Author Topic: Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)  (Read 2973 times)

Offline Mangala

  • Administrator
  • League of Extraordinary Gentleman
  • *****
  • Posts: 7534
  • WTF did I do??
    • View Profile
    • My EVE Blog
Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)
« on: September 07, 2008, 09:36:59 AM »
(Need to do something to keep myself from writing lengthy emails to GOA, EA & Mythic. So grabbing these from around the net may help do that.)

First:

Squig Herder

One-on-one a Squig is no match for the likes of a Hammerer or Ironbreaker, but the problem there isn’t the match, it’s the numbers. The toothy embrace of a pack of Squigs has brought down many a hearty warrior, and a Squig pack is never more effective than in the hands of an expert Herder. Using tools ranging from pipes to goads to bits of giblets, the Squig Herder drives his minions to a killing frenzy while fighting safely behind the lines. The Herder’s own ranged fire combines with the attacks of his minions to challenge any foe.

Mechanics:

A Squig Herder’s life revolves around one thing, its Squig. A Squig Herder without a Squig is like a car without gasoline. Sure, they can work apart, but one turns into a paper weight in your garage and the other is only good for burning down the house of your next-door neighbor. That being said, although it would be amazing, you can’t use a Squig to burn down houses. Hopefully you get the point anyway. As a Squig Herder you gain Squigs incrementally, starting at level 1. You start out with just a normal Squig, nothing special. It faithfully hops around at your side, looks menacing and gently pecks at whatever is trying to jam its mace down your throat at the time. Things get more interesting as you level up and gain access to a Horned Squig, a Gas Squig and a Spiked Squig all by level 10. In that time frame you also gain Squig Armor, which summons a large Squig that promptly eats you. Don’t worry though, for once in your life you’ll be glad that something doesn’t swallow. Instead, you get to ride around in its maw like its a living, breathing battlemech. Each Squig has it’s own advantages and disadvantages that are associated with one of the three mastery paths. Everything from increased range to increased critical can be had depending on which Squig you choose.

In addition to their Squigs, Squig Herders have plenty of ranged-oriented attacks and abilities. Some abilities, like Stop Runnin!, provide utility, which in this case is a powerful snare. Most of their other abilities though focus on dealing as much damage as possible. Abilities like Poison Arrer are the Squig Herder’s main source of damage output.

The three mastery lines for Squig Herders are Path of Big Shootin’, Path of Quick Shootin’ and Path of Stabbin’. Path of Big Shootin’ focuses on longer range and powerful attacks, Path of Quick Shootin’ focuses on mobility and critical hits and Path of Stabbin’ focuses on melee DPS and defense.

A Squig Herder’s job is, as you might expect, to stand back and let others take the damage while they dish out the pain from afar. With potent single-target and area-effect ranged abilities, there’s generally very little reason to be up on the front lines. However, if a player chooses to go down the Path of Stabbin’ career mastery, their game-play experience may change quite a bit. In that mastery line there are definite advantages to being in the fray as the class plays much more like a hybrid between a ranged DPS class and your typical melee DPS class. No matter how you choose to play a Squig Herder though, you can be certain that you’ll make those holier-than-thou Order healers work quite a bit harder.

Squig Herders wear light armor and use single-handed weapons and bows.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk."


Offline Mangala

  • Administrator
  • League of Extraordinary Gentleman
  • *****
  • Posts: 7534
  • WTF did I do??
    • View Profile
    • My EVE Blog
Re: Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2008, 09:38:07 AM »
Shadow Warrior

When Nagarythe was riven by civil war, most of the Elves there sided with the Witch King, later becoming Dark Elves. Those faithful to the Phoenix King swore to fight Malekith and his treacherous forces. These ill-fated Elves became the Shadow Warriors. The darkest, most sinister and brutal of all the High Elves. The Shadow Warriors are masters of ambush and guerrilla warfare. They strike swiftly and noiselessly with deadly accurate volleys from their longbows, before charging forth to slay any survivors with a flurry of blades.

