Warrior

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Warrior

Warriors are the meat of any role playing game. They are a neccesity to every well balanced party. Warriors can dish punishment and more importantly they can absorb it. Warriors keep the monsters occupied while the casters launch away from distance. Warriors don armor, they wield the weapons, and when it is all said and done they often get all the credit from the onlookers.

Many people might argue that warriors are not an incredibly interesting class to play. Casters gain a whole new set of spells every 4-5 levels. Warriors only have a few interesting skills and they are few and far between. However the flip side of the coin is that warriors are the ones who are in the thick of things. When the casters have their noses in the spellbooks meditating for the next heal or for the death blow, the warriors will be battling on.

While casting types await to get new spells and other meelee types await for new special skills the warrior really lives from item to item. A warriors livelihood lies in his equipment. The advantage of this is that a warrior can concentrate purely on equipment and does not have to worry about spells and the like. It is important to always have the best equipment possible at your level because this equipment can and will mean the difference between life and death.

Traditionally warriors are the leaders of a group. They are the ones who brave the foes first. They are the first ones who take the damage, and often they are the first to die. A warrior must have faith in his party members. A warrior needs to have the courage to stand and fight until his healers get enough mana to throw him a heal. A warrior must have the heart to stand in there while the wizards get the mana to deal the death blow. As a result of this a warrior is often the one who makes an impression on a crowd of onlookers. I recall a time when myself, Hafez and Grog were battling with Hill Giants in the Oasis of Marr. Hafez and myself were keeping Grog(our fearless warrior) healed long enough for him to defeat the mighty beast. At the end of each battle the crowds would shout and cheer, "Grog just killed another hill giant! All hail Grog". Such is the life of the warrior, remembered not only for his fearless deeds but also for his flashy and brilliant equipment which often outshines all other classes.

So what does a warrior have to look forward to skill wise?

At level 5 warriors gain the ability to bind wounds. This skill allows you to use bandages to help yourself heal faster when critically wounded. This skill fails a lot early on and requires bandages. To be quite frank with you most players never use this skill they instead rely on party healers or Bark potions. However at higher levels if you have money to waste you might want to invest it into bandages and bind wounds. This skill can heal up to 22 points at a time when maxed and can be used to heal you to up to 50% of your health.

At level 6 you gain the ability to dodge. This is a very important skill. Dodging causes your opponent to miss and thus raises your armor class. Seeing that you will be tanking most of the time every little addition to your armor class helps.

At level 9 you gain the bash skill. Bash gives you an alternative to kick and requires a shield. Bashing generally does less damage than kicking it does however have a chance to stun your opponent. This is important when your prey attempts to flee. It is also important when doing battle with spellcasters and a bash will interupt their spell. Large races gain the ability to slam which is identical to bash except that it does not require a shield.

At level 12 you gain the parry skill. Parry is similar to dodge in that it causes your opponent to miss and thus raises your armor class.

Level 13 and 15 are the warriors power levels. At level 13/15 you get your two most important skills: Double attack and duel wield. Level 13 gives dual wield and level 15 double attack. It is wise to save up most of your training points to pour into these two stats. Double attack allows you to hit twice per round. Duel wield allows you to have the option of using two one handed weapons and thus theoretically be able to get up to four attacks per round. These skills go up slowly and are not overly effective at first, but once they start gaining in skill you will notice a huge difference in effectiveness.

At level 25 you gain the riposte skill. This is basically another armor class increasing skill.

At level 35 you gain the last of your skills: Disarm. Disarm allows you to knock a weapon out of your opponents hands(although it very rarely works). This can accomplish two things. First off it can get you a nice weapon if you are lucky. Secondly a monster with a weapon hits quite a bit harder than a monster without one.

Most races are allowed to be warriors. The exceptions are the high elves and erudites who simply do not have it in their nature to shed blood in this manner. The three races best suited to be a warrior are the Barbarians, Trolls, and Ogres. Notice that all three races are of the large variety. This is not only because of stats but due to the fact that large races get the racial ability to slam which allows them to bash(stun attack) without a shield and also allows them to do so while using both duel wield and double attack.

Barbarians are probably the weakest stat wise of the three and they also lack infravision. However barbarians are the only of the big three that is widely accepted throughout Norrath. Barbarians also have the extra perk of being able to wear both human and large sized armor(human sized armor is cheaper).

Ogre's are probably the best pick stat wise. You will probably want to pour a lot of points into agility but otherwise they are set. Ogre's have extremely high strength and stamina which are prime traits for a warrior. The weaknesses of ogre's are that they are evil and their low intelligence will result in your skills raising slowly.

Trolls have stats that lie somewhere between a barbarian and an ogre. The advantage of a troll however is in his natural regeneration. This is an important ability for a warrior as regeneration means less downtime when you are soloing.

Thus far we have discussed the strengths of a warrior and how well he fits in a party. Now we will cover the weaknesses of a warrior and why he does not make a great solo character at later levels(20+).

