A Beginner's Guide to Warhammer Lore

Warhammer is a fantasy world created by Games Workshop in 1983 to play host to a tabletop miniature wargame. Originally intended to be another way for D&D players to use their legions of lead figures, Warhammer soon took a life of its own, spawning books, a role-playing game, computer games, jewelry, a heavy metal album, and a pub. Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (or "WAR") is based off of the intellectual property that creates the backdrop for these various bits of consumer media.

The Warhammer story, or background, is vast. It begins tens of thousands of years before the current day with the Old Ones: beings of vast power that sailed between worlds on a sea of infinite potential (known as the Warp, Aethyr, or Realm of Chaos). Armed with incomprehensible techno-magicks and knowledge, the Old Ones raised the races of the Warhammer World from barbarism, teaching elf and dwarf how to draw upon the Realm of Chaos to shape extra-dimensional potential into physical forms… or magic, and bestowing upon them the joys of enlightened civilization. This golden age ended too soon, however, as the Old Ones were exterminated or driven away by things from the Aethyr: the daemons of Chaos and Ruinous Powers native to that Realm. Given form and purpose by the Warp-reflected flaws of mortals, these daemons invaded the Warhammer World, ending the age of Law and advancement brought about by the Old Ones. Many millennia later, the children of the Old Ones continue the battle gainst Chaos.

It is important to note that there are many, varied, implementations of Warhammer lore; none are more "right" or "official" than others. To put it quite simply, according to GW: THERE IS NO WARHAMMER CANON. Players are free to pick, choose, and research the bits they like.

WHERE DID GAMES WORKSHOP COME UP WITH THIS STUFF?

Warhammer's imagery and style are influenced heavily by gritty, classic fantasy authors, such as Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, and H.P. Lovecraft, as well as real-world history and a bit of Tolkien. Designers also list influences such as Terry Gilliam, Black Adder, and Monty Python. The Warhammer world is a playground-like amalgam of everything from Napoleonic gun lines, to sanity-blasting tentacled horrors, to halfings and their giant cocks (depictions of a large rooster that serves as a provincial symbol for the little folk). Those interested in learning more might be urged to pick up some of these older books; Warhammer’s roots are clearly evident in Conan, Elric, and Martin Luther.

THE WARHAMMER WORLD

The unnamed (to its inhabitants) Warhammer world roughly resembles our own. A map can be found here. At the “heart” of the known setting is the Old World, analogous to Earth’s Europe. Here one finds the human nations of the Empire, Bretonnia, Kislev, brutal Nosrca, Tilea, and Estalia as well as the remnants of the Dwarfs’ ancient empire beneath the mountains. Scattered pockets of wood elves (both civilized and less so…) share lands with the Empire and Bretonnia. To the south, past the rogue settlements of the Border Princes and orc-infested Badlands, lie trackless deserts. Cut through by the great River Mortis, the ancient, dusty realm of Nehekkarha lies not-as-silent as it should be, duly earning its title as the Land of the Dead. Past here, one finds the mysterious human nation of Araby, rife with proscribed cults and unknown magic, with the dark jungles of the Southlands engulfing the rest of the southern continent. Nothing but sun-mad orcs and the remains of the Old Ones’ world live here.

To the east lie the dead plains of the Dark Lands, choked with the fumes of Chaos Dwarf industry. Yet further east, in the Mountains of Mourn, are the Ogre Kingdoms. These inhospitable vaults are dotted with the scattered ruins of forgotten civilizations and shaggy prehistoric beasts, pierced in the south by the Silver Road, the sole not-so-safe route between the lands of the Old World and mysterious Far East. Of the kingdoms of Ind, Cathay, and Nippon little is known… other than that the presence of Chaos.

