Amid the death and destruction that will befall the high elf land of Ulthuan when Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning releases later this year, there is a little bit of love. Hailing from the land of Chrace, the newly revealed white lion class will raise a war lion from a baby cub to a valiant beast of war. Players will be able to name their pet, choose distinctive fur patterns, and train it in the art of battle. Eventually, the war lion will grow into a loyal companion on the battlefield, elf’s best friend. The folks over at gamespot got a chance to talk with Adam Gershowitz, associate art director and lead of combat and careers on Warhammer Online, to get the skinny on the new white lion class. I picked out some of the more interesting questions from the interview.
Gamespot: We are proud to unveil the new white lion class, which joins the swordmaster and the archmage as classes of high elf. Give us an overview of these beast-masters from the north.
Adam Gershowitz: In short, the white lions of Chrace are more savage than their southern cousins, striking out with great axe and claw to rend through their opponents. They fill the role of the melee damage-per-second (DPS) or “brawler” career for the high elves. Their most unique feature is the war lion that accompanies them. While capable fighters on their own, the white lion really shines when working together with his feline companion. In WAR, we’ve chosen to delve deeper into the lore of the white lions of Chrace, working with Games Workshop to fill out the backstory and history of these noble hunters from the north. The most notable part of the backstory is the concept of the war lion and how certain courageous and skilled white lion warriors train these beasts to be powerful and loyal companions.
GS: It sounds like training your personal war lion allows for an even greater level of customization. What are the different ways to approach raising your lion? Will they become sad without enough tender loving care, like the puppies in Nintendogs?
AG: The war lion is meant to be a long-term companion unlike the disposable (yet lovable) squigs the squig herder gets. As such, we wanted to give players more options on their pet since they will only get one. These options are fairly simple but significant and include naming your pet and choosing distinctive fur patterns and markings when you first receive your lion. This allows for different white lion players to have semiunique war lions to accompany them. These distinctive markings stay with your war lion for the life of your character and dictate what your fully grown war lion will look like. Yes, I said fully grown; and yes, you get the war lion as an adolescent, and it grows as the player grows.
GS: We’ve talked a lot recently about the different paths of mastery available to each class. What additional skills will the white lion master have access to?
AG: The white lion, like all careers, has three paths of mastery available to it. The path of the hunter, the path of the axeman, and path of the guardian. Each of these emphasizes a particular aspect of play style for both the master and the pet.
The path of the hunter focuses on equality between elf and war lion; both stride into battle side-by-side, lashing out in powerful combination attacks that can hit multiple opponents at once.
The path of the axeman focuses the offensive role onto the player, while the war lion takes a more defensive role. This line focuses on large, single-target damage, causing the player to rely on his or her war lion or group mates to distract opponents so that the player can make a flank attack.
The path of guardian focuses on helping defend your war lion or group by disabling and reducing your opponents combat abilities and reducing the threat generated by your allies. This allows your war lion or group to take a more offensive role, striking harder with less fear of retribution.
GS: What are the best ways to utilize the white lion? And, if you’re a dark elf, what’s the best way to counter a man-eating feline besides enchanting it with a pile of catnip?
AG: The war lion is a very flexible pet; since players have access to all of the “training” strategies, they can choose how their lion behaves on the fly. However, each of the pet behaviors is designed to complement a player’s mastery. So players who have chosen a specific play style will generally have a pet that’s stronger at complementing that play style.
Fighting against a white lion is all about observing its strategy. You need to identify what type of play style it is using and take out the bigger of the two threats first. There are some obvious indications [as] to who is going to put the hurt on you first. Generally, it’s the one trying to circle around you to get an exposed flank!
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Greenskins live for battle, and fighting provides the strange and twisted power that fuels their magic. By participating in battle – calling down the wrath of Gork and Mork, or just being up in the fight with the lads – the Shaman taps into the collective frenzy to gain Waaagh! power. This gathered Waaagh! energy drives the strength of his supporting magic to new heights. With Waaagh! power blazing in his eyes, his spells can heal more wounds or empower his allies to achieve feats of unbelievable destruction.
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