Guide to the Champion

This page is still in the works. Please see the Champion class page for general information as well as skill and trait specifics. The Champion class requires nothing to unlock.

Preview

The champion is a hybrid class between a tank and a melee DPS (They can be geared and traited to focus on more DPS than tanking and vice versa). They are more durable than burglars and hunters but less durable than guardians and wardens. They do less damage than burglars and hunters but more damage than guardians and wardens. Due to this they are quite popular in groups as off tanks or full DPS though they are fully capable of being the main tank in some cases - with support of course. However, the champion's hybridization also can make them less attractive to groups that are seeking pure tanks, pure DPS, or ranged DPS. For example, champions are fairly useless in a raid such as Draigoch, which requires almost all ranged DPS.

Choosing a Race

The champion class is available to the races of man, dwarf, and elf. Stat-wise, dwarves tend to make slightly better champions (guardians as well arguably) due to their +15 might and +10 vitality racial trait - but this is fairly negligible overall. Men also make good champions due to their +15 might and +5% incoming healing modifier.

Combat

In combat, champions use a few basic skills to generate fervor which can then be spent to execute more powerful attacks. While their single target DPS is respectable, the champion stands out among the DPS classes in its AoE skills. No other class can provide consistent AoE like the champion. This does, however, cause problems for inexperienced champions who recklessly spam their AoE skills which then causes the tank to lose aggro or kills a specific enemy that causes a failure of an instance challenge. It is very useful though for end-game grinding and situations where lots of DPS is required. Champions have one self-heal which provides about 800hp at level 75 and a temporary armor buff which grants an additional 2000-3000 armor. They also posses two shields which protect for about 2000-5000 damage. Champions have access to three stances glory, ardor, and fervor which, with the changes made in Update 6, can significantly change the effects and cooldowns of various skills. Glory focuses on tanking, ardor focuses on AoE skills, and fervor focuses on pure DPS.

Equipment

Champions utilize heavy armor to improve durability in battle. They wield bows for their ranged weapon and can either dual wield or use a 2-handed weapon. Champions can use any type of weapon with the exception of crossbows, javelins, and staffs. The two primary stats champion gear should focus on are might and vitality - focusing primarily on might. The most important stat for a champion is physical mastery which might is the primary contributor of (1 point of might is equivalent to 10 points of physical mastery). At level 75 most pieces of champion gear will also include a physical mastery bonus in addition to might. Furthermore, slotting the correct relics on Legendary Items will also increase physical mastery by at least 5000. Agility should also be geared for in moderation to augment hit and critical hit ratings.

Dual-Wielding vs. 2-handed weapons

The question many new champions often ask is whether it is better to dual-wield two weapons or to use a single two-handed weapon. The general consensus as well as logic point to dual-wielding as the better option. The combined damage of any two comparable one-handed weapons is always greater than the base damage of any two-handed weapon of similar quality. Furthermore, the damage is dealt more swiftly and in more intervals so if one attack misses the second or third has a chance to hit. In addition, using a two-handed weapon sacrifices an extra set of stats that would be provided an off-hand weapon - two-handed weapons have bigger stat bonuses to compensate for this but again these bonuses are always smaller than the combined stat bonuses of two one-handed weapons. You can also load a Combat Analysis plugin to check for yourself the effectiveness of dual-wielding vs. 2-handed weapons.

Champion Traits

for beginners-kind-of-text --- pending

Champion Good-to-Know

for beginners-kind-of-text --- pending