Blood Elf Warriors and Spell Breakers.

[Dayon]

On Wyrmrest Accord, it seems to be of popular belief that the blood elf Warriors are Spell Breakers, and many will roleplay as such now that blood elves can become Warriors.

Personally, I am an RP purist. I don't feel that it is 'creative' to create a character who bends the lore of the game.

So, according to this page on WoWPedia on the Spell Breakers, they are:
* Masters of spellcraft
* Elite soldiers
* Immune to magic
* Able to steal spells, and then grant them to their allies

A blood elf Warrior is:
* An elf with an affinity for magic
* Able to use Arcane Torrent to silence
* Able to use a sword and a shield
* Able to use Spell Reflection

That is where the simularities between a Spell Breaker and Warrior end. Even the guards of Silvermoon City are stylized as Spell Breakers, but they are not truly Spell Breakers.

Given that they are considered elite, it might be considered haughty to portray oneself as one of these fearsome soldiers, not to mention what else comes with being a Spell Breaker.

I obviously can't pull aside every blood elf who roleplays as a Spell Breaker and tell them they can't do that. I am interested in the thoughts of a community.

What are blood elf Warriors to you? Do they fit the bill of a Spell Breaker? I feel that Spell Breakers are Warriors, but Warriors aren't always Spell Breakers. The most that could be reasonably pulled off by a player character is a Spell Breaker in training, I suppose.

[Syrra Coventry]

The issue, as I see it, is that game mechanics are limited. After all, we cannot portray many things, and cannot have many items represented, in WoW, even though they are represented very well within the lore. My Night Elf Sentinel cannot wield a 3-bladed Glaive...the standard weapon of all sentinels. I have to make due with presenting another item as such.

In fact, to that, I cannot even exactly portray a Sentinel or Huntress within the game.

This is part and parcel what the whole concept of RP is about. Just because you cannot make that exact thing, character, pet, etc. within the game, if it exists in the lore and is not too fantastical, there should be no denigration of those who wish to portray it. The game mechanics are limited...VERY limited...when we are speaking of the lore of the Warcraft Universe. After all, Humans were the most prevalent of standard "hunters" within the lore...yet not until 4.0.3a could one actually be played. Should that have stopped anyone from RP'ing as one?

I would hope not...

[Khorianas]

What are blood elf Warriors to you? Do they fit the bill of a Spell Breaker? I feel that Spell Breakers are Warriors, but Warriors aren't always Spell Breakers. The most that could be reasonably pulled off by a player character is a Spell Breaker in training, I suppose.

In my opinion a blood elf warrior is a warrior that fights with finesse and precise strikes and elegant weapons, wanting to perfect this art, but a genuine warrior never the less.

A Spell Breaker sure is "more" than that. I would even think that Spell Brakers are more mages that become warriors than the other way round.
So if you want to clarify if every blood elf warrior is a Spell Breaker then my guess would be no.

If you want to know if it is possible to portrait one as a warrior in game then the answer would be why not? I know a rule for roleplaying that says "you can be what you can play."

But probably for emulating a Spell Breaker game term wise, a blood elf paladin would even be better? They would have resistance aura, limited time immunities, and even a cleanse mechanic, while still being a fighter.
I must admit however, that I did not RP on a WoW Realm so perhaps I am not the best person to judge that.

[The Madgod]

The issue, as I see it, is that game mechanics are limited. After all, we cannot portray many things, and cannot have many items represented, in WoW, even though they are represented very well within the lore. My Night Elf Sentinel cannot wield a 3-bladed Glaive...the standard weapon of all sentinels. I have to make due with presenting another item as such.

In fact, to that, I cannot even exactly portray a Sentinel or Huntress within the game.

This is part and parcel what the whole concept of RP is about. Just because you cannot make that exact thing, character, pet, etc. within the game, if it exists in the lore and is not too fantastical, there should be no denigration of those who wish to portray it. The game mechanics are limited...VERY limited...when we are speaking of the lore of the Warcraft Universe. After all, Humans were the most prevalent of standard "hunters" within the lore...yet not until 4.0.3a could one actually be played. Should that have stopped anyone from RP'ing as one?

I would hope not...

I am in complete agreement with Syrra on this one. If you roleplayed strictly on the boundaries of in-game mechanics, you really do hamper your creativity. For example, necromancers are very similar to warlocks and death knights, but because they're not really a class you can't use their specific abilities... doesn't mean you can't roleplay as one.

