SC as soon as it pops, and then flee toward the boundary, you will be reset to the starting position each time you cross the boundary. I saw an IB with over 10k healing and was like wtf? Then I saw him just running back and forth across the boundary line.

Using this I have racked up over 4k healing before the SC even starts (Rank 1 Zealot) and ended up top heals for the entire match. Just a little FYI for anyone who wants boost their healing.

Dwarf Engineer Overview

As a race of tinkerers and builders, no career comes more naturally to a Dwarf than that of Engineer. Using a combination of machinery, ingenuity, and brute force they are able to harness technology to defeat their enemies. Sturdy and reliable, the Engineer provides damage support on the battlefield making him a valuable ally.

An Engineer carries quite an arsenal with him, which can include turrets, mines, hand grenades, and a large wrench. His automated turrets bring fire support to combat by using bullets, grenades, and even a flame thrower. A long rifle allows Engineers to fire at a distance keeping them away from danger but doing significant damage to his enemies.

Strengths:

• Automated turrets that can fire without assistance


• Long range attacks


• Area of effect damage through grenades and turrets

Weaknesses:

• Vulnerable to melee


• Light armor


• Turret setup requires time

PvE Overview
An Engineer depends heavily on his gear and well placed turrets can be key to survival. If placement weren't enough the Engineer must carefully choose what type of to use, as a stray grenade blast or burst of flame could easily turn their one problem into many. Turret fire mixed with a few shots from their long rifle will significantly reduce enemy health long before they are in attack range allowing a few swings of a hammer or wrench to finish the job. While they can stand on their own against single targets, when working in harmony with a tank class, the Engineer is a versatile addition to any PvE party. They are not built to withstand heavy amounts of damage however, so direct conflict with multiple foes requires a hasty retreat.

RvR Overview
In RvR combat, the Engineer moves from a sturdy damage machine to a support role on the battlefield. Concentrated attacks from casters or a rush from a tank can make short work of Engineers thanks to their light armor. You will see many rush forward to drop a turret and run to the back lines with casters to fire off rifle shots. One of their best roles is in defense of a battlefield objective where they can set up defensive positions and damage enemies attempting to move in. Their grenades and mines also make nice additions to large concentrations of enemy forces.



Engineer Mastery Paths

Path of The Rifleman: This path focuses on long-range attacks, and taking your time with carefully aimed precision shots. A master of this path prefers to stand back away from the hectic front lines of battle, and dispatch his enemies quickly and cleanly from behind defensive cover.

Path of the Grenadier: This mastery is primarily focused on grenades and bombs, powerful explosives which may be quickly tossed into the middle of a fray to wreak havoc on enemies. While their effective range may be shorter than a gun's - after all, Dwarf arms aren't exactly build to throw for distance - grenades make up for this through sheer stopping power and swift arming times.

Path of the Tinkerer: A specialist in this path is concerned mainly with his deployable contructs, preferring to fight from near the safety of his turrets while he lays out his foes with swings of his heavy steel wrench. Master tinkerers have also been known to use additional deployable devices above and beyond turrets as well, and many are the Engineers who've been banned for life from a blacksmith's forge after trying to test and improve the heat thresholds of land mines.

Zealot Overview

While we've all made fun of the early screenshots of the Chaos Zealot who looked like Lemmy from Motorhead, these fanatics are no laughing matter. The healer class for the Norse followers of the Raven God, the Zealot is a healing machine. With strong offensive casting capabilities, their great sense of fashion (each Zealot has a belt whose buckle is made of of a human face, possibly right off the skull he holds in his/her left hand) and incredible healing powers, it's not hard to see why this class will be a popular healer. There may be a reason why the Zealot looks like Lemmy, because much like the Motorhead song goes, pick this class and it's time to play "The Game".

Strengths:

• Distance. Zealots can hurl heals and spells from a huge distance, allowing you to stay out of the thick of things while still doing your job... which is looking good.


• Zealots don't need to be directly in combat to fuel their healing abilities.


• Zealots are a good cross between caster and healer. Their offensive spells do pretty good damage and their heals are, of course, their specialty.

Weaknesses:

• Zealots don't have a lot of hit points to begin with and can be melee'd to death easier than some of the other healers in the game.


• Zealots tend to lack a high level of damage mitigation, which makes them weaker against physical attacks.


• Zealots can run out of power quickly if they're not careful since they have no mechanic in place that replenishes it on the fly.