In the middle of the Great Ocean hides Ulthuan, the last great holding of the Asur, first and favorite children of the Old Ones. This magic and mist enshrouded isle contains the kingdoms of the High Elves, including mystical Avelorn and stately Eataine; recently opened to outsiders by the Phoenix King Finubar. Unknown to most of the Warhammer world, Ulthuan is of critical importance. In ancient times, the elves created a vortex of Chaos energy, woven of the structure of the island itself. This vortex drained the Chaos-stuff feeding daemonic legions after the fall of the Old Ones, allowing the elves to fight back and forestall the end of the world. Were this vortex to ever fail, Ulthuan would sink beneath the waves, heralding the final invasion of Chaos.

West of Ulthuan one finds the brooding forests and icy mountains of Naggaroth, the Land of Chill. Now refuge of the Druchii, exiled for millennia from Ulthuan, this is a land as cruel as its inhabitants. To the south is fabled Lustria, where the seat of the Old Ones lies rotting in the jungles. Overseen by things blindly following the edicts of the lost Old Ones, many attempt to enter these jungles to secure the gold and riches within. A few even make it back.

Finally, at the very ends of the Warhammer world lie madness and infinity. The collapsed interdimensional gates of the Old Ones spill Aethyr into the material, and thoughts of mortals into the Realm of Chaos. Surrounding the northern pole gate are the Chaos Wastes, lands of blended Warp and Material, realms of madness, eternal war, and the whims of the Chaos Gods. No one can leave this place entirely untouched by Chaos.

WARHAMMER ARMIES

Considering the wargame roots, Warhammer is often seen in terms of armies and military units, as well as nations and species.

Beasts of Chaos

Hidden in the darkest places of the world are the Beasts of Chaos. Beastmen, Minotaurs, Centaurs, and other spawn of the Dark Gods, these things are Warhammer’s version of the archetypal medieval daemonic satyr or beast in the woods. Beastmen were once human, but became the true and favored children of the Dark Gods when the Warp Gates fell, spilling pure Aethyr into the world. They’re still closely linked too; often a human baby is born horned and hoofed. These turnskins are either killed by Witch Hunters and priests, or taken by insane but loving parents into the woods, where they’re left for the Beasts.

Bretonnia

A thousand years younger than the Empire, the Bretonni tribe became the nation of Bretonnia under the guidance of Giles le Breton. Eschewing the philosophy and science of the Empire in favor of mysticism and feudalism, Bretonnians rely on the martial strength of their lordly knights in battle. They follow the edicts of the Lady, a goddess of suspect origin, but sometimes uphold her message of honor and mercy. A curious blend of pre-revolution France, English fighting styles, and Le Morte d’Arthur, the Bretonnians are a bit of an anachronism compared to the rest of the Old World.

Dark Elves

Warhammer’s version of the Melnibonean archetype, the Druchii have little to do with D&D dark elves or Tolkien’s fading perfect beings. Inheritors of the Phoenix King’s crown by way of heredity, the dark elves followed Malekith, son of the first Phoenix King, into exile after he was driven from Ulthuan by conspirators. The Druchii respect strength above all, and solely worship Khaine, the elven god of war. Taking a cue from the original sorcerers and their Chaos vortex, the Druchii do not fear Chaos, but seek to bind it to their will and purpose. Some would say this has corrupted them as a race and nation, but the dark elves don’t (officially) worship the Dark Gods- just see them as a means to an end.

Daemons ofChaos

At the heart of the Ream of Chaos lie the architects of the Old Ones’ fall. Born of fear and rage, ambition and despair, the most primal of these beings are the most powerful; the Great Gods of Chaos, four brothers who would see the end of the world. First among them is great Khorne, lord of all that is war, hatred, and bloodshed. There are few the martially-minded god hates so much as his sibling, the passionate Slaanesh. Patron of excess and indulgence, Slaanesh is least amongst the Chaos gods but popular with depraved cults of the Empire. Jovial grandfather Nurgle seeks to enrich the world’s despair by blessing mortals with virulent plagues and pestilences. Finally, of primary import to WAR is Tzeentch, the Architect of Fate. Tzeentch brings hope. Hope of change without reason or balance; Tzeentch is a manipulator, plotter, and sorcerer. His touch brings ambition and madness.

At times, the powers of Chaos put their differences aside and send splinters of their selves into the material world; where the skin of reality is thin, daemons can step into the mortal realms and fulfill the urges of their patron.

