Vital Stats
Writer: NWalterstorf
Creator: Blizzard
World of Warcraft
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WoW and Warriors
Whether you love World of Warcraft or you hate it, the improvements that WoW has made to the class of Warrior are undeniable. Breaking from the mainstream view of the Warrior as "the heavy hitter and that's it", WoW has improved upon the build of the warrior to make him unique, powerful, and varied in his range of combat abilities. No longer being stuck to the "just attack and take hits", the Warrior of WoW has growned into an actual Master of Armed Warfare.
So what is the different approach World of Warcraft takes with the Warrior? Starting from the basics, the warrior retains his dynamic physical strength and high stamina. He can Tank, that is, stay in front lines and take the most damage. Apart from that, the Warrior has various abilities. He can change stances in the middle of combat to mix up his stats. The Warrior can critically damage the opponent to where they bleed and gradually lose health. He has physical buffs for the party and physical debuffs for the enemy. He is able to Hamstring his opponent, dealing damage to their movement and agility so that they cannot flee.
Couple this with the necessary job of a Tank in any party in World of Warcraft, and you have a versatile fighter. He has a tough job; to damage the enemy and keep the anger of the enemy away from the spell casters.
So why do I mention the Warrior of WoW? Because it is all too often I see the repeat of the mundane "dumb and strong" warrior. In other ocassions, I'll see throw-off in the balance of character casses: for example, a Warrior character who is able to wield magic to compromise for his other areas of weakness. At other times, he's the guy who simply attacks and power attacks repeatedly while the other characters do all the work. Too many times in RPGs today we have a dull conception of a Warrior, and it's the one character barely anyone has "fun" using in combat. Because of World of Warcraft's change in the forumla of the Warrior, it should therefore be necessary that our Warriors mimick the Warriors of WoW - that is, our warriors should truly be masters of battle.
How can we make these changes? Some changes are minor while others are major. For one, get rid of the mana. Warriors' focus are on their melee, and placing magic atop the warrior does not balance the class. Second, replace the MP meter with a Rage Meter or something of that sort. In WoW we have a meter which increases with damage which allows Warriors their abilities. Perhaps this cannot all be mimicked using every RPGM tool, but it utilized in some, and emulated in others.
Add in some physical buffs and debuffs. Make the warrior able to weaken the attacks of the enemies and strengthen the attacks of his own men. Make the warrior be able to deal critical damage all over the place, make him able to disable the movement and versatility of the enemy. In short, make the Warrior more than a big dumb brute. Give the players a character who's versatile when it comes to melee combat.
Versatility goes a long way in WoW: you are able to customize where you want to power your Warrior. Likewise, players should be able to customize and power their warriro. Do they want to focus on dealing critical damage, do they want to focus on disabling their foes, do they want to merely gain strength to Tank and keep the heat off of the mages, or do they want a genuine mix of multiple specs? Add this feature and leave it up to the player to decide how he wants his Warrior to grow. Establishing this Infrastructure is one step in developing a Warrior that players truly enjoy.
Whether you are a fan of MMORPG's like WoW or not, the contribution that WoW has made to the historical development of the Warrior is definitely something which should be noted for all video gamers and RPG Makers. Take these gems - these treasures - and adapt them into your own games. Make them yours. Help the whole of the RPG Maker community advance the identity of the Master of Armed Warfare.
Yours Truly,
NWS
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