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Patch 4.3: Official preview of priest tier 13
The recently datamined priest tier 13 set has now been officially revealed by Blizzard, and it looks gorgeous. The Vestments of Dying Light are designed in a Venetian carnival style with creepy eyes, reminiscent of the mask that Ed Norton wore as the King of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven. It's a very beautiful tier set. Blizzard states that priests are one of the harder classes to design badass armor sets for, but I think with this round, the design team definitely hit the mark. So far, tier 13 armor design has been less about the instance and the game itself and more about the free-form ideas that the class and armor designers want to play with. Artists are having a good time coming up with all sorts of crazy ideas without having to necessarily be set in any motif. I think it's a great exercise and is providing some of the coolest, potentially most iconic armor sets to date. Check out images from the priest tier gear retrospective in our gallery. %Gallery-135095%
The Light and How to Swing It: Synergizing with priests
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Every Sunday, Chase Christian invites you to discuss the finer side of the paladin class: the holy specialization. Feel free to email me with any questions you want answered, like why paladins are so awesome. Holy paladins can't do it all. While we might be the best-dressed spec in the game, we occasionally need for other healers to give us a hand. The developers have done a great job giving each healer a niche for them to fill. A holy paladin must know the strengths and weaknesses of the other healing classes in order to be able to work alongside them. While all healers are somewhat normalized by Cataclysm's introduction of the three heal model, it's each class's unique spells that give them flavor. We all start with the same base, and then our signature heals and cooldowns allow us to differentiate ourselves. Holy paladins can adjust their healing style and strategy to complement their partner healers instead of competing with them.
Is it time to kill pure DPS?
Hi guys, you may remember me from last week when I threw a rock into a hornet's nest. I was frankly blown away by the responses, some of which were very well thought-out, that supported, refuted, or elaborated on the issue of tanking and if it is here to stay or on its last legs. Since I find that kind of discussion valuable, I thought, "Well, I can always find another rock, right?" And so here we are. The DPS classes in World of Warcraft present us with a conundrum. If we consider the holy trinity of tanking, damage dealing and healing to be a pyramid that the game relies on, then the base of the pyramid is most easily envisioned as cornered by the tanking and healing classes and the apex occupied by the DPSers. The issue is, only four classes can hold up the tanking corner, only four can hold up the healing corner (and two of those classes are also in the tanking corner), and absolutely every single class in the game can stand on the top of the pyramid. This results in a pyramid that's metaphorically heavier on top than at the bottom. Furthermore, of the game's 10 classes, four of them (the rogue, mage, warlock, and hunter) can only stand at the top. Whether or not they want to do something else is immaterial (although one assumes that they do not, elsewise they might have chosen a different class), because they simply cannot do so -- at least if we continue to visualize the game as based around the tanking/damaging/healing triad. So what to do? Well, we can get rid of DPS classes entirely.
Choose your abilities with ArcheAge's custom class creator
ArcheAge's skill and class system is still something of a mystery to most folks in the West, due to both the language barrier and the fact that XL Games hasn't outlined all the particulars in detail. The company has updated its English-language website, though, and the ability-combination page gives a bit more insight into what players can expect when building characters in the upcoming sandpark title. The page features a charted list of abilities that, when combined in groups of three, result in a particular class name being displayed. We're assuming that the resulting class will then get to select specific skills from each ability tree. For example, selecting the artistry, calling, and wild abilities results in a class called a Plainsrunner, and reading between the lines on each ability description indicates a Ranger-like class with a pet, stealth, support buffs, and ranged attacks. If you're looking for a traditional fantasy class, XL provides premade Warrior, Priest, and Wizard templates just above the chart (as well as something called a Chaser), and you can also view brief videos of 10 of the listed abilities via the link in the left margin.