Warriors do not make great solo players for several reasons. The first one to become obvious is the fact that monsters run. At the first couple levels you will be able to finish these runners off in a swing or two and it will not be that big of a deal. As the monsters get tougher however they will require quite a few hits to finish. In a dungeon environment this is especially deadly because they will lead you into tougher monsters as you chase behind them trying to finish them off. In a party you will usually have casters who can root the monster or finish it off with a direct damage spell.

The second weakness that becomes apparent around level 5 is that warriors heal slowly. Warriors have more hit points than any other class yet they heal at the same rate. At higher levels you can expect to rest for up to 20 minutes if you are fully damaged. You can invest in bark potions or quest for a Squad Ring(unless you are an evil race) but these can be expensive or hard to achieve. This factor probably more than anything else will lead a warrior to team with some sort of healer.

The third weakness with a warrior is the amount of time it takes him to kill monsters at higher levels. A properly equipped warrior may be able to kill the same monsters as a casting class of the same level but it will usually take the warrior much longer. This is to be expected. We hit for less damage and can absorb much more. However in the amount of time it takes you to finish off your opponent the chance continues to grow that another monster will respawn or walk accross your path thus spoiling your fun and possibly forcing you to run. This can be quite frustrating to fight a monster for a couple minutes only to be forced to run empty handed and then rest for 10-15 minutes as a result of it.

The fourth glaring weakness of a warrior is the lack of his ability to cure himself of diseases and poisons. This becomes evident as you begin to gain levels and more or less makes entire dungeons(such as Befallen) completely impossible for a warrior to solo in. Some diseases can last for hours and in the meantime you will be unable to heal(or even worse you will be losing hit points) until some nice cleric comes along and cures your disease.

Thankfully there are items that can cure some of the warriors deficiencies allowing him to do some more interesting things. An example would be healing potions, potions of gate, cure potions, Journey Man Boots, etc. However these will never hide the fact that a warrior is designed for a group. A warrior should be a leader and will find it hard to branch off on his own. In a group however you will be very happy. Warriors are in the thick of things more than any other class in a group and you have others to make up for all of your shortcomings.

In the end warriors are a perfect class for a certain style of play. They are not a class that is well suited for solo play and if that sort of thing is your bag you might want to try a Druid, Magician, or a Necromancer. However if your idea of a good time is to be a good team member and to put your life in the hands of others and trust them to keep you alive then a warrior is an exciting and a very fun class to play.