In-game mechanics are soley there for PvE and PvP content, not roleplaying. Lore content is what roleplaying is based off of. If the actual in-game mechanics were completely based off of lore, and not viable play, a shaman, for example, would probably not be able to function as a damage dealing class in PvP, because essentially, the war between the Alliance and Horde can be described as a war of revenge. The Alliance did something to the Horde, who retaliate, and then the Alliance retaliate back, causing a cycle of hatred and war that both sides are equally to blame for. The elements, from what I have seen in lore, don't like using their powers for revenge; they would deny a shaman their abilities if they fought for that reason (even if it's some commander telling them to do so), so no lightning, no frost shock, etc.

[Dayon]

I can't help but agree with those of you who posted. Though, I still do not feel that our creativity is hampered solely because our options are.

I suppose it's a personal preference of mine to keep all of my characters within the realm of the game's mechanics, but clearly, there are some other things that I am not aware of, such as the shaman and their elements. I prefer to "color within the lines", so to speak, keeping to the guideline Blizzard laid out for the character that I am playing. So long as it's not too fantastical, however, I suppose we as a roleplaying community can be lenient. But also as a roleplaying community, we know how infrequently that kind of play actually occurs.

As far as the Spell Breakers are concerned, I feel Khorianas is on point.

This is great food for thought. I will try to inform prospective blood elf roleplayers about what they really are, and how much different a spell breaker is from that Warrior class that they've rolled.

[Deleted]

There is no Blood Elf Spellbreaker NPC that I'm aware of, but there is a Spellbreaker ability that mobs can use (Inflicts 100% weapon damage and leaves the target wounded, reducing the effectiveness of damage spells by 75% for 6 sec.) This ability is used by both outland NPC Blood Knights and and Captains/Centurions (Blood Elf npc's with warrior abilities).

[Deleted]

For me it is the paladins who are the spell breakers. I don't have a lot of evidence for this except firstly spell breakers use a mana bar in WC3, there is also a DC unlimited figurine that is classed as a paladin yet also looks very identical to a spellbreaker http://www.dccomics.com/dcunlimited/wow/?dcd=9875. However I also don't veiw them as a blood knight either. I believe paladin can branch off into 2 different classes for Blood Elves you have the spellbreakers (more prot and holy paladins) and the blood knights (more retpaldins sacrificing defence and health in exchange for damage at any cost).

Blood Elf warriors for me are simply any blood elf that can pick up and use a weapon, footsoldiers (I remember in the WC3 story the High Elves had a very similar version to the Human footsoldiers, pretty much same model) and exceptionally skilled weapon masters. For me they were made possible in the game again for the simple fact that there is no rule stating a blood elf cant pick up a weapon and use it.

[Requiemcliff]

I don't really play WoW as much as I used to, but generally I half agree with you Dayon.

Personally, I try to "color inside the lines" as best I can with some characters, at least in the idea of, if I roll a dwarf, he is a dwarf, not a dragon, not a demon, he is a dwarf.

Now, classes, I try to get as close to I can with a class concept, but ICly, there are some limits as said. Just for my example, my gnome warrior I RP off as more of an engineer than a warrior, she can fight close range and use a sword, but ICly she relies on guns and explosives more, technically she would mechanically be closer to a hunter in regards to range.

Now, should I completely disregard the character concept because the character cannot be a 100% engineer?

To an extent though, I tend to go toward having my race normal, and not having a class that's -too- out there. I don't play as a Steam Knight (Powered armor essentially). I just believe a bit of imagination can be given in an MMO, as long as they don't use it to godmod or the like.

[Venziir]

There is no Blood Elf Spellbreaker NPC that I'm aware of, but there is a Spellbreaker ability that mobs can use (Inflicts 100% weapon damage and leaves the target wounded, reducing the effectiveness of damage spells by 75% for 6 sec.) This ability is used by both outland NPC Blood Knights and and Captains/Centurions (Blood Elf npc's with warrior abilities).

Ever been to Silvermoon? Or seen this guy http://www.wowhead.com/npc=24683#comments?
Honestly, I feel a Spell-breaker is a mage, or wizard if you will, who learned a few melee tricks. Using their supreme knowledge of the arcane and mainly alteration and defensive magic, they are capable of resisting all sorts of magic and can drain and steal spells away. A unique order of battle-mages if you will.

---------- Post added 2012-02-17 at 09:32 PM ----------

For me it is the paladins who are the spell breakers. I don't have a lot of evidence for this except firstly spell breakers use a mana bar in WC3, there is also a DC unlimited figurine that is classed as a paladin yet also looks very identical to a spellbreaker http://www.dccomics.com/dcunlimited/wow/?dcd=9875. However I also don't veiw them as a blood knight either. I believe paladin can branch off into 2 different classes for Blood Elves you have the spellbreakers (more prot and holy paladins) and the blood knights (more retpaldins sacrificing defence and health in exchange for damage at any cost).