Dogs of War

As an army, Dogs of War include everything from Tilean pikes and crossbowmen to suicidal Dwarf pirates to an exiled Asur prince and his dragon. This has allowed GW to release a number of unique and interesting models over the years, often from nations that don’t warrant their own armies. Araby, Tilea, Estalia, and rogue elements of other armies have all been detailed.

Dwarfs

As those following WAR are probably aware, Warhammer dwarfs are the Nordic and Tolkien archetype taken to an extreme. More obsessive, drunk, and gold-hungry than most settings’ dwarfs, these guys are a major reason for the success of the Empire, having taught humans ironworking, gunpowder, and numerous other advances. The friendship between the dwarf kings and Empire is one of the few true alliances in the Warhammer world. The dwarfs once held a mighty empire running the length and breadth of the Old World. A mysterious cataclysm befell them many years before the founding of the Empire, followed by battles against the greenskins, then a costly war against the elves known as the “War of Vengeance”. These events saw the dwarfs greatly reduced in power, but through sheer spite and stubbornness, the race continues to survive.

The Empire

The point-of-view for most of the Warhammer World (and setting for WFRP), the Empire is an especially mad take on the 16th century, pre-Protestant Holy Roman Empire. The Empire learned metalworking and industry from the dwarfs, and were taught magic by the elves. The last true hopes of civilization against Chaos, Imperial armies combine gunlines, professional soldiers, knights, artillery, and magic to defeat their foes. Founded by Sigmar two and a half millennia before the current game period, Imperials now worship their founder as a god. It was Sigmar who forged the first true alliance with the dwarfs, saving their High King from capture by a superior band of orcs. For this, Sigmar was granted the hammer Ghal-Maraz, an heirloom dwarf runic hammer (and the titular weapon for the setting)… which is probably still carried by Karl-Franz, the current Emperor.

High Elves

First experiment of the Old Ones, these ancient and lawful beings taught the elves their magic, art, song, and civilization. Unlike other experiments, elven history vaguely remembers the Old Ones, giving them a racial memory and learning that vastly exceeds all others. Physically resistant to Chaos, the elves still suffer the moral and mental effects, especially when succumbing to their own arrogance and passions. High elf culture is extremely rigid and controlled because of this and they see themselves as the protectors of the world, justifying their near-fascism and unchallenged control of major sea-routes. Unlike the Tolkien archetype, the Asur are warriors and imperialists, with a strong fascination in the arts of warfare and bloodshed.

Lizardmen

During their time elevating the races of the Warhammer world, the Old Ones also created servants to help them with their work. After their fall, these servants blindly continued the Old Ones’ inscrutable plans, carrying on adjustment of the planet itself and battling Chaos in all its forms. The mighty Slaan, beings of immense Aethyric and psychic ability, interpret the Old Ones plans, while the Skinks act as their agents. Saurus warriors emerge from spawning pools, ready to defend their Lustrian homes, while Kroxigor and other prehistoric beasts are used for industry and war.

Ogre Kingdoms

One of the final experiments of the Old Ones, Ogres are among the most physically robust and resistant to Chaos. Not completely resistant, however, as an event early in their development lead them to worship of an entity known as the Great Maw, and granted the race an all-consuming hunger to fuel their massive bodies. Ogres have no allegiance to Chaos, though, nor hatred of it, often showing up as Dogs of War or mercenaries in the armies of humans, Orcs, Chaos, and anyone else willing to pay a bit of coin or bucket of stew.

Greenskins

Mushrooms? Monsters? Degenerate barbarians? However one classifies Orcs and Goblins, the only certainty is that they’re as certain as death and taxes. Little more complex than human two-year olds in massively tough and muscled bodies (or quick and wiry in the case of Goblins) greenskins enjoy nothing more than scrappin’ and fightin’. Dey’s ded ‘ard too, and dem Gobbos is pretty kunnin’ too, tho dey’s a buncha weedy gits. All ‘oomies need to know is dat da Waaagh! can’t be stopped and yous gonna get yer ‘ed bashed right in!

