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Author: LordStarwolf
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Peacebringers and Warshades: light or dark beer
OK, so I decided to make a Kheldian guide. I havn’t really seen one just on Kheldians in general and I always get asked about them when I play, so here goes. I’m not going to espouse any certain build here, or tell you one is better than the other. There are a couple of guides for that. What I’m gonna talk about is what they do, how they do it and what the difference is between the two types. More along the lines of the philosophy of the type and how to fight them than a specific build. I have a level 50 Peacebringer. My experience with Warshades is a little more limited, but I have a friend that I have played with all the way to 50 on his, and I have a high level dark scrapper, which has similar powers, so I feel qualified to speak on them also. I’ll cover both types and what they have in general and similar between the two, then the differences in powers and fighting styles, then cover my own opinion on how to play them.
If you are new to the game and don’t know what a kheldian is, when you reach 50 in the game you unlock two new archetypes for toons, the Peacebringer and the Warshade. These are collectively known as Kheldian types. The two types of toons are very similar and very different all at the same time. Both are combinations of other archetypes as far as their powers are concerned, both get shape shifting abilities at the same levels, and both are very powerful. But after that point they diverge.
BOTH TYPES
Both archetypes are combinations of blaster and scrappers with a touch of defender/controller thrown in. They both come with inherent travel powers which are available at level 1. Both types get the ability to shape shift into other forms at level 6 and level 20. I’ll cover those in a minute. One thing you should note, the Warshade gets teleport powers as inherent and the Peacebringer gets fly as an inherent, but the Peacebringer is excluded from getting the teleport power pool and the Warshade is excluded from getting the fly power pool set. So don’t expect to get a PB that you can fly to a mish and then recall friend everyone too. He can’t get it.
However both types get the shape shifting powers, which do grant both types a style of fly and self teleport. Both types get shields while in human form that makes them tougher than the average blaster, and to a certain extent can be even tougher than a scrapper. My PB has actually stood toe to toe next to a tank and outlived him, although that was do to tactics as much as toughness. Also in human form both types get cosmic balance. This power, unique to Kheldian’s, gives a boost to certain powers when you are teamed with certain other AT’s (archetypes). Every tanker or defender in your group will increase your damage, every scrapper or blaster will increase your damage resistance, and each controller teammate will increase your resistance to control effects. Both types also get self rez powers similar to what some tanks and scrappers get.
Also one thing you really need to understand about human form Kheldian’s is they have no resistance to mez powers at all. A stiff breeze can stun you, which makes your toggles drop and that of course is what makes you tough. So carry break frees with you always, and try to keep a defender/controller handy with mez protection powers. Also one other down side to Kheldians is the lack of epic powers. None for you as a Kheldian. But really, with all the other goods stuff it has, you really never miss it.
Oh yeah, one word of warning. If you’ve never played a Kheldian, or played with a Kheldian, then you need to know that there are special anti Kheldian type bad guys out there, and when there is a Kheldian in the group they will start popping up in your mishes. Void’s of any type, quantums of any type are especially tough on Kheldians. Their weapons are specifically anti-Kheldian. It’s usually a one or two shot kill on your Kheldian teammate if he’s facing a void or quantum. If you are playing with a Kheldian please attack the void or quantum first. Otherwise he will be dead quick. If you are a Kheldian, call everyone’s attention to the void or quantum so they can help you kill it quick. And don’t be afraid to run from one. They are death incarnate for Kheldians.
Everyone reading this should take note that when in either shape shifted form no other power from the human-form powers or the power pools will run, including cosmic balance. The power buttons are grayed out and not available. Powers that others give you still work, but none of yours will. You can, however, put enhancements on the inherent powers in those forms, but of course that takes slots from your human-form. More on that in the “my philosophy for a kheldian” section. The two shape shifting forms you can get are Nova form at level 6 and Dwarf form at level 20. These are power choices at those levels and don’t have to be taken at those levels or at all if you don’t want.
