fatmushroom’s tank/buffer MOD 7/8 Swordmaster Tactician PvE Guide

whymushroom

fatmushroom’s tank/buffer MOD 7/8 Swordmaster Tactician PvE Guide

Hello everyone! I am lil fatmushroom@whymushroom from The Starks of Winterfell. I have been playing the Guardian Fighter as my main character since open beta. I focus on PvE only, and love the support role of the GF. My general approach playing the GF is finding a balance between staying alive and buffing. Dealing damage myself is not a priority.

I believe the GF is an huge asset to have in a party. When all my buffs are active, my party’s damage is boosted over 170%! Also, you can be very useful even if you are a new player and don’t have the best gear.

I used to be an Iron Vanguard until Mod 6 was released. With the massive damage I sometimes received, I couldn’t stay alive in dungeons. Since then I changed to Swordmaster to slot Steel Defense. This passive is key to survive! Another import eye-opener: always point your guard towards the middle of red areas.
Hopefully, this guide will help my fellow guardians to stay alive and even be able to buff his or her party.

Index

Post 1:
1. Race
2. Ability Scores
3. Powers & Feats

Post 2:
4. Artifact Powers
5. Stats
6. Boons

Post 3:
7. Gear

Post 4
8. Companions
9. Armor and Weapon Enchantment
10. Potions with Defense, Deflection or Recovery

Post 5:
11. Suggested Rotations
12. Summary
13. Interesting topics

1 Race

These are all viable races to choose. My first pick is the Drow (best buffer), my second favorite is Human. Easiest to start with are the ‘survivor’ races.

Human (buffer):
Gives 3% extra Defense, 3 extra Heroic Feat points, +2 to any Ability Score.

Drow (buffer):
5% Chance to apply Darkfire, a 10% debuff of target’s Defense, +2 to DEX and CHA or WIS.

Dwarf (survivor):
20% Increased resistance to Knonks and Pushes, +2 to CON and STR or WIS, 10% Increased resistance to Damage over Time effects. Slow movement.

Halfling (survivor):
3% Increased Deflection Chance, +2 to DEX and CHA or CON, +10% resistance to Control effects.

Dragonborn (survivor):
Extra healing, +2 to any two Ability Scores, +3% Power and Critical Chance.

2 Ability Scores

STR: +1% Stamina Regen, +1% Damage, +1% DoT Resist
CON: +1% AP, +4% HP
DEX: +1 Resistance Ignored, +0.5% Deflection Chance, +1% AoE Resist
INT: +1% Recharge Speed

In short: STR>CON>DEX>INT. But it doesn’t really matter that much in my opinion.
EDIT (13 dec '15): To cast your buffs as often as possible, we should stack INT and CON, as 3rd stat STR.

More info about the Ability Scores and possible rolls.

More info about the effect the Ability Scores has on the GF

Here is how I like to use my Ability Scores. I maxed INT instead of CON or DEX because personally, I survive quite easily. Then I like to cast my buffs as often as possible. And where every millisecond in Recharge Speed means my buffs are active faster, this is how my party’s damage is increased.


EDIT (13 dec '15): With a new respec, I would max INT and CON. With good timing of your shield and stamina boons, I almost never run out of stamina.

3 Powers & Feats

3.1 Combat Powers



3.2 Feats


The 3 extra heroic points from the Human race would I put in Pin Down (to extend the buff from Crushing Pin a little*).

*Edit September 22nd: The duration of the buff isn’t extended, only the CC effect. I would put the extra point in in Distracting Shield. If you like to play solo too, put them in Powerful Attack


3.2.1 Heroics
Choosing the feats, I kept in mind that we don’t need to deal more damage. Also, I think we generate enough threat, and support GFs don’t need some Temporary Hit Points.

Action Surge (5/5)
a good source of AP. AP is needed to have your Dailies ready faster. Activating Dailies procs Steal Defense; immunity to damage for 6 seconds. AP is generated by absorbing damage with your guard.

Strength Focus (3/3)
+15% Increase in effectiveness of STR.

Toughness (3/3)
I believe you can run most content with just 60k HP. Obtaining 90k HP from blue gear is easy, but 9% extra HP is still sweet.

Distracting Shield (1/5)
Debuffs attacker’s damage (1 point to be able to spend points in the 4th row).

Armor Specialization (3/3)
Buffs Armor Class and Defense.*

Ubiquitous Shield (5/5):
Reduce effect of Combat Advantage (CA) against you. In mod 7 CA seems to be stronger, or mobs seem to take advantage of CA more. Either way, this helps you survive better.

*Edit September 22nd: Some people claimed it’s broken. I have always played with it. Either way, other Heroic Feats aren’t helping us surviving. @grimah ran some tests earlier:

grimah said:

Just ran another test, armor specialisation and stand united both work, but they dont show up on the character sheet.

3.2.2 Protector
Plate Agility (5/5)
Extra Deflection Chance.

Shield Defense (5/5)
Gain 5 to AC. AC contributes to Damage Reduction (DR), the higher your DR is the more effect your Into the Fray encounter has on your allies. This is your biggest buff. Maximizing this buff with DR is the main objective in this guide!

Unshakeable Line (1/5)
Buffs your Stamina. More stamina makes it easier to keep up your guard longer. It allows you to ‘catch’ red areas to generate AP more often or longer.

Devoted Protector (4/5)
Increased Deflection Chance when blocking. If you feel you can survive easily, you can put them in Unshakeable Line.*

*Edit September 22nd: I used to play with 0/5 Unshakeable and 5/5 Devoted Protector. I changed it with all points to Unshakeable for a week. It felt a little bit weaker. I also think there are enough sources to get Stamina to keep your shield up long enough.


3.2.3 Tactician
Fight On (5/5)
Faster encounter cooldowns!

Crushing Pin (5/5)
Your control powers (Terrifying Impact, Bull Charge, Griffon’s Wrath and Crescendo) cause the target to take 10% more damage for 3 seconds. There are more powers that procs this feat, but those powers have higher cooldowns.

Daunting Challenge (5/5)
Marked targets deal 10% less damage to allies, still full damage to you.

Rousing Speech (5/5)
Allies gain AP 5% faster.

United (0/5)
Allies take 5% less damage. It’s good, but as you are going to mark mobs as often as possible, you’re better off putting points in Daunting Challenge.

Inspiring Leader (5/5)
Into the Fray increases the damage of party members with another 5%.

Martial Mastery (1/1)
A bit difficult to use, but great for allies that need AP. Taking damage generates AP for your team. Absorbing damage with your shield also counts as taking damage.

whymushroom

4 Artifact Powers

Main Hand’s Artifact Class Feature (ACF)

Increasing Tide of Iron’s Stamina gain seems to be the only viable feature here.

Off Hand’s ACF

Get the ACF Enchanced Mark, reducing marked targets when Enhanced Mark passive is slotted. If you struggle to survive get the ACF Shield Talent and slot that passive for extra Stamina. Note that the extra DR from the ACF Steel Defense doesn’t affect Into the Fray’s buff.

Off Hand’s Stat Increase:

Get Stamina Regen. If you have enough Stamina, get AP gain. Control Bonus might be nice too to extend the duration of Crushing Pin.

5 Stats

The general rule here: stack Defense first, then Deflection, then Recovery. These stats are the only stats I care about. If you can stay alive easily: stack Defense, Recovery then Deflection.

Defense:
Increases your Damage Resistance (DR), more DR results in a bigger buff from Into the Fray. It also increases your ability to take damage. Note that bonus DR from feats or powers don’t count towards Into the Fray.

Recovery:
Increases your Action Point (AP) gain - your dailies are faster ready. This means you can procs Steel Defense earlier to be immune to damage. Also Recovery contributes to Recharge Speed Increase – your encounters are ready faster. This means you can spam your buffs more often.

Deflection:
Ignores a portion of incoming damage. This increases your ability to take damage.

Life Steal:
Heals you when dealing or reflecting damage. GFs can’t deal a lot of damage, but since Regeneration doesn’t work in combat, Life Steal provides some healing.

Power/Crit:
Almost useless for the buff bot GF. It buffs your damage and healing.

Armor Penetration:
Ability to penetrate armor. This is useless for the supporting guardian as we don’t deal damage.

Stamina:
Holding up your guard drains Stamina. Stamina regenerates slowly when your guard is down. Some powers provide Stamina like Tide of Iron (10%), Shield Slam (5%), Enforced Threat (15-30%), Into the Fray (15%), Iron Warrior (50% faster regen).

Action Points:
these are needed to activate your Dailies (and Dailies proc Steel Defense to be immune for damage). Your AP sources:
• Dealing damage generates AP;
• When the feat Action Surge is slotted, you also generate AP from guarding attacks.
• When Martial Mastery feat is slotted, you also gain AP from taking damage.
• Slotting the Class Feature Guarded Assault let you generate AP faster from blocking attacks.

6 Boons

Sharandar
Dark Few Warder: +400 Defense
Fey Elusiveness: +400 Deflect
Elven Haste: AP generates 3% faster
Elven Tranquility: chance to heal 20k HP when hit by a foe
Elven Resolve: 10% faster Stamina regeneration in combat

Dread Ring
Reliquary Keeper’s Strength: +250 Power
Evoker’s Thirst: +400 Life Steal
Illusion Shimmer: +3% Deflect Chance
Enraged Regrowth: chance to heal 20k HP + 4k Defense buff
Augmented Thayan Bastion: chance reflect up to 10k damage

Icewind Dale
Weathering the Storm: +400 AoE Resist
Refreshing Chill: +400 Stamina Gain
Rapid Thaw: +400 Recovery
Cold Shoulder: chance to debuff enemy’s next attack up to 2000
Avalanche: taking damage can cause you to deal AoE damage. It’s good to spread your weapon enchantment. Other options are less useful in my opinion.

Tyranny of Dragons
Dragonheart: +1.6k HP
Dragon’s Shadow: +400 Deflection
Dragonscale Defense: +400 Defense
Dragon’s Greed: +400 Life Steal
Dragon’s Thirst (2/3): +3/4% Life Steal
Dragon’s Revival (1/3): 10% increased incoming healing
Dragon’s Grip (0/3): 10% increased Control Strength
Dragon’s Fury (0/3): 5% increased Critical Severity.

