T
Tyrael
Guest
The White Lion
This is a guide to the class from my point of view. If you want descriptions of each and every ability then check WarWiki.
My experience with the White Lion since beta has been extensive. Both in PvP and PvE. This guide will go into detail the intricacies if leveling as a white lion and then eventually taking them into scenarios, world pvp, and dungeons from my perspective.
For starters, leveling the white lion is a relatively easy task in comparison to the other order classes that you could create. You are able to summon your companion from level one and even give it a unique name by typing /petname. Your will find that you rely on your war lion in all aspects of the game.
Itemization
Your main weapon of choice is a nasty two-handed axe. You are also able to use the
one-handed axe, but there is no purpose as the damage and stats do not compare and at no point can you dual-wield or use a shield with the one-handed axe. So always be on the lookout for awesome two-handers.
Stats
The stats that you will want to stack as a white lion are Strength, Weapon Skill, and Wounds.
Strength is your primary stat. It adds pure DPS to both your auto-attack(white) damage and your ability damage.
Weapon Skill will be your secondary stat. It will determine your armor penetration.
Wounds adds to your hit points pool which is very important later on.
When you are gathering your armor, always look for upgrades to these stats.
Unless you're the type of gamer that enjoys using the mouse to activate his/her abilities I would suggest binding some keys so they are easily accessible. Some of the important bindings would involve the micromanagement of your war lion. Changing the state of your pet, either to attack, defend, or stay at your side passively, is something you will often do. I personally found that shift +Z,X,C works for my attack, defend, and passive states.
Tactics
There are several tactic setups that I have found useful for the white lion. As you level up you will unlock tactics and tactic slots. You will receive 4 Career slots total from level 10-40 respectively. Some tactics are dependent on position, pet, and status. While others are just buffs.
A Core tactic, when you receive it, is Brute Strength. This tactic is, as the name implies, a pure strength increase to your stats. Once you receive it, I would suggest always using it in your tactic setup.
Your tactic set in PvE it is all dependant on the situation you are in. For long battles such as a boss I have found it best to use DoTs. For trash or normal mobs, it is typically best to just equip burst damage, as is it rare for the mob to be alive long enough for the DoTs to have a full effect.
In PvP, I generally use burst damage. At 40 you get an ability called fetch. Once you have that, it is best to always have the Speed Training tactic active.
Here is my tactic setup(I am Axeman spec. which I will get into later)
PvE Burst: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Flanking, Pack Synergy
PvE DoTs: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Tearing Blade, Centuries of Training
PvP Burst: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Flanking, Speed Training
Master Tree Builds
The White Lion has three specialization trees, The Hunter, The Axeman, and The Guardian. Hunter spec. is equal damage of you and pet. Axeman spec is more your damage. And Guardian spec which is about your war lion's damage. I messed around with all three and my honest opinion is that Axeman is the way to go, both for PvE and PvP for maximum DPS output. My reason lies in the abilities you get up the Axeman tree:
Thin the herd, which reduces the healing on the target by 50% for 10s with a 10s cooldown.
Cull the Weak, which does a massive attack on the target if it is below 50% hp.
Fully Grown Tactic, Which at 70, increases your Strength by 76 and you pets wounds by 130.
With the 25 points you get to spend at level 40 I put 8 into Hunter. I did not choose to take any abilities in that tree, just enhance the 5 abilities associated with that spec by 8 levels, Coordinated Strike being one of them. I put the other 17 point into Axeman, taking fully grown, cull the weak, and thin the herd.
Later on you will get more mastery points based on your RvR Rank. Gaining a total of 5 more mastery points by rank 80 RvR. I suspect I will take the 8 point out of the Hunter Tree and put them into Guardian to get Brutal Pounce, keeping the points I have in Axeman untouched.
