With the v1.20 update comes the Ninja and the Warlock, two completely new character classes available for play by NEStalgia subscribers. As anyone who has played NEStalgia can attest to, each existing character class feels and plays quite differently - and the Ninja and Warlock are no exception!

The Ninja
Ninjas are agile fighters that use MP to perform special moves and cast spells. Masters of stealth, Ninjas can turn completely invisible in the overworld, allowing them to sneak right past other players and even NPC guards.

Ninjas wear cloth armor and don't use weapons. In combat they rely upon their incredible attack power and speed to dance around foes while delivering punishing blows. In addition to the Ninja's many attack abilities the class has many support abilities for use in parties. Furthermore, Ninjas can create their own healing items - allowing them to be almost completely self-sufficient in the field.



A sample of the Ninja's abilities:

Vanish: Acts as a kind of single turn self-Mirage in battle, but the really cool part is the overworld function -- invisibility.


Hide from other players and NPC guards!

The Five Point Exploding Heart Technique: In PvE it will kill any regular monster in 5 turns. In PvP it will damage for 1/2 of the target's Max HP after 5 turns.


Once hit, that Pengy has only 5 rounds left to live...

FireKick/IcePunch/StormSlap: You must choose between one of these three abilities at level 10. Each move does the same base damage as your regular attack, but that damage is purely elemental. This means that a move like FireKick will benefit greatly from the "Plus Fire" stat and do additional damage.



Essence: This ability does 1/2 damage, but if it is used as the killing blow against an enemy it will create a healing item in the Ninja's inventory. This allows Ninja's to effectively heal themselves in the field.


The base healing power is based upon the foe's Max HP

Kamikaze: The Ninja literally blows himself up, causing damage to all enemies. The lower the Ninja's HP was, the more damage this move will do.

Hilariously, Kamikaze also works when you're all by yourself. When you use it solo the move let's you go out in a blaze of glory, but does not do any damage to your targets!




The Warlock
Warlocks are cloth wearing casters that use their own HP instead of MP to cast spells. Many of the Warlock's abilities drain HP from their target right back to the caster, which keeps the Warlock's large HP pool in a constant state of flux.

With the ability to transfer HP directly from themselves to other party members, Warlocks are also healers. Plus Healing gear will dramatically increase this effect, making the Warlock a viable "main healer" in many groups.



A sample of the Warlock's abilities:

Tap: A direct damage spells that funnels the damage done back to the Warlock's HP. At level 10 players will choose an elemental version of this spell (FireTap, IceTap, StormTap) which will gain bonuses from plus element stats.



Leech: A damage over time spell that leeches the damage back to the Warlock as HP. This DoT also stacks with Conjurer DoTs.



Nightmare: Causes devastating damage to sleeping targets. The Sleep-Nightmare combination will be a staple for many Warlocks.



Curse: A new type of debuff in v1.20 is "Curse", which reduces all healing taken by 50%. Curse lasts 2-3 rounds on the target. As of now the Warlock is the only character class with this type of ability.



Reflect: Reflects all damage the Warlock takes that round right back at all of the attackers when the round ends. The Warlock's catch phrase ought to be "This is going to hurt me just as much as it hurts you!".



Shift/ShiftMore/ShiftWave: Transfers the Warlocks HP to another party member (or both party members in the case of ShiftWave). The "Plus Healing" stat is greatly beneficial here, as it will add healing power on top of the HP taken from the Warlock.

With a carefully managed HP pool, the Warlock has the potential to make for a great healer.



Sacrifice: Kills the Warlock but revives both party members with the same amount of HP the Warlock had. A powerful move, but on the flip side of this you can expect it to make Warlocks a priority target in PvP.


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New gear has been created to accommodate the new classes and can be found throughout the game. The v1.20 update that includes both of these new classes in addition to a crap load of new content, changes and features comes out tomorrow (Thursday 8.26) at 4:00 PM PST!


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