Underdark
Primordial Vitality: +400 Defense + 1600 HP
Primordial Refenesis: +400 Life Steal + 1600 HP
Drow Ambush Tactics: +10% Combat Adbantage (Regen doesn't work in combat)
Dwarven Stamina: +5% Stamina gain
Abyssal Tenacity: 5% less damage from Demons

whymushroom

7 Gear

Focus at start on stacking Deflection (Defense is obviously more important than Recovery and Deflection). When you progress and feel stronger, then you can shift your focus from Deflection to Recovery.


7.1 Fresh to Endgame >> Deflection (Armor = 42.4 HP, 0.8k rec, 3.6k def, 1.3k defl)
Get the blue Alliance Ward set for all armor pieces at the seals vendor or running the 3-man dungeons.


7.2 Near BIS >> Deflection (Armor = 49.7k HP, 1.5k rec, 3.9k def, 3.4k defl)

Spoiler:

Head:
Elemental Elven Ward = 9.9k HP, 885 rec, 860 def, 590 defl
Elemental Dragonflight Ward = 11k HP, 900 def, 650 defl

Armor:
Elemental Alliance Ward = 17.8k HP, 1220 def, 830 defl

Arms:
Elemental Alliance Ward = 8.9k HP, 815 def, 800 defl
Elemental Dragonflight Ward = 11k HP, 900 def, 975 defl

Feet:
Elemental Elven Ward = 9.9k HP, 590 rec, 860 def, 885 defl
Elemental Dragonflight Ward = 11k HP, 650 rec, 900 def, 975 defl

7.3 Near BIS >> Recovery (Armor = 52.7k HP, 3.2k rec, 4.0k def, 1.8k defl)

Spoiler:

Head:
Elemental Elven Ward = 9.9k HP, 885 rec, 860 def, 590 defl

Armor:
Elemental Alliance Assault = 17.8k HP, 830 rec, 1220 def
Elemental Dragonflight Ward = 21.9k HP, 1010 rec, 1355 def

Arms:
Elemental Burning Gladiator = 9.9k HP, 295 rec, 860 def, 445 defl, 295 LS

Feet:
Elemental Elven Assault = 9.9k HP, 885 rec, 860 def
Elemental Dragonflight Raid = 11k HP, 975 rec, 900 def

Quicklist with Underdark Gear:

Spoiler:

The ones with + would be my choice. Others are good too. Get more deflections if you struggle to survive, recovery if you survive easily.

Head
+ Elemental Elven Ward > high recovery
- Elemantal Drowcraft Ward > high deflection

Armor
- Elemental Alliance Ward (deflection)
- Elemental Alliance Assault (recovery)
- Dragonflight Ward Breastplate (better than the two above)
- Drowcraft Breastplate (little less reovery/HP, but lots of power)
+ Dusk Ward Breastplaste (little less recovery/HP, 2/set bonus seems good)

Arms
- Elemental Alliance Ward Gauntlets
- Elemental Dragonflight Ward (little better than Alliance)
- Elemental Burning Gladiator
- Elemental Drowcraft Ward Gauntlets (good stats)
+ Dusk Ward Gauntlets (okay stwwats + set bonus = beter)

Feet
- Elemental Elven Ward
- Elemental Dragonflight Ward
- Elemental Drowcraft Raid Sabatons (little more recovery/defense, big loss of deflection)
+ Dusk Ward
Sabatons
+ Dusk Raid Sabatons (less deflection, more recovery)

Best buffing set, if you can stay alive easy: Knight Captain set 4/4 (AH)

7.4 Knight Captain >> max buff, squishy (Armor = 1.2k rec, 3.1k def)
Complete the whole set to have a chance to buff your ally’s Power with 15%. Knight Valor causes this buff to procs constantly! This set is not good for low geared groups. But it shines when you run with high geared (high power) groups.


7.5 Other Gear
Rings
Alliance Ward (purple) = 2k HP, 315 delf + D slot
Dragonflight Ward = 2.1k HP 350 defl + D slot
Protecting Battlescarred Ring of Vitality (blue)* = 1k HP, 250 def + D slot
Protecting Ring of Parrying (blue)* = 310 def, 310 defl + D slot

BIS:
Personalized Adamant Ring of Recovery = 400 rec + D/O slot
Rising Ring of Defense +4/+5 (NEW)** = 900++ def + D/(D) slot
Rising Ring of Recovery +4/+5 (NEW)** = 900++ rec + O/(O) slot

* When searching for blue gear on the Auction House, filter for level 65+, Rare, 1 Slot and Status: Defense.
** You can wear only one of these items

Neck
Alliance Ward (blue) = 1.7k HP, 285 rec + O slot
Protecting Amulet of Parrying = 310 def, 310 defl + O slot
(Greater) Lathander’s Cloak (BIS)** = x AC, x rec, x def + O slot

Waste
Alliance Ward (blue) = 1.1k HP, 425 defl + O slot
(Greater) Lathander’s Belt (BIS)*** = +x Ability Score, x rec, x def + D slot

*** Complete the Lathander set (3/3)! This set bonus grants you immunity to any sickness. It also provides almost 100% of your HP when you get revived, or when your soulforged enchant pops. This set bonus is huge! This way you can survive damage that extends your HP pool – surviving hits >200k+

Shirt
Defender's High-Quality Exquisite Elemental (lower budget)
Defender’s Gemmed Exquisite Elemental = .9k HP, 230 def, 230 defl + O slot

Pants
Defender's High-Quality Exquisite Elemental (lower budget)
Defender’s Gemmed Exquisite Elemental = .9k HP, 230 def, 115 defl + D slot
Warrior’s Gemmed Exquisite Elemental = 115 rec, 230 def + D slot
Drowcraft Chausses = 1.1k HP, 190 rec, 210 def + D slot

Companion’s Gear:
Loyal Defender**** = 870 def + O/D slot)

**** For augmented pets only.

7.6 Weapons
Elemental Fire Longsword/Shield: 2,525 defense, 0 recovery

Twisted Spathe/Aspis: 982 defense, 0 recovery
Set bonus: +160 when truck, + 160 power when you hit (up to 24 stacks). Problem is you want to hit as often as possible to stack all your buffs. I havent tested it, but it's not looking appealing to me.

Stronghold Lance/Shield: 982 defense, 0 recovery
Set bonus: +2% Outgoing Damage (stacks with every party member carrying this set)
Good buffing set, but ridiculously expensive to obtain.

Burning Longsword/Shield: 982 defense, 0 recovery
Set bonus: chance to restore 25% of your AP after using daily. If you can cap your Damage Reduction (80%) with just one stack of Companion's Gift or less , then this is very interesting.

7.7 Artifacts

Spoiler:

Lantern of Revelation (primary)
Crit, ArPen and CA Bonus. Bad stats, but awesome burst damage buff! Easy to obtain.

Eye of Lathander
Defense, Life Steal and Incoming Healing Bonus. Good stats, also needed to complete the awesome set bonus. You get this with an Adamantine Gauntlet from the Arcane Coffers in the Dread Ring Lairs. Drops are low, but keep trying as often as possible.

Sigil of the Guardian
Defense, Deflection and AoE Resist. Good stats, easy to obtain.

Sigil of the Devoted
Power, Defense and Incoming Healing Bonus. Okay stats, but I wish I could change Power to something else. This artifact is useful in all classes. Leveling a DC just for the sigil takes some time, but it’s a cheap way to get your artifacts.

Sigil of the Oathbound Paladin
Hit Points, Power and AoE Resist. Meh stats, but the primary power is good for weak groups (increased DR and healing).

Heart of the White Dragon
Hit Points, Defense and AoE Resist. Good tanky stats.

Bloodcrystal Raven Skull
Recovery, Regeneration and Stamina. It lacks Defense, but the primary power is good for the weaker GF.

Waters of Elah’zad
Recovery, Defense and Regeneration. Almost perfect stats, only if Regen would work in combat too. But they nerfed that. Recovery and Defense is still good! Easy to obtain.

Vanguard’s Banner
Hit Points, Power and Life Steal. Okay powers, but lacks Defense. The primary power is a nice buff for your team. Lathern’s buff better.

Symbol of Fire
Power, recovery and defense; good stats

BIS (max buff, defense and recovery):
Primary: Lathern of Revelations
Secondary: Eye of thandar, Waters of Elah'zad and Symbol or Fire

7.8 Mounts
(Coastal) Fail Snail: "Using a Daily grants 25% of your total Action Points over 10 seconds"

whymushroom

8 Companions

8.1 Summoned: Augmented Pets

Spoiler:

Cat
O/O/D slots + 200 defl, 265 rec

Chicken
D/D/O slots >> MAX DEF

Ioun Stone of Radiance
O/O/O slots + 305 rec, 165 LS, 165 defl >> MAX REC

Ioun Stone of Might
O/O/O slots + 155 rec, 155 defl, +5% Stamina

Ioun Stone of Allure
O/O/D slots + 185 rec, 10% chance to slow target>> CHEAPEST

8.2 Summoned: Pets and Bonding Runestones (BIS)
Buffer GFs never have enough Defense (or Recovery) stat!

I like to point out another powerful pet for the max buffer GF: the Neverember Guard. It Is not an augmented pet, but you use it like one with Bonding Runestones. When a companion with Bonding Runestones activates an encounter, he can proc Companion´s Gift for each runestone slotted – granting you up to 3 times 20/35/50/65%/80%*/95%* of your companion’s stats for 20 seconds (30 seconds cooldown)!

*Tooltip is wrong, tested and confirmed R11 and R12 grant 80% and 95%

The great thing for (buffer) GFs, this pet has 3 defensive slots. Putting Bonding Runestones in there is a great way to stack our Defense stat. There are more pets with only defensive slots, but the Neverember Guards has the lowest cooldown on his encounters. This mean he has the highest chance to proc the Companion’s Gift.

I just put the number in my spreadsheet to compare it with the other suggested augmented pets:

EDIT: New calculations with R12s granting 95% of pet's stats

As you can see its potential is huge! With very quick fights you probably have zero or just one stack of Companion’s Gift. Then you’re better off having a normal augment. But when fights take slightly longer your Defense stat gets boosted so much!

You can get more than just 3 stacks. This happens when your pet died and got up again.

Over the course of an whole dungeon you have on average 2 stacks up. But that’s is still more Defense than any augmented pet can give you!

The only downside of this companion is that he sometimes take more threat than you. Usually that isn’t a problem, but at the boss fight in Craigmire’s Crypt you should ‘control’ the position of the boss. This is very difficult when Neverember Guard keeps his interest.

And all this extra Defense goes to the Damage Reduction that bloats the buff of Into the Fray!
Note that DR can exceed the 80% cap, stat wise. Behind the numbers our stat sheet show, it is capped at 80%. Too bad, because I have seen over 140% Damage Reduction.
EDIT 14th dec '15: 80% DR cap is only for incoming damage. All DR visible in your character sheet will be fully converted as buff with Into the Fray!

Spoiler:

8.3 Active Pets:
http://neverwinter.gamepedia.com/Active_Bonus

Good for in parties to improve your survival:
Black Ice Prospector:
+5% AoE Resist

Rust Monster:
Debuffs attacker’s damage

Battlefield Medic:
+6% Incoming Healing
Good for solo play:

Dread Warrior:
Increases your threat, rumor/not tested: it also debuffs????

Other Options:

Spoiler:

Renegade Evoker:
Reflects damage; it spreads your weapon enchantment doesn't spread, still good for solo play

Blacksmith:
Reflects damage; it spreads your weapon enchantment doesn't spread, still good for solo play

Death Slaad:
12% Chance on at-will use to poison target (max. 4 stacks)

Zhentarim Warlock:
Quick attacker, good to use to boost dps stats with bonding runestones (overpriced in AH)

Yougn Yeti:
On damage taken, 10% chance to increase damage with 5%
Quick attacker, good to use to boost dps stats with bonding runestones (cheaper than the Warlock)

Ioun Stone of Allure:
10% Chance to slow target

Cockatrice:
Roots attackers (NOTE: DOES NOT WORK)

Neverember Guard (use as summoned in parties):
1% Chance to heal 1% of max. HP

Cat:
-50% falling damage
+200 deflect

Pig:
Heals 1% of max. HP every second you’re controlled

Angel of Protection:
On resurrection you are shielded for 10% of your HP (NOTE: I don’t know if its bonus actually works. Also, with the Lathander’s set, this pet becomes obsolete.)

9 Armor and Weapon Enchantment

I haven’t tested most options here. Maybe someone else can point out other good enchantments. These work great for sure!

9.1 Armor Enchantment:
Soulforged. The combination with the Lathander’s set bonus grants you a second life with almost full HP! This way you can survive damage that extends your HP pool – surviving hits >200k+

9.2 Weapon Enchantment:
Terror:
Strong debuffs of enemy’s Defense. As mobs don’t have Defense, it causes to buff everyone's damage party’s damage who attacks affected target with 4%.

Plague Fire (BIS):
Strong debuff of enemy’s Defense (party damage buff). Potentially stronger, but it’s just difficult to keep the 3 stacks up the whole time. Each stack of PF, buffs attackers damage with 3% on affected targets. Having up two stacks is pretty easy, three stacks is bonus!

Holy Avenger:
Buffs party’s DR, and does some healing. This is useful in weaker groups.

Frost:
Reduces foe’s recovery or stuns them for 4 seconds once every 20 seconds. Useful in weaker groups.

10 Potions with Defense, Deflection or Recovery

[Superior Elixir of Reflexes] > Enhanced version stays active after death
[Superior Fortification Potion] > Enhanced version stays active after death
[Foehammer's Favor Elixir]
[Elixir of Steadfast Devotion]
[Elixir of Fate]
[Potion of Heroism]
[Caprese]
[Scroll of Fate: Recovery]
[Scroll of Fate: Defense]
[Greater Scroll of Protection from Dragons]
[Scroll of Protection from Dragons]
[Barley Bread]

whymushroom

11 Suggested Rotations

Step one: mark your target!
Step two: mark your target again!
But seriously, too often I see GFs forgetting to mark targets. You need to spam this! It’s a huge boost for your team.


11.1 Situation: Bigger Group of Mobs (Standard)
This will be your standard setup.



Class Features
1. Enhanced Mark:
This goes hand-in-hand with the same Artifact Class Feature (debuff). If you feel weak, slot Shield Talent instead of Enhanced Mark.
2. Steel Defense:
Grants you immunity after using a daily. You can replace this once with Guarded Assault when you feel strong to generate more AP for the team.

Dailies
1. Fighter’s Recovery:
Strong healing power.
2. Terrifying Impact:
Stun multiple targets, procs Crushing Pin, and procs your Weapon Enchantment.

Encounters
1. Enforced Threat:
It marks multiple enemies (party buff), generates threat, and recovers your Stamina. It also procs your Weapon Enchantment.
2. Into the Fray:
Your bread-and-butter! Your allies gain run speed, AP, and massive damage buff. Also recovers your Stamina.
3. Knight Valor:
Saves your allies. Reflected damage procs your Weapon Enchantment on original attacker.

At-Wills
1. Cleave:
Weak AoE damage, but its casting time is way shorter than WMS. This means you can activate your buffs faster than when Weapon’s Master Strike is slotted. The main reason to use Cleave is to proc your Weapons Enchantment. WMS does that too, but better for solo play as it deals more damage.
2. Tide of Iron:
Don’t forget this debuff on the mobs that stay alive a little longer.


11.2 Situation: Single Target, Max Buff (Squishy)
I like to use this setup for end boss VT and MC. Also this is the most effective set up for dragon runs in Well of Dragons and Stronghold.



Class Features
Change Steel Defense to Guarded Assault. This provides a little extra AP gain, also for your allies.

