Rouges and Paladins

[Grulg]

FoH has more information for us! Click here. Edited December 3, 2003 by Grulg

[Grulg]

The thuds coming from the door were getting louder and more hurried. This parishioner, if it was a parishioner, sounded desperate; but who would disturb the sanctity of the Cathedral of Light at this late an hour? “Never a moments rest,” he thought, as the old Priest got out of bed to investigate the ruckus.

The Priest opened the front door and immediately recognized the boy standing before him as Victor, Page to the Lord Protector, Leonus Crowley. Victor’s appearance startled the Priest; the boy was extremely pale and disheveled, a bead of sweat on his trembling upper lip, breathing heavily, almost panting. No doubt he had run the entire distance to the Cathedral from his master’s quarters within the Castle.

“Calm down boy. What has brought you to the Cathedral in such a frenzied state?” asked the Priest.

“It, it’s the ... It’s the Lord Protector your holiness. He has fallen into a trance. He mumbles and shouts but nothing I do wakes him from his slumber. And… He is bleeding, Sire… there are markings, cuts and bruises, covering his body.... he writhes in anguish.” The young boy was petrified.

If Priest Aginor had still been asleep, this would have been thought to be the beginning of a terrible nightmare. Leonus had been his pupil, a child of Light. He had been left in the custody of Aginor after his mother and father were brutally murdered by the Horde during the siege of Stormwind, some 25 years earlier. What was happening now could only have one explanation, and Aginor feared for the worst.

Priest Aginor hurriedly put on his robe and began to wake up the others. He would need help if the Lord Protector was to be saved.

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The Priests were now huddled around the bed of Lord Crowley. Whispers and prayers could be heard around the room. Aginor pushed his way to the bedside of Lord Crowley and began to remove the bloodied sleeping garments from the body of the entranced Paladin.

The whispers stopped, only to be replaced by loud gasps. Visible now in the light of the room was the body of a man that appeared horribly tortured. Slashes and deep purple marks covered nearly every inch of his body.

The room erupted in a brilliant flash of Holy Light; Aginor had begun the healing process. The rest of the Priesthood quickly followed suit, Lord Crowley’s body was now covered in an iridescent glow, the wounds closing and the bruises clearing. His breathing had become regular again and it appeared, at least for the time being, that the pain had ceased.

“This is the work of dark magic,” whispered one Priest.

“The markings are stigmata, he is possessed by something unholy,” argued another.

A debate had now begun between some of the elder members of the Priesthood about the cause of Lord Crowley’s wounds.

Aginor remained silent through the conversations, though; he knew that this was not dark magic nor were the markings stigmata. It was holy magic. An old protective Seal was about to be shattered, a Seal of brotherhood... His thoughts were disrupted, however, when he noticed a strange marking on the upper right arm of Leonus. He moved in closer, perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him. Upon Leonus’ arm was burned in a symbol. It appeared to be a brand of ownership, perhaps slavery. The marking was growing darker, more pronounced and Aginor could smell the acrid scent of burning flesh rising from the arm of the transfixed Paladin. The Priest began an incantation to cleanse the wound but the symbol remained engraved in the arm of the Lord Protector.

“What does it mean?” asked a Priest.

“This reeks of the Forsaken…” proclaimed another.

“The Forsaken had nothing to do with this….” All went silent in the room as Lord Crowley rose from his bed.

“The Seal is broken, my brother is dead. Butchered,” he growled through gritted teeth…

“Your Brother? We were unaware that you had a Brother, Lord Protector.” The Grand Inquisitor was standing at the doorway.

“Who was he? Your brother… “ asked the Inquisitor.

The moment Aginor most feared was now at hand.

“Ardan. Ardan Tariq,” said Leonus.

Gasps could be heard throughout the room. Some were stunned in silence, some frozen in fear.

The Inquisitor’s eyes grew wide in disbelief, “Ardan? Ardan the assassin? The Shade of Light?” “How could this be? How… I don… Ardan the Ashen is your brother?”

“Was my Brother…’ said Leonus, nodding softly.

“VICTOR,” Leonus shouted, “Prepare my armor … bring me the ‘Hand of Light’ and meet me at the stables…”

“Where are you going, Lord Crowley?” asked the Inquisitor.

“To find my Brother’s murderer and bring him to justice,’ said the Paladin.

“But… Lord Crowley, the killer could be one of a thousand people. How will you find him?” The Inquisitor was now showing genuine concern.

Leonus lifted his right shirt sleeve and pointed to the marking on his arm that Priest Aginor had seen form earlier. “See that brand, Inquisitor?” The Inquisitor nodded. “It is the mark of the killer. All of his victims have these letters branded into their arms, usually right before they are murdered and sometimes after.”

“Letters? I see no letters, it looks as if some arcane symbol has been burned into your arm,” said the Inquisitor.

Leonus motioned for the Inquisitor to come closer. With the tip of his left index finger he drew an invisible line connecting the perceived symbols. “When my Seal of Protection was broken, the brand had not yet fully formed into the skin of my brother. This marking is incomplete, but as you can see, the shapes form a ‘D’ and an ‘R,’ with the ‘D’ mirrored on the backside of the ‘R’,” explained Leonus. “It is definitely his blood work. Now if you will excuse me, I must be on my way.”