Blood Elf warriors for me are simply any blood elf that can pick up and use a weapon, footsoldiers (I remember in the WC3 story the High Elves had a very similar version to the Human footsoldiers, pretty much same model) and exceptionally skilled weapon masters. For me they were made possible in the game again for the simple fact that there is no rule stating a blood elf cant pick up a weapon and use it.

Silly, since the Blood Elf Paladins have nothing to do with spellbreakers whatsoever. Not to mention that they had spellbreakers a long time before Kael'thas had the naaru dragged back to Silvermoon, which lead to the creation of the Blood Knights.
Oh and the High Elf footmen you are refering to, were used by the Blood Elves in Warcraft 3 aswell, simply named Swordsmen. And the model wasn't the same, they used the "Captain" model, in gold plate with a winghelmet.

[Duncanîdaho]

Blizzard themselves somewhere, I'm too lazy to find the post said the spellbreakers have pretty much been in retirement since the Isle/TBC where they took heavy losses and are few in number now. Having every BE warrior pretend to be a spellbreaker does not fit. That would mean there are actually still a bunch of spellbreakers left running around, which there simply are not. Plus as said above, they are more like mages who learned some warrior tricks anyway.

[DrakeWurrum]

Spell Breaker would make a fun hero class, but it's definitely a far stretch to say that BElf Warriors are Spell Breakers.

[Deleted]

After Lor'themar's appearance in game, depicting him wielding a glaive and shield as his go-to weapons, it would appear that even high-ranking Farstriders can ditch the bows and arrows in favour of close-combat/melee weapons. Seems you can likely find 'warrior' figures throughout most parts of the Thalassian military.

I'd say, though, that, to me, the Spell Breakers seem to be, to the Sin'dorei warriors, what a Kor'kron guard is to the average Orcish infantryman. They are elites. Trained to deal with taking down powerful magic wielders through melee-combat skill and counter-spells (probably like a Sin'dorei version of Thunderclap etc. if we had race specific attacks). The organisation probably started to ensure that powerful Magisters couldn't go rogue and threaten the kingdom, so they are a big deal and not likely to be your average warrior.

[Venziir]

After Lor'themar's appearance in game, depicting him wielding a glaive and shield as his go-to weapons, it would appear that even high-ranking Farstriders can ditch the bows and arrows in favour of close-combat/melee weapons. Seems you can likely find 'warrior' figures throughout most parts of the Thalassian military.

I'd say, though, that, to me, the Spell Breakers seem to be, to the Sin'dorei warriors, what a Kor'kron guard is to the average Orcish infantryman. They are elites. Trained to deal with taking down powerful magic wielders through melee-combat skill and counter-spells (probably like a Sin'dorei version of Thunderclap etc. if we had race specific attacks). The organisation probably started to ensure that powerful Magisters couldn't go rogue and threaten the kingdom, so they are a big deal and not likely to be your average warrior.

He doesn't wield a glaive - or well hasn't since his model was "updated". He wields the 2h sword from the Argent Tournament.

[Deleted]

He doesn't wield a glaive - or well hasn't since his model was "updated". He wields the 2h sword from the Argent Tournament.

Meh. It was his go-to weapon for 5-ish years. I still stand by my point. Maybe he just has that flashy sword as more of a regal decoration than an actual weapon, highlighting his resignation to the role of politician, rather than warrior, when he was still wearing his simple Farstrider ranger's gear.

[Synaxis]

Not even reading all the replies to this thread, just gonna reply.

Blood elf warriors are blood elf warriors. That's it. There's nothing special or unique about them. Blood elf warriors are not to warriors what tauren paladins are to paladins. They are not an entirely different thing masquerading as a particular class. The elves have always had warriors in some form or another - who else would fight on the front lines in wars, after all? Definitely not an archer or a mage - but we only just got the ability to roll a warrior now due to the desire to balance the number of classes per race. Anyone that thinks that blood elves suddenly developed the ability to fight without magic is, to be quite blunt, a dunce.

That said, I am <i>not</i> a 'purist.' That is actually one of the reasons I cannot stand RP servers.

