User:GoldenYak/The Path of War

Related to the Into The Void Expansion Concept. This new leveling system comes into play as characters progress through the expansion's content.

Overview


The Path of War is a new character progression system available at max level. It complements the standard method of leveling by acquiring experience points for levels 1 through to max.

Rather than simply acquiring a large number of experience points by slaying monsters or completing quests, players can spend each level progressing along three paths based on their playstyle. These paths can be viewed by opening the Path of War window. The three paths are:


 * The Path of the Lore Seeker


 * The Path of the Dungeon Master


 * The Path of the Warmonger

Each of the three Paths has a seperate bar that is filled for accomplishing different tasks. Players are free to focus on a single path or multiple paths simultaneously.

Paths for each level are available for players to unlock over the course of gameplay.

Unlocking the Path of War
Each of the three paths contains multiple Path Nodes, which are unlocked as players progress along the path. Unlocking and activating a Path Node will grant the player various bonuses to their statistics and abilities.

Lore Seeker
Players can acquire experience with the Lore Seeker path by doing the following:


 * Completing quests and quest-related objectives.
 * Progressing along a quest by slaying certain monsters, collecting specific items, etc.
 * Exploring and discovering regions to fill in zone maps.
 * Encountering and interacting with important lore figures.
 * Learning lore and story elements by completing specific quests and speaking with significant NPCs.
 * Making use of professions in any way (crafting, gathering, etc.)

Dungeon Master
Players can acquire experience with the Dungeon Master path by doing the following:


 * Completing dungeons and raids.
 * Killing elite monsters in dungeons and raid zones.
 * Confronting and defeating boss monsters.
 * Obtaining treasure dropped by bosses.
 * Bonuses will be given for completing dungeons, raids, and defeating bosses without any deaths.

Warmonger
Players can acquire experience with the Warmonger path by doing the following:


 * Making honorable kills against enemy players.
 * Competing in battlegrounds and arenas.
 * Conquering World PvP Objectives in the new zones.
 * Bonuses will be given for exceptional performance.

Leveling Up


For every Path level, the three paths contain 8 Path Nodes each, for a total of 24 possible available nodes. 8 nodes can be activated per level - once 8 nodes are active, players are able to advance to the next Path level. Once the next Path level is unlocked, players can begin unlocking Path Nodes for that level and acquire new bonuses.

Once a player has moved to the next Path level, the previous Path level becomes a tab on the Path of War screen that can be viewed at any time. Players can clear the Path Nodes of their previous level Path of War screens for a small fee, allowing them to activate different nodes to obtain different bonuses. Clearing the screen will not affect a player's current Path level in any way, and a screen cannot be cleared unless a player has advanced to the next highest level.

When a player advances to the next Path level, they will automatically stop gathering experience for the paths of the previous level. Players can choose to gain experience for the previous level's paths in order to obtain new bonuses and unlock Path Nodes, but by doing so they will not gain progression for the paths of their current level.

End of the Path
The top 2 nodes of each path are Task Nodes and are sealed. Even if a player has progressed far enough along a path to reach them, they cannot be activated until the seals are broken. These nodes provide different bonuses from nodes lower down the path. Rather than giving bonuses to statistics, Task Nodes may grant bonuses such as new gem sockets, arcanum enchant slots, unlocking extra profession recipes, and more.

Breaking the seals will involve accomplishing specific tasks. Some level tasks could be the following:


 * Lore Seeker Tasks
 * Complete a specific quest chain in a zone.
 * Complete 65 level 100+ quests.
 * Complete all quest chains in a zone.


 * Dungeon Master Tasks
 * Kill 150 elite monsters while running dungeons or raids.
 * Complete specific dungeons.
 * Kill 20 boss enemies while running dungeons or raids.


 * Warmonger Tasks
 * Make 100 honorable kills.
 * Fight in 25 Battlegrounds.
 * Conquer 3 different World PvP Objectives.

Rewards of the Path
The various nodes of the three paths provide bonuses to your character, allowing players greater freedom to customize. The following are some examples of rewards.

Path Nodes
Some nodes lower down the paths may grant the following bonuses:


 * Primary stat boost - For example a large bonus to agility, strength, etc.
 * Secondary stats boost - A bonus to several secondary stats like critical strike, attack power, armor, etc.
 * Health boost - Grants a large amount of bonus health.

Task Nodes
The Task Nodes at the higher points of the path grant more exotic rewards:


 * Prismatic Gem Socket - Grants players a gem socket that will accept any colored gem.
 * Glyph Slot - Allows players to use more glyphs.
 * Arcanum Enchant Slot - Special Path of War arcanum enchants are available from various sources, and can be applied here.
 * Profession Bonus - While active, players will be able to craft and use new items through crafting professions that would otherwise be unavailable, like potions or armor.