Combat Methodology and Spell Progression

Guardian Guide Contents

• Chapter 1 - Basics
• Chapter 2 - Guardian Abilities List
• Chapter 3 - Combat Methods
• Chapter 4 - Quests
• Chapter 5 - Equipment
• Chapter 6 - Where to Hunt (Solo)
  

3.0 - Combat Abilities Progression

These charts will give you an idea of what abilities make lower-level abilities obsolete. Use these charts to determine the usefulness of making an adept III or buying an upgrade to your existing spells too.

Direct Damage (DD) Attacks

A melee attack that does some extra damage.	Swing (1)	Forced Swing (15)	Shatter (29)	Overwhelm (43)	Overpower (57)	Overmatch (71)
An extra high damage single enemy attack.	Invade (33)	Swamp (47)	Compression (61)	Gut Kick (74)	-	-
A very accurate melee attack that rarely misses.	True Strike (26)	Unerring Strike (40)	Perfect Strike (54)	Precise Strike (68)	Exact Strike (78)	-
A high damage crushing melee attack.	Slam (22)	Crush (36)	Blast (50)	Flay (64)	Mar (76)	-
A kick attack that deals crushing damage to the target.	Kick (5)	Knee Break (19)	-	-	-	-
A melee attack that deals crushing damage and drains some of the target's power on a successful hit.	Concussion (17)	Batter (31)	Vindication (45)	Buffet (59)	-	-
A shield attack that knocks the enemy down and stuns them for a short duration. This attack requires a shield.	Shield Bash (2)	Bull Rush (27)	Staggering Slam (41)	Staggering Rush (55)	Staggering Blow (69)	Staggering Charge (79)
A high damage attack that staggers the target, preventing them from making normal combat attacks for a short duration	Retaliate (40)	Quelling Strike (54)	Retaliation Strike (68)	Retaliatory Strike (78)	-	-

Damage over Time (DoT) Attacks

A melee attack that deals additional slashing damage over time and reduces the target's combat attack damage on a successful hit.	Vicious Cut (14)	Maim (28)	Cleave (42)	Hew (56)	Sever (70)	Separate (80)
A melee attack that decreases target's offensive melee skills and deal additional slashing damage over time on a successful hit.	Mangle (11)	Ruin (25)	Ferocious Charge (39)	Relentless Charge (53)	Merciless Charge (67)	Trespass (77)

Area of Effect (AoE) Attack

A melee attack that strikes nearby enemies surrounding the guardian.

Assault (7)

Bury (21)

Topple (35)

Tremor (49)

Besiege (63)

Siege (75)

Hate Increasing Abilities

An area of effect melee attack that increases the target encounter's hate towards the guardian.	Taunting Assault (44)	Goading Assault (58)	Slanderous Assault (71)	-	-	-	-
Increases the hate position of the guardian for every enemy the guardian successfully attacks.	Reinforcement (52)	-	-	-	-	-	-
A melee attack that increases the target's hate towards the guardian if it hits.	Taunting Strike (3)	Taunting Blow (10)	Taunting Challenge (24)	Vengeful Strike (38)	Unforgiving Strike (52)	Vindictive Strike (66)	Infraction (77)
Grants a chance to increase hate with any opponent that damages the guardian. This ability also roots the guardian in place.	Hold the Line (3)	Goading Defense (29)	Maddening Defense (43)	Inflaming Defense (57)	Hold the Aggression (71)	-	-
Increases the target's hate towards the fighter.	Taunt (1)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Interrupts the target and increases their hate towards the guardian.	Provoke (9)	Anger (17)	Suppress (31)	Deafen (45)	Confront (59)	Impede (72)	-
Increases the hate of all enemies in an encounter towards the guardian. This ability can be used while stifled or stunned.	Shout (8)	Shouting Cry (22)	Smothering Cry (36)	Protect (50)	Protection (64)	Guard (76)	-

Single Target Buff

Increases the guardian's stamina.	Iron Will (28)	Iron Conviction (42)	Steely Conviction (56)	Fortified Conviction (70)	Fortification (80)
Increases the defense of the guardian in exchange for decreased movement and attack speeds. Also grants a chance to root opponents that attack the guardian in melee.	Wall of Flesh (27)	Wall of Brawn (41)	Wall of Might (55)	Wall of Force (69)	Wall of Armor (79)
Roots the guardian in place. This effect increases trauma mitigation and decreases the guardian's attack rate and melee attack damage.	Entrench (32)	Anchor (46)	Plant (60)	-	-

Group Buff

Increases the defense skill of the guardian's group.	Call of Command (24)	Call of Protection (38)	Call of Defense (52)	Call of Shielding (77)	-	-
Increases the physical defense of the guardian's group against slashing, piercing, and crushing attacks for a short duration. Defense versus slashing and piercing attacks is impoved.	Rallying Cry (12)	Battle Cry (26)	Commanding Presence (40)	Commanding Aura (54)	Command (68)	Fortify (79)
Increases the maximum health of the guardian's group.	Battle Tactics (19)	Do or Die (33)	Return to Battle (47)	Return to War (61)	Return to Combat (73)	-
Increases the offensive combat skills of the guardian's group.	Call to Arms (9)	Guardian's Call (23)	Call to Battle (37)	Call to War (51)	Call to Siege (65)	Call to Warfare (76)

