Ten Ton Hammer | Ten Ton Hammer's All-New Warden Class Guide for the

style="width: 640px; height: 242px;" alt="LotRO Warden Guide"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92648">

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/warden/overview">OVERVIEW
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/warden/solo">SOLO
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/warden/group">GROUP
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/warden/pvmp">PvMP
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/warden/endgame">LEGENDARY
ITEMS | href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/92663/page/2">TRAITS
| VIRTUES
| href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro/guides/classes/warden/skills">SKILLS

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

WARDEN LEGENDARY ITEMS

style="border: 0px solid ; width: 240px; height: 419px; float: left;"
alt="A Warden Legendary Item"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92649">

Slays
Uruks, heals Wardens.

Wardens are one of only 2 classes that get 2 weapons as
Legendary items (the other being Hunters). Main-hand weapons come in
many different flavours, from hammers to daggers to the class-preferred
spear. The secondary weapon is the javelin. These two items draw from
different legacy pools.

With the large variety of available legacies to choose from,
Wardens may want to carry multiple weapon sets for different tasks.
There are some very useful tank-spec legacies that will not be very
helpful while soloing, and vice versa, so having a tanking and soloing
main weapon is not a bad idea.

For a DPS-spec main weapon, look for legacies that increase
damage from specific Gambits when first identifying the item. Mighty
Blow and Wages of Fear both have Pool A damage-increasing legacies.
Another one to look for is Recklessness Attack Duration - fighting
trash mobs in Recklessness stance goes a lot quicker, particularly when
this legacy is boosted up. Also important is any legacy that decreases
power costs: the Fierce Resolve line is given a break in Pool A, and
the Power Attack line is similiary lightened in Pool B. Almost all Pool
B legacies increase damage from certain Gambits, so building a good
solo/DPS main weapon is pretty easy.

Tank-spec main weapons rely mostly on Pool A legacies from
when they are first identified. There are 4 Pool A threat-up legacies
that will make aggro-management easier, increasing the threat from
Exultation of Battle, Piercing Strike, Spear of Virtue and War Cry. Of
these, War Cry Threat is probably going to have the most appeal, since
it is a quick threat + self-heal Gambit that can be used quite often.
With a couple of threat-up legacies at identification, any new legacies
from reforges will be more or less gravy.

The javelin is the heal-stick. All of the healing legacies are
on this item, including the most desired legacy, Heal Bonus for
Conviction. Restoration Morale Healed is another very good one to have,
as are the bonuses for Celebration of Skill and Safeguard. Increasing
the in-combat power regeneration in Conservation stance or the
in-combat morale regeneration in Determination stance is also a good
idea, and either is helpful for long-term group tanking. From Pool B,
decreasing the induction for Ambush or increasing the duration for
Careful Step makes Ambush attacks more effective. Shield Mastery Block
Rating is another one to look for during a reforge.

More information on LI legacies
can be found on the href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Legendary_Items_Guide">Lorebook.

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

style="width: 640px; height: 242px;" alt="LotRO Warden Guide"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92648">

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

WARDEN TRAIT LINES

style="border: 0px solid ; width: 240px; height: 400px; float: left;"
alt="Warden trait line"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92662">

The
clenched fist raised high has long been a symbol of righteous defiance.
For the Warden, it represents aggro.

Wardens, being the flexible
generalists they are, can go one of two ways when determining a class
trait setup: they can go purist, making them more specialized in a
particular area, or they can mix and match, making them better
generalists. Either path has its merit, depending on the player's style.

Trait lines for Wardens are possibly the most straight-forward
in the game. The three lines are more or less identical and affect
their respective Gambit type in almost the same way.

The Way of the Spear line affects all Spear Gambits. The set
bonuses reduce power costs, increase critical multipliers and
increase base damage of all Gambits that start with a Spear icon. The
individual traits are mostly DPS-geared, making Gambits hit harder and
crit more often, and making javelin skills more effective. The capstone
legendary trait, Way of the Spear, increases all melee damage by 5% and
improves the Warden's Triumph Gambit, causing it to do 30% more damage
and increasing the duration of the DOT by 10 seconds. Going pure Way of
the Spear makes the Warden a hard-hitting beast, though he will not
likely ever be on-par with a Champion in a DPS contest.

