Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Career Mastery Paths

Chaos Chosen

Official information from EA Mythic

One of the major parts of any MMOG is that the gameplay has to fit your playstyle. If it doesn't then you can bet that you won't be playing that game for long. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is no exception, regardless of how good it might be. When a game doesn't make sense to you with how it plays or it has that "same 'ol same 'ol" feel to it, it can be boring, frustrating, confusing, (insert appropriate adjective here). One way game designers overcome that feeling in a game is to allow you, the player, to take some modicum of control over your character and choose how he/she will specialize for your playstyle in whatever game you're playing. If you want to do more damage, you can specialize in skills that will add to your DPS. If you like being able to take the pain, then skills that stress damage mitigation are key. If you're a healer, then you obvioulsy want to boost your healing ability (unless you're like I am, then you go for more damage and toss your friends to the wind!). And the list goes on and on.

Back in December, EA Mythic announced that they were adding a Career Mastery tree to each class in Warhammer Online so that each player could customize his/her character's playstyle. It's a similar idea to the Talents trees in WoW or
the AA lines in Everquest 2.

Something I can do for you?

While they've released no details on the actual abilities in each path yet, this month EA Mythic began releasing the different Paths of Mastery for some of the Careers in WAR. One of which was the Chaos Chosen!

Chaos Chosen Career Masteries

Do not be mislead by appearances, for they are the first weapon of the Chosen.  Covered from head to toe in unholy armor, wielding massive weapons capable of rending enemies limb from limb, the Chosens are hulking figures of dread and terror on the battlefield - but woe to the enemy who dismisses them as simple brutes!  Tzeentch's Chosen are cunning warriors who can bring forth a whisper of the Ruinous Powers into this world, dooming their enemies to a fate that is, perhaps, worse than a simple death.

Chosen Mechanic

The Chosen have been blessed by Tzeentch with several dark gifts, powers of Chaos which they can grasp and pull into this world through their very bodies.  These powers pour forth from within their massive armor, and spill out as profane auras.  In addition to causing an immediate effect when they first burst out from the Chosen's grasp, these lingering effects will continue to empower the player for several moments, allowing them to unleash melee attacks fueled by the unholy power of Tzeentch himself.

Chosen Masteries

Path of Strife
The Path of Strife is focused on directly and brutally crushing your foes.  A master of Strife will be likely to favor a Greatweapon instead of a shield, greatly increasing their offensive power at the cost of sacrificing the protections that a shield would otherwise offer.  They will be easily capable of picking up a shield when the situation calls for it...but they won't be happy about it.

Path of Retaliation
The Path of Retaliation is a cunning Mastery for those who prefer to outlast their enemies, letting their foes beat in futility on a massive shield until they're exhausted, and then crushing them with deliberate and vicious attacks.  A specialist in Retaliation will be the person who defines where the lines of battle will be drawn, since they -are- the front lines.

Path of Discord
The Path of Discord is one that delves more deeply into Tzeentch's gifts, and masters of Discord more fully understand how to manipulate the Chaos forces that swirl within them.  They can unleash blasts of magical power, or twist the magical energies to unnaturally enhance their melee attacks.  Their understanding of the nature of magic is still relatively shallow, however, and they can not hope to approach the skill or power of a true magus, but even their brief flashes of otherworldly energy are enough to empower them as potent melee combatants.

Want to discuss the paths of the Chosen and who is more worthy of Tzeentch's eye? Head on over to the Ten Ton Hammer WAR Forums .

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