If I have a blood elf warrior and want to RP it as a spellbreaker, well by golly I am going to do it and you are not going to stop me. Warriors =/= spellbreakers, but if I want to RP a spellbreaker, warrior is probably the best ingame class to go with to do that. RP is about creativity, flexing the imagination. I cannot stand people who sit there and immediately take offense when somebody tries to do something or references something or talks about something that does not actually exist within the game.

I will often reference towns that do not exist on the maps ingame, or underground levels of the Undercity that do not exist ingame, or historical events that never 'officially' happened.. Why? Because as great as the Warcraft universe is, it's not done to a proper scale ingame. Everything is too small and narrowly focused. It's just not fun trying to work within those boundaries..

The best RPs I've ever done were all with the same person and they were 100% bullshit. Almost all of the locations and events were completely made up. The characters did not at all adhere to ingame classes or class mechanics - in the first one it was simple enough with a paladin in a rogue, in the second it was an Illidari blood elf and a disguised Zirinax - and they were so much more fun because of it.

The RP community ingame is ridiculous in terms of how strict and narrow-minded they can be.. kinda sucks the fun out of it. Doesn't seem like real RP to me. What also doesn't seem like real RP to me is the fact that it is essentially persona playing ingame..

[Venziir]

Not even reading all the replies to this thread, just gonna reply.

Blood elf warriors are blood elf warriors. That's it. There's nothing special or unique about them. Blood elf warriors are not to warriors what tauren paladins are to paladins. They are not an entirely different thing masquerading as a particular class. The elves have always had warriors in some form or another - who else would fight on the front lines in wars, after all? Definitely not an archer or a mage - but we only just got the ability to roll a warrior now due to the desire to balance the number of classes per race. Anyone that thinks that blood elves suddenly developed the ability to fight without magic is, to be quite blunt, a dunce.

That said, I am <i>not</i> a 'purist.' That is actually one of the reasons I cannot stand RP servers.

If I have a blood elf warrior and want to RP it as a spellbreaker, well by golly I am going to do it and you are not going to stop me. Warriors =/= spellbreakers, but if I want to RP a spellbreaker, warrior is probably the best ingame class to go with to do that. RP is about creativity, flexing the imagination. I cannot stand people who sit there and immediately take offense when somebody tries to do something or references something or talks about something that does not actually exist within the game.

I will often reference towns that do not exist on the maps ingame, or underground levels of the Undercity that do not exist ingame, or historical events that never 'officially' happened.. Why? Because as great as the Warcraft universe is, it's not done to a proper scale ingame. Everything is too small and narrowly focused. It's just not fun trying to work within those boundaries..

The best RPs I've ever done were all with the same person and they were 100% bullshit. Almost all of the locations and events were completely made up. The characters did not at all adhere to ingame classes or class mechanics - in the first one it was simple enough with a paladin in a rogue, in the second it was an Illidari blood elf and a disguised Zirinax - and they were so much more fun because of it.

The RP community ingame is ridiculous in terms of how strict and narrow-minded they can be.. kinda sucks the fun out of it. Doesn't seem like real RP to me. What also doesn't seem like real RP to me is the fact that it is essentially persona playing ingame..

Honestly, I think this is utter bullcrap. Saying that decent RP requires you to make up all your own nonsense, while completly ignoring the set rules, locations and lore of the world one is rp'ing it, is just nonsense and disrespectful. Nothing is more insanely annoying than having some wack-job approaching you with the usual horrible rp, such as "Hi, I'm the son of Illidan and Aggra, I'm part dragon, part stone elemental and I crap fire, lulz I'm creative!".... That's not good or creative rp - that's a brainfart.

RP is about playing a role in a set universe. Rules are needed, if not one ends up with (and this is an example of a LARP I went to a few years ago) Smurfs running around in a viking'ish setting, annoying everyone else, but yet constantly returning - despite being killed, they'd just make new smurf characters or even.... Zombie smurfs.

It isn't about narrow-mindedness, it's about rules and framework and order.


... Oh and wtf is a Zirinax?!

Mod edit: if you want to debate, do it in a way that does not insinuate that other users are okay with such idiocy, please.

[Synaxis]

Honestly, I think this is utter bullcrap. Saying that decent RP requires you to make up all your own nonsense, while completly ignoring the set rules, locations and lore of the world one is rp'ing it, is just nonsense and disrespectful. Nothing is more insanely annoying than having some wack-job approaching you with the usual horrible rp, such as "Hi, I'm the son of Illidan and Aggra, I'm part dragon, part stone elemental and I crap fire, lulz I'm creative!".... That's not good or creative rp - that's a brainfart.

