This is a post I made, to present the Warcryer (WC from here on) class to anyone who is interested in starting one. It doesn’t have to do with how to level one, just an overview and a role description. Many of the things here (specially on the statistics) also apply to the Overlord class. Their roles and gameplay though, are diversified due to the different buffs and skill sets. Needless to say that these are my personal views, thus subjective. Take this post as what it is intended to be: a simple point of view.
INTRODUCTION
Any class’s role ingame is defined by its stats and skill set. Tattoos and equipment may change things a bit, but only to certain extend. So what does the game give to WC? What are our strengths and weaknesses?
PHYSICAL STATISTICS
Let’s begin our overview from the initial statistics. WC is a mystic class, primarily considered a buffer. What is obvious with the first look is that its statistics can be characterized as extreme. That means it has everything very high or very low. Its physical statistics (CON, DEX, STR) are much higher (or at least equal) than any other mystic’s. That is why they are called a hybrid (fighter-mystic). Not only that, but they get all armor masteries (including heavy). This fact, along with their buffs/skills makes them able to solo much easier than any other buffer-healer (e.g. prophets get also heavy armor mastery, but they fall behind due to lower physical stats and offensive skills).
The magical statistics are still characterized by extremity. INT and WIT are the lowest of all mystics, while MEN is the highest ingame. That means in simple words that you will not hit hard with magical attacks or cast fast, but you will have high magical defense, high MP regeneration rate and more MP than other classes.
UNIQUE ABILITY
NC tries to give every class some sort of unique ability to make them different from other classes. In WC’s case, this is party buffing. A WC is the most efficient MP-wise buffer when it comes to large parties (OL can actually buff more people but they have to be clan/alliance related). There are many advantages to mass buffing:
-Saves MP from other buffers, which they can use to heal and recharge.
-Buffs are made really fast for the entire party
-It’s easy to track the buff duration and rebuff time
Only downside of party buffs is that they cost a lot of MP.
SKILLS
The skill set hides some more surprises. WC gets hammer crush, an attack that does damage (greatly boosted in Interlude) and has also a chance to stun an opponent (blunt weapon is needed). Indeed, hammer crush has been nicely boosted in CT1 (especially if soul cry is on). Orc mystics are the only from mystic classes that get it. Same thing applies for Steal essence. This is a magical attack that damages the enemy and restores a (large) percentage of damage dealt as HP to the caster. Only downside is its MP cost which was increased on C5. Another useful skill is Soul Cry (toggle) that greatly boosts your Patk but consumes mana for as long is on.
The main damaging skills of WC are supposed to be his Damage Over time Attacks (DOT from now on). Well this is hardly the case. Freezing flame and venom are DOT’s that gradually lower somebody’s HP. Freezing flame can be useful some times (really few times) but venom does so little damage that is viewed by most WC as waste of MP (it stops getting levels at 52 so it has a low landing rate anyhow from that point up) . Aura sink burns instantly some MP and also drains some over time. Its uses are limited to PvP (although it is still viewed by many as waste of MP). The problem lies with the Over Time part. Currently a lot of classes can deal big amounts of damage in very little time, thus making anything that works Over Time almost useless. CT1 brought an increase in DoT’s damage, but the impact was insignificant.
There are 4 more skills that give another dimension to WC. First one is Chant of life. It is a Heal Over Time skill (HOT from now on) that restores some points of HP over time. It affects all party members so it costs a LOT of MP and it is not as effective as other heals. It can be used in some cases to relieve a healer’s burden in places where many party members take damage (e.g. when fighting mobs that use AOE attacks). The other 3 are crowd control skills (CC from now on). This is: Dreaming spirit (sleeps the target), Fear (makes an enemy run away in fear) and Madness (makes an enemy attack a random target). Sleep casting time was increased in C5 but did not apply to dreaming spirit skill. That makes an orc mystic the fastest sleep caster ingame. Needless to say how useful sleeping targets in heavily spawned areas is. Fear is also very useful and with the coming of Interlude it will also affect other players. Great CC skill (as long as it lands). Madness has a very poor landing rate so nobody really uses it. But it is by far the FUNNIEST skill. Imagine two monsters A and B near each other. You land Madness on monster A. It then attacks monster B that then attacks you. You end up fighting monster B with monster A helping you by beating on monster B! Really funny. Wish it landed more.