Wings Over Atreia: Class builds -- Cleric
Last week we discussed how personality influences class choice, so after some deep reflection, you have decided that it is time to reveal your true nature and be reborn as a cleric in Aion! Either that, or maybe you just wanted to solo some dungeons to horde all the loot. *cha-ching* Perhaps you already became one to impress that really cute voice in vent who is always looking for a healer. Whatever your reason, the life of servitude is for you. Now what? Welcome to Build-a-Cleric. While some Daevas are content to just play with what they get from drops or quests, a number actually want to outfit their characters the best they can. Even if leveling too quickly to worry about uber gear thanks to mentoring and an easier grind, it is never a bad idea to keep an eye on endgame. And with the plethora of manastones, armor sets, weapons, and stigmas available -- not to mention advice, both solicited and unsolicited -- it can be a daunting task to maximize your potential. So to help you wade through the possibilities, Wings Over Atreia will be exploring each class individually and highlighting popular and effective builds. With any luck, some advance knowledge will help you make informed decisions and avoid the catastrophes of expending all of your energies in obtaining the wrong gear for your needs. Nothing shouts broke like having to re-socket entire sets or enchant new ones! Roll up your sleeves and explore various builds for Aion's Cleric class after the cut.
Wings Over Atreia: You are what you play
Have you ever noticed how some people just gravitate toward certain archetypes when it comes to choosing a class to play in-game? That some players just seem to really fit their role? It doesn't matter if it is the first class they dive into the moment that character selection screen pops up or the one they always end up with no matter how many times they try something different. Not only have I seen this play out repeatedly in Aion, but I have experienced it firsthand. It's quite fascinating, really -- certain personality traits are simply drawn to certain classes. More so than any other aspect of gaming, character class is a reflection of some of our core traits and beliefs; character creation is rarely just random but rather is guided by conscious and unconscious desires. Don't believe me? Take a look around Atreia -- it is demonstrated time and time again. Warriors, scouts, mages, priests... each has idiosyncrasies that are unique to the archetype and are fitting for the gamers who play them. And don't think others' opinions aren't colored by your class; each also subtly alludes to these specific traits. So what does your class say about you (or your legionmates)? Step past the cut into my office and we can delve into these personality profiles within Aion.
Official tier 12 armor set preview updated with warrior and druid
Blizzard has updated the community site tier 12 armor preview with the final 2 armor sets -- warrior and druid. Patch 4.2 is coming soon, as players prepare for the invasion into the Firelands to confront Ragnaros for the (potentially) last time. Each armor set for this raid tier has its looks originating from something in the Firelands, going for the instance motif over the class motif. Warriors will dress themselves in the Molten Giant Battleplate, made in the image of the new molten giant model. You may remember molten giants and molten destroyers from the Molten Core. They also wander fields of lava in the Firelands, ready to lumber over to unsuspecting players. Druids will be donning the Obsidian Arborweave sets, based on what appears to be the tree that Malfurion and the Avengers of Hyjal are growing in the Firelands as the foward base against Ragnaros. Maybe, as a restoration druid, you were upset that Tree of Life was not a permanent form anymore. Well, now you get to dress up like a tree. Compromise. Hit the jump for a pic of the druid set. By the way, Obsidian Arborweave is the most "Blizzard" name for anything I have ever seen. I hope that guy got a raise.
GamersFirst revamps Knight Online's capital city
GamersFirst is getting a lot of press lately due to its resurrection project on APB: Reloaded, but it bears mentioning that San Paro isn't the only city receiving some love from the free-to-play company. Knight Online's capital city of Moradon "has risen from the ashes to be completely redesigned," according to a new GamersFirst press blurb. Moradon's architecture has been permanently redone, and the questing hub boasts a graphical revamp that reflects the city's rebuilding efforts following the destructive machinations of the god Pathos in Knight Online's chapter eight update. Knight Online is a PvP- and story-centric MMO that allows players to fight for lands and castles in the kingdom of Carnac. Four character classes are available, and you can learn more about the Warrior, Rogue, Priest, and Mage at the game's official web destination.
Holier than thou: Divine Souls adds the Priest
It figures that in a game called Divine Souls, sooner or later the team would include clergy. Outspark's action RPG has expanded its class roster to include the Priest, who's an interesting mix of lethal intent and compassionate healing. The Priest is equipped with a deadly Soul Scythe, with which he culls the heathens as he works his way through the land. That's not all he brings to battle; the Priest is also well-versed in healing, lightning and poison magics. Outspark's Philip Yun hopes that the Priest will be embraced by the playerbase: "We've designed Divine Souls from the beginning to offer the most action-packed and exciting combat gameplay available online. We're constantly working to improve our games and offer players more exciting characters, weapons and other premium content. The Priest class will be especially compelling for players who want to try a different edge to our PvP battles." Hit the jump to see Divine Souls' Priest in action!
Lost Pages of Taborea: Tinkering with standard classes and my Priest/Rogue
Aside from some ancillary problems, one of the things I love so much about Runes of Magic is that it gives me ability to augment weapons and equipment via the arcane transmutor. When that is coupled with a dual-class system, players are given a lot of room to bend traditional classes to their wills. I've been running a Priest/Rogue for a while now and loving it. The selection of offensive spells, the Rogue's skills, and the weapons I can wield have me wanting to push the boundaries of typical class specifications. I'm building a hammer-wielding Priest that's specced much like I'd spec a Mage, but the class can also pump out adequate melee damage. In this week's Lost Pages of Taborea, I want to give you a run-down of the gear, weapons, and stats I'm choosing. It should serve as a good guide to some unique possibilities for classes in RoM.
Raid Rx: How to combine Spirit Link Totem and Power Word: Barrier
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. I envy shaman. A latest look at the front page of World of Logs shows that the new shaman totem of awesomeness (Spirit Link Totem) has a rather intriguing property to it. We've had it for a while now, ever since patch 4.1, and this totem is the new shaman defensive mechanic. Anyone standing within 10 yards of it reduces incoming damage by 10%. Cool. What else? Every second, the health of all the players standing within it also gets redistributed. The interesting part is that the health can be increased to count as healing. However, that sword swings both ways. It'll also adjust health downward, which counts as damage. Even better? This damage can be both resisted and mitigated.
Raid Rx: Healing changes and Firelands thoughts
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. Here's one of the larger healing changes coming up in patch 4.2. It'll affect all healers for sure, since it affects the critical strike of heals. We first learned Blizzard was contemplating this change several weeks ago in a Dev Watercooler post. All healing critical strikes now heal for 2 times a normal heal (+100%), up from 1.5 times a normal heal (+50%). source I'll go over my thoughts about the proposed healing changes for patch 4.2. I also had the opportunity to try out some of the new raid encounters on the PTR in Firelands. Think you're ready for the upcoming healing challenge?
Raid Rx: Analyzing tier 12 healing set bonuses
Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a WoW blog for all things UI-, macro- and addon-related. Catch his weekly podcast on healing, raiding and leading on the Matticast. Good news, everyone! Patch 4.2 information is heating up! I've already fired up my PTR client, and I'll be eagerly testing any new encounters. Some of the new information that has been released includes the new tier bonuses, which I'm sure you're burning with desire to know more about. I'll see if I can help stoke the flames of your anticipation. I suspect we'll have some players returning to see if new content is going to rekindle their interest in the game. Too many fire puns? Okay, let's just blaze on through and look at healing tier bonuses.
Massively Exclusive: Outspark previews new Priest class in Divine Souls video teaser
There's a new class on the way to Divine Souls, the action combat MMO from Outspark. Next week will see the introduction of the Priest, and this ain't your daddy's healbot. No sir, this Priest is all about offense, and Outspark has given Massively an exclusive look at the whirling dervish as he swings, slashes, and chops his way through hordes of bad guys courtesy of his deadly soul scythe. Priests make use of lightning and poison elements in addition to melee attacks and traditional restorative powers. Divine Souls is also getting some avatar outfit updates, and you can get a few glimpses of the new digs, as well as the new class, in the Priest trailer after the cut.
