September 17, 2014

Naval Commander Skills

Yarrrr... this be the Class Info Ye Are Huntin' For!

Hey, everyone! Zereldo here, and today I’m going to be talking to you about* the Naval Commander Class, coming this Friday in the COOLEST Talk Like a Pirate Day release we've ever done!** 

It be the best holiday on the high seas!

Lots of Important Details!

Here are a few basic things about the class that you defiitely want to know.

• The class releases this Friday, during our International Talk like a Pirate Day release.** 
• This class is available for 2000 ACs OR if you have an upgraded account, you can buy it for gold.
• This class is only available for a limited time around Talk Like a Pirate Day, but will return each year for Talk Like a Pirate Day as seasonal rare. It will not have a year tag. The current plan is that the same version (with the same art) is made available each year.
• The Naval Commander Class is a seasonal rare, which means it will only be available during our Talk Like a Pirate Day each year. (We will announce the leave date soon!)

Naval Commander Class Skills Breakdown!

A Naval Commander is the leader of their crew. Although they can fight as an individual they work best when they fight alongside their crew. What this means for you is that for each additional person in your party the damage output of your Naval Commander class will increase. This works just like the Paladin High Lord and DoomKnight Overlord Classes for those of you who want an example.

Naval Commanders regenerate mana in the same way that warriors regen Mana. What this effectively means is, Naval Commanders gain mana when they:

• Strike an enemy in combat (More effective on crits)
• Are struck by an enemy in combat

Now that we have the basics of how it works out of the way we can move onto the moves.

Auto Attack

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

You’ve seen this before on many classes. It needs no further explanation.

Rank 1: Strike'n'Parry

15 mana, 3 second cooldown.

A strike dealing light damage (Damage is increased by the number of people in the party) that forces the target attack you for 8 seconds and decreases the target's chance to hit by 25% for 6 seconds.

As a leader you need to know when to take one for the team. This moves lets you draw attention away from your crew and forces the monster to attack you, but seeing as you are a strong intimidating leader your opponent is less likely to hit you.

This is great for when your friend is about to die, but nobody can heal him just yet, or just for reducing total damage being taken in general. The attack is not great, doing only light damage, but it does get more powerful with the party buff.

Rank 2: Flintlock Barrage

20 Mana, 6 second cooldown.

A strike dealing moderate damage to multiple targets. (Damage is increased by the number of people in the party) All targets hit suffer a haste reduction of 20% for 4 seconds.

This is your dependable damage move and it attacks 4 targets at once. Of all your moves you will probably be using this one the most. With 4 enemies attacking you, you’ll really want to make sure you’re in a team that has your back. The move does help out your team a little by slowing down your opponents’ attack speed. With a full party this turns into nice constant AoE damage.

Rank 3: Commander's Rally

25 Mana, 12 second cooldown.

The presence of the captain inspires everyone in battle. Gives an AoE HoT (healing power increased by the number of people in the party) and increases the target's chance to dodge by 30% for 8 seconds.

Things don’t always go your way in battle. As a leader you need to be be able to inspire your crew to keep fighting even when the odds are not in your favour. Your heal over time is not particularly potent, but it does effect 6 players. This is the sort of move you really want to be in a party to make useful.

The true strength of this movie lies in the dodge buff it gives you. This dodge buff ONLY affects the caster. You can’t give the dodge boost to anyone else except yourself.

This is a really good move to use in combination with your first move since both effectively reduce your targets chance to hit you. You’re basically taking damage off your team mates without having to sacrifice much of your own HP at all.

Rank 4: Broadside Blast and Gust of Wind

• Crit chance is increased by 10%
• Increases dodge rate by 8%

These passives are self explanatory. You crit more and get hit less. Because you are using the Warrior regen model, you’ll crit more often and gain more MP in that sense. That said, you will also be dodging more often and so your opponents will not be hitting you as often or restoring as much MP that way.

Rank 5: Flintlock Fury

35 mana, 15 second cooldown.

Deals a large amount of AoE damage to it’s targets. (Damage increased by the number of people in the party). It also has a 50% chance to stun opponents for 3 seconds.

This is effectively your nuke. It deals the largest damage out of all the moves, attacks up to 4 targets, and as you would expect, becomes more powerful the more people are in your party. Because the cooldown takes a while, it’s a sudden burst of damage as opposed to something you depend on. But if you time it right it can make all the difference, especially with that 50% chance to stun your opponents.

Final thoughts

After playing around with this class, I would say it performs best as a strategic addition to any group, especially while in a full party. You’ll want either Fighter Enhancements, Luck Enhancements, or a mixture of both. You can use it for support or tanking in a limited capacity.  With a full party it can even function as a farming class.

When you take a close look you’ll realise that all 4 moves, and the second passive, either slow your enemies, reduce their chances to hit you, or outright stop damage hitting you. This may seem good, but with the warrior regen model what this effectively means is that MP regen from enemies attacking you is significantly reduced.

You’ll have to plan your moves carefully to avoid running out of mana, or use the Mana Vamp enhancement. Spiral Carve or Health Vamp would also be useful.

A couple of final thoughts to leave you with. I might have another surprise ready soon but we’ll have to see. That, and I am already working on my next class which has not yet been announced. Have fun guessing.

* This is how I normally start my videos. It seems weird to type it instead of saying it. Don’t look at me that way… I thought it was funny.

** I’ve been part of the AE team testing releases for about 6 months now, but I have recently started designing classes. This is my first class design and I’ve had a lot of fun making and testing it. Making a class is something I have dreamed of doing since day one of the Beta and it’s amazing to be able to share this class with all of you. If you know me in game, you’ll know that 99% of the time I’m wearing the original Naval Commander armor, so you can imagine how excited I am to make a Naval Commander themed class.

*** For those of you who don’t know, International Talk like a Pirate Day is September 19th every year. It just so happens that this year it is also on release day and we can actually have these items available on the exact day.