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

Rogues are everything you expect them to be in Runes of Magic.   They are a damage dealing class with bleed and grievous wound effects.   Sneaking up behind your enemy to deal quick damage will be your bread and butter!  And for those harder to kill mobs you can cause them to bleed away their life as you continue to do what I like to refer to as the stabie polka.

Rouges use a very familiar consumption type for their attacks called “energy”.  A lot of the Rogues I have played in recent games are using this as a way for them to not have unlimited attacks.  If they ever created a class that had that as a capability it would really be beyond crazy.  Alas I digress...

-By the Numbers-

ll Rogues start out with the exact same statistical set up.  As you level, you will also gain the same number of base stats for each of your attributes.  The only way to customize your character and make them you own is through the use of gear, weapons, runes, and the boost you get from your secondary class that you choose at level 10.  The beginning stats and equipment skills for Rogues are:

Starting Attributes

• Strength: 12
• Dexterity: 14
• Constitution: 11
• Intelligence: 7
• Wisdom: 7

Starting Equipment Skills

• 1H Sword
• Projectiles
• Cloth
• Leather

-Venturing through the Land of Taborea-

Runes of Magic does an amazing job of introducing you into the land of Taborea without just assuming you know what you are doing or more importantly assuming that you have never played an MMO before.  They set you up first with a very quick and easy to follow Tutorial that introduces you to the basics of the game.  So the wonderfully crafted and short (and it can be even shorter if you just walk up to the lady and get your quest for the buffs) should be done by all for two reasons.  One, It is amazingly quick.  You get dropped in a little starter area where you’ll have to run to some flags, introduce yourself to an NPC (non playable character) and kill a “boss” all of which can be done in max time of about 5 minutes and leads you to reason two to do the tutorial.  You get yourself a little bag of goodies for your troubles that help a bit, a mount that lasts one day and a +20% to all attributes which will help you get to level 10 in about 4-5 hours of solid game play.  Really, it’s a must do.

Once done you are back at the very same place you loaded into the game at.  As is typical of most MMO’s of this generation you are set out on a quest chain that kind of gives you the lay of the land and as an added bonus in Runes of Magic if this is your very first MMO the introductory quest line has little tips that explain everything out even further than the normal go here and do this description of the quest at hand.

Working through a quest chain to learn the ropes is not a new concept but the flow in Runes of Magic is good and you are opened up to more options in quick fashion.  Since the Rouge is a damage dealing class, in the starter areas up to level 10 taking on a mob or two at a time is a non issue.  I would however be very careful once you venture out of the starting area as you can only wear leather armor and there are more aggressive mobs populating the explorable zones.  You are very squishy for a melee class so being constantly aware of your surroundings is a must for Rogues as drawing agro from multiple enemies at once is a sure way to find yourself taking a quick dirt nap!

-Stepping into the Realm of Shadow-

Ah the Rogue, what else is there to say but stab, stab, and then stab some more.  Once you reach level 16 you will get a dual wield skill that does not appear to increase your overall damage but it does allow you to apply poisons twice as fast which over time will equal more damage.

Even though a Rogue is not the most powerful class in the game, when you couple them with their decent damage and their other tricks you will find yourself a valuable player.  A Rogue in Runes has some things that are unique to the class.  You can 1) lay traps to help with crowd control 2) scout out an area without being seen [hide received at level 18] and 3) increase the gold acquired for your entire party.

The skill selection is fairly small for a Rogue but this makes them all the easier to manage and focus on keeping your bleeds up and applying your poisons so you can deal the maximum amount of damage.  Even with their somewhat smaller number of overall skills you will find yourself in a very technical class that is part damage and part finesse.

If you are looking for a class that is more than just point and die then the Rogue is for you!