In the past week, I’ve switched back from Khaine / Hoeth spec to Hoeth / Khaine.
The 2h H/K spec featured in this video is very well-rounded. It’s an excellent performer overall for any scale of fighting (1v1, group RVR, mass ORVR). You can read more about this spec in the Favorite Swordmaster Specs post.
The matchups, with renown ranks (RR):
- RR64 SM vs RR46 Shaman
- RR64 SM vs RR60 Shaman
- RR64 SM vs RR72 Chosen
- RR64 SM vs RR76 Chosen
Video Errata:
- the title slide says “Khaine / Hoeth Spec” but should say “Hoeth / Khaine Spec”
- the stats in the video are incorrect for WS, Init, and Wou. They are 704 Str, 708 Tou, 297 WS, 244 Ini, and 880 Wou, +7 crit
I didn’t mention it in the video, but against ranged healers and Squig Herders, Unstoppable Juggernaut is a very good tactic to slot in place of Rugged. Against ranged healers, Sorcerers, and Maguses (Magi?), you may find Focused Offense to be a better choice than either Unstoppable Juggernaut or Rugged. It depends on your opponent and how effectively they kite.
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I’m just curious, I thought you were on strike from Phoenix Throne until the pop imbalance as fixed. Is it looking better or something?
Anyway, I’ve loved your vids since you made the first BW ones. Hell, I rolled a BW (who’s now 40/51) because of those video’s. I’ve made my first alt after returning, from a rather long hiatus, he’s a 25 SM :P.
I’m running heoth in t3, I find Khaine doesn’t come into it’s own until ED because Blurring Shock is a load of crap. That the right spec? Also, what should I use early t4, until 40?
Keep up the vids and blog, you keep WAR alive for me.
Cheers, Tarvitz of Iron Rock
I’ve got back to Phoenix Throne full time. Since 1.3b was released, players on Destro have come back.
1.3b really was a huge patch for the better. 1.3.1 has been very unstable. I hope Mythic gets a better patch release process together. There simply seemed to be a lack of “regression” testing for 1.3.1.
Re: Khaine mastery spec, you are exactly right. Khaine isn’t worth spec’ing until you can get Ether Dance, and at least one of Balanced Accuracy or Great Weapon Mastery.
I’d stick with Hoeth while you level through T4. It’s good for PVP, and it’s good for PVE.
If you find yourself too squishy in T4 when you are in your low 30s, you can try the 1h Vaul spec, with Vaul’s Buffer and / or Perfect Defenses.
Take care Tarvitz!
LOL, this is how all of my attempts to reroll faction in WoW / WAR end :) By the way, did you just come back because of the pop balance or grew bored with your shaman?
Hoeth seems like a fun spec, even though it isn’t too popular (never seen any Hoeth-specced R40 SMs on my server). I’ve played Ether Dance until I desubbed at RR68 and can’t imagine killing stuff without it ^~
P.S. Mythic should thank you, I actually resubscribed and played for about two weeks after watching some of your vids^^ Unfortunately I didn’t find enough positive changes to keep me playing (aside from WLs dealing obnixious amounts of burst now). The AoE and CC changes are nice, but the fixes are band-aid and clearly insufficient…
Anyway, you make me not forget about the existance of WAR, since narrated stuff > Crit / Killing blow montage. Back to playing “the other thing”)
I came back to Phoenix Throne because Destruction numbers have gradually increased in T4 after 1.3b was released.
Shaman’s fun, I just don’t enjoy leveling. He’s on the shelf now at R26 on Iron Rock.
I’m surprised to hear Hoeth isn’t popular on your server, it’s an excellent mastery tree. Ether Dance does deliver great burst damage, but I find that the lack of a silence or knockdown for that spec to be very limiting.
Did WLs get buffed recently? I’ve noticed that they hit hard (esp from playing on my Shaman).
WLs got pet scaling (100% of the master’s item gained Strenght abd WL) and pet pathing fix. The problem is that the WL’s skills (especially the pet tree) was balanced with no scaling in mind (for example Leonine Frenzy – a 10 second pet CC immunity + damage buff with a 30 second cooldown) and that currently makes them fairly powerful. There is also a bug that often causes pets to ignore roots even when they are not supposed to.