Chosen at Level 10

The Chosen is the Chaos tank. His special mechanic is auras: +x to you and your allies, -x to your enemies. He uses them one at a time, but the effects last 12 seconds and you can switch them every 4, so you could be a fair melee-range debuffer if you focused on twisting your chants.

It seems unfair to judge this class in any way at level 10. I have not had a chance to tank for many groups. Until I have more taunt skills and healers have their suites, there is only so much we can do about that public quest hero.

Solo he is fine, not stellar. Survivability is near-perfect in solo PvE, as you would expect. Damage is average. The axe-slash animation is satisfying. I cannot see much effect from the auras, although they do aggro every non-aggro creature as I run by. I need to plan 12 seconds in advance when running by those things.

There is not much group PvE in tier 1 outside PQs. Since I played a bit in off-hours, there was not much PQ action, so I did not see much there. Sorry.

I spent as much time as I could in scenarios. With support, the Chosen is a deathless foe who hampers everything around him while carving Bright Wizards into bite-sized pieces for the goblins. Without support, the Chosen is on the ground. Destruction has too many tanks and Order has too few; it is nice when I have a Zealot in my team with another Chosen, two Black Orcs, and a Witch Elf. I cannot recall being the only tank on a team.

I bring it on myself. I am willing to charge the enemy. I am the guy who will stand on the flag in Ekrund to keep the enemy from capturing it, holding them while the team catches up. With Hold the Line, I can last 15-20 seconds against a full team of six with no support, although doing no damage. I sometimes wished the rest of the team executed better in the resulting 11-on-6; maybe an enemy tank was doing the same thing. I have learned to be a little more conservative in scenarios, rushing with the other tanks in the Wall of Destruction we all know on the Order side.

I like the team support effect of auras. I tend to go with Toughness in RvR: more damage resistance for us and less for them, which should be better damage than more Strength for us and less for … the Bright Wizard. Maybe there will be better options in tier 2. I like that one of his attacks gives the whole team an attack buff, like the Shaman’s but wrapped into an attack.

The character has a good look. Order tanks are short or feminine, while Destruction gets the big piles of meat and metal. Sometimes you just want that.

Zoso notes that the Destruction races’ variability in looks. This is significant in RvR. At a distance, you can tell who the melee characters are; the dark elves blend a bit, but there a big contrast between the big orcs and the tiny goblins, between the huge Chaos meleers and their companions: simpering cultist and hoverboard-riding demon-summoner. The Empire classes are similarly distinct, but the dwarves and elves blend a bit until you take a second look. Short person with a stick: hammer, wrench, gun, staff, or axe? Androgynous willowy person in a robe: sword, axe, staff, or bow? As a frequent Order RvR player, I appreciate this. On the other hand, clicking over the huge pile of meat and metal can be difficult, as is tabbing past them while bodies are flying. Then again, Destruction has the same issue with trying to see which dwarf is the Ironbreaker and which is the Engineer with three Black Orcs in the way.

I am not much of a tank player, but I enjoy the increased survivability. It is my turn to chop down the fireball-chucking squishies.

: Zubon