Guardian

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 male 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

The Guardian's ability to wear Heavy Armour, use a Heavy Shield and the highly defensive skills available to the class 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 high morale (health) and a number of abilities which mitigate damage taken.

Fellowship: 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 him/herself. This allows the other fellowship members the freedom to carry out their jobs without taking hits that would be devastating to them. The Guardian also has reactive abilities that can only be used after blocking or parrying incoming attacks.

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 not only focus on +Morale/Vitality 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 a good soloing class, with superior survivability but with a lower damage output than means kills may take a bit longer than for some other classes. Guardians who want improved dps can switch to the Overpower stance (see below for the levels at which skills are obtained) and equip a two-hand weapon. Overpower stance increases damage but sacrifices the use of shields. Overpower Guardians can then use a few stance-specific moves and also retain important parry advantages. The one issue with Overpower can be power management, a problem that may only rarely occur in traditional, shield and one-hand weapon, stances.

Skills

The power costs listed here are for the unmodified level 75 versions of the skill.

Active Skills

A Strong Offence

	Ability	Category	Level	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Sting	Melee	1	6.2s	2.5m	41	A quick attack that will lightly wound your opponent.
	Guardian's Ward	Melee	1	3s	2.5m	49	Your great skill enables you to strengthen your defences for a short time.
	Sweeping Cut	Melee+AoE	4	9s	5m	167	Large sweeping strokes cut into all of your foes standing before you.
	Salt the Wound	Melee	22	5s	2.5m	49	You look to further injure a wound opened by Thrust.
	Stamp	Melee	32	1m	2.5m	41	Your attack enables you to break your enemy's concentration, interrupting his actions.
	Charge	Buff	48	2.5m	self	86	You charge into the fray.
	Improved Sting	Melee	52	6.2s	2.5m	41	A quick attack that will lightly wound your opponent and remove corruptions.
	Brutal Charge	Buff	62	2m	self	86	You charge into the fray, gaining increased damage and immunity to slow effects.
	Guardian's Ward Tactics	Melee	66	3s	2.5m	49	Your great skill enables you to strengthen your defences for a short time, also improving Tactical Mitigation.

Ready for Anything

	Ability	Category	Level	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Guardian's Defence	Stance	4	4.3s	self	n/a	Increases Block Percentage by 5.0%, Partial Block Migitation by 2.5%, 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	Stance	12	4.3s	self	n/a	Increases Parry Percentage by 5.0%, Partial Parry Migitation by 2.5%, 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	5m	self	49	Briefly increases Evade, Parry and Block by 50%
	Protection	Buff	24	10s	25m	n/a	Allows you to increase your ally's defensive stats while gaining any parries or blocks that they make
	Summon Tinker	Melee	26	30m		n/a	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	26	7m	10m	n/a	Restores power by an amount multiplied by the number of enemies nearby. Max number of enemies: 3
	Warrior's Heart	Buff	30	5m	self	80	Increases Max Morale and instant self-heal. Lasts for 1 minute.
	Deep Breath	Melee	34	15m	self	n/a	Eliminates cooldown of Warrior's Heart, Guardian's Pledge, and Thrill of Danger
	Turn the Tables	Melee+Debuff	36	5m	2.5m	128	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	15s	self	n/a	Creates a whistle which allows people in your fellowship to summon you to their side.
	Ignore the Pain	Melee	44	5m	self	86	You Ignore The Pain of up to 3 Wounds, curing yourself of their effects. Also triggers a block event.
	Shield Wall	Melee	50	20s	5m	49	You protect a member of your fellowship from all incoming attacks.
	Take to Heart	Melee	58	2m	2.5m	188 Morale	A quick attack that, at the cost of some of your morale, will give you a small amount of power.
	Warrior's Fortitude	Buff	64	5m	self	80	Increases Max Morale and instant self-heal, as well as a small secondary buff. Lasts for 1 minute.
	Improved Turn the Tables	Melee+Debuff	72	5m	2.5m	128	Removes any negative combat states (except roots and cowering from Dread) and stuns the enemy for 5s. Cannot miss an on level opponent.
	Improved Guardian's Defence	Buff	74	4.3s	self	n/a	Increases Block Percentage by 5.0%, Partial Block Migitation by 2.5%, Partial Block Chance by 2.5%, and -5% Shield Wear from Blocks, as well as causing a snare to enemies who stop attacking the Guardian.

