Guardian
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Available Races: Dwarf, Elf, Hobbit, Man
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Sting | Melee | 1 | 6.2s | 2.5m | 41 | A quick attack that will lightly wound your opponent. |
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Guardian's Ward | Melee | 1 | 3s | 2.5m | 49 | Your great skill enables you to strengthen your defences for a short time. |
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Sweeping Cut | Melee+AoE | 4 | 9s | 5m | 167 | Large sweeping strokes cut into all of your foes standing before you. |
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Salt the Wound | Melee | 22 | 5s | 2.5m | 49 | You look to further injure a wound opened by Thrust. |
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Stamp | Melee | 32 | 1m | 2.5m | 41 | Your attack enables you to break your enemy's concentration, interrupting his actions. |
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Charge | Buff | 48 | 2.5m | self | 86 | You charge into the fray. |
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Improved Sting | Melee | 52 | 6.2s | 2.5m | 41 | A quick attack that will lightly wound your opponent and remove corruptions. |
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Brutal Charge | Buff | 62 | 2m | self | 86 | You charge into the fray, gaining increased damage and immunity to slow effects. |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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. |
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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. |
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Guardian's Pledge | Buff | 20 | 5m | self | 49 | Briefly increases Evade, Parry and Block by 50% |
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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 |
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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. | |
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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 |
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Warrior's Heart | Buff | 30 | 5m | self | 80 | Increases Max Morale and instant self-heal. Lasts for 1 minute. |
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Deep Breath | Melee | 34 | 15m | self | n/a | Eliminates cooldown of Warrior's Heart, Guardian's Pledge, and Thrill of Danger |
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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. |
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Guardian's Promise | Melee | 38 | 15s | self | n/a | Creates a whistle which allows people in your fellowship to summon you to their side. |
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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. |
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Shield Wall | Melee | 50 | 20s | 5m | 49 | You protect a member of your fellowship from all incoming attacks. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Shield-swipe | Melee | 4 | 5s | 2.5m | 104 | After a block you can attack with both your weapon and shield. |
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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. |
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Catch a Breath | Self-heal | 16 | 45s | self | 169 | Recovers Morale (and Power with equipped trait) after a Block. |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Shield-blow | Melee | 1 | 3.5s | 3m | 91 | Shield hit that generates threat. |
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Vexing Blow | Melee | 6 | 6.5s | 3m | 53 | Attack that gains threat. |
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Challenge | Debuff | 16 | 45s | 7m | 80 | All affected foes are forced to attack you for a short period of time, generating some threat. |
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Fray the Edge | Debuff | 40 | 10s | 25m | 97 | Ranged Taunt. Stacking increase for a chance of Conjunction. |
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Engage | Debuff | 42 | 1m | 3m | 103 | Melee Taunt. Slows both you and your target. |
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Improved Shield-blow | Melee | 54 | 3.5s | 3m | 91 | Shield hit that generates threat. |
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Litany of Defiance | Debuff | 60 | 20s | 7m | 104 | Ranged, AoE Taunt. Increases threat over time. |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 |
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Force Opening | Melee | 30 | 21s | 2.5m | 123 | A powerful strike that opens up a Parry Response on a successful hit. |
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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. |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Retaliation | Melee | 8 | 5s | 2.5m | 31 | After a parry, you can perform a swift attack. |
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Overwhelm | Melee | 10 | 5s | 2.5m | 64 | A powerful attack after Retaliation. Stuns on a critical hit. |
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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. |
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Thrust | Bleed | 18 | 5s | 2.5m | 64 | After Retaliation, causes your foe to bleed. |
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Improved Overwhelm | Melee | 68 | 5s | 2.5m | 64 | A powerful attack after Retaliation that reduces your enemy's evasiveness. Stuns on a critical hit. |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Let Fly | Ranged | 30 | 9s | 30m | 108 | Powerful ranged attack |
Passive Skills
Armour Proficiencies
| Weapon | Category | Level | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Light Armour | 1 | Allows the use of Light Armor. | |
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Medium Armour | 1 | Allows the use of Medium Armor. | |
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Shields | Off-hand | 1 | Increases Armour and Chance to Block |
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Heavy Armour | 15 | Allows the use of Heavy Armor. | |
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Heavy Shields | Off-hand | 15 | Increases Armour and Chance to Block |
Base Passive Skills
Combat Characteristics
| Name | Level | Cost | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Critical Defence | Adds to your Critical Defence. |
Instrument Proficiencies
| Name | Level | |
|---|---|---|
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Specialized Equipment | 1 |
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Horn Use | 1 |
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Lute Use | 1 |
Misc. Passive Skills
| Skill | Category | Level | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Daggers | 1H | 1 | Chance to land auto-attack critical hit |
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One-handed Axes | 1H | 1 | Reduces Enemy's Armour |
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One-handed Clubs | 1H | 1 | Slow target's Attack Speed |
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One-handed Hammers | 1H | 1 | Reduces Enemy's Evade Chance |
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One-handed Maces | 1H | 1 | Reduces Enemy's Run Speed |
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One-handed Swords | 1H | 1 | Increases to-hit chance |
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Spear | MHO | 10 | Chance to Wound causing damage over time |
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Two-handed Axes | 2H | 10 | Reduces Enemy's Armour |
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Two-handed Clubs | 2H | 10 | Slow Enemy's Attack Speed |
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Two-handed Hammers | 2H | 10 | Reduce Enemy's Evade Chance |
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Two-handed Swords | 2H | 10 | Increases to-hit chance |
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Bows | Ranged | 30 | Chance to land auto-attack critical hit |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 |
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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) |
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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 |
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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 |
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Controlled Breathing | Your Catch a Breath skill heals additional Morale and also restores Power. | 10 | Use Catch a Breath 250 times |
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Brave Heart | Warrior's Heart recovers 90 seconds quicker and allows you to use your reactive skills. | 30 | Use Warrior's Heart 150 times |
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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) |
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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 | |
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Grim Challenge | Your Challenge skill recovers 15 seconds quicker. | 20 | Use Challenge 300 times |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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) |
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Shield of Fire | This trait enables Shield Taunt to generate 15% more threat. +1 Shield Taunt Targets |
50 | Strike with Shield Taunt 350 times |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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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) |
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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) |
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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 |
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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 |
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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) |
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Strong Lungs | Your strong lungs enable Deep Breath to recover in half the time. | 30 | Use Deep Breath 30 times (3/day) |
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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 |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |