08-22-2008, 07:49 AM
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WAR Soldier
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The Witch Hunter - Entire Breakdown
The Witch Hunter
The Witch Hunter is a light armoured, high melee damage class. Its main purpose is to deal as much damage to a single target, in as little time as possible. They are significantly vulnerable due to their lack of avoidance skills and paper thin armour; however with the luxury of a limited stealth and leap back ability, they can be devastating against small groups and lone players; especially ranged archtypes. When accompanied by a strong balanced group, the Witch Hunter can freely use such a distraction to take their time and choose their targets carefully, allowing them to pick their fights and increase the odds of success significantly. But be warned, the limitations on the Witch Hunters armour and melee skills results in the Witch Hunter being forced to hide in the shadows when a significant amount of Destruction forces assault a Battle Objective or Keep. It is during this time that they should bide their time, and stick with the main Order group, ready to strike with all cool down based skills when the opportunity arises. Not adhering to these fundamental rules can often result in the Witch Hunter quickly requesting a resurrect. Path of Confession The Path of Confession is a Witch Hunters direct damage line, and focuses primarily on dealing immediate damage to a target. It is effective in its straightforward brutality, and provides a small measure of increased protection when the Witch Hunter finds themselves under direct attack (see Relic skill). Specializing in this line ensures that majority of direct damage skills the Witch Hunter has, significantly increase in damage potential while unlocking some deadly AOE skills. This is arguably the most common Witch Hunter specialization line and guarantees that should they find themselves with little or no significant cool down skills available, that they can still hold their own against the majority of classes. The direct damage that this specialization line grants is why the Witch Hunter is so feared amongst cloth wearers. Path of Inquisition The Path of Inquisition is focused on longer and more drawn out combat. The majority of the skills within this specialization line concentrates on Damage over Time or de-buffing type skills. Although specializing within this tree can appear relativly weak, over time the Witch Hunter will deal an incredible amount of damage with the devastating effects of their attacks felt more and more as the fight progresses. Specializing in Inquisition combined with the Path of Confession guarantee’s that irrespective of the opponent, a target stands little chance of surviving past the initial onslaught of skills that this line offers. Should the Witch Hunter not survive the encounter, the majority of DOT skills used should result in the opponent dying anyway. Path of Judgment The Path of Judgment is taken by Witch Hunters who wish to specialize in positional based attacks. A Master of Judgment will seek to avoid face-to-face confrontations, and will be at their most powerful when they have allies nearby that can distract their enemies, allowing the Witch Hunter to lay down very potent attacks. This skill line remains the most talked about in terms of potential and practicality. Many of the Witch Hunters positional skills are on heavy cool downs, and as a result are seldom used or leave the Witch Hunter exposed when in 1 on 1 combat. However, when combined with The Path of Confession or Inquisition, the initial damage dealt by this specialization line leaves most foes very vulnerable. Perhaps the hardest specialization line to master, it could be considered the more group orientated skill line. Executions Absolution A precision shot to the enemy's vital organs which deals damage based on combo points. This is arguably the most used, direct damage Execution for the Witch Hunter. There are no additional benefits to this skill besides the high, single target damage it deals. There are better utility Executions, however if you wish to finish off a target quickly when they are low health, there is little better than this skill. Rating: *** Burn Away Lies A pistol shot that fires bullets filled with fire oil, first dealing damage over 9 seconds and then igniting into a raging inferno which deals additional damage. This is a very powerful Execution that results in putting a large amount of pressure onto a single target. When combined with other DOT skills the player will very rapidly lose health, often finished off by the final inferno; this allows the Witch Hunter to change targets, knowing that the final stage of the Execution will kill the enemy player off. Rating: ***** Burn, Heretic! A cleansing shot of flame which deals damage to your target over 10 seconds. Although this Execution is classed as a shot, it is in fact a close range skill that sets the target player alight. This is a very high damage skill that like Burn Away Lies places a great deal of pressure onto the target. Use this against classes with a high armour value, this will allow you to then quickly build up further acquisitions in order to use a more direct damage shot. Rating: **** Dragon Gun A pistol shot that deals damage to your target and all other enemies near them. Arguably the most used Execution if the Witch Hunter has specialized in The Path of Confession. When combined with Blessed Bullets of Cleansing, the AOE effect of this Execution allows you snare a significant amount of targets for 