WoW class: the Warden

World of Warcraft is coming up with an expansion in the coming months. It will feature the new continent of Northrend, a new level 80 cap and a new class: the Death Knight. The class will feature spells like Raise the Dead, an dark version of the Paladin's auras and the ability to wear heavy armor for tanking.


But what about other possible classes which could exist in WoW? Here's an idea for an additional class for World of Warcraft: the Warden. Based on Warcraft 3's Night Elf hero, the Warden is a melee/caster hybrid which specializes in vicious attacks, sneaking, self-preservation and a whole realm of magical abilities based on the idea of crippling and incapacitating his enemies, as Wardens are known within the Elf communities as peace keepers and bounty hunters. Only Blood Elves and Night Elves can become Wardens.

The Warden wears cloth armor, uses a new type of weapon called Glaives, which are double-edged circular weapons which can be thrown and summoned back. It has three talent trees: Conservation, Wrath and Skirmish. Conservation boosts the Warden's protective spells and abilities; Wrath boosts his offensive spells and Skirmish boosts his melée and ranged combat abilities.

Here's a short list of spells, talents and abilities of the Warden:

Spell: Fan of Knives
By equipping a thrown weapon, the caster can create magical duplicates of it and throw it in all directions, hitting their enemies. The strength, range and cooldown improve as the Warden becomes stronger.


Tracking: Infravision
Similar to the Hunter's various tracking spells, Infravision enables the Warden to see his enemies on the minimap. It also heightens his eyesight during the night and underwater, and surround his enemies with a reddish aura.


Spell: Spirit of Vengeance
This powerful spell summons a lumbering Spirit of Vengeance which will fight along side the Warden which summons invincible sprites for each of the Warden's fallen allies. The Warden controls only the Spirit of Vengeance as a pet, which in turns orders its sprites around.

Buff: Nature's Constitution
This is the Warden's Strength and Stamina buff which lasts 30 minutes. It also has an enhanced Thorns effect similar to the Druid's, but it is self-only.



Talent: Leather Armor
By putting a point into this talent, the Warden can switch to wearing leather armor. In addition to the Warden's multiple armor and HP regen buffs, this ability greatly enhances the Warden's ability to sustain physical attacks.


Spell: Phase
Similar to the Mage's Blink spell, the Warden's Phase spell will teleport the caster within a 20 yard range to a random location. If this random location is situated behind the Warden's enemies' field of view, the Warden's aggro is reset as they lose sight of him. If, however, this random location is within the field of view, his enemies simply relocate and resume their attack.

Buff: Moss Armor
This buff spell can be cast on self and allies and enhances Armor and health regeneration.




Combat style: Crippling Blow
With a vicious backstab attack, the Warden poisons, slows and snares his target, rendering it useless in battle for a short time.



Spell: Spoil Magic
For a few seconds, the Warden's weapons have a chance of absorbing incoming magical spells. This magical energy can be stored, converted back into mana, thrown back onto the Warden's enemies or used to enchant the weapon temporarily.


Combat style: Backlash
The Warden surprises his enemies with a spinning backward attack which hits all of his enemies currently placed behind him. A low blade swipe, this attack also snares and temporarily incapacitates his enemies.


Ability: Bust Lock
Similar to the Rogue's Lockpick ability, the Warden's Bust Lock is instantaneous and unlocks a door or a chest for everyone else without having to open it. The Bust Lock ability also deals instant damage to any mechanical foe. Its drawback is a 5-minute cooldown.


Talent: Enhanced Evade
By putting points into this talent, the Warden significantly boosts his evade ability. Five points into the talent will boost the Warden's evade by an additional 10%.



Combat style: Hurl
The Warden throws his currently equipped weapon at his enemies, and is therefore disarmed for a short period of time. The weapon will deal maximum damage to the selected enemy, but hit every other enemy in the weapon's path for decreasingly less damage.


Spell: Bloodfang
The Warden earns the temporary ability to absorb his enemy's Health with each weapon hit. Only works on beasts and humanoids. The attack is however negated, even harmful against undead creatures as it will drain the Warden's life and heal them.


Spell: Enhanced Hiding
Using their unique ability to use their clothes and layers of cloaks and robes as camouflage, the Warden can completely vanish from sight. It is similar to the Rogue's ability to sneak but can be used while in combat. It is however less effective, as higher level monsters might see through the ruse.