WA Wants You...

[Ariwyn-WHA]

...to help us write about the Slayer and Choppa.

With the Slayer and Choppa being introduced in the PTS, we know that many of you are diligently sitting through the queues to get your hands on your favorite mohawked Dwarf or axe-wielding Greenskin. Although we could do the same, and do write-ups on these two new classes with just our opinions--what good is that? We want to see your opinions and use them to help us make a great piece about the Slayer and Choppa.

"Why should I take my precious PTS time to write about these classes?" you ask. Well, as an added incentive, every post that is Spotlighted in this initiative will receive the same benefit that we've added to our weekly Spotlights--your name will appear in Teal and you'll have the new title, "WAR General."

In this WAR there are many recruits and soldiers...but do you have what it takes to become a General? Post your reactions to these classes in the thread below, and find out!

[Calelith]

I will give it a go when the EU server is up.

[Ulfbrinter]

Marauder by day, Choppa by night.

Oh this shall be fun! My experience with the Choppa in these fleeting hours has been splendid.

- Ulf

[Jasonsmith]

I would love to give my opinion :P
But the eu pts server still isn't up.
I hope they bring it online soon

[LeonHart]

Teal, you say?

This must be done!

[Sabbatai]

Choppa from Level 1 to Server Crash!

After attending the New York Comic-Con and receiving the code for the exclusive items offered to attendees I had made up my mind that I was going Slayer... if only for the spikes.

I became aware, thanks to friends on Ventrilo that the trophy item was available but no word on the spikes..

Choppa it is then... what good is a half naked dwarf with no spikes?

The Choppa looks mean. I always kind of laughed at the level 1-5 Black Orcs for wearing their "metal aprons" and how they made them look much less terrifying than they should... well luckily no apron yet.... just a loincloth and some boots.

The gear on the Choppa at character creation (when you select a class) is incredible with the horns of some long-dead beast running across his shoulders and the skull (probably of the same long-dead beast) on one shoulder with the other one bare. Nothing beats brittle bones for armor! But hey, it looks sweet so I won't knock it.

About 4 seconds into my life as a Choppa (Sabbatai on PTS) I am greeted with a survey that asks me how I am enjoying the mechanic. You know, the one I've played for 4 seconds. Well it IS the TEST server after all so I do my best to be productive going as far as to type "Waaaaaggh!" into the comments field.

At level 1 I am told that /tome is a new awesome emote and that I should try it out. So I do.. I mean why shouldn't I trust some random dude?

20 minutes later and Sabbatai is still reading his tome...even while fighting! He must be da smartess ork by now with all his book learnin'.

I finished a few quests and have earned rank 3. Still reading his tome, Sabbatai decides (no, really I had nothing to do with the decision..it just happened on it's own) to join a Gates of Ekrund scenario.

Ho-Hum... this is my least favorite of the T1 scenarios. Only, what's this? Something is quite different! There are 48 people in the scenario! Two full warbands! There are people everywhere and each of the three flags has a good sized battle waging around it.

The entire enemy team is Slayers. 24 of them. Our entire team is Choppas...all but one. A healer!

In short.. we win.

Level 4!

Two more GoE sc's go by both with two full warbands. From then on every SC I did was as normal..12 players on each side. Not sure if this was a bug or what... but I tell you the chaos that 48 players in the small map for Gates of Ekrund can cause is incredibly fun.. if a bit "zergy".

Level 5!

So far the abilities are ok, but not very engaging. This may be due to the fact that every enemy I am attacking, both players and npcs is also being attacked by no less than 3 other choppas. Giving me little chance to actually see the results of my "rage".

The mechanic works, as far as I can tell.. by building "rage" as soon as you enter combat. There are three levels of rage and each level increases the amount of damage you inflict. The first level adds no damage. The second adds 25% more damage with no penalties. The final stage adds 50% more damage while lowering your armor and all resists by the same amount.

Rage builds REALLY fast. It is VERY easy to get into the 3rd stage and if you aren't careful I can see this being the undoing of many a Slayer/Choppa.

Luckily the second move you get allows you to "dump your rage" sort of like the mechanic Bright Wizards/Sorceress use.

In one on one fights, I found myself continually dumping my rage until my enemy was just below half health, then letting it build for a brutal finish. This worked incredibly well.

This move also gains 50% damage increase from the second stage of rage instead of the default 25%. Unfortunately you gain rage both from doing damage as well as receiving it. For people who want to keep their rage maxed I am sure that is fine and dandy... however, I found that when being attacked by only 2 enemies my rage built back up to full so quickly, that dumping it seemed to do very little to help my survivability.

The next move I get is a snare, followed by an attack which has a chance to hit up to two additional enemies. "A chance" it says... no more information though I am sure the math will be broken down by someone with more time on their hands than I.