5 seconds. This can be deadly to a well knitted group of Destruction players, while it can also save your life should you have a single Acquisition available to use when retreating from a large attack. Although the damage is not as high as other Executions, the utility of this skill far outweighs this downside. Rating: ***** Exit Wound You fire a hollow point shell, dealing damage immediately and reducing the target's Toughness, Strength, and Weapon Skill for 10 seconds. As evidenced by the de-buff on this Execution, it should predominantly be used against all Tank and Melee archetypes players. Although the damage this Execution isn’t overly high, it is very useful should you have built up 5 Acquisition, and have already killed your first target. This allows you to quickly change targets and use the skill at the start of combat, resulting in a huge loss of personal statistics for the receiver and should put you at a significant advantage early on in the fight. Rating: **** Trial By Pain A barrage of withering fire that damages your target for up to 3 seconds, as long as you maintain your concentration. From my experience this is the most overused and common Execution. As it is a channeled skill, for me it remains completely impractical within a PVP environment. Targets do not tend to stay still, and as a result a good one will be able to run out of range, or strafe around you too easily as you channel. In addition, as it quickly drains attack power, it leaves you very vulnerable after its use. It would sincerely suggest that you remove this skill from your quick bar when taking part in RVR combat. There are better, more practical Executions without any of the down sides this skill suffers; it is however fine within a PVE environment. Rating: ** Last edited by ClownSt0pper; 08-31-2008 at 01:19 PM.. |
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08-22-2008, 07:51 AM
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#2 | |
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WAR Soldier
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Utility Skills
Blessed Bullets of Cleansing You load your pistol with bullets designed to fragment on impact, causing your Executions to deal an additional 150 Spirit damage to the target over 5 seconds and snare them, reducing their run speed by 40%. The most common, and only practical RVR bullet type for the Witch Hunter, the snare is invaluable (until new patch changes) you really should be using any other Bullet. When combined with Dragon Gun the impact can be devastating against any group. Rating: ***** Blessed Bullets of Confession You load your pistol with bullets doused in holy water, causing your Executions to deal an additional 171 Spirit damage over 9 seconds and reduce the target's action points by 30 over the duration. A bullet type I never use, the AP loss over means a target loses 3.3 AP per second, which in truth is non existent. A completely unnecessary skill that should at present have no place on your quick bar. Rating: * Blessed Bullets of Purity You load your pistol with bullets of purest silver, causing your Executions to deal an additional 103 Spirit damage and heal you for 50% of the damage done. Great for a PVE environment and some PVP encounters. When combined with certain tactics you can receive 100% health from the damage done. Using this Bullet however will mean that until the Pistol Shot changes are implemented, the Witch Hunter has no snare. Rating: *** Booby Trap You booby trap a siege engine. Next time that siege engine fires, the booby trap explodes, dealing 300 damage to the engine and all players within 360. Can use while moving. Can use from stealth. This skill gives the Witch Hunter a purpose within a Keep defense situation, if you work your way through the throng of Destruction that has no doubt built up, and use this skill, it will cause problems. However, it does have a slightly long cool down so it may be more practical to attack the person using the Siege weapon itself. The majority of Seige pads are far away from Keep doors, leaving those using weapons vulnerable. Rating: *** Faultfinder Increases melee damage done to keep doors by 10% for 30 seconds. Not a particularly incredible skill, however a free 10% damage increase is better than nothing. Should you need to attack the Keep doors, there is no reason why this skill should not be on cool down. However, a Witch Hunter would probably be more use protecting the back of line casters or covering the Destruction Postern Door. Rating: ** Pick Lock You bolster yourself for 30 seconds, allowing you to bypass the defenses of an enemy keep's postern door, porting you inside. A must use skill for all Witch Hunters, although it is obtained at a relativly high level, this allows you to enter an enemies Keep and attack players within the walls. It is fantastic for disrupting players who are attempting to build defensive siege weapons. Rating: ***** Declare Anathema Knocks your target down as you leap backwards, jumping away from them. Another paramount skill for the Witch Hunter. Ensure that this skill is available to use if you are attacking a large group of players, or have no healer grouped with you. The jump back will save your life, although you are still at risk from ranged attacks if you are being targeted. Rating: ***** Feinted Positioning Your positional attacks can be used without the positional requirement for 10 seconds. Does not affect morale abilities. Although predominantly used within the Path of Judgment Mastery line, this skill does have benefits with skills such as Pistol Whip