	The Sterling \| home Bard \| Cleric \| Druid \| Enchanter \| Magician \| Monk \| Necromancer \| Paladin \| Ranger \| Rogue \| Shadowknight \| Shaman \| Warrior \| Wizard Warrior Warriors are the meat of any role playing game. They are a neccesity to every well balanced party. Warriors can dish punishment and more importantly they can absorb it. Warriors keep the monsters occupied while the casters launch away from distance. Warriors don armor, they wield the weapons, and when it is all said and done they often get all the credit from the onlookers. Many people might argue that warriors are not an incredibly interesting class to play. Casters gain a whole new set of spells every 4-5 levels. Warriors only have a few interesting skills and they are few and far between. However the flip side of the coin is that warriors are the ones who are in the thick of things. When the casters have their noses in the spellbooks meditating for the next heal or for the death blow, the warriors will be battling on. While casting types await to get new spells and other meelee types await for new special skills the warrior really lives from item to item. A warriors livelihood lies in his equipment. The advantage of this is that a warrior can concentrate purely on equipment and does not have to worry about spells and the like. It is important to always have the best equipment possible at your level because this equipment can and will mean the difference between life and death. Traditionally warriors are the leaders of a group. They are the ones who brave the foes first. They are the first ones who take the damage, and often they are the first to die. A warrior must have faith in his party members. A warrior needs to have the courage to stand and fight until his healers get enough mana to throw him a heal. A warrior must have the heart to stand in there while the wizards get the mana to deal the death blow. As a result of this a warrior is often the one who makes an impression on a crowd of onlookers. I recall a time when myself, Hafez and Grog were battling with Hill Giants in the Oasis of Marr. Hafez and myself were keeping Grog(our fearless warrior) healed long enough for him to defeat the mighty beast. At the end of each battle the crowds would shout and cheer, "Grog just killed another hill giant! All hail Grog". Such is the life of the warrior, remembered not only for his fearless deeds but also for his flashy and brilliant equipment which often outshines all other classes. So what does a warrior have to look forward to skill wise? At level 5 warriors gain the ability to bind wounds. This skill allows you to use bandages to help yourself heal faster when critically wounded. This skill fails a lot early on and requires bandages. To be quite frank with you most players never use this skill they instead rely on party healers or Bark potions. However at higher levels if you have money to waste you might want to invest it into bandages and bind wounds. This skill can heal up to 22 points at a time when maxed and can be used to heal you to up to 50% of your health. At level 6 you gain the ability to dodge. This is a very important skill. Dodging causes your opponent to miss and thus raises your armor class. Seeing that you will be tanking most of the time every little addition to your armor class helps. At level 9 you gain the bash skill. Bash gives you an alternative to kick and requires a shield. Bashing generally does less damage than kicking it does however have a chance to stun your opponent. This is important when your prey attempts to flee. It is also important when doing battle with spellcasters and a bash will interupt their spell. Large races gain the ability to slam which is identical to bash except that it does not require a shield. At level 12 you gain the parry skill. Parry is similar to dodge in that it causes your opponent to miss and thus raises your armor class. Level 13 and 15 are the warriors power levels. At level 13/15 you get your two most important skills: Double attack and duel wield. Level 13 gives dual wield and level 15 double attack. It is wise to save up most of your training points to pour into these two stats. Double attack allows you to hit twice per round. Duel wield allows you to have the option of using two one handed weapons and thus theoretically be able to get up to four attacks per round. These skills go up slowly and are not overly effective at first, but once they start gaining in skill you will notice a huge difference in effectiveness. At level 25 you gain the riposte skill. This is basically another armor class increasing skill. At level 35 you gain the last of your skills: Disarm. Disarm allows you to knock a weapon out of your opponents hands(although it very rarely works). This can accomplish two things. First off it can get you a nice weapon if you are lucky. Secondly a monster with a weapon hits quite a bit harder than a monster without one. Most races are allowed to be warriors. The exceptions are the high elves and erudites who simply do not have it in their nature to shed blood in this manner. The three races best suited to be a warrior are the Barbarians, Trolls, and Ogres. Notice that all three races are of the large variety. This is not only because of stats but due to the fact that large races get the racial ability to slam which allows them to bash(stun attack) without a shield and also allows them to do so while using both duel wield and double attack. Barbarians are probably the weakest stat wise of the three and they also lack infravision. However barbarians are the only of the big three that is widely accepted throughout Norrath. Barbarians also have the extra perk of being able to wear both human and large sized armor(human sized armor is cheaper). Ogre's are probably the best pick stat wise. You will probably want to pour a lot of points into agility but otherwise they are set. Ogre's have extremely high strength and stamina which are prime traits for a warrior. The weaknesses of ogre's are that they are evil and their low intelligence will result in your skills raising slowly. Trolls have stats that lie somewhere between a barbarian and an ogre. The advantage of a troll however is in his natural regeneration. This is an important ability for a warrior as regeneration means less downtime when you are soloing. Thus far we have discussed the strengths of a warrior and how well he fits in a party. Now we will cover the weaknesses of a warrior and why he does not make a great solo character at later levels(20+). Warriors do not make great solo players for several reasons. The first one to become obvious is the fact that monsters run. At the first couple levels you will be able to finish these runners off in a swing or two and it will not be that big of a deal. As the monsters get tougher however they will require quite a few hits to finish. In a dungeon environment this is especially deadly because they will lead you into tougher monsters as you chase behind them trying to finish them off. In a party you will usually have casters who can root the monster or finish it off with a direct damage spell. The second weakness that becomes apparent around level 5 is that warriors heal slowly. Warriors have more hit points than any other class yet they heal at the same rate. At higher levels you can expect to rest for up to 20 minutes if you are fully damaged. You can invest in bark potions or quest for a Squad Ring(unless you are an evil race) but these can be expensive or hard to achieve. This factor probably more than anything else will lead a warrior to team with some sort of healer. The third weakness with a warrior is the amount of time it takes him to kill monsters at higher levels. A properly equipped warrior may be able to kill the same monsters as a casting class of the same level but it will usually take the warrior much longer. This is to be expected. We hit for less damage and can absorb much more. However in the amount of time it takes you to finish off your opponent the chance continues to grow that another monster will respawn or walk accross your path thus spoiling your fun and possibly forcing you to run. This can be quite frustrating to fight a monster for a couple minutes only to be forced to run empty handed and then rest for 10-15 minutes as a result of it. The fourth glaring weakness of a warrior is the lack of his ability to cure himself of diseases and poisons. This becomes evident as you begin to gain levels and more or less makes entire dungeons(such as Befallen) completely impossible for a warrior to solo in. Some diseases can last for hours and in the meantime you will be unable to heal(or even worse you will be losing hit points) until some nice cleric comes along and cures your disease. Thankfully there are items that can cure some of the warriors deficiencies allowing him to do some more interesting things. An example would be healing potions, potions of gate, cure potions, Journey Man Boots, etc. However these will never hide the fact that a warrior is designed for a group. A warrior should be a leader and will find it hard to branch off on his own. In a group however you will be very happy. Warriors are in the thick of things more than any other class in a group and you have others to make up for all of your shortcomings. In the end warriors are a perfect class for a certain style of play. They are not a class that is well suited for solo play and if that sort of thing is your bag you might want to try a Druid, Magician, or a Necromancer. However if your idea of a good time is to be a good team member and to put your life in the hands of others and trust them to keep you alive then a warrior is an exciting and a very fun class to play.