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Episode 3 – Don’t forget the Captain

Welcome back.  I am going to continue my look into different classes in this series.  Just a note for those expecting a detailed stats driven episode: not going to happen.  These are just overview looks with some stats in there but mostly just a quick look at each class and what it can generally do.  My aim is to really provide some information to other classes as to what might be going on.  So that you can point someone who doesn’t quite get what is going on to one of these episodes.

In this episode we are going to focus on one of the more overlooked and underrated classes.  Pay attention class because the Captain might not stand out in any one particular area but as they shore up so many different things within a group they can be vital.  I have lost count of the number of quests that have been significantly easier with a captain around.  So put on the uniform and stand to attention.

The Captain

Hi, I’m a Captain and I’m a varied class that can melee, tank, damage and heal but not the best in any of those areas.  I can however fill in well enough in those roles when required.

I eventually get to wear heavy armour which helps with survivability.  I can use a two-handed weapon or one handed weapon and a shield but never a heavy shield.  I like giving my fellowship members and myself something known as buffs. These buffs improve statistics when applied so it is always a good idea to make sure I have had time to apply them, especially before a big fight.  I can mark an opponent with a buff that can also help my fellowship or myself with the fight.

I am sometimes required to rez during combat.  By that I mean I can bring a defeated fellowship member back to life.

One of my roles may be to help a minstrel as a backup in healing.  After defeating a foe I like to use a skill called Rallying Cry as it heals the group.  Once an enemy is defeated this skill becomes available for a limited time. If it is not clicked after a certain time it disappears until the next defeat of a foe.

As a Captain I also have the ability to heal fear affecting my fellowship  around me.  As with rezzing this skill has a cool-down.

I have a Herald or Banner which has extra buffs which can help in a fight. There are three and access to these come in skill levels.  The first is Banner/Herald of War which increases might and agility, next is Banner/Herald of Hope which increases morale and in-combat morale regeneration, the last is the Banner/Herald of Victory which increases power and in-combat power regeneration.

The difference between using a Herald and a Banner are;
Herald

• The Herald can only be summoned out of combat.
• is another extra hand in dealing out damage but can be defeated
• A Herald is always two levels lower then you are
• A Herald can be more difficult to manage when jumping off ledges.
• A Herald in trying to get to you or your opponent may get the attention of other enemies

Banner

• The Banner can be produced before or during combat
• A Banner is only a buff and does not agro as a Herald
• The banner is easier to manage when jumping off ledges

As you can see the use of a Banner or Herald depends on what is needed for the situation.

At this point I’d like to talk about some important but often overlooked skills.  The first one is the Kick skill that interrupts time delayed skills an opponent may be trying to use, rather like a Champions Clobber skill.  Another skill called Threatening Shout is a threat increasing skill that the Captain may be able to use to pull the attention of the enemy away from a fellowship member.  The last one I’d like to talk about is the legendary trait skill In Defence of Middle Earth (sometimes referred to as IDOME) which is an additional 50 points to might, agility, vitality, will and fate for our fellowship members that are within a 15meter radius.  IDOME will last 5 minutes but it can be recast every minute if needed.

Another useful skill is the ability to summon fellowship members to you except in an instance, when they are in some areas (such as the housing) or in combat.  Once summoned a fellowship member has to wait and not move or be otherwise interrupted such as by being attacked before travelling.

Because of the varied and all around roles the Captain is a fun class to play.  It is an often overlooked or underrated class because the Captain doesn’t have a specialised strength in healing, tanking, damage output or crowd control. You do have to watch the stats of the others in your fellowship and your skills availability for buffs or healing.

One final thing, as you may have noticed in the first podcast, Captains can only be of the race of man.

Well that’s all for this week.

Happy questing.