Know Your Class !! * Basics *

White Lion Guide

Overview: In a world fraught with war and torn by savage battles there is often no one that a lone fighter can depend upon, heart and soul, for protection and companionship. This does not stand true for the brave hunter class, the White Lion. The High Elves have mastered the beautiful synchronicity between elf and beast, coupling pure cunning with raw power and channeling it towards the protection of their people and the destruction of their enemies.

This moderately armored class chooses just how to use their lion companion in battle. Through the various masteries the beast can either fulfill a true combat duo or he may work with his trusted hunter in more of a support role. Regardless, the lion is an essential part of this mighty warrior's ability to withstand the evil of the Destruction.

Strengths:

* Pet class allows for diverse play style
* Ranged attacks
* Higher damage positional attacks


Weaknesses:

* Pet dependant
* Low defense
* Split DPS between hunter and lion

White Lion Quick Info
Faction: Order
Race: High Elf
Role: Melee DPS
Armor: Mail
Primary Weapon: Woodsman axe
Primary Stats: Strength, Agility

Mythic's Official White Lion Description

"Do not be deceived by the rugged beauty of Chrace, for behind that serene mask lies a beast like none other. No, no I speak not of the War Lion but of its White Lion master whose will can bring such a beast to heel!"

- Kitharl Woodwalker, Huntsman of Chrace

The Elves of northern kingdoms are a hardy folk, self sufficient; they live in the wilds of the northernmost coast of Ulthuan. The land of Chrace is a bulwark against invasion and her hunters prowl the woodlands for Dark Elf raiding parties, spies and assassins. It was one such hunting party that saved Caledor the First from certain doom at the hand of an assassin's blade. These hunters became known as "White Lions". A name taken for their fierceness and courage in battle, and the pelts earned by slaying a great White Lion in single combat. Deeply attuned to the natural world the Chracian hunter do not kill the white lions out of hand, and the greatest of their order have been known to raise a cub into a powerful War Lion trained to savage their foes on the field of battle.

PvE Overview

As melee DPS class, the White Lion shines in both group and solo game play.

In a group positional attacks and the use of the pet add to the overall damage output greatly. As with most pet classes, the lion allows for solo play that can go above and beyond what non-pet classes can do. The hunter gains either a tank or a DPS companion with your war lion without ever having to wait for playmates.

RvR Overview

In RvR the hunter's war lion makes an excellent source of distraction in combat. Using him to bait your opponent while you either attack via ranged or work out your own positioning works well. When enemies hone in on the hunter instead, keep the lion in the fray and he can potentially go unnoticed.

The White Lion class can be a valuable asset in team play, backing up the tank classes and aiding in the protection of the mages and healers.

White Lion Masteries

White Lion Mastery Paths
Path Of the Hunter: White Lions who choose the path of the Hunter embrace the ways of the wild and fight shoulder to shoulder with their War Lion. The two stride into battle side by side in a balanced assault that is capable of spreading damage around to multiple targets with ease. This path requires the least amount of Master & Pet coordination so damage against a single foe is lessened.

Path of the Axeman: White Lions who choose this path focus on the Mastery of their fine woodsman axes, preferring instead to use their lions as distractions as they approach from the side or Rear. The path of the Axeman requires good coordination with your War Lion or your group members so you can be allowed to strike from an unguarded flank.

Path of the Guardian: White Lions who choose this path focus on diverting attention from their War Lion or Group members so that they can do maximum damage. The path of the guardian does not directly increase the White Lion's own defenses significantly but focuses more on reducing his opponents damage output and distracting them from the War Lion or individual group mates.

Summary

The White Lion
This is a guide to the class from my point of view. If you want descriptions of each and every ability then check WarWiki.

My experience with the White Lion since beta has been extensive. Both in PvP and PvE. This guide will go into detail the intricacies if leveling as a white lion and then eventually taking them into scenarios, world pvp, and dungeons from my perspective.

For starters, leveling the white lion is a relatively easy task in comparison to the other order classes that you could create. You are able to summon your companion from level one and even give it a unique name by typing /petname. Your will find that you rely on your war lion in all aspects of the game.

Itemization
Your main weapon of choice is a nasty two-handed axe. You are also able to use the
one-handed axe, but there is no purpose as the damage and stats do not compare and at no point can you dual-wield or use a shield with the one-handed axe. So always be on the lookout for awesome two-handers.

Stats
The stats that you will want to stack as a white lion are Strength, Weapon Skill, and Wounds.
Strength is your primary stat. It adds pure DPS to both your auto-attack(white) damage and your ability damage.
Weapon Skill will be your secondary stat. It will determine your armor penetration.
Wounds adds to your hit points pool which is very important later on.
When you are gathering your armor, always look for upgrades to these stats.

