Pumping Irony

I’ve been having so much fun playing my Warden that I have officially decided to make him my second “main” character alongside my Lore-master.

@Longasc is in the process of leveling his, just having reached Moria yesterday, so I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts for him and any other Wardens out there to offer input. It’ll also be nice for me to come back and visit this someday to see if my perspective on tactics has changed down the road.

Moria

The obvious route is still to get the first four pieces of the Moria armour, as that is what you’ll see most Wardens (and other characters) wearing. That will work until 65 where you can optionally swap it out for the new Helegrod set, then continue on to the upcoming Enedwaith set which will appear in Update 2 next week.

I won’t cover Moria instance loot drops because honestly I don’t know them well and don’t feel like looking them up, but each instance does have at least one drop that may be useful for Longasc, depending on what his current gear is, especially jewelry.

More importantly, the Moria instances will give Longasc plenty of opportunities to practice tanking on the Warden. The way the game currently is set up, players can reach level cap completely solo, only skipping a handful of fellowship quests. But starting at level 54 he can jump into the under-appreciated (probably because it doesn’t reward any Medallions of Moria) Forgotten Treasury for a fun time and good tanking practice – especially at the end with the two trolls – then at level 56 he can move into the Grand Stair then the other Moria instances. I typically lead my Grand Stair challenge runs because I know it so well, but there’s always been a Guardian with me so it doesn’t matter who tanks the first part of the run. At Igash I will usually grab the archers while the Guardian tanks Igash simply because it’s much easier for a Warden to tank multiple targets, and with War Cry, Exultation of Battle, Conviction, etc. I can do minimal damage to the archers while applying a few light heal-over-time gambits to help lighten the healer’s load.

After Moria, the next zone and reputation progression – Lothlorien, Mirkwood, Enedwaith – will give both bartered and crafted gear that is easily obtainable and therefore highly recommended to acquire.

Lothlorien

At level 56 or 57, start heading out to Lothlorien to work on the first set of quests to get your reputation to Acquaintance so the Galledhrim archers will allow you past and into Lothlorien proper. The quests are level 59 and 60 so they will reward a lot of XP and IXP making the leveling go a bit faster.

A good shield is one of the more valuable assets a Warden seeks, and there are a few choices in Lothlorien immediately after reaching Acquaintance reputation:

• Warden’s Shield of Lothlorien is easily obtainable at a barter NPC. If you don’t have a crafter handy or short on funds to purchase a crafted Lothlorien shield from the Auction House, this shield will probably be a decent upgrade from most Moria shields until you can get a crafted shield.
• Exquisite Warden’s Shield of Lothlorien is the non-critical crafted shield. Better than the bartered shield above, and if your crafters or Auction House do not have the critical crafted shield, this makes a good alternative.
• Superb Warden’s Shield of Lothlorien is the shield you’ll want for quite some time. Even if you have to spend a few gold on it from the Auction House, you’ll more than earn your gold back while continuing to level and the benefits of this shield make it more than worth the cost.

Also don’t pass up some of the crafted cloaks in Lothlorien. There are several available and I still see a lot of Wardens using them raiding at level 65. The cloaks require Friend reputation with the Galledhrim and you have a few choices depending on how you are building and traiting your Warden. At level 60 there are also the teal bartered two-piece jewelry sets, one piece requires Ally reputation, the second requires Kindred. Depending on your other jewelry and/or which attributes you are trying to build, consider possibly obtaining the pieces that seem more appropriate for other classes. For example, Protector’s Reproach is the obvious tanking set, but the Lethal Strikes set can be useful while solo or traited for dps. Even the Deadly Aim set, which is quite obviously intended for Hunters, can be useful especially for Wardens in the Ettenmoors where they are primarily on the move and using their javelins at range.

If you have crafters or can find these on the Auction House, by all means grab one or two of the critical crafted Glowing Aureate Hoop earrings, whichever would best suit your build.

Mirkwood

After completing one quest in the Mirk-eaves, you will be at Neutral reputation with the Malledhrim, which opens up the barter NPC’s at Echad Sirion. Depending on the earrings you already wear, Thaliollos may be a good upgrade at this point. After completing the Mirk-eaves introduction instance and entering the real Mirkwood, head up to the Haunted Inn where some more barter NPC’s await with goodies that still only require Neutral reputation. Filegor comes to mind, as does Angechor, if they are upgrades to your current wrist items though I opted for two Ranger’s Greenwood Bracelets for the added morale and ICPR. Two pocket items are also available, the Charm of Avoidance and Charm of Defence. Either can be a viable option depending on how you are building your Warden, and will likely last you until Enedwaith. For necklaces, Thalionhigil or Brechigil are good choices unless you have a crafter (or Auction House) able to make the Warrior’s Greenwood Necklace which has good stats and also provides a boost to your incoming healing, which means a few more morale points per pulse on your heal-over-time gambits. At Friend reputation, some cloaks are available at Thangúlhad. I was a fan of Thaliongol and still keep it as my primary cosmetic cloak.