Strategy
The role of the White Lion in PvE is pure, un-adulterated DPS. We can pump out a ridiculous amount of dps. The only problem is that for the most part, it is positional DPS. With a good group, you will always be at the back of your target, where we are most effective. You will benefit from the inability of the mob to block or parry your attacks. Also our flanking tactic which enables us to do 15% more damage behind the target. We also acquire 5% more crit. when behind the target from our Trained to Threaten ability. In PvE, you will generally have Trained to Threaten active for Trash, it is good to turn off the auto-taunt ability that your war lion has. If you are attacking a boss and you have your DoTs tactic set equipped then you will most likely use Trained to Hunt. This ability will deal additional damage over time whenever you or your war lion strikes the target. I'll almost never use Trained to Kill, as the only benefit you get is toughness. You will find you are continually adapting to the type of fight you are in and reflect that with what abilities you use on your enemies. So each individual will have to learn on their own what abilities to use and when.
The role of the White Lion in PvP is similar to it's role in PvE. However you aren't going for maximum DPS. Instead you are looking for survivability and cunningness. You will use your pet a lot here. One rule: Fetch is your friend. USE IT! White Lions are amazing single target DPS. But when it comes to more than one enemy we are at a disadvantage. Fetch will give you the advantage of bringing the target to you! Also with the Trained to Threaten ability active you can order your war lion to shred the legs of your target and slow their movement speed. You rely on your target to run from you almost 90% of the time. What happens when they do that at reduced movement speed? You can tear him to pieces from behind with your increased effectiveness. Fetch is a 10s cooldown, if the target is still alive and out of your reach you can just fetch him back to you so you can finish him off for good this time! With this awesome ability at your fingertips you will most likely be the main assist in scenarios and world RvR. Be sure to pull the targets well since you are able to bypass the frontlines of the enemy with your speedy pet and pull the healers and ranged DPS. The "Squishies" as they have come to be known. Keep in mind your role is to not be the highest DPS, so don't pay attention to the E-Peen meter and just focus on protecting your healers and pulling.
This guide was to just map out the gameplay of the White Lion as I have experienced. If you would like to add, comment, or argue about anything written here, please feel free to email me [email protected]
This is a guide to the class from my point of view. If you want descriptions of each and every ability then check WarWiki.
My experience with the White Lion since beta has been extensive. Both in PvP and PvE. This guide will go into detail the intricacies if leveling as a white lion and then eventually taking them into scenarios, world pvp, and dungeons from my perspective.
For starters, leveling the white lion is a relatively easy task in comparison to the other order classes that you could create. You are able to summon your companion from level one and even give it a unique name by typing /petname. Your will find that you rely on your war lion in all aspects of the game.
Itemization
Your main weapon of choice is a nasty two-handed axe. You are also able to use the
one-handed axe, but there is no purpose as the damage and stats do not compare and at no point can you dual-wield or use a shield with the one-handed axe. So always be on the lookout for awesome two-handers.
Stats
The stats that you will want to stack as a white lion are Strength, Weapon Skill, and Wounds.
Strength is your primary stat. It adds pure DPS to both your auto-attack(white) damage and your ability damage.
Weapon Skill will be your secondary stat. It will determine your armor penetration.
Wounds adds to your hit points pool which is very important later on.
When you are gathering your armor, always look for upgrades to these stats.
Unless you're the type of gamer that enjoys using the mouse to activate his/her abilities I would suggest binding some keys so they are easily accessible. Some of the important bindings would involve the micromanagement of your war lion. Changing the state of your pet, either to attack, defend, or stay at your side passively, is something you will often do. I personally found that shift +Z,X,C works for my attack, defend, and passive states.
Tactics
There are several tactic setups that I have found useful for the white lion. As you level up you will unlock tactics and tactic slots. You will receive 4 Career slots total from level 10-40 respectively. Some tactics are dependent on position, pet, and status. While others are just buffs.
A Core tactic, when you receive it, is Brute Strength. This tactic is, as the name implies, a pure strength increase to your stats. Once you receive it, I would suggest always using it in your tactic setup.
