This time around, GOA Community Managers interviewed some expert Witch Hunter players, as we have done in the past with the Rune Priest and Chosen careers. If you want to learn more about Witch Hunters, suggestions on how to play them, how useful they are, and their pros and cons, read on!
“Wrapped in his long jacket and molded soft leather armor, and concealed by the shadows, he slowly approached the unsuspecting target with ashen stakes at the ready. His emotionless face was partially hidden by his wide-brimmed hat; his eyes were cold and lethal as the weapons he was holding. He crept closer, as silent and icy as the snow. With a quick gesture, he ran the victim through the back. The unaware prey fell down writhing in pain. His gaze was impassive, and in an instant, all that remained was the echo of a gunshot lingering in the air.”
The Witch Hunter Compared to the Other Careers
Witch Hunters are generally known as melee fighters. They are characterized by various abilities, some of which can be used only when invisible to the eyes of the enemy. They move silently and mercilessly on the battlefield. They pick the victim they will follow, kill with lethal precision and then purify with the holy fire of their torch. This is all accomplished in the name of their faith and to rid their path of heretics.
Here is what Thomas Leuterer from the Gorthor server thinks:
“Quoting the Holy Scriptures: ‘Burn the heretic. Kill the mutant. Purify the unclean one.’ Do you need any other explanation? Joking apart, I am a great fan of the Warhammer lore and I have always loved the Witch Hunter. Cynical and cruel, they are motivated by a holy mission whose result justifies the means. I didn’t choose this career because of the DPS but for the charming background… and the hat.
“There is going to be a nasty surprise in store for those who think that this is a brave and unblemished character, devoted to the well-being and the defense of the Empire. The Witch Hunter is deadly, and won’t have any problem committing the most atrocious crimes if need be.”
Calamityjane from the Karak Norn server says:
“The Witch Hunters are technically on the side of the good but are far from being the ideal heroes. A Witch Hunter does not hesitate to burn entire villages to the ground, dispensing judgments of heresy and witchery here and there with the aim of rooting out corruption. This is very much a charismatic character.
“The Witch Hunter is not famous for their resistance to the enemies’ attacks.
They stand out for their exceptional charisma and ability to turn invisible before their foes. They are also cunning and agile, and all these characteristics together with the ideals that motivate them, make this character a lethal weapon for the enemy siege line.”
Kasch from the Dragonback Mountains server agrees with Calamityjane and says:
“According to their mission, the Witch Hunter has to quickly kill the Healers and all the foes that can inflict damage from long range. As soon as the effect of the Incognito Ability fades away, they become weak and don’t live for long – given that the enemies are not that happy to see them approaching out of the blue from behind. As such, they must be quick and effective, and after that they can finally die.”
Fenris from the Carroburg server also gave his opinion:
“I mainly play with the Witch Hunter because of the Incognito Ability. It allows me to be independent and ‘operate’ on my own against the enemy siege line.”
Fighting as a Witch Hunter
Fighting as a Witch Hunter is a challenge. A Witch Hunter cannot rely on the same physical strength or armor as a career devoted to the front line would do. However, with a bit of effort, they can fight beside tanks in the battle against Chaos.
That’s what Calamityjane from the Karak Norn server points out:
“Some would be surprised to find out that Witch Hunters can be excellent attackers, but they have a lot of different defensive strategies and they can fight side by side with tanks to send the heretics back from where they came from. As a Witch Hunter, I try to take care of my group and my game style changes according to the situation.
“Nevertheless, the vast majority of Witch Hunters needs strategy and the ability to inflict damage at the right time, or to find a way to escape if something goes wrong.”
And Fernis from the Carroburg server says:
“It is necessary to learn the tactic “Hit and Go” to survive in RvR.”
Thomas Leuterer of the Gorthor server stresses the action phase:
“Fighting is tough and it doesn’t always pay but it is the difficulty itself that makes the success more satisfying. A Witch Hunter has to think before acting and cannot launch himself against strong foes with impenetrable armor and long swords.”
Other strategies include also the defense of the Healers within the warband, as Calamityjane of the Karak Norn server states:
“The Witch Hunter is one of the most versatile careers that a warband leader could dispose of in RvR – and this may be surprising to those who think this career is characterized only by a few tricks. For example, the Witch Hunter stands out for his ability to fight against expert foes, withdraw and protect the Healers of the group.”
