Comprehensive Warrior Guide
About the Guide
This guide was originally created by Kithus and has been expanded upon by members of the Gemstone community from discussions via various forums, Discord chats and direct player input on GSWiki. Any and all contributions from the community are welcome!
Last Updated: 8/1/2020
Race and Stat Considerations
| Race | Strength | Constitution | Dexterity | Agility | Discipline | Aura | Logic | Intuition | Wisdom | Influence | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aelotoi | -5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | -5 | +20 |
| Burghal gnome | -15 | 10 | 10 | 10 | -5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | -5 | +25 |
| Dark elf | 0 | -5 | 10 | 5 | -10 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -5 | +15 |
| Dwarf | 10 | 15 | 0 | -5 | 10 | -10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -10 | +15 |
| Elf | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | -15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +20 |
| Erithian | -5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +25 |
| Forest gnome | -10 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | -5 | +25 |
| Giantman | 15 | 10 | -5 | -5 | 0 | -5 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | +10 |
| Half elf | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | +15 |
| Half krolvin | 10 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -10 | 0 | -5 | -5 | +5 |
| Halfling | -15 | 10 | 15 | 10 | -5 | -5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | -5 | +20 |
| Human | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | +15 |
| Sylvankind | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | -5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +15 |
AgiDex
Roundtime is quite simple. Strength and encumbrance can be a factor but that can be managed by carefully managing inventory. The most important factor is AgiDex, or the sum of the bonuses of a character's Dexterity and Agility. This combined total helps reduce the Roundtime of a physical attack by a specified amount:
| Agility + Dexterity |
Roundtime reduction |
|---|---|
| 8 - 22 | 1 |
| 23 - 37 | 2 |
| 38 - 52 | 3 |
| 53 - 67 | 4 |
| 68 - 82 | 5 |
| 83 - 97 | 6 |
| 98 - 112 | 7 |
| 113+ | 8 |
| Roundtime reductions above 5 are not achievable without enhancive items. | |
Pairing that table with the stat table above we can break it down to see each races theoretical maximum AgiDex, before enhancives:
| 5 RT Reduction | 4 RT Reduction | 3 RT Reduction |
|---|---|---|
| Halfling | Aelotoi | Erithian |
| Burghal gnome | Dark elf | Human |
| Elf | Forest gnome | Dwarf |
| Half-elf | Giantman | |
| Sylvankind | ||
| Half-Krolvin |
This is important because weapons have a minimum RT, and a base RT. By taking the base RT and subtracting the AgiDex bonus we can find the unencumbered swing RT.
Dexterity is also important as the AS stat for an archer.
Strength
Strength bonus adds directly to melee AS. Any melee warrior is going to want a decent Strength stat and will want to pair that with a decent AgiDex possibility. The table below shows the Strength stats of races compared to their AgiDex capability:
| 5 RT Reduction | STR Mod | 4 RT Reduction | STR Mod | 3 RT Reduction | STR Mod | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfling | -15 | Aelotoi | -5 | Erithian | -5 | ||
| Burghal gnome | -15 | Dark elf | 0 | Human | 5 | ||
| Elf | 0 | Forest gnome | -10 | Dwarf | 10 | ||
| Half-elf | 0 | Giantman | 15 | ||||
| Sylvankind | 0 | ||||||
| Half-krolvin | 10 |
While Strength is an important AS stat for melee warriors, it is the RT stat of Archers. Every 10 STR Bonus will reduce archery RT by 1 second. Unlike melee attacks, the additional RT for AIMing a ranged attack can be reduced as well. That makes Strength extremely important to an Archer. This typically should be paired with a good Dexterity bonus for AS purposes. The table below shows a comparison of all races according to their Strength, alongside their Dexterity:
| Race | STR Mod | DEX Mod |
|---|---|---|
| Giantman | 15 | -5 |
| Half-Krolvin | 10 | 0 |
| Dwarf | 10 | 0 |
| Human | 5 | 0 |
| Sylvan | 0 | 10 |
| Dark Elf | 0 | 10 |
| Elf | 0 | 5 |
| Half-Elf | 0 | 5 |
| Aelotoi | -5 | 5 |
| Erithian | -5 | 0 |
| Forest Gnome | -10 | 5 |
| Burghal Gnome | -15 | 10 |
| Halfling | -15 | 15 |
There is a very obvious correlation between Strength and Dexterity. Almost invariably as one goes up, the other goes down. This makes the choice of races for an archer a tricky balancing act.
