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Protector of the Weak - Guide for a devensive/support GF
lonewolfmk1
Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 137 Arc User
Table of contents:
I. Introduction
II. Race, Attributes and Equipment
III. Pets
IV. Path and Powers
V. Feats
VI. Boons
VII. How to Play
VIII. Closing Remarks
I. Introduction
Recently I have been asked to explain my GF (Guardian Fighter) build a couple of times.
After some extensive testing in PVE and especially PVP and readjusting it several times, I am now happy to share my experiences with you by means of this Guide. It will contain an overview over the chosen Race, Attributes, Path, Equipment, Pets, Powers, Feats and Boons. I will illustrate, why I made the choices I made, so that you can understand my reasoning behind those decisions. I have also included a “how to play” section to show how I use this build in PVP and PVE.
A few words on my Neverwinter gaming background. I have been playing my Guardian Fighter Ingerimm (though everyone just seems to prefer to call him “Inge”) since the official game release. For a long time, until modul 4 I have been playing him with an offensive conquerer build, archiving a good balance between damage and resilience, though as the game developed and GFs falling ever farther back in the damage department, I started to build up the defensive Stats more strongly. This actually worked quite well, and I am not a little proud to say that I was one of not many GFs who made the class work well in PVP and PVE. Still, there is no denying, that until modul 4, a similar geared and experienced GWF, HR and (especially in Dungeons) CW where pretty much always a better choice than a GF.
So I was more than a little exited when I read about the coming changes to the GF in Mod 4. And I wasn’t disappointed, quite the opposite in fact. Doing some testing on the Preview Server in advance, I was finally ready to start building a GF that was a true tank, a great group supporter and finally a very viable choice for both, PVE and PVP.
Having said that, let’s start with:
II. Race, Attributes and Equipment:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-equip_zps9717153e.png
(Stats without augmentation pet (Cat/Ioun Stone/Chicken))
Let’s start with the attributes, and related to that, the race. I choose playing a dwarf, since its race traits (DoT/Knockback/Repel resistances) and the boni to the start attributes offer a solid foundation for any GF build. Also for some reason I always seem to end up playing a dwarf with my first char
Humans, Halflings, Dragonborn are all also good alternatives, but honestly, the race doesn’t influence the performance dramatically, so play the race you like best.
The primary attribute is obviously constitution, since the longer you can stay in combat, the longer your team will benefit from you as force multiplier. Choosing the secondary attribute is a bit more complicated. Strength increases our stamina (important for the shield block), damage (not really important for this build) and DoT (Damage over Time) resistance, which is especially useful in PVP. Dexterity grants additional armor penetration (also not very important), increased deflection chance (very important) and an increased resistance vs. AoE (Area of Effect) skills (also very nice). At the end I decided to raise STR and DEX to a relative even level. The two points more in STR are a relic from the time when I created this GF, with an offensive build in mind.
Let’s have a look at the equipment. The best armor set for this build there is right now is the Purified Black Ice set, including weapon and shield. It offers us plenty of all the stats we need, high defense, regeneration, deflection, recovery, tenacity and a lot of hit points (HP). The set boni (increased stamina regeneration and a small damage absorbing shield from the armor set and a healing bonus from the weapon set) fit the requirements of our defensive build very well. As armor upgrades I recommend the +400 HP upgrade you can either buy in the auction house (AH) or build with level 20 platesmithing. Right now id advice to fill the overload slots with Greater Green Dragon Glyphs (I expect the right now rather broken Red Dragon Glyphs to receive the same treatment as the Blue ones soon). Not only are they very cheap, they also increase deflection by a great margin over a relative long time and also cause a bit of damage to opponents.
I filled the defensive slots with radiant enchantments, since life, in comparison to other stats, doesn’t have a cap (meaning the higher you raise a stat, the less benefit you gain). The offensive slots I filled with silvery enchantments, since a higher recovery stat means, we reduce the cool down of our powers, which in turn increases our resilience, since many powers we use are of defensive/support nature. The support slots receive dark enchantments, to enhance our limited mobility.
As for the remaining equipment, I choose the Dominators Cloak (PVP campaign), the ring set from the PVP campaign und the purified black ice belt. A good alternative for the cloak is the purified black ice cloak. A very good (although expensive) alternative for the rings, is the “Vital Ring of Revival”, with HP, recovery, tenacity and a defense slot. The “Greater Ring of Health” is a much cheaper, but also good alternative. I plan to replace the black ice belt with a constitution belt (available since mod 4) but the option is quite a bit too expensive for me right now.
