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

Once you finish the tutorial, you’ll begin your adventures in an Elven academy. This new starting area has a very different feel than that of the human village. The academy is spread out across more land and the number of available quests is actually a little overwhelming.

Without swinging your blade or sending your pet into a battle for you even once, you’ll hit level 4 just by talking to people. Kill one or two mobs after talking to everyone you can, and you’ll hit level 5.

At first, it seems like your leveling far too quickly, but after some thought, it appears to just be an attempt to get you playing in the bigger areas faster. From levels 1 to 5, you’ll only gain one new skill and all of them can be upgraded to their maximum levels, so you don’t need to pick and choose yet. As such, there doesn’t seem to be any harm in the accelerated leveling pace. Once you hit level 5, the leveling speed is comparable to that of the human starting area.

A Walking Hurricane

Wardens are the chosen warriors of the nature gods and take their role as protectors seriously. Without the help of anyone (their pets included), they are not a combatant to be taken lightly. They can call down lightning, wrap an opponent in thorns, and even charge their blade with the force of magic. This is all before calling out the big gun, their pet.

The first (and only until level 14) pet you’ll receive is the Spirit of the Oak. He looks just how you would expect a tree spirit to look, made of wood with patches of moss all over him. What you may not expect (and to be fair, I certainly didn’t) is how hard he hits. Things may change later in the game, but at least for some time, your first pet is nothing short of a beast.

Most of the time, you’re going to feel like a husband dress shopping with his wife; sure, he can tell himself he’s making a difference in her decision with his suggestions, but he’s really just there to hold her purse. Your Spirit of the Oak pet isn’t rude enough to let you know how useless you are to him, but it’ll be a while before you shake the feeling that *you’re* the pet.

When necessary, the Spirit of Oak makes a great off-tank as well. Pick a target, send him in, and let him do his thing. It’s disturbing (and a bit disconcerting at times) to have your pet come back and join you before you’re finished with your own target. The first time it happened to me, I thought it was a glitch and my pet had ignored my command. Right up until I turned to discover the other body ready for looting when I turned around. The Spirit of Oak makes for a great pet.

When combined with your pet, you truly are a walking force of Nature. As such, nothing in the beginning of the game can touch you. The damage output possible by you and your pet, combined with the ability to wear chain armor, makes you a living weapon. The class is new, so may go through some changes in terms of power, but for now, enjoy the awesome might the Warden brings to any battle.