Other Racial Factors
Bear in mind that there are many other mechanical factors to consider when selecting a race. Not to mention all the role playing decisions. The weaker races, such as halflings and gnomes, tend to have much better maneuver defense than bigger, stronger races. As a trade off they also tend to have terrible encumbrance, while bigger races are able to carry quite a bit more. Elven races have bonuses to resisting disease and a small one to poison, but are slightly weaker against warding spells. Dwarves are less resistant to disease but much more resistant to poison and have a bonus to warding off elemental magic. Halflings are slightly more resistant to poison, disease, and elemental magic than dwarves. Half-krolvin have natural heavy crit padding against cold attacks and suffer less from cold weather effects.
The races of Elanthia all have their pros and cons. They are well balanced and any one could make an excellent warrior. Take into account the full picture, including mechanics and their cultural backgrounds, before you decide on a race for yours.
Skills
Physical Skills
- Armor Use Reduces RT associated with heavier armor, Combat maneuver penalties, and spell hindrance from wearing armor
- Shield Use Generates DS when using a shield.
- Weapon Use Raises AS with a particular Weapon.
- Two Weapon Combat Allows the use of two one-handed weapons.
- Combat Maneuvers +.5 Melee AS per rank and access to combat maneuvers.
- Multi-Opponent Combat Reduces penalties from force-on-force and allows for mstrike.
- Ambush Assists in aiming physical attacks.
- Physical Fitness Core training, HP growth, Maneuver defense
- Dodge Generates evasion DS.
Magical Skills
- Arcane Symbols Allows the use of and improves durations from scrolls.
- Magic Item Use Allows the use of and improves the durations from magic items.
- Harness Power 3 mana per training up to your level, 1 per after that.
- Spell Aiming Weapon training for bolts, which warriors do not use.
- Mana Control Allows the sharing of mana and improves your own mana regen. Warriors have easier, but not necessarily easy, access to Spiritual Mana Control and Elemental Mana Control.
- Spell Research Learn spells and make those you already know better.
- Lores Incremental improvements to specific spells related to that lore.
Training
This is broken down into Core Training, and Discrete Training.
- Core training includes skills you train in a certain amount each level for that build.
- Discrete Training includes skills that you want to hit a breakpoint on. Note that warriors are the weapon masters of Elanthia and can basically be viable with any weapon type. The archetypes listed are just a few of the possible options. Depending on your style, gearing, and preferences any weapon type is viable as a warrior.
Common Core Training
Core training for ANY Warrior:
- 2x Physical Fitness (6/0)
- 1x Perception (0/3)
Total: (8/39)
Common Discrete Training
- Armor Use
- 30 ranks for Brigandine
- 80 ranks for Chain Hauberk
- 150 ranks for Full Plate
- 60 Ranks Multi-Opponent Combat
- 50 Ranks Climbing
- 50 Ranks Swimming
The Shield Knight
We have all seen the classic image of a knight in shining armor. The powerful warrior standing firm with his (or her) plate armor and shield, downing foes with a sword or mace. Sword and board, as it is commonly called, is a staple fantasy trope that can be seen from King Arthur’s knights to modern anime. This is a stereotype that has withstood the test of time. Probably because it could block incoming attacks!
Why a shield?
Do you like getting beat up and running crying to an empath? Guessing the answer is no. A giant shield between you and the enemy makes that less likely to happen. On a more serious note shields were amazing before SHIELD SKILLS were added. With that addition shielded warriors can become defensive gods.
Shield Knight Core Training
| # | Cost | Skill |
| 3x | 14/0 | Shield Use |
| 2x | 6/3, 6/3, OR 9/3 | Edged Weapons or Blunt Weapons or Polearm Weapons |
| 2x | 12/9 | Combat Maneuvers |
| 2x | 6/0 | Physical Fitness |
| 1x | 0/3 | Perception |
| 38/15 | Total |
Shield Knight Discreet Training
These values are plateaus you should strive to reach at some point in your career.
| # Ranks | Cost | Skill | Notes |
| 30, 80, and 140 | 2/0 | Armor Use | For Brigandine, Chain Hauberk, and Full Plate respectively. A shield knight can afford to stay in Chain Hauberk for a while and work on other skills before Full Plate. |
| 60 | 4/3 | Multi Opponent Combat | This allows for 3x focused mstrike. |
| 50 | 3/0 | Climbing | By level 100, train this as needed to make climb checks prior to that. |
| 50 | 2/0 | Swimming | By level 100, train this as needed to make swim checks prior to that. |
Optional Additional Training
A list of the most common skills to use your additional training points on.
