Guardian

From Lotro-Wiki.com

Contents 1 Role 2 Skills 2.1 Active Skills 2.1.1 A Strong Offence 2.1.2 Ready for Anything 2.1.3 Block and Counter 2.1.4 Drawing the Ire 2.1.5 Overpowering Assault 2.1.6 Parry and Retaliate 2.1.7 Ranged Skils 2.2 Passive Skills 2.2.1 Armour Proficiencies 2.2.2 Base Passive Skills 2.2.3 Combat Characteristics 2.2.4 Instrument Proficiencies 2.2.5 Misc. Passive Skills 2.2.6 Weapon Proficiencies 3 Trait Sets 3.1 The Fighter of Shadow 3.2 The Defender of the Free 3.3 The Keen Blade 4 Set Bonuses 5 Legendary Traits 6 See Also

The Guardian is a protector of the weak and defender of those in need. He is capable of withstanding mighty blows and retaliating in kind. The true Guardian stands to the forefront of battle, shielding his allies from the blows of their enemies.

Available Races: Dwarf, Elf, Hobbit, Man

A Dwarf Guardian

Classes Bu Ca Ch Gu Hu Lm Mi Rk Wd Skills Bu Ca Ch Gu Hu Lm Mi Rk Wd Traits Bu Ca Ch Gu Hu Lm Mi Rk Wd

Role

Tank: In a group, the Guardians ability to wear Heavy Armour and Shield and to use highly defensive skills enable him to face creatures that would make other heroes morale fail. He also has the ability to draw the foes attention away from his allies and to himself.

In terms of other MMORPGs, the Guardian fulfills the role of Heavy Tank, with lower overall damage output in exchange for improved survivability. It is one of the hardiest of classes, with extra Morale and a number of abilities which mitigate damage taken.

As a tank, the Guardian, is at the front line directly taking the wrath of the enemies and keeping the enemies attention aggro focused on themselves. This allows the other group members the ability to carry out their jobs without taking the hits that would be devastating to them.

Aggro management with the Guardian benefits from substantial class-specific attributes (i.e. threat-boost stance, a variety of 'shouts' to regain aggro, etc.) but unlike other traditional MMORPGs with the same class mechanics, aggro in LoTRo needs to be carefully built up. For this purpose, the Guardian must focus on +Morale gear and traits but also on +Might, since this will increase his/her damage output (which will therefore boost his/her threat) as well as his/her blocking ability.

Solo: The Guardian is also a good soloing class, although the lower damage output means defeating monsters takes a bit longer than for some other classes. The Guardian has reactive abilities that can be used after blocking and parrying. Soloing guardians can also switch to Overpower stance (see below for the levels at which skills are obtained) and equip a two-hand weapon; they can then use a few stance-specific moves and also retain important block and parry advantages. The one issue with Overpower is power-management, however - a problem that may only rarely occur in traditional, shield and one-hand weapon, stances. Overpower stance increases damage for grouping and speeds up solo leveling.

Skills

Patch Update This article needs updated with current information. Please utilize both in game sources and the official patch notes.

Patch Update This article needs updated with current information. Please utilize both in game sources and the official patch notes.

Active Skills

A Strong Offence

	Ability	Category	Level	Recovery Time	Range	Description
	Sting	Melee	1	6.2s	3	A quick attack that will lightly wound your opponent.
	Guardian's Ward	Melee	1	3s	3	Your great skill enables you to strengthen your defences for a short time.
	Sweeping Cut	Melee+AoE	2	9s	5	Large sweeping strokes cut into all of your foes standing before you.
	Salt the Wound	Melee	28	5s	3	You look to further injure a wound opened by Thrust.
	Stamp	Melee	32	1m	3	Your attack enables you to break your enemy's concentration, interrupting his actions.
	Charge	Buff	48	3m		You charge into the fray.

