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Written by: Varingar Eireste
Dwarven Thane
Pendragon Server
valius@hotmail.com

Contents:
A. Introduction
B. Starting Options
C. Race Recommendations
D. Character Plan
E. Spell Strategy
F. Weapon Strategy
G. Armor Strategy
H. Realm Combat
I. Credits and Thanks

Version History
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2.0 Guide completely revamped to reflect the much improved 2h parry ability.
1.1 Fixed a typo and added clarification to the specialization plan.
1.0 Initial Release.
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A. Introduction
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The following guide is on how to be a successful Offensive Thane. An Offensive Thane is one that attempts to do as much damage as possible through a combination of magic and melee. By following this guide and keeping your equipment upgraded, you will easily be able to solo oranges without much fear of death by level 15 or earlier. As you progress, it will only get easier. And those who can solo oranges can also make a powerful addition to any group seeking to kill monsters fast.

This guide will lay out some common misconceptions and give play tips, but is not designed to be a newbie guide to starting Dark Age of Camelot. There are plenty of other fine guides already written on the subject. This guide is to provide you with the information you need on becoming and maintaining an Offensive Thane.

**If you don't need any help with character creation, skip down to the section titled "D. Character Plan" and read from there.**

B. Starting Options
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To start your Offensive Thane you must first start a Viking. While any race in Midgard can start as a Viking, Kobolds can not become a Thane. Smurfs need not apply. ;)

The following table only has relevant stats listed, that is, stats that affect your character. The stats omitted do not do anything for your character and should be ignored.

STR CON DEX QUI PIE
Dwarf 60 80 50 50 60
Norseman 70 70 50 50 60
Troll 100 70 35 35 60

Quick overview of stats in relation to Thanes: Strength affects carrying ability and your overall proficiency in Swords, Axes, and Hammers. Constitution affects your health and endurance. Dexterity affects your parry skill. Quickness affects your overall speed with a weapon. Finally, Piety affects how much power you have to cast spells.

When starting your character, you have 30 allocation points to assign to the stats of your choice. The way it works is:

Raising a stat up to 10 points = 1 allocation point per stat point raised.
Raising a stat 11 to 15 points = 2 allocation points per stat point raised.
Raising a stat from 16-18 = 3 allocation points per stat point raised.

As you can see, the most popular ways of buffing yourself would be 10 in three stats or 15 in a stat with 10 in second. You can put 18 in one stat and one in a third, but it would hinder your overall ability.

C. Race Recommendations
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Starting a Dwarf or Norseman: STR, CON and QUI are the most important stats of an Offensive Thane, and I would highly recommend placing 10 points into each of these stats. Dwarves will have more hit points and Norsemen will have more strength, but ultimately these are pretty balanced. Dex is not that important for an Offensive Thane and no points should be placed into it. You will have plenty of mana for each fight without any extra points into piety.

Starting a Troll: Since they already have such high strength, you might want to consider placing 15 in Quickness and 10 in Constitution. Of course, putting 10 in Strength, Con and Quickness is still a very viable option and will give you more damage overall. Ultimately though, the choice is up to you. If you really want to be the highest damage character you'll probably want to put 15 in strength and 10 in quickness on a troll. :)

D. Character Plan
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The goal is to have your level in Stormcalling, your level minus 2-4 in the weapon of your choice and anything that's left into parry. Keeping Stormcalling at your level is important because you will get the best spells and the best buffs as soon as possible. The best overall weapon to use is hammers, and this guide will reflect that. Other weapons are not necessarily bad or ineffective, but hammers have no drawbacks in RvR and the specialization 15 style 'Provoke' is one of the best all-around styles in the game. Feel free to use the weapon you like best though- it will not cripple your character to do so, and swords and axes both have unique advantages.

Don't feel like you need to ALWAYS use two-handed weapons early on. Around level 10 you can recieve the Red Bludgeoner hammer or the Sveck Bone Hammer and probably do a lot more damage with one of those than you can do with a two-handed hammer. This is because at this point in the game, it's tough to get a two-handed hammer with 100% quality, let alone one that adds to your skills or one that has a bonus % on it. After a while you'll get a nice steel two-handed weapon that you can enchant, and around that time two-handed weapons will begin to dwarf the damage one-handed weapons do.

