The Burglar, The Sneaky Rogue

o matter which MMORPG I've played, the class which I despised the most is the Rogue. I did not like their appearance, common attitudes and most importantly, their deception and cheap tactics in player versus player combat. Fortunately for us, as Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO) fans, this won't be a problem, at least not with the Burglar. Though it is easy to compare the Burglar to the Rogue it is entirely foolish at the same time. There are a number of differences that inevitably separate the two. I suppose the question is, could this make LotRO's Rogue class that much more bearable? I think so at any rate.

The most glaring difference that any observer will have noted about this class is the lack of dual wielding. If they didn't, maybe I'm taking this too far by going on just one shot of the Burglar. In any case, if I'm right in that dual wielding is out the window for the Burglar - so they will wield one handed weapons only - this will make the Burglar much more strategically inclined than its Rogue counterpart. In most games that employ Rogues - World of Warcraft in particular - little strategy is prevalent and it is more button mashing then anything else. But how can the lack of dual wielding support this argument? Quite simply the fact that one handed weapons means less damage per second and that will require more strategy.

The argument expands further into other aspects of this new Burglar class as well. It is noted on the description for this class that there will be somewhat of an emphasis on signifying an opponents weak spots and attacking them unawares. In the case of the latter, we may see the Burglar sneak up on the opponent and land a strong blow. This is similar to what we see in other games but it could work out that if the Burglar continues to attack then the opponent's rage could become focused on them, which of course leads to a quick incapacitation. So I suppose what I am suggesting here is that instead of seeing rapid strikes in succession, we may see well but sparsely placed blows. In regards to locating opponents' weak spots and exploiting it, this is a typical Rogue ability and if used properly, it can find a place to fit in LotRO.

Another particularly important item in this discussion is that of stealth, one that the description we received last week doesn't go into much detail with. The reason for this could be that either the developers are not ready to comment about it (like the Hunter's pet perhaps) or that it won't be there, period. I do hope it's the latter. Any gamer that does not like typical Rogue classes - myself for example - will pinpoint the Rogue's ability to go invisible at any given time, anywhere, to be both unfair and very unrealistic (or unfantasy-ish if you will). Though as we know, there will not be any player versus player combat so the former is not an issue at all but the latter certainly is. One of LotRO's greatest selling points is going to be the immersion that it provides and anything that takes away from it is certainly not going to happen, with a few exceptions. So I suppose the question is going to be: how will these Burglars be able to sneak around?

This is a very good question and one that needs to be addressed in this discussion. On last week's edition of From Middle-earth to Azeroth, TucksMa, the whipmaster, suggested that it may end up working very similar to that of Dungeon and Dragons Online. That is, the Rogue (or Burglar) will need to utilize the shadows in order to remain undetected. This also means that if it's the middle of the day, and our Burglar is out in the wild hunting, he or she may not have the benefit of being very stealthy. Nevertheless, this is a small price to pay for some desperately needed realism (or fantasyism) which in turn will make this class that much more bearable.

The last item I wanted to address with this topic is a few words in the official description of the class and it reads "a burglar would be wise to not be caught alone." I don't know what Turbine was trying to accomplish with that set of words - besides attempting to confuse some of us - but the word choice was very poor. I would say a good chunk of readers would take that and say "well this is one class that clearly will have no solo viability." This very issue was raised on From Middle-earth to Azeroth and TucksMa read a response she received from Patience (Community Manager, Lord of the Rings Online) that simply stated "there will be plenty of solo content." Seems almost like a contradiction in some respects, but I'll take Patience's word over any text description, even if it does appear on the official site.

When you sit back and really think about it, this Burglar may be similar to the typical MMORPG Rogue in comparisons only. The weapon style has changed, how the class is played may very well change and the way stealth is conceived could very well be quite different. Not to mention either the Burglar's ability to utilize "riddles." Quite frankly, I have no idea how this could work out - some form of crowd control perhaps? Needless to say, I will be very interested in hearing what Turbine says about that.

Regardless though, this Burglar is not a Rogue by any stretch of the imagination. Turbine, in my eyes, has taken away most of what I despised about the Rogue class and made it the way it should be. That is not to say either that I will play a Burglar - far from it - it just pleases me that Turbine recognizes the problem with the common Rogue and has made significant strides to fix it. Perhaps now I will group with the Burglars, contrary to what I would have done a few months ago.



Lore-master Preview

It seems like a long time ago that we first received word of the seven cardinal classes and now we have a good idea of how six of them will play and what races will be available to them. The only one that remains is the Lore-master. It does not surprise me either that we will learn about the Lore-master last, for it will be the most controversial. The pressure is on Turbine to deliver a 'mage-like' class and this week we may find out if Turbine will cave or perform admirably under that [pressure] as they have always done. That said, I wish to state a few things to keep in mind as the build up continues towards the revelation of details regarding this apparently controversial class.

First and foremost is the point of whether this class will be a "healer" of sorts. Many of you, my readers, disagree with me on the point that the Minstrel will be the primary healer. There is a general consensus that the Lore-master will be [the healer], and assuming that this is the case, is this the only function of the [Lore-master]? While I disagree with the position, keep in mind the class will do other things as well, buffing perhaps? We'll have to wait and see.

Secondly, what kind of offensive attacks can we see out of the Lore-master? It is noted on the very brief paragraph that we have on this class that if provoked, the Lore-master can be devastating offensively. I have spent many years in this business and that is a statement that is a lot to swallow. The major problem with it is how you define "provoked." Is provoked only when the Lore-master's fellowship is in danger, or just the [Lore-master]? If so, what can we expect the Lore-master to be able to do? Even if we go on this definition then the offensive skills could be used too frequently for the taste of many fans, including myself. This will be the "can of worms" component to this class and what I will most likely spend most of my time discussing.

The last point I want to bring up is that of race restrictions, and perhaps to the dismay of some, only Man and Elves will be playing this class. The choice of Man and Elves is obvious - Man has been every race thus far and it is foolish to think this will change - Elves on the other hand care deeply about Lore and it fits them perfectly. Hobbits will not become Lore-masters because their knowledge of lore outside of their own is insufficient at best. I will allow for the possibility for Dwarves being Lore-masters but I would be very surprised to see it. Allowing Dwarven Lore-masters could take away from the character of the race that Turbine is attempting to portray.

I would ask my readers to keep in mind the three points that I have raised. Whether the community receives information about the Lore-master this week, or the weeks that follow, I can assure you what I raised will be at the heart of all the related discussions. I don't need to tell anyone that if we receive the Lore-master information this week, the ensuing discussions will be long and entertaining.