Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Cheat Sheet
3. Stat Builds
4. Skill Builds
5. Play Styles
6. Equipment
7. Cards & Runes
8. Professions & Guardian
9. PvP / Colosseum
10. Partying
11.Comparison vs. Other Classes
2. Cheat Sheet
3. Stat Builds
4. Skill Builds
5. Play Styles
6. Equipment
7. Cards & Runes
8. Professions & Guardian
9. PvP / Colosseum
10. Partying
11.Comparison vs. Other Classes
1. Introduction
Hello everyone. I decided to make this guide to help out new players, as well as players who are familiar with the warrior class, but interested in taking it to the next level. This guide covesr pretty much everything involving the warrior class.
This guide is based off of personal experience, with a minimal amount of theorycrafting, so rest assured that most of the concepts here are tried and true!
Special thanks to RO2Base and RO2SkillSim for the simulators, and Klyde for the awesome graphics.
2. Cheat Sheet
This is a section for the tl;dr people, or the ones who just want a quick reference for a build. No worries, I won’t hold it against you if this is the only section you’re interested in. ;D
Why a Warrior?:
- Best at Off Tanking (With the potential to be the best at main tanking)
- Well Rounded
- Giant Sword (Duh)
Why not a Warrior?:
- Takes a lot of work to become a viable main tank, compared to other tanks, due to being fairly fragile early on.
- Will never be as strong as the other DPS classes
- Not very high in demand when it comes to parties
DPS Build: 3 Free Skill Points, Hit/Vigor Equipment
Main Tank Build: 4 Free Skill Points, Dodge/Parry Equipment
Off-Tank Build: 5 Free Skill Point, Dodge/Parry Equipment
Main Tank Build: 4 Free Skill Points, Dodge/Parry Equipment
Off-Tank Build: 5 Free Skill Point, Dodge/Parry Equipment
Note that these build skeletons are generalized. For variations and explanations, as well as suggestions for where to allocate the free points, check the respective sections.
3. Stat Builds
As long as you’re putting stats in the right place (Str/Vit/Agi), you should be alright. Tank builds can have any combination of these stats since all 3 benefit defensive capabilities (Parry, HP, and Dodge respectively). DPS warriors have a little bit more reason to stay with Str/Agi, but it’s not a big deal.
Full Str/Agi: 40 Str – 40 Agi / 8 Vit
Full Str/Vi t: 40 Str – 40 Vit / 8 Agi
Hybrid: 33 Str / 33 Vit / 32 Agi
Hybrid II: 35 Str / 35 (Vit or Agi) / 25 (Vit or Agi)
Full Str/Vi t: 40 Str – 40 Vit / 8 Agi
Hybrid: 33 Str / 33 Vit / 32 Agi
Hybrid II: 35 Str / 35 (Vit or Agi) / 25 (Vit or Agi)
- Vit is a Polarizing Stat: Many would agree that vit, as a stat isn’t very good at 5 hp per vit. Hence why many tank players go Str/Agi instead of Str/Vit. While one can argue that 100 or so hp is the difference maker when surviving boss AoE, take into considering that vit is the most VISIBLE stat. Many players set an HP limit for their raid parties. (For example, a minimum of 5k hp for DPS and 5.5k for tanks for Raid [x]). Vit helps a lot more than you might think.
- Difference between Hybrid I and II: The first build is balanced, solid choice. Hybrid II leans toward more Agi or Vit, taking into considering that 35 is where stats starting cost 8 points instead of 7.
- I’m not a fan of 40/40/8 builds: I added this mainly for DPS warriors who want to reach specific milestones, or for people with a strict preference to specializing in stats. But generally, its a good idea to take advantage of the fact that early stat points are cheap! This is very relevant to warriors, since they benefit directly from all 3 stats. II changed my build from a 40 Str / 40 Agi build to a 3x/3x/3x build and I didn’t really notice a drop in terms of damage output, while the 120HP helped me in more ways than one.
