05-21-2013, 09:57 AM
A while back, I started writing an RP guide that I never got around to finish, mostly because many other awesome guides had been written in the meanwhile. However, after reading it recently, there is one part of it I wanted to post as relevant to the abilities characters display. Spoilered below is the excerpt from the planned guide.
So my question is: if you could only choose seven spells/abilities to use ICly, which ones would it be? For the sake of clarity, a pet/minion counts as an ability, as well as a totem. Also, abilities that are part of a specialized class (ie Demon Hunter or Blademaster) can be included.
Some examples of my own characters:
Jonoth - Buccaneer (Rogue)
A swashbuckling dual-wielder with swords, I kept his abilities in that line.
Abilities: Combat Readiness, Sinister Strike, Kick, Slice and Dice, Rupture, Dismantle, Ambush
Dunkhaan - Shaman
The stormcaller. I tried to theme his abilities around his calling, so utilized wind, rain, and of course lightning.
Abilities: Stormstrike, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Healing Rain, Wind Shear, Windfury Weapon, Shamanistic Rage
Penandion - Demon Hunter (Rogue)
An example of a special class, Mana Burn and Immolation Aura aren't core rogue abilities, but are still part of his arsenal as a Demon Hunter. As a result, I tried to keep the rest of his abilities tamer, focused on evading attacks and striking quickly.
Abilities: Sinister Strike, Slice and Dice, Kick, Combat Readiness, Evasion, Mana Burn, Immolation Aura
Haiko - Mountain King (Warrior)
Another special class, but this time with abilities that exist within the core abilities. I also included the racial Stoneform since it isn't something all Dwarves just walk around doing.
Abilities: Charge, Thunderclap, Colossus Smash, Battle Shout, Stoneform, Heroic Throw, Cleave
Tun'kar - Warrior
The axe-wielding "strongest Orc there is" has a set more geared towards his weapon style, which is to smash and cut through everything with his axe, and bring fear into the heart of his opponents.
Abilities: Rend, Mortal Strike, Cleave, Execute, Intimidating Shout, Sunder Armor, Berserker Rage
Remyl - Hunter
Decided to drop in the womanizer because he's a hunter, so his pet bear is included in his abilities list.
Abilities: Ishkun (Summon Pet Bear), Explosive Shot, Scatter Shot, Rapid Fire, Multi Shot, Eagle Eye, Kill Shot
Spoiler:
What the heck is a Simple Seven Rule?
The Simple Seven Rule was named by peeking at the abilities of well-known NPCs on wowhead.com, and established long ago when I started RPing. Two NPCs caught my eye: Rexxar and Jaina Proudmoore. Rexxar, being an epic beastmaster, and Jaina, being a powerful mage, are perfect to examine just how many abilities your character should have a rotation of. Both have a total of five special abilities. And most NPCs don't go beyond those numbers. Lets take a look at Rexxar first, a melee fighter. His five abilities are:
As a beastmaster, an unlisted power would be having a pet that can attack, but even so this list is surprisingly...well...tame for someone considered one of the Horde's biggest champions. OOCly, most of these are things that even lower level players have access to. And that's the point. When choosing your Simple Seven, you aren't just taking the low-level abilities for granted. In fact, I'd say at least 3/7 (preferably 4) of the abilities you choose should be lower-level skills. ICly, you can see it as these are abilities that require little of your focus and energy, making them the attacks you would commonly use. The one or two major attacks would be for getting towards the end of the fight, and you need to put down your opponent once and for all.
Let's look at Jaina next, largely considered one of the more powerful living mages. Her five abilities are:
Again, most of it is stuff you learn very early on. Seeing this apply for both a melee fighter as well as a mage, you can see how if lore characters don't have an abilities list full of epic abilities, then neither should your own character. It makes the fights more interesting when both players aren't firing off kill shots as well, and allows you to build to an epic conclusion that you can both be proud of.
The Simple Seven Rule was named by peeking at the abilities of well-known NPCs on wowhead.com, and established long ago when I started RPing. Two NPCs caught my eye: Rexxar and Jaina Proudmoore. Rexxar, being an epic beastmaster, and Jaina, being a powerful mage, are perfect to examine just how many abilities your character should have a rotation of. Both have a total of five special abilities. And most NPCs don't go beyond those numbers. Lets take a look at Rexxar first, a melee fighter. His five abilities are:
- Cleave - Inflicts 110% of normal melee damage to an enemy and its nearest allies, affecting up to 3 targets.
- Knockaway - Inflicts weapon damage to an enemy and knocks it back.
- Puncture - Inflicts Physical damage to an enemy every 2 sec. for 10 sec.
- Sundering Cleave - Hacks at the armor of an enemy and its nearby allies, affecting up to 3 targets. A target's armor is reduced per Sunder Armor. Can be applied up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.
- Thrash - Gives the caster 2 extra attacks.
As a beastmaster, an unlisted power would be having a pet that can attack, but even so this list is surprisingly...well...tame for someone considered one of the Horde's biggest champions. OOCly, most of these are things that even lower level players have access to. And that's the point. When choosing your Simple Seven, you aren't just taking the low-level abilities for granted. In fact, I'd say at least 3/7 (preferably 4) of the abilities you choose should be lower-level skills. ICly, you can see it as these are abilities that require little of your focus and energy, making them the attacks you would commonly use. The one or two major attacks would be for getting towards the end of the fight, and you need to put down your opponent once and for all.
Let's look at Jaina next, largely considered one of the more powerful living mages. Her five abilities are:
- Blizzard - Calls down a blizzard that lasts 10 sec., inflicting 14250 to 15750 Frost damage every 2 sec. to all enemies in a selected area.
- Fire Blast - Inflicts 8550 to 10450 Fire damage to an enemy.
- Fireball - Inflicts 11390 to 15410 Fire damage to an enemy.
- Summon Water Elementals - Summons 3 powerful water elementals to aid the caster.
- Teleport - Teleports an enemy above Theramore Harbor.
Again, most of it is stuff you learn very early on. Seeing this apply for both a melee fighter as well as a mage, you can see how if lore characters don't have an abilities list full of epic abilities, then neither should your own character. It makes the fights more interesting when both players aren't firing off kill shots as well, and allows you to build to an epic conclusion that you can both be proud of.
So my question is: if you could only choose seven spells/abilities to use ICly, which ones would it be? For the sake of clarity, a pet/minion counts as an ability, as well as a totem. Also, abilities that are part of a specialized class (ie Demon Hunter or Blademaster) can be included.
Some examples of my own characters:
Jonoth - Buccaneer (Rogue)
A swashbuckling dual-wielder with swords, I kept his abilities in that line.
Abilities: Combat Readiness, Sinister Strike, Kick, Slice and Dice, Rupture, Dismantle, Ambush
Dunkhaan - Shaman
The stormcaller. I tried to theme his abilities around his calling, so utilized wind, rain, and of course lightning.
Abilities: Stormstrike, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Healing Rain, Wind Shear, Windfury Weapon, Shamanistic Rage
Penandion - Demon Hunter (Rogue)
An example of a special class, Mana Burn and Immolation Aura aren't core rogue abilities, but are still part of his arsenal as a Demon Hunter. As a result, I tried to keep the rest of his abilities tamer, focused on evading attacks and striking quickly.
Abilities: Sinister Strike, Slice and Dice, Kick, Combat Readiness, Evasion, Mana Burn, Immolation Aura
Haiko - Mountain King (Warrior)
Another special class, but this time with abilities that exist within the core abilities. I also included the racial Stoneform since it isn't something all Dwarves just walk around doing.
Abilities: Charge, Thunderclap, Colossus Smash, Battle Shout, Stoneform, Heroic Throw, Cleave
Tun'kar - Warrior
The axe-wielding "strongest Orc there is" has a set more geared towards his weapon style, which is to smash and cut through everything with his axe, and bring fear into the heart of his opponents.
Abilities: Rend, Mortal Strike, Cleave, Execute, Intimidating Shout, Sunder Armor, Berserker Rage
Remyl - Hunter
Decided to drop in the womanizer because he's a hunter, so his pet bear is included in his abilities list.
Abilities: Ishkun (Summon Pet Bear), Explosive Shot, Scatter Shot, Rapid Fire, Multi Shot, Eagle Eye, Kill Shot