As you level your new Viking, raise the weapon of your choice by two points, and save the rest for level 5. Once you become an official Thane, dump the saved points into Stormcalling. The following is a step-by-step skill suggestion of an Offensive Thane.

Level 5 : Weapon Skill-3, Stormcalling-4, Parry-1
Level 6 : Weapon Skill-4, Stormcalling-5, Parry-1
Level 7 : Weapon Skill-6, Stormcalling-6, Parry-1
Level 8 : Weapon Skill-7, Stormcalling-7, Parry-2
Level 9 : Weapon Skill-8, Stormcalling-8, Parry-2
Level 10 : Weapon Skill-10, Stormcalling-8, Parry-3 <---See Note 1 Below
Level 11 : Weapon Skill-10, Stormcalling-10, Parry-3
Level 12 : Weapon Skill-11, Stormcalling-11, Parry-4
Level 13 : Weapon Skill-12, Stormcalling-12, Parry-4
Level 14 : Weapon Skill-13, Stormcalling-13, Parry-5
Level 15 : Weapon Skill-15, Stormcalling-13, Parry-5 <---See Note 1 Below
Level 16 : Weapon Skill-15, Stormcalling-15, Parry-5
Level 17 : Weapon Skill-15, Stormcalling-17, Parry-5
Level 18 : Weapon Skill-16, Stormcalling-18, Parry-6
Level 19-23 : Raise weapon and storm each level, raise parry when available.
Level 24 : Weapon Skill-21, Stormcalling-24, Parry-10
Level 25-35 : Raise weapon and storm each level, raise parry when available.
Level 36 : Weapon Skill 32, Stormcalling-36, Parry-15
Level 37-40 : Raise weapon and storm each level, raise parry when available.
Level 40.5-41 : Weapon Skill 37, Stormcalling-41, Parry-18
Level 41.5-42 : Weapon Skill 38, Stormcalling-42, Parry-20
Level 42.5-43 : Weapon Skill 39, Stormcalling-43, Parry-23
Level 43.5-44 : Weapon Skill 40, Stormcalling-44, Parry-24
Level 44.5-45 : Weapon Skill 41, Stormcalling-45, Parry-25
Level 45.5-46 : Weapon Skill 42, Stormcalling-46, Parry-28
Level 46.5-47 : Weapon Skill 43, Stormcalling-47, Parry-30
Level 47.5-48 : Weapon Skill 44, Stormcalling-48, Parry-31
Level 48.5-49 : Weapon Skill 46, Stormcalling-48, Parry-33
Level 49.5-50 : Weapon Skill 46, Stormcalling-48, Parry-37 <---See Note 2 Below

Note 1: The jump to skill 10 and skill 15 and their respective levels is to get the excellent combat styles each level offers for the Hammer skill. At level 10, any weapon receives their first "real" all-purpose style. At level 15, hammer users receive 'Provoke', the main style you will be using for the rest of the game. It has a medium bonus to hit, very low fatigue usage and high bonus damage, in addition to a taunt factor. The only time you wouldn't want to use this style is when fighting monsters that you would rather have beating on a beefy warrior in the group. In that case switching to a side or behind facing style would be preferred.

Note 2: This is just my recommendation for a final character. Having 50 in Stormcalling is not necessary because the self-strength buff does not do anything that the previous strength buff does- that is, you don't get more strength for it as of this time. I chose to stop at 46 for weapons because at level 50 you should have an easy time getting over 50 in your weapon style from skill bonuses, perhaps all on your current weapon. Also, the level 50 style is not really that good, generally speaking. If you choose to use Axes, the level 50 style is part three of a three hit combo that is fairly easy to use, so you might want to consider changing things around to get level 50 in your weapon if you go with axes.


