Mettle
Mettle is a skill resource used by Brawlers. Certain skills build Mettle (up to a maximum of nine) while other, more powerful abilities, consume it. When out of combat, Brawlers will gradually decrease Mettle down to three.
Additionally, the Brawler gains increased damage for each point of Mettle they have, tracked through the 
Battle Flow effect. Brawlers specialized to deal damage thus use their hardest hitting abilities when they are capped at 9 Mettle.
Mettle Generation
The following Set-up Skills increase Mettle:
| Skill | Mettle | Trait Tree |
|---|---|---|
| Melee Skills | ||
 Low Strike |
+2 | None |
 Dextrous Hook |
+2 | None |
 Sinister Cross |
+2 | None |
In addition to these melee skills, the Brawler has access to several buff skills that also generate Mettle:
Get Serious generates 1 Mettle every 1 second for 6 seconds (6 Mettle in total)
Quick Feint generates 3 Mettle immediately
Battle Fury generates 3 Mettle immediately, but must first spend 1 Mettle (Net +2 Mettle)
Plant Feet generates 1 Mettle every 3 seconds when standing in the hotspot
Mettle Consumption
The following skills require Mettle to use:
| Skill | Mettle | Trait Tree |
|---|---|---|
| Melee Skills | ||
 Overhand Smash |
-3 | None |
 Backhand Clout |
-3 | None |
 Knee Strike |
-3 | None |
 Helm-crusher |
-3 | None |
 Strike Towards the Sky |
-3 | None |
 Mighty Upheaval |
-3 | None |
 Gut Punch |
-3 | The Fulcrum |
 Pummel |
-3 | The Maelstrom |
 Shattering Fist |
-3 | The Maelstrom |
 Fist of the Valar |
-All | The Maelstrom |
| Buff Skills | ||
 Joy of Battle - Heal |
-3 | The Fulcrum |
 Bracing Guard |
-3 | The Fulcrum |
 Joy of Battle - Damage |
-3 | The Maelstrom |
| Taunt Skills | ||
 Brash Invitation |
-3 | The Fulcrum |
 Come At Me |
-3 | The Fulcrum |
Note: Taunt skills require the set bonus 
Bellicose to be active.
When 
Mettle Shield is toggled, the Brawler's Battle Flow effect now reduces incoming damage. The damage reduction is constant, regardless of the Brawler's Mettle. However, every incoming enemy attack consumes 2 Mettle from the Brawler while this skill is toggled. Because Battle Flow is not applied to the Brawler when they have no Mettle, the Mettle Shield damage reduction does affect the Brawler when they have no Mettle. This skill is best used when the Brawler is not facing multiple enemy targets, as the multitude of enemy hits means that more Mettle will be consumed from the Brawler, thus preventing them from using certain important skills.
By default, Mettle Shield reduces 10% incoming damage while the Brawler has at least 1 Mettle. If the tracery Mettle Shield Defence increases the damage reduction by up to an extra 33% of base value.
Interactions
Skills
- The skill
Weather Blows reduces incoming damage by an additional 1% for each Mettle has when the skill is used. - The skill Fist of the Valar deals an additional 15% damage for each point of Mettle consumed.
- The skill Battle Fury increases the damage potency of Battle Flow by 50% of the base values.
- The skill
Efficient Strikes reduces the Mettle cost of skills by 1.
Traits
- The trait
Deft Feint in The Fundament trait tree increases the Focus generation from Quick Feint by 3. - The set bonus
Enhanced Battle Flow in The Maelstrom trait tree increases the damage potency of Battle Flow by 50% of the base values. - The trait
Critical Chance Increase in the Maelstrom trait tree makes Finisher Skills generate 1 Mettle upon Critical Hit. - The trait
Battle-wise in The Fundament trait tree makes Set-up Skills have up to a 25% chance to generate 1 Bonus Mettle.
Traceries
- Battle-wise Mettle Chance increases the chance of Set-up Skills generating 1 Bonus Mettle by up to 16.5%.
Visual Effects
Besides the meter on the bottom left of your screen, your Brawler will also show this effect whenever they are generating Mettle.