Mechanics:

Shadow Warriors are High Elves, and as we all know High Elves are a little bit… Different. In that sense, Shadow Warrior’s don’t disappoint as they’ve apparently spent their entire lives training three separate styles of fighting. Any other race would’ve called them “stances,” but Shadow Warriors call them “strategic maneuvers.” See what I mean by different? All three stances are available right off the bat and include Scout Stance, Assault Stance and Skirmish Stance. Each stance has its own unique style and corresponding abilities that may be used with it. For example, the Festering Arrow ability can only be used in Scout Stance, while Takedown, a ranged snare ability, can be used in both Scout Stance and Skirmish Stance, but not Assault Stance. You can only be in one Stance at a time, or no Stance at all, but you can “stance dance” as has been made popular in other games. If you want to use an ability that’s only available in another Stance, simply switch the appropriate Stance and fire away. There is a short cooldown period, about 5 seconds, associated with the Stances so it’s not all great news, but it’s definitely worth it for the increased flexibility. So, as you can see, choosing which “strategic maneuver” you wish to employ is an important decision that will greatly impact your play-style.

In addition to their Stances, Shadow Warriors have a myriad of ranged-oriented attacks and abilities. Some abilities, like Distracting Shot, provide utility, which in this case is a detaunt and damage debuffer. Most of their other abilities though focus on dealing as much damage as possible. Abilities like Festering Arrow spoken about above are the Shadow Warrior’s main source of damage output.

The three mastery lines for Shadow Warriors are, unsurprisingly, The Scout, Assault and The Skirmisher. The Scout focuses on longer range and powerful attacks, Assault focuses on melee DPS and defense and The Skirmisher focuses on mobility and critical hits.

A Shadow Warrior’s job is, as you might expect, to stand back and let others take the damage while they dish out the pain from afar. With potent single-target and area-effect ranged abilities, there’s generally very little reason to be up on the front lines. However, if a player chooses to go down the Assault career mastery, their game-play experience may change quite a bit. In that mastery line there are definite advantages to being in the fray as the class plays much more like a hybrid between a ranged DPS class and your typical melee DPS class. No matter how you choose to play a Shadow Warrior though, you can be certain that you’ll make those nasty Destruction healers work quite a bit harder.

Shadow Warriors wear light armor and use single-handed weapons and bows.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk."


Offline Mangala

  • Administrator
  • League of Extraordinary Gentleman
  • *****
  • Posts: 7534
  • WTF did I do??
    • View Profile
    • My EVE Blog
Re: Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2008, 09:38:42 AM »
Magus

The magic of Tzeentch is sorcery in its purest form - the raw power of the warp unleashed on living flesh. Using this power, the Magus can wreak incredible destruction, but his powers can cause effects more sinister than simple death. The dark magic of the Changer of Ways infects those touched by the Magus’s fires, tearing at their souls and bodies, diminishing their hearts and spirits. From atop his Daemonic Disc of Tzeentch the Magus rains corruption over the battlefield, annihilating his enemies with the sheer power of the Aethyr and the massive strength of his own will.

Mechanics
The Magus career is one of the range DPS classes in Warhammer. Riding on their skimming disc they are able to harness the powers of chaos to inflict pain and suffering on their opponents. They have no mechanics other than handling their action points. The do however have one unique ability which is to summon horrors, like the Pink Horror, to do their bidding. These horrors are stationary and are only able to harm those within their range. The Magus has an assortment of horrors to choose from, the Pink Horror being the first one obtained. The Magus also has a range of other damaging spell like Infernal Blast and Baleful Transmogrification. The Magus also has some defensive debuffs to assist your allies in killing your enemies like Tzeentch’s Grasp.

The Magus’ three mastery paths are Havoc, Changing and Daemonology. The first two paths deal with dealing additional damage and the third would be to enhance the capabilities of your horror.

The Magus’ job is to deal damage to everyone and everything around them. There is nothing else they should concern themselves with. As a Magus you will have to strategically summon your Horror in the proper place and then continue doling out damage to everyone in the area with the magic of Chaos.

The Magus wear’s robes, a very weak armor class.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk."


Offline Mangala

  • Administrator
  • League of Extraordinary Gentleman
  • *****
  • Posts: 7534
  • WTF did I do??
    • View Profile
    • My EVE Blog
Re: Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2008, 09:39:12 AM »
Engineer

An explosion is the ultimate form of mechanical advantage, so it’s no big surprise that the skills of the Dwarf Engineer extend well along these lines. From guns to grenades, he is a deadly ranged combatant who will pelt you with lead from afar and blast you to bits as you close in. He excels when fighting multiple opponents, as many of his explosive attacks are capable of devastating enemies who pack too closely together. The Engineer offers an outstanding blend of flexible firepower which makes him a truly deadly and clever combatant.