| # | Cost | Skill | Notes |
| 1x-2x | 1/3 | Survival | This will aid in skinning and foraging. |
| 1x-2x | 1/2 | First Aid | This will aid in skinning and reduce herb eating RT |
| 3/4 | Ambush | 20-30 ranks will allow you to aim your attacks. | |
| 0/120 | Spell Research | Not typically recommended but some warriors take spells like 401 and 101. | |
| 0/8 | Magic Item Use | For more effective use of magic items. | |
| 0/7 | Arcane Symbols | For scroll reading. | |
| 0/10 | Spiritual Mana Control or Elemental Mana Control | 24 ranks for perfect sharing when you beg for spells |
Post Cap Goals
- Additional Armor Use for armor skills and maneuver penalty reduction.
- 3x Dodging
- 3x Physical Fitness
- 2x Multi Opponent Combat
- Additional Weapon Types
Combat Maneuvers
Warriors have access to almost all of the best maneuvers available. There are far too many to list here but we will go over some of the most prominent for shield knights.
Block Mastery is almost a given for shield knights, providing an additional 15% block chance.
Parry Mastery can also be taken as an additional passive defensive option.
Specialization (wspec1/2/3) which provides a direct bonus to their AS and CML when using a weapon of the chosen type.
Weapon Bonding Is almost a given as a unique warrior maneuver with a variety of bonuses.
Shield Bash (sbash) can be trained as a CMAN to save shield skill points but a shield knight is going to want it one way or another.
Combat Toughness (toughness) is an option for those who absolutely want the best defense.
Surge of Strength (surge) can provide a good place to spend stamina for a solid boost.
Combat Focus (focus) will help with additional TD.
Cunning Defense (cdefense) adds a bit more protection from maneuvers.
Combat Mobility is slightly less important to shield knights provided they are picking up the shield skill Prop Up.
Shield Skills
As with combat maneuvers, the options for shield specializations for warriors are too numerous to fully discuss. They literally have access to all of them. Those listed below are some of the most useful for shield knights but the list is by no means exhaustive or the best or only options.
Tower Shield Focus is probably the base skill for any shield knight unless you have a smaller shield that you absolutely want to use.
Shield Bash is a must, either as a CMAN or a shield skill.
Prop Up not being knocked down is a great benefit.
Adamantine Bulwark is a warrior only option that reduces RT caused by physical attacks against you up to 50%!
Tortoise Stance is a martial stance shield specialization that provides a second block chance in exchange for a penalty to AS.
Shield Trample and it’s associated mastery provide an AOE knockdown for a shield warrior.
Spell Block will let you BLOCK bolts if you have an ensorcelled or anti-magic shield.
Protective Wall less lost DS due to status effects for your group and yourself.
Shield Spike Focus AND Shield Spike Mastery reduces the penalties for using a spiked shield and allow reactive spike flares when you block.
Block the Elements reduces damage from those pesky flares and ball spells.
The Two-Handed Warrior
The other canonical image of the knight is that of one wielding a large sword or polearm. The black knight Mordred is often depicted with a two handed blade. All of us have also seen images of knights on horseback with lances. Elanthia may not have (living) horses but we certainly have plenty of lances and they hit hard!
Why Two-Handers?
It has been said that the best defense is a good offense. The person who said that was probably wielding a claidhmore or lance. Two handed weapons of almost all types hit HARD. While shield users are better able to defend themselves, two handed users are betting they won’t have to.
Two-Handed Warrior Core Training
| # | Cost | Skill |
| 2x | 12/9 | Combat Maneuvers |
| 2x | 9/3 | Two-Handed Weapons or Polearm Weapons |
| 1x | 4/2 | Dodging |
| 2x | 6/0 | Physical Fitness |
| 1x | 0/3 | Perception |
| 31/17 | Total |
Two-Handed Warrior Discreet Training
These values are plateaus you should strive to reach at some point in your career.