4. Skill Builds
DPS Build: Your main task should be maximizing damage output. Hence, all the main DPS skills are maxed. Tension Relax is a must have skill for any warrior. You’ll have 3 skill points to allocate freely, here are my suggestions:
Main Tank Build: You’ll have 4 skill points to allocate freely. There’s really not much you can do with them, but here are my suggestions:
Off Tank Build: This is the Off Tank build I’ve been using, and I’ve had great success with this build, not only as an Off Tank, but as a Main Tank as well. Key difference between this and the MT Build is that it has Max Brandish Storm (This is because one of your main tasks is to handle summons and adds, so you’ll be using this often, so max lvl is a good idea) and only lv4 Parrying and Lv5 Defender. You only need 1 Defense buff for emergencies. The reason I chose parrying over endure is simple, because of the cooldown. You’ll be using Parrying as a clutch defense to hold a flurry of damage (From adds before you down them, or from temporarily holding bosses while the main tank is being resurrected). Having it up asap is important, because you need to be able to quickly respond to the situation. You have 5 free points to spend freely, here are your options:
5. Play Styles
This section will talk about knowing your role, and how to play it properly!
DPS Role: Probably the most straightforward. Get in there and do as much damage as you can. However, I -do not- recommend going full DPS as a warrior. The reason being is that you won’t be able to out DPS the other melee DPS classes such as Rogue and Assassin. Slots for “Melee DPS” classes are very few, to begin with in raids. Feel free to, but it might be a difficult road unless you have a guild or pre made party to help you out. Here are the general tips:
- Your skill rotation will be to use Bowling Bash and Rage Strike whenever its up, and Bash/Aura Strike whenever possible. (Note: There’s a known bug with RageStrke, where it consumes all your Rage when hitting multiple monsters)
- Always have your threat meter up. You don’t want to out DPS the tank and steal aggro. Especially true when using brandish storm.
- Have Tension Relax ready in case you can’t avoid an AoE. This is because hea;ers won’t prioritize you when healing.
- Prioritize killing adds 1 by 1.
Main Tank Role: By the time you get to a point where you can main tank consistently, you should already know everything there is to know about tanking, trust me. But here are some tips:
- Know what you can and cannot tank. This is especially true right after you hit 50, during the Random Hard Dungeon phase.
- Always have your threat meter up, you should be at the top of the list. If someone outranks your threat, act fast before the boss switches targets.
- Use Potions to accumulate threat.
- Alternate Parrying and Endure so that you have one or the other up a majority of the time. Or use both at the same time during critical moments.
Off Tank Role: This role is actually a bit more complex. As I mentioned earlier, your job is to handle adds, but you also have to be able to pick up the boss in case the MT dies. On top of all this remember that the healing priority will go to the tank, and not you, so you have to be extra careful.
- With only my Off Tank, I saw myself being able to out-tank other MTs (thats just how awesome warriors can become). Which is why its important to pay attention to your MT when you are playing OT. Find out how they do it, because at one point or another, you’ll be doing that as well.
- Use your battle leap to jump to your allies when adds are summoned on them.
- Utilize brandish storm to quickly draw aggro from adds.
- Manage your Rage carefully. There will be times when you need to have it near max, in case you need to use tension relax. Throw a few aura strikes when its 100, but remember that you need tension relax as a clutch heal during critical moments.
- Your threat should be second, right below the main tank, but above the DPS. This is important and sometimes hard to maintain, but if your positioning in the threat ladder is incorrect, you won’t be able to take control of the situation if the Main tank dies.
6. Equipment
Gear Progression: Prior to lv50, it doesn’t matter what equipment you get. Once you hit 50, you’ll follow a pretty clear path, going from 1 set to the next. Feel free to mix and match between sets of, but try not to skip steps too much. Your raid raid members won’t be too happy with you if you’re a DPS class with only 4k HP, since you didn’t bother to do more Random Hard Dungeons. Feel free to use the chart below to help guide you.
Note I won’t go into detail about specific drops, or recipes. That’s reserved for a separate Dungeon/Raiding Guide.
Haste/Vigor Set Vs. Dodge/Parry
Each set of equipment has two types. One for that grants Haste/Vigor and another Dodge/Parry. It’s pretty straight forward as to which build should pursue which set. This is important because its where tanks will be getting a significant amount of their parry, so don’t make a mistake and keep the wrong type of equip.
