Warden Guide
by Sorcha

A Warden is a jack-of-all trades and master of none. We can't nuke, we can't buff as well as a Druid, can't tank like a Hero, we have low HPs and other than our weapons, no real offensive skills. So, why play one you may well ask. Well, because we can do so many things. We can fill just about any niche in a group you could think of...except a nuker. Need a healer...get a Warden. Need a tank...get a Warden. Want some buffs...get a Warden. Sure, we cant do these as well as some but it's the diversity all wraped up in one class that makes us special. We do, however, have one very defining feature.....Bladeturn. This is a buff that absorbs the first melee hit and at later levels(in Nurture) can be cast on a group and it works every so many seconds till canceled...) casters love us for this. It may keep the casters alive in RvR long enough to zap the sneaky archer trying to kill them.


Character Creation

Now you get to "make" your Warden...actually your Naturalist. You have two choices, Firbolg or Celt. Humna, non-human. Both are good. Firbolgs have higher STR and EMP, Celts have higher DEX and QUI...its really a toss up. I picked a Celt so I could have red hair..)

You get 30 points to spend....I put 15 to STR and 10 to CON. Thats my choice. EMP goes up rapidly, so I saw no reason to increase it. At lvl 20 I feel no loss of those points either. Firbolgs may want to bump DEX and QUI since these are so low. I'm not going to tell you where to spend these points...cause I don't want you coming back and saying "Sorcha, my toon suxors big time, why did you tell me to do that? " Nuff, time to get to the nitty gritty.


Levels 1 thru 4.

Kill and more kill...just get to lvl 5 so you can become a Warden. Save those skill points till 5. Resist the urge to spend em till then..) Get armor from humanoid type MOBs...save till lvl 3 and buy a better weapon. Not cause you really need one but the MOBs hit harder than you and it will help you kill faster=lvl faster. Remember lvl 5 is the goal. At lvl 5, your Naturalist Trainer will send you on to the Warden Trainer.

Lvl 5

Now you are a Warden...great, so now what? Well, time to decide where to spend those skill points. You will want to put some in a weapon skill. Pick one and stick with that. It makes no difference at all what you choose, Blunts or Blades. Both are based on STR, so have no worries. Buy a Bow...a Short Bow. Recurve Bows are reserved for Rangers. This is to pull with...nothing more. Buy cheap arrows...I mean real cheap arrows...) At lvl 20 I,m using 8s a stack arrows and have no intention to change. They are Flight arrows, the longest range ones, and thats all I want from em..)

Now, we need to talk about spells. Read Mistwolf's FAQ to learn how Base lines and Specialization lines work. I'm not going to get into that here, so if you are confused, read the FAQ...)

You have two areas to Specialize in...called spec here after. Nurture and Regrowth. Nurture is buffs, self and group. Regrowth is Healing. If you read the FAQ, you know all about base and spec line spells....if you don't, GO READ THE FAQ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, you need to decide, at least before lvl 10 what you want to spec in. If you want to solo more, go heavy in Nurture. That's where I am. If you want to group most of the time, go Regrowth...especially if you like to be Healer. However you do go, you will want to put some points in the other spec line. I have 17 Blades, 15 Nurture, 5 Regrowth and 5 Parry at 20. I like to solo and don't like to be group healer..) I can heal myself just fine to minimize downtime. So, here again, is some choices to be made. The only way to gimp your character is to spread your points too thin. If by lvl 10, you feel you made a mistake, it's not to late to redirect your self..)

A special note on Rez...yes we get one. Whether you spec in Regrowth or not. We get it at lvl 10.

Lvl 6+

You should have no trouble killing yellows...buff yourself as well as you can, make sure your armor and weapons are in good repair( try to have the best armor/weapon you can afford), use your bow to pull. With some practice you can get off 2 shots if you use filght arrows and start from max range. It will help take a few hits off fore it gets to you..) Use Styles, END comes back quickly. Of course you cant sprint away but what the heck..) I feel that once I enter combat, I'm committed. I like Styles, they look cool and will do some serious damage at higher lvls of skill.

Do Quests..the more the merrier. They get you XP, money and some nice items sometimes. Ask(rt click) on all the wandering Filifh<name> you can find. They will tell you who to go see and where to find them. Your Trainer will also give out Quests at times.

Do kill tasks. These are great XP thru lvl 19. You can only do 8 per lvl but those 8 will give about 6 bubles XP...) Look for Named Guardians or Sentinals. Also check Meara in Mag Mell. Once you lvl, you will have to find another Guard to use. It may be far away, so take the time to go look. Mag Mell, Tir na mBeo, Howth are the first places I'd look. Remember, named guards only, for kill tasks. Other NPCs will give errand tasks same as always. These give less XP and money...so be warned. They also count against your task total for the lvl.


Hunting areas

Mag Mell has a great 6-9 hunting area. Along the shore are Water Beetle Collectors and Water Beetles. Fun to kill and drop decent loot...ex the legs sell for 45c and it takes no time to get a BP full

Ardee, north of Mag Mell has Wind Ghouls. Nice XP for lvl 7 or so. There are higher lvl Anger Sprites around, so be careful and come back at 14 or so to take revenge...)

Also near Mag Mell and other places are Orchard Nippers. Good loot and an occasional Magic item...) I've gotten a ring and a shield from em. Which reminds me...ALWAYS CHECK YOUR LOOT BEFORE YOU SELL. You may miss what was dropped in the messages and sell something you want to keep. To the best of my knowledge, all Magic etc items are capitalized. Ring of Whatever and ring of whatever are way different..) So check first.

Between Mag Mell and Mardagh are some open fields between woods. Here you will find Lough Wolves. Good for XP and loot about lvl 9-10. Also look for Red Wolfhounds and Badgers in the same area...higher lvls tho. Make sure you con first...they look alike..)

From the North Entrance of Tir na Nog, head straight out. There are Large Eirebugs(maybe lvl 13+) and further along the way you will see a ring of stones. Ghostly Siabras live here. I think I was soloing then at 15-16 but I cant remember. Nice place to hunt and they drop good loot.

At lvl 20, I'm currently hunting Cliffs of Mohr. Gales(blue) Galas(yellow) and Siabra somethings(blue and cast a nasty root). Also spend some time hunting Dew Sherries(blue) in Bri Leith and Lough Derg..the border there is hard to place..)


Final thoughts

I've had a ball playing to 20...) I have no idea what I will be like in 10 or 20 more lvls. I don't really care..) I love the Class, I love Hibernia. There's no plaace quite like it. I guess what I'm trying to say is this.....HAVE FUN !! If I never make 50...oh well. If I never make 40 even..) I have many other characters in all 3 Realms, but I wanted to be a Warden from day one and I've never regretted that decision. I will continue to add to this guide as I get more info, lvl some, experience RvR.

Have fun, be safe,

Sorcha an Rua
Glas Garda
Palomides


This document belongs to me and is used by Classes of Camelot and Trevor Moore with my permission