Mechanics:
An engineer’s job is to deal damage, and in so doing so will deploy grenades, guns, ammo and turrets. There are no special mechanics when working as an engineer other than managing your action points. Your abilities vary when doing dps from Firebomb grenades, Blunderbuss Blast shots, to deploying stationary Gun Turrets. You also have a vast arsenal of tools to defend your allies like Barbed Wire.

The dwarven engineer has three mastery paths that focus on three different spheres of their arsenal. The Riflemen to assist your rifle attacks, The Grenadier to assist your bombs and The Tinkerer to make your gadgets and turrets stronger.

The Engineer’s job is to deal damage to everyone and everything around them. There is nothing else they should concern themselves with. As an Engineer you will have to strategically place your turrets in the proper place and then continue doling out damage to everyone in the area with your guns blazing.

The Engineer wear’s light armor, a very weak armor class.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk."


Offline Mangala

  • Administrator
  • League of Extraordinary Gentleman
  • *****
  • Posts: 7534
  • WTF did I do??
    • View Profile
    • My EVE Blog
Re: Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2008, 09:40:16 AM »
Bright Wizard

The Bright Wizard is a master of destruction by magic, and a specialist in fire. Fire is at the heart of his every ability, and indeed at the heart of the Wizard himself. Using the power of the wind of fire, he can lay waste to swaths of enemies, or incinerate select foes with white hot energy. His magic feeds upon itself, upon the enemy, and upon the Wizard. Embracing the fires within his mind, the Bright Wizard himself is engulfed in flame. He directs this inferno against his foes, filling them with searing power until they burst, incinerated by arcane flames so hot they threaten to ignite the air itself.

Mechanics
The Bright Wizard is what is often called by many games as a “glass cannon”. As you cast your burning spells like Sear and Boiling Blood you build Combustion points. The greater the points the more chance you have of causing more damage above and beyond what the spell calls for. However this power comes at a price. The greater the Combustion level the greater chance you have of causing damage to yourself, even killing you, so be extremely careful and walk the fine line of damage king and suicide. There is one ability like Meltdown which allows you to dump all of you Combustion points safely.

The Bright Wizard’s three mastery paths are Incineration which allows you to deal damage, Immolation which aids your ability to leave sustaining damage and Conflagration which assists in area of affect damage.

The Bright Wizard’s job is to deal damage to everyone and everything around them. There is nothing else they should concern themselves with. As a Bright Wizard you should carefully ride the line between total combustion and damage being very mindful of your health and your eagerness to do even more damage. A trusty healer at your side goes a long way.

The Bright Wizard wear’s Robes, a very weak armor class.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk."


Offline Mangala

  • Administrator
  • League of Extraordinary Gentleman
  • *****
  • Posts: 7534
  • WTF did I do??
    • View Profile
    • My EVE Blog
Re: Ranged Class Write Ups (Both Factions)
« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2008, 09:40:40 AM »
Sorceress

In times of war the Witch King calls upon his Convents of Sorceresses to rain death and destruction down upon the target of his ire. Their magical prowess will blight the warriors of the opposing army, scorch their souls from their bodies and bring ruination and curses aplenty upon their heads.

Mechanics
The Sorceress is a potent wielder of Dark Magic, so much so that they often risk their own lives when attempting to wield it to such large extents. Other than keeping a fresh supply of action points to deal magic the Sorceress build up Dark Magic points. The more points, the more damage she does, however at a cost. When the number builds she has a greater chances of causing backlash dealing damage to herself. Spells like Chillwind and Shattered Shadows devastate opponents building Dark Magic. There are spells like Dhar Wind that dumps all Dark Magic keeping you safe.

The Sorceress’ three mastery paths are Agony for increased damage, Calamity for damage over time enhancement and Destruction for wide area of affect enhancement.

The Sorceress’ job is to deal damage to everyone and everything around them. There is nothing else they should concern themselves with. As a Sorceress you should carefully ride the line between Dark Magic and it’s threat of backlash being very mindful of your health and your eagerness to do even more damage. A trusty healer at your side goes a long way.

The Sorceress wear’s Robes, a very weak armor class.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk."