Last week, we took a look at how progression has improved in WAR. Combat is another area where WAR has made significant improvements since launch. Before you go marching off into battle, there are some things you need to know. Continue on for a look at recent CC and AoE changes.
Crowd Control. Since launch, crowd control (CC) in WAR has changed quite a bit. One of the most common complaints was that there was just too much and players were often unable to control their characters. In today's WAR, CC is much improved due to the immunity timer changes.
Root, knockback and pull abilities will grant the Immovable buff preventing re-application for 30 seconds. If you use an ability on someone immune, your attack will fire but there will be no CC effect.
Knockdown, disarm, stun and silence abilities grant the Unstoppable buff. The length of the immunity timer is 10 times the duration of the effect. A 2 second knockdown will grant a 20 second immunity. Both immunity timers will persist through death.
Stagger. In an effort to make combat more tactical, a new effect called Stagger was added. It replaced stun abilities and some knockdowns. For example, the Engineer ability Landmine was changed from a knockdown to a stagger. When staggered, you will be unable to to do anything for the duration of the effect.
Here is me, staggered:
Any damage you take will break the effect, including DoTs. Stagger will also trigger the Unstoppable immunity timer. When used properly, Stagger can be a very powerful tool. Who wouldn't want to take out a healer or two for a few seconds?
Resolute Defense. When used, this ability will make you immune from all forms off CC for 10 seconds every 5 minutes. Rank 40 players can obtain it using renown points at a Renown Trainer.
Area of Effect. AoE abilities have been balanced across the board. Their damage, range and area have been streamlined and in many cases reduced. Abilities such as Rain of Fire (Pit of Shades) and Napalm (Dissolving Mist), will not stack with themselves anymore. For example, only the highest ranked napalm will cause damage.
AoE abilities can still be very dangerous. PBAoE (point blank) abilities like Scorched Earth can still put out quite a bit of damage. While AoE may not be the be all and end all, they are still a very effective tool.