when you are unable to get behind a player. Rating: ** Incognito You begin quietly hunting for heretics, making it less likely that hostile monsters will notice you but slowly draining away your action points. This effect will end if you use any abilities or run out of action points. Another paramount Witch Hunter skill that can potentially guarantee escape, and a successful kill. Ensure that you do not frivolously use this skill, as timing its use to perfection can make a huge difference in your ability to survive and kill others as it does have a long cooldown. A recent encounter saw me attacking a Sorceress while not stealthed, before dispatching a Magus who decided to enter the fray. As I was low health having killed them both and the Destruction group realizing two of their players had died, I quickly used Stealth to escape before double backing and taking down a Squig Herder who was a little too slow. Rating: ***** Get Thee Behind Me! Detaunts all enemies within 30 feet, making them hate you less and causing them to deal 50% less damage to you. A standard skill for all classes, ensure that you use this when retreating from a successful kill, or running away from the enemy if Declare Anathema is on cool down. Rating: *** Sigil Of Sigmar An artifact of the Temple of Sigmar which removes all roots and snares from you. For the next 10 seconds, roots and snares will have no effect on you. Another paramount cooldown skill that a WH must ensure is off cool down before they enter any significantly large fight. The immunity and removal of snares this skill grants is key to the classes survival and can spell the difference between survival, killing a target, or death. Beware of its long cool down, and use wisely or it could cost you your life. Rating: ***** Melee and Incognito Skills Burn Armor A surprise attack that burns your target, causing them to take 103 damage each time they use a melee attack for the next 15 seconds. I personally seldom use this skill, although it is potentially useful against melee players. However, the majority of melee players will desperately try to either A) Run away from you, or B) Attempt to strafe around you, while attacking you. Either way, I find that Sudden Accusation is often a more appropriate skill to use as a players constant movements soon wracks up more damage than 103 that this deals (per swing). However, this skill does increase in its worth when you specialize in the correct mastery line. Rating: **** Fanatical Zeal You leap from the shadows, fueled with righteous anger. Your target will take 100 damage every time they cast a spell for 15 seconds. As with Burn Armor, this skill is very situational and is dependant on your play style. This is clearly aimed towards being used on Hybrid players, or Healer archtypes, however these classes will tend to run away from you, should you ‘get the jump’ on them. Investing in The Path of Judgement significantly increases the damage the caster will receive should they cast a spell, resulting in a very high pressure attack. Rating: **** Sudden Accusation You leap from the shadows and accuse your target of heresy. Your target will take 37 damage every time they move for 15 seconds. Arguably the most used, and practical Incognito attack skill. The vast majority of players will panic when a Witch Hunter leaps from the Shadows to attack them, and will desperately try to flee. I have killed many players purely from using this opening with this skill, and have watched them kill themselves as they run away. However, bear in mind that against a skilled player, this is perhaps the weakest skill, as they will remain motionless, meaning that Fanatical Zeal and Burn Armor have more of a use as players improve within WAR. Rating: **** Confess! A savage counterattack that deals 175 damage and disarms your target for 5 seconds, making them unable to use their weapons. A very useful skill when combined with Repel Blasphemy (see below) these two skills combined can gaurentee that a Witch Hunter stands a significant chance of success against a melee class. Disarming a Marauder or Black Orc for 5 seconds will grant you enough time to obtain all 5 Accusation points and hopefully allow you to deal a significant amount of damage too them in the process. Also, combine this skill with Pistol Whip or Silence the Heretic dependant on the archtype you are fighting against. Rating: **** Repel Blasphemy A melee attack that deals 232 damage. Your chance to parry attacks is increased by 100% for the next 5 seconds. Although this skill requires Mastery line investment, it is absolutely devastating when fighting against a melee class. This is considered 5 seconds worth of immunity against the archtype, and followed by Confess at the last possible moment grants the Witch Hunter almost 10 seconds of immunity, this is devastating. Easily one of the Witch Hunters most potent skills, but be warned it does have a long cool down of 30 seconds. Rating: ***** Fervor A precise incision that deals 50 damage, and an additional 165 damage over 9 seconds. This effect can be stacked up to 3 times. The Witch Hunters staple DOT attack, with a stack of three the attack can deal 55 dmg per second. Although this sounds relativly low, it allows the Witch Hunter to keep up a high amount of pressure on the enemy player, and should the player be low health, the Witch Hunter can choose a different target, while their original dies slowly. Specializing in The Path of Confession significantly increases this skills damage; its one of my personal favorites. Rating: **** Pistol Whip A quick backhand blow with the butt of your pistol that deals 225 damage and stuns your target for 3 seconds, the target must be facing away from you. A must skill if you are specializing in The Path of Judgment. Although the requirement to have the target facing away from you is relativly restrictive, a successful opener from Incognito should always leave you behind the target. Quickly follow up that opening attack with Pistol Whip to leave a player useless, by the time Pistol Whip has run out, the player (dependant on Archtype) should be close to death or significantly weak. Combine this skill with Feigned Positioning if you are unable to get behind your target. Rating: *** Punish The False A precision blow that deals 150 damage, and causes a lingering wound which reduces the effectiveness of all healing by 50% for 10 seconds. A must skill should you invest in The Path of Confession. It almost guarantee’s that any healer you encounter will die very, very quickly. Ensure that you use this skill when the enemy healer is around half HP; it is at this stage that they are most likely to start to heal themselves. In addition, it is often worth saving this skill until you have 5 Acquisition points, when you do- use an Execution such as Burn Away Lies, or Burn Heretic to pile on the pressure while continuing with varying melee attacks and Silence the Heretic. Rating: ***** Seeker's Blade A melee attack that can not be defended against, and deals 180 damage. If the target is Crippled, then they will also become Cursed for 10 seconds, reducing their chances to block, parry, dodge, and disrupt attacks by 5%. This powerful attack requires Mastery specialization. Although the cripple requirement can be relativly restricting on the skill, the curse effect is useful against melee based classes. In addition, as it is an un-defendable attack it is useful against tank archtypes while the damage increases significantly with specialization making it very dangerous, it does however have a cool down. Rating: **** Silence The Heretic A punishing blow that silences your target, making them unable to use magic for 3 seconds. If you are behind your target, then you will also deal 150 damage. As with my of The Path of Judgement skills, this has a positional aspect to deal damage; however, even if you are not correctly positioned, the 3 second silence is priceless for effectively killing hybrid and healer classes. 3 seconds is not a significant amount of time, so ensure that you use this skill when a healer/hybrid is at ¾ low health, this should combined with an Execution gaurentee a successful kill. Finally, when combined with Punish The False, the results can be devastating and almost impossible to survive against. Rating: **** Torment A destructive thrust that deals 125 damage to your enemy. If you are behind your target, this attack will ignore armor. Possibly the most underrated skill within the entire Witch Hunters arsenal. I think many people under estimate the potential this skill has, and its direct damage that is possible, especially when specialized. Mitigating armour against any class is deadly and can result in the skill be incredibly powerful. Without any specialization a single attack on a Black Orc who was shielded resulted in this attack dealing over 550 damage per strike. This is huge damage. When specialized, the potential for the skill is even greater, and considering it has no cool down and can be used with Feinted Positioning, it’s a paramount skill; my personal favourite. Rating: ***** Van Horstmann's Speculum A tiny enchanted mirror hung around your neck, this holy relic reduces your target's Strength, Toughness, and Weapon Skill by 75 for 10 seconds, and increases yours by the same amount. The Relics are due to change significantly over the next few patches, however for the moment, neither of the 3 Relics are poor mastery investments. Van Horstmann’s Speculum is centered around melee classes, and does for a short period of time significantly increase the Witch Hunters damage output and reduces the opponents. However, unlike Seal of Destruction or Shroud of Magnus, it lacks any survivability improvement for an already frail class. Rating: *** Shroud Of Magnus Rumored to be the death shroud of Magnus the Pious; this holy relic increases all of your resistances by 156 for 10 seconds. My second favourite relic available to the Witch Hunter. As the resistances the relic provides scale, you can receive in excess of 200+ resistances for 10 seconds. Although this wont gaurentee to save your life, when fleeing or attacking magic users it can significantly reduce your damage take. I personally have in excess of 900+ resistances across all resists with this active. Combined with a heavy Wounds and Toughness build, the Witch Hunter has suprising survivability. Rating: *** Seal Of Destruction A holy relic created under the tutelage of Elven mages, the Seal removes 1 Hex or Curse from you every second for the next 10 seconds. Each time an effect is successfully removed, you will regain 18 health. My favourite relic available to the Witch Hunter. The removal of 1 Hex or Curse every second/10 seconds is priceless and can gaurentee survival. It allows for a small increase of health per removal, while it is also incredibly helpful against Shaman and Zealots who have a significant amount of negative spell casts. A must have skill if you RVR frequently without a healer as it does work well when combined with Blessed Bullets of Purity. PVP Encounter Advice (Specializing in The Path of Inquisition and The Path of Judgement) Melee Pure Melee archetypes are the hardest players for a Witch Hunter to kill as they have high armour, high hit points, and high damage; there are no gaurentees you will be successful. Open combat with Blessed Bullets of Purity and use Burn Armour, this ensures that any melee swings the enemy deals on you are countered while any Executions used grant you some health. In addition, quickly use Pistol Whip as soon as possible to stun the player for 3 seconds. You should at this stage have 3 Accusation points. While strafing around your target quickly use Ferver twice, followed by Burn Away Lies. The melee player will be out of stun now, and will no doubt have snared you and be hitting you hard. Cast Sigil of Sigmar as soon as possible to free your actions, in addition begin positioning yourself against the melee class to reapply Ferver three more times, while preparing to use Confess! and Sever Nerve. At this stage you will be significantly low on health so it is advisable if you have, to take a health potion. In addition, try your best to use Torment for a strong offensive attack. You should have 5 Accusations again; use Burn Away Lies, followed by Anathema. This should leave the melee player stunned, with a DOT that’s about to deal significant damage, while you should be quite a distance away from them now. Bide your time until Incognito is ready again, and repeat the process. Depending on your Tactics and practice within this situation you will have varying results. In addition, some melee classes are harder than others (Marauder) Caster (Will complete this week) Caster Healers (Will complete this week) Healer Hybrid (Will complete this week) Ranged/Pet Class (Will complete this week) Morale Abilities Sever Nerve Morale Rank 1 A directed strike that inflicts 960 damage to your target. The most commonly used Rank 1 available Morale ability. Dealing almost 1000 damage, this skill is incredibly deadly and easily obtainable within a short fight, becoming even more potent in spike potential when combined with a 5 Acquisition shot. Rating: *** Confusing Movements Morale Rank 1 Concentrating on your perceived movements, you will be able to Dodge and Parry all attacks against you for 7 seconds. Dependant on play style, this skill is incredibly useful in giving the Witch Hunter a large advantage over Melee archtypes. In addition, used prior or after Repel Blasphmey, followed by Confess! Gives the Witch Hunter the potential of 22 seconds of mitigated damage; this is phenomenal survivability, but requires timing. Rating: **** Exoneration Morale Rank 1 You regain 576 health and 180 Action Points over 9 seconds. A relativly useless skill, more orientated for Witch Hunters who take part in extensive solo play with no possibility of a healer. At a restore of 64hp/s any class can out damage this before you see the value, in addition, 180 AP over 9 seconds equates to 20AP/s which although is ok, is nothing that wont be missed. Remove it from your quick bar now! Rating: * Reversal Of Fortune Morale Rank 2 Deals 480 damage to all enemies within 30 feet and disarms them, making them unable to use their weapons for 5 seconds. An incredibly useful skill that can cause significant havoc amongst a group; effectively reducing their entire DPS for 5 seconds. In addition, the skill is also incredibly useful against lone targets, when combined with Confess! can be 10 seconds worth of a player being completely disarmed. Use this skill just before your group attacks and watch the helpless Destruction struggle. A personal Morale favourite. Rating: ***** Force Of Will Morale Rank 2 You stare down your opponent, draining 200 of their Action Points into yourself, and reducing their strength by 124 for 30 seconds. Although in principle a practical skill, it does not really compare to the usefulness of Reversal of Fortune as it remains a more PVE orientated skill. Within a RVR environment an AOE disarm is far more useful against any class than a light debuff and return of Action Points. Within long PVE fights however this skill can be very useful. Rating: ** Relentless Assault Morale Rank 2 A prolonged fervor that grants 10 Action Points a second to everyone in your group for 10 seconds. 100 Action Point gain to the entire group, although sounding useful is relativly useless, although it may alleviate some group members who have no AP left, the majority will not notice this benefit. In addition, Hunters Fervor cast by a Shadow Warrior is far more productive, and is not a Morale Ability. Rating: * Broad Swings Morale Rank 3 All of your attacks for the next 10 seconds will strike up to 2 additional enemies near your target. Between this Morale, and Witchfinders Protection, it is a difficult choice. The Witch Hunter is not an AOE or effective group brawler like the Marauder, and should they find themselves within a significant group of Destruction players, it may already be too late to survive. This Morale does link well with Sweeping Razor tactic, however I would not recommend it over the below Morale ability. Rating: *** Witchfinder's Protection Morale Rank 3 Everyone in your group has a 50% increased chance to parry attacks for 10 seconds. 