Lord of the Rings Online is quickly headed towards Fate of Gundabad, and the release of the Brawler class on October 13th. After releasing a teaser this week showing the Brawler in action, Standing Stone Games has followed up with details about what to expect from the new melee class.
From the original teaser, it was clear that there was some more to the new class than just a punchy fighter. While the Brawler is a melee class and does use heavy armor and gauntlets, the hinted at nuanced flexibility does seem to be there. They're damage dealers, of course, but can also handle off-tanking, and a dash of support. A Brawler sounds like they could round out some teams very well.
They'll use Mettle, a combat resource that they can use to increase the power of attacks and also to use more powerful abilities. Combat Flow works with Mettle to increase damage for each point of Mettle that a Brawler has. Using your resources strategically could lead to some very powerful strikes.
The inspiration for the new class came from Helm Hammerhand, who fought barehanded at a Helm's Deep siege. Almost any race can be a Brawler, with the exception of Beornings. Though your Brawler won't be fighting barehanded. They'll be using Battle-gauntlets, and are the only class able to wield them. This new item is classified as a two-handed weapon. Your two hands as a Brawler will be busy, as these weapons will help you to punch, slam, throw items, and even kick your enemies. You'll find more of these Battle-gauntlets as you level.
When it comes to trees and skills, Brawlers can work to specialize in The Fulcrum, which is more of a support tree, featuring defensive skills, as well as buffs and debuffs. The Maelstrom is the other side with the traits of punchy battle await. Increase your critical chance, buff your Mettle gain rate, increase your damage, and more on this side. There's also a special tree to complement the other two. Put points into The Fundament for increased Mettle generation, increased targeting for AoE skills, and more.
For the full rundown on the Brawler, which will be out on October 13th and available to all with a Fate of Gundabad preorder (and for points next May), visit the LOTRO announcement.