*cough*

Skaven

There is no such thing as skaven. Just because you’ve seen evidence of rat-like beastmen doesn’t mean there’s some sort of intelligent Chaos beats below all the cities of the world, with technology that surpasses the Empire and a master plan to rule the ruins of civilization. That’s ridiculous.

Tomb Kings

Before the time of Sigmar, the first true civilization of Man arose in the deserts south of the Old World. Living amongst architecture strangely reminiscent of both Lustrian ruins and the monuments of the high elves, the people of ancient Nehekhara considered themselves the favored children of the gods. Over time, they came to fear and worship death above all else, believing their lives were mere preparation for a glorious and shining afterlife; much like the real world’s ancient Egyptians. For one Nehekharan, however, the afterlife was not enough; a brother of the Priest-King of mighty Khemri, this man sought eternal life and coveted the lands of all Nehekhara to be his shining paradise. After capturing and torturing the secrets of magic from stranded Druchii sailors, this man developed the science that would one day be known as Necromancy; power over the dead and death itself. Distilling an elixir from human blood, he was able to prolong his life, eventually usurping his brother and taking Khemri as his own. Eventually, the other Priest-Kings united and drove him into the desert, where he passed beyond the realm of the living, but did not truly die.

In his bitterness at being driven out, this man, known as the Accursed One to Nehekharans and He Who Shall Not Be Named to modern Arabyans, polluted the headwaters of the River Mortis, the very backbone of life in Nehekhara. Not content with merely bringing the ancient nation to its knees, he then attempted to cast a single spell that would awaken the entire nation from death and bind them to his will, creating an eternal army to rule the world with. Though he cast the spell and tore generations of Nehekharans from their graves, he was mysteriously interrupted at the peak of the spell, losing control of his would-be slaves. The Tomb Kings and their entombed soldiers were not put to rest, however, and have since resumed the activities of their lives, protecting their dusty homes from invaders and warring against each other. All of these undead, however, nurse a hatred for he who tore them from the afterlife, and the dry desert winds carry their whispers of the Great Necromancer’s hated name; Nagash.

Vampire Counts

As with most undead in the Warhammer world, the vampires have roots in old Nehekhara. When Nagash was driven from Khemri by an alliance of kings, samples of his Elixir of Life and notes were captured and taken as spoils. In the city-state of Lahmia, the queen and her court drank of the Elixir and continued Nagash’s experiments. Soon these depraved nobles learned to sustain themselves indefinitely, not just by consuming the Elixir, but by drawing the very essence of life from living beings. Their souls sustained thusly, their bodies became strong and fast, driven by their own willpower and able to grasp and manipulate the Aethyr. These beings, known later as vampires, were eventually discovered by the Priest-Kings of other cities and driven out, later allying with, then fleeing from, Nagash.

In the modern Warhammer world, the vampires are often split along lines of bloodline and creed, following common archetypes of vampires from all of fantasy stories. Some have infiltrated the nobility of the Empire, counts of the blighted province of Sylvania. Some vampires are physically powerful, while others great sorcerers and necromancers. Some are affected by curses laid upon them by Nagash for their escape and cannot tolerate sunlight or holy relics. All are selfish and driven to make use of their long lives; whether through study, survival, or conquest.

Warriors of Chaos

Mortals who flock to the standards of the Dark Gods can consist of the disillusioned, the corrupt, and the insane. Some are refugees from the civilized nations of the Old World, while the bulk come from tribes of corrupted Norse. Living in the ever-changing wastes beyond Norsca and Kislev, bands of these warriors dedicate themselves to the Gods of Chaos, fighting for glory, the capricious favor of the gods, and the ultimate gift of Daemonhood. At times, a great champion will arise, sometimes dedicated to a single god, others loyal to all Chaos as a pantheon. These champions will then sweep from the north at the head of a vast horde, encased in dark iron armor and wielding weapons of madness and gifts of mutation from their gods.