The
Way of the Shield line affects - you guessed it - all Shield Gambits.
The set bonuses increase the Warden's Block and evade ratings and
increase the heals from all heals-over-time by 10%. The individual
traits generally improve the Warden's effectiveness with the shield and
increase the number of pulses from HOTs. The capstone legendary
skill, Way of the Shield, significantly improves the Warden's
healing abilities, adding 2 additional HOT pulses, increasing the heals
from all HOTs by 10% and improving the heal bonus for Conviction by
30%. This is a great line for soloing difficult content, giving the
Warden a big boost to survivability and allowing him to take on tougher
challenges.

The Way of the Fist line affects - wait for it! - all Fist
Gambits. The
set bonuses increase threat generation and the duration and damage for
all DOTs. The individual traits also increase these things, allowing
the Warden to do more DOTs to more enemies for longer. The capstone
legendary skill, which you can probably guess the name of, increases
perceived threat by 10% and improves the Gambit Desolation, giving it 3
additional targets and increasing the chance to apply a fear effect by
25%. This is the tanking trait line, and will help (at least in part)
to overcome the relatively slow threat buildup.

One
important thing to note: all of the trait lines have a "shortcut" trait
that allows instant Gambit building. Equipping these traits gives the
Warden 2 new skills for each of the three traits equipped, which
instantly add the base Gambit plus one other to the Gambit panel. For
example, the trait Master of the Fist adds Fist And Spear and Fist And
Shield, and clicking on this skill instantly adds those icons to the
Gambit panel. This makes Gambit-building significantly faster, but
comes at a slight penalty: using any of the X And Y skills only adds
the icons to the Gambit panel. It does not actually activate the
Gambits, and these skills do no damage. However, the ability to build
longer, more powerful Gambits very quickly can outweigh the minimal hit
to DPS.

For a good mix-and-match trait set, it will depend on how
you want to play. Group-spec Wardens will probably want to add some Way
of the Shield traits to a Way of the Fist setup, or just enough Way of
the Fist traits to get the increased threat generation bonus. Solo-spec
Wardens would do well to slot the Master traits from each line,
enabling them to build any Gambit very quickly. Play style will dictate
how you will want to trait.

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

style="width: 640px; height: 242px;" alt="LotRO Warden Guide"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/92648">

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

WARDEN VIRTUES

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/89462"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 240px; height: 340px; float: left;"
alt="Minstrel Virtues"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89462">

The
wise eagle recommends well-rounded virtues.

Generally
speaking, Wardens
do well when traited similarly to Hunters. Having a high Agility means
more evading and parrying, better aim with the javelin and an increased
chance to score critical hits. Determination is a good starting point,
adding +30 Agility, +45 in-combat morale regeneration and +58 maximum
morale.

Wardens receive the same big benefits for high Vitality
scores as Guardians, so traiting and gearing for high Vitality is a
fine idea.Loyalty is a highly-recommended Warden virtue: +30 Vitality,
+62 power and +150 armour rating.

A
high Might score means more main-weapon damage and better block rating,
so go ahead and build up Discipline: +30 Might, +1014 disease resist
rating,+400 melee defense rating.

After boosting up the
physical stats, it's time to consider power. Sadly, no virtues increase
in-combat power regeneration, but Honesty adds +123 to the power pool,
+270 to the armour rating and +8 to Fate. Since Fate is the stat that
determines in-combat power and morale regeneration, adding
Idealism is not a bad idea: +30 Fate, +1014 fear resist rating and +8
Will.
Either of these virtues will help overcome power issues somewhat, but
you will still probably want to equip in-combat power regeneration gear
and carry loads of power potions.

As a tank, it wouldn't do to pay no mind to defense. Innocence
is a great virtue for this: +1000
melee defense rating, +1014 poison resist rating and +230 shadow
defense will allow you to stand firm in the face of physical adversity.
If ranged attackers are more of a concern, go with Compassion (+1000
ranged defense, +303.8 non-combat power regeneration, +400 tactical
defense), and if pesky tactical attackers are giving you grief, go with
Tolerance (+1000 tactical defense, +15 Agility, +30 in-combat morale
regeneration).

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89646" alt="divider">

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Lord of the Rings Online Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

Featured

WARDEN LEGENDARY ITEMS

WARDEN TRAIT LINES

WARDEN VIRTUES

About The Author

Comments

Related Content