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Shadow Warrior

The Shadow Warrior is a robust DPS class that offers specialization in swift, close-combat melee combat or devastating ranged attacks. Given it’s diverse nature, the class should appeal to players of traditional rogue and ranger classes from other games, especially after specializing down their appropriate path.

Lore

When Nagarythe was riven by civil war, most of the Elves there sided with the Witch King, later becoming Dark Elves. Those faithful to the Phoenix King swore to fight Malekith and his treacherous forces. These ill-fated Elves became the Shadow Warriors. The darkest, most sinister and brutal of all the High Elves. The Shadow Warriors are masters of ambush and guerrilla warfare. They strike swiftly and noiselessly with deadly accurate volleys from their longbows, before charging forth to slay any survivors with a flurry of blades. — Official Website

Strategy

Shadow Warriors can be played in either a close-combat melee or ranged style, and players should adapt their style to match the dynamic conditions of the fight. The goal of a Shadow Warrior is to deal as much damage as possible before you’re detected, before your enemy can focus on you, and ultimately with taking as little damage as possible.

Whenever possible, Shadow Warriors should begin any attack with a few ranged hits. They have a number of useful DoTs and debuffs that can dramatically change the outcome of a struggle when properly used. Opening with Acid Arrow, for example, will prep the incoming player or mob for you or your party by reducing their armor and dealing minor damage over time. It’s also excellent for interrupting enemy players who are attempting to capture an RvR objective, or a guild standard.

In solo conditions, it is rare that you will encounter an enemy of your own level that will be taken down with ranged attacks before they reach you. As such, it’s best to debuff the enemy on their way to you, then begin your melee. Shadow Warriors are not tanks, and do not have a terribly high survival rate when they’re having attacks focused on them. As such, your goal should be to take down your enemy as quickly as possible. Lay into them with Grim Slash, Draw Blood and any other close range attack available to you. You will quickly run out of Action Points in melee, so pay attention to your Hunter’s Fervor timer and don’t be afraid to use it. In a tight battle, it’s always a good idea to pop Vengeance of Nagarythe to give your hits a little extra power.

In party conditions, you should consider the levels and classes of your team. If you have plenty of melee or tank classes, you may wish to stick back and land your attacks from a distance. Be warned that Shadow Warriors can and frequently do get the attention of a tanked enemy due to their powerful ranged attacks, so be prepared to send them turning tail with a Distracting Shot. If it isn’t available, you can try to land a Whirling Pin to root them and put some distance between you and the enemy. In instances where you are a mage or healer heavy party, you may wish to instead be at the front lines landing melee attacks and attempting to keep the enemy’s attention away from the less resilient party members. It’s a good idea in this case to attempt to keep the enemy rooted as often as possible, so the healers do not pull hate and get themselves in a bind.

There is no right or wrong way to play a Shadow Warrior, and the player should change their style depending on how a fight is playing out. Don’t be afraid to run in their an melee if the situation calls for it. Don’t be at the front line unless you really have or want to be there. This is especially true for war bands, where enough damage is being spread around that your placement is less critical. Just remember that you are not a tank class, and you cannot hold off a full on assault for very long. Be prepared, be focused, be smart about your strategy.

Specialization Pathes

You can plan your pathing strategy using WarDB’s Career Builder page.

Scout

This path is devoted to the mastery of long range, mostly stationary attacks. These abilities are all about raining down pain upon your enemies from afar. I would expect this to be the most popular Shadow Warrior tree players will follow.

Core Abilities
Flame Arrow Acid Arrow Throat Shot Rapid Fire Eagle Eye

Path Unlocks
Enchanted Arrows Glass Arrow Leading Shots Festering Arrow Guerrilla Training Fell the Weak Rain of Steal

 

Assault

This path is devoted to the mastery of close-combat warfare. These abilities and improvements are all about getting up close and personal with your enemy, and dealing as much direct damage as you can.

Core Abilities
Draw Blood Brutal Assault Opportunistic Strike Counterstrike Grim Slash

Path Unlocks
No Respite Swift Strikes Sinister Strike Sweeping Slash Merciless Soldier Exploit Weakness Whirling Rage

 

Skirmisher

This path is devoted to the mastery of short-range and mobile bow attacks. These are great for players who enjoy leading the enemy around by their nose, kiting bosses and getting a little closer to the action, but still maintaining a ranged presence.

Core Abilities
Broadhead Arrow Take Down Spiral-Fletched Arrow Lileath’s Arrow Eye Shot

Path Unlocks
Split Arrows Shadow Sting Keen Arrowheads Flanking Shot Charge Forth Barrage Penetrating Arrow

 

Abilities

New abilities are purchased from a Career Trainer in just about any town. These are listed from left to right and are ordered by level, 1 through 40. This list does not include path-specific abilities already listed above.

Morale Abilities

Morale abilities are purchased just like traditional abilities, but instead of running on action points these make use of the Morale mechanic. Morale is built up in several circumstances, including whenever you deal or take damage. You may have up to 4 morale abilities queued in their slots by the time you hit level 40, and may hot swap them out whenever you are not in combat.

We have not included morale abilities which are path-specified. Please review to the path trees above to find your path-specific morale ability, unlocked at level 26.

Traits

To-Do.

Weapons and Armor

To-Do.

Quests

To-Do.