Protection / Intervene Abilities

Allows the guardian to intervene and take the damage that would have otherwise killed an ally in the group for a short duration. This also increases the enemy's hate towards the guardian when this effect triggers.	Sentry Watch (55)	-	-	-	-	-
Allows the guardian to protect the entire group, sometimes absorbing all the damage a group member would otherwise take. Sometimes, all of the damage the guardian receives is prevented entirely, for up to six sources of damage.	Guardian Sphere (50)	Stone Sphere (70)	Sentinel Sphere (80)	-	-	-
Grants the guardian a chance to shield an ally from melee attacks, by allowing the target a chance to use the guardian's avoidance check after their own avoidance check. This also decreases the target's hate generation	Allay (21)	Maneuver (35)	Assuage (49)	Moderate (63)	-	-
Grants the guardian a chance to shield an ally from melee attacks, by allowing the target a chance to use the guardian's avoidance check after their own avoidance check. This also increases the guardian's parry skill	Stand Firm (18)	Never Surrender (32)	Vigilance (46)	Unyielding Vigilance (60)	-	-
Allows the guardian to protect an ally, sometimes absorbing most of the physical damage an ally would otherwise take	Intervene (6)	Sentinel (20)	Safe Guard (34)	Sentry (48)	Sustain (62)
Allows the guardian to use a tower shield to absorb all damage they would have otherwise received if the damage was greater than 10% of their total health for up to 3 hits. Each time this effect is triggered, the shield suffers damage. Upgrades to this ability decrease the amount of damage received by the shield	Tower of Stone (58)	-	-	-	-	-

Stances

Greatly increases defense, parry, physical and heat damage mitigation at the cost of offensive melee skills and combat attack damge. This is the guardian's primary defensive stance.	Defense (4)	Soldier's Stance (16)	Stance: Dig In (30)	Stance: Fortified Stance (44)	Stance: Steadfast Stance (58)	Stance: Armored (72)
Increases the guardian's offensive melee skills and strength, at the cost of decreased defense and parry skill. This is the guardian's primary offensive stance	Offense (4)	Stance: Desperate Flurry (30)	Stance: Desperate Rush (44)	Stance: Desperate Charge (58)	Stance: Forward Charge (72)	-

Special

The guardian's attacks that are parried, deflected, or blocked will instead break through the enemy's defenses. Any time the guardian parries or blocks will return in a counterattack against an enemy for up to a limited number of counterattacks.

Obliterate (65)

3.1 - Using Your Combat Abilities Effectively

3.1a - Combat Methods

(Thanks to Dwar of AB server for these comments on tanking!)

MT - Main Tank or Main Taunt and MA – Main Assist; here is the difference...

MT - His /Her Job is to get aggro and keep aggro off the "squishies" (Casters/scouts/healers). His job is sometimes the MA also, but it might be wise not to have the MT be the MA. The reason: the MT may need to switch targets to peel mobs off of the squishies while the others in the group still focus on one target. This means the MT needs to switch targets randomly throughout the fight, especially when a another group of mobs aggro/add to the pile. As MT you MUST be aware of all the mobs around you, which entails spinning your camera angle around to the rear and side. This will allow you to spot threats to the group farther out.

MA- His sole goal is to pick the next target and stay away from mezzed targets. MA can be casters but usually are a back-up tank or Scout type. I myself give this responsibility to Scout types; it makes them feel special and give them a more active part in a group other than DPS/Chest opener. Scouts also fight from the back and side usually, making them out of the range of Over Swing (randomly being hit when you don’t have aggro). When you're the MA, you must stay away from using the next/nearest target Key because this cycles through the target and you might hit a mezzed mob and wake it, bringing its Hate and the Enchanters hate down upon you. Also, if the MT is having a rough time pulling aggro off the squishies you need to get on his target and or targets and kill them before squishes fall.

Other important terms...

Mob Tango – Yes, its a dance. As MT, being aware of our area, sometimes you must move the mob(s) out of the aggro range of wondering aggro or respawn. Make sure you inform everyone that if you move, they must move too. Nothing worse then a Squishy that stands there and gets more aggro.

Aggro Range - All Mobs have an aggro range, some small and some large. Knowing this range will help when pulling/Leading the group around/ staying alive. THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN following someone through a zone that hits all the aggro mobs. So learn the range of aggro and avoid it.

Here are some key tactics to be coming a great tank!

Fighting for Aggro – This usually happens with the secondary tank taunts and tries to get aggro because he envies you. DON’T LET THIS happen. This usually happens with Berserkers/Crusader Types because they think it a challenge . STOP THIS QUICK. Inform those guys that you are the MT and to not use Hate increase abilities/taunts unless in dire need. If they keep it up, kick them out of the group. No need having the healers working over time to try to keep you and foolish healed. Controlling aggro should not be a contest, it makes things harder and sucks more power from the MT trying to keep aggro. There's nothing worse then the MT running out of Power, well, except the healer running out of power! before fight ends.