7. Cards & Runes
Cards generally have a similar progression as equipment, but it’s a bit more linear. Once you hit 50, the only cards you should be attempting to get are:
Runes are pretty straightforward as well. Go for the runes for the stat that interests you. Note that “Enhanced” runes come from the cash shop. The highest an artisan can craft are +5. In order to put runes on your equipment, you need to use a Hole Driller (Crafted by blacksmiths) on equipment with rune slots.
8. Professions & Guardians
Choosing a profession isn’t too complicated. Its more of an economical preference really
Guardian Tips:
- They all do the same thing, besides look different.
- Use to increase your running speed during your travels
- Use it right before a tension relax, or a priest’s resurrection, so they can share in the CD reduction.
9. PvP/Colosseum
You’ll generally have a tough time in PvP. While DPS Warriors are pretty capable, Tank and OT builds especially will lose most of their matchups. Colosseum, while not impossible, is also gonna be fairly difficult. Here are some tips:
Duels: Note that this is assuming the two players are equally geared, and skills are generalized. The outcome of duels differs greatly depending on build and skills.
- Avoid “Time Sponges”. These are classes that take forever to kill, usually tank or high sustain classes such as Priests, Knights, Tank Warriors, Beastmasters and Monks. The only exception is when multiple others are attacking that target, and you think you have a shot at taking the kill.
- Kill Steal! When possible, steal as many kills as possible. Know the timing and damage output of your skills, to maximize your chances of going through. Use Battle Leap to KS as well, which can be used to not only knock down your target, but knock down the players around him are trying to get the kill.
- Kill Mobs. Sometimes, 1 Colo Mob is what separates you from being eliminated and going through to the next round.
- If you’re being targeted, sometimes its better to accept death. Running around just wastes your time. Die, come back and resume trying to get kills.
- Kill the porings. It’s a gamble, but those buffs will usually net you at least 1 kill.
- Save up your wind elixirs for this moment. This is a huge difference maker.
10. Partying
I love soloing, and after reading the forums I see a lot of people feel the same way. And I solo’d pretty much all the way to 50, and it was a pleasant experience. But after that, you’re soloing days are pretty much over. All Raids/Hard Dungeons cannot be done solo.
This section addresses what to expect as a warrior when it comes to parties. It answers the common question of “How hard is it to find a party?”. Unfortunately, the outlook isn’t too good. In short, Off tank warriors will be able to find parties in dungeons where OTs are appreciated (Baphomet, PvE Arena, etc.), Main Tanks will find it difficult to gain trust until they’ve proven themselves, and DPS warriors will find it difficult to find a party in the stronger raids. Overall, Warriors simply aren’t in demand.
Fortunately, I’ve never had much of problem with this. Here are some tips to help you:
- Guilds help. You can’t expect a guild to babysit you, but it helps you get into parties. So find a good one.
- Can’t find a party? Start one. It works really well, as there’s usually a number of people looking for parties at a given moment.
- Do a good job at what you do. When you do your role right, people in your party will notice. and when they notice, they’ll add you on their friendlist. Next time they’re running a party and need someone to fill a specific role? They’ll think of you. That’s how you build a raiding network, and that is why I never had a problem finding a party, even without a guild.
11. Comparison vs. Other Classes
A lot of the questions involve “How does a warrior stack up against class x, or class y?” This section will address just that!
As a melee DPS, the only 2 classes you can compare yourself to are Assassins and Rogues. In terms of damage, you’re out classed, sorry! One thing you do have, as I mentioned before, is the potential to be a sturdier (therefore more consistent in certain dungeons) form of DPS. This just means one less thing to worry about for your healers.
As an Off Tank, you are #1. Monks and Beastmasters have very poor mob control due to a lack of AoE. While knights have a similar AoE to yours, warriors can move while casting brandish storm, and knights cannot. This makes kiting and maneuvering possible, thus making them the best.
As a Main Tank, warriors have the potential to be the -best-, but it does not make them the better tank. The monk/BM/Knight class have skill sets that allow them for safer tanking right from the start, whereas a warrior tank can potentially the best, but requires a lot of hand holding and commitment to get there. Go here for an article concerning this point.
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