Your tactic set in PvE it is all dependant on the situation you are in. For long battles such as a boss I have found it best to use DoTs. For trash or normal mobs, it is typically best to just equip burst damage, as is it rare for the mob to be alive long enough for the DoTs to have a full effect.
In PvP, I generally use burst damage. At 40 you get an ability called fetch. Once you have that, it is best to always have the Speed Training tactic active.
Here is my tactic setup(I am Axeman spec. which I will get into later)
PvE Burst: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Flanking, Pack Synergy
PvE DoTs: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Tearing Blade, Centuries of Training
PvP Burst: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Flanking, Speed Training
Master Tree Builds
The White Lion has three specialization trees, The Hunter, The Axeman, and The Guardian. Hunter spec. is equal damage of you and pet. Axeman spec is more your damage. And Guardian spec which is about your war lion's damage. I messed around with all three and my honest opinion is that Axeman is the way to go, both for PvE and PvP for maximum DPS output. My reason lies in the abilities you get up the Axeman tree:
Thin the herd, which reduces the healing on the target by 50% for 10s with a 10s cooldown.
Cull the Weak, which does a massive attack on the target if it is below 50% hp.
Fully Grown Tactic, Which at 70, increases your Strength by 76 and you pets wounds by 130.
With the 25 points you get to spend at level 40 I put 8 into Hunter. I did not choose to take any abilities in that tree, just enhance the 5 abilities associated with that spec by 8 levels, Coordinated Strike being one of them. I put the other 17 point into Axeman, taking fully grown, cull the weak, and thin the herd.
Later on you will get more mastery points based on your RvR Rank. Gaining a total of 5 more mastery points by rank 80 RvR. I suspect I will take the 8 point out of the Hunter Tree and put them into Guardian to get Brutal Pounce, keeping the points I have in Axeman untouched.
Strategy
The role of the White Lion in PvE is pure, un-adulterated DPS. We can pump out a ridiculous amount of dps. The only problem is that for the most part, it is positional DPS. With a good group, you will always be at the back of your target, where we are most effective. You will benefit from the inability of the mob to block or parry your attacks. Also our flanking tactic which enables us to do 15% more damage behind the target. We also acquire 5% more crit. when behind the target from our Trained to Threaten ability. In PvE, you will generally have Trained to Threaten active for Trash, it is good to turn off the auto-taunt ability that your war lion has. If you are attacking a boss and you have your DoTs tactic set equipped then you will most likely use Trained to Hunt. This ability will deal additional damage over time whenever you or your war lion strikes the target. I'll almost never use Trained to Kill, as the only benefit you get is toughness. You will find you are continually adapting to the type of fight you are in and reflect that with what abilities you use on your enemies. So each individual will have to learn on their own what abilities to use and when.
The role of the White Lion in PvP is similar to it's role in PvE. However you aren't going for maximum DPS. Instead you are looking for survivability and cunningness. You will use your pet a lot here. One rule: Fetch is your friend. USE IT! White Lions are amazing single target DPS. But when it comes to more than one enemy we are at a disadvantage. Fetch will give you the advantage of bringing the target to you! Also with the Trained to Threaten ability active you can order your war lion to shred the legs of your target and slow their movement speed. You rely on your target to run from you almost 90% of the time. What happens when they do that at reduced movement speed? You can tear him to pieces from behind with your increased effectiveness. Fetch is a 10s cooldown, if the target is still alive and out of your reach you can just fetch him back to you so you can finish him off for good this time! With this awesome ability at your fingertips you will most likely be the main assist in scenarios and world RvR. Be sure to pull the targets well since you are able to bypass the frontlines of the enemy with your speedy pet and pull the healers and ranged DPS. The "Squishies" as they have come to be known. Keep in mind your role is to not be the highest DPS, so don't pay attention to the E-Peen meter and just focus on protecting your healers and pulling.
This guide was to just map out the gameplay of the White Lion as I have experienced. If you would like to add, comment, or argue about anything written here, please feel free to email me [email protected]