| # Ranks | Cost | Skill | Notes |
| 140 | 2/0 | Armor Use | Two-handed Warriors will want to get into Full Plate ASAP. |
| 60 | 4/3 | Multi Opponent Combat | This allows for 3x focused mstrike. |
| 50 | 3/0 | Climbing | By level 100, train this as needed to make climb checks prior to that. |
| 50 | 2/0 | Swimming | By level 100, train this as needed to make swim checks prior to that. |
Optional Additional Training
A list of the most common skills to use your additional training points on.
| # | Cost | Skill | Notes |
| 1x-2x | 1/3 | Survival | This will aid in skinning and foraging. |
| 1x-2x | 1/2 | First Aid | This will aid in skinning and reduce herb eating RT |
| 3/4 | Ambush | 20-30 ranks will allow you to aim your attacks. | |
| 0/120 | Spell Research | Not typically recommended but some warriors take spells like 401 and 101. | |
| 0/8 | Magic Item Use | For more effective use of magic items. | |
| 0/7 | Arcane Symbols | For scroll reading. | |
| 0/10 | Spiritual Mana Control or Elemental Mana Control | 24 ranks for perfect sharing when you beg for spells |
Post Cap Goals
- Additional Armor Use for armor skills and maneuver penalty reduction.
- 3x Dodging
- 3x Physical Fitness
- 2x Multi Opponent Combat
- Additional Weapon Types
Combat Maneuvers
Two- Handed Warriors can make good use of a plethora Combat Maneuver skills. The list below is a sample of some of the most commonly used but is neither all inclusive, nor necessarily the best.
Combat Mobility is one of the most important maneuvers for any warrior to pick up. Staying on your feet is one of the best ways to stay alive.
Parry Mastery is often taken as an additional passive defensive option.
Specialization (wspec1/2/3) which provides a direct bonus to their AS and CML when using a weapon of the chosen type.
Weapon Bonding Is almost a given as a unique warrior maneuver with a variety of bonuses.
Charge is almost a given for polearm warriors.
Bull Rush is a knockdown sometimes preferred by two handed weapon using warriors.
Combat Toughness (toughness) is an option for those who absolutely want the best defense.
Surge of Strength (surge) can provide a good place to spend stamina for a solid boost.
Combat Focus (focus) will help with additional TD.
Cunning Defense (cdefense) adds a bit more protection from maneuvers.
The Archer
From precise master archers like William Tell to the common crossbow soldier, the history of the archer warrior has one common thread. At some point someone said “I really want to kill that guy but he’s so far away!” Thus the idea of archery was born and continues in some form to this day.
Why ranged?
Ranged Weapons are one of the most efficient forms of combat in GemStone IV. While the warrior class is arguably not setup to employ ranged combat as efficiently as some others they can still be deadly. They might not be sniping from the shadows but they are able to fire while comfortably ensconced in plate armor.
Nothing beats taking down a tough enemy with a single, well-placed shot to the eye. That is the kind of efficiency archery in GemStone IV excels at. A properly trained archer can take down any enemy that can be crit killed with ease.
Archer Core Training
| # | Cost | Skill |
| 2x | 6/3 | Ranged Weapons |
| 2x | 0/9 | Perception |
| 1x | 9/12 | Ambush |
| 1x | 4/2 | Dodging |
| 2x | 6/0 | Physical Fitness |
| 25/26 | Total |
Archer Discreet Training
These values are plateaus you should strive to reach at some point in your career.
| # Ranks | Cost | Skill | Notes |
| 140 | 2/0 | Armor Use | Two-handed Warriors will want to get into Full Plate ASAP. |
| 60 | 4/3 | Multi Opponent Combat | This allows for 3x focused mstrike. |
| 50 | 3/0 | Climbing | By level 100, train this as needed to make climb checks prior to that. |
| 50 | 2/0 | Swimming | By level 100, train this as needed to make swim checks prior to that. |
Optional Additional Training
A list of the most common skills to use your additional training points on.
| # | Cost | Skill | Notes |
| 1x-2x | 4/3 | Combat Maneuvers | There aren’t really any maneuvers that specifically help with ranged but warriors do have a great deal of options here. |
| 1x-2x | 1/3 | Survival | This will aid in skinning and foraging. |
| 1x-2x | 1/2 | First Aid | This will aid in skinning and reduce herb eating RT |
| 0/120 | Spell Research | Not typically recommended but some warriors take spells like 401 and 101. | |
| 0/8 | Magic Item Use | For more effective use of magic items. | |
| 0/7 | Arcane Symbols | For scroll reading. | |
| 0/10 | Spiritual Mana Control or Elemental Mana Control | 24 ranks for perfect sharing when you beg for spells |
Post Cap Goals
- Additional Armor Use for armor skills and maneuver penalty reduction.