50% is a significantly high probability, and within many RVR zerg environments, this will save group members lives. That moment when your on 20hp and about to die, only to parry and attack back; killing the attacker? This is the skill that can do such a thing, and has for me many times. In addition, further combined with Repel Blasphemy gives the Witch Hunter a great deal of survivability. Rating: **** Excommunicate Morale Rank 4 For the next 15 seconds, heals will have no effects on your target. The target and all other enemies within 30 feet of them will suffer 1200 damage over 15 seconds. A useful skill against a lone target that has a negative effect on their allies around them. Very effective at taking down that tank or melee archtype that is causing significant problems (see Ash), however for it to be fully effective it does require group focus fire coordination which most guilds should have. Rating: **** Expurgation Morale Rank 4 Deals 1600 damage over 10 seconds to all enemies within 30 feet and snares them, reducing their run speed by 60%. My personal Rank 4 Morale favourite, a 30 feet AOE snare that can potentially trap infinite enemy players is devastating. In addition, timing this skill with several AOE spec Bright Wizards can yield a breath taking body count. Finally, the damage aspect also adds further pressure at 160dmg/s to all targets. Rating: ***** Frenzied Slaughter Morale Rank 4 All of your abilities will cost 25% fewer action points, cool down 50% faster, and deal 20% more damage for 7 seconds. Great for solo play when stalking lone targets in the back streets of Praag, this morale ability allows the Witch Hunter to effectively spam skills quickly and cheaply in order to build up Execution after Execution. I would personally prefer one of the above, or below Morale abilities; it remains more PVE orientated for those long boss encounters. Holy Blade Morale Rank 4 Deals 1648 damage to all enemies in front of you, up to 80 feet away. An improved version of the Rank 1 Morale Sever Nerve this Morale is fantastic at dealing instant, high damage and has a significant chance of killing off a multitude of players simultaneously, especially in keep defense with its 80ft range. As with the above Morale ability, time this ability with your Bright Wizards in order to deal significant group AOE damage. Rating: **** Last edited by ClownSt0pper; 08-31-2008 at 12:23 PM.. |
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08-22-2008, 07:52 AM
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#3 | |
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WAR Soldier
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Tactics
Atonement Increases Absolution's chance to critically hit by 25%. A reasonable tactic that is OK if you use Absolution regularly, however due to many Executions being better than Absolution, this could be considered a waste to use. There are better. Rating: ** Blood, Faith, And Fire Any time you land a killing blow on your enemy, all of your groupmates within 30 feet will regain 75 Action Points. The general nature of the Witch Hunter means that it is more than likely you will be a significant distance away from your group mates (at least more than 30 feet) and so many will not feel the benefit of this tactic. Leave well alone. Rating: * Brute Force Increases your Strength by 124. I actually quite like this tactic, although it is straight forward, the extra little bit of DPS you gain is quite handy if you are more orientated around The Path of Confession Mastery line. One to be considered if you don’t find any other skills fit your play style. Rating: *** Emperor's Commendation Burn Armor, Fanatical Zeal, and Sudden Accusation will also grant you 150 points of Morale. A reasonable Tactic for getting to Sever Nerve or any other Rank 1 Morale ability quickly. Overall though I feel that this tactic is relativly un-useful over the course of a fight, as after the initial opener, it remains useless. Rating: ** Emperor's Ward Any time you are attacked, there is a 25% chance that you will become protected by a magical barrier for up to 10 seconds, which will absorb up to 210 damage. This effect will not trigger more than once every 3 seconds. A tactic I would avoid; although it sounds good on paper, a poor magical barrier that triggers once every four times you receive damage is not particularly useful, considering that a single Marauder swing will deplete this barrier instantly, and still damage you. Rating: * Encourage Confession Blessed Bullets Of Confession now causes the victim to lose 39 Action Points, and you gain as many action points as the enemy loses. Another awful Tactic, Blessed Bullets of Confession is already relativly useless, and as most Executions end a Witch Hunters fight, you will or could find yourself out of combat anyway, meaning your AP will recharge very quickly. In addition, better management of when to use skills can mitigate the need for an AP boost, another to avoid. Rating: * Fanatical Cleansing Increases the duration of Blessed Bullets Of Cleansing by an additional 5 seconds. A relativly useful tactic that increases the Bullets effect to a 10 second snare; very useful when combined with Dragon Gun for an extra long AOE snare. Definatly one to consider, however with the new Pistol Shot changes due very soon (Pistol Shot causing a 40% snare) and with the Blessed Bullet changes also due, it may be worth avoiding this Tactic and instead get used to using another. Rating: *** Flanking All of your attacks deal 15% more damage when you strike an enemy from the sides or rear. A personal Tactic favourite when combined with The Path of Judgment Mastery line, giving a significant amount of permanent passive damage. Although this further emphasizes a need for the Witch Hunter to find suitable positions against their target, the benefit is a healthy increase in damage across all skills. Rating: **** Flowing Accusations All of your Executions gain a 50% chance to restore 2 Accusations. An OK tactic if you are planning on extended fights within large group environments; however I feel that there are better tactics available. 