PvE Overview
The Chaos Zealot can be an unstoppable force in PvE play. The ability to hit from long distances and powerful heals that can be used during combat give the Zealot the space and time he needs to whittle foes down with his offensive spells. Their powerful healing spells can even help them outlast multiple attackers and even take down Champion class foes a few levels lower than they are.

In a group, the Zealot has got what you need baby and he's happy to give you your healing/buff fix. The first taste is free, but after that you have to protect him from harm of else he'll cut you off, cold turkey. Mainly because they'll probably be dead.

RvR Overview
If the Zealot was a element on the periodic table of RvR, it would be Ze for "Zerged". As a Zealot, your ability to cast heavy duty heals from range as well as do a decent amount of damage with your marks makes you the #1 target for everyone in RvR, and much like the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker core, they love to gang up on you. The key to a long and healthy life is stay out of combat, but close to the Black Orc and Chosen tanks. These classes get hooked on having their heal-orin fix and as such, will usually work to keep you alive.

If you manage to get in combat, you're not totally without a way to defend yourself. You can do pretty well in one on one by spamming the heals interlaced with a few specific debuffs and your insta-cast damage and DoT spells. If you are up against multiple people though, you're in trouble, so don't stick around and wait for the "Order Friends" to show up.



Chaos Zealot Mastery Paths
Path of Alchemy: This path is all about the healing. You hook players up with the candy that makes life worth living and now, it's much more potent. While they'll not be an offensive juggernaut, the player who specializes in the path of Alchemy will become the healer extraordinaire and be known as "Dr. Feelgood".

Path of Witchcraft: Not simply happy to keep others healthy, the follower of this path wants to cause pain and suffering in mass quantities. The Path of Witchcraft bolsters the offensive capability of the Zealot and can make him a stronger caster than healer.

Path of Ritual: The Path of Ritual is about boosting your allies and tearing down your enemies. Enhancing your buffs and Debuffs, this path gives you sway over the tide of battle and how quickly it will turn in your favor. All hail Tzeentch!

Magus Overview

A Magus of Tzeentch is a devoted follower of the Raven God, and spends his entire lifetime studying pure sorcery with a fevered intensity. Desperate for even a bare glimpse of Tzeentch’s great plan, the Magus has learned through his research that Tzeentch’s daemonic minions are creations and reflection of the Great Changer, and he focuses his search for knowledge obsessively on this fact – for perhaps, by understanding the servant, he may better understand the master.

Class Mechanic

Daemonic Fiends
The Magus can call forth several different types of daemonic fiends, but can only maintain the concentration needed to restrain a single one at a time. A clever Magus therefore makes sure to best fit his summoning to his need: a Pink Horror which flings bolts of fire corruption at distant enemies, a Blue Horror which spews out waves of warping energy around itself, or a Flamer which spits blasts of fire at groups of enemies. All the base daemons are summoned within a circle of binding and are unable to move outside that circle (they don’t move at all.) Daemons can be set to be passive, aggressive, or defensive in nature.

Daemon Abilities
Each of the Magus’ daemons have two abilities that essentially proc at random. The first ability fires at a rate of 90% and the second fires at 10%. At this time it is not possible to micro-manage these daemon abilities. You can toggle one or the other on or off, but it does not affect the proc rates. This is apparently due to balance reasons as the secondary abilities are considerably more impressive than the primary abilities.

Pink Horror
The Pink Horror is a long range, single target daemon. The primary weapon of the Pink Horror is Daemonic Fire (long range DD) and the secondary ability is Daemonic Consumption (long range DOT).

Blue Horror
The Blue Horror is a short range, area of effect daemon. The primary weapon of the Blue Horror is Warping Energy (short range Cone AE) and the secondary ability is Coruscating Energy (short range PBAE + Snare).

Flamer
The Flamer is a medium range, multi-purpose daemon. The primary weapon of the Flamer is Flame of Tzeentch (medium range single target DOT) and the secondary ability is Flames of Change (short range PBAE DOT).

Uncontrolled Pets
An Uncontrolled Horror is summoned as a random proc when killing a victim is killed using Indigo Fire of Change (Path of Change Spec Ability). A Firewyrm of Tzeentch can be summoned using the Path of Daemonology Morale IV abiity.

Magus Masteries

Path of Havoc
This path focuses on long-range attacks, and primarily focuses on destroying a single target at a time. A master of this path will typically call forth a Pink Horror to help him slaughter his enemies from a safe distance.