Wood Elves

Long before the birth of Sigmar, the elves withdrew from their extensive colonies in the Old World. Caught between an unwinnable war against the dwarfs and civil war led by Malekith, the Asur were forced to the defensive. Not all the elven colonists followed the Phoenix King’s call for retreat, however. Small pockets of elves remained behind, in particular the colonists who settled in an ancient and dark forest known as Athel Loren. One of the most ancient and untouched woods of the world, Loren is a living, breathing entity, jealous of its borders and willing and able to brutally protect itself. Allied with the forest, the former elven colonists, called Asraii have returned to many of their rustic roots, favoring bow and bronze spear, eschewing advanced metalworking and armor. Wood elves owe more to medieval legends of forest spirits than Tolkien’s elves; they’re feral and vengeful, uncaring for little but defending the forest.

Advancing Your Warhammer Online Character

Everyone starts out at Rank 1. As you do quests and kill things, you gain experience. As experience accrues, your rank increases and you start to learn some of the ins and outs of your career. As you gain ranks new abilities will become available to you and yourcharacter will increase in power naturally.Your character can be advanced and customized in a number of ways in addition togaining Ranks, abilities, or new weapons and armor.

Morale and Tactics

Morale abilities are powerful effects that require you to engage in combat for a period of
time as you gain Morale. When you use a Morale ability any Morale you've built up is
lost. There are four ranks of Morale Abilities. Rank 4 Morale abilities require the
maximum Morale possible (100%) but can be devastating to your opponents. Players unlock their first Morale ability at Rank 8.

Tactics

Tactics are passive abilities that can be combined with other tactics to enhance your
natural abilities. As your gain ranks you unlock more slots to use additional Tactics at the
same time. In addition, you can save different sets of Tactics for use in specific situations.
Players unlock their first Tactic ability at Rank 11.

Career Masteries

Career Mastery will allow players focus on different facets of their career giving them the
opportunity to differentiate themselves from others, while still making sure that every
character, no matter how they're specialized, can still perform the basic and fundamental
purpose of their career. For example, every Sword Master will be an able tank, capable of
absorbing much more damage than a lighter fighter. However someone who specializes
in the Sword Master's defensive path will find that they are generally more durable, able
to hold aggro better in PvE and able to defend their friends more efficiently in an RvR
scenario. Meanwhile a Sword Master who chooses to go a more offensive route will still
be able to take a hit, but may find themselves hard pressed to defend & protect as well as
their counterpart, admittedly they will be hitting quite a bit harder as a trade off.

To begin at the most basic layer, every player will have four grouping of skills: Core
skills and skills that fall under one of three different Paths of Mastery. The Core skills
include a small handful of abilities which are simply critical to the career (to continue the
example above, a Swordmaster would find that their Taunt and Guard abilities are Core).
These Core skills automatically improve as you gain ranks; once you learn them, they
won't require any further investments. Moving beyond that, each career will have three
paths available to Master, each of which emphasizes one specific facet of the career's
abilities. While the Core skills represent a more automatic progress, the pathed skills are
heavily player-controlled.


Each Mastery contains Base skills, Supplemental skills, and also has its own Mastery
level. Base skills are the Actions, Tactics & Morale a player is granted as a reward for
achieving a specific level, every character of that Career will always be able to purchase
these skills, however their total effectiveness is intimately tied to the player's level of
Mastery. Supplemental Skills are the Actions, Tactics, and Morale that a player can only
unlock by increasing their Mastery of a given path, like Base skills Supplemental skills
continue to increase in effectiveness as you're Mastery level increases. The Mastery level
itself is the current amount of Mastery a player has in a particular path, players will be
able to choose just how much Mastery they desire in each of the three paths available to
them.

Earning Skills & Increasing Mastery

Skills can be earned in one of two ways Base skills are unlocked when you achieve a specific rank then purchased at your trainer, players can choose to skip a Base skill if they desire but there is no good reason to do so. Supplemental skills however are only unlocked once you reach a certain Mastery level, once unlocked a player has to choose to spend points to purchase these skills. This is a difficult choice because the same points used to purchase Supplemental skills are used to increase Mastery level. These points are referred to as specialization points, and are earned every rank, a player will never have enough Specialization points to completely Master multiple paths while purchasing Supplemental skills. It is a tough choice because every point of Mastery earned improves EVERY action in that mastery line by a small amount - this includes the Base Skills you automatically get. One level of Mastery can seem trivial however they add up and 5 or 10p points of Mastery makes a significant difference!


There is some amount of automatic leveling of power for skills in the paths outside of their Mastery. This is done to make sure the ability is not completely useless to the player, in fact many abilities may still be useful for secondary effects such as Stun even if they have horrible damage/healing values because their Mastery level is lower. When comparing the general power of an ability of a path with 100% Mastery and one with 0% Mastery you will see around a 30 - 35% difference in power. Remember this number can be improved (or widened) further depending on which Tactics and Stats you focus on as well.

Warhammer Online Chosen Guide

A Chosen Champion of Tzeentch is a sight to behold - warped by the blessings of the dark gods, these hulking behemoths have the power and size to match even the mightiest of mortal creatures. Their thick Chaos armor can ward off the most punishing of blows, while the fell weapons they wield can cleave the heaviest of defenses. However, these "blessings" come at a price - the Chosen is beholden to Tzeentch, and must constantly strive to earn his favor. For the Chosen of Tzeentch this means more than mere slaughter and death. In order to earn the grace of the Changer of Ways, the Chosen must apply guile and trickery as much as brute force. Only through careful planning and deliberate carnage can a Chosen of Tzeentch truly find the favor of their god.

Chosen Strenghts and Weaknesses
Strengths:

Takes lots of damage with an above average amount of hit points.
Deal more damage than other tanks on average.
Auras that cause different effects such as buffing or damage.

Weaknesses:

Lacks ranged attacks which makes fighting from a distance impossible.
Lifetap aura doesn't heal for enough to offset combat damage.
Weak against ranged damage classes

PvE and RvR Overview
PvE
The Chaos Chosen is hard to beat in PvE environment. They tend to solo quickly with their high tolerance for damage and ability to enhance their DPS through their different auras. Their auras can enhance Chosen's damage, resist effects or even enable them to heal themselves for small amounts. Auras can also buff their group members, so they are quite an asset to any party.

RvR
The Chaos Chosen's preferred mode of combat is up close and personal. The combination of their ability to soak damage, do a decent amount of damage, and the effects of a their auras make the Chosen a hard foe to bring down. However, if ranged DPS classes get a headstart, Chosen will quickly end up dead. However with a good healer backing you up, you will be unstoppable.
Chosen Career Masteries

Path of Dread
The Path of Dread is highly offensive, focusing on direct offensive power while sacrificing some defensive protections. A master of Dread will be likely to favor a Great Weapon over a shield. They will be easily capable of picking up a shield when the situation calls for it... but they won't be happy about it.

Path of Corruption
The Path of Corruption is a cunning mastery for those who prefer to wait for their enemies to fruitlessly unleash their most powerful attacks before responding with deliberate and vicious counter attacks. A specialist in Corruption can outlast most enemies, letting their foes exhaust their attacks against their shield, and they will be the person who defines where the lines of battle will be drawn, since they -are- the front lines.

Path of Discord
The Path of Discord is one that delves more deeply into Tzeentch's arcane gifts, and masters of Discord have a limited understanding of how to manipulate the Chaos forces that swirl within them. They can unleash blasts of magical power, or twist the aethyr to unnaturally enhance their melee attacks. Their understanding of the nature of magic is still relatively shallow, however, and they can not hope to approach the skill or power of a true Magus, but even their brief flashes of otherworldly energy are enough to empower them as potent melee combatants.
Chosen Guide
Leveling - secret leveling locations specifically for Chosen will make you level up at least twice as fast

Gold making - gold making secrets from the generic Warhammer Online guide will help a lot, but if you're serious about making huge amounts of gold in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning this Chosen specific strategies will easily net you over 100 gold per hour

Equipment - if you're confused with all the gear choices and don't know where to get the best possible items, this chapter will answer all of your questions. A comprehensive list of gear specific for your Chosen will make you a RvR god.

