WAR Guide on Shadow Warriors Part 1

Post by MrMuffles
Hello Current and Future Shadow Warriors -- Welcome to the epic guide on Shadow Warriors. I apologize for the extremely long post, but at the same time, it's better to be overwhelmed with information than underwhelmed. I took the liberty of trying to ease your read by highlighting some key points. If you read the point and the topic interests you, step back and read the paragraph. Or, if you're very interested in everything that this class represents, recline in your chair, light a candle to set the mood, and enjoy the read.



*Added 9/21/08: The Concept and Mindset of a Shadow Warrior (IMPORTANT!)

It has become apparent to me that many people on the forums seem to want to out-dps other classes, and that is all they care about. Our ranged damage is compared and inferior to that of a Bright Wizard's, and our melee damage is compared and inferior to that of a Witch Hunter. Those seem to be the two comparison classes of choice.

Before you read any further, and before you level your Shadow Warrior any more so than you already have, you must pause and think it over long and hard. The key concept that this class offers, is that you aren't a BW and you aren't a WH. You are BOTH but to a lesser degree. As a witch hunter, you MUST take your lightly armored butt into the thick of battle in order to deal any significant damage. You do not have any "free damage from a distance" skills that compare to any ranged DPS class. Following the same pattern, as a Bright Wizard, you MUST keep your lightly armored butt OUT of the thick of battle, you must always avoid confrontation, even if it is 1v1, if you can help it. You have no choice, unless you have godly heals and/or you enjoy dying. Yes, the two mentioned classes excel more so at their one role than we do at the specified role.

The true beauty of the Shadow Warrior, is while we deal less damage overall (Keyword: less, not necessarily insignificant like most people say it is), we have the OPTION to play both roles. We can freely deal damage from a distance, and we can have substantial burst in a melee confrontation. We can pick our roles, and shift our roles, very frequently. Thus, making us a Hybrid class. We do not pack the punch of a BW or Witch Hunter in either category and with good reason, but we can pack BOTH punches. If this doesn't sound appealing to you, and you wish to excel in one field, then I'd suggest not picking a hybrid class, in any game for that matter. It would be simply overpowered if we could do multiple tasks AS EFFECTIVELY as a class with only one key role. With that discrepancy hopefully cleared up, read on.



A little information about me:
I started this game at the first preview weekend with the intention of playing a Rune Priest. When I found out my guild already had an insanely large amount of Healers and Tanks, I decided to help out our DPS and roll a DPS class. Reading up on the Shadow Warriors, this forum gave and still gives false impressions on this class, throwing around statements which, after experience at rank 20+, I've found to be utterly incorrect. I will do my absolute best to keep this a purely OBJECTIVE and MATURE post, so I ask in return that the responders do the same. Not to brag, but I consider myself an elitist and theorizer. I always compute numbers, test numbers, and test skill rotations. I go by numbers, because numbers are absolute and fact. Opinions are nothing more than opinions.

*Added 9/25/08:
Due to a handful of people asking me in a PM what my build is, I'm posting it here. But please keep in mind that a build is based around your personal playstyle. Don't spec the build unless you AGREE with it, not because someone else is doing it.
My end-game build.

In this thread, I wish to address some bogus claims, false statements, bad mindsets and views, as well as shed light on some mysterious topics and information. I came to these forums in the past searching for answers, only to later find out those answers were incorrect or simply not there.


For starters, I wish to point on the most useful information, and then later in the post I'll dive deeper into each Stance, and point out their Pros/Cons and some information the general public might not even know.

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