Black Orc (BO) :
Can be played as a SnB frontliner that is super tough and brings very good buffs to his party.
Can also be played as 2H, either as buffer/debuffer next to the blob, or as a less tanky with more damage flanker.
Archetype : Tank
Mechanic : Brawling (3 different stances that you cycle)
Starts at “No Plan” (lvl 0) : can’t use “Needs Da Gud Plan!” nor “Needs Da Best Plan!!” skills.
After using one “Leads to Da Gud Plan!” skill, you’ll reach “Da Gud Plan!” (lvl 1) and will be able to use skills that “Needs da’ Gud Plan!”.
After using one “Leads to Da Best Plan!!” skill, you’ll reach “Da Best Plan!!” (lvl 2) and will be able to use skills that “Needs da’ Best Plan!!”.
After using one of those, you’ll go back to “No Plan” and have to start over again.
This skill allows you to move your plan mechanic one level forward, it is a VERY important skill to use. Without it, you are super dependent on luck to have the right skill available to use at the right time. It also allows you to put “breaks” in your rotation, when you do not use any skill and allow for a tick of AP regen to take place.
The Plans by themselves do not provide any benefits, but some tactics make them do.
Black Orc Pros :
– War Belows : 3 very good war cries, you can have one of them active at all times.
Da Biggest : Steals stats from enemies and adds them to your party members.
Da Greenest : Provides armor and resists buff.
Da Toughest : Gives a temporary wounds buff to your party members and heals them.
– One of the best morale plays in the game, with faster morale gain (about 6 times faster!), and very strong morale at every tier (Tactic).
– +50% block channel! This is INSANE, naked, with no tactics, no renown, nothing but the fortress shield, I can reach 53% (using .getstats) block by pressing one button! For comparison, my IB reached 51% with VERY good gear, full block renown, and one tactic slotted! Also, as an added bonus, it procs your morale gain tactic since you are blocking, AND it does some damage so you can also proc your war below… you have to love it! (Mastery).
Professor Cake :
Most people will stack passive avoidance, never (or almost) use this skill, and go whine on the forum or advice channel “rampage imba nerf nerf nerf”. I suggest you stack other forms of damage mitigation that will actually work vs Slayers instead, and learn when and how to use this skill.
– Party absorb (Mastery).
– Easy access (and time to use it, not like IB) single target Cooldown Increaser (Mastery).
– 20% damage reduction on spells for 4sec for your party (when it’s finally fixed…), and 20% damage reduction on an enemy physical DPS for 10sec (Base).
– Access to 160 Wounds (Tactic) and +25% crit damage (Tactic).
– Access to +10% block, very good when gearing up and in oRvR (Tactic).
– Very good st pve damage with Skull Thumper (Base).
– Armor debuff (and time to use it) (Base).
– Okay aoe snare with good disorient (Tactic).
BO Cons :
– Plans mechanic will sometimes prevent you from using a skill at the exact right time.
– Aoe punt can be a life saver, but can also be a detriment.
– No st punt is a big problem in ranked scenarios, and a smaller problem in other content. (It can also make you “lazier”, at least it does for me, if I only play my BO for some time, it takes some time for me to reacquire my level on my CH or IB)
Cake’s Thoughts :
BO are good tanks, sadly the lack of uniqueness and shiny things to do make them perceived weak after last nerfs. They still are strong, on par with many tanks. They can add a lot to a party with buffs, while at the same time being incredibly tanky. They also look strong, tough, and if you ever make a mistake, you can roleplay and blame it on the orcs’ lack of intelligence! Definitely recommend you try one.
Cake's Plan 