RvR strategy - knowing other career weaknesses and strenghts is half of the battle, but the other half is knowing your own class in detail. There's a huge number of working strategies in this guide which will enable you to beat every single opponent you face in RvR battles.

Warhammer Online Bright Wizard Guide

Bright Wizards aren't the easiest class to play in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, so many players requested a guide to help them better understand leveling, equipment choices, gold making, RvR strategies and more. This guide you're reading about now will answer many of these questions.

The Bright Wizard has a number of abilities to blow their enemies to pieces with various spells: direct damage, damage over time (DoT) or area of effect (AoE).

Every damaging spell your Bright Wizard casts builds up Combustion, which translates into greater chance to critically hit your foes, and sometimes even hit you back. The key to avoiding this to happen is the Meltdown ability.

Starting at rank 10, Bright Wizards can invest points into three different talent trees to maximize the effectiveness of certain spells:
- Incineration: Direct damage
- Immolation: Damage over time
- Conflagration: Area effect spells

Bright Wizard Guide Summary
Bright Wizard specific leveling strategy - how to maximize your experience gain per hour and level up as fast as possible

Making gold - There's a number of different insider strategies included to help you earn massive amounts of gold faster than you think.

Attack and defense - how to turn Bright Wizard's greatest weakness into your favor
Equipment - Bright Wizard specific gear list will show you exactly how and where to get the best possible items

RvR tricks - learn the key weaknesses of other careers in Warhammer Online and easy to follow strategies on beating them in RvR combat

Crafting In Warhammer

You can choose from several different crafts (skills, professions) in Warhammer Online:

Apothecary
Butchering
Cultivating
Magical salvaging
Talisman making
Scavenging
Keep in mind these few facts:

Apothecary and talisman making are crafting skills, while the other four are gathering skills
You can only have one crafting and one gathering profession at any given time
Learning these skills is easy, simply visit one of the trainers throughout the world
Switching skills is possible, but you will loose all progress with previous skills

Apothecary
Apothecary is basically what you might know as alchemy from other games. It enables you to make all sorts of potions, lotions and powders, which increase your stats for a certain period of time.

For low level potions, you can get the ingredients from various merchants, but higher level potions will require items obtained with one or more of the gathering professions: cultivating, scavenging or butchering.

Apothecary works with a main ingredient which determines what kind of potion you will make (whether the potion will give you bonuses to healing, intelligence or something else), while other additional ingredients (mods) are up to you: depending on which ones you use, there can be a longer or shorter duration, greater effect, more doses, and they also affect potion stability. Basically, you get to mix your own stuff, and of course Tome of Knowledge will track it all so you don't have to remember the ingredients.

Talisman making
Talismans are minor items of power which you can attach to other powerful and rare items obtained with RvR, PvE, quests or something else. Basic talismans give bonuses to armor, resistances or stats, while more complicated talismans will give more elaborate bonuses.
To make a talisman, you need ingredients from various crafting and gathering skills, but the main ingredient is a magical fragment obtained with magical salvaging.

Magical Salvaging
Magical salvaging is basically (dis)enchanting; it can convert magical items into component parts. You can actually choose which bonuses to extract from items, like strength or intelligence. Also, you can get different fragments which are used to make talismans.

Cultivating
With cultivating, you can grow your own plants and fungi, which are mostly used for apothecary. To grow the plants or fungi, you need various seeds or spores obtained from merchants, monsters or scavenging. When you have the ingredients, you put them in the pot and then the growth cycle starts. You can also add soil, water and nutrients to speed up the process. After it's done, you should be able to harvest the plant which will then appear in your backpack, and you can then use the pot to grow another plant.

Butchering and Scavenging
Scavenging and butchering are rather similar, since they both extract specific resources from the monsters you kill. However, scavenging can only be used on 'humanoid' type creatures, while butchering can be used on beasts (non-sentient creatures so to speak). If they got no clothes or pockets, then it's most likely you will have to butcher. The only items you can recover with butchering are meat, skin and bones; for everything else, there's scavenging.