- 3x Dodging
- 3x Physical Fitness
- Additional Weapon Types
Combat Maneuvers
Archers typically do not gain as much benefit from Combat Maneuvers as the typical warrior. Few maneuvers benefit an archer and ranged combat does not benefit from the AS/DS benefit of the Combat Maneuvers skill. Often archer warriors are best to pick up passive defensive maneuvers or offensive knockdowns.
Combat Mobility is one of the most important maneuvers for any warrior to pick up. Staying on your feet is one of the best ways to stay alive.
Combat Focus provides additional TD, which is always a great benefit for a warrior.
Cunning Defense at rank 5 this is the equivalent to having 1 rank in every offensive maneuver for defensive purposes.
Combat Toughness can make your archer a bit more hearty.
Evade Mastery can be a slightly more possible consideration for an archer warrior than other archetypes due to the inability to benefit from block or parry mastery.
Warrior’s Guild
Starting at level 15 all warriors gain access to their profession guild. While a member of the guild warriors can train in and use certain skills that can benefit them greatly in and out of combat. There are a few skills listed here that are also available as combat maneuvers and were purposely left off those listed for different builds as a result. Warriors should expect to max out their guild training eventually if they want to be fully effective.
Batter Barriers
This Warrior’s Guild skill allows the warrior to break open their own boxes. However they do still need to be wary of traps! This is one of the easiest ways to get a fused box opened. They are also able to use the skill to force open some stuck or locked doors and gates, including the Landing graveyard gate.
Berserk
The Berserk skill has two distinct uses. First and foremost it allows the warrior to go into a berserker rage, melee attacking the nearest enemy every 5 seconds. If the warrior has ranks in multi-opponent combat then berserking attacks will use mstrike, both targetted and untargetted depending on the number of creatures present. The warrior will also gain a bonus to AS while berserking. The warrior’s Discipline bonus is figured into the chance to activate berserk.
The other, and arguably more used, benefit of berserking is the ability to break disabling effects. This includes stuns, webs, and binds. BERSERK can be used while under the effects of one of these conditions to break out of it. Breaking one of these effects ends the berserk effect immediately. This is one of the best defensive abilities at the warrior’s disposal.
Disarm Weapon
Not only does training DISARM in the guild save on CMAN points but the guild version, when mastered, is overall more effective. Using this skill allows the warrior to attempt to knock an opponent’s weapon out of their hand. This causes the target to suffer a good amount of RT, as well as leaving their weapon on the ground. This can be a great setup skill against weapon using opponents. It is also great to know defensively so your own weapon is not knocked away.
Tackle
Yet another warrior guild skill that eventually became a combat maneuver. Using this maneuver the warrior can hurl themself at a target, potentially knocking them prone position and causing RT. Be cautious though, because a failed tackle attempt can leave you kneeling and off balance. This is one of the most common setup maneuvers used by all warriors.
War Cries
The War Cries skill is actually a whole set of useful abilities that the warrior gains through their training. Unlike most guild skills and combat maneuvers, war cries do not use up stamina. Rather they put stress on the warrior’s vocal chords. If too many cries are used in a given period the vocal chord can become damaged, preventing the warrior from using these skills until they recover. Warriors are able to check the current stress on their vocal chords using WARCRY. The warrior’s Influence bonus is a factor in successfully activating war cries.
Bertrandt's Bellow
Bertrandt's Bellow is the first war cry a warrior learns at rank 1 of the skill. It is an offensive war cry that must be targeted at a foe. A successful use of bellow puts the target in up to 20 seconds of roundtime.
Yertie's Yowlp
Yertie's Yowlp is a supporting war cry and the second cry learned, at rank 20. Yowlp bolsters the warrior's party's defense against offensive war cries and similar attacks, such as a griffin's screech or a bear's roar.
Gerrelle's Growl
Gerrelle's Growl is an offensive war cry, learned at rank 30, that enrages a target. Foes affected by growl are forced into offensive stance similar to Frenzy (216).
Seanette's Shout
Seanette's Shout is a supporting war cry, learned at rank 40, that invigorates the warrior's party and encourages them to strengthen their efforts, providing a +15 bonus to AS.