As weapon enchantment, I use a feytouched enchantment for the damage debuff it applies to the opponent. The elvenbattle enchantment also sounds interesting, but I haven’t tested it yet. As armor enchantment there are in my experience two good choices, the soulforge- and the barkshield enchantment. I use a barkshield enchantment, since it aids me throughout a battle, and not just at the point of my death. So for PVP I suggest to aim for a perfect barkshield. Until such is within your reach, I suggest using a lesser soulforge enchantment. Reason being, in terms of usefulness in PVP, a perfect barkshield is not far ahead of a prefect soulforge. But when looking at the weaker forms of the barkshield and the soulforge, the soulforge actually doesn’t lose much of its usefulness, the barkshield, on the other hand, does. For PVE I suggest using a lesser soulforge, since in PVE, if you die, it’s mostly because you took a great amount of damage in a very short amount of time. In this case the soulforge is more useful than the barkshield. Also you usually loose the mob aggro when you get back up.
Concerning artefacts I am still testing a bit. What I can safely recommend are the Waters of Elah Zad, since recovery, defense und especially regeneration are all very usefull stats for this build. The active power is also very nice, since its healing effect is not affected by the (in PVP existing) healing depression. The Defense Banner supplies us with defense, regeneration and an incoming healing bonus (which benefits our regeneration) and when used as primary artefact, offers a good defensive group buff over 30 secs. The third spot has recently been taken by Oghmas token of free movement. Defense and Deflection are always useful and an increased resistance to control effects is a very nice stat to have. The control immunity granted by its active bonus is a real life saver, especially in PVP.
Following are a few honorable mentions, the Bloodcrystal Ravenskull, and the cleric and great weapon fighter class artefacts. The Ravenskull with regeneration, recovery and increased stamina regeneration offers a couple of very useful stats. Its active bonus (temp. HP) can be a life saver in PVE but suffers in PVP from healing depression, and is thus less useful than the Waters. The Cleric artefact has a very good active bonus, allowing us to use our daily powers more precise. With defense and an incoming healing bonus it also offers 2 good stats, but its third stat, power, is pretty much useless for us. The GF artefact offers with defense, deflection and AoE resistance also useful stats and its active bonus has the potential to protect us from quite some damage.
III. Pets:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-Mauser_zps682dacf8.png
A few words on pets. As soon as you can afford it, you should get yourself an augmentation pet since they add almost all stats they get from their equipment to your char, don’t attract monsters and (normally) cant die. The remaining active slots should be filled with pets, which increase your offensive power, though I have to admit, that this is not the case with all of the shown pets in the pic, since they are still remains from the “Conqueror” time.
Here, displayed in large, is Mauser my trusted cat (as much as you can trust a cat) which has followed me from almost the very beginning of the game. I will have to eventually update his equipment, but as you can see, it mostly offers offensive stats. For PVE (especially when questing alone) you should look for pets that increase power, armor penetration and crit.
IV. Paths and Powers:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-powers1_zps1273a0a0.png
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-powers2_zps45c8674f.png
The very first decision we have to make is the choosing of one of the two available paths, the Iron Vanguard or Swordmaster path. I have tested both paths since the release of mod 4 and decided to go with the Swordmaster.
The two powers we will miss most, when choosing the swordmaster path, are Frontlinesurge and Threatening Rush. The loss of the former is not that bad in PVP, as you hardly need the power anymore due to good alternatives since mod 4. The loss of Threatening Rush has a greater impact, since it reduces the GFs mobility even further.
On the other hand, this build isn’t meant to get close up and personal with your opponents and in PVP the only use for Threatening Rush would be to cause timid (since we can’t really hurt them anyway) CWs and DCs to use their dodges and thus buying us a bit of time. On the plus side we get Crescendo, a very useful daily to stun an opponent for some time and, with the right feat, reduce his damage for 10 sec. Though the main reason, why I recommend the swordmaster path is Steel Grace. In my experience I usually die because I get hit by a control power and thus are unable to use my shield, which leaves me open for follow up attacks. Steel Grace is a skill that helps you to reduce this problem a bit.
Update: Due to recent changes to Knights Valor I recommend now Steel Defense instead of Steel Grace. Reason being, KV now generates a large amount of action points, when players of your team are affected by the buff and are in a fight. Best case, with Steel Defense you can be invulnerable half of the time, though the skill sometimes seems to be not working correctly (you sometimes still take damage after using a daily power).
You should spend points on the following powers:
Villains Menace, Shield Talent, Terrifying Impact, Crushing Surge, Into the Fray, Steel Defense, Knights Valor, Bull Charge, Crescendo, Steel Grace, Cleave, Tide of Iron, Enforced Threat, Guarded Assault, Enhanced Mark, Knights Challenge, Anvil of Doom and Supremacy of Steel
V. Feats:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-feats_zps67e7e5e6.png
I think my choice of heroic feats speaks for itself, when keeping the aim of this build in mind. I spend one point on Strength Focus because I had one point left I didn’t know what to do with, and I am hoping, that it not only increases damage, but also the shield stamina – which also depends on strength to a degree.
Choosing the right Paragon feats is a bit more difficult. I divided the points mainly between the Tactician and the Protector tree. I think my choices in the Protector tree don’t need further explanation. What probably needs to be explained a bit is why I didn’t go for the last Protector feat (the capstone). Since mod 4 (and on the preview before) I tested a couple of configurations, including going for the capstone feat. But I noticed a couple of things, which in the end convinced me to spend my points the way I did.
The feat „Armour of Bahamuth“ is pretty useless. As long as your shield is up, you have got 80% damage resistance. 80% is the max you can achieve. With smart stamina management you usually won’t run out of stamina. If you get continuously attacked in away, that you can’t lower your shield even for a moment to recharge, then the 10% additional damage resistance probably won’t save you either. If you get controlled to death (your most likely respawning reason, once you are well geared), your stamina won’t drop below 30%, thus the feat won’t even trigger.
Brawling Warrior is also mostly useless. In my experience the damage, you receive via Knights Valor is not that significant, thus the points are better spend elsewhere.
Iron Guard, the last feat in the Protector tree, sounds nice on first glance. 5% less damage output per hit from an opponent, stacks up to 4 times. But while play testing I came to the conclusion, that I am rarely able to hit an opponent multiple times in a short time period, since for almost all attacks I have to lower my shield to hit. When fighting several opponents this is a very bad idea, as you can easily get controlled. Also you usually should try to keep your distance to your opponents (while not leaving the point) to protect your back. Even when you are fighting 1 vs. 1, you will probably take more damage than you might save due to this feat. The conclusion is, that the point is better spend elsewhere.
The points saved in the Protector tree I put in the Tactician tree. The 5 points in fight on don’t have to be further explained. The points in Grim Promise are useful, since Crescendo is a very good power to keep an opponent from our back for a while (and give our team some time to take him out) so we will use it quite a lot. Daunting Challenge, especially for PVE, is a good alternative, too. Inspiring Leader is the feat, you want to get your hands on, as it further increases the already high damage buff off Into the Fray, the skill that should never leave your encounter slots as long as you are in a group.
The last available point can be spend as you please. I put it into the conqueror tree for some additional temp. HP.
VI. Campaign Boons:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boonsharandar_zpsad33e385.png
For Sharandar I always chose the upper Boon, Defense, Deflection, HP, chance for Healing when receiving damage and faster stamina regeneration.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boondreadring_zpsa62c50e2.png
For Dread Ring I chose crit/movement, regeneration, armor penetration (since the alternative seems to be pretty useless, and we can increase our meager damage a bit), healbuff, und Thayan Bastion.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boonicewinddale_zps0ec5fc03.png
For Icewind Dale I also always went for the upper boon, so AoE resistance, incoming healing bonus (more useful than the stamina bonus), recovery, Cold Shoulder, and, since there really isn’t anything useful, Avalanche.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boontyrannyofdragons_zps882def88.png
For the Tyranny of Dragons Campaign I am going for HP, Deflection, armor penetration (since our def at this point should already be so high that a further increase won’t be noticeable), regeneration and the incoming healing bonus.
The nice thing about all those little protection buffs, we gain through the equip, boons and feats is, that the damage we receive via Knights Valor is reduced by quite a margin, sometimes down to zero for some hits (which allows you to stay mounted longer).
VII. How to Play:
PVP
Your main task as GF will usually be to keep the mid (point 2) continuously contested. It’s not important that you clear the point, as long as you keep it contested, so that the opposing team doesn’t score points. Depending upon the strength and coordination of your team in comparison the other, it will often happen, that you will have to defend the point against 2 or more players, until your team mates either help you out or take the other flags, so that the opposing team is forced to split up to take them back. Sounds difficult? It sure is! Luckily you are playing a class that is up to the task.
In your power bar the following powers should be usually slotted:
Daily Powers:
Villains Menace (due to control immunity)
Crescendo (or Terrifying Impact for proning control immune opponents)
Encounter Powers:
Bull Charge (low cooldown, very short animation time, prones opponents and can throw them off the point)
Into the Fray (speed-, action point-, stamina-, and damage buff for you and the team)
Knights Valor (absorbs half team damage, as long as they are within range and line of sight, also gain a large amount of action points while your team is in battle)
At Will Powers:
Crushing Surge (for a bit of damage)
Tide of Iron (for the debuff and stamina regeneration)
Utility Powers:
Shield Talent (the longer block time is really important in PVP)
Steel Grace (for increased control resistance; Steel Defense as very good alternative, especially with the high action point gain from Knights Valor)
Usually a PVP starts with friend and foe duking it out at mid (point 2). So you fire up Knights Valor at the campfire and lead your team into battle. Just before you arrive at Point 2, activate Into the Fray. By doing that you will be dismounted and fall behind a bit, and, although it sounds strange for a GF, is actually a good thing. If you do arrive first, there is the great risk of getting hit by a control power (especially when mages are involved), which might interrupt Knights Valor and putting it on cool down, which basically means your team just lost half its HP until you manage to activate the skill again.
