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I played a lot of classes to around lvl 8-12 and from i could tell at that level tanks and melee healers rocked, does this stay true at higher levels? i got stuck playing a freaking conqueror in AoC, i'd like to avoid picking another gimp class if at all possible.

This doesn't really answer your question directly, but my impression from playing it a decent amount in beta so far is that this game doesn't have utterly gimped classes in the same way that AoC did.  I'm sure there will be imbalances and such, but every class I've played felt pretty sweet and solidly constructed to me, and not like they were just randomly given a bunch of abilities that sounded cool the way I felt in AoC.

Can anyone illuminate me on the gameplay of an Ironbreaker?

Traditionally, I tank. I play with a girlfriend who traditionally heals.

If the "defensive target" aspect of Ironbreaker is effective and powerful at all, I'll have to consider tanking again. Even though is stresses me the fuck out because I'm actually a good tank who fucking pays attention.

Of course, I did tank with a paladin for a while. I could have probably learned Mandarin as I tanked. Grab a group, hit a few buttons in a rotation, watch porn. If you lose a single target, fuck it dude - it's gone. You have no single target DPS. None. Taunt and hope the fight ends.

The ironbreaker/runepriest combo is really, really strong.  I don't know how much dps you'll have but man will it be tough to kill you.  They had pvp in mind where people know to kill the healer first so you get abilities to soak up damage from your healer and when they get hit you gain more grudge (rage).  Just read their skill list and you can see what they are capable of when teamed with a dedicated healer.

Ironbreakers take a LOT of damage and are insane when paired with a Runepriest. I hated those little stuntie bastards more than any other class, including fucking Bright Wizards.

All Dwarf classes. Shadow Warrior. Bright Wizard, Archmage, Sorceress.

Ow yeah, and Warrior Priest is tough as nails. Dwarf classes are still the most OP.

how good is an ironbreaker + warrior priest combo?  as effective as the runepriest combo?

No, Rune Priest has more CC and works better with an Ironbreaker, but the difference won't be huge upon release. Will take months before you see "Warrior + Pala" of vanilla wow starting to appear and people learn their classes fully out.

Well, we are an all-dwarf guild, so I don't have a ton of info on the other classes... but I will agree with the posts that IB+Rune is a great combo.  IBs keep getting the DPS love, and they have always been more like Moblie Mountains than just a normal tank.  For some of the focus tests we were forced to play destruction... and I kept wondering why their tanks sucked so much.  Maybe it is just preference, but I would take an IB anyday over any other tank in the game (I play a Runepriest).

I personally thing the RP is about the most overpowered class around.  It may not do any ONE thing better than everyone, but they are just so versatile.  A group of RPs can accomplish just about anything you need to, including dungeon running.  Tank? sure.  DPS? why not.  Heal? Best in the game. 

My 13 BO tried to drop an 8 RP and got wasted.  Fight took awhile, but he was never, ever less than half health.  They simply regen AP faster than I could whittle their health down. 

Tanks in general need to travel with a friend because meeting a healer is certain death. 

Sadly, this goes for MDPS as of the last patch or two in beta. A WH cannot take a healer anymore. Period.

At level 20, maybe.

At level 40 [last phase of the closed beta I was in] things were... I'm not sure I can say anything without breaking the elder NDA or something. :/


-- Z.