The Dwarven Fighter
The dwarves in general are a more difficult class to play when compared to other higher level figher classes. However, in the beginning Fighter class, their high Constitution makes them excellent tanks for low level parties.
Dwarf PCs start in the Dwarven Village on Elmore, which means you are isolated from the mainland of Aden. As a consequence, there will usually be only other Dwarves to party with. A starting Dwarf PC has a lack of attack skills, and their only use for MP in battle is to use Spoil. For a character that wants to tank, Spoil can be used as an equivalent to Hate to keep a monster attacking the spoiler. Due to the lack of mystics in Elmore, healing potions and taking turns as tank in parties can help to fill this void.
The lack of attack skills means a Dwarven PC can be faced with a slow leveling process initially (without the assistance of a higher level player for either buffs or equipment). But this is well worth it after level 20, after you finish the 1st Profession Change.
Skills
Spoil and Sweep
As a fighter, Spoil and Sweep are the saving grace of the class. You will find that, with the lack of attack skills and spells, Spoil and Sweep are what makes playing the dwarves interesting. It's the anticipation of getting your grubby little mitts on Spoils that keeps the dwarves going.
Spoil gives the dwarf the ability to get items from monsters that no other class can and with greater consistency. Spoil 1, the only Spoil available to the Dwarven Fighter, is not foolproof and can take many tries to get activated. After a successful Spoil is casted on a mob, (denoted by a whistle sound and the text "The spoil condition has been activated."), there is a percentage chance the Spoilt mob will give an item. If the mob does, it will turn blue upon death and Sweep must be used on the mob to obtain the item.
So why is this better than the normal item drop upon mob death? For one, Spoil percentages are generally higher than normal drop percentages, so you are more likely to get an item. Secondly, and more importantly, a single type of mob will always Spoil the same item, every time. This is great for consistency, as you now need only to hunt one type of mob to get the item.
Note that in rare cases, a single type of mob may have 2 types of Spoilt items. In such cases, you will always get either/ or/ both items on a successful Spoil/ Sweep, but each item will have its own percentage chance of a successful Spoil.
(Clear as mud? As a practical example, my Dwarven Fighter PC hunted Goblin Brigand Leaders for the Coke Recipe. This is a Spoil-only item on this particular mob, but this mob also Spoils coal. I hunted over 500 Goblin Brigand Leaders before I got the recipe. Needless to say, I also got a huge stack of coal. :)
Note also that Sweep can only be used with Spoil. You cannot Sweep a non-Spoilt mob and expect results; it's a waste of time and MP. You also cannot get Spoilt items without Sweep. In essence, you must get both skills together for either to be useful, so bear that in mind when you hit the pre-requisite levels.
Create Item
The Create Item skill, also available to dwarven fighters allows one to turn otherwise useless items, such as a 80 stems, 16 varnish, and 3 Blue Diamond Necklace Gems to make a complete Blue Diamond Necklace. Realistically, the Crate Item level 1 skill is mostly used for turning a dropped material, such as bone, into a crafted material, such as Coarse Bone Powder (CBP) and is rarely used to make any type of item at all. With the persistant pressure to level one's characters, the withering demand for low level items has made crafting them obsolete. Though crafting can be done while fighting, it is generally done in while sitting to conserve and recharge the MP that it costs to craft an item. Because of this, the adena made while crafting does not yeild any experience points (XP) or skill points (SP) the way spoiling does. Without XP one cannot gain levels to get higher level of crafting abilities.
Weight Limit
Weight Limit doubles a dwarf's already high carrying capacity. This makes a full day of hunting and Spoiling a possibility, as the dwarf no longer need to return to town to sell or store items in the warehouse.
This skill also allows Artisans and Warsmiths to sell enormous volumes of Shots without becoming overweight. However, the need for Weight Limit is not as apparent while you are a Dwarven Fighter, since it is generally better for a starting PC to stick fairly close to Towns and Villages.
Crafting System
For a dwarf to craft an item, they must possess the recipe for that item and as well as the ingredients. Items of grade B and higher also cost a recipe to craft the item. The first recipe is put into the recipe book for all grades and this recipe item is lost. They cannot, after Chronicle 2, borrow a recipe to craft something and give it back. This also puts a limit on the number of items a dwarf can craft with a limit on the number of recipes the book will hold. The advantage of this system is the Personal Crafting Shop which allows a crafting dwarf to market thier crafting abilities like any other shop or as a buffing class sells buffs. At higher levels this can be a steady source of income. Even with a level 1 craft skill, there is always need for basic crafts such as braided hemp, coarse bone powder, cokes, leather, and steel.
Although dwarves are played much like other fighters in Lineage II, after they complete their first class transfer the play style becomes very different, and more profitable.