Ideally you arrive in Battle 1-2 secs. Later and keep your shield up so that you don’t eat an unexpected control power, until you have a good overview about the battle situation. Once you have, try to save your stamina as much as possible without taking risks. Focus on keeping Into the Fray cast every time it becomes available and find a suitable target for your Bull Charge. Ideally you agree with your team mates over voice chat which target to focus. Bull Charge the target and if you find the time, mark it for good measure for some additional damage. The team should do the rest at this point. Crescendo is also a very handy way to immobilize a target for a couple of seconds, giving your team ample time to melt it down. If no target is agreed on, go for the mages first. With their control powers and damage potential they are very dangerous opponents, but usually also one of the more squishy ones.
Regardless of clearing the mid from opponents or not, your job now will be to watch out, that the opposing team doesn’t score any points from mid. If there are opponents on the point, you should never leave it (save when it belongs to your team and you get attacked from outside the point). If you die, just get back there as soon as possible. When you are low on health and you are going to get down anyway, you might also try to lure (inexperienced) player away from the point, (who might be hoping for an easy kill). When point 2 is free of enemies, move a bit towards the opposing teams point, not so far, that you can’t return fast, but far enough, so that your team mates might receive your Knights Valor buff. Also that way you can intercept opponents, who try to ride from their spawn to mid, with a Bull Charge and a Crescendo, if ready, to buy a bit of time before they can contest mid again.
To delay opponents for as long as possible in mid, I recommend falling back from them with raised shield (without leaving the point) and only to put down the shield when you are relative sure not to get controlled (because your opponent just used his control attacks, you have activated Villains Menace, Steel Defense is active, your opponent got controlled etc.). At such a time you should also always activate Into the Fray if not on cool down, since the increased speed and stamina regeneration really comes in handy.
Exceptions from the rule are mages, who are trying to turn you into ice statues. If you meet one (and he brings friends) you will probably die pretty fast, since you will get almost constantly controlled. But there are means and ways to delay the end for some time. When your daily is ready, then keep blocking its attacks until it tries to freeze you. Shortly before that happens use Villains Menace (or Crescendo if the mage should be alone). Try to get close to the mage to Bull Charge him and to keep him dodging. Oghmas Token of Free Movement is also golden in this situation to buy you some time.
Update: Due to recent changes in the GFs shield mechanic we can now actually no longer be frozen, as long as the attack gets blocked by the shield, so until that changes, mages have just become a lot more easier to deal with and the upper passage no longer applies.
In rare instances it can make sense for you to contest the opponents point, e.g. because no one in your team has the ability to stand more than a couple of seconds against the guarding opposing player. In this case you should think about switching out Knights Valor and Into the Fray for Iron Warrior and Flourish since your team mates are probably too far away know to benefit from any of your buffs.
PVE (with a team)
Same Powers as in PVP, except Bull Charge gets traded for Enforced Threat, Shield Talent for Guarded Assault and Crescendo for Supremacy of Steel.
There is really not much to say. Focus on keeping your buffs (Knights Valor and Into the Fray) up and mark/debuff strong monsters and bosses.
PVE (without team)
Same powers as in PVE with team, save you trade Into the Fray for Anvil of Doom and Knights Valor for Knights Challenge.
We have to try to generate as much damage output from this build as possible. If you have, slot artifacts with offensive stats and farm yourself a second armor set that increases your damage output. Also your augmentation pet should be equipped with offensive stats.
VIII. Closing Remarks:
Congratulations, you have made it here! I hope I could help you out a bit in building your own GF. This guide doesn’t claim to hold the universal truth about how to build a defensive GF, especially since equip, skills and feats of the GF but also of other classes changes all the time, which quickly outdates parts of this guide as you can see on the parts I updated before I was even finished completing it. I left the outdated parts in the text since they might become useful again when further changes occur. This guide is supposed to be a good foundation on which to base your own ideas on.
So have fun and good luck!
I. Introduction
II. Race, Attributes and Equipment
III. Pets
IV. Path and Powers
V. Feats
VI. Boons
VII. How to Play
VIII. Closing Remarks
I. Introduction
Recently I have been asked to explain my GF (Guardian Fighter) build a couple of times.
After some extensive testing in PVE and especially PVP and readjusting it several times, I am now happy to share my experiences with you by means of this Guide. It will contain an overview over the chosen Race, Attributes, Path, Equipment, Pets, Powers, Feats and Boons. I will illustrate, why I made the choices I made, so that you can understand my reasoning behind those decisions. I have also included a “how to play” section to show how I use this build in PVP and PVE.
A few words on my Neverwinter gaming background. I have been playing my Guardian Fighter Ingerimm (though everyone just seems to prefer to call him “Inge”) since the official game release. For a long time, until modul 4 I have been playing him with an offensive conquerer build, archiving a good balance between damage and resilience, though as the game developed and GFs falling ever farther back in the damage department, I started to build up the defensive Stats more strongly. This actually worked quite well, and I am not a little proud to say that I was one of not many GFs who made the class work well in PVP and PVE. Still, there is no denying, that until modul 4, a similar geared and experienced GWF, HR and (especially in Dungeons) CW where pretty much always a better choice than a GF.
So I was more than a little exited when I read about the coming changes to the GF in Mod 4. And I wasn’t disappointed, quite the opposite in fact. Doing some testing on the Preview Server in advance, I was finally ready to start building a GF that was a true tank, a great group supporter and finally a very viable choice for both, PVE and PVP.
Having said that, let’s start with:
II. Race, Attributes and Equipment:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-equip_zps9717153e.png
(Stats without augmentation pet (Cat/Ioun Stone/Chicken))
Let’s start with the attributes, and related to that, the race. I choose playing a dwarf, since its race traits (DoT/Knockback/Repel resistances) and the boni to the start attributes offer a solid foundation for any GF build. Also for some reason I always seem to end up playing a dwarf with my first char
Humans, Halflings, Dragonborn are all also good alternatives, but honestly, the race doesn’t influence the performance dramatically, so play the race you like best.
The primary attribute is obviously constitution, since the longer you can stay in combat, the longer your team will benefit from you as force multiplier. Choosing the secondary attribute is a bit more complicated. Strength increases our stamina (important for the shield block), damage (not really important for this build) and DoT (Damage over Time) resistance, which is especially useful in PVP. Dexterity grants additional armor penetration (also not very important), increased deflection chance (very important) and an increased resistance vs. AoE (Area of Effect) skills (also very nice). At the end I decided to raise STR and DEX to a relative even level. The two points more in STR are a relic from the time when I created this GF, with an offensive build in mind.
Let’s have a look at the equipment. The best armor set for this build there is right now is the Purified Black Ice set, including weapon and shield. It offers us plenty of all the stats we need, high defense, regeneration, deflection, recovery, tenacity and a lot of hit points (HP). The set boni (increased stamina regeneration and a small damage absorbing shield from the armor set and a healing bonus from the weapon set) fit the requirements of our defensive build very well. As armor upgrades I recommend the +400 HP upgrade you can either buy in the auction house (AH) or build with level 20 platesmithing. Right now id advice to fill the overload slots with Greater Green Dragon Glyphs (I expect the right now rather broken Red Dragon Glyphs to receive the same treatment as the Blue ones soon). Not only are they very cheap, they also increase deflection by a great margin over a relative long time and also cause a bit of damage to opponents.
I filled the defensive slots with radiant enchantments, since life, in comparison to other stats, doesn’t have a cap (meaning the higher you raise a stat, the less benefit you gain). The offensive slots I filled with silvery enchantments, since a higher recovery stat means, we reduce the cool down of our powers, which in turn increases our resilience, since many powers we use are of defensive/support nature. The support slots receive dark enchantments, to enhance our limited mobility.
As for the remaining equipment, I choose the Dominators Cloak (PVP campaign), the ring set from the PVP campaign und the purified black ice belt. A good alternative for the cloak is the purified black ice cloak. A very good (although expensive) alternative for the rings, is the “Vital Ring of Revival”, with HP, recovery, tenacity and a defense slot. The “Greater Ring of Health” is a much cheaper, but also good alternative. I plan to replace the black ice belt with a constitution belt (available since mod 4) but the option is quite a bit too expensive for me right now.
As weapon enchantment, I use a feytouched enchantment for the damage debuff it applies to the opponent. The elvenbattle enchantment also sounds interesting, but I haven’t tested it yet. As armor enchantment there are in my experience two good choices, the soulforge- and the barkshield enchantment. I use a barkshield enchantment, since it aids me throughout a battle, and not just at the point of my death. So for PVP I suggest to aim for a perfect barkshield. Until such is within your reach, I suggest using a lesser soulforge enchantment. Reason being, in terms of usefulness in PVP, a perfect barkshield is not far ahead of a prefect soulforge. But when looking at the weaker forms of the barkshield and the soulforge, the soulforge actually doesn’t lose much of its usefulness, the barkshield, on the other hand, does. For PVE I suggest using a lesser soulforge, since in PVE, if you die, it’s mostly because you took a great amount of damage in a very short amount of time. In this case the soulforge is more useful than the barkshield. Also you usually loose the mob aggro when you get back up.
Concerning artefacts I am still testing a bit. What I can safely recommend are the Waters of Elah Zad, since recovery, defense und especially regeneration are all very usefull stats for this build. The active power is also very nice, since its healing effect is not affected by the (in PVP existing) healing depression. The Defense Banner supplies us with defense, regeneration and an incoming healing bonus (which benefits our regeneration) and when used as primary artefact, offers a good defensive group buff over 30 secs. The third spot has recently been taken by Oghmas token of free movement. Defense and Deflection are always useful and an increased resistance to control effects is a very nice stat to have. The control immunity granted by its active bonus is a real life saver, especially in PVP.
Following are a few honorable mentions, the Bloodcrystal Ravenskull, and the cleric and great weapon fighter class artefacts. The Ravenskull with regeneration, recovery and increased stamina regeneration offers a couple of very useful stats. Its active bonus (temp. HP) can be a life saver in PVE but suffers in PVP from healing depression, and is thus less useful than the Waters. The Cleric artefact has a very good active bonus, allowing us to use our daily powers more precise. With defense and an incoming healing bonus it also offers 2 good stats, but its third stat, power, is pretty much useless for us. The GF artefact offers with defense, deflection and AoE resistance also useful stats and its active bonus has the potential to protect us from quite some damage.
III. Pets:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-Mauser_zps682dacf8.png
A few words on pets. As soon as you can afford it, you should get yourself an augmentation pet since they add almost all stats they get from their equipment to your char, don’t attract monsters and (normally) cant die. The remaining active slots should be filled with pets, which increase your offensive power, though I have to admit, that this is not the case with all of the shown pets in the pic, since they are still remains from the “Conqueror” time.
Here, displayed in large, is Mauser my trusted cat (as much as you can trust a cat) which has followed me from almost the very beginning of the game. I will have to eventually update his equipment, but as you can see, it mostly offers offensive stats. For PVE (especially when questing alone) you should look for pets that increase power, armor penetration and crit.
IV. Paths and Powers:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-powers1_zps1273a0a0.png
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-powers2_zps45c8674f.png
The very first decision we have to make is the choosing of one of the two available paths, the Iron Vanguard or Swordmaster path. I have tested both paths since the release of mod 4 and decided to go with the Swordmaster.
The two powers we will miss most, when choosing the swordmaster path, are Frontlinesurge and Threatening Rush. The loss of the former is not that bad in PVP, as you hardly need the power anymore due to good alternatives since mod 4. The loss of Threatening Rush has a greater impact, since it reduces the GFs mobility even further.
On the other hand, this build isn’t meant to get close up and personal with your opponents and in PVP the only use for Threatening Rush would be to cause timid (since we can’t really hurt them anyway) CWs and DCs to use their dodges and thus buying us a bit of time. On the plus side we get Crescendo, a very useful daily to stun an opponent for some time and, with the right feat, reduce his damage for 10 sec. Though the main reason, why I recommend the swordmaster path is Steel Grace. In my experience I usually die because I get hit by a control power and thus are unable to use my shield, which leaves me open for follow up attacks. Steel Grace is a skill that helps you to reduce this problem a bit.
Update: Due to recent changes to Knights Valor I recommend now Steel Defense instead of Steel Grace. Reason being, KV now generates a large amount of action points, when players of your team are affected by the buff and are in a fight. Best case, with Steel Defense you can be invulnerable half of the time, though the skill sometimes seems to be not working correctly (you sometimes still take damage after using a daily power).
You should spend points on the following powers:
Villains Menace, Shield Talent, Terrifying Impact, Crushing Surge, Into the Fray, Steel Defense, Knights Valor, Bull Charge, Crescendo, Steel Grace, Cleave, Tide of Iron, Enforced Threat, Guarded Assault, Enhanced Mark, Knights Challenge, Anvil of Doom and Supremacy of Steel
V. Feats:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-feats_zps67e7e5e6.png
I think my choice of heroic feats speaks for itself, when keeping the aim of this build in mind. I spend one point on Strength Focus because I had one point left I didn’t know what to do with, and I am hoping, that it not only increases damage, but also the shield stamina – which also depends on strength to a degree.
Choosing the right Paragon feats is a bit more difficult. I divided the points mainly between the Tactician and the Protector tree. I think my choices in the Protector tree don’t need further explanation. What probably needs to be explained a bit is why I didn’t go for the last Protector feat (the capstone). Since mod 4 (and on the preview before) I tested a couple of configurations, including going for the capstone feat. But I noticed a couple of things, which in the end convinced me to spend my points the way I did.
