by Garrett Fuller

After seeing the press conference
today, Jeff Hickman and Paul Barnett of Warhammer Online took some time
to chat with us about the new elf classes for Warhammer and how penguins
explode at 750 ft. up. Yes, it is true, penguins….Um. Nevermind! Sorry,
Paul, no time to discuss penguins as we’d like, we have to discuss
High and Dark Elves! So I asked the guys a series of very straight questions
and got some great answers about the classes, game play, and how it
all fits together within the Warhammer world.

In talking about the High Elf
Archmage first, Jeff Hickman gave us a great run down of how the class
works. He is a healer and a nuker. He uses life tap style spells to
steal magic from others (think DOTs) and uses it to heal allies. I asked
Jeff how this would work in a fight; as an Archmage, would I have to
stay outside the fight until I stole enough magic from others to use
for myself? "Not at all," was Jeff’s reply - every class can fight. Archmages
can fight and heal, they just do it better when the steal some magic
from foes. This class is shaping up to be nasty! Ranged attacks,
healing, DOTs, and oh yeah, they can wield a quarterstaff with the best
of them. Keep in mind that the Archmage is not just a healer who can attack,
he is a nuker who can heal.

We got to see some in-game
footage of the High Elf Swordmaster next. The elf starting zones are
very different from any others in the Warhammer world. They are regal
and majestic, somewhat like a “fairyland” as Paul described it. The Swordmaster
is the tanking class of the High Elves. Again, he is the focused master
of weaponry. The defensive side of the class is in avoiding and dodging
attacks. With the “Wall of Darting Steel” ability, the Swordmaster
can block ranged attacks from archers or shooters. Think of the Chinese
sword masters stopping the arrows coming in. Some of the other skills
we heard about were the “Phoenix Claw” and “Blade of Leaping Gold.”
I did ask the question if players would be able to personalize their
swords in the game…and silence. Jeff said, it is very possible and
Mark Jacobs wants Glory! Having your own sword would be glorious so
you can put that together any way you like.

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Moving on to the Dark Elf classes,
the Witch Blade is very popular in Warhammer and she will be playable
as a class in Warhammer Online. Yes, it will be a female-only class.
The guys agreed that they have stuck to the lore all the way through.
There are no female orcs, therefore, the girls get the advantage of
having an all-female class in the Witch Blades. Deadly masters of death
and destruction, these girls are vicious. For lore fans, there will
be a Cauldron of Blood in the game! Paul described the class as the
Brides of Khaine, they are the murderous deadly fighters who look as
good as they kill. Paul explained that the witch elves are not the typical
fantasy damsel-in-distress. They are hardened fighters who hit the front
lines with a vengeance and keep on cutting through foes until there
are none left. Jeff and I agreed that our wives will love playing the
class. Fortunately, Eddiemae Jukes from Kohnke Communications was with
us for the interview. She handles PR for Warhammer and was happy to
share a woman’s view of the class. She said that typical bad guys
in games are the ugly types and that the witch blades were the bad guys
who look pretty. “They’re looking hot and why shouldn’t they?”
Eddiemae said. She agreed that the class was not a cliché for women.
The class offers strength and appeals to female players who like to fight
and look good. Jeff said that sex appeal is important to any game and
the elves are an area where they can bring that out. No one is looking
to play an orc or chaos marauder and look good. Here the elves offer
a cool chance for players to look good and still kick some ass. Paul
was also happy to point out the bras, boots, and slinky armor. He said
it makes for some interesting choices in loot. Looks like the Witch
Blades will be hitting players with a vengeance come game launch.

The Dark Elf Black Guard was
the last class we got to look at. These tanks are the psychopathic killers
that Paul was happy to explain as, “the insane version of Neo from
the Matrix.” They attack with huge halberds and absorb damage rather
than avoid it. They use a hated ability when fighting which gives them
even more boosts to damage and attacks. The Black Guard are Malekith’s
personal bodyguard and encompass the nasty, vile, brutal world of the
dark elves in all their violent glory.

Paul also mentioned the Dark
Elf Black Arks. These huge fortresses of destruction are the homes to
the dark elf hordes and travel through water and on land to retake their
elven home land. The black arks will unleash monsters; Cold Ones and
Hydras were mentioned. They are huge fortresses which I am sure will
be the area for many dungeons and battle fields.

The guys had to cut it short
with more interviews on the way, but we wanted to thank Jeff and Paul
for a great presentation about some Warhammer material we have all been
waiting to see. Paul mentioned that elves are very easy to do wrong
and Warhammer hopes to have elves that are rock hard and kick ass. Hopefully
we’ll be hearing about the other elf classes in the near future as
beta continues. You will also be able to see the live video of this
interview on Ten Ton Hammer later this week!

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