E. Spell Strategy
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The key to playing a successful Offensive Thane is knowing how to use your spells. At level 5 you will have a single target Direct Damage spell, Thor's Minor Bolt. Right now it doesn't do much damage, but don't let that discourage you. All casters start out weak, and you are new at it to boot. Use this spell for pulling enemies conveniently to you. It may not have the range of a longbow, but it's more than Skalds get with their songs. However, it does have a recast timer, so you can only cast this spell once before a fight. In addition, be sure to keep yourself buffed with your strength buff, Thor's Vigor, and your Damage add buff, Thunder's Bash. The Damage add buff adds effective Damage per Second to your weapon, so the bonus damage will be higher depending on how much damage you already do.

When you hit level 6 you receive not one but two spells: Toothgrinder's Hoof and Thunder Shout. Both of these spells function like skills that use power. Toothgrinder's Hoof is an instantly cast direct damage spell, and Thunder shout is an instantly cast area of effect direct damage spell. You can use these two spells while you are running, fighting, anything but sitting down. These both have recast timers, but they are shorter than the Thor's Bolt spell. You can begin to work these into your combat ritual. Start casting your Thor's Lesser Bolt spell, then right when it is about to connect, hit your Toothgrinder's Hoof spell button so both hit at the same time. When the monster is about to reach you, hit your Thunder Shout button (If nothing is near you at the time!) and then enter combat with your best combat style. Keep using your combat style as necessary, and keep recasting Thunder's Shout and Toothgrinder's Hoof as they become available again as you fight to provide extra damage. While the range of the Area Effect Thunder Shout is not great, keep a look out for wandering monsters, and if one comes near you, be sure not to shout or it will start fighting you too.

This strategy will take you to level 16 when you receive Call Mjollnir, your first targetable Area Effect damage spell! This spell is unique from your other damage spells in that it has no recast timer. This changes your preferred strategy for taking out mobs a little. First, get a good distance, and use your bolt spell. As soon as this is done casting, hit your instant cast direct damage button and instantly start casting Mjollnir. This spell has a longer casting time, and hopefully by the time it finishes, the target will be in route and away from whatever camp you may have pulled it from. Remember this is an area effect spell, so if a monster is next to the one you are pulling when it goes off, it will pull both creatures. Try to get another cast of Mjollnir in and if you cast them fast enough, the monster will get to you just as you are finishing the cast. Pull out your weapon and begin chaining your best style as you cast your point blank area effect shout, and repeat casting as needed. Wash, rinse, repeat!

Another viable strategy for a monster that is alone is to open with your Mjollnir, then quickly cast your single target DD. This is useful for getting the most damage off on a close target. Since Mjollnir has a longer casting time, casting it first means you can get your single target DD off before the monster gets to you. Just remember not to use this strategy on a monster that is too close to another monster. The area effect range of Mjollnir increases by a yard each time you upgrade it, so be sure to keep a good feel of the range capability of this spell.

Important note: If you are casting Mjollnir or another spell and midcast determine it would be now be a Very Bad Thing (tm) if the spell were to be finished casting, press the button you have assigned for sit immediately. Moving and jumping around may cancel the spell, but it takes a lot of it for the server to realize sometimes due to lag and by that time your spell might go off. Sitting down is the fastest, easiest way to cancel a spell in progress.


F. Weapon Strategy
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After level 14 or so, you should force yourself to stick to two handed weapons to get the highest damage output possible. The choice of which two handed weapon to use is, however, up to you. Early on, player made or store bought two handed weapons come in two flavors: Faster and lighter, or Slower and heavier. After a lot of experience I have found this to be a matter of personal preference. While the slower, heavier weapons have more DPS listed, the faster, lighter weapons have more opportunities to hit your foe and thus do a more practical average DPS. Neither will cause you to suck, so pick which one you like the best. :) Just be sure to stick to the weapon style you have been putting skill points into. After fine alloy becomes available to your character, you can purchase the tradeskill only advanced weapon type. These weapons are even slower, and even heavier, for massive damage.

I would love to offer detailed information for all the weapon styles, but I am going to stick to what I have experience in: Hammers. Here are a few tips, some of which may be applied to other styles.

*The Crushing Blow-->Slam combo looks great on paper, and is satisfying when performed sucessfully. Ultimatly, though, it will usually have minimal effect on the outcome of a fight. This is not something you'd want to use unless you are bored.