The feat „Armour of Bahamuth“ is pretty useless. As long as your shield is up, you have got 80% damage resistance. 80% is the max you can achieve. With smart stamina management you usually won’t run out of stamina. If you get continuously attacked in away, that you can’t lower your shield even for a moment to recharge, then the 10% additional damage resistance probably won’t save you either. If you get controlled to death (your most likely respawning reason, once you are well geared), your stamina won’t drop below 30%, thus the feat won’t even trigger.
Brawling Warrior is also mostly useless. In my experience the damage, you receive via Knights Valor is not that significant, thus the points are better spend elsewhere.
Iron Guard, the last feat in the Protector tree, sounds nice on first glance. 5% less damage output per hit from an opponent, stacks up to 4 times. But while play testing I came to the conclusion, that I am rarely able to hit an opponent multiple times in a short time period, since for almost all attacks I have to lower my shield to hit. When fighting several opponents this is a very bad idea, as you can easily get controlled. Also you usually should try to keep your distance to your opponents (while not leaving the point) to protect your back. Even when you are fighting 1 vs. 1, you will probably take more damage than you might save due to this feat. The conclusion is, that the point is better spend elsewhere.
The points saved in the Protector tree I put in the Tactician tree. The 5 points in fight on don’t have to be further explained. The points in Grim Promise are useful, since Crescendo is a very good power to keep an opponent from our back for a while (and give our team some time to take him out) so we will use it quite a lot. Daunting Challenge, especially for PVE, is a good alternative, too. Inspiring Leader is the feat, you want to get your hands on, as it further increases the already high damage buff off Into the Fray, the skill that should never leave your encounter slots as long as you are in a group.
The last available point can be spend as you please. I put it into the conqueror tree for some additional temp. HP.
VI. Campaign Boons:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boonsharandar_zpsad33e385.png
For Sharandar I always chose the upper Boon, Defense, Deflection, HP, chance for Healing when receiving damage and faster stamina regeneration.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boondreadring_zpsa62c50e2.png
For Dread Ring I chose crit/movement, regeneration, armor penetration (since the alternative seems to be pretty useless, and we can increase our meager damage a bit), healbuff, und Thayan Bastion.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boonicewinddale_zps0ec5fc03.png
For Icewind Dale I also always went for the upper boon, so AoE resistance, incoming healing bonus (more useful than the stamina bonus), recovery, Cold Shoulder, and, since there really isn’t anything useful, Avalanche.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/Einsamer_Wolf/Neverwinter/Guide-boontyrannyofdragons_zps882def88.png
For the Tyranny of Dragons Campaign I am going for HP, Deflection, armor penetration (since our def at this point should already be so high that a further increase won’t be noticeable), regeneration and the incoming healing bonus.
The nice thing about all those little protection buffs, we gain through the equip, boons and feats is, that the damage we receive via Knights Valor is reduced by quite a margin, sometimes down to zero for some hits (which allows you to stay mounted longer).
VII. How to Play:
PVP
Your main task as GF will usually be to keep the mid (point 2) continuously contested. It’s not important that you clear the point, as long as you keep it contested, so that the opposing team doesn’t score points. Depending upon the strength and coordination of your team in comparison the other, it will often happen, that you will have to defend the point against 2 or more players, until your team mates either help you out or take the other flags, so that the opposing team is forced to split up to take them back. Sounds difficult? It sure is! Luckily you are playing a class that is up to the task.
In your power bar the following powers should be usually slotted:
Daily Powers:
Villains Menace (due to control immunity)
Crescendo (or Terrifying Impact for proning control immune opponents)
Encounter Powers:
Bull Charge (low cooldown, very short animation time, prones opponents and can throw them off the point)
Into the Fray (speed-, action point-, stamina-, and damage buff for you and the team)
Knights Valor (absorbs half team damage, as long as they are within range and line of sight, also gain a large amount of action points while your team is in battle)
At Will Powers:
Crushing Surge (for a bit of damage)
Tide of Iron (for the debuff and stamina regeneration)
Utility Powers:
Shield Talent (the longer block time is really important in PVP)
Steel Grace (for increased control resistance; Steel Defense as very good alternative, especially with the high action point gain from Knights Valor)
Usually a PVP starts with friend and foe duking it out at mid (point 2). So you fire up Knights Valor at the campfire and lead your team into battle. Just before you arrive at Point 2, activate Into the Fray. By doing that you will be dismounted and fall behind a bit, and, although it sounds strange for a GF, is actually a good thing. If you do arrive first, there is the great risk of getting hit by a control power (especially when mages are involved), which might interrupt Knights Valor and putting it on cool down, which basically means your team just lost half its HP until you manage to activate the skill again.