BUFFS
WC has one of the best buff sets for physical combat characters ingame. It is a general conception in the game that the best and most efficient way to kill (physical combat) is by scoring as many critical hits possible in the less possible time. WC gets all the “good” offensive damage dealing buffs that increase attacking speed (haste) and critical hits efficiency (versions of accuracy, focus and death whisper). But also gets good defensive skills (a version of evasion, vampiric rage and magic defense increase). Also at higher levels they get war/earth chant that further (additional to might/shield buffs) increase either Patk or Pdef (only WC and prophets get this). At even higher levels, there is a reflect damage skill (throws some physical damage received back to the attacker). At the end game (lvl. 78) there is a skill that is considered by many the best skill available for physical combat characters: Chant of victory. It gives a big boost to all statistics (only speed is lowered). In Interlude, Chant of Magus will compliment this, and it will be the mage version of CoV. CT1 brought another good buff (Chant of protection) that reduces amount of received critical damage. Too bad is at level 79 :(
CT1.5 brought some sweet changes for the class. The 70-74 combined (combo) buffs. These buffs:
a) Replace several of the existing ones, taking one buff slot while providing 2 buff effects. Level 70 Chant of combat (shielding/battle), level 72 Chant of critical (predator/rage), level 74 Chant of blood awakening (fury/vampire),
b) Require no SP to learn. Only the relevant amulet is needed (droppable amulets, not bought at NPC),
c) Last for 40 minutes,
c) Cost only a fraction of MP of the initial buffs. A WC at 74 needed 1222 MP every 20 minutes for these 6 buffs. With the combo buffs, it only needs 198 MP every 40 minutes!!!
These changes help the class to greatly conserve MP and allows us to wear light or heavy armors more often (e.g. for castle/fortress sieges or when soloing) since we have enough MP to do our buffs. Additionally, buff slots are freed to accommodate buffs that sometimes were left out due to over-buffing (especially if there are more support characters in party).
ROLE
What is your role in L2 world? Well, you are a party animal. That is where you shine. Your buffs and skills assign you the following tasks in a party: buffer, crowd controller, secondary damage dealer, healer (usually with this order). Since these will be expected from you, I suggest building your character in that perspective, especially after C-grade.
GAMEPLAY
Party setup is pretty much standard. Robes help you fulfill tasks number one, two and four (buffs, CC, healing) due to extra MP and casting speed. You also need a good damage-dealing weapon to fulfill your third task (secondary damage dealing). Anything like a 2-h blunt/sword or dagger will do (with dagger being mostly favored after B-grade). A nice addition could be a mage’s weapon with acumen or magical power SA’s to help you with CC and Steal essence. Landing your skills faster (acumen) or with better chances (magic power) is always helpful (personally I went for the second choice, but if I had PvP concerns, I would have preferred the acumen).
Solo game play is quite possible up to 60+ due to your stats, skills and buffs (can’t say if and where it stops, since I am low 60’s). Solo setup is diversified from your party setup only in the armor, since you need heavy to solo (some WC solo with robes too, but I haven't tested it myself). If you can’t afford both sets, light armor (specially Blue wolf light after B-grade) can be a good compromise between the two, if properly combined with a mana up SA weapon. In my early 70’s, I can still solo with acceptable rate. Tallum robes at FoD (unfortunately no tallum heavy available at this time to test) and with my BW light in Blazing swamp. So I guess that with the right equipment and choice of spot, you can solo up to 73-74 (I can’t confirm for higher levels yet).
CT1.5: Ability to solo after level 70 has been increased more with the new combo buffs. They require much less MP and they last for 40 min. thus leaving more MP for damage dealing (soul cry, drains, hummer crush).