All my SC running has left me with little in the way of gear...

To the PQ! There were so many other choppas that I could not actually complete an instant cast attack before the npc had died. My influence bar was filled quickly nonetheless and I went to pick up my rewards.

On the way I decided to check my mail. Lo and behold, my most prized possesion.. an endless bowl of custard. How could I have neglected it for so long?!

I instantly find the first non-choppa and let them have it. For once they noticed and began to throw pies at everyone until the granted ability wore off.

So I visited the rally master and got myself a nice new two-hander.

Then the server crashed.

--More after I sleep and server comes up!

[celdiruen]

I made a thread with all of the Slayer skills/tactics/morales and masteries over in the Slayer forum if anyone wants to get a gist of the class.

Shameless blatant advertising:
http://www.warhammeralliance.com/for...d.php?t=254352

[Ariwyn-WHA]

Awesome! Thanks for the write-up!

Hey Slayers! Are you just gonna let this Choppa talk about how you got decimated in Ekrund's? Where's your side?

[Sabbatai]

Originally Posted by Ariwyn

Awesome! Thanks for the write-up!

Hey Slayers! Are you just gonna let this Choppa talk about how you got decimated in Ekrund's? Where's your side?

Hehe, thanks. I thought it was a bit... jumbled...then again it is 11:43 here and I haven't slept since yesterday. Dad in the hospital makes for sleepless nights

I did want to mention though....

We DID totally pwn those Slayers.

Maybe they will learn their lesson, paint their skin green and try to pass themselves off as the TRUE superior force in this rivalry! That of course, being the Asparagus.

Seriously though...I am waiting with baited breath to hear the exploits of a dishonored dwarf all alone with nothing but his endless rage and his trusty axes/hammers to keep him company.

[LeonHart]

Slayers: (all names randomly generated)

Attempt, the first:

Enter Kagron, who I used to take screenshots of all the abilities before trying to access my mailbox. Enter the first crash and lock-out. Only level 1.

Attempt, the second:

Enter Lonk, who did a few Scenarios which were always decided by whichever side brought a healer. Good times. Got to level 2 then got kicked.

Attempt, the thrid:

Enter Grilortin, managed a few more SCs, even seeing a BW and Chosen in them, which was a nice change of pace (that poor, poor BW). He reached the glorious 3rd level before being locked out.

*INTERMISSION*

Wondering if it was simply the over-populated Ekrund, I rolled an AM, Jurianne. After winning a few SCs (gogo healer power!) I hit level 4. No problems with the mailbox, no problem logging back in. Interesting... so what if...

*RESUMING FEATURE*

Attempt, the fourth:

Enter Gokillin, who ran around to the RvR lake, hit level 2 and got enough money to fly to Nordland. Nordland sure is pretty to... oh, lock out. Hm, still can't log in. Looks like it's a Slayer problem, then.

Attempt, the fifth:

Enter Grigar, he also made it to Nordland and it was still rather pretty. Pity the announcement "PTS coming down in 10 minutes. Will be back online tomorrow" popped up, eh? Well, at least I can log back into this one... Level achieved - 2.

[Sir Robin]

*queue scene from Apocalypse Now*

The damage... the damage...

My journey begins way back in 2007 when I was invited into the Closed Beta shortly before the break and beginning of Focus Testing sessions. I was very interested in the Black Orc and had decided it would be my main. However the Choppa, for me, was just more fun to play.

I was sad when Mythic decided the Choppa wasn't ready for retail. I was sadder when the Black Orc Battleship was turned into more of a Maginot Line. I'm an Orc-fan and the Choppa seemed to capture the spirit of the WAAAGH!!! better than the retail version of the Black Orc.

Well it seemed my patience has finally been rewarded. The Choppa has returned!

Return of the Jedi, er... I mean, Choppa!

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...6/Choppa-1.jpg

Upon finally getting some time with the Choppa I quickly noticed... "Wow, that is a lot of damage!" and "Yikes, I die a lot!"

Considering that Mount Bloodhorn felt like standing in the line to get into the New York Comic Con, "That's a lot of Greenskins!" I decided to head for less greener pastures and took a trip over to the chaos side of the street. Dagorc found he had some WAAAGH'ing room over there and and /yell'd to his fungal heart's content. I went through the RvR quests and teamed up with some fellows, including a Shaman or two and even a Zealot?

We merrily went around capping objectives and encountering some Slayers who must have also felt a little crowded in Ekrund. So much shame all in one place must be profoundly embarrasing.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...Kugnir_000.jpg
*caption: I always wondered why the career trainer reminded me of my ex.*

Even an Archmage showed up once or twice before realizing that big green homicidal maniacs are not conducive to keeping your dress clean... or having a long lifespan.

