Guardian
From Lotro-Wiki.com
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Available Races: Dwarf, Elf, Hobbit, Man
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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
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Patch Update This article needs updated with current information. Please utilize both in game sources and the official patch notes. |
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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
Combat Characteristics
| Name | Level | Cost | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Block Rank 1 | 7 | 4 | Adds 1.0% to Block Chance |
| | Parry Rank 1 | 9 | 8 | Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance |
| | Accuracy Rank 1 | 11 | 12 | Reduces Miss by a medium amount. |
| | Critical Rank 1 | 13 | 16 | Adds 1.0% to Critical Hit Chance |
| | Block Rank 2 | 17 | 28 | Adds 1.0% to Block Chance |
| | Evade Rank 1 | 19 | 36 | Adds 1.0% to Evade Chance |
| | Parry Rank 2 | 21 | 44 | Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance |
| | Accuracy Rank 2 | 23 | 52 | Reduces Miss by a medium amount. |
| | Critical Rank 2 | 25 | 62 | Adds 1.0% to Critical Hit Chance |
| | Accuracy Rank 3 | 29 | 84 | Reduces Miss by a medium amount. |
| | Evade Rank 2 | 31 | 96 | Adds 1.0% to Evade Chance |
| | Parry Rank 3 | 33 | 108 | Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance |
| | Block Rank 3 | 35 | 122 | Adds 1.0% to Block Chance |
| | Parry Rank 4 | 39 | 152 | Adds 1.0% to Parry Chance |
| | Accuracy Rank 4 | 41 | 168 | Reduces Miss by a small amount. |
| | Block Rank 4 | 43 | 184 | 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 |
| | Lute Use | 5 | 2 |
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. | 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 | 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 | ?? | 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 | ?? | 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 | 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 | 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
- The Fighter of Shadow
- Guardian's Ward
Selfless Defence
Defensive Expertise
Deflected Blows
Controlled Breathing
Brave Heart
Threatening Presence
Final Straw - 2 Equipped:
+75% Power Restore on Reactions
3 Equipped:
4 Equipped:
+10% Shield Damage
Improved Critical Defence
Shield Wall now provides an armor bonus
Improved Devastating Critical Defence
- The Defender of the Free
- Grim Challenge
Harasser
Reactive Block
Stoic
Heat of Battle
Litany of Challenge
Shield of Fire
Quick of Foot - 2 Equipped:
Increased Threat generation from Shield Skills
3 Equipped:
4 Equipped:
Whirling Retaliation applies a bleed upon Critical
+2 Shield Taunt Targets
+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:
4 Equipped:
+3% Overpower Damage
+5% 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. 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 | 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 | 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 | 58 | Get the book A Keen Blade Requires: Kindred Standing with Iron Garrison Guards |