Dailies
Slot Crescendo instead of Terrifying Impact (Crushing Pin). They both proc Crushing Pin, but Crescendo’s cooldown is shorter. Also, you can abort the Crescendo casting if you block (need to block only a split second), but it still triggers Crushing Pin.

Encounters
Take Bull Charge (shortest cool down of control powers) Griffon's Wrath instead of Knight Valor to proc Crushing Pin. When wearing the Knight Captain set, it can happen the set bonus isn’t active all the time. Still, I think it’s worth slotting Griffon's Wrath here.

Currently I’m trying out Griffon’s Wrath. But I’m still not sure I like it. I will come back at it later. Griffon's Wrath is better than Bull Charge to active Crushing Pin.

At-Will
Standard (Crushing Surge deals a little more damage, but is slower to cast).


11.3 Situation: Kiting a Group of Mobs
I use this in the cleric phase in the Temple of Tiamat.



Class Features
standard

Dailies
Slot Villain’s Menace instead of Terrifying Impact. This Daily is best to hit as many mobs around you as possible, generating agro.

Encounters
Slot Iron Warrior instead of Knight Valor (when you are in a party) or Into the Fray (when nobody like to be in a party with you). You will have massive agro now. You should be able to save a cleric easily with just you and a dps class!

At-Will:
Standard

11.4 Situation: Solo



Class Features
Change Steel Defense for Combat Superiority (gives to extra damage)

Dailies
Standard

Encounters
Slot Lunging Strike instead of Knight Valor; great AoE power.

At-Will:
Weapon Master's Strike is way more powerful than Cleave. Downside is the slow casting.

12 Summary

12.1 There are four main things that help you survive
• Immunity from Steel Defense that procs from Dailies. So, obtaining AP helps you survive.
• Blocking damage with your guard. Stamina is needed to keep your shield up longer. Also point towards the center of red areas.
• Heal yourself fully with Fighter’s Recovery.
• Soulforged Enchantment in combination with the Lathander’s set.

Others: Hit Points, Deflection, Damage Reduction, DoT resist, AoE resist, Combat Advantage resist and Life Steal. The Lathander set bonus
For Iron Vanguard players, I think maxing HP and Life Steal are key to survive. But again, this doesn’t work that well for me. I hope other GFs can show us a little insight how to survive as an Iron Vanguard.

12.2 Your main buffing abilities
1. Into the Fray:
The guardian’s biggest buff (50-80%)! Stack AC and Defense to make this buff more potent. Stack Recovery to spam this buff as often as possible. This goes hand-in-hand with the Inspiring Leader feat.
2. Marking
You may never forget to mark targets, and keep them marked! Spam your [TAB] and Enforced Threat. Different marks stack, making buffs more effective. This your second most important buff. 5% Or 10% buff per mark. It also activates Combat Advantage 360 degrees on target; 25+% damage buff.
3. Weapon Enchant:
Using a Terror (4%) or Plague Fire(3x3%) is another big buff! To proc this on as many enemies as possible use Cleave and Enforced Threat. Also the reflecting damage from Knight’s Valor and some Companions help to spread this buff.
4. Crushing Pin: each time you use a control power, buff attacker's damage with 10% on affected target.

Other Buffs:
5. Dark Fire (damage)
6. Rousing Speech (AP gain)
7. Martial Mastery (AP gain)
8. Tide of Iron (damage)
9. Knight Captain set (damage)
10. Primary Artifacts:
a. Lantern of Revelation (damage): my favorite
b. Vanguard’s Banner (damage): seems okay
c. Wheel of Elements (damage/heal): too random for me/hard to use. Also loses effectiveness when more people use it.
d. Sigil of the Oathbound Paladin (survive): Increased DR and healing for your allies. Good for low geared groups.

13 Interesting Topics

Combat Advantage
http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1209235/10-combat-advantage-boon

Buffs and Power/Recovery
http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1209333/how-power-works-on-guardian-fighter

Pets and Companion's Gift
http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1206585/perfect-bonding-runestones-versus-ioun-stones

Plague vs. Terror
http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1208707/plague-fire-vs-terror/p1

Approach to Tiamat's Temple
http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/1208032/does-anyone-have-tips-on-what-a-gf-should-approach-the-temple-of-tiamat

Old level 60 Tear 1 sets bonus
http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter#/discussion/1205991/legacy-set-bonus-high-vizier

I will edit the layout later to make it better readable.

Enjoy and comment!

Cheers,
fatmushroom

dfnce

Thanks for sharing. I have exactly same heroic feats.

Not sure if United is working as advertised.

Few comments about personal DPS. For paragon path i think i perform much better now as Protector. Without much loosing to own dps efficiently (Crushing Pin and Terrifying Impact look as nice combo), i like the fact Brawling Warrior grants more damage on ET and more damage resistance with KV. Certainly new skill Line Breaker Assault (i have 4/4) is worth using in solo pve content with ET/ITF combo, it makes great deal of personal AOE damage and further damage boost. WMS is underperforming compared to GWF version (no Destroyer and other stacks, no Unstoppable easy mode), but it is better than Cleave without Conqueror feats.

oliboyph

I always wanted to have tactician GF, but it's so expensive to have useful tactician . The recommended pets alone are really out of reach.

whymushroom

There are some errors in the guide, some parts are missing and a few new insights. An update is coming soon.

@dfnce: I never played the GF as an attacker, but I'm getting more curious about how this play style works. Last time I had points in Line Breaker, it was heavily bugged at the time. I'm also trying out WMS vs Cleave. Casting time seems about the same, they both proc Weapons Enchants. Then WMS seem better yes.

@oliboyph: Challenge accepted. What's your budget for your GF? An augmented pet (415k AD) is the only one that makes a noticeable difference. Also be aware that all enchantments will be way cheaper soon. I think running with blue gear and rank 5s should be good enough. A Soulforged Enchant (115k? AD or get lucky) with a Lathander set (hard to get the artifact), and you should be okay I guess. I'll think about it and test some.
EDIT: This is for PvE of course. Maybe having a good healer OP or DC works for a budget tact build in PVP. But this is not my cup of tea.

oliboyph

whymushroom said:

There are some errors in the guide, some parts are missing and a few new insights. An update is coming soon.
@oliboyph: Challenge accepted. What's your budget for your GF? An augmented pet (415k AD) is the only one that makes a noticeable difference. Also be aware that all enchantments will be way cheaper soon. I think running with blue gear and rank 5s should be good enough. A Soulforged Enchant (115k? AD or get lucky) with a Lathander set (hard to get the artifact), and you should be okay I guess. I'll think about it and test some.

Well I let's just say I already have the soulforged. I might make another character for the tactician, rank 7's are cheap enough at the moment. Let's say I only have 500k for everything else, what should I get with 500k?

dfnce

whymushroom said:

@dfnce: I never played the GF as an attacker, but I'm getting more curious about how this play style works. Last time I had points in Line Breaker, it was heavily bugged at the time. I'm also trying out WMS vs Cleave. Casting time seems about the same, they both proc Weapons Enchants. Then WMS seem better yes.

Usually I do this sequence - ITF/Villain Menace/LBA/ET. So it playstyle gets a bit CW-like (buff and AOE).
At wills:

Multiple targets - WMS
Single target - Tab mark for CA effect and Crushing Surge

Feats:

Steel Blitz/Combat Superiority feats do little but better than nothing, i don't tank much this time so Guarded Assault is not option to me.

For solo DPS i use second different set of companions (which is boring to swap them all time and it is expensive). I didn't change a set itself, mine is same since mod 5 - in short words they just increasing damage (like Arcons), combat advantage damage (Blink Dog) or critical severity (Erinyes).

When i solo I use flaming WE (for cool looking ofc and pure version is hilarious in terms of damage, also adds DOT element to my CW-style) and imperial set (for cool looking HUD effects, but some little damage increase). In dungs i swap to terror.

killergilnyc1

What are some good Artifacts for defense build GF?

deathbeez

dfnce said:

Steel Blitz/Combat Superiority feats do little but better than nothing,

I can't agree Combat Superiority is not very useful.
If you get far in the conq tree, and add the superiority feat, it's a solid & static 15% damage boost on everything and doesn't need to be activated. I confirmed this in the bug's forum.

Fight on in the tact tree should be essential for all GF builds. 10% off all encounter timers is too sweet to pass up and you can get it early. That's like having 4,000 extra recovery stat.

I found having life steal below 8% is not very useful. I have 10% flat LS and a perfect life drinker (+4%) and it's semi useful. A cool trick is to use steel defense with steel supremacy (reflect, might be swordmaster) with life steal. It pops fast like fighter's recovery, but will still reflect while you're immune, and when it's about to run out, pop it so the swords hit *everybody* and you have a high change to get a life steal off 2 of those swords. The bad trade off is you can not get AP points while steel supremacy is going. Kind of a bummer, so it's not worth letting it go the full duration.

I think steel defense is a must for all GF builds, since mod 6.

whymushroom

I just updated the guide.
- Ability Score: added image with current points spent, and provided with reasoning.
- Combat Powers: changed points spend on powers slightly
- Feats: I changed a few points on feats spent, reasoning provided
- Gear: Added a section with artifacts
- Suggested Rotations: finished some parts. I didn't change Cleave for WMS. Reasoning provided.

Personally I like color is such texts, but it's a pain to edit that on this forum. Check the original file on my Google Drive if you love colors too.

whymushroom

double post

whymushroom

I love running with the Neverember Guard as summoned pet. I never slot a normal augment anymore.

But this post is to point out some new insights:

Rotations: Single Target (lone bosses/dragon runs):
Using Griffon's Wrath is better to slot than Bull Charge. With 4 strikes, the uptime of Crushing Pin is way longer than with Bull Charge. I'm never slotting Bull Charge anymore (not for buffing, remember this info is for the ultimate PvE buffer).

Companions: Active Bonus
The Blacksmith and Renegade Evoker are working as intended, but the do not proc your weapon enchantment. That was for me the only reason to slot these pets. I'm looking into other options.

zman81420

Cheers, thanks for the guide.

grimah

I'd like to suggest, if you want to go pure buffer and you want to use a summoned pet. I'd go with rust monster. it applies a 8% debuff on their damage AND 5% mitigation debuff. the uptime is also 100% on single target.

zman81420

I play on XONE and I am looking into the Neverember Guard, any suggestions as to what I should slot for him equipment wise? I have all of the pieces together to create 3x greater bonding stones during our 2x RP. My defense should jump dramatically as well I am close to 11k with full elven and R8 azure in all defensive slots, soon to be all R9. I am intrigued by moving away from my Ioun Stone of Allure and bringing a buddy into the trenches. Like I said above thanks for your hard work in providing this information.

whymushroom

zman81420 said:

I play on XONE and I am looking into the Neverember Guard, any suggestions as to what I should slot for him equipment wise?