The Path of Havoc’s primary focus is long range, single target damage. Spending points in Havoc enhances the baseline abilities Summon Pink Horror, Glean Magic, Surging Violet Fire, and Mutating Blue Fire, earns access to the new abilities Warping Blast, Bolt of Change, and Perils of the Warp, new tactics such as Fiery Winds, Changer’s Blessing, and Chaos Unleashed and ultimately the Morale IV ability Soul Leak.

Path of Changing
A specialist in this path understands that change waits for no man, and that Tzeentch demands speed and swiftness in those who serve. The cost of this decision is that his spells dissipate more rapidly into the Winds and therefore are only effective at moderate ranges, but a master of this path is a quick and adaptable sorcerer who uses a summoned Flamer to great effect.

The Path of Changing’s focus is medium range damage but also includes some area of effect damage in trade for the lost range. Spending points in this path enhances the existing abilities Surge of Insanity, Summon Flamer, Rend Winds, Dissolving Mists, and Infernal Blast, grants the new abilities Seed of Chaos, Tzeentch’s Firestorm, and Chaotic Rift, access to the tactics Infernal Pain, Lingering Mist, and Wild Changing and ultimately the Morale IV ability Daemonic Scream.

Path of Daemonology
This path is primarily focused on exploiting the warped and twisted daemonic Disc that the Magus rides, tapping into its power to unleash massive blasts of power at close range. In conjunction with a summoned Blue Horror, a specialist in this path can rend and shatter everything around him, leaving a trail of ruin and destruction in his wake.

The Path of Daemonology is focused around enhancing your daemons and point blank or very short ranged damage. Spending points in Daemonology enhances the existing abilities Summon Blue Horror, Aegis of Orange Fire, Agonizing Torrent, and Swat Aside, grants the new abilities Exchange Vitality, Instability, Indigo Fire of Change, access to the tactics Chaotic Attunement, Daemonic Pact, and Daemonic Contract, and ultimately the Morale IV ability Firewyrm of Tzeentch.

Character Stats
There are eight stats the affect your character as you level and find better gear. In addition there are eight more stats that are defensive in nature. Not all the stats are effective for all the classes so I’ll try to outline what are the important ones to think about for your Magus.

Stats at Character Creation
When you first create your character, you have 50 points in each of the offensive stats. You are not able to allocate them, you just get what you get and start leveling from there.

Stats as You Level
At this time, all of the eight main stats do increase each time you level, though they all appear to increase at a different rate.

How Does Each Stat Impact Your Magus?
Since all of the careers get the same sixteen stats, they all have a varying degree of impact on each of our careers. Since the Magus can be short/moderate/long range damage your choice of stats may vary slightly from one spec to another.

Intelligence: Increases magic damage and reduces the chance that your attacks will be disrupted. Magi earn 4.5 points of Intelligence per level. Willpower: Increases healing and increases the chance that you will disrupt a magic attack. Magi earn 3.5 points of Willpower per level.

Initiative: Increases your chance to evade attacks and reduces your chance to be critically hit. Magi earn 4 points of Initiative per level.
Wounds: Increases hit points. Magi earn 9 points of Wounds per level.
Toughness: Reduces all damage taken. Magi earn 3 points of Toughness per level.
Strength: Increases melee ability damage, melee auto attack damage, and reduces the chance that your melee attacks will be blocked or parried. Strength has no noticeable effect on Magi.
Weapon Skill: Increases your chance to parry an attack. Increases armor penetration. Weapon Skill has no noticeable effect on Magi
Ballistic Skill: Increases your ranged damage and reduces the chances your ranged attacks will be blocked or dodged. Ballistic Skill has no noticeable effect on Magi.

Defensive Stats
Armor: Reduces physical damage.
Corporeal Resistance: Reduces damage from Corporeal school damage.
Spiritual Resistance: Reduces damage from Spiritual school damage.
Elemental Resistance: Reduces damage from Elemental school damage.
Block: Chance to parry melee attacks. Magi have no block ability.
Parry: Chance to parry melee attacks. Magi start with 8.3% chance to parry.
Dodge: Chance to evade attacks. Magi start with 8.3% chance to dodge.
Disrupt: Chance to disrupt magical attacks. Magi start with 8.3% chance to disrupt an attack.

