Warhammer Online : Age of Reckoning : Sorceress Tier One RvR Tips
The Dark Elf Sorceress provides lethal ranged damage to the forces of Destruction. These reckless spell casters build up Dark Magic to increase their chances for critical damage. However, they run the risk of damaging themselves from magic Backlash. The Sorceress delivers a lot of damage in a single attack, but she is very frail; as such, she must stay far from the thick of combat.
A Sorceress is a powerful asset to an attack group in RvR. She can take out hard targets from a distance, clearing the way for the melee attackers to get at the softer defenders. While this is the primary role a Sorceress fills, she can also assist a flanking group. In this role, the Sorceress can pick off any opponents who counterattack flanking melee units.
A Sorceress is well equipped to participate in RvR right from the start. Doombolt, Chillwind, and Dhar Wind are the starting skills for a Sorceress. Doombolt is a high damage spell with a three second cast time, and no cooldown. Chillwind is an instant cast curse which inflicts a damage over time effect on your target. Dhar Wind is a one second cast spell which releases your built up Dark Magic, dealing damage based upon the total amount of your accumulated Dark Magic. So, you have three spells to cycle, ensuring you can maintain a deadly barrage of magic.
With these three skills a good pattern to follow is to open with Chillwind, cast Doombolt twice, then refresh Chillwind and repeat. To play it safe, you can use Dhar Wind after each cycle to deal light damage and empty your Dark Magic. If you have a healer to help you, or are not at risk from enemy attack, you can allow your Dark Magic to build up to high levels prior to using Dhar Wind. This gives you the opportunity to take advantage of much more frequent critical spells.
At level two you gain access to Gloomburst. This high cost spell has a one second cast time, deals direct damage, builds twenty five percent of your Dark Magic capacity, and has a five second cooldown. A good casting order is now Chillwind, Gloomburst, Doombolt. Repeat Gloomburst and Doombolt until you need to refresh Chillwind. Cast Dhar Wind to release your Dark Magic when needed based on risk of attack or low health. If you want to provide more group support, cast Chillwind on all targets in range until focusing on your main target.
You will receive Shroud of Darkness and Dread Aspect at levels three and four respectively. These are your first defensive spells. Shroud of Darkness increases all of your resistances and Dread Aspect de-taunts one target, causing them to deal half damage to you. If you are under attack and have support, or can drop a target with one or two spells, cast these defensive spells and then complete your attack. If the counterattack is overwhelming, use Flee to retreat and regroup.
Level five brings Surging Pain, a spell which deals damage to all targets within twenty feet of you. This is an instant cast spell, which lets you repeatedly pound it out if you are being overrun. However, Flee is a safer option unless backup is right there with you. Frozen Touch, which you acquire at level six, is an excellent enchantment to give to your backup. This spell gives your party a twenty five percent chance to deal extra damage, and it lasts for an hour. Always cast this as the match is beginning.
Word of Pain is an excellent debuff skill acquired at level seven. This is an instant cast spell which lowers the target's willpower for ten seconds, and then they take damage when it expires. It also has a ten second cooldown time, so when it is available to cast again, you know it has reached full effect.
Level eight is a special level, as two new spells become available. The first is Shattered Shadows, a high cost spell with a three second cast time. However, this spell deals good damage to your target and all other enemies within twenty feet of your target. This is a great spell to fire into the front lines. The second spell, Mage Bolt, is also your first morale skill. This becomes available to cast when your morale bar reaches the first charge level and it deals massive damage instantly.
At level nine you get Obsessive Focus, which boosts your damage on one target while lessening your damage against all others. The caveat of this spell is the effects last for the full twenty second duration even if your target dies. This spell is geared more towards taking down tough PvE opponents, and tends to handicap your damage output in RvR where people drop like flies. However, it does help with a last resort effort on a lone opponent, or when trying to drop a much higher level target.
Level ten makes Arctic Blast available. This spell takes two seconds to cast and deals decent damage. It also has a synergy effect with curses, causing a cursed target to become snared. This effect gives you a little more time to get that killing spell off. It also provides aid to your melee damage dealers who are chasing a target down. Finally, if your target falls for it, you can use this spell to kite them and stop to fire off instant cast damage spells.
When focusing on a single target at a time, the casting sequence described above is one of the most efficient. Stack your damage over time spells, cast your instant cast damage spells, and then cast the longer cast time spells while waiting for the cooldown on your instant spells. As before, cast Dhar Wind to empty your Dark Magic as the circumstances dictate. Cast your morale spell every time it is available.
If you want to perform a more overall support role, cast Chillwind on all targets in range, and then hammer the front lines with Shattered Shadows. While you won't kill as fast with this tactic, it will put a lot more stress on the opponents healers, who will have to start prioritizing heals against the attrition strategy you are running. This also provides an opportunity for other damage dealers to take advantage of a potentially panicking healer.
Keep a supply of AP potions and health regeneration potions on hand for RvR. The AP potions will help when you are rapidly casting the high cost spells like Gloomburst, Surging Pain, and Shattered Shadows. The health regeneration potions are very useful if you want to go crit happy while you're full of Dark Magic. Drinking an intelligence potion also helps to boost your base damage, but the other two potions are much more useful.
Take these tactics as a set of building blocks. Try these methods as is, or customize them to your liking. As you progress through tier one you will find a style that works best for you. Once you have developed your play style you will have the answer to what you will do as you head to tier two and choose your career mastery path. Make Morathi proud.