General state of classes and Order/Destruction

[Iacobus666]

Hi all,

I used to play WAR since launch for a few years as mostly Destruction, bouncing between servers as they got fewer in number. When after a while, through a mixture of boredom from T4 and the decline of active populations I ended up playing it less and less, starting up on EVE Online instead. At the current day, I have more or less become a bittervet on EVE just logging in for the bigger fights so I wouldn't mind starting up again in WAR to gradually become a bittervet there too!

Which brings me to the major downsides of WAR when the official game was live - class balance and Order/Destruction population balances.

My first question is that are Order/Destruction that balanced? I'm not one to shy away from a difficult struggle if one side has an advantage over the other but it's not fun just to be grinded for xp if the balance is way off between the factions.

Secondly, is the state of class balance similar to official WAR or have the devs been tweaking them on RoR? If so, are there classes that way underperform/are very OP, or has the level of power more or less become 'flavour of the month' as opposed to you being a liability or a must have? If the classes are the same as they were at the end of official WAR, which ones stood out as OP/good/crap? I didn't play WAR in its latter years, so the class balance probably changed (plus I've kind of forgotten about what was good, although I seem to remember Bright Wizards/Sorceresses being OP DPSers, Ironbreakers being fantastic tanks and tanks in general being generally great).

Any input on any of this will be much appreciated!

[Jaycub]

Destro is a bit better, a lot of major things order side got nerfed.

>knight crit gutted to 10%/5%
>leading shots cut in half
>triple shatter gone
>White lion 10 sec pounce
>Keg nerfed to group only (big hit to ORvR)

Destro still has it's insane morale pumps which are much more effective on this server than on live because of morale gain, dok M2 got nerfed from titanlike to godlike status. Mara got a small nerf to thunderous blow uptime.

Balance is ongoing tho, and it might just be people not wanting to open up nerf this proposals on balance forums.

For all general purposes, RDPS are much better than MDPS right now. Some really good changes to AM/Shaman made them comeptitive with the other healers now. You pretty much can't go wrong if you roll anything that isn't a MDPS or IB/BG.

[Iacobus666]

As a general outlook though, are there roles that are really required, classes that massively under-perform/are OP or should I just go with whatever takes my fancy and still be able to enjoy the game without seeing myself struggling to get into a decent group of players due to poor choices at the start?

[Jaycub]

Tanks/Healer always in high demand. RP/Z, and SM/BO are extremely stable balance wise, and form the heart of most good groups.

Major changes to knight/Chosen and DoK/WP are probably coming(?)

[Aurandilaz]

Few classes are "avoided" these days compared to the days of WAR. The generic balance between realms is pretty good, some classes are better on that side and some on other side; but the gaps are pretty small and often there is some trade-off for having better utility in some other less used niche.

Engis are really strong, slightly better than magus (judging from sheer amount of whining threads alone).
Witch Elf is somewhat better in T4 than Witch Hunter, though both suffer under current RDPS dominance and from having light armour in big zerg fights.
Ironbreaker and Blackguard bring somewhat less utility to team compared to other tanks, but are okay as offensive tanks; and a good tank with a guard is always welcome.
WP and DoK got nerfed, the amount of those classes in T4 is much lower these days compared to their dominance on live. (resulting in there being quite a shortage of healers due to many simply abandoning the class as it feels too "alien" to many old DoK/WP players)
Shaman and AM mechanic change now makes them actually into decent healers, though they still have robes and low armour; at least shaman can RunAway, whereas AM is easier to catch. (though AM has WildHealing which makes them into true healbots)
Sorc/BW are pretty similar, both deadly as ever. Shadow Warriors and Squig Herders are pretty good as well.

Crit rates are now lower and it is quite hard to get it up; Trivial Blows doesn't work so it is no longer the "must have" spec.

The T4 population dynamic changes daily, as people log between realms depending on various factors; some want to be on winning side, some want to get high AgainstAllOdds buff for more renown, some just switch according to mood. Destro might cap zones in morning, Order during afternoon, epic big zergfight during evening and then the more motivated realm gets early night keep victories.

[Tifereth]

You pretty much answered your questions yourself there, friend. Jaycub only delivered the icing on the cake.

Magus/Engi have been brought up to snuff, and while there still are classes being regarded as mandatory in many, if not most, setups, nothing is as broken as it is a must play, or can't work unless on the highest form of play. These topics mostly boil down to what you, the OP, wants. You're better in the role you actually prefer playing, and no side is as starved that it needs a specific player to run a specific class or role. Look for a guild right away, it'll get you into groups faster than any class pick ever could.

Faction pop fluctuates daily, so just go with what you want. No advice will make the game more enjoyable, it's all on you.

[Iacobus666]

That sounds a lot better than it was when the official version was live. Crit has always been a horrid mechanic in MMOs as it reduces the skill required to win when an enormous amount of damage/healing is caused by chance.

Going onto my old favourites (plus from the factions I collected when I played Warhammer Fantasy back in the past) how is the Black Orc class fairing? Looking at what's useful, tanks are always in demand and I used to field large numbers of Black Orcs in my tabletop armies back in the day (as well as Night Goblins - it's such a shame that the aesthetic for Squig Herders isn't Night Goblin orientated).

Is ranged DPS dominant over melee? In the official version, melee DPS used to be very dominant save for AOE ranged DPS, so this would be a turnaround!

[Tifereth]

Going onto my old favourites how is the Black Orc class fairing?

Black Orc is a staple in any destro group, and a fun class on top. Might aswell start there.

Ranged classes fare better because of multiple things, among which are changes to armour/buff stacking and no high tier sets being released just yet. A decent melee train still has very good chances of beating a ranged team, but RDPS definately is more PUG friendly.

[NectaneboII]

Oh yes , the complete mirroring of inter realm classes would help .

[zumos2]

That sounds a lot better than it was when the official version was live. Crit has always been a horrid mechanic in MMOs as it reduces the skill required to win when an enormous amount of damage/healing is caused by chance.

This comment just made me go wow ...