[AM] Advice for Returning WAR Player

[Kerathras]

Hello all. As the title says while I am new to RoR I used to play WAR extensively before the servers shut down and my main was a DPS AM. While I am very familiar with the class and I was fully decked out in Sovereign gear, etc. I am struggling to adapt to the changes in RoR. Specifically the class mechanic, High Magic, which was always very poorly implemented even in the original game actually seems to somehow be worse in this iteration because Tranquility and Force points can no longer be stacked and used up to supercharge a single ability but now each ability consumes only one stack. As an example, casting Searing Touch with 5 stacks of Tranquility, while never optimal play, at least rewarded the player for having spent all those GCDs on heals by making it tick very fast and thus off-setting the DPS loss. This seems to now be covered by the Asuryan tree tactic Khaine's Touch but the downsides of the tactic are extremely punishing not to mention that it uses up a tactic slot and takes a mastery point for something that used be a baseline function of the class mechanic. I am having a hard time figuring why these changes were made and most of the information on the forums is either outdated or otherwise very sparse but it glosses over a battle of wills between devs regarding the Vaul tree and cites that as the reason for the class mechanic change but apparently whatever was done to make the Vaul tree more viable has since been reverted while the class mechanic change was left in place much to the overall detriment of the entire class.

With all of that in mind, and given that I do know the basics and my extensive prior experience, I would really appreciate any advice that current players can give about how the spec now plays in general and specifically about which tactics to pick and whether Khaine's Touch is a must even with its excessive downsides given that AMs otherwise have essentially zero burst now. Also is it just me or did the Radiant Burst tactic also change to now affect ALL targets in a radius near the initial one up from just 2 additional targets (for a total of 3) as it was in the original game. I could be mistaken there just because so much time has passed but is it now a viable tactic, especially since AMs really don't have any reliable means of AoE (aside from Dissipating Energies which has a lengthy cooldown). Any input will be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[BluIzLucky]

Welcome, hope you'll have fun!

All the (High Elf) classes have been nerfed and buffed in a different direction, considering the depth you went to look for answer I imagine the real reason will not satisfy you

I think you'll come to prefer the new mechanic, especially if they ever add some support for it (like Changing Winds/favour to switch stacks to opposite, come on devs kissy kissy please please), but even without it's more interactive.

Assuming by DPS AM you mean solo AM, then Khaines Touch is not mandatory, you have slower lifetap focused builds.

Personally I prefer to go full glass cannon when solo which does involve KT.

If you mean DPS AM in a group setting then it kind of depends (but why care about healing output then), if you are single target it's mandatory, if you go AoE (even more niche than ST) you can forgo it.

Tactics for ST Dps are Divine Fury, Master of Force, KT and Discerning Offense.

Yes, Radiant Burst now a full aoe (up to 24 hits), but being one of the smallest areas at 15f, it's decent in some situations, mostly forts and keep sieges.

[Kerathras]

Thanks! I should have specified. Right now I am mostly focused on Scenarios which is why I was conflicted about KT. On the one hand it's essential for bursting down healers and those pesky WL that constantly jump you but on the other hand running with -40% heals in a scenario makes me feel bad when I can't save random folks in 1v1 fights who just need a little topping off to win. I know as a DPS it's not my job but I feel healing is still a major part of the AM toolkit and the utility in brings to the group feels diminished because of DF and KT. But then I am not a big fan of scenarios and will probably ditch them once I hit rank 40 and get the Dominator set so I guess its largely a moot point since I just have a few more levels to go. I always preferred RvR and City anyway.

[Arrowen]

Welcome, hope you'll have fun!

All the (High Elf) classes have been nerfed and buffed in a different direction, considering the depth you went to look for answer I imagine the real reason will not satisfy you

I think you'll come to prefer the new mechanic, especially if they ever add some support for it (like Changing Winds/favour to switch stacks to opposite, come on devs kissy kissy please please), but even without it's more interactive.

Assuming by DPS AM you mean solo AM, then Khaines Touch is not mandatory, you have slower lifetap focused builds.

Personally I prefer to go full glass cannon when solo which does involve KT.

If you mean DPS AM in a group setting then it kind of depends (but why care about healing output then), if you are single target it's mandatory, if you go AoE (even more niche than ST) you can forgo it.

Tactics for ST Dps are Divine Fury, Master of Force, KT and Discerning Offense.

Yes, Radiant Burst now a full aoe (up to 24 hits), but being one of the smallest areas at 15f, it's decent in some situations, mostly forts and keep sieges.

Wondering if you could make up a builder of what you use? I'm also a returning DPS am player and looking for a build!

[BluIzLucky]

...

Wondering if you could make up a builder of what you use? I'm also a returning DPS am player and looking for a build!

I mostly run full dps:
R70 0-15-9

Or this for kiting and sustain
R60 9-9-5

Golden Aura is pretty solid in both

[Arrowen]

Thank you so much for the reply, gonna aim for this then! Much appreciated pal.

[facundo7777]

Hi, iam beginner am i want to discuss tactics a little.
For dps am divine fury and master of force are mandatory. But i cannot decide for last 2 slots.
I am not convinced about khaine touch. it cut our surv a lot again after divine. Should i change my mind? it

Mostly iam considering: discerning offense, arcing power and golden aura. Can someone more experianced tell pros and cons about them?

ps.
dissipating energies worth? already am have a lot of dmg spells. Is 2 sec cast worth adding to "rotation"?

[Sulorie]

I am not convinced about khaine touch. it cut our surv a lot again after divine.

Why you think so? Because another -20% heal? Your heal spells are quite low anyways with ~200 willpower.
When you want to survive longer, play in a group.

The weird hybrid spec with a lot more survivability works better on shaman, I wouldn't suggest it on AM.

[facundo7777]

I am not convinced about khaine touch. it cut our surv a lot again after divine.

Why you think so? Because another -20% heal? Your heal spells are quite low anyways with ~200 willpower.
When you want to survive longer, play in a group.

The weird hybrid spec with a lot more survivability works better on shaman, I wouldn't suggest it on AM.

So if i reduce heal to the ground what gives am surv especially in roam without knockdown or disarm etc.

[Sulorie]

So if i reduce heal to the ground what gives am surv especially in roam without knockdown or disarm etc.

You don't rely on isha heals, you use your lifeleech. You kite and don't let anyone get close. For roam, you should spec puddle, if you are not in a premade. In a group, others take care of you.