Unless you're the type of gamer that enjoys using the mouse to activate his/her abilities I would suggest binding some keys so they are easily accessible. Some of the important bindings would involve the micromanagement of your war lion. Changing the state of your pet, either to attack, defend, or stay at your side passively, is something you will often do. I personally found that shift +Z,X,C works for my attack, defend, and passive states.

Tactics
There are several tactic setups that I have found useful for the white lion. As you level up you will unlock tactics and tactic slots. You will receive 4 Career slots total from level 10-40 respectively. Some tactics are dependent on position, pet, and status. While others are just buffs.
A Core tactic, when you receive it, is Brute Strength. This tactic is, as the name implies, a pure strength increase to your stats. Once you receive it, I would suggest always using it in your tactic setup.
Your tactic set in PvE it is all dependant on the situation you are in. For long battles such as a boss I have found it best to use DoTs. For trash or normal mobs, it is typically best to just equip burst damage, as is it rare for the mob to be alive long enough for the DoTs to have a full effect.
In PvP, I generally use burst damage. At 40 you get an ability called fetch. Once you have that, it is best to always have the Speed Training tactic active.
Here is my tactic setup(I am Axeman spec. which I will get into later)
PvE Burst: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Flanking, Pack Synergy
PvE DoTs: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Tearing Blade, Centuries of Training
PvP Burst: Brute Strength, Fully Grown, Flanking, Speed Training

Master Tree Builds
The White Lion has three specialization trees, The Hunter, The Axeman, and The Guardian. Hunter spec. is equal damage of you and pet. Axeman spec is more your damage. And Guardian spec which is about your war lion's damage. I messed around with all three and my honest opinion is that Axeman is the way to go, both for PvE and PvP for maximum DPS output. My reason lies in the abilities you get up the Axeman tree:
Thin the herd, which reduces the healing on the target by 50% for 10s with a 10s cooldown.
Cull the Weak, which does a massive attack on the target if it is below 50% hp.
Fully Grown Tactic, Which at 70, increases your Strength by 76 and you pets wounds by 130.
With the 25 points you get to spend at level 40 I put 8 into Hunter. I did not choose to take any abilities in that tree, just enhance the 5 abilities associated with that spec by 8 levels, Coordinated Strike being one of them. I put the other 17 point into Axeman, taking fully grown, cull the weak, and thin the herd.
Later on you will get more mastery points based on your RvR Rank. Gaining a total of 5 more mastery points by rank 80 RvR. I suspect I will take the 8 point out of the Hunter Tree and put them into Guardian to get Brutal Pounce, keeping the points I have in Axeman untouched.

Strategy
The role of the White Lion in PvE is pure, un-adulterated DPS. We can pump out a ridiculous amount of dps. The only problem is that for the most part, it is positional DPS. With a good group, you will always be at the back of your target, where we are most effective. You will benefit from the inability of the mob to block or parry your attacks. Also our flanking tactic which enables us to do 15% more damage behind the target. We also acquire 5% more crit. when behind the target from our Trained to Threaten ability. In PvE, you will generally have Trained to Threaten active for Trash, it is good to turn off the auto-taunt ability that your war lion has. If you are attacking a boss and you have your DoTs tactic set equipped then you will most likely use Trained to Hunt. This ability will deal additional damage over time whenever you or your war lion strikes the target. I'll almost never use Trained to Kill, as the only benefit you get is toughness. You will find you are continually adapting to the type of fight you are in and reflect that with what abilities you use on your enemies. So each individual will have to learn on their own what abilities to use and when.

The role of the White Lion in PvP is similar to it's role in PvE. However you aren't going for maximum DPS. Instead you are looking for survivability and cunningness. You will use your pet a lot here. One rule: Fetch is your friend. USE IT! White Lions are amazing single target DPS. But when it comes to more than one enemy we are at a disadvantage. Fetch will give you the advantage of bringing the target to you! Also with the Trained to Threaten ability active you can order your war lion to shred the legs of your target and slow their movement speed. You rely on your target to run from you almost 90% of the time. What happens when they do that at reduced movement speed? You can tear him to pieces from behind with your increased effectiveness. Fetch is a 10s cooldown, if the target is still alive and out of your reach you can just fetch him back to you so you can finish him off for good this time! With this awesome ability at your fingertips you will most likely be the main assist in scenarios and world RvR. Be sure to pull the targets well since you are able to bypass the frontlines of the enemy with your speedy pet and pull the healers and ranged DPS. The "Squishies" as they have come to be known. Keep in mind your role is to not be the highest DPS, so don't pay attention to the E-Peen meter and just focus on protecting your healers and pulling.

Really nice guide!

I feel that i really picked the right class!

White Lion FTW! xD

Nice post indeed