UPS
-WC is wanted in parties, be it exp or raids. Finding a party is usually not a problem. Additionally, you don’t face the group restrictions an OL has in order to be efficient (clan/ally group)
-Soloing is a viable option (and I mean soloing, no OOP buffers), especially after the introduction of herbs
-Clans are willing to take you in, even if they already have an OL (or even another WC). Very few people box a WC, so they are usually needed.
AND DOWNS
-Buffs level up later than any other buffer’s. This can be frustrating at early stages, but turns out to be a good thing later, since you have something to expect.
-You need different armor setup for solo and party (of course there is always space for some compromises, so this can be solved too). Also you need two weapons (melee, magical) and ss as well as sps to be most effective. But it is not a must have.
-Everybody makes fun of you because you are green and run really slowly. :p
PS. This does not cover any PvP aspects of the WC. I leave it to others more experienced to discuss it. My guess is that PvP wise, WC stands somewhere in the middle of the stairs.
I agree, it is a nice overview. My only comment is, I have personally only tried Fear and Madness a few times. I have yet to see either one land; instead, they always draw the mob to me in PvE. The one time I tried in PvP, they did squat on a clanmate's lvl 11 dorf, from my lvl 61 WC.
Pwn, there's a lot to that question. What would you be boxing the WC with? What level is your main at now? What is your preferred hunting style when solo (Cats & Dungeons or Open Field, pole or sword)? Answer the questions, give us a sense of what you like to do, or would like to do, and maybe I and some other posters can give you some guidance.
Only downside of party buffs is that they cost a lot of MP.
It also means you can't be selective about what you buff who, which means a WC-Buffed player will probably ultimately have less buffs useful to themselves than one who has the same amount of buffs from a single target player.
That makes an orc mystic the fastest sleep caster ingame.
Trance is still faster. Fear is also a great CC skill if and only if the person using it knows what they're doing and doesn't wind up pingponging the group into a bunch of adds.
As long as you're not trying to CC (which won't be neccessary if you have a live PP, SE, EE or Bishop), you don't need robes for groups.
In level 62, a WC without robes and natural MEN (42) , has 1819 MP. If he needs to cast all his buffs, he needs 2385 MP. So he is 566 MP short. That means a) he either does less buffs or b) he has a weapon with Mana Up/Conversion SA or robes. If more buffers are present and it's a small party, you may share some buffs to spare some MP. But for large parties, this is not efficient. It is more preferable that the WC does as much buffing as possible and spare other buffers MP to use for heals, recharges or CC (so he can focus on secondary DD)
What you say can be an option. That's why I said "a) he either does less buffs". But in order to be efficient and fulfill your primary and secondary roles, you need to cast all buffs at once and still have an MP reserve for CC, especially if you are the only buffer available.
You don't need to cast all your buffs at once to keep all buffs up, and therefore you are still fulfilling your role perfectly even when you are staggering - better, in fact. A staggered group is less likely to hit a tight spot with buffs dropping.
With robes (and maybe +wit; I'd go nuts without it), you're less likely to hit a tight spot due to losing buffs. And especially now that we have the count down, you'll rarely be without full buffs.
In my opinion, it's a very good idea to use robes as a WC, especially if you want to crowd control, and want your chant of life to be somewhat useful in parties. Not to mention, you'll have plenty of MP to both buff, CC and heal.
Of course, if you solo, you might want to use light armor or heavy. I don't have much experience with soloing a WC. But you really shouldn't have to either :)
I've found one weapon to be sufficient in PvE; a p.atk weapon. I've rarely had trouble landing sleep on mobs that weren't ridiculously higher level than me. Fear has also proven to be quite useful in catacombs, on sleep resist mobs. Very good. Decent landing rate.
Good Job with this guide. Has pretty much everything a player needs to know about WCs.