Initial Abilities
Flickering Red Fire: Summons a chaotic bundle of red flame that flies toward your opponent to inflict 46 elemental damage. Range:100 ft. Cast Time: 2s. Cost: 40 AP.
Daemon Lash: An ethereal tentacle swipes the target in front of you for 45 damage. Range: 5 ft. Cast Time: Instant. Cost: 45 AP. Cooldown: 5s.
Flee: You run away from the battle in a mad panic, increasing your run speed by 30 for 10 seconds. You immediately lose all of your action points and your morale will begin to drop, and you will not begin to regain action points until 10 seconds have passed.

Early Life as a Magus
In most cases you can pull mobs from range using Flickering Red Fire and once in melee range and Daemon Lash. You should also be experimenting with your pets (the Pink Horror is earned at level 3) and learn how they are affected by their agro radius.

General Combat Tactics for Magi
Magi aren’t the squishiest of casters, but when it comes down to it, they are casters. Certainly, early in the Magus’ life, the majority of damage will want to be dealt from range just to keep yourself out of danger. Pet’s can be tricky in heavily congested areas so try some solo experimentation before you start dropping pets in a group so that you understand how your pets will interact with the environment around them.

Choosing a Path for Your Magus
The Magus can be specced for short, moderate, or long range damage. Speccing for long range damage limits you to mostly single target damage while speccing for moderate or short ranged damage allows for some area of effect or point blank area of effect damage respectively. The closer you end up to your targets, the more you are going to want to concentrate on Wounds, Toughness, Initiative, and Corporeal Resists since you will likely be in the thick of melee. It also seems that the Path of Changing and Path of Daemonology offer more crowd control options than the Path of Havoc.

Overall, the daemon pets seem a bit on the week side, however when properly geared, specced, and the right traits, the PBAE damage can be pretty impressive and the pets become instant cast so you just drop them when you need them. The Path of Daemonology is likely to be a powerhouse spec at max rank, but is difficult to manage as a leveling spec.

I’m not a big fan of the Havoc tree simply because the cast times are so long that any melee will have closed the distance gap at around 1.5 spells cast and quickly make minced meat of you. I know a lot of people liked this spec, but I couldn’t make it work for me.

The Changing line seems to be a nice sweet spot if you can’t make up your mind. You get ranged AE damage and the most crowd control available to you while only giving up a small portion of your range. I think this will be the most common leveling spec and could be played even without the deamon summoned.

Rune Priest Overview

Don't ever let a dwarf hear you call his healing ability "magic." The art of rune marking is a long studied skill that the Dwarfs hold close to their own. With their rune marking, armor and weapons of the Rune Priest and his allies become enhanced; damaged armor becomes more resilient, a swing of a sword burns through the enemy. Marking a party member not only buffs their natural abilities, it can also give them an extra "spell" they can activate themselves as needed. Runes ensure that depleted health can be returned, and the dead returned to the battlefield.

A Rune Priest can choose how he will spend his time in battles. Staying in the rear with the lighter armored casters, he maintains the buffs he marked his comrades with before the battle, and uses his wide range of heals to keep everyone alive. His art provides for several longer ranged attacks as well. However, the strength he gains by rune marking himself makes him ready to jump to the front, weilding his massive rune staff with studied skill.

Strengths:

• Many strong heals; direct and heal over time


• Strong buffs and damage wards


• In combat resurrection

Weaknesses:

• Some heals need time to power up


• Medium armor can't withstand direct assault for long


• Few damage spells

PvE Overview
A Rune Priest is primarily a healer and supportive class, and will cautiously enter a battle situation on his own. One on one, his buffs and varied heals can keep him alive for quite some time, while his damaging spells and heavy Staff work to tear the enemy down. Maintaining the runes that protect the priest is key, to avoid having to run a quick retreat. Several of the Rune Priest's heals rely on time to set up and build up, so several large and quick attacks can prove problematic.

RvR Overview
This Dwarf is a huge aid to any group or warband. Left free to practice his specialty of bolstering and maintaining his buffs and heals, he is truly a force to be reckoned with. The in combat resurrection ability means fallen allies can be brought back in their same position quickly, keeping the integrity of the battle's front lines. A Rune Priest's staff and his few damaging attack spells create a light DPS addition to the group as well.

Rune Priest Mastery Paths

Path of Grungni: A master of this path focuses on powerful and direct effects, learning to both restore his allies and smite his enemies with equal skill. The path of Grungni is for those who prefer to focus on a single target at a time, be they friend or foe, and unleash powerful effects upon them.

Path of Valaya: An arguably more subtle mastery, the path of Valaya is focused on effects which continue to linger after they've been invoked. A master of this path prefers to stick to tested, tried, and true slow-and-steady abilities, whether he's building up his allies' strength until they become unstoppable, or whether he's grinding his enemies down with inevitable and unescapable doom.

Path of Grimnir: This path is concerned with runes which affect large, sweeping areas as they unleash their innate power. A specialist in this path is an expert at changing the ebb and tide of combat by either bolstering his allies' entire front line, or by sending vast swaths of crushing power across the enemy masses.

Warhammer Online Crafting Skills

Warhammer Online is attempting something different from other MMORPGs with their crafting system. Their aim is to a make a fun, and ultimately rewarding system that doesn’t feel like a grind. They have expressed that they want everyone out there in the battlefield and have allowed their system to let you craft/gather while you are exploring and killing!

No Recipes! In Warhammer there are no set recipes for your crafting. Basically, this means that instead of picking something out of a list, you gather up a few ingredients and throw them into a pot and hope something cool comes out when you are done.

Example:

A recipe based system would have you choose out of a list of potions. Say you wanted to make a healing potion, you would typically pull out your recipe list and see you needed A, B, and C to make the potion. You go to a merchant and purchase the items you need, or gather the items from monsters as required, and a short while later you have your healing potion. The value of this potion is constant so you are always sure of what you’ll get.

Overview
The Warhammer method involves a lot of guess work and luck, but also rewards you for trying out odd combinations. You may get something much better than you intended or you may get something horribly wrong. Another great plus is you do NOT have to be at a certain area to craft. Provided you have the necessary items in your inventory, you can craft anything anywhere.

Example:

Let's say you have been asked by a friend to make him a couple of healing potions for RvR™ later. From experience you know that a certain herb works really well for healing potions so you go out and gather what you need. However, you also know that you can’t just make a healing potion with just the herb, you’ll need other ingredients as well.From experience you have found that cheap wine helps stabilize the healing potions so you go gather that from passed out dwarves. On the way back to your friend you are suddenly attacked by a ravenous fairy! After the fight you decide to clip her wings, thinking it may help strengthen your potion.


So you’ve made it back to your friend alive and you start on your potions. The first one turns out normal, you’ve added all the typical ingredients you use and the potion comes out the way it usually does. The second one you’ve added all the normal ingredients but you’ve had a stroke of luck! Your potion has come out just a little bit stronger than normal, good for you! For the last potion you decide to drop in the fairy wings when your friend isn’t looking, just to see what would happen. By now your friend is giving you a funny look. The last potion is bubbling and spewing out multi-colored smoke, not to mention the sickingly sweet smell it’s putting off. When things settle down you quickly realized you’ve made a discovery! Your simple healing potion now offers a greater chance to dodge enemy attacks, WAY TO GO!

Note: The obvious drawback of this plan is that it is likely in the near future that we will see all known combinations published on the internet and this will, with time, turn into a recipe based system.

A breakdown of the System
Two crafting skills are currently available:

• Apothecary


• Talisman Crafting

And four gathering skills:

• Butchering


• Cultivating


• Magical Salvaging


• Scavenging

You can only choose one crafting and one gathering skill, so pick wisely! Keep in mind what you want to do. If you want to make highly magical Talisman’s you might want to consider taking up Magical Salvaging as your gathering skill. If you want to make powerful potions, you may wish to take up Cultivating so you can get the herbs you need.

A breakdown of the Gathering Skills

Butchering
What this involves is searching a killed monster for resources. This only applies to non-sentient beasts and is used to salvage bones, meat, and skins. You will be able to identify if a monster can be harvested by noticing the flies buzzing around the corpse. A simple click allows you to butcher, provided you have the skill trained.

Cultivating
There’s no flower picking in WAR boy! Weeds, fungi and herbs are some of the main subjects involved. For this you are going to need to buy some things and carry them around to make this work. First off you are going to need a pot to grow your plants in. You’ll also need things like; soil, seeds and spores. Seeds and spores can be obtained as loot from monsters, as rewards from quests, and bought or traded from other players. Pots and soil can be purchased from merchants.

So you’ve got your items and are ready to do some cultivating! What you need to do is this;
1- Place your seeds or spores inside your pot. Easy enough.
2- Water your little pot and carry that thing around with you a little while. Things take time to grow man!
3-To make your plant healthy you can add nutrients or other things you want to try. Always wondered what to do with that spectral essence? Well add it to your soil and find out!
4-Your plant is done growing, time to find out what you got!

When you harvest you will either get a new type of seed (to be used in growing an even stronger plant), or an ingredient that you can use with the apothecary skill.

When all is said and done the now empty pot will go into your backpack to be used again.

Magical Salvaging
You too can be an all powerful magical expert! This is a pretty basic system that involves extracting the magical properties from items. What you’ll need to accomplish this is any magical item that has some sort of bonus on it (i.e. +10 Power or +3 to health). Using your deeply arcane and magical skill you will be able to extract one of these bonuses off the item. The drawback to this is the item you are salvaging will be lost in the process, so keep that in mind when you are attempting to withdraw one of its magical properties. If the item has more than one bonus on it, you will only be able to remove one property, so keep that in mind as well and choose the power that benefits you the most.

Example:

You are exploring a new area of the woods and are attacked by a blood-thirsty Cabbit! After a long and exhausting fight you manage to defeat the beast and discovery a shimmering amulet around its neck. Using your powers of deduction you realize this amulet has a +5 Intelligence and +7 Agility bonus. You can’t really use the amulet yourself but you could really use the agility on something else, so you decide to extract that bonus. The process is pretty involved and the amulet is destroyed but you are left with a trinket that will allow you to use that +7 Agility on a Talisman in the future!

Scavenging
This involves recovering hidden items from more intelligent creatures, i.e. sentient. Basically you are rummaging through the dead body’s possessions to see if you can find anything of worth. As with Butchering you will be able to identify a body that can be scavenged by the flies that are buzzing around it. You will, as with Butchering, simply need to click on the corpse to recover items of worth, provided you have the skill trained.

Apothecary
So you want to create some potions, lotions and powders do you? Well in order to do this you will need training in the Apothecary skill. To be successful you’ll need some items such as a container, a main ingredient, and support ingredients.

A breakdown:

• The type of container you use will determine how many support ingredients you can add to your mixture.


• The main ingredient determines what type of potion you will end up with.


• Support ingredients assist in the creation.

A note: All main ingredients are unstable so you will need these support ingredients in order to increase the chance of a successful potion or the possibility of creating something new and exciting.

Example:
Using our previous example of the healing potion we’ll break down the parts.

• 1- You had your container that you used to make your potion in.


• 2- The herbs you gathered were your main ingredient that’s used in all healing potions.


• 3- The cheap wine you scavenged from the dwarves was a support ingredient.


• 4- The fairy wings were another support ingredient you decided to add as well.

Keep in mind that not all support ingredients you add are going to produce results. For example, you decide to use your old combination that you discovered when you made that last healing potion. This time you decide to try and add some left over frog legs as well. Everything seems to be going fine until the mixture starts to bubble rapidly and emit a thick black smoke. After a few tense moments wondering if you are going to survive this experiment, the smoke clears and you take a look inside. Nothing useful was produced! Obviously this is not a good combination and you make a note of it.

In keeping with the WAR effort and encouraging players to get out there and battle, specific things must be done in order to make certain potions. For example you may have had to capture the enemy’s territory in order to cultivate a certain rare fungi. Or you may have had to defeat Glowworm the Great in order to acquire some other special ingredient.

Side note: All potions have a chance of failing. If this happens your container may break and become unusable, however the ingredients you used will not go away and may be used again.

Talisman Crafting
Talisman Crafting is basically the process of creating things that provide bonuses to worn items and armor. In order to make a talisman you are going to need a container just like with Apothecary. You’ll also need various items from crafting/gathering skills and at least one item from magical salvaging. Like Apothecary you’ll need your main ingredient (item from magical salvaging), and your support ingredients. Talisman crafting can imbue bonuses such as; additional stats, bonuses to armor, and bonuses to resistances.

Example:

• You’re ready to make your Talisman so you’ve got your container set.


• You apply the item you got from magical salvaging.


• You apply the necessary support ingredients that are needed to facilitate the process.


• FLASH…BOOM… you’re all done and now have a highly magical item that you can equip!

Note: Only rare and powerful items can have Talisman’s attached to them.

Conclusion
Based on all the information, we can see that early on there is a lot of guess work involved with Warhammer Online crafting. With thousands of different possibilities out there for making items, it will be a fun and challenging experience to discover them all! Additionally, in order to make some of the more powerful items, you’re going to need to work with other players. This is where having a good guild or network of crafters comes into play. Crafting won’t be quite so easy at first, but in my opinion this system should prove to be extremely fun and rewarding, a stark contrast to current crafting systems out there today!