2 accusations can be obtained very easily with two quick swings of the Rapier and although you can potentially have two quick Accusation returns, 50% of the time you wont. I would personally avoid. Rating: ** Full Confession Confess! no longer costs action points, and it will nearly always critically hit. Another Tactic to avoid, Confess! is highly situational requiring a Parry to use, as a result of this, this Tactic will not be “used” frequently. In addition, Confess! does not cost a significant amount of AP, nor is it an incredibly powerful anyway. One to avoid. Rating: ** Inquisitor's Fury Each time you critically hit an enemy, your autoattack speed will be increased by 50% for 10 seconds. This really needs very little explanation, unlike other MMOs autoattack speed is not a high source of damage within WAR, it is relativly redundant. Avoid this tactic. Rating: * Jagged Edge Any time you critically hit an enemy they will begin to bleed, suffering additional 333 damage over 9 seconds. An OK tactic if you are specialized heavily in The Path of Inquisition as this is a further potential DOT to your arsenal. However, at 33dmg/s it is relativly ignorable by most classes. In addition, in my experience of using it, the DOTs do not stack regardless of how many critical strikes you get. Rating: ** Last Rites Any time you land a killing blow on an enemy, you will regain 378 health over 9 seconds. Another OK Tactic that could potentially save your life, especially when combined with Seal of Destruction. However, at 42hp/s again it is relativly useless if you were to be attacked after finishing off your enemy. This Tactic is fine within a PVE environment should you not have a healer handy and wish to grind a little. Rating: ** Penetrating Barbs Increases the durations of Fanatical Zeal, Burn Armor, and Sudden Accusation by an additional 5 seconds. I like this Tactic, as it increases the opening Incognito skills to 20 seconds. This potentially could result in several hundred more damage on your target and could be the difference between you or them surviving. Defiantly one to consider, however once Incognito is on cool down, this tactic is useless. Rating: *** Prolonged Confession Increases the durations of Fervor, Blessed Bullets Of Confession, and Burn, Heretic! by an additional 3 seconds. A relativly weak Tactic that benefits players who invest in The Path of Judgement. 3 extra seconds on these three skills is quite negligible, but is possibly worth equipping to maintain a high pressure DOT build. Rating: *** Righteous Steel Increases your chance to parry attacks by 10%. A 10% permanent parry increase is quite a significant amount, as it is effectively a 10% reduction in damage received which can only be a bonus. In addition, as it’s a permanent passive Tactic it requires no trigger to set it off and is one I use regularly, with noticeable results. Rating: **** Riposte Each time you parry an enemy's attack, you will strike them back for 150 damage which they can not prevent. A great Tactic when combined with Righteous Steel Tactic, and Repel Blasphemy, especially when fighting against classes such as Marauders. They will seriously regret attacking you with these tactics combined. Rating: **** Sanctified Bullets Increases the damage from your Blessed Bullets of Purity to 155, and it will now heal you for all of the damage that it deals. A reasonable PVE Tactic, and OK within an RVR environment for those Witch Hunters who are taking part in Solo play. However, as Executions are not “spammed” skills, the benefits of this heal are negligible. Rating: ** Seeker's Triumph Seeker's Blade will now ignore 50% of the target's armor, and its cool down time is reduced by 5 seconds. If you are specialized for it, Seekers Blade is a high damage skill, and is potentially very powerful when mitigating a targets armour, especially against tanking classes. If you are specialized in The Path of Confession, I would strongly suggest this tactic. Rating: *** Sigmar's Favor Any time that you are healed, there is a 25% chance that you will regain an additional 108 hit points as well. An OK tactic, 108 hit points is a relativly low amount, even more so if you consider this will only trigger every 1 in 4 heals. Perhaps of more use within a PVE environment, I have found little use for it and have not missed not equipping it, especially if you have a good healer. Rating: * Sweeping Razor Razor Strike will now also hit up to 2 additional enemies within 15 feet of your target. A good tactic should you be amongst a large amount of enemy players, in addition even more so if you are specialized in The Path of Confession as Razer Strike is a bread and butter skill that deals quick, direct damage. Definatly worth considering when combined with certain Morale abilities. Rating: **** Unwavering Faith Increases your Spirit resistance by 195. Like Brute Force I enjoy permanent passive Tactics that require no triggers. Spirit damage seems relativly common with casters so this does mitigate some damage, in addition when combined with Shroud of Magnus this can significantly increase a Witch Hunters defense potential. Rating: **** Vindication Each time you disrupt an enemy's spell, you will deal 35% more damage for 10 seconds. Ive yet to know when I actually Disrupt an enemies spell, so it has been really difficult for me to test the effectiveness of this Tactic. As of yet I have yet to see a trigger to this, so I can only assume that I have never interrupted a caster, either that or they have died too quickly. Rating: n/a Vitriolic Judgement Any time you strike an enemy in the back, there is a 25% chance that they will lose 225 points of Morale. A strong Tactic to ensure that casters do not reach their first “push back” morale skills, however it does require practice to continuously remain at an enemies back. One of my personal favorites’. Rating: **** Please note that this a personal breakdown of the Witch Hunter from my extensive experience within BETA, opinions will vary! Witch Hunter is the class I will play upon Launch. Oh and I hope you like this, and my Shadow Warrior guides  |