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	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Shield-swipe	Melee	4	5s	2.5m	104	After a block you can attack with both your weapon and shield.
	Bash	Melee	10	5s	2.5m	67	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	45s	self	169	Recovers Morale (and Power with equipped trait) after a Block.
	Shield-taunt	Taunt	22	10s	10m	91	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	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Shield-blow	Melee	1	3.5s	3m	91	Shield hit that generates threat.
	Vexing Blow	Melee	6	6.5s	3m	53	Attack that gains threat.
	Challenge	Debuff	16	45s	7m	80	All affected foes are forced to attack you for a short period of time, generating some threat.
	Fray the Edge	Debuff	40	10s	25m	97	Ranged Taunt. Stacking increase for a chance of Conjunction.
	Engage	Debuff	42	1m	3m	103	Melee Taunt. Slows both you and your target.
	Improved Shield-blow	Melee	54	3.5s	3m	91	Shield hit that generates threat.
	Litany of Defiance	Debuff	60	20s	7m	104	Ranged, AoE Taunt. Increases threat over time.
	Improved Challenge	Debuff	74	45s	7m	80	All affected foes are forced to attack you for a short period of time, generating some threat. Enemies are snared if they fail to continue attacking the Guardian.

Overpowering Assault

These moves are designed for the Overpower Stance, which is the Guardian's high damage, low avoidance stance.

	Ability	Category	Level	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Overpower	Stance	10	4.3s	self	n/a	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	21s	2.5m	123	A powerful strike that opens up a Parry Response on a successful hit.
	Stagger	Melee	46	5s	2.5m	87	You are able to cause your opponent to stagger on a critical hit, or when attacking them from behind.
	Brutal Assault	Melee	56	15s	2.5m	64	You use brute strength to hammer home a well placed blow

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	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Retaliation	Melee	8	5s	2.5m	31	After a parry, you can perform a swift attack.
	Overwhelm	Melee	10	5s	2.5m	64	A powerful attack after Retaliation. Stuns on a critical hit.
	Whirling Retaliation	Melee+AoE	14	5s	5m	91	You whirl in a circle to attack multiple foes (up to 5). Gathers threat from fellowship members to guardian.
	Thrust	Bleed	18	5s	2.5m	64	After Retaliation, causes your foe to bleed.
	Improved Overwhelm	Melee	68	5s	2.5m	64	A powerful attack after Retaliation that reduces your enemy's evasiveness. Stuns on a critical hit.
	Improved Whirling Retaliation	Melee+AoE	70	5s	5m	91	You whirl in a circle to attack multiple foes (up to 5). Gathers threat from fellowship members to guardian.

Ranged Skils

	Ability	Category	Level	Recovery Time	Range	Power Cost	Description
	Let Fly	Ranged	30	9s	30m	108	Powerful ranged attack

Passive Skills

Armour Proficiencies

	Weapon	Category	Level	Description
	Light Armour		1	Allows the use of Light Armor.
	Medium Armour		1	Allows the use of Medium Armor.
	Shields	Off-hand	1	Increases Armour and Chance to Block
	Heavy Armour		15	Allows the use of Heavy Armor.
	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
	Critical Defence			Adds to your Critical Defence.

Instrument Proficiencies

	Name	Level
	Specialized Equipment	1
	Horn Use	1
	Lute Use	1

Misc. Passive Skills

	Skill	Category	Level	Description
	Shield Spike Use		20	Allows you to apply Shield Spikes to your shield, which increases shield skill damage or changes shield-skill Damage type.

Weapon Proficiencies

	Weapon	Category	Level	Description
	Daggers	1H	1	Chance to land auto-attack critical hit
	One-handed Axes	1H	1	Reduces Enemy's Armour
	One-handed Clubs	1H	1	Slow target's Attack Speed
	One-handed Hammers	1H	1	Reduces Enemy's Evade Chance
	One-handed Maces	1H	1	Reduces Enemy's Run Speed
	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
	Two-handed Clubs	2H	10	Slow Enemy's Attack Speed
	Two-handed Hammers	2H	10	Reduce Enemy's Evade Chance
	Two-handed Swords	2H	10	Increases to-hit chance
	Bows	Ranged	30	Chance to land auto-attack critical hit
	Crossbows	Ranged	30	Lower chance of Enemy Block

Trait Sets

All Traits cost 11  25   to slot.

