Game Mechanics

The hardest part of designing a new class was next: “What does a Warden actually do?” The first step was to create a gameplay element that would make Wardens unique. In this vein, most of LOTRO’s classes have a signature mechanic that differentiates them from the others: Champions and Hunters have pips, Guardians have reactive skill chains, Minstrels have their ballad tiers, etc. In designing the Warden, the combo mechanic emerged very early in the process. My vision was that the Warden would have a set of simple skills that when activated in a certain sequence would allow the use of more powerful skills. We refer to these as Gambits.

The next problem was how to make a medium armour wearing class capable of functioning as an effective tank. There are a limited number of ways that tanks deal with incoming damage - they can reduce it, avoid it, have huge hit points to absorb it, or have some way to heal it. Damage reduction wasn’t available with medium armour. Avoidance was possible, but all classes use the standard block/parry/evade - something different was needed. Having huge piles of morale was also possible but path was rife with potential balance issues. Closing off those avenues of design left the class with the necessity of having some method of healing the damage. This healing ability could not come at the expense of other classes, such as the Minstrel or Captain, but needed to be effective and useful.

As the design progressed, I delved into the lore of the class and the base mechanics of the game itself to arrive at a solution: Wardens are dedicated to the defense of those that can not defend themselves. This gives them a powerful motivation to simply refuse to be defeated. Combined with the implications of the existing morale system, the Warden’s determination to succeed is easily translated to gaining extra morale over time. This also suggested a corollary mechanic. Given the Warden’s moral ascendancy over the forces of evil, it would make sense for the Warden’s opponents to lose morale over time from being in the presence of such a valorous fighter. All of these considerations and more were taken into account as we created the Warden’s Gambit abilities.