A Yeti or an Air Archon are commonly used and very cheap offensive pets, able to proc Companion's Gift often. The downside of then is they don't have three Defense Slots. You could try out a cheap companion first. When you run with high rank bonding stones, you won't need 3 defensive slots per se.

About the equipment, it is hidden in the guide:

whymushroom said:

Companion’s Gear:
Loyal Defender*** = 870 def + O/D slot)
[...]
*** For augmented pets only.

All the Loyal Defender items are a good way to boost your Defense. The I made an error writing it is for augment pet's only. I'll edit this.

Also note that the tooltip of Rank 11 and Rank 12 Bonding Runestones are incorrect. They grant respectively 80% and 95% of your companion's stats when Companion's Gift proc! Even with a low amount of base Defense, you easily will reach (and uselessly exceed) the 80% Damage Reduction cap.

whymushroom

This post was about Companion's Gift. Moved to opening posts.

jobsalotofwork

Just a note to those wanting to use a non-augment companion. I would not use a defender such as the yeti or neverember guard. They can pull aggro so you can't reliably use them when tanking bosses. The issue being if they pull aggro when you are trying to catch a hit you lose guard with no AP gain. Since ap is the reason to play a tactician its a bad trede off.

zman81420

Sadly we do not have the sword coast gear over here and why it seemed unfamiliar. But I will most likely be creating Double slotted Recovery waists for the OFF/DEF slot as well. I was happy to buy the Guard last night for 20% off and with the ZAX at 118 per lol. I have 2 of 3 of my greater bonding stones crafted up and just need gear for the guard now. Looks like he uses a GF/OP main hand as well and need to do some searching for a good fit. Thank you for your response @whymushroom, I appreciate having my eyes opened to this idea and am hoping for great success.

whymushroom

@jobsalotofwork: I agree the Neverember Guard is not the best companions in every situation. But it is the only companions that hits often enough to make good use of bonding stones in defense slots. Reaching your 80% Damage Reduction cap is more important, than getting your team that little extra Action Points. I also don't think you miss hits that often to build AP for your team. Often you still can walk to the red areas when your pet has aggro. For me the only boss where it is annoying not to have aggro at you, is final boss in Epic Craigmire Crypts.

@zman81420: I wasn't aware XBox doesn't have Swordcoast items yet. The personalized waist with recovery seems okay. If you don't reach the 80% DR, then I would get some belts with defense in it.
I also would complete the Knight Captain set there, as they won't drop anymore on PC.

zman81420

I......refined my Knights set......to clear room before mod 6 drop to make room for an overloaded inventory/bank. I regret it severely as there are literally no sets left. I have all rank 9 Azures in every possible defensive slot and have 45% DR as a base. Going to take a lot of work to reach that cap, but I have time lol. I was leaning toward recovery on the waists to keep a constant spam of ITF. But I will look elsewhere as well for a large defensive boost in that area.

zman81420

I purchased the Neveremember Guard and slotted him with 3x Greater bonding stones. 2x personalized recovery belts with R8 azure and R8 silvery. I can already tell the difference and so can my dungeon parties. Thanks for all the information @whymushroom, no complaints here.

rolotcw

Superb guide, thanks

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whymushroom

ambrosianectar said:

Why increase Crit severity in a build that "does no damage"?

Good point. A few days back I was finally able to choose the last Tyranny of Dragon´s Boon, I chose Life Steal again. The are a few more minor changes I made. I´ll make an update it today,

whymushroom

Updates and Edits:
- H2 Ability score importance: INT>CON>STR>DEX
- H6 Boons: edited last boon ToD, added Underdark boons
- H7 Gear: added mod 8 gear
- H7 Gear: added Symbol of Fire artifact
- H7 Gear: added BIS option for artifacts
- H7 Gear: added weapons
- H7 Gear: added mount
- H8 Pets: merged posts about bonding stones
added pets
changed comment on two pets: active bonus damage doesn't spread your weapons enchantment.
- H8 edited comments on terror and plague enchantment
- H11 rotations: single target: Griffon's Wrath is better than Bull Charge
- H11 rotations: added solo set up
- H12 summery/buffs: minor edits in text
- Added H13: interesting topics

whymushroom

I still keep learning more about the game.

I ran some test today with Into the Fray, and how effective its buff is. Sample sizes are not too big, but deviation is low. I tested the strength on Into the Fray on Cleave versus mobs in Stronghold.
- First test: Cleave without any buff;
- Second test: Cleave with Into the Fray buff, without my pet
- Third test: Cleave with Into the Fray buff, with my pet
- Fourth test: Cleave with Into the Fray buff, without my pet, with negation enchantment



Conclusion:
The 80% Damage Reduction (DR) cap counts only for incoming damage. All DR as you can see it in your character sheet is fully converted as damage buff. Not 25% of your DR as the tool tip suggests, but 100% of DR. So, we can stack Defense unlimited to boost the effectiveness of Into the Fray! DR from a Negation enchantment does not affect the Into the Fray buff.