The Final Careers: Elves

Hmmmm, I don't see your name on the list. And you arrrrrrrre...?

By Brock "Brokain" Ferguson

So, here we are. Waiting with bated breath on the last 2 careers for the Dark Elves and the High Elves. While you wait, you talk amongst yourselves. You speculate, you hypothisize, and you dream of what the last careers could be and how cool it would be if they put in "X" class from the table top game. Well, we here at Ten Ton Hammer are no different and I'm going to share with you my speculations on what two classes we can expect for the Elves and why. So sit back, relax, and (if you agree) say "You sir, are a GENIUS!" or if you don't agree... then it wasn't really my idea, it was Savanja's on the EQ2 side, so be sure to let her know.

Ok, to start we'll take a look at the High Elves. We've already been treated to the Sword Masters (the Tank Class) and the Arch Mages (The Healing Class). So Now we need a Ranged DPS and Melee DPS to fill in the Careers.

So now that we know what we're looking for, where do we look for clues as to what classes we're looking forward to? I think EA Mythic has dropped some for us on their main Warhammer Online Site. All the classes revealed so far were mentioned in the backstory or other lore areas. For example, The Sword Master.

Taken from the Warhammer Online: the Age of Reckoning main site:

From the Armies of WAR: The High Elves:On the battlefield, High Elf swordsmen are graceful, lithe, and lethal when they detect a weakness in their adversaries.

From the overview of Ulthuan:Protecting these scholars are the fearsome Sword Masters of Hoeth, who spend their lives mastering the art of combat with the greatsword.

And the Arch Mage

From the Armies of WAR:The High Elves:Magic is the lifeblood of the High Elves. With millennia to hone their skills, it is little wonder that the Mages of Ulthuan are among the most powerful practitioners of magic in the world.

From the overview of Ulthuan:Saphery lies to the south and east of Avelorn, on the shore of the Sea of Dreams. Called the land of wizardry, Saphery is home to some of the most powerful mages in all of Ulthuan. Among these, few as more potent that the Loremasters of the White Tower of Hoeth, a massive edifice that stretches skyward into the clouds.

Now that we now where we're looking, we come across an interesting find for a Ranged DPS choice. Having already chosen the Arch Mage for the healing class, I don't think that they'll go for a second finger wiggling class but instead rely on the time honored fantasy tradition of Elven Archery and who better to fit that class than the Shadow Warrior.

Taken from the main Warhammer Online:Age of Reckoning site

From the overview of Ulthuan: Like the Blighted Isle, the Shadowlands are a bleak, rocky region blanketed in perpetual gloom. Over the millennia, many epic battles have been fought in this place, and the land itself seems cursed for it. Once, in an age long past, a great Elven kingdom called Nagarythe flourished in the north of Ulthuan. Malekith inherited this realm, and during the Sundering it was utterly destroyed. The Shadowlands are all that remain, its shores patrolled by the grim and silent Shadow Warriors who watch for threats from the Dark Elves.

I view the Shadow Warriors to be much like a Ranger type class. They patrol the shores of the Shadowlands much akin to a strike force. With smaller numbers they have to rely on guerilla warfare tactics to strike from the darkness and end things swiftly, holding off any incursion onto Ulthuan soil until the main force can arrive.With the ability to do high damage melee this class could very well be used as the Melee DPS class, but I don't think it will be. The Shadow Warriors will still maintain their up close DPS, but their main damage will come from their Ranged DPS skills giving the High Elves a devestatingly powerful ranged attack. Now I hear you asking, "Brokain, why don't you think they'll be the melee DPS class? They have the word "Shadow" in their name. They could be like Ninja, and everybody knows that the Ninja are the coolest of all DPS types. So why?". As much as I agree with you that Ninja ARE the best DPS classes, I firmly belive that they'll make Shadow Warriors Ranged DPS and allow another class to hold the Melee DPS title.

And the class would be The White Lions of Chrace!

Taken from the main Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning site

To the south of the Blighted Isle lies Chrace, where the land rises steeply to meet the pine-covered slopes of the Annulii Mountains. Here, the legendary White Lions of Chrace make their home. They are among the fiercest and most courageous warriors in all of Ulthuan, and will show no mercy to any Dark Elf invaders they meet on the field on battle.

It's long been said that EA Mythic will be giving the High Elves a pet class and while the lore from the Tabletop doesn't fit that role, I believe that with a little tweaking of the lore (something EA Mythic has said they've been given license to do) the White Lions would be easy to give pets to. In order to be accepted into the ranks of the White Lions, one has to go and kill a white lion in one on one combat.

Taken from Games Workshop Online site, regarding the High Elves, specifically the White Lions,

...These are the bravest of the young Elves of Chrace, chosen for the honour of serving the Phoenix King by ancient rites. Not all are worthy to serve, and each must demonstrate his skill and bravery by tracking down one of the fierce white lions that roam the dark forests and barren mountains of that land. When they find one they must kill it in hand-to-hand combat and take its pelt.

A small tweak in the lore here would give them the ability to tame the lions instead of kill them. They would also be able to have the lions tamed as pre teen cubs and then, much like how the beard of a dwarf grows longer as you progress in rank, the lion would "grow up" increasing in damage and health. The fact that the White Lions are fierce warriors themselves allows them to fight along side of thier pets increasing their damage and making them a perfect Melee DPS class.

It would be easy to switch either class around in the Ranged/Melee DPS role. As stated above, the Shadow Warrior has excellent close up fighting abilities and melee prowess. It would be very easy for him to be turned into an assasin type class, focusing on positional style attacks with large amounts of melee damage. The White Lion I described above could be turned into a WoW style hunter class, sending their pet in while they stayed outside and attacked from range. I firmly believe that what ever the roles played, that the two classes that will play them will be the Shadow Warrior and the White Lions of Chrace. They are the only other classes that are mentioned in the Age of Reckoning Lore that have yet to be released, and are not mounted calvary types but... I could be wrong. That's the fun of speculation, isn't it?

Want to discuss these possiblities with other folks interested in the Warhammer Online world? You can head here to the Ten ton Hammer Warhammer Online forums!

Have a comment, a fix, or an overwhelming need to tell me I'm out of my gourd? You can let me know at [email protected]