Nova-form
This form is a super blaster form with four attacks powers, two straight attack, one cone and one targeted AOE (area of effect). The blasts of this form are inherently more powerful, longer ranged and more accurate than your typical blaster powers, and you get all four immediately. You instantly become a super blaster that can kill very fast. This form also is inherently a flyer. The form is always in flight and this doesn’t take any end to do, although the form itself does take end, so if you lose all end you shift back to human-form. Also this form is just about the squishiest (lowest hit point) type in the game. A good smack can kill you, so fight accordingly. For most people that means flying and shooting from above, since you are an inherent flyer that costs no extra endurance. This form is usually referred to as squid form, i.e. squidding it, little squiddy, etc., and you will hear all the seafood and calamari jokes you can stand.
Dwarf-form
Dwarf form is a mini tank. It’s not quite as tough as a regular tank, but far more durable than a scraper or anything else short of a tank. It comes with three inherent melee attacks including a knock back AOE foot-stomp-type power. However, the attacks in this form are even weaker than the equivalent tank powers. This form also has an inherent heal, teleport self and taunt power. It’s also almost immune to mez attacks. You can tank in this form, but keep in mind you are not as tough as an actual tank. This form is sometimes called lobster form, and you might hear some shellfish jokes, although this is less common than the nova form. Usually it is referred to as your tank form, i.e. “why don’t you tank it?”
THE DIFFERENCES
PEACEBRINGER
The Peacebringer is an Energy Melee/Energy Blast type with a touch of Empathy Defender thrown in. He has multiple melee attacks that are straight forward pound the bad guy attacks with some knock back effects. He also gets several long range attacks that also have knock back, as well as a nova type attack. In addition he gets a couple of self heals, including one that increases maximum hit points by 50% for a time., as well as a heal other power that works rather well. Many a times in a small team my PB was the only healer we had, and he certainly did the job when no other could.
Some of his melee attacks are extremely powerful and the long range attacks have AOE’s. He also has a MOG-like power called Light Form. For those of you who haven’t played a scrapper (or certain types of tanks) to a high enough level, or haven’t faced those annoying Crey Paragon protectors that have it, Moment of Glory (MOG) type powers is a short term extreme boost to defense that makes you almost indestructible, with emphasis on almost. I have been going against a Shadow Shard Crystal higher than me, and of course dieing rapidly, and popped light form and stood toe to toe with it for a bit. Those of you who have faced a Shadow Shard Crystal know what that means. He also gets what might be called a pet at higher levels called photon seekers, although I don’t think they could be considered a real pet since they die on attacking someone.
WARSHADE
The Warshade is a Dark Melee/Dark Blast type with a touch of Dark Miasma defender thrown in. Being the teleport equipped AT he gets TP foe, as well as a lot of the dark scrapper type powers that drain health and stamina and give it to you. He has long range dark blasts similar in range and power to the PB blast powers and also decreases baddies recharge and speed, and also gets some hold/immobilize powers to hold the baddies.
And he gets a real pet that has considerable attack ability, although it requires the presence of a dead bad guy to bring it forth. He also gets his own Nova-type attack called Quasar. Warshades also get the hit point increase power, although it requires bad guys present, as well as a MOG-type power called Eclipse. They also get an AOE disorient power.
MY PHILOSOPHY
Early in my play, before I reached 50, I had heard form several people who had Kheldian’s that human form was the way to go. I have to say I agree with that. There are those out there that disagree. I know several people that have slotted up their dwarf and nova forms and fight that way exclusively. But my experience is that human form is where it’s at. The boost you get in a big team from cosmic balance cannot be understated. And the ability with the shields you get to be as tough as a scrapper with as much melee killing ability, as well as a strong blasting ability combined with secondary powers……well it really makes you a powerhouse in combat. You can fill just about any role in the team, all at the same time. I know my Peacebringer plays scrapper, blaster and healer all at the same time and is highly sought after by people who know him.
One thing that I found though is it’s tough to human it at lower levels, especially when you can get the shape shifting forms and they are great in their roles. Its hard to human it, with blast powers that aren’t any better than regular blasters and too few shields at that point to be tough, when you can shift into nova form and out-blast any blaster. So my usual plan in a Kheldian is to use the shape shifting powers with just their inherent powers and put all powers and slots into the human form, and work it up right without having to depend on it only half done. I have seen people who also follow this and started humaning it at round 20. I personally wasn’t comfortable to go strictly human until 28 or so. But after that level, it was human all the way. I even respec'ed out all the shape shifting powers. I never used them. I was far more effective in human form.
The way I kept myself happy was I made sure my blast powers in human form, through the use of damage, range and accuracy enhancements, were as good as my squid form blasts. If you do that you never miss Nova form. And once you see how useless the attacks are in dwarf form, you realize how much more fun it is to be death on wheels in human form. I love being able to roll up on the baddies, hang in there as well as any scrapper, heal the tank and blast the runners at range.
In the higher levels of my Peacebringer I have experimented a bit with the power pools trying to make up for the few shortcomings in the Kheldian type. I tried the Combat Jumping/Acrobatics combination and the Tough/Weave combo in the last two respecs. Weave and Combat Jumping do pretty much the same thing to the same extent, defense enhancement, so the choice was between acrobatics and tough. I chose acrobatics first as an attempt to help with the stun problem, and of course it didn’t. Acrobatics is mainly good for knock back protection. And I was suffering with too much smashing damage in certain situations, so I switched to tough and weave as secondary shields. At this point I think I like acrobatics better. Tough hasn’t helped with damage very much and the knock back is pretty bad for him. Even though acrobatics didn’t protect against stun effects, I didn’t realize until after the respec how much it protected me against knock back. So if you feel like you need extra shields I would recommend the CJ/Acro combo. It seems to fit the Kheldian better.
As far as your fighting style in human-form, it will pretty much be a bit of scrapper and blaster, although I mainly stay in the melee furball when the fight is on and blast at runners or targets of opportunity. You can hang in there as well (or better) than most scrappers, although from what I have seen with the Warshade at higher levels he might tend to be a longer ranged fighter, as his melee attacks are more drains than damage dealers.
As far as the pluses and minuses of the two types go, if you like the run in and pound em style of a scrapper or tank, I would recommend the Peacebringer. If you prefer a little more support style of play I would recommend the Warshade. While the melee ability of the Warshade doesn’t strike me as strong as the PB, I have seen where I and my WS friend were both in the fight, we both got low on end and health, I died and he just sucked the life out of the guys around him and kept on going. That ability to replenish on the move and at will is a great asset. And the WS pet is a pretty powerful attacker. My WS friend, who got his to 50, could solo with him and stand back and let his pet do the attacking and aggroing and he stood back and blasted, al la controller style. In my opinion, the pseudo pet you get as a PB sucks. They destroy themselves in attacking, so you only get one shot per pet, with three pets being created per firing, and the damage they do is not inline with the endurance cost or the recharge time. But the WS pet is really good. And before someone says that lack of melee killing make the WS vulnerable, remember that he has controller like powers to hold the bad guys at a distance and considerable blaster powers to pound em.
Also, there have been discussions here on gameamp about how to deal with Voids or quantums in the game. A lot of Khedian players tend to run screaming from them, which is understandable. But early on, before I hit 50, I had played with a few Khelds that did that and didn’t think anything of it. Then one day I played with a squid that did the usual. “Void. Kill it!” But then he ran in and attacked it first. And you know he didn’t die form a void or quantum that whole mish. That’s when I realized the best way to attack a quantum or void is to rush in with your Kheld and hit him first. If you get off the first shot and hold him as a WS or knock him around as a PB then you, along with help from your teammates, can kill him before he kills you. I have found that this is the best strategy for dealing with the anti-kheld types.
So it depends on your play style. If you lean toward melee, PB. If you like support, especially controller like play, WS. Either one is fun and either one is a powerhouse unmatched in the game, especially at the lower levels, and can be played as a super blaster. He starts out with an edge and keeps it all the way. So now you have the easy part behind you, deciding which you want. Now for the hard part, you got to get a 50 regular toon. Good luck!
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