Ideally you arrive in Battle 1-2 secs. Later and keep your shield up so that you don’t eat an unexpected control power, until you have a good overview about the battle situation. Once you have, try to save your stamina as much as possible without taking risks. Focus on keeping Into the Fray cast every time it becomes available and find a suitable target for your Bull Charge. Ideally you agree with your team mates over voice chat which target to focus. Bull Charge the target and if you find the time, mark it for good measure for some additional damage. The team should do the rest at this point. Crescendo is also a very handy way to immobilize a target for a couple of seconds, giving your team ample time to melt it down. If no target is agreed on, go for the mages first. With their control powers and damage potential they are very dangerous opponents, but usually also one of the more squishy ones.
Regardless of clearing the mid from opponents or not, your job now will be to watch out, that the opposing team doesn’t score any points from mid. If there are opponents on the point, you should never leave it (save when it belongs to your team and you get attacked from outside the point). If you die, just get back there as soon as possible. When you are low on health and you are going to get down anyway, you might also try to lure (inexperienced) player away from the point, (who might be hoping for an easy kill). When point 2 is free of enemies, move a bit towards the opposing teams point, not so far, that you can’t return fast, but far enough, so that your team mates might receive your Knights Valor buff. Also that way you can intercept opponents, who try to ride from their spawn to mid, with a Bull Charge and a Crescendo, if ready, to buy a bit of time before they can contest mid again.
To delay opponents for as long as possible in mid, I recommend falling back from them with raised shield (without leaving the point) and only to put down the shield when you are relative sure not to get controlled (because your opponent just used his control attacks, you have activated Villains Menace, Steel Defense is active, your opponent got controlled etc.). At such a time you should also always activate Into the Fray if not on cool down, since the increased speed and stamina regeneration really comes in handy.
Exceptions from the rule are mages, who are trying to turn you into ice statues. If you meet one (and he brings friends) you will probably die pretty fast, since you will get almost constantly controlled. But there are means and ways to delay the end for some time. When your daily is ready, then keep blocking its attacks until it tries to freeze you. Shortly before that happens use Villains Menace (or Crescendo if the mage should be alone). Try to get close to the mage to Bull Charge him and to keep him dodging. Oghmas Token of Free Movement is also golden in this situation to buy you some time.
Update: Due to recent changes in the GFs shield mechanic we can now actually no longer be frozen, as long as the attack gets blocked by the shield, so until that changes, mages have just become a lot more easier to deal with and the upper passage no longer applies.
In rare instances it can make sense for you to contest the opponents point, e.g. because no one in your team has the ability to stand more than a couple of seconds against the guarding opposing player. In this case you should think about switching out Knights Valor and Into the Fray for Iron Warrior and Flourish since your team mates are probably too far away know to benefit from any of your buffs.
PVE (with a team)
Same Powers as in PVP, except Bull Charge gets traded for Enforced Threat, Shield Talent for Guarded Assault and Crescendo for Supremacy of Steel.
There is really not much to say. Focus on keeping your buffs (Knights Valor and Into the Fray) up and mark/debuff strong monsters and bosses.
PVE (without team)
Same powers as in PVE with team, save you trade Into the Fray for Anvil of Doom and Knights Valor for Knights Challenge.
We have to try to generate as much damage output from this build as possible. If you have, slot artifacts with offensive stats and farm yourself a second armor set that increases your damage output. Also your augmentation pet should be equipped with offensive stats.
VIII. Closing Remarks:
Congratulations, you have made it here! I hope I could help you out a bit in building your own GF. This guide doesn’t claim to hold the universal truth about how to build a defensive GF, especially since equip, skills and feats of the GF but also of other classes changes all the time, which quickly outdates parts of this guide as you can see on the parts I updated before I was even finished completing it. I left the outdated parts in the text since they might become useful again when further changes occur. This guide is supposed to be a good foundation on which to base your own ideas on.
So have fun and good luck!
Post edited by lonewolfmk1 on
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Comments
Soo essentially, if you have 50% damage resist. You hold your shield, and you take 80% less damage from that hit. Equals 10% of the initial damage.
Also looks like, 10k damage hit. 50% dmg resist. you are hit for 5k dmg. Shield was being held, that damage is reduced by 80%. you take 1000 damage. You can deflect hits as well and take ieven less damage.
thats how the new block works and its amazing.
Thank you for the correction, i didnt realize that the shield block did become that more powerfull.
And with the new 20 target cap, Daunting challenge is a no brainer if you use enforced threat because that's a straight 10% damage debuff to everything in range to go with KV's 50% reduction and if you have the Draconic set bonus it's another 5% DR for the whole group.
Venril- SW
Lurch- GF
Mini Ven- DC