Patch 4.2 Preview: Tier 12 armor sets
Blizzard has been on an information release kick this week for Rage of the Firelands, the next content patch for Cataclysm. World of Warcraft has been known, for better or for worse, by its armor design choices. Some of the armor sets in WoW actually have transcended the game itself, becoming part of a healthy nostalgia for players old and new. Firelands is not going to have any shortage of cool raid gear. The tier 12 armor preview has just been released and contains images of the paladin, mage, rogue, hunter, death knight and priest sets. Warlocks, warriors, shaman, and druids are currently absent, though we can bet druids will also have a fire motif, considering Fandral Staghelm's role in the Firelands raid. %Gallery-122557%
Spiritual Guidance: The shadow priest's guide to patch 4.1
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Each Wednesday, the priestly Fox Van Allen takes on all topics shadow. If you'd like to see Spiritual Guidance in person, send your request along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to TICKETS, "Spiritual Guidance," CBS Television City, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90036. New patches almost always mean changes to classes, specs, and abilities. In this respect, patch 4.1 is no different. For shadow priests, patch 4.1 brings huge nerfs. It also brings huge buffs. There's an awful lot to keep straight. Thankfully, you don't need to go it alone. Spiritual Guidance is here to help.
Behind the Mask: The pursuit of magic
When it comes to roleplaying, I'm a huge fan of wizards and spell casters, and it has nothing to do with gameplay roles. Magic is generally unlimited in its potential; it has the power to do anything the imagination can perceive, and the freedom to choose different roles for my characters is very attractive. In the Champions universe, arcane practice is very different than its typical portrayals elsewhere. In most universes with a fantasy element, magic involves some chanting and spending some magic points or some other consumable resource (or possibly forgetting the spell in question) before the magic effect wills itself into existence. For roleplayers, this magical difference is very important. Magical spells and creatures don't follow the same rules as those present in other fiction. Champions mystics follow real-life mythology and lore -- and strangely, this makes them unique among mages in other roleplaying settings.
The Anvil of Crom: It's the Bear Shaman (barely)
Well, the people have spoken, and it seems like I've got some new marching orders when it comes to Age of Conan. If you've been following the column for the last little while, you'll know that I'm running a miniseries that borrows heavily from Massively's Choose My Adventure pieces. Every so often I'll offer up some polls relating to various gameplay choices, giving you the reader the opportunity to vicariously explore aspects of Funcom's fantasy title that may have lacked previous coverage. I'll report on my character's adventures on a regular basis, with the long-term goal being a pretty comprehensive record of what it's like to play AoC from 1 to 80, as well as a deep look at endgame. In addition, it's a public character, so anyone who wants to group for dungeons, PvP, or general shenanigans can hit me up in game. Preambles aside, head past the cut to see the results of last week's polling and a glimpse into the future.
En Masse releases new TERA Community Play Diary entry
TERA may have had a relatively laid-back showing at this year's GDC, but development continues apace for the folks at En Masse Entertainment. Community director Jason "BrotherMagneto" Mical and community manager Evan "Scapes" Berman have returned to give anxious fans another peek behind the curtain, courtesy of the latest installment in the ongoing Community Play Diary series. This week's episode, dubbed Learning the Ropes, sees our intrepid hosts showing off a few of TERA's more unique tutorial aspects. Activities include bomb-throwing and climbing along with more traditional NPC interaction and UI familiarization fare that takes the form of story-based quests from the perspective of a raw Valkyon Federation recruit. Read all about it on the official TERA website, and check out this handy forum thread if you've missed any of the previous series installments.
Gods & Heroes dev blog talks class balance, lifts NDA
Hot on the heels of its GDC updates, Heatwave Interactive has released a new dev blog detailing further aspects of Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. The mythological MMORPG boasts four unique character classes (the Priest, the Soldier, the Gladiator, and the Mystic), and today's dev blog offers a look at a few class-specific issues through the eyes of senior content designer Todd Bailey. Bailey discusses how the Soldier and Gladiator differ despite the fact that both focus on close-range melee combat. He also talks about why the Scout and Nomad classes won't be available at launch. "The honest answer is that the Nomad was completely overpowered as a class and just felt like it was the catch-all for abilities that didn't go anywhere else," Bailey explains. He also says that combat tuning and balancing is an ongoing process, noting that the overall combat feel is much improved even though a few new wrinkles have been introduced during the tweaking process. Head to the official Gods & Heroes website for the full dev diary. In still other G&H news, Heatwave has officially dropped the game's NDA, so beta players can now freely talk about the title here and elsewhere!