Leonus pushed through to the doorway, nodding his thanks to Priest Aginor on the way out.

“D-R? What does it mean Lord Crowley?” asked the Inquisitor.

“I can only assume it signifies his name - Drakowen.” And with that, the Paladin was gone.

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Priest Aginor groaned. By morning Stormwind would be in a frenzy. The Lord Protector, brother to the notorious assassin, Ardan Tariq.

Leonus was only a boy of 10 when Ardan brought him to the Cathedral. Ardan was just entering manhood, strong, agile, and bent on vengeance. Aginor tried to calm the young Ardan at the time, but knew that his pleadings would fall on deaf ears.

Ardan would come by once a year to visit his younger brother, giving Aginor money, making sure his brother was taken care of and on the path of Light. It was no coincidence, then, that because of Ardan, Leonus would grow into the prodigal Paladin of Light, and eventually, a Lord Protector of Stormwind. After all, it was Ardan who tipped off Leonus to the corruption of the Night Elf Ambassador to Stormwind, Laaikus and his traitorous dealings with the Horde. It was Leonus, who from this information intercepted a Horde ambush along the supply routes of Westfall, trouncing a Horde attempt at capturing a caravan of Priests returning from Darnassus.

Ardan ended up assassinating Laaikus in his home, managing to incapacitate two of Laaikus’ elite guards and ending the Night Elf’s life in one fatal blow. Despite the overwhelming evidence pointing to the guilt of Laaikus as being a traitor to the Alliance, the assassination went over poorly with the King. Many more assassinations occurred after the death of Laaikus, some within Alliance boundaries, some within the bounds of the Horde, and all with the same message, pinned to the chests of the victims: “Atoned is he that finds redemption through the blades of Light.” So it would be that Ardan would be known as the Shade of Light amongst the Priests of Stormwind. The Assassin of Light.

Aginor knelt and began a prayer for Leonus.

“May the Light guide his hammer…”

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In this update, I will be discussing two staple classes of MMORGs – The Paladin and the Rogue. In World of Warcraft, you will notice that these classes are given some special attention and both have some very intriguing characteristics.

The Paladin

The Paladin is an Alliance specialist. That is to say, Horde players will not have an option to play a Paladin. The Horde specialist is the Shaman, which I will be discussing in a later update.

Paladins can be either Humans or Dwarves. Their power and faith is drawn from “The Light.” A Paladin can best be described as a Holy Warrior. They are adept at utilizing weapons and armor as well as Holy Magic in various incarnations (more on this later).

Just like Warriors, Paladins begin as a chain class (Yes, I forgot to add this in my previous update). As they grow in power, they eventually gain the ability to don plate. YES, Paladins in Warcraft can use swords, but traditionally, they are more apt to use blunt weapons, i.e. Hammers.

Paladins get a few Melee abilities. These abilities currently draw upon the mana pool of the Paladin. One such ability is Holy Strike, a high damage melee attack that does extra damage versus Undead. Another ability in this category is the “Fist of Justice.” Fist of Justice is a stun that actually knocks the opponent to the ground; something a player would use in combat versus spellcasters to interrupt casting as well as to incapacitate melee opponents. Against humanoids, the spell actually knocks the opponent to the ground, on their back.

Naturally, the Paladin has the ability to Lay on Hands. Lay on Hands drains all of the Paladin’s mana but completely heals their target. Currently the use of Lay on Hands is set to a one hour cooldown.

Holy Magic

One of the first spells the Paladin receives is Holy Light. Holy Light will be the most commonly used heal spell utilized by Paladins. With Holy Light, a Paladin could keep their group healthy, but at nowhere near the efficiency of a Priest. The Paladin also gets the spell, Purify, which acts as a dispel towards detrimental spell effects cast against the Paladin and their allies. At level 12, a Paladin gains the ability to resurrect players. Again, at nowhere NEAR the efficiency of a Priest. A Paladin’s first resurrect spell brings the player back to life with nearly no hit points or mana. This will scale more efficiently at higher levels.

Seals

Another unique ability available to Paladins is Seals. A Seal is basically a short duration buff. Paladins are limited to being able to cast only one Seal per player. That is, A Paladin could not stack all of their Seals on one player or themselves. In order to make Paladins stack better in grouping and raid situations, however, Seals cast from different Paladins DO stack with each other. Thus, two Paladins in your group could put a different Seal on each player. Casting different Seals on players that already have one of their Seals overwrites the previous Seal.

Many different Seals are available for the Paladin to cast. For example, a Paladin could use a Seal of Wisdom on a spell caster, imbuing the player with enhanced mana regeneration. A Seal of Might could be cast on a melee class, increasing their damage output. A Seal of Protection could best be described in Everquest terms as a targeted Divine Aura. The Paladin renders the recipient of this Seal immune to attack for 5 seconds, hopefully allowing enough time for a heal or Lay on Hands to land. The Paladin also has specialty type Seals, such as the Seal of Righteousness, that increase the recipients damage against undead and a Blizzard favorite; the Seal of Fury, which is a short duration hate enhancement buff. I have been told that Tigole enjoys casting this Seal on Priests in his groups

Auras

Lastly, Paladins have the ability to cast Auras, similar to Warrior Shouts in effect. In EQ terms, Auras are much more closely related to Bard songs, although again, they will not be twisting these Auras.

For example, a Paladin could choose to cast a Devotion Aura, increasing their party’s armor class. During downtime when people are resting, a Paladin could choose to cast a Healing Aura, regenerating the health of their injured group members. If the Paladin wants to enhance the damage dealt by their group, they could use a Retribution Aura, creating a damage shield upon their group members, causing injury to monsters and opponents that strike at the party members.

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The Rogue

Unlike the Paladin, the Rogue is not limited to just the Alliance. Rogues can be many different races: Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, Gnomes, Orc, Undead, and Troll.

At its core, a Rogue is a pure melee class limited to wearing leather armor. A rogue is a master of stealth and armed combat, aided by the use of poison and perhaps, espionage.

Being a master of stealth has its advantages. Unlike Everquest where the monster or player either sees the Rogue or does not see the Rogue, World of Warcraft instead scales the possibility of detection versus the level and skill of a Rogue. A Rogue has an advantage when moving around stealthed if behind a mob. What this equates to in game is a thing of beauty. Depending on one’s detect skill and level, a Rogue can be completely invisible, or in varying levels of ‘transparency.’ When we were in one dungeon, Jeff and Rob ran by some Rogue NPCs who were hidden and I actually missed seeing them the first pass. When they went back and stopped, I actually saw two of them standing there almost invisible. Very, VERY cool stuff. Also while in stealth, the Rogue has the ability to Pickpocket NPCs. To prevent the inevitable player community whines that would rise up from this, what the Rogue pickpockets comes from a different/separate loot pool, set aside specifically for Pickpocketing.

Another Rogue ability is the ability to craft poisons and use said poisons in combat. The guys were very hush-hush about this because of how their system in World of Warcraft works. I was assured that the end result is something VERY cool and very much unlike the poison system in Everquest (I’m sure many Everquest Rogues are breathing a sigh of relief).

Something not discussed and still under debate is the ability of the Rogue to use disguises to their advantage. Currently this is a ‘maybe,’ but here’s to hoping and praying this one makes it into beta and beyond. Obviously, this could cause some PvP imbalances but the potential for fun is too much for this to be left out in my opinion.

Combat Mechanics

A rogues damage and power scales up with Opening and Finishing moves. During combat, when a rogue engages their opponent, the enemy target indicator will have 5 unlit bubbles. Opening moves light the bubbles up. Some Opening moves are worth more bubbles than others. Once enough of the enemy UI bubble slots are full, the Rogue can execute Finishing moves. Additionally, the power of the Finishing move is based upon how many bubbles are lit up. If the rogue switches targets during combat, they will lose any built up Finishing moves they may have had on their last target – that is, it is TARGET specific (all lit bubbles are lost when target switches are made).

The Rogue has an impressive arsenal of Opening Moves, some positional, others situational. Common Opening moves include Sinister Strike, a high damage move that can be executed from any angle, and Backstab, a high damage attack which can only be executed from the back of the opponent. The Rogue also gets a bevy of utility moves they can use for solo or group play. Gouge is a stun that the Rogue can use to incapacitate their opponent for 4 seconds, at which time they can strafe around the back of the enemy to get in a high damage backstab. Methods of hate reduction are also part of the Rogue’s Opening move arsenal. Through the use of Trips and Feints, the rogue can lower the hate the opponent has built up against them, thus keeping the damage they take to a minimum.

Two examples of the Rogue’s Finishing move array are the Kidney Shot (high damage plus a stun component) and Eviscerate (very high damage). Both of these moves will use up all of the bubbles lit up in the Enemy UI indicator. Depending on how many bubbles are lit up (up to 5) the power of the move itself will scale up or down. A Rogue will not be able to chain Finishing move after Finishing move but instead will have to use Opening moves to rebuild the power bubbles to use another Finishing move.

Lastly, a Rogue has the unique ability to Sap HUMANOID creatures while stealthed, from behind. What a Sap actually does is allow the Rogue to take an opponent out of combat for extended periods of time. For example, a Rogue may come upon an enemy encampment of Forsaken. While hidden in stealth, the rogue could sneak up to the two guards on the perimeter, Sap one guard, knocking them out for 30 seconds, while engaging the other guard in combat. Damaging the Sapped enemy will break the stun and allow the opponent to resume attacks against the Rogue.

Given all of these unique abilities, both the Paladin and Rogue are sure to see extensive play from World of Warcraft fans and players. I think it’s important to note that while this stuff looks great on paper, seeing all of these things in game are a different thing entirely. The attention to detail and gameplay (read: fun) given to the classes in Warcraft can only truly be appreciated while playing. I can’t wait…..