Runes of Magic Warden class overview

We've already covered the new Druid class that came with the The Elven Prophecy update to Runes of Magic this month. Now we explore the other new class, the Warden. This class relies on their blade to inflict damage on their foes. It's not a ranged attack class as it does not rely on the bow, it is a melee attack class. They also use their summonable nature spirits for quite a bit of DPS as well as their self-only utility and protection buffs.

The Warden comes with a number of damage dealing spells. But instead of being long range nukes, they are usually channeled through the Warden's weapons. Later on, the channeled weapon attacks will restore the Warden's health with every blow. The Warden does have one direct damage spell, but it drains the lifeforce of their pet. They also receive one area of effect damage spell. At level 32 the Warden gains the ability to wield two-handed axes and swords and at level 50 they get an AE melee attack.

Since the Warden is usually on the front lines of battle, he also has a number of protection spells to reduce damage to himself. These include emergency spells like the Level 16 Elven Amulet that reduces physical damage to the Warden for a short time. All of the Warden's buffs are restricted to themselves and their pets.

After the jump, a full list of abilities and more playstyle analysis for the class.

A big surprise is how powerful the summoned nature spirit pets are. At low levels the pets do equal if not greater damage than the Warden and can take quite a few hits as well. That may change in the mid to high levels, but at the beginning of the game, the Warden is a glorified pet class. At higher levels, the Warden can buff the pet in different ways.

For utility, the Warden gets a few crowd control spells like a short duration root and the ability to banish a target for a few seconds rendering the target safe from harm at the same time. They can also call upon the powers of their pets to give themselves temporary boosts in health, crit rate or 2-handed weapon damage.

Warden Spells

Level 1
Charged Chop: 110% main hand weapon DPS in a single blow. Has a 2 second cast time that makes it's usefulness questionable at lower levels.*

Energy Absorb: Instant cast debuff that reduces target's physical damage output and increases your own for 15 seconds. Great spell to pull with, but on a 5 minute cooldown timer.

Summon Spirit of the Oak: Summon your nature spirit companion. 8 second cast time.

Recall Pet: Dismiss your nature spirit companion.

Level 2
Thorny Vine: Damage over time over 8 seconds. Does more damage as it ticks.

Level 4
Briar Shield: Damage absorption shield only castable on the Warden. Absorbs a set amount of physical damage for every blow that lands for 5 minutes.*

Level 6
Elven Prayer: Heal over time for your pet.

Level 8
Power of the Wood Spirit: Instant main hand weapon attack with extra damage burst.*

Level 10
Movement Restriction: Root target for short time. When root breaks, target takes damage. 45 second cooldown.

Level 12
Enhanced Accuracy: Increases the Warden's physical attack accuracy.*

Level 14
Summon Nature Crystal: A new nature spirit companion to summon.

Level 16
Elven Amulet: Reduce physical damage by 20% for 10 seconds.*

Level 20
Savage Power: Increase the Warden's physical attack power for 30 seconds.*

Level 22
Damage Transfer: Transfer a portion of the damage you receive to your pet for 15 seconds. 3 minute cooldown. Pet must be nearby.

Level 24
Heart of the Oak: Temporary increase in maximum health and 5 min heal over time. Self only.

Level 26
Frantic Briar: Area of Effect damage spell.

Level 28
Soul Attack: Sacrifice part of your pet's health to do Earth damage to target.

Level 30
Summon Oak Walker: Summon new nature spirit companion.

Level 32
Protection of Nature: Temporary increase in physical and magical crit rate for 10 mins.

Two-handed Weapon Mastery: You can wield two-handed axes and swords.

Level 34
Natural Lifeline: Permanently increase your pet's maximum health by 2.8%.

Level 36
Banish: Banish your target making it unable to act, but also unable to receive damage. Good temporary crowd control.

Level 40
Vitality Explosion: You are healed when using Charged Chop or Power of the Wood Spirit.

Level 42
Power of the Oak: Temporary increase your two-handed weapon attack damage for 10 minutes.

Level 44
Explosion of Power: Pet attack buff. Increases it's physical and magical attack power for 30 seconds. 3 minute cooldown.

Level 48
Elven Guidance: For 15 seconds, the Warden recovers Magical Power every time pet uses special attack.

Level 50
Cross Chop: Area of Effect melee attack. 6 second cooldown.

Spells with an asterisk next to them are still accessible if you take on another class as your primary class. I wasn't able to access all the pet abilities, but the pets have their own set of special attacks that you can control.

Have you played a new Druid or Warden? Have any tips for players trying out these new classes? %Gallery-65922%