Now about those questions ppl were asking here about PvP setup and robes or other armors to PvE; I'm a WC myself 7x and my clan often PvPs so i found out that having robes and an acumen weapon (Mage Blunt is awesome cause u can stun) does wonders. I also have +4 WIT -4 MEN atm and it helps me get good casting speed. About PvE partys it depends. If ur the only buffer and the party has more than 4 ppl then robes for sure. If u have other buffers/healers support, either in party or out of it, u dont really need robes if u dont want to cause CC can be done with light/heavy, just slower :P With Light/Heavy at my lvl i can do full buffs but i cant do anything else and my MP takes about 10-12min to fully recover if i dont use it, only meleeing. With robes u can CC/HOT since u'll have spare MP after full buffs. Soloing im using DC light cause its borrowed but i would buy a Tallum Heavy if i could. :)
You don't need to cast all your buffs at once to keep all buffs up, and therefore you are still fulfilling your role perfectly even when you are staggering - better, in fact. A staggered group is less likely to hit a tight spot with buffs dropping.
That is your point of view. Mine, is that I have to cast them all in order to give my party the full benefits of my buffs. Parties are more effective when they are fully buffed than partially. I don't think there is any debate about that.
As for buffs dropping: If you let buffs to drop then you don't do your job well. Buffs upkeeping is a buffer's primary concern (that is why it is called primary role). Everything else comes second. Buffs droping before full MP rarely happens to me and that is only due to heavy CC and HOT'ing (some tough spots or me beeing the only buffer can cause that). But that is something my parties understand and don't expect more.
As for the "robes" thing. I didn't write that you need robes. I wrote that you need extra MP . And the way to do it, is either by robes or mana up/conversion SA weapons. Personaly, I use BW light a mana up weapon. But robes can also be a viable (maybe better choice) if you can also have a secondary heavy set for soloing. You don't need heavy or light armor for DD in a group, since you rarely draw aggro and for a very short time.
You don't need to cast all your buffs at once to keep all buffs up, and therefore you are still fulfilling your role perfectly even when you are staggering - better, in fact. A staggered group is less likely to hit a tight spot with buffs dropping.
That is your point of view. Mine, is that I have to cast them all in order to give my party the full benefits of my buffs. Parties are more effective when they are fully buffed than partially. I don't think there is any debate about that.
As for buffs dropping: If you let buffs to drop then you don't do your job well. Buffs upkeeping is a buffer's primary concern (that is why it is called primary role). Everything else comes second. Buffs droping before full MP rarely happens to me and that is only due to heavy CC and HOT'ing (some tough spots or me beeing the only buffer can cause that). But that is something my parties understand and don't expect more.
As for the "robes" thing. I didn't write that you need robes. I wrote that you need extra MP . And the way to do it, is either by robes or mana up/conversion SA weapons. Personaly, I use BW light a mana up weapon. But robes can also be a viable (maybe better choice) if you can also have a secondary heavy set for soloing. You don't need heavy or light armor for DD in a group, since you rarely draw aggro and for a very short time.
I'm a 75 warcryer on franz and i can tell you that post 68 you never have to stagger buffs ever again with maj or dc robes.
at this point you can do a fullbuff and have a k or so mp left over for drains or stuns or whatever u need, plus your mp will be full again 10 mins into the buffs
I decided to update a bit this old guide since it was written 2 chronicles ago (it was made in C5). With red color are the changes made from the original text. I'll try to keep it updated as things change.
A 78 WC can full buff two parties :o My new pet is a WC, and I like her so much more than my PP and SE! I'm only missing WW and a nice direct heal for my AoE, but GHP and CoL keeps me alive at level 60 for the time being.
After buying enough GHP to live through 20 levels (yay ding 60) of AoE carnage, I think I'm still making money! 5M AA in my pocket that wasn't there before I rerolled sub (again) proves it. I guesstimate to have spent around 2.5K GHPs up to level 60. Now I'm ****** at myself and US summer time because I was too busy grinding to remember 7 signs closed 1 hour earlier than usual...
Screw you USA summer time! You cut off my drug!! T_T
You need some many ghps per level because you can never go more than an hour without getting into pvp with someone 15 levels+ higher than you and dying :(
This is an updated version. The CT1.5 changes are marked with green.
