Witch Hunting in Nordenwatch

Nordenwatch is the Tier 1 RvR Scenario for Empire vs. Chaos.

This is a basic territory control map, with three control points: The Lighthouse, The Fortress, and The Barracks.

The Empire forces start off on a dock (lower right in the map) closest to the Lighthouse, while Chaos starts off at their beach head near the Barracks.

Points are gained through capturing and holding one of the three objectives and through killing enemy players.

The Scenario generally starts as a race to the Fortress, with a few members of each realm holding back at the capture point nearest their starting point. The first realm to get inside the fortress holds the advantage as they can stall the enemy advance at one of the two natural chokepoints (the bridge or the slope).

One opening variant is when one of the realms opts to give up control of the fortress and heads en-mass to the enemy's initial capture point, which is often lightly guarded or totally ungaurded. This can be a quick way to gain a point lead early, though map position is tenuous and the enemy can wipe out your advantage if they capture your starting capture point and the fortress quickly.

Once the opening gambit has played out this scenario usually turns into a game of swapping the lighthouse for the barracks while most people fight for controll of the fortress.

Tips for Witch Hunting in Nordenwatch

For the most part I would suggest avoiding the Fortress zergs as a Witch Hunter. At the very least wait until the Empire forces have pushed past the bridge and are fighting a skirmish with Chaos in the center of the fortress around the flag, then pick on any squishies who have gotten too deep into the Empire mass.

Don't run into the back lines unless you have Incognito up. Generally there is enough open ground that the Chaos will see you as you try to close ground and will burn you down quickly. Plus, with good groups, some healers will shift their heals to your target making your attacks pointless. This is less likely to happen on the front.

If you choose to go to the fortress (and some times you will need to, depending on group make-up) expect to die. The chokepoints that keep people out also serve to keep people in, making escaping a bad situation hard (unless you are healthy enough to jump off a cliff and survive fall damage).

Also while in the fortress keep an eye out on the fortress walls. Ranged DPS and Healers like to hide up on the wall and cause trouble for those in the courtyard.

Where a Witch Hunter can shine in Nordenwatch is being part of a strike group that roves between the Lighthouse and the Barracks, picking off stragglers and capturing lightly defended points. Especially right from the opening charge, if you break off and run straight to the barracks you will usually arrive just after Chaos captures the point. The capturers run off to help in the Fortress fight. This means that you will have an open window for capturing the Barracks quickly. To ensure sucess in most scenarios there should be at least three people doing this, one of them a healer.

Inquisition helps greatly in this roll, as you can approach capture points easier and catch any defenders off-guard.

Once you have captured the Barracks attack can come from two directions, respawning Chaos from their beach head, or people falling back from the Fortress. If you are the only one guarding the Barracks, I'd suggest hiding on the north side of the buildings. If there are more of you (and especially if Chaos controls the fortress) move up to the top of the hill. There is a tree and a bush there that are perfect for hiding in, right next to where most RDPS and Healers stop to support the melee around the flag.

Finally, keep in mind that there are a ton of alternate routes to get places in this scenario. From a lower path around the back of a keep, to hopping down rocks on the way to the Barracks. Most of the zergs take the straight lines between objectives, so learn how to use these paths to get around them and strike where it hurts.


Tomorrow I'll talk about Witch Hunting in Khaine's Embrace.