Skaven Report Card

One of the big features which came in the 1.4 patch was playable Skaven.  They were not traditional classes, but allowed you to assume control of them for a while.  There are 4 Skaven classes, each very different.  Now that they have been live for a while, how did the Skaven do?

Gutter Runner - A+.  The Gutter Runner is a lot of fun to play.  They have stealth, decent attacks (especially the net), a spy ability which will reveal the location of enemy players to your allies and the greatest ability of all: Leap. When available in RvR, they are almost always taken.

Warlock Engineer - B+.  Who doesn't like an Engineer?  This guy has some nice attacks, including a nasty ground targeted skill similar to napalm... but nastier.  They can also provide some AoE nice buffs to your side.  The ability to repair Siege Equipment is important but often overlooked.  The Engineers, like the Gutter Runners, are usually taken when available.

Rat Ogre - C.  Ah the mighty rat Ogre.  His best ability would have to be Charge.  If you want to break up a blob of your enemy, nothing does it quite like this.  rat Ogre's have come in very handy when defending a keep's doors.  Sadly, that is where his usefulness seems to end.

One major drawback of a Rat Orge is they can only be healed by a Packmaster.  You will be targeted a lot, since you are HUGE and you have to get close to the enemy to do anything. This means players are more reluctant to use one, which defeats the purpose of their tossing and keep door damaging abilities.  Rat Ogre's are usually available for use, since they are not popular.

Packmaster - D.  The only ability I really like is the powerful snare.  You can sick a few rats on someone, but they die easily and are not particularly useful in medium or large scale engagements.  The rest of his abilities require a Rat Orge.  Since they were designed to be used together, when one is not popular, neither is the other.

It is a neat idea to have Rat Orge's and Packmasters need each other, but I think it went a little too far.  If each class had the tools to be used separately, they would be more popular.  If they are more popular, then some interesting mechanics/skills can be used when they are together.  Packmasters are rarely ever used in RvR now.

Posted in: WAR