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08-22-2008, 11:24 AM
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#4 | |
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WAR Soldier
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Wow, excellent break down. Thanks for the write up.
I do have a question on Bullet of Purity. Does it only trigger off the dmg you deal to your target, or does it include aoe effects such as the Dragon Gun execution? For that matter does it include DOTs like Burn Heretic? |
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08-22-2008, 01:13 PM
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WAR Soldier
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Quote:
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08-22-2008, 02:07 PM
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#6 | ||
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WAR Soldier
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Quote:
For example, if I buff with Bullet of Purity and use Dragon Gun, hitting 3 foes for 100 damage each, do I get healed 50hp or 150hp? |
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08-22-2008, 10:09 PM
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#8 | |
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WAR Soldier
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Thank you so much for this!
It's a real nice guide for us n00b WHs.  |
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08-22-2008, 10:41 PM
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#9 | ||
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WAR Recruit
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Quote:
There's a very nice trick build you can use to take advantage of this. With Sanctified Bullets and Sigmar's Favor, you'll get the full damage>HP return on your BBoPurity, as well as have a chance to proc an extra 108 heal on yourself from each of those BBoPurity procs. So, with those two tactics equipped, you can pretty much become an AOE machine and heal yourself for a huge chunk of health. This is an awesome way to grind in PVE. I like to mix this tactic with Riposte and Sweeping Razor. Run around, gathering up a lot of mobs, then stand your ground and use Repel Blasphemy. As they melee you, you'll parry everything for those five seconds and they'll be taking Riposte damage while you use Sweeping Razor to hit three of them. Once you have five Accusations, pop your target with Dragon Gun to heal for a huge chunk of your life (sometimes I'll pop back up to full.) Any mobs that aren't dead, clean them up with your AoE Razor Strike and then get ready to start all over again. Played correctly, this can also work in RVR situations. I kind of suck at it, but I've seen it done before, and it worked very well. The Witch Hunter in question even did great on the healing charts! |
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08-22-2008, 11:23 PM
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#10 | ||
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WAR Soldier
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Quote:
Thank you for the guide, though. It's very good. =) |
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08-23-2008, 01:51 AM
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WAR Soldier
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Quote:
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08-23-2008, 03:24 AM
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#12 | |
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WAR Recruit
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EDITED for content
Last edited by CapnSquig-WHA; 09-02-2008 at 04:49 AM.. |
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08-23-2008, 04:53 AM
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#13 | |
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WAR Soldier
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I apologise for writing a useful guide for those not lucky enough to be in BETA.
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08-23-2008, 06:11 AM
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#14 | |
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WAR Soldier
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Really great work!
__________________
'You have committed the ultimate heresy. Not only have you turned your back on the Emperor and stepped from his light, you have perverted and twisted the path he has laid for Mankind to tread. As my decree states, their can be no mercy for such a crime, no pity for such a criminal. You walk in the darkness and cannot be allowed to live. Your sentence has been long overdue and it is now time for you to die!' |
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08-23-2008, 07:03 AM
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WAR Soldier
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Quote:
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