Abilities to upgrade first: All your Taunt/hate increasing / Defense abilities. As a Guardian don’t worry about Damage your not the best at it and there are other classes that need to worry about that.

Pulling – Before you pull, allow your groupmates to buff you fully with short duration heals and stat boosters. Then, there are 2 ways to pull: Ranged Weapon and Taunt Pulling:

• Pulling with ranged weapons has a greater range than taunting. After using ranged pulling, follow up with a taunt for single mobs and Area Of Effect taunt (shout) for group pulls. See GET THE AGGRO FIRST.
• Taunt Pulling. Shorter distance pull But effective. Area of Effect Taunt Pull group mobs. See below GET THE AGGRO FIRST.

Get the Aggro First - before the other players can get it with that late heal/buff. Again, allowing your group to buff you before you go grab a target should cut down on the late heals / buffs. There's nothing worse then having your healer give late heals before you have aggro. When the healer gets the aggro he usually has to continue healing himself, gaining more aggro to himself then you can take off. AOE (area of effect) taunt every group mob right off the bat. Healer should not get the aggro with the first heal, try not to let this happen. This was an endless source of frustration for me, coming from a guardian and playing a Healer alt.

Hope this helps you become the best Guardian you can be! Thanks to Dwar of AB server for the preceding comments on tanking!

I would add the importance of the Engage and Assist Calls...

Horses - Literally worth their weight in gold when pulling. Outrunning the mob back to the group means you'll begin the fight with less damage and a smaller chance of debuffs / DoTs, which makes healers happy!

Engage Call - A hotbutton comment something like "/g %T inbound in 20 seconds." where %T is the target you're preparing to attack. Twenty seconds gives a good healer time to stack two or three good heal-over-time/reactive heals/wards on you and the group, and plenty of time for mage buffs as well. While it might slow down chain pulling, it's a must when fighting mobs that give a challenge.

Assist Call - Something as simple as "Kill," this is the green light for your group to attack the target and heal you with abandon. Hit this hotbutton after a round of your choicest taunts. Old habits are hard to break, and if your healer and you are working overtime to fix things for groupmates who can't seem to get the notion, its probably time for some stern instructions from the group leader or even a boot (if the situation can deteriorate very rapidly, like it can deep in a dungeon zone or raid-only zone).

3.1b - Abilities Discussion

[Thanks to Alaric of Oggok/BlackBurrow for the following comments!]

Stacking Your Taunts - The following taunts can be stacked at level 50 and should be upgraded to Adept III as soon as possible (though the upgrade effect is small, every bit helps). Protect (lvl50- AoE taunt), Deafen (lvl 45-single-target), Taunting Assault (lvl 44 - AoE), Vengeful Strike(lvl 38 - single-target), Taunting Challenge (lvl 24 - single-target), Taunting Blow (lvl10 - single target). Note that Protect and Smothering Cry cannot be used at level 50, in which case you can use Shouting Cry (lvl22).

The Defense Buff / Taunts - Commanding Presence (lvl40), preceded by Battle Cry (lvl26), and Rallying Cry (lvl12) are short term AC buffs which are also taunts, and ought to be used on every kill while you're waiting for your other taunts to cycle.

Other Buffs - These buffs can be stacked to add every last bit of AC, attack buffs, and HP to you and your group- Return to Battle (lvl 47),Call of Protection (lvl 38), Call to battle(lvl 37), Iron Conviction (lvl 42)<60sec>, Guardian's Call (lvl23)<timer>, Do or Die(lvl33), Call to Arms (lvl9)<timer>, and Battle Tactics (lvl19). Using the right buffs amounts is almost like having a second tank, for example: Return to Battle (adept1), Do or Die (adept3), Battle Tactics (app4) add up to around 1210 hps alone!

Anchor- a level 46 ability with a precendent skill (Entrench at 32)- is also very effective at pulling mobs as it has a huge range, around about 50m. As it slows the attack and movement rate of the mob, you'll want to use this to pull the mob back to the group but be sure to cancel as soon as your group begins the attack. Otherwise you'll be fighting against the defense buff to the mob, which is a side effect of the combat ability. Very effective against named mobs with underlings, as it slows the NM down and your group can begin to take out the lesser mobs while the NM is still inbound.

The Root-Taunt - Hold the Line (lvl 15) remains useful through the higher levels. Use this ability to hold aggro on longer fights (like named mobs) or when you're struggling to hold aggro on any encounter. Though it only lasts 3 minutes, it taunts the entire encounter for like 33% of each hit (app 4).

[Thanks to Alaric of Oggok/Blackburrow for the preceding comments!]

Protection Line Spells - These spells are actually buffs which deflect damage from a groupmate onto you. This works best on a low mitigation class which is likely to draw the attention of the mob. Who gets voted "most-likely aggro thief" in your group is something you'll have to determine (usually healers and mezzers tie for it). Nice in concept, but limited in practical use: this spell currently does not proc enough to make it worthwhile.

Have any suggestions??? I'm always looking for new ideas for this guide, and if I include yours, you (of course) get the credit. Email your thoughts to me or post them in the TTH Guardian forum, and thanks in advance!