RP is about playing a role in a set universe. Rules are needed, if not one ends up with (and this is an example of a LARP I went to a few years ago) Smurfs running around in a viking'ish setting, annoying everyone else, but yet constantly returning - despite being killed, they'd just make new smurf characters or even.... Zombie smurfs.

It isn't about narrow-mindedness, it's about rules and framework and order.


... Oh and wtf is a Zirinax?!

I never said it required you to make up all your own nonsense while ignoring set rules, locations, and lore of the world one is RPing in. If you are roleplaying in a preexisting universe (which you may not always do), such as the Warcraft one, acknowledge it. Absolutely. I do not, however, believe you should limit yourself strictly to the contents of that universe or the mechanics of the game. What you describe is just a person who is bad at the roleplaying thing, that isn't the result of creativity. That kind of thing is incredibly rare and not at all what happens when you elaborate on the universe you are working with.

As someone whose background in RP comes from ye olde forums where every forum was run by an admin and moderators and the 'world' for most of those forums was 100% custom, and whose best individual one-on-one RPs (even those non-Warcraft kind) were largely improvisation and clever bullshittery, the idea that you'd actually limit yourself to only what the game and lore gives you (which isn't much) is appalling. Roleplaying is essentially multiplayer storytelling, there is no point doing it if there is no room for creativity. Obviously there are limits - all creativity needs to be within reason and believable. There is not, for instance, going to be a dwarven town in Quel'thalas, nor will a man'ari eredar warlock be able to fit into draenei society.

Rules? Yes. Of course there ought to be rules.. the same rules as there would be in any other RP. Bend the lore a bit, perhaps, fill in the gray areas so long as it is reasonable, but never break it. No godmodong, no powerplaying, no mary sues, the standard stuff. Flat-out saying, 'No you can't play that race/class because that isn't what your ingame race/class exactly is' is beyond annoying. 'No you can't have your character be from X town because it doesn't exist on maps,' also, really annoying. 'No, your death knight has to have been a hero from Light's Hope reborn in Acherus' despite the fact that death knights existed before then and were created after then, too, really idiotic. Logically, the world we are provided with is too small to provide for an all-inclusive experience. It just is. If you don't think so, great, good for you that you don't mind having your creativity hampered by a game does not allow for a great deal of customization. That doesn't work for me. That isn't real RP, to me.

Zirinax would be the name of a character, not a noun.

[Deleted]

To me Blood Elf warriors are neutered paladins.

[chunkycarl]

i had a massive (good few weeks) rant about Blelf warriors in my guild and how their (lack of) magical affinity really didn't make sense in my mind as to how they can be.
As far as i see it, Blood elves utilize magic and had a very strong link to it (Well of eternity) Yet the complete lack of magic in a blood elf warrior leads me to believe that none would choose this path.
could just be me raging over nothing but it still doesnt sit right with me xD

[Sal the Shieldhog]

I am a Blood Elf warrior. While most tend to think of the Sin'dorei as a "Mage only" race, that kind of thinking is extremely limiting in my opinion. Every race is certain to have some individuals that are unable to master the magical arts or, as in the case of my character, just don't want to specialize in them. That doesn't mean that particular Blood Elf isn't attuned to magic (all are, it's in their very blood), it just means they are not as strong in it as others are.

Take my warrior for instance: he chose the art of war. He could have been anything else; a magister, a blood knight, even a plain politician. But just because he's a warrior doesn't mean he doesn't understand magic (he's also an enchanter, so I guess he is a kind of small-time magician, of sorts).

Role-playing can be utilized and expanded in almost any way, shape, or form, so long as it stays within the reasonable boundaries of that particular universe and it's lore. My warrior (or especially my Druid) are both examples of this.

---------- Post added 2012-02-17 at 10:27 PM ----------

i had a massive (good few weeks) rant about Blelf warriors in my guild and how their (lack of) magical affinity really didn't make sense in my mind as to how they can be.
As far as i see it, Blood elves utilize magic and had a very strong link to it (Well of eternity) Yet the complete lack of magic in a blood elf warrior leads me to believe that none would choose this path.
could just be me raging over nothing but it still doesnt sit right with me xD

All blood elves, whether mags or not, are still able to use a small bit of magic; they are a race inherently fused with magical essence.!and the Well of Eternity was destroyed over 10,000 years before WoW, durin the War of the Ancients. The Sin'dorei are connected with the Sunwell (which is another link to every elf's magical nature; every elf, whether able to use magic or not, suffered from withdrawal when the Sunwell was destroyed. To me, this is clear evidence that every elf has at least SOME magic).