Ready for Anything

	Ability	Category	Level	Range	Description
	Guardian's Defence	Buff	4		Increases Block Percentage by 5.0%, Partial Block Migitation by 5%, Partial Block Chance by 2.5%, and -5% Shield Wear from Blocks. This is the main Tank stance for guardians and is designed for using a shield. See the "Drawing the Ire" skills for other Tank specific skills.
	Guardian's Parry	Buff	12		Increases Parry Percentage by 5.0%, Partial Parry Migitation by 5%, Partial Parry Chance by 2.5%, and -5% Weapon Wear from Parries. This is an intermediate stance between Guardian's Defence and Overpower. The skills in "Parry and Retaliate" are designed for this stance.
	Guardian's Pledge	Buff	20		Briefly increases Evade, Parry and Block by 50%
	Protection	Buff	24	25	Allows you to increase your ally's defensive stats while gaining any parries or blocks that they make
	Summon Tinker	Melee	26		Summons repair merchant at a camp site fire. Note that this repair is more expensive and should only be used for broken items in emergency.
	Thrill of Danger	Buff	28	10	Restores power by an amount multiplied by the number of enemies nearby. Max number of enemies: 3
	Warrior's Heart	Buff	30		Increases Max Morale and instance self-heal. Lasts for 1 minute.
	Deep Breath	Melee	34		Eliminates cooldown of Warrior's Heart, Guardian's Pledge, and Thrill of Danger
	Turn the Tables	Melee+Debuff	36	3	Removes any negative combat states (except roots and cowering from Dread) and stuns the enemy for 5s. Starts a Fellowship Manuoever if possible.
	Guardian's Promise	Melee	38		Creates a whistle which allows people in your fellowship to summon you to their side.

Block and Counter

These are the Tank moves that are designed mostly for shield wearers. These should work well while in Guardian's Defence stance.

	Ability	Category	Level	Power Cost	Range	Description
	Shield-Swipe	Melee	4	9	3	After a block you can attack with both your weapon and shield.
	Bash	Melee	10	6	3	After a successful Shield-Swipe, you bash an enemy with your shield drawing attention to yourself and temporarily stunning the enemy for 3s.
	Catch a Breath	Self-heal	16	31		Recovers Morale (and Power with equipped trait) after a Block.
	Shield Taunt	Taunt	22	8		You clash your weapon upon your shield to attract the enemies attention.

Drawing the Ire

These are the Tank moves that generate extra threat on your enemies. Generally you should be in Guardian's Defence stance when you use these.

	Ability	Category	Level	Power Cost	Range	Description
	Shield-Blow	melee	1	8	3	Shield hit that generates threat
	Vexing Blow	melee	6	5	3	Attack that gains threat
	Challenge	debuff	26	7	7	All affected foes are forced to attack you for a short period of time, generating some threat.
	Fray the Edge	debuff	40	60	25	Ranged Taunt. Increases chance of FM. Stacks.

Overpowering Assault

These are for highest damage. Overpower is a highest damaging Stance for Guardians.

	Ability	Category	Level	Power Cost	Range	Description
	Overpower	Buff	20			You put away your shield and focus on overwhelming attacks. +15% Melee damage, +30% Melee skill power costs, -5% Evade chance, -5% armor damage on Parries, Cannot equip shield
	Force Opening	Melee	30	68	3	A powerful strike that opens up a Parry Response on a successful hit.

Parry and Retaliate

These skills are intermediate between pure tank and pure damage. They are designed to work best with the Guardian's Parry stance.

	Ability	Category	Level	Power Cost	Range	Description
	Retaliation	Melee	8	3	3	After a parry, you can perform a swift attack.
	Overwhelm	Melee	10	6	3	A powerful attack after Retaliation. Stuns on a crticial hit.
	Whirling Retaliation	Melee+AoE	14	8	5	You whirl in a circle to attack multiple foes (up to 5). Gathers threat from fellowship members to guardian.
	Thrust	Bleed	18	6	3	After Retaliation, causes your foe to bleed.

Ranged Skils

	Ability	Category	Level	Power Cost	Range	Description
	Let Fly	Ranged	30	9	30	Powerful ranged attack

Passive Skills

Armour Proficiencies

	Weapon	Category	Level	Description
	Light Armour		1
	Medium Armour		1
	Shields	Off-hand	1	Increases Armour and Chance to Block
	Heavy Armour		15
	Heavy Shields	Off-hand	15	Increases Armour and Chance to Block

Base Passive Skills

For details see Dwarf, Elf, Hobbit, or Man

Combat Characteristics

	Name	Level	Cost	Description
	Block Rank 1	7	4  90	Adds 1.0% to Block Chance
	Parry Rank 1	9	8  10	Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance
	Accuracy Rank 1	11	12  10	Reduces Miss by a medium amount.
	Critical Rank 1	13	16  90	Adds 1.0% to Critical Hit Chance
	Block Rank 2	17	28  90	Adds 1.0% to Block Chance
	Evade Rank 1	19	36  10	Adds 1.0% to Evade Chance
	Parry Rank 2	21	44  10	Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance
	Accuracy Rank 2	23	52  90	Reduces Miss by a medium amount.
	Critical Rank 2	25	62  50	Adds 1.0% to Critical Hit Chance
	Accuracy Rank 3	29	84  10	Reduces Miss by a medium amount.
	Evade Rank 2	31	96  10	Adds 1.0% to Evade Chance
	Parry Rank 3	33	108  90	Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance
	Block Rank 3	35	122  50	Adds 1.0% to Block Chance
	Parry Rank 4	39	152  10	Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance
	Accuracy Rank 4	41	168  10	Reduces Miss by a small amount.
	Block Rank 4	43	184  90	Adds 1.0% to Block Chance
	Evade Rank 4	50	250	Adds 1.0% to Evade Chance

Instrument Proficiencies

	Name	Level	Cost
	Horn Use	5	2  50
	Lute Use	5	2  50

Misc. Passive Skills

	Skill	Category	Level	Description
	Shield Spike Use		20	Increases shield damage(currently bugged only allows about 10-20 seconds of additional damage)

Weapon Proficiencies

	Weapon	Category	Level	Description
	Daggers	1H	1	Chance to land critical hit
	One-Handed Axes	1H	1	Reduces Enemy's Armour but with increased chance to miss
	One-Handed Clubs	1H	1	Chance to Stun
	One-Handed Hammers	1H	1	Chance to Stun
	One-Handed Maces	1H	1	Chance to Stun
	One-Handed Swords	1H	1	Increases to-hit chance
	Spear	MHO	10	Chance to Wound causing damage over time
	Two-Handed Axes	2H	10	Reduces Enemy's Armour but with increased chance to miss
	Two-Handed Clubs	2H	10	Chance to Stun
	Two-Handed Hammers	2H	10	Chance to Stun
	Two-Handed Swords	2H	10	Increases to-hit chance
	Bows	Ranged	30
	Crossbows	Ranged	30

Trait Sets

All Traits cost 11  25   to slot.

The Fighter of Shadow

	Name	Description	Level	Deed/Quest
	Guardian's Ward	Your Guardian's Ward increases your common damage mitigation, and more effectively protects your armour from damage.	10	Strike enemies with Guardian's Ward 1,200 times
	Selfless Defence	Your Protection skill makes your target less threatening.	24	Use Protection 200 times
	Defensive Expertise	You use your shield more efficiently, blocking more and reducing the damage dealt to you. +[Level x 12] Block Rating +[Level Dependent] Armour Value	3	Strike enemies with Shield-blow 1,500 times Labelled Shield Expertise in the Deed Log
	Deflected Blows	You recover some of your Power whenever you block an incoming attack. +2.5% Guardian's Defence Partial Block Mitigation	15	Complete the class quest A Shield Against Adversity
	Controlled Breathing	Your Catch a Breath skill heals additional Morale and also restores Power.	16	Use Catch a Breath 250 times
	Brave Heart	Warrior's Heart recovers 90 seconds quicker and allows you to use your reactive skills.	30	Use Warrior's Heart 150 times
	Threatening Presence	This trait enhances the threat output of some of your shield skills. Increases the threat generation of shield skills	??	Strike with Bash 500 times
	Final Straw	This trait enables a sixth component to Fray the Edge, which raises your chances to initiate a Fellowship Manoeuvre to 30%	??	Strike with Fray the Edge 1,000 times

The Defender of the Free

	Name	Description	Level	Deed/Quest
	Grim Challenge	Your Challenge skill recovers 15 seconds quicker.	26	Use Challenge 300 times
	Harasser	Vexing Blow can hit two additional targets in a 90-degree arc and recovers 2.5 seconds faster.	6	Use Vexing Blow 800 times
	Reactive Block	You damage your attacker whenever you block an incoming attack. +2.5% Guardian's Defence Partial Block Mitigation	4	Strike enemies with Shield-swipe 400 times
	Stoic	Your stoic nature increases your resistance to Fire, Frost, Shadow, Acid, and Lightning damage. +[Level Dependent] Fire Defence +[Level Dependent] Frost Defence +[Level Dependent] Shadow Defence +15 Vitality +[Level Dependent] Acid Defence +[Level Dependent] Lightning Defence	20	Use Guardian's Pledge 200 times
	Heat of Battle	Thrill of Danger recovers 2 minutes quicker and allows you to use your reactive skills. -120s Thrill of Danger Cooldown	28	Use Thrill of Danger in battle 125 times
	Litany of Challenge	This trait enables Challenge's force attack to last for a few precious seconds extra. +2 Challenge Targets Challenge now generates additional threat	??	Strike with Challenge 350 times
	Shield of Fire	This trait enables Shield Taunt to generate 15% more threat. +1 Shield Taunt Targets	??	Strike with Shield Taunt 350 times
	Quick of Foot	Your Stamp skill recovers 15 seconds quicker.	??	Strike with Stamp 300 times

The Keen Blade

	Name	Description	Level	Deed/Quest
	Hit Where It Hurts	This trait raises the chances of Stagger scoring a critical hit. +[Level x 20] Stagger Critical Rating	??	Strike with Stagger 1,000 times (100/day)
	Raw Power	This trait raises the Damage Bonus of Overpower, but also increases the Power Cost +5% Overpower Power Cost +3% Overpower Damage	??	Use Overpower 100 times
	Parried Blows	You recover some of your Power whenever you parry an incoming attack. +2.5% Guardian's Parry Partial Parry Mitigation	30	Complete the class quest A Guardian's Duty
	Stinging Blow	You attack more quickly with your Sting skill, inflicting greater damage. -3s Sting Cooldown +10% Sting Damage	1	Strike enemies with the Sting skill 750 times
	Blocking Force	This trait enables you to gain a block event when you critical with Force Opening.	??	Strike with Force Opening 750 times (75/day)
	Strong Lungs	Your strong lungs enable Deep Breath to recover in half the time.	34	Use Deep Breath 30 times
	Quickness	Your attack speed is increased beyond your normal abilities. -5% Attack Duration +2.5% Guardian's Parry Partial Parry Mitigation	20	Strike enemies with the Sting skill 1,500 times
	To the Rescue	You are able to move more quickly in and out of battle. +5% Run Speed	10	Evade enemy attacks 1,000 times

Set Bonuses

Legendary Traits

All Legendary Traits cost 101  25   to slot.

	Name	Description	Level	Deed/Quest
	Challenge the Darkness	You know how to goad your enemies into attacking you, leaving your allies free to maneuver. This skill also activates your Guardian's Ward. Grants the skill Challenge the Darkness	39	Find pages of the book The Final Word
	Guardian's Threat	You focus yourself on enraging your enemies. Grants the skill Guardian's Threat	39	Find pages of the book A Shield-maiden's Song
	Shield-smash	After a successful Shield-bash or Shield-taunt, you may bash your enemy again with your shield for greater damage. This skill more effectively draws your enemy's attention to yourself. Grants the skill Shield-smash	39	Find pages of the book The Best Defence
	To the King	You are able to make a powerful attack against an enemy who has suffered from Overwhelm or Thrust, potentially knocking it down. Grants the skill To the King	45/50	Complete the class quests Articles of Fortitude and Implements of Battle, then A Lesson from Samwise Gamgee
	Heart of Fire	This trait enhances Take to Heart, reducing its cooldown and reducing its morale cost enabling it to be used more often to protract long encounters and snatch victory from long fought fights. -20% Take to Heart Morale Cost -60s Skill Cooldown +1 Critical Defence +1 Devastating Critical Defence Requires: 5 traits in The Fighter of Shadow line slotted.	None	Complete The Mines of Moria epic books
	Litany Master	This legendary ability enables a stackable version of the Litany of Defiance to be levied when you crit on Shield Smash, Shield-swipe, Sweeping Cut and Vexing Blow. +5 Litany of Defiance Targets Requires: 5 traits in The Defender of the Free line slotted.	58	Complete the deed The Path of Freedom's Defender
	Hemorrhage	This skill enables Brutal Assault to apply a stackable bleed 50% of the time. 50% chance to apply Requires: 5 traits in The Keen Blade line slotted.	58	Get the book A Keen Blade Requires: Kindred Standing with Iron Garrison Guards

See Also

• Class Guides
• Guardian Legendary Item Legacies