Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

by Garrett Fuller
 
The first day of the Leipzig Games Convention certainly began with a bang as Jeff Hickman and Paul Barnett from the Warhammer: Age of Reckoning crew unveiled the High Elves and Dark Elves to the seething masses. On top of that, the High Elf and Dark Elf classes have been revealed and we have the first look!

Jeff Hickman and Paul Barnett discuss the Elves in WAR.

The High Elves were first to be described by the eccentric pair as they stood in front of the GOA booth. The High Elves have a common ancestory with their Dark Elf cousins, but both are fighting a never ending civil war. The EA Mythic team even had a black and white stage set up to show the difference between the two. The High Elves are the proud, haughty, graceful race and have huge amounts of ancient magic at their finger tips. As Paul often says; they are "English “posh” people." They are an ancient warrior aristocracy that value honor and tradition above all else. They are both magical and martial masters. Now for the part you want to read…the classes:

The High Elf Archmage was the first class announced at the show. Not only are they the nuker for the elves; this master wizard also acts as a healer. Her specialty is draining magic and using it to heal allies in battle. The Archmage is a master of all "the Winds of Magic" for all you Warhammer lore fans. The spell styles for draining magic are similar to life taps and DOTs. Not only can you heal, but you can blast your foes with magic or use your staff as a master of combat to smite them down.

A bit on the Archmage, one of the "English posh people" in WAR.

The High Elf Swordmaster was the second class revealed for these “posh” people. The Swordmaster is the tank class for the Elves and wields a sword after centuries of training (Elves live a long time). Paul described the Swordmaster as a mix between a U.S. Marine and a Jedi. Paul’s quote, “This is my sword, there are many like it, but this one is mine!” Needless to the crowd laughed it up at the comparison. The Swordmaster uses Blade Dancing as a fighting style to rip opponents to shreds. Being the graceful race, these Swordmasters fight with a quick and deadly style.

On to the Dark Elves; the first class shown was the Black Guard. These are Malekith’s personal body guard and able to combine the martial prowess with a complete disregard for life as we know it. “Psychopaths with halberds,” was how Paul described them. They are the Dark Elf tank class and wield huge halberds of destruction.

Warhammer Online will also include the Black Guard from the Dark Elves.

Last but certainly not least was the very popular Dark Elf Witch Blade. As beautiful as she is deadly, she is a master of death and murder with her two sword fighting style. Jeff explained that she is the closest class Warhammer will have to a rogue, with only the good parts. She is a melee DPS fighter who uses self buffs, posions, and positional attacks to drop her opponent to the ground. Also, you don’t want to upset one of these she-devils, their Frenzy ability will make you feel the pain. As Shakespeare said, “a woman scorned.” Well these girls are deadly and have the punch to pack within their rage. Paul made us all laugh in that the Witch Elves have all the evil powers of women at their disposal and they wear bras!
 
So there you have it folks, four of the Elven classes for Warhammer Online. There are still four more to come; I guess we’ll just have to wait until the fall to see them. On top of that, in the screens and videos we did see some other Warhammer goodies. There was a Dark Elf Cold One on the screen as well as a Changer of Ways. We’ll be bringing much more from Leipzig over the next few days including video and written interviews with Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman. Keep on the lookout!

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