Now let’s look at more shields!

First and foremost, if you have the Superb Warden’s Shield of Lothlorien, keep it! From here on out, I keep two shields: one for grouping with a Captain, and one with in-combat power regeneration (ICPR) for soloing or grouping without a Captain. The Lothlorien shield is my go-to shield when I have a Captain. For ICPR, look at:

• Faeram which is bartered in Ost Galadh and only requires Acquaintance reputation with the Malledhrim. Similar to the Lothlorien bartered shield above, this is a decent option if you do not have crafters available for a better shield.
• Warden’s Shield of the Golden Host is the normal crafted shield and still a good choice if the critical version is unavailable to you.
• Superior Warden’s Shield of the Golden Host is the critical crafted shield and the one I still use while solo or with no Captain in the fellowship. Wardens are power-hungry beasts, so any bit of ICPR you can get is helpful.

Enedwaith

Off the top of my head, I can only think of a few bartered items in Enedwaith that I specifically sought after. Your ultimate goal will likely be the Unity of Warding set, which requires Kindred standing with both the Grey Company and the Men of Algraig. This set gets you the Ranger’s Token of Warding pocket item, and the Algraig Shield of Warding. Used together, there is a set bonus of +51 to Block, Parry and Evade. This is the shield I finally replaced the Superb Warden’s Shield of Lothlorien with though again, I only equip it when I have a Captain in my fellowship. Otherwise I still solo or group without a Captain with the Superior Warden’s Shield of the Golden Host for its slight ICPR boost. However, at Friend standing with the Algraig I recommend Egnïon-clustus if it’s an upgrade to one of your earrings, and Egnïon-clog if it’s a cloak upgrade for you.

Naturally, better items can be obtained from some instances and raids, though Longasc specifically stated he was no longer interested in raiding. But for standard 6-man instances, Ril-Mir is a popular ring and drops often in Sammath Gul, and the Miniature Brass Anvil is still one of the most highly sought-after pocket items, though I find it very rarely drops in the Halls of Crafting. All the times I’ve ran Hall of Crafting on both my Lore-master and Warden, I have never seen the damned thing drop yet, so while it may be a worthy goal, I don’t know that it’s worth all the grinding that it might require, whereas you’re more likely to end up with Kindred reputation with the Grey Company to get their pocket item.

Strategies and Tactics

Tanking with a Warden requires not only a good player, but also a good group familiar with the Warden and one who allows the Warden to do his role. The Warden doesn’t have a good reputation with a lot of players because of this. It’s a two-way street: a lot of Warden players simply do not know their gambits nor how to properly tank, and everyone else has been spoiled by the “easy mode” of having any random, mediocre Guardian blowing all his forced attack (ie. “taunt”) skills while they go full-out dps the moment combat begins.

I cannot stress enough the importance of learning your gambits, what they do and when to use them, and also the gambit masteries. Two community-written guides to live by are the Warden Tanking Guide and Mastering Mastery Rotations.

Pulls. If you are making the pull on the Warden, consider your situation. Often an Ambush will be the go-to choice; sometimes doing an Ambush while stealthed in your Careful Step stance even. One trick we use on the Brutes in Sammath Gul is I will go into Careful Step, then another player will walk into a room and proximity-aggro the Brute. The moment the Brute aggros I hit him with Ambush which prevents him from putting up his melee resistance buff. When he stands up, I already have the dps threat from the Ambush so he will come to me, then I start my threat-builder gambits.

If you’re pulling multiple targets at once, consider using Javelin of Deadly Force. One important thing to know about this skill is that it does not require a target; it simply throws in the direction you are facing, so make sure you are facing directly at the group of mobs you want to pull. This gives you dps threat on all the mobs you hit so they will rush you rather than your fellowship.

Gambit Rotations

For single targets, I’m all over Precise Blow. Mastery first, then build it until the mastery refreshes again. I may occasionally build up a Spear of Virtue, as it provides more threat in that single strike, though Precise Blow is a threat-over-time and always handy no matter what. Once the group starts in on heavy dps I will throw in a mastery Conviction to reduce their threat every time the masteries are available. I may build up a Dance of War or Conviction manually if I think they are catching up to my threat but this isn’t usually the case. Don’t forget Shield Mastery and help out the healer by applying some of your self-heal-over-time gambits, some of which provide additional threat such as War Cry or any of the Fierce Resolve line.