Fighting Against a Witch Hunter
It is arduous to fight against a Witch Hunter. They are not only a potentially invisible foe, but the amount of damage over time they can cause could kill before their time those who do not take the fight seriously. The challenge moves on a defensive level, in order to limit the initial maximum damage that this character can develop.
In spite of this, if they cannot hide, the Witch Hunters become easy targets, because of their weak armor and defense – as also Thomas Leuterer of the Gorthor server
explains:
“Their strength is built on the damage they can quickly inflict on casters, the ability to reduce the healings received by the target, and to hide from and catch the targets they choose, not only by chance. The weak points are… the excessive
fragility and … Well, that is enough!”
Kasch from the Dragonback Mountains server says:
“The weak point is represented by their survival chance, which is very low. Witch Hunters don’t have big armour but it is possible to balance this weakness, at least a little bit, by increasing the ability with the weapons, and as a consequence, the
probability of avoiding hits.”
Final Considerations
Witch Hunters are characterized by an exceptional charisma and a respectable background. They are at their most effective when they can move behind and surprise enemies with their powerful sword strikes, then unleash pistol shots to finish them – it’s thrilling! If you prefer strategy to direct attacks, taking out strategically critical victims, and if you don’t mind hiding in the shadows, then the Witch Hunter is the right character for you!
But . . . are you afraid of the dark?
Interview with a Witch Hunter
We had the pleasure of speaking with Calamityjane, the Rank 40 Witch Hunter who plays on the English Karak Norn server in the guild Ascension. Read on to see what Calamityjane had to say about Witch Hunters!
Why did you choose to play a Witch Hunter?
From the moment I picked up WAR, the Witch Hunter just stood out for me. Their rich history and striking imagery got me hooked from the get-go and I haven’t looked back since. Fictional characters such as Van Helsing and Solomon Kane bear to mind when thinking of this class and they inspire the imagination of a reckless hero, hunting down evil ghouls and goblins. Technically, Witch Hunters are on the side of good, but they are far from being your average hero. A Witch Hunter don’t hesitate burning entire villages, making accusations of witchcraft and heresy left, right and centre if it means that they can uproot evil. Plain and simple, the career is just cool.
You’re a member of ‘Ascension’ of Karak Norn. Please tell us about your guild and your place in it!
Ascension is one of the best guilds I have ever been a part of, not only in this game but from other MMO’s as well. The guild is full of friendly and skilled players who love nothing more than giving the bastardly Destruction a bit of no-good.
How do you see your role in a party or a Warband? Are you a solo player or a team player?
If I join an organized Warband I very much see myself as a team player. When fighting multiple enemies, assisting your fellow team-mates and prioritizing single targets is very important. Team play is the key and that’s what this game is all about. Further, forming a small death squad of two or three Witch Hunters is a force to be reckoned with and is prone to leave a nasty stain. The Witch Hunter is second to none for scouting ahead of the main Warband, alerting them to danger. Also, picking off unfortunate stragglers while scouting is immense fun!
How do you adapt your play style after different circumstances in RvR?
The Witch Hunter can be one of the most versatile classes to have at a Warband leader’s disposal in RvR, which may come as a surprise to those who think the class is a one-trick pony. For instance, if you are facing well-organized opposition, hanging back and protecting the all-important healers of your group is something Witch Hunters excel at. A second and obvious role we fill is to sneak behind enemy lines and causing havoc within their healer ranks, spreading fear and panic in the name of Sigmar. Some might find it surprising that Witch Hunters can be excellent front-line troopers, but we’ve got a lot of defensive tricks and so we can fight alongside tanks to push heretics back to whence they came. I try to provide for my team and my play style will change between these three styles depending on the situation at hand.
How is the game User Interface working out for you and do you use any custom mods to enhance your game play?
The game interface is smooth and clean and I haven’t considered using any mods quite a while. Recently however I’ve started to use mods for fun. I recommend Dammaz Kron in particular as it keeps track of your most heated rivalries and makes hunting heretics even more fun. I also use Scrolling Combat Text and the Crafting Willard as making potions can be somewhat arduous without it.
What are the perks and flaws of the Witch Hunter, in your opinion?
Nothing comes close to the burst damage of a Witch Hunter; spiking down single targets is its forte. You can happily go off hunting the unclean all by yourself as the Witch Hunter can pretty much solo any class if you get a stealth jump on them. There is nothing more satisfying than giving a bullet to the back of the head of a blasphemous non-believer or setting them alight and slowly watching them burn into cinders. There are drawbacks however like with any class; we are technically a fairly squishy class that wears light armor and despite our tricks we can be taken down quickly with concentrated attacks. Like any career, the Witch Hunter has its few niggles but I am sure all of them will be ironed out in time. All in all I think the class pre-patch 1.2 is well balanced and in the right hands it can be used effectively to carry out Sigmar’s fury.
Do you have any advice to offer players who are eager to play a Witch Hunter?
Stick with it. The career isn’t the easiest to play and requires a lot of patience, but once mastered it can be a most enjoyable and rewarding class. I cannot think of anything better than spending an afternoon of bringing uncompromising justice to the forces of Destruction than with the Witch Hunter. It is loaded with fun and keeps bringing me back for more.
Lastly, do you have anything you’d like to share with the community?
I hope some of this inspire you good folks to come roll a Witch Hunter and even better if you come to Norn I will welcome you with open arms and a suspicious looking eye and if not and you happen to make one of them heretic Witch Elves I’ll have a bullet with your name on it.
Make love and war! I will await you on the battlefield.
Mar 11, 2009
Warhammer Witch Hunter Feature
Warhammer Tradeskills Feature: Part 1
Welcome to the first installment of an in-depth look at WAR 's Tradeskills, featuring Apothecary, Cultivation, and Butchering. Read on for all the juicy details!
Special thanks to Gary Astleford and Phillip Chan for writing this piece!
“Oooh, that's a nice one! Clear as crystal, and not a bubble to be seen in it! Where'd you say these came from, again? Tilea? How impressive! Fine, then, I'll take the lot of them. Best not be any broken ones! The last lot was half shards by the time it was delivered!”
– Gertrude Weiss, Apothecary (overheard in Altdorf's market)
Apothecary
Apothecary is a crafting production skill that allows you to create potions that apply various temporary augmentations to your characters. A secondary feature in Apothecary is the crafting of dyes. By finding a pigment and grinding it down with a mortar and pestle, anyone can create a substance which is capable of dyeing cloth, leather, or even metal! Whether a Swordmaster or a Witch Elf, all players can benefit from the abundant selection of concoctions available.
The central item of the Apothecary craft is the vial. Vials are rated depending on their quality, which ranges from Apprentice to Master Apothecary. A vial provides the necessary container for the completed potion. Any merchant or vendor in the Age of Reckoning would quickly be put out of business without an unlimited supply of such vials.
“It's not all about black cauldrons, newt eyes, or ghoul essences! Which isn't to say those bits don't have their place in the profession, mind you, but these rumors make us sound like common witches!”
– Vander “The Warlock” Kohl, prior to his arrest and execution
An empty vial doesn't make for much of a potion, so you must place a main ingredient, culled from Cultivation or Butchering, into the waiting container. There are other ingredients too: some that increase the number of potions you can create with a single vial, some that extend the duration of the potion's effects, and even some that make it possible to create something better than what you originally planned. Finally, the concoction must be stabilized. Throwing too many ingredients into a single brew makes it volatile and more difficult to concoct.
With all your ingredients in place, you can combine them together in a frenzy of maniacal whimsy, creating wondrous potions that do anything from enhancing your character to gluing your victims to the ground. So grab a vial, a main ingredient, and brew away! Be sure to experiment with different combinations, and share your homebrewed recipes with others!
“All the horrors of tomorrow are hidden in the seeds of today.”
– Chaos Proverb
Cultivation
Cultivation is a gathering skill that feeds ingredients to Apothecary. You can learn this valuable skill from specific trainers in the world. Cultivation has undergone some very interesting changes lately. For example, the merchants have tapped the market and are now hoarding seeds to sell to hapless players. How opportunistic!
Don't despair! The beauty of plants is their ability to generate seeds, thereby propagating their species. If a burgeoning grower is careful, he only needs one seed to populate an entire garden of plants that will sustain him indefinitely.
“That which grows from the soil represents a miracle from the bosom of Rhya, yet even it will sit idle and rotten if not for the gifts of Taal.”
– Father Eichmann, Priest of Taal and Rhya
Merchants in the Age of Reckoning are a shrewd bunch, and have hedged the market on the various plant-growing necessities: soil, watering equipment, and fertilizers are bought and sold across the world. Luckily, all their proceeds go to the war effort. Waaagh!
Recent reports from the front indicate that new types of plants are being discovered on a daily basis. Some are so powerful that they might become attuned to only one cultivator! How bizarre!