I quickly noticed that healers do not like getting swarmed by melee happy greenskins whose goal is to make sure their unhappiness, along with the rest of them, is shortlived. The damage these Choppa's can do is impressive and when you have a few of them after you then you'll be taking a trip back to the nearest spawn point quite soon.

The inquisitive of Order seemed to be piqued as I encountered Archmages, Bright Wizards, Shadow Warriors, Warrior Priests, and even a Swordmaster. All seemed curious about how well they would hold up against some Choppa's and all discovered the same thing... they don't. However, I discovered something too. Choppa's are not one of the "live long and prosper" careers in WAR. Not by any stretch of the imagination. They die a lot, a whole lot.

Indeed it appears that Choppa's truly are a WAR version of a suicide bomber. Pardon if that offends but that is how they feel. Choppa's don't just burn the candle at both ends. They drop the whole candle in a barrel full of napalm, break out the zippo, and hop into the barrel with the candle before trying to light it. Sort of like a Greenskin version of "Hey Earl, watch this!"

Choppa's, like Slayers, have anger-management issues. These are not the guys you want driving in your carpool. As soon as you start getting hit, you start hitting, or a fly farts somewhere in France, you get cranky. You basically get to fire off two, sometimes three, abilities before you are already Furious over your kid's report card. Furious is nice because you can do more damage and unlock your rage dumping abilities.

As a way to keep you from permanently staying outraged, and always having higher DPS, over the price of gasoline; these dumpers take all of your rage away. Yep, they must have some really good meds in WAR because suddenly you're ready for a group hug and freely offering them. Naturally, like feminists, you immediately start getting mad again if the hug from that insecure Slayer includes inappropriate touching... or an axe.

If you decide to not take a dump, then your rage continues to build until you become Berserk. Yep, the in-laws brought their, have not bathed in weeks, kids over and they just got a hold of your Motley Crue collector's edition CD's. Grubby and grimy fingerprints are all over them! So now you have completely lost it and the in-laws are getting a hint that you might just not like them as much as they thought before coming over.

You are now dealing a lot more damage but, like your spouse giving you that "guess who is sleeping on the couch tonight" look, your tirade has made you much more vulnerable too. Yes you are starting to put up some big damage numbers but you are taking some big damage too. Which, for a low survivability career like the Choppa, means you can /faceplant pretty damn quick.

Let me 'splain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...Dagorc_044.jpg

With the server issues I've only managed to get a Choppa to R6 and a Slayer to R5. So far both careers seem almost identical mirrors which, in this case, feels like a good thing. While it's too early to tell for sure, both seem to be dynamic and just plain fun additions to WAR.

Let me remind you once more though, expect to die a lot. While you might put out some big damage in RvR, I can see these careers becoming priority targets, up near healers, to take out first when the fighting starts. I already feel sorry for any healers, the ones that like challenges a little too much, that try to keep our butts alive.

[Ariwyn-WHA]

Wow, awesome write-up Sir Robin. Love the pictures!

Seems like the Choppa crowd is more enthusiastic than the Slayer crowd...or perhaps the Slayers are just too busy beating the Choppas in Scenarios to be typing a report?

[Sir Robin]

Originally Posted by Ariwyn

Wow, awesome write-up Sir Robin. Love the pictures!

Seems like the Choppa crowd is more enthusiastic than the Slayer crowd...or perhaps the Slayers are just too busy beating the Choppas in Scenarios to be typing a report?

Well I had no problems clobbering Slayers in scenarios.

Won a lot more than I lost. Slayers would always win though when they stayed together. As soon as they split up we slaughtered them. Together they were just too much to overcome. I could see "Wolf Packs" of Slayers and Choppa's becoming the blessing, and curse, of T4 zergs. Great damage boost to have on your side but also so vulnerable that they deplete very quickly.

Overall, in my opinion, the Choppa and Slayer require a very aggressive style of playing to be most effective. Given the stereotype claims that aggressive people are more attracted to the "bad" guys... I could see the Slayer, while being popular, not being welcomed with anywhere near as much rejoicing among Order as the Choppa will be among Destruction.

[celdiruen]

Originally Posted by Ariwyn

Wow, awesome write-up Sir Robin. Love the pictures!

Seems like the Choppa crowd is more enthusiastic than the Slayer crowd...or perhaps the Slayers are just too busy beating the Choppas in Scenarios to be typing a report?

I'd get around to it but compiling that list took waaaay too long. Once I was done I honestly couldn't play even though I really wanted to

[Ariwyn-WHA]

Originally Posted by celdiruen

I'd get around to it but compiling that list took waaaay too long. Once I was done I honestly couldn't play even though I really wanted to

That's ok--I still count your post in the Slayer forums as a write-up of the class! And while it wasn't really narrative, it's probably the most informative piece I've seen of either class! I can tell you took a lot of time and put a lot of effort into it and I really appreciate it. Thanks!