*At skill 10 in Hammer you receive Ruiner. This is, by far, the best style you have gotten. Put this in a prominent place and start chaining this style to win fights quickly and easily. It does a lot of damage and adds a small bonus to hit so you will hit mobs more often when using it.

*At skill 15 you receive Provoke. This is pretty much one of the best styles in the game. Medium bonus to hit, very low fatigue cost, high bonus damage, taunt effect. It has one drawback, a defense penalty when using it...but through experience I have found it to be a moot point, and not worth worrying about. All in all this is a phenominal style and should be used in most situations, excluding the times when you simply can not afford to be the main tank.

*At skill 18 and skill 25 you receive alternate finishers after doing a successful Ruiner. These do more damage, but at a cost of a LOT more stamina. With such a good style like Provoke, the only time you would want to use this combo is when you do not wish to be the main tank in a group, and it doesn't matter if you run out of stamina in a fight.

*At skill 29 you receive Conquer. This is a good skill to use in a group when you are not the main tank, and don't want things on you. Get behind the enemy after the main tank has gotten the enemies' attention, and Conquer away. At skill 44 you receive a combo move to use after this skill to boot. Even before skill 44 you should use this in a group instead of Ruiner combos.

Also of note: Hammers are most effective against creatures like crabs and ants, things that are armored. Swords and Axes are most effective against things like zombies and animals, things that are soft. Be sure to look for monsters you are strong against to kill the fastest.

G. Armor Strategy
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The only real strategy here is to make sure to have studded as soon as possible, and then try to save enough cash to buy a full suit of chainmail at level 12 when it becomes available to you. Absorb is very important since you won't have too much parry early on and it is important that your armor is absorbing or deflecting as much as possible. Try to get armor with the highest bonus % possible and always enchant your armor. The lowest bonus, 5%, is equivalent to a 5% chance to dodge when an enemy tries to strike that portion of your body. If you find a piece of armor that may give you a few more AF points, but at the sacrifice of 5% bonus, keep your existing armor. Don't use the crappy armor that drops at the front of dungeons because they usually have 1% bonus and crappy Quality aren't worth your time. When in doubt, compare total AF before and after changing an existing piece of armor.

Also, be sure to wear +Parry gear when possible. Don't sacrifice chainmail to wear it, but late in the game you can pick up some nice bracelets and jewelry slot items that add 3 to parry each.

H. Realm Combat
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Offensive Thanes are demons in Realm vs. Realm. The combination of powerful area effect damage, instant shouts n' bolts and big whopping two handers makes them something to be feared. While their damage spells don't do quite as much as a fully Runecarving specialized Runemaster, you get to wear chainmail and use large powerful weapons too. Your Mjollnir spell, while not quite powerful as the Runemaster area effect damage spell, will eventually have a greater area of effect than theirs.

I won't go into detailed RvR strategy as I have not done enough of it to be experienced in this area, but just remember to cast Mjollnir as much as possible on large clusters of foes. Try to target your spell so it hits someone in the center of an attacking force to hit as many people as possible. This is your most valuable asset in Realm vs. Realm. Also, don't be afraid to dodge enemy attackers if they forget to hit /stick. Try to run around them and make them confused so they pay more attention to finding you than hitting you. Then smack their head in with your big weapon. By the same token, remember to use the /stick command, especially against someone physically weaker than you are.

I. Credits and Thanks
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Thanks to Sevanna/Leika Eireste, my healer, my protector, my soul mate, without her I would not be the Offensive Thane I am today!

Thanks to all the great people on Midgard/Pendragon for making the game a joy to play. Way too many to list, but special thanks to Mountyn Ronin for being the best Red Handed, Huge axe wielding, One Man Army of a Troll Berserker in town. I no longer play on Pendragon but I cherish the memories I have of it before the great clone wars of 2002. :)

Feel free to distribute this document, as long as it is kept unedited.

(c) Scott Manganello, aka Varingar Eireste of Pendragon and Nimue.

Document written for Classes of Camelot (http://www.classesofcamelot.com).