I recently started a Rune Priest myself on Ostermark. A lot of good information and considerations in this WAR Herald Q&A guide !

There are tons of discussions going on about all the different careers in WAR on fan site- and guild-forums and we love reading about them. To get a bit of a deeper look into how the community sees certain careers, we’ve asked players about them. We had several interviews with players from different communities and will do more in the future. Additionally we scanned our many fan forums for input as well!

Starting with the Rune Priest; The Dwarven healer that uses runic powers to buff, bolster, heal and if necessary even revive their allies and smite their foes. Be careful though, you don’t want to mistake their art with Magic; no self-respecting Dwarf meddle with such pansy stuff!

The Rune Priest Compared to the Other Order Healers

With the Archmage and Warrior Priest as the other Healing Careers on the Order side, we first wanted to find out where the Rune Priest stands.

Compared to the other two Order healers, Rune Priests seem to be considered the most 'core' healer. The Archmage and the Warrior Priest are encouraged to do damage in order to boost their healing, where the Rune Priest "just heals." Mugrim of the Phalanx Corona guild on Carroburg said:

"In my opinion, the Rune Priest is the most flexible healer in the game. Other than the Warrior Priest or the Archmage, he is able to adapt his healing depending on the situation – he can switch from group to single healing easily."

Not quite agreeing, and adding another view to the discussion, Ironbreaker Abol from the Dragonwake Templars guild on Karak-Azgal said:

"In terms of healing power I do not notice a lot of difference between the Archmage and the Rune Priest. They can both keep me alive very well. The major difference between them is the fact that the Rune Priest doesn’t seem to be able to do much damage."

Survivability of the Rune Priest

We also wondered what your thoughts were on the survivability of the Rune Priest both when solo as well as when operating in groups.

Arbitrary who plays her Rune Priest on the Burlok server had the following to say on the topic:

"Pretty tough, to be brutally honest. I chose not to spec for Rune of Burning, so I’ve had some real moments of doubt and angst about soloing as a Rune Priest [...] It got a lot better at Rank 33, and when I started learning to use Tactic sets a little more efficiently, though. And it does take a fair bit to kill me – just it also takes me a long time to kill anything else."

Lowtwo , a Chosen of the Dominion guild on Karak Hirn adds:

"I see the Rune Priest from 'the other side of the fence' a lot. Personally, I think the Rune Priest is tougher to take down than, for example, the Archmage, and their heals feel the most powerful from the Order Army. The tactics we mostly apply to take down the healers is focused fire. Sometimes this is the only way to counter some good healers."

Do Rune Priests Deal Damage?

So it seems clear that most people agree that Rune Priests are healers, but as usual, not everybody agrees. Zeede from the Karak Eight Peaks server started a heated discussion on the damage potential of Rune Priests. He said:

"Destro don’t expect a Rune Priest to be pure DPS. Surprise is our main weapon, surprise and fear... fear and surprise... are two weapons..."

But in general, the community of Rune Priest players seems to agree that the Rune Priest is best played in groups, when others can do the damage!

Strong Points of the Rune Priest

So far, it seems that its general healing power and survivability make the Rune Priest a strong career. We wondered; what specifically is considered a strong point of the career? Booz from the Karak Azgal server said:

"That’s easy, we have a lot of good tools but we have one that stands out: Blessing of Valaya. Because it heals all group members in a radius around you, it actually allows you to duck behind cover while still healing your group mates! Especially when two or more Rune Priests use this spell, it can become very difficult for Destruction to kill us."

Ende from the Montañas Negras server adds:

"If I would have to choose the strongest point of the Rune Priest, it would be the support capability that this character gives to the whole party. The Rune Priest is capable of a constant healing flow that does not rely on variables, like the High Magic of the Archmage, or the Righteous Fury of the Warrior Priest."

Finch on the Gorthor server added couldn’t narrow down one specific strength but rather said this:

"The Runepriest is essential both in a party and in a warband, for his buffs but mostly for his heals: He has excellent heal over time, instant spells and very strong heals that you can cast on groups and on single targets."

What to Watch Out for When Facing a Rune Priest

So in general, the Rune Priest players themselves, their allies, as well as their enemies, agree that the Rune Priest is an important part of any Order strike force. This makes the Rune Priest a prime target for Destruction forces to focus on, early on in battle. Ende from the Montañas Negras server agrees:

"PvE combats tend to be kind of static, but you need a well-defined and effective healing tactic. But I must say, in RvR it’s WAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR! There you are really in trouble, let’s face it: How do you keep your party members alive while being crowd-controlled by a Black Orc, and a Witch Elf is focusing on you?"

The most important tip we can give to answer that question is to use your Detaunt skill wisely and often. This easy to forget skill can be, quite literally, a lifesaver in many occasions!

It was a great pleasure rounding up this feedback from all the different language communities that play WAR. We leave you with a candid interview with a Rune Priest player, below. We look forward to hearing more from you on the Runepriest and all the other exciting careers in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning!

Interview with a Rune Priest

We have spoken with Booz the Rune Priest who plays on the English Karak Azgal server with his friends in the Dragonwake Templars guild. It is a Dutch language guild that originally met each other on the MMOzone.nl Warhammer Community website.

GOA: Thanks a lot for taking the time for this interview! Let’s get started by telling our readers what Rank and Renown Rank your Rune Priest is, and if you play any other high-ranking characters?

Booz: I’m Rank 31 and Renown Rank 30. I also like to play my Ironbreaker, who is currently Rank 18, when I have no friends to play with in Tier 4. Questing on my own can be hard at times without a meat shield!

GOA: Do you find that you lean more towards PvE or towards RvR?

Booz: I prefer RvR, but mixing it up with some Bastion action is great! (Ed: The Bastion Stair ) But to level up, RvR is proving the faster route for me.

GOA: How are you finding the solo capabilities of the Rune Priest?

Booz: Having played the Ironbreaker, I noticed he can tank a couple of higher level monsters quite easily. On my Rune Priest, I can take on one or two enemies at the same time at most. And if the bad guys around me respawn too quickly, it can get hairy fast!

GOA: Can you tell us why you started the Rune Priest? Did you, like many of us, play a couple of classes to test them out or did you go straight for the Rune Priest?

Booz: I have been playing all the major types of classes (Tank, Healer, DPS) in other games before WAR, and I knew I wanted to be a healer. The Rune Priest seems to be the most primary healer, and I didn’t feel like playing a too much of a hybrid class. The payoff is that I am a strong healer, but I have a bit more trouble PvE'ing on my own. It’s worth it.

GOA: Do you feel like your fellow Order players know the strong and weak sides of the Rune Priest? And does Destruction?

Booz: My Order buddies realize that the Rune Priest is our ultimate healer, although recently I have been getting some strong competition from Warrior Priests. On occasion they will out heal and out damage me!

And because Destruction realizes by now that a Warrior Priest has more health than a Rune Priest, I am usually at the top of their hit list (of the smarter ones, that is).

GOA: If you could give your fellow Rune Priests one tip and one tip only, what would it be?

Booz: That’s easy, we have a lot of good tools but we have one that stands out: Blessing of Valaya. Because it heals all group members in a radius around you, it actually allows you to duck behind cover while still healing your group mates! Especially when two or more Rune Priests use this spell, it can become very difficult for Destruction to kill us.

GOA: And if you could add one thing and one thing only to your class, what would it be?

Booz: Oh that is a more difficult question. I think I would like to have a spell that grants immunity, or at least damage reduction, to one of my group members. I have Grimnir’s Shield for myself, but it would be great if there was a version of that which could be cast on others.

Many thanks to Booz for taking the time to talk to us about his Rune Priest!