Carn's Cry
Carn's Cry, learned at rank 50, is the final offensive war cry. The warrior attempts to terrify a creature into inaction. It immobilize the foes and it has multiple outcomes depending on the level of success. A mild success will cause the target to flee to another room and suffer a short period of immobilization, while a large success causes the enemy to become immobilized in place for a longer duration.
Horland's Holler
At rank 60 warriors learn Horland's Holler, a supporting war cry and the final of six war cries learned. It instills a heroic fervor in the warrior and his party, boosting their attack strength by 20. Holler is the only supporting war cry that will affect a groupless warrior. Even for a master, however, it can be a difficult war cry to perform successfully.
Warrior Tricks
These are a series of mostly fluff abilities that a warrior can learn. Among them are a few combat relevant abilities, some of which have become combat maneuvers on their own. This includes the following:
Appraise
Gained at just 6 ranks in Warrior Tricks, appraise can be a very useful skill. A skill warrior can determine the stance a target, or every target in the room, is in. It can also tell you a creatures level relative to your own.
Feint
This skill is gained at 10 ranks of Warrior Tricks. When using FEINT the warrior will attempt to trick their opponent into reacting to an attack that never comes. A successful feint will cause RT to the target and force their stance up. Both the RT inflicted and level of stancing is dependent on the end roll. This is a very useful setup maneuver that many other professions spend CM points on and for warriors it is baked into a larger guild skill.
Stance Perfection
Acquired at 18 ranks of warrior tricks, this skill can also be learned at the combat maneuver COMBAT MASTERY. This allows the warrior to change their stance in increments of 5% rather than the normal 10%. While of somewhat dubious use, this is yet another combat maneuver baked into a single guild skill.
Spin Attack
At rank 33 in warrior tricks we add yet another combat maneuver to the list, Spin Attack. This ability allows the warrior to make a melee attack with a bonus to AS, dependent on their skill in warrior tricks. This attack will cost 8-20 stamina, based on the base speed of the weapon used. A warrior mastered in tricks will get +18 to their AS, compared to the combat maneuver which provides a total of +15 at max rank.
Sheath Making
While not a combat maneuver, the ability you learn as a master of warrior tricks is arguably better. Warriors mastered in tricks can use skins to make custom sheaths and weapon harnesses. These sheaths actually help reduce the effective weight of their contents. Warrior made quivers are especially prized for their ability to alleviate some of the encumbrance concerns caused by necessary bundles of arrows.
Martial Stances
Martial stances are a special type of combat maneuver or shield skill, only available to square classes, that provides a significant passive bonus. Only one stance may be active at a time and they last for four hours, barring death. Warriors have eight possible stances available to them.
Disarming Presence
This martial stance is learned as a Shield Specialization. While in this stance a warrior will sometimes attempt to DISARM a melee attacker on a successful block. This disarm attempt uses the warrior’s skill in disarming and costs two seconds of RT.
Executioner’s Stance
Executioner’s Stance is a combat maneuver martial stance geared towards two-handed weapon users.While in this stance if you kill a creature with a two-handed weapon attack you have the chance to make another attack automatically against another creature in the room. Alternately, if you do not find an opening for a second attack but have three ranks in Staggering Blow, there is a chance to knock the defeated foe into another in the room, causing it RT.
Griffin’s Voice
Another combat maneuver martial stance, Griffin’s Voice is the go to stance for war cry enthusiasts. Ranks in this maneuver reduce the vocal stress caused by war cries while in this stance and can even allow the warrior to affect otherwise unaffected undead creatures.
Shield Riposte
Yet another shield specialization that grants a martial stance. While in this stance you have the chance to reactively shield bash after you block an attack while in a forward or higher stance. This bash will only cause RT and its effectiveness is based on your shield bash skill.
Stance of the Mongoose
Similar to Shield Riposte, Stance of the Mongoose is a martial stance that allows the warrior to make retaliatory attacks. In this case the ability comes from a combat maneuver and is based on parrying an attack in forward or higher stance. When they parry the warrior will have a chance to launch a melee or unarmed attack at -2 RT against the target automatically.
Tortoise Stance
This shield specialization is for any warrior that wants to be a blocking god. While in this stance, the warrior will potentially have an additional chance to block an incoming attack. The cost for this enhanced defense comes in the form of an AS penalty while this stance is active.
Whirling Dervish
For the warrior that likes to take multiple swipes at an enemy, there is the Whirling Dervish stance. This combat maneuver based stance offers a possibility of carrying over unused swings from MSTRIKE or two-weapon attacks that kill their initial target to another target in the room.