For group pulls, my preference is to start with Javelin of Deadly Force as I’m running toward the group of mobs. When we come together, I’ll hit them with a War Cry mastery then an Exultation of Battle mastery, at which point I tell the group to start dpsing while I build a Conviction to lower their threat. From there on out I’m alternating any area threat-reduction + heal-over-time I can, such as Conviction, Dance of War, War Cry, and the entire Fierce Resolve gambit line. If a mob happens to get away, I’ll nail them with a Precise Blow or two to pull them back onto me then resume my Conviction, etc. rotations. Again, don’t forget to keep Shield Mastery up!

Power

Wardens are very power-hungry! Always keep a stack of the best Celebrant Salve available – you will need them! Do anything you can to boost your ICPR. When grouped with a Captain, make sure he gives you the Tactic: Focus buff for increased ICPR! A lot of Captains who are unfamiliar with Wardens tend to give you the increased Parry, etc. (or possibly the melee crit) buff out of habit because that’s what Guardians use. You will have your Shield Mastery gambit up during boss fights (and probably trash fights too) so that buff does you absolutely no good considering Shield Mastery will probably exceed the cap for Block, Parry, Evade anyway. Focus, focus, focus!

Woodworkers can make the consumable Rallying Hymn of the White Council. Do yourself a favor and keep a stack of these on your for boss fights! Fist gambits are your primary threat builders and you’ll be spamming a lot of Precise Blow gambits especially. The hymn will give you 20 seconds where your fist gambits won’t use any Power at all plus +10% damage on fist gambits. It has a 3-minute cooldown period but it’s usually the first few seconds that Wardens have the most problems keeping threat on them so between gambit builders and gambit masteries, you can build quite a bit of Power-free threat in the 20 seconds the hymn provides you. Use them! There are also hymns for spear and shield gambits which you may situationally find useful.

Woodworkers can also make fist, spear and shield carvings. Get the best you can for each gambit line. For fist and shield I use the ones that give melee defense and provide a –10% power cost for that gambit line, while for spear I use the +5% light damage (ie. tactical) carving. Early on, I made it a habit to plan out which gambit rotation I was going to use on a certain fight, and swap carvings as appropriate. The carvings do not save power on the gambit builders, unfortunately, but –10% power cost on the gambit is still power saved. For example, if I’m on a boss I’ll have my fist carving equipped for –10% power to my fist gambits such as Precise Blow and +500 melee defense. If I need to use Conviction, Dance of War or some other shield gambit, I will swap to my shield carving where I still get the +500 melee defense but now receive –10% power on whichever shield gambit I’m using. Ditto if I’m planning on using a spear gambit.

Wardens do have a single power regeneration gambit, The Dark Before Dawn, however it requires you to be half or less morale. This is fine in trash fights, and some boss fights, however the Warden is currently vulnerable to critical damage spikes and on those fights I would not recommend spending too much time at low morale where a single spike could one-shot you. The upcoming armour set from the new Enedwaith cluster aims to fix that vulnerability but until then, be wary of bosses or fights that tend to hit you with damage spikes.

I will also divulge a secret weapon for the Gorothul fight in Sammath Gul. To complete the challenge, no fell spirits must be defeated so you want to get them on you. Area-effect tanking is a Warden’s specialty with Conviction or Dance of War lowering the threat of your fellowship while increasing your own, then War Cry, or any of the Fierce Resolve line gambits providing additional threat and heal-over-time for yourself. However, spamming all those gambits can quickly drain you of Power unless you first swap to the Tawarwaith Gloves of the Gloaming. Yes, it’s light armour, not medium but it’s only a single piece. The secret to those gloves is the 15% chance to receive Power every time you take any damage whatsoever. You have (or you should have) a metric ton of mobs hitting you on that fight, so those gloves are constantly recharging your Power! I’m spamming every area threat+heal gambit I have as fast as I can and my Power is always at 100% during that fight thanks to those gloves! That is the primary use for the gloves, so it’s debatable if you want to keep them on you all the time. There are a handful of other cases where they come in useful while you’re keeping a lot of mobs on you but the Gorothul fight is my primary use for them. You should not need them during a Barrow Downs Survival run because during that you are kiting the mobs and should not be taking much damage.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 18th, 2011 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Lord of the Rings Online, MMO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.