If you're wondering, scavenging is supposedly the most profitable profession so take that into consideration also when choosing your skills. But both are pretty profitable, since you can sometimes just follow other players and scavenge/butcher the monsters they kill (you need to wait a few minutes though).

Warhammer Apothecary Guide

Containers

A container is required for each Apothecary attempt. Merchants sell basic containers. They can be easily identified since they have "Apothecary - Container" in their tooltips. Better containers usually have some beneficial effect, like adding stability or "power". Containers have four slots.
Containers have Apothecary skill-level requirements. A player will be able to use a container only if his or her Apothecary skill is sufficiently high. Each container's skill-level requirement is shown in its tooltip.

Main Ingredients

These items determine what type of "potion" will be made. They can be easily identified since they have "Apothecary - Main Ingredient" in their tooltips. Each tooltip contains flavor text that gives a basic explanation of what that main ingredient does.
Main Ingredients have skill-level requirements, the higher the skill-level requirement, the more powerful the main ingredient is. A player can only use a main ingredient with a high skill-level requirement if his or her skill is sufficiently high. Main ingredients are very unstable.

Ingredients

These items determine the overall effects of the "potion". They are easily identified since they have "Apothecary - Ingredient" in their tooltips. Each Ingredient's tooltip also contains flavor text that gives a basic explanation of what that ingredient does.
Ingredients can have different properties. Some add stability; some make potions last longer, some increase the product yield. Ingredients have skill-level requirements, the higher the skill-level requirement, the more powerful the ingredient. A player can only use an ingredient with a high skill-level requirement if his or her skill is sufficiently high.

Creating a potion

To begin creating a potion, a player must first drag a container into the Apothecary interface. Then the player must add a Main Ingredient. This determines what kind of potion will be made. Once a Main Ingredient has been added, the Un-Stabilityometer appears. This gauge gives information to the player about whether the current mix of ingredients is stable enough.

Unstability meter

This gauge tells the player how stable the current concoction is. The Un-Stabilityometer has a pointer that points to either the red (fail), green (success) or orange part of the gauge.
If the pointer is in the red area, the potion will definitely fail - it's not stable enough. If the pointer is in the green area, the potion will definitely succeed.

If the pointer is in the orange area, the potion "might" succeed - it's either just stable enough (success), or slightly unstable (fail). It's too close to call. When the pointer is in the orange area, the overall stability of the concoction can't be definitively determined.
If a concoction is in the orange area, it "might succeed". At this point, it's usually a good idea to add an ingredient that will increase stability. However, players can take a chance that the concoction is stable enough and hit "BREW".

Note that if a brew attempt fails when the concoction "might succeed", retrying with the same ingredients will never result in a success. There's no randomness associated with "might succeed".

Adding Ingredients

Once a Main Ingredient has been added, players can add other ingredients to make the concoction stable. Some ingredients can increase the duration of a potion's effect; some can increase how many potions are made; some increase the stability of the concoction. Players can use different combinations of ingredients to create potions with different effects. By experimenting with ingredients, players can "design" potions that suit their play style.

Failure

If a concoction is unstable and the player presses BREW, the attempt will fail. Ingredients are not usually destroyed during a failure. However, some containers and ingredients (normally those bought from a merchant) can be destroyed during a failure.

Stability

The most important aspect of crafting potions is ensuring that the concoction is stable. Players make concoctions stable by adding ingredients that add stability. You can tell if an ingredient is a "stabilizer" by reading its flavor text.

There is a "water" family of "stabilizer" ingredients. Basic waters can be bought from crafting merchants. Better waters can be found from humanoids, either from general loot or by scavenging them. Better waters add more stability to a concoction. If a player is experimenting with new and difficult ingredients, using better stabilizers will make a brew attempt more likely to succeed.

When a player starts out in Apothecary, a good way to skill up is to make simple potions using one main ingredient, two cloudy waters, and one other ingredient. You can get all these items from crafting merchants.

Warhammer Guide

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