The Fighter of Shadow

The yellow line- increased defense

	Name	Description	Level	Deed/Quest
	Guardian's Ward	Your Guardian's Ward increases your Common Mitigation, and more effectively protects your armour from damage.	6	Strike enemies with Guardian's Ward 1,200 times
	Selfless Defence	Your Protection will now add also an effect to the protected target that will transfer an amount of threat from the protected target to the Guardian when the protected target is attacked.	20	Use Protection 200 times (30/day)
	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	1	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.	10	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
	Stoic	Your stoic nature increases your mitigation of Tactical damage. +[Level Dependent] Tactical Mitigation +[Level Dependent] Vitality	20	Use Guardian's Pledge 200 times (30/day)
	Final Straw	This trait increases the bonus chance to initiate a Fellowship Manoeuvre of every stack of Fray the Edge. Doubles the bonus chance of a Fellowship Manoeuvre granted by Fray the Edge	50	Strike with Fray the Edge 1,000 times

The Defender of the Free

The blue line- threat generation

	Name	Description	Level	Deed/Quest
	Grim Challenge	Your Challenge skill recovers 15 seconds quicker.	20	Use Challenge 300 times
	Harasser	Vexing Blow can hit two additional targets in a 90-degree arc and recovers 2.5 seconds faster.	10	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	1	Strike enemies with Shield-swipe 400 times
	Threatening Presence	This trait enhances the threat output of some of your shield skills. Increases the threat generation of shield skills	40	Strike with Bash 500 times
	Heat of Battle	Thrill of Danger recovers 2 minutes quicker and allows you to use your reactive skills. -120s Thrill of Danger Cooldown	30	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	30	Strike with Challenge 350 times (35 per day)
	Shield of Fire	This trait enables Shield Taunt to generate 15% more threat. +1 Shield Taunt Targets	50	Strike with Shield Taunt 350 times
	Quick of Foot	Your Stamp skill recovers 15 seconds quicker.	40	Strike with Stamp 300 times

The Keen Blade

The red line- raw dps

	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	50	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	10	Use Overpower 100 times (20/day)
	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 your Force Opening critical hits as well as reducing the cooldown on Force Opening. -6s Force Opening cooldown	40	Strike with Force Opening 750 times (75/day)
	Strong Lungs	Your strong lungs enable Deep Breath to recover in half the time.	30	Use Deep Breath 30 times (3/day)
	Quickness	You concentrate on your weapon, increasing your ability to parry an attack, while your ability to evade goes down. +[Level x 20] Parry Rating +2.5% Guardian's Parry Partial Parry Mitigation -[Level x 12] Evade Rating	20	Strike enemies with the Sting skill 1,500 times
	To the Rescue	Your attack and movement speed is increased beyond your normal abilities. +5% Run Speed -5% Attack Duration	10	Evade enemy attacks 1,000 times

Set Bonuses

• The Fighter of Shadow
• Guardian's Ward
  Selfless Defence
  Defensive Expertise
  Deflected Blows
  Controlled Breathing
  Brave Heart
  Stoic
  Final Straw
• 2 Equipped:
     +75% Power Restore on Reactions
     +75% Catch a Breath Power Healing
• 3 Equipped:
     +10% Shield Damage
     +[Level x 4] Critical Defence
• 4 Equipped:
     Shield Wall now provides an armor bonus
     +[Level x 4] Critical Defence

• The Defender of the Free
• Grim Challenge
  Harasser
  Reactive Block
  Threatening Presence
  Heat of Battle
  Litany of Challenge
  Shield of Fire
  Quick of Foot
• 2 Equipped:
     Increased Threat generation from Shield Skills
• 3 Equipped:
     Whirling Retaliation applies a bleed upon Critical
     +2 Shield Taunt Targets
• 4 Equipped:
     +8% Threat Stance Threat
     -10s Stamp Cooldown

• The Keen Blade
• Hit Where It Hurts
  Raw Power
  Parried Blows
  Stinging Blow
  Blocking Force
  Strong Lungs
  Quickness
  To the Rescue
• 2 Equipped:
     -5% Overpower Power Cost
• 3 Equipped:
     +3% Overpower Damage
• 4 Equipped:
     +10% Overpower Damage

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. Skills Earned: Challenge the Darkness	39	Find pages of the book The Final Word
	Guardian's Threat	You focus yourself on enraging your enemies. Skills Earned: 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. Skills Earned: 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. Skills Earned: 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 +15% Guardian Bleed Damage 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