“A sharp knife's the most important tool a butcher can have. Fine steel is the best choice, but beware of rust. Treat the edge like a delicate flower, and oil your whetstone between each stroke. After all, it's always less painful to slice off your thumb with a keen blade than to carve out a pound of flesh with a dull one.”– Gerard Fleischer, Journeyman Butcher
Butchering
Another gathering skill is Butchering. The Butcher's craft feeds ingredients to Apothecaries. Rather than spend time nursing seeds, a Butcher can exert his unfettered dominance over beasts in the Age of Reckoning. Kill for sport! Kill for purpose! Or kill because you want a Rhinox Horn for the rarest of brews! From the claws of the noble griffon, to the bile from the liver of a lowly boar, all beasts in the Age of Reckoning conceal some medicinal use.
“The latter, he said, would make me irresistible once I'd imbibed it.
“Of course I bought one! It hasn't made me irresistible yet, but it did give me the bloody flux. If I ever find that filthy Halfling, I'll see his tender portions preserved in brine …”
– Overheard in the Ten Tailed Cat
Do you feel like drinking some strange animal's blood, or devouring the organs of your feral prey? You can also harness the multiplicative power of Squigs or the adamantine quality of insect chitin in your potions today!
The beasts of the Old World are fierce, but you are fiercer. Butcher them all, I say, and harvest the best bits for your own diabolical concoctions. Anything to make you meaner, leaner, and harder to kill!
Warhammer Online For Free for 10 Days!
Get ready to come and swell the ranks of Order or Destruction – you can play Warhammer Online for free and under no obligation for 10 days!
In addition, if you join the forces of the Old World between March 5th and March 11th, you will be able to take part in the "Bitter Rivals" event and be one of the first to preview the two new careers: the Dwarf Slayer and the Greenskin Choppa.
Warhammer® Online has a community of hundreds of thousands of players online 24/7, who clash in a merciless war to capture Keeps and enemy Capitals. So what are you waiting for? Join the Warhammer® Online adventure for a free 10-day trial by visiting our official web site.
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or
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Mar 10, 2009
Ragbag & New Black Orc Mounts
What to do with all the cash? Gold so far is pretty useless in WAR. Mythic stated they don't want gold to be that important, but there are enough players, like me, that like to trade & craft and pile riches like Stunties. Shouldn't there be more money sinks people can work on? Like really expensive, but good looking, dyes? Or how about prestigious mounts that will cost a fortune. I don't really care if they're even faster, they should just look different. Talking about Black Orcs, my vote would go to these three creatures: Juggernauts of Khorne (cloaked in sheets of steel and brass), Rhinoxen (furry Ogre mounts) or as an enhancement of the already used boar theme: Tuskgors. Which creature would get your vote? Talking about mounts: Mythic, why do we get dismounted when riding into the Apex in the Inevitable City? Am i the only one that thinks this is annoying?
Werit wrote a nice post about Creating WAR Web Tools, how to read information from webpages and use them to create an online tool. He'll talk further about this subject, so check his blog.
Magnus guarantees that your characters will stay intact for a minimum of six months, should you cancel your subscription or take a break.
A lot of players still have difficulties to understand the zone capture & victory point system. Like with the wards system, its something Mythic does not explain properly ingame or elsewhere, so people fail to understand it. I'd also advice you to either use the macro to show VPs or use an addon like Compact VPs that shows the correct amount and not rounding to 100 to cap a zone. If you want to read up on it, check here for a more detailed description how Victory Points and zone control work.
The lost map of Lost Vale challenge is going great, the next challenge will be posted later today.
Warhammer Ragbag & Bitter Rivals
Since the EU servers crashed completely (again) and we're stuck at the initializing screen since quite a while, i thought i'll update my blog with a new ragbag. (Source: stuntystomper.blogspot.com) Some of the pics are from wierd bugs i encountered after patch 1.2, seems it was just temporary glitches tho as i did not encounter them again.
Talking about glitches: On Karak-Azgal a group encountered a weird bug... they wiped at the skeleton sub-boss in BWE and afterwards the tank had an aura that attacked friendly mobs. After some killing of other players and aggroing the large ancient protector bird inside IC, this resulted in killing the whole leadership crew inside the Eternal Citadel. He wanted to become king instead of the king. Forum thread is here and there is a youtube video as well. I thought this was funny, worldfirst kill of a king. Although IMO now we have to shoot him, being a traitor to Destruction and all... i know others had the bug as well and some got suspended for abusing it to kill other players.
The Bitter Rivals live event is close to an end, so better finish the remaining tasks now if you want to flag your account for Choppa/Slayer access or want those titles. To flag your account with max event INF you can leave two tasks out. The Twisting Tower scenario had some really good ideas in it (base jumping, transformation, etc.) but the layout could have been better IMO. The Reikland Factory had a very good layout concerning access to all parts. Did you know that you can just jump off the tower if you want to keep your transformed state a tad longer? With the pie throwing back in game, its also possible again to obtain the two titles "Pie Assassin" (killing blow with a pie) and "Death by Pie" (get killed by pie).
The live event overall was okayish i would say, but i really wish Mythic will put some more work into the event tasks. Its the same boring stuff all over again most of the time. I know some kill tasks and collect tasks are designed to draw people into oRvR and try out the new scenario, but why not come up with something more unique? It would be easy to spice up some tasks with scripted events. Like the Slayer/Choppa attacks, but a bit more. Beside the cool "Stuntie Stompa" title, i thought the "treasure map hunt" was a great addition. There are three different map pieces to obtain: Bloodstained Map Piece, Glyph-covered Map Piece and Sand-stained Map Piece - those you can get in RvR, from some champ/hero mobs and also from the Slayer/Choppa NPCs that roam the greenskin zones. Once you finished the map, you can use it to start a small quest chain. At the end of the quests you'll get the title "Navigator of the Sands" and the final map as a pocket item, that does nothing (yet?). Would be cool if the map will obtain some kind of function once the Land of the Dead zone is released.
What more to mention about Bitter Rivals? The Slayer/Choppa NPCs can also drop a Broken Axe, using it will give you the title "Oathrender".
A sidenote on the Stinky Troll Bait reward (from event INF): When you use it (has 5 charges) it will generate an extra item inside your bag, called Boulder Throwing Troll - that is a huge kickass troll "siege engine", throwing boulders. Awesome! I have this idea stuck in my head about using those for an ingame game called Bouldertroll™, maybe I'll work on this further. ;) Just don't use it before you need it, else you'll be stuck with additional items. I used one and they look really cool (see picture). The Choppa/Slayer NPCs can also drop Redfang Grog sometimes.
Meanwhile the EU got a 10 days trial offer for WAR as well. Makes me wonder if/how we'll be able to get access to those recruit-a-friend pets the US has. If GOA works out a similar program for the EU *after* the trial offer, it will be hard to get those as people will have used the trial offer already. Hum...
While i haven't engaged in any capitol combat after patch 1.2 i hear some rumours about the first PQ acting very shaky and the boss mobs being a bit overpowered now.
There has been some heated discussion about the pick lock ability (you can bypass the postern door) in addition with the banner rez, as apparently some people exploited it and rez people inside the keep when all doors are still strong. Having an additional rez ability at hand for non-healer classes can be nice sometimes, especially in PvE. The main ingredient for the new rez potion meanwhile cost 15g at the guild vendor. I doubt i like anyone enough to spend that much gold on them. ;)
Should you not have realised it yet: Everyone can meanwhile read the official US Warhammer forums. They are still "beta" and some layout/color scheme issues IMO need to be improved, but at least they work alright from the looks of it. My personal guess is we'll have to wait until they move out of beta before the EU gets their own forums.
With patch 1.2 there are some addons that stopped working or some function that were disabled by Mythic. Luckily many of them got fixed to work properly: zMailMod broke with the patch. I saw this coming and cleaned up my mailboxes before the 1.2 patch. But rejoice: Despite z00g not playing WAR anymore, he uses a trial account right now to fix the mod. The first version is up already, tho the mass collecting function seemed shaky to me, not sure if it was the mod or the mailserver. If you're a cultivator, you should check out the new & improved version of Miracle Grow Remix from Irinia, which has some awesome improvements like queueing additives and such. Also check out the thread with the latest beta version here. If you use Crafting Info Tooltip, there is a beta version (with eg. the new seeds included) available here.
Talking about addons, i found this addon recently: Bloody Mess. The mod adds a gore effect to all damage done and received. While i don't use it myself i thought its creative nontheless. :)
On a personal sidenote: I started trading 175/200 apothecary mats for rare hybrid plants. If you're interested to acquire some of those plants you don't have access to, especially being a Butcher, poke me if you want. Maybe we can work something out.