This is a post I made, to present the Warcryer (WC from here on) class to anyone who is interested in starting one. It doesn’t have to do with how to level one, just an overview and a role description. Many of the things here (especially on the statistics) also apply to the Overlord class. Their roles and gameplay though, are diversified due to the different buffs and skill sets. Needless to say that these are my personal views, thus subjective. Take this post as what it is intended to be: a simple point of view.
INTRODUCTION
Any class’s role ingame is defined by its stats and skill set. Tattoos and equipment may change things a bit, but only to certain extend. So what does the game give to WC? What are our strengths and weaknesses?
PHYSICAL STATISTICS
Let’s begin our overview from the initial statistics. WC is a mystic class, primarily considered a buffer. What is obvious with the first look is that its statistics can be characterized as extreme. That means it has everything very high or very low. Its physical statistics (CON, DEX, STR) are much higher (or at least equal) than any other mystic’s. That is why they are called a hybrid (fighter-mystic). Not only that, but they get all armor masteries (including heavy). This fact, along with their buffs/skills makes them able to solo much easier than any other buffer-healer (e.g. prophets get also heavy armor mastery, but they fall behind due to lower physical stats and offensive skills).
The magical statistics are still characterized by extremity. INT and WIT are the lowest of all mystics, while MEN is the highest ingame. That means in simple words that you will not hit hard with magical attacks or cast fast, but you will have high magical defense, high MP regeneration rate and more MP than other classes.
UNIQUE ABILITY
NC tries to give every class some sort of unique ability to make them different from other classes. In WC’s case, this is party buffing. A WC is the most efficient MP-wise buffer when it comes to large parties (OL can actually buff more people but they have to be clan/alliance related). There are many advantages to mass buffing:
-Saves MP from other buffers, which they can use to heal and recharge.
-Buffs are made really fast for the entire party
-It’s easy to track the buff duration and rebuff time
Only downside of party buffs is that they cost a lot of MP.
SKILLS
The skill set hides some more surprises. WC gets hammer crush, an attack that does damage (greatly boosted in Interlude) and has also a chance to stun an opponent (blunt weapon is needed). Indeed, hammer crush has been nicely boosted in CT1 (especially if soul cry is on). Orc mystics are the only from mystic classes that get it. Same thing applies for Steal essence. This is a magical attack that damages the enemy and restores a (large) percentage of damage dealt as HP to the caster. Only downside is its MP cost which was increased on C5. Another useful skill is Soul Cry (toggle) that greatly boosts your Patk but consumes mana for as long is on.
The main damaging skills of WC are supposed to be his Damage Over time Attacks (DOT from now on). Well this is hardly the case. Freezing flame and venom are DOT’s that gradually lower somebody’s HP. Freezing flame can be useful some times (really few times) but venom does so little damage that is viewed by most WC as waste of MP (it stops getting levels at 52 so it has a low landing rate anyhow from that point up) . Aura sink burns instantly some MP and also drains some over time. Its uses are limited to PvP (although it is still viewed by many as waste of MP). The problem lies with the Over Time part. Currently a lot of classes can deal big amounts of damage in very little time, thus making anything that works Over Time almost useless. CT1 brought an increase in DoT’s damage, but the impact was insignificant.
There are 4 more skills that give another dimension to WC. First one is Chant of life. It is a Heal Over Time skill (HOT from now on) that restores some points of HP over time. It affects all party members so it costs a LOT of MP and it is not as effective as other heals. It can be used in some cases to relieve a healer’s burden in places where many party members take damage (e.g. when fighting mobs that use AOE attacks). The other 3 are crowd control skills (CC from now on). This is: Dreaming spirit (sleeps the target), Fear (makes an enemy run away in fear) and Madness (makes an enemy attack a random target). Sleep casting time was increased in C5 but did not apply to dreaming spirit skill. That makes an orc mystic the fastest sleep caster ingame. Needless to say how useful sleeping targets in heavily spawned areas is. Fear is also very useful and with the coming of Interlude it will also affect other players. Great CC skill (as long as it lands). Madness has a very poor landing rate so nobody really uses it. But it is by far the FUNNIEST skill. Imagine two monsters A and B near each other. You land Madness on monster A. It then attacks monster B that then attacks you. You end up fighting monster B with monster A helping you by beating on monster B! Really funny. Wish it landed more.
BUFFS
WC has one of the best buff sets for physical combat characters ingame. It is a general conception in the game that the best and most efficient way to kill (physical combat) is by scoring as many critical hits possible in the less possible time. WC gets all the “good” offensive damage dealing buffs that increase attacking speed (haste) and critical hits efficiency (versions of accuracy, focus and death whisper). But also gets good defensive skills (a version of evasion, vampiric rage and magic defense increase). Also at higher levels they get war/earth chant that further (additional to might/shield buffs) increase either Patk or Pdef (only WC and prophets get this). At even higher levels, there is a reflect damage skill (throws some physical damage received back to the attacker). At the end game (lvl. 78) there is a skill that is considered by many the best skill available for physical combat characters: Chant of victory. It gives a big boost to all statistics (only speed is lowered). In Interlude, Chant of Magus will compliment this, and it will be the mage version of CoV. CT1 brought another good buff (Chant of protection) that reduces amount of received critical damage. CT1.5 brought some sweet changes for the class. The 70-74 combined (combo) buffs. These buffs:
a) Replace several of the existing ones, taking one buff slot while providing 2 buff effects. Level 70 Chant of combat (shielding/battle), level 72 Chant of critical (predator/rage), level 74 Chant of blood awakening (fury/vampire),
b) Require no SP to learn. Only the relevant amulet is needed (droppable amulets, not bought at NPC),
c) Last for 40 minutes,
c) Cost only a fraction of MP of the initial buffs. A WC at 74 needed 1222 MP every 20 minutes for these 6 buffs. With the combo buffs, it only needs 198 MP every 40 minutes!!!
These changes help the class to greatly conserve MP and allows us to wear light or heavy armors more often (e.g. for castle/fortress sieges or when soloing) since we have enough MP to do our buffs. Additionally, buff slots are freed to accommodate buffs that sometimes were left out due to over-buffing (especially if there are more support characters in party).
ROLE
What is your role in L2 world? Well, you are a party animal. That is where you shine. Your buffs and skills assign you the following tasks in a party: buffer, crowd controller, secondary damage dealer, healer (usually with this order). Since these will be expected from you, I suggest building your character in that perspective, especially after C-grade.
GAMEPLAY
Party setup is pretty much standard. Robes help you fulfill tasks number one, two and four (buffs, CC, healing) due to extra MP and casting speed. You also need a good damage-dealing weapon to fulfill your third task (secondary damage dealing). Anything like a 2-h blunt/sword or dagger will do (with dagger being mostly favored after B-grade). A nice addition could be a mage’s weapon with acumen or magical power SA’s to help you with CC and Steal essence. Landing your skills faster (acumen) or with better chances (magic power) is always helpful (personally I went for the second choice, but if I had PvP concerns, I would have preferred the acumen).
Solo game play is quite possible up to 60+ due to your stats, skills and buffs (can’t say if and where it stops, since I am low 60’s). Solo setup is diversified from your party setup only in the armor, since you need heavy to solo (some WC solo with robes too, but I haven't tested it myself). If you can’t afford both sets, light armor (specially Blue wolf light after B-grade) can be a good compromise between the two, if properly combined with a mana up SA weapon. In my early 70’s, I can still solo with acceptable rate. Tallum robes at FoD (unfortunately no tallum heavy available at this time to test) and with my BW light in Blazing swamp. So I guess that with the right equipment and choice of spot, you can solo up to 73-74 (I can’t confirm for higher levels yet). CT1.5: Ability to solo after level 70 has been increased more with the new combo buffs. They require much less MP and they last for 40 min. thus leaving more MP for damage dealing (soul cry, drains, hummer crush).
UPS
-WC is wanted in parties, be it exp or raids. Finding a party is usually not a problem. Additionally, you don’t face the group restrictions an OL has in order to be efficient (clan/ally group)
-Soloing is a viable option (and I mean soloing, no OOP buffers), especially after the introduction of herbs
-Clans are willing to take you in, even if they already have an OL (or even another WC). Very few people box a WC, so they are usually needed.
AND DOWNS
-Buffs level up later than any other buffer’s. This can be frustrating at early stages, but turns out to be a good thing later, since you have something to expect.
-You need different armor setup for solo and party (of course there is always space for some compromises, so this can be solved too). Also you need two weapons (melee, magical) and ss as well as sps to be most effective. But it is not a must have.
-Everybody makes fun of you because you are green and run really slowly.
PS. This does not cover any PvP aspects of the WC. I leave it to others more experienced to discuss it. My guess is that PvP wise, WC stands somewhere in the middle of the stairs.
Just a couple of notes/addendums from a WC/OL player. (Yes, both at once....I blame NC, but you practically need the WC to level the OL.)
Comparing the OL to the WC is like comparing a Bonsai to a Redwood. The OL can 'go' more places, but the WC has more 'backing' it up. Both are pretty much played/leveled the same, but the OL's (few) strengths are so situational, they end up being more ornamental than functional in practice.
Also, OL buffs are currently CLAN ONLY. (Although OL's can now buff clan members pets, a much needed and welcome change.)
RE: HAMMER CRUSH
This is more of a harassment skill than of any use in leveling. It can also be used as a interrupt or aggro maker, but Soul Cry provides more return per MP spent if you are using a non-blunt weapon. (Incidentally, keeping your Soul Cry learn level, one below max is recommended as the MP consumed per tick gets rather high, fast.)
RE: VENOM / FREEZING FLAME
Venom is good as a 'pull'. Use it to seperate mobs or get aggro before they are in range. (It's your cheapest ranged spell to cast, that doesn't stop the mob or send it elsewhere.)
Freezing Flame is a good 'harassment' skill. If you have the MP to spare, use it to have a chance to knock a fair portion of HP off the target.
The skill learn levels for both Venom/FF are spread out enough that the skills will either always be weak, or they will go from strong to near useless damage amounts as you level up.
Both skills however, suffer from the Orc Mystic stats and gear setup. Neither skill does enough damage to make it worth using as a strong leveling tool and even when geared up for a high land rate, it will still be too low compared to your alternate choices. BSPS is nearly required to land the skills reliably, but since BSPS does not increase the DOT damage, it is extremely expensive to go this route compared to a nuker.
As far as the two classes heal skills compare: The WC's "Chant of Life" is a pure 'over time' heal. It also has a LONG cast time. Even with robe+Acumen it's notable for how long it takes to cast. BSPS can speed up the cast slightly, but has no effect on the amount healed. The OL's "Heart of Paagrio" is 1/2 Instant, 1/2 'Over time'. It also casts fast, even when wearing Heavy armor and without a Acumen weapon. Since it is not a pure HOT spell, BSPS does increase the amount healed.
Please note however, that the refresh on both heal skills is roughly the same as their duration. Added to the MP cost, neither heal can truly be used as a 'primary' healer in areas that could use one...but the WC's VR buff combined with COL makes for a very potent combination to allow parties to go farther, longer without a 'primary' healer.
RE: MADNESS
A near useless skill. Worth giggles or greifing, but you may end up being ganked by your own party if you use this...as the mob affected usually ends up attacking a random party member a good portion of the time....usually the one you DON'T want getting hit! As far as getting two mobs to attack each other goes, Madness doesn't last half as long as it needs to be in order to make it a halfway worthwhile waste of MP. Since as soon as the spell wears off the mob will come running for you immediately.
Oh, and the land rate is truly atrocious. You can kinda-sorta land it on mobs 20 levels below your character with a near 30% success rate.
As far as buffs go, WC gets all the good melee ones, but really doesn't start getting them until 48 at the earliest, and doesn't really finish the basic ones until late A grade. The OL finishes all but the 75+ ones in B grade for the most part. (All but WW anyway.)