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Massively goes to WAR: An overview of Tanking careers for Order
Massively goes to WAR this fine Monday morning with an overview of tanks on the side of Order in Warhammer Online. The Dwarven Ironbreaker and the High Elf Swordmaster have two very distinct styles and ability sets, but they are both very good at what they do. Let's look further into the two careers that are the crux of any successful group.The Dwarf IronbreakerThis career is more like a classic tank you would see in other MMORPG's: various taunts, damage skills and shield maneuvers keep the attention of the enemies while the others in the group pour on the damage and/or healing. The unique abilities that set this career apart from the High Elf tank are the Grudge and Oath Friend mechanics.Every time your dwarf is struck in combat he gains 5 Grudge. Every time the Ironbreaker's Oath Friend (see below) is struck in combat he gains 10 Grudge. Grudges can then be used to unleash powerful abilities. The dwarf can build up a maximum of 100 Grudge points, but they will fade after 30 seconds out of combat.
Massively goes to WAR: An overview of Tanking careers for Order - Swordmaster
This tank relies on Elven agility and combo moves combined with their enchantable Great Sword to battle their foes and protect their friends. Starting in normal Balance, the Swordmaster can use special attacks to progress to Perfect Balance where they can unleash some of their most powerful moves.
The Elves of WAR: Meet the Swordmaster levels 1-5
Maybe the High Elf melee dps and healer careers aren't your preferred playstyle. It's time to look at the High Elf tanking class, the Swordmaster, in our continuing exclusive pre-NDA coverage of the Elves of WAR. We've already written up an overview of the class and its chain-combo fighting style, but now let's start from the beginning and work our way up.Level 1Graceful Strike - 40 AP, Instant cast, 5ft rangeLeads to Improved BalanceA swift attack that deals 10 damage and Cripples for an additional 20 damage over 5 seconds. Monsters struck with this technique will hate you more.Throw - 20 AP, 1sec cast, 5-65ft rangeA basic throwing attack that inflicts 10 damage. Has a chance to deal 90 damage to a severely wounded traget if you are behind them.Throw is good for pulling, but Graceful Strike is your bread-and-butter dps plus taunt ability and it starts your combo chain by shifting you from Balance to Improved Balance.
The Elves of WAR: Meet the Swordmaster
Massively continues its exclusive pre-NDA look into the Elves of Warhammer Online. This article focuses on the Swordmaster, the High Elf tanking career specializing in combo chains called the Blade Dance. Through the use of enchanted Great Swords and Shields as well as natural elven agility, Swordmasters not only endure the incoming attacks of their enemies, but also unlock powerful abilities as the battle progresses. Every Swordmaster has a Balance state. At the beginning of battle, their Balance state is Normal, but special attacks improve their Balance and unlocks a new set of attacks. When the Swordmaster reaches Perfect Balance they can unleash their most fearsome abilities, but at the cost of resetting their Balance back to Normal.Being a tank class, most of their abilities are focused on taunting, debuffing and protection of their allies through attacks on the enemy. But through mastery trees, each player can customize the class in different ways. Through the Khaine (offense), Vaul (defense) and Hoeth (magic) mastery trees the Swordmaster will not only gain new abilities, but will buff core abilities that improve Balance in a way that works with the chosen playstyle. Plus, there are three different blade enchants the Swordmaster has access to, though only one can be active at any time, that will also get buffed by the corresponding mastery tree.