Striking Asp Stance
The warrior’s final martial stance focuses on making use of QUICKSTRIKE. This combat maneuver based stance provides a discount on the stamina cost of one quickstrike every 60 seconds. At the top rank the warrior can even save up an additional charge if they go over 60 seconds without making a quickstrike.
Societies
Elanthia currently has 3 Societies to choose from; The Council of Light (CoL), Voln, and Guardians of Sunfist (GoS). Each offers unique bonuses and role play opportunities.
CoL
COL is the society for people who love big numbers. The society offers very little outside of the core AS/DS benefits, but those additional benefits are pretty nice mechanically.
Sign of Staunching stops all bleeding for 1 mana.
Sign of Healing is full Health for 2 spirit.
Sign of Wracking is full mana for 5 spirit.
Sign of Darkness is a teleport back to town for 6 spirit.
The other signs offer an overall gain of 35 AS, 35 DS, 20 Ranged/Spell DS, and 15 TD.
Keeping some of these signs up costs spirit. Fortunately, CoL sign duration is 10 seconds per level. At cap that is a duration of 16 minutes, 40 seconds. Even a dark elf could stagger signs enough to regen the 3 spirit required for the AS/DS/TD signs, and still remain barely static. Although, a dark elf cannot reasonably do that before level 90, they could always just leave off one of the 3 spirit using signs.
Overall CoL offers decent abilities and low upkeep costs, but spirit can be burdensome for some races. Just keep in mind that you will have to train some harness power to get mana for your signs.
GoS
Sunfist is an attractive option, depending on your playstyle. It provies less overall AS/DS than CoL, at only +30 max but more TD at +20. The Sigil of Major Bane also offers heavy crit weighting to all AS/DS attacks against Hated Enemites. On the defensive side, they receive -5 DS relative to CoL, but they also get Heavy Crit padding with Sigil of Major Protection.
Sigil of Power converts 50 stamina to 25 mana, which can be great for Archers who have less use for stamina, leaving stamina free
Sigil of Escape provides protection against Stun/web/binds/etc, once per day. This is definitely going to save your life at times and is a nice alternative to 1040.
Sigil of Mending provides a +10 boost to health recovery and allows you to eat any herb in 3 seconds.<br.
Sigil of Concentration provides a +10 boost to mana recovery per pulse.
The other major attraction of GoS is the ability to Warcamp. These self contained hunting grounds generate Grimswarm creatures of a specific race; Troll, Orc, or Giant. They can be one of many professions and have the abilities to match. Camps can be more dangerous than regular hunting grounds but they are also a place you can fry very quickly.
The downside to Sunfist is that the duration and costs of their sigils are static. You are going to be spending a large amount of mana/stamina to keep sigils up throughout a hunt and it takes some effort to keep them running. For the base AS/DS boosts, you are only looking at 10 mana/10 Stamina every 5 minutes. If you want the Sigil of Major Bane and Sigil of Major Protection for the additional +10 AS/DS and heavy weighting/padding it will cost an additional 20 mana and 25 stamina per minute. Compare that to the 6 mana and 3 spirit CoL members pay for 15 minutes of all of their AS/DS/TD signs. The sigils are a much higher mana cost but at the same time, they do not cost spirit. For warriors, who are often actively using their stamina the cost can be prohibitive. This also necessitates you training in harness power to an even greater extent than CoL.
Voln
Voln offers +26 AS to all critters, +39 against undead, +26 DS, and +13 TD.
Symbol of blessing allows easy hunting of undead. The ability to UAC without needing a bless can be helpful to UAC warriors.
Symbol of dreams is nice, health/mana/spirit/stats recovery. Good to use post-death along with Symbol of Recall, which restores your spells after you die.
Additionally, Voln has a societal teleportation system where the back of their society has pocket portals to everywhere. One of which is the Rift. It is a godsend for Rift hunters.
Voln's symbols work off favor, which you accumulate through hunting undead. This is a non-issue if you are hunting undead regularly. Once the Symbol of Blessing is acquired it should not be a problem to hunt them. Undead are typically pretty easy targets to hunt relative to other critters at like levels, so a lot of time is typically spent hunting them.
The greatest benefit of Voln is the lack of mana or stamina requirements. You do not have to train harness power at all and your stamina can be used on your plethora of combat maneuvers.