Subscribe to our newsletter
Advertisement
Out This Month
 |
Prince of Persia Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC Release Date: 12/2/2008 Genres: Action, Adventure Developer: Ubisoft |
 |
Damnation Platforms: PS3, PC, Xbox 360 Release Date: 12/16/2008 Genres: Action Developer: Blue Omega Entertainment |
 |
Bomberman Ultra Platforms: PS3 (PSN) Release Date: TBA Genres: Puzzle Developer: Hudson |
| Warhammer Online Sorceress Mastery Paths |
| Andreas Asimakis, Associate Editor | |||||
| Wednesday, October 22 2008 | |||||
 The online experience continues with Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. I have taken this last week to become better acquainted with my Dark Elf Sorceress, learning the ins and outs of the character's career, abilities, and performance in battle. Having recently reached Rank 12, I will be going over my findings including a detailed look at the Sorceress Mastery Paths and Spell Descriptions, Strengths and Weaknesses, and finally, Handy Tips for RvR. Let's begin!Each race in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning can further specialize in their chosen career by mastering a certain path. As players increase in rank, mastery points will be earned to be distributed amongst the mastery trees provided. These trees or paths as they are referred to in the game, add a level of thought to a character's evolution as players will never obtain enough mastery points to fill out all three mastery trees. Study the given abilities well, and you will be sure to increase the effectiveness of your character if those chosen go well with your particular playing style. A Sorceress has many abilities at her disposal. As a Sorceress uses her abilities her Dark Magic will increase. As a Sorceress builds Dark Magic, she will gain a bonus to critical damage as well as a bonus to critically hitting an opponent. A side effect however, to higher levels of Dark Magic is higher damage of a backlash. A backlash can only occur upon casting a spell which builds Dark Magic is unfortunately the majority of spells in the Sorceress spell book. Lowering your Dark Magic levels is recommended to avoid fatal repercussions. The ability Dhar Wind will be your immediate ability which lowers your Dark Magic to zero. Not casting any spells for a moderate amount of time and death will relinquish you of your Dark Magic as well. But while she has many spells available to her, the power of her Dark Magic can be found in her Mastery Paths. Let's take a closer look at the paths a Sorceress can study and examples the spells and abilities she can learn. The Path of Agony contains spells intended on slaughtering individual enemies. This path is a mix which contains devastating Dark Magic spells and more stable magic. The spells to be found in this path have a primary focus on massive damage. The Path of Agony builds Dark Magic extremely quickly and if used efficiently, can provide the most devastating attacks in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.  Doombolt delivers a burst of dark power which will damage at the cost of 30 Action Points. This primary skill for damage comes at the cost of a 3 second cast time which can be especially difficult to utilize in RvR. This spell can create powerful combos as it comes without a cooldown allowing it to be chain cast. Doombolt is one of the most efficient spells and should be a constant throughout the career of the Sorceress. Gloomburst is a quick casting spell that takes 1 second to cast and comes at the cost of 40 Action Points. The spells builds Dark Magic at an insane rate and when combined with Doombolt, Gloomburst makes for a very efficient combo for beginners. It hits the target extremely fast and its damage is slightly lower than Doombolt. The Path of Calamity focuses its spells on long duration effects and casting magic which often curses an enemy. This path contains fewer Dark Magic spells and relies more on the effects of destructive stable magic. The spells can be considerably effective, allowing the Sorceress to safely move about the area while Damage over Time slowly ravages the enemy's health.  hillwind will damage an enemy over 9 seconds at the cost of 35 Action Points. It is best used while on the move and while Dark Magic levels are relatively low. Like most Calamity Spells however, Chillwind can lead to disastrous results if spam casted at high Dark Magic levels. Word of Pain reduces an enemy's Willpower for 10 seconds at the cost of 25 Action Points. It prepares the target to absorb massive amounts of damage from spells such as Doombolt and Gloomburst. It can be stacked 3 times and after its effects have wore off, will cause damage to the target for each application that was stacked. It can be used while moving and once stacked against an enemy can be highly effective. The Path of Destruction is primarily aimed towards those who wish to slaughter mobs of advancing enemies with a single Dark Magic spell. The spells offered are interesting but not as exciting as the other paths. It is extremely effective in deflecting group attacks and if used properly, the Path of Destruction can provide formidable abilities to the Sorceress.  Surging Pain will damage all enemies within 30 feet of the caster at the cost of 35 Action Points. A useful spell to help deal instant damage to an incoming mob but players should be warned that spamming this particular spells, coupled with its ability to max out your Dark Magic in a handful of uses, can lead to an instantaneous death by means of a backlash. It can cause fairly impressive damage when combined with other spells but Surging Pain is much betters used as a last resort as it will often save a Sorceress when overwhelmed and near death. Shattered Shadows will damage enemies from underneath and all other enemies within 20 feet of them with a living shadow at the cost of 35 Action Points. A fairly useful spell for beginners, Shattered Shadows is nothing but a placeholder until better spells become available. It's long cast time of 3 seconds and its ineffectiveness in RvR, Shattered Shadows should only be used in between castings.While the Path of Calamity and the Path of Destruction have their share of destructive spells, the balance of the Path of Agony fits my particular style of playing. I would rather focus on one enemy at a time instead of confronting mobs and the Sorceress race is intended for players to carefully plan their attacks and deal the most damage to a single persistent enemy. A Sorceress strives on her ability to keep a large gap between her and her target and cause Damage over Time. You will find that most parties will often rely on the sorceress for much more than her high level of damage, but her ability to quickly dispose of pesky healers during RvR. The Sorceress race isn't well suited for solo RvR play. While she is adept at handling herself against enemies, going against other players is somewhat challenging for a lone sorceress. Her low HP makes her highly vulnerable to melee attacks and her light armor options offer little in terms of defense. I have tried this before and have only been met with certain death. This is an MMO, embrace the teamwork and competition to be found. As a Sorceress, or any race for that matter, it is important to remember your role in the party and know how to exploit your opponents' weaknesses.  A Healer's greatest asset is his ability to heal himself or damaged teammates. These classes should be a primary target for a Sorceress. As a Healer heals himself, a steady barrage of dark magic will allow your teammates to make quick work of the opposing force. Healers who concentrate on healing their damaged teammates are extremely vulnerable to your attacks and can be dealt with little effort.That's all for this week. How did you find the Sorceress career? How did you find the spells' effectiveness? Have you decided on mastering a single path or spreading your points amongst the skills trees? Leave us comments below. Join me next week as I venture further into the chaotic realm of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning with a Mini Public Quest Guide as well as tips for increasing your character rank and more in depth coverage on this addicting game. Happy Gaming! Share/Bookmark: 
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.23
3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |