Guardian

Sam did not wait to wonder what was to be done, or whether he was brave, or loyal, or filled with rage. He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master's sword in his left hand. Then he charged. –J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Return of the King".

Summary

A sturdy fighter and protector of the weak, a skilled Guardian can face even the toughest foes and survive.The Guardian is one of the few classes willing and able to try to draw more blows onto himself, and can retaliate with devastating responses.

Races: Dwarf, Elf, Man, Hobbit

Role: Heavy Tank

Is this the class for me?

The Guardian will be the class of choice for players who enjoy hard-fought battles and heavy hand-to-hand combat. A master of the defensive arts, a Guardian uses taxing attacks and irksome taunts to draw and hold opponents' attention, relying on his shield and weapon to turn aside incoming attacks with blocks and parries. His combat style depends on creating openings during an opponent's attack to provide the opportunity for his own counterattacks

Guardian Pros and Cons
Strengths	Weaknesses
Strong survivability for solo play	Low damage puts solo play a bit on the slow side
High Morale	Power must be conserved (usually have low reserves)
Ability to use all weapons and shields	High repair costs
Heavy Armour at Level 15

Skills and Combat

Reactive Skills. The Guardian is the master of reacting and counter-attacking in combat. A sizable number of your skills are dependent on certain combat situations. As you are attacked, you will see the appropriate counter-maneuvers unlock for use against your foe. For example, the skill Retaliation can be used after you parry an attack

Guardian combat in Lord of the Rings Online is a series of single attacks that can lead to a string of attacks. There are two sets of skills— block skills and parry skills— that you will have to concentrate on; most of your other skills revolve around one of these skill sets. The block and parry skill trees contain higher-level skills that you can use only after these base abilities are triggered. A successful block activates one skill, and then successful use of that skill opens up three other skills. The same goes for parry.

Active Skills

^{See full list: Guardian Skills}

Passive Skills

^{See full list: Guardian Skills}

Guardian Traits

As you gain levels and complete class deeds you will acquire an arsenal of guardian traits to flesh out your build. Feel free to mix and match as you find a build that works for you. Guardian deeds have a number of affects including reduced attack duration, increased healing, decreased cooldowns, and increased threat modifiers.

Deeds

Name	Level	Reward	Task	Limit per Day
Stinging Blow	1	Stinging Blow	Strike enemies with the Sting skill (750)
Reactive Block	1	Reactive Block	Strike enemies with Shield-Swipe (400)
Shield Expertise	1	Defensive Expertise	Strike enemies with Shield-Blow (1,500)
Controlled Breathing	10	Controlled Breathing	Use Catch a Breath (250)
Harasser	10	Harasser	Use Vexing Blow (800)
To the Rescue	10	To the Rescue	Evade enemy attacks (1,000)
Guardian's Ward	10	Guardian's Ward	Strike enemies with Guardian's Ward (1,200)
Quickness	20	Quickness	Strike enemies with the Sting skill (1,500)
Grim Challenge	20	Grim Challenge	Use Challenge (300)
Selfless Defence	20	Selfless Defence	Use Protection (200)
Stoic	20	Stoic	Use Guardian's Pledge (200)
Strong Lungs	30	Strong Lungs	Use Deep Breath (100)
Brave Heart	30	Brave Heart	Use Warrior's Heart (150)
Heat of Battle	30	Heat of Battle	Use Thrill of Danger (125)

Legendary Deeds
Name	Level	Reward	Task
The Best Defense	42	Shield-smash	Find missing pages (8)
A Shield-maiden's Song	44	Guardian's Threat	Find missing pages (8)
The Final Word	46	Challenge the Darkness	Find missing pages (8)

Traits

Name	Level	Source	Description	Line Bonus
Stinging Blow	1		-3.0 Sting Skill Reset, +10.0% Sting Damage	+10 Might
Guardian's Ward	1		Increases your natural damage mitigation	Increase Threat
Defensive Expertise	3		+3.0% Block, +130 Armour	Increase Threat
Reactive Block	4		Damage your attacker whenever you Block	+10 Might
Harasser	6		Vexing Blow hits three targets	+10 Vitality
To the Rescue	12		+5.0% Run Speed	+10 Vitality
Deflected Blows	15	Class quest	Regenerate some Power whenever you Block
Controlled Breathing	16		Catch a Breath heals additional Morale and also heals Power
Stoic	20		+15 Vitality, +15 Fate	Increase Threat
Quickness	20		-5.0% Attack Duration, +10 Might	None
Selfless Defense	24		Your Protection ability lowers the threat of the target	Increase Threat
Grim Challenge	26		-15.0 Challenge skill Reset	+10 Vitality
Heat of Battle	28		+3.0 Retaliation Response Time
Brave Heart	30		-90.0 Warrior's Heart Skill Reset, +3.0 Shield-Swipe Response Time
Strong Lungs	34		-150.0 Deep Breath Skill Reset	+10 Might
Challenge the Darkness (Legendary)	39/41	Complete the book The Final Word	Taunt with +5.0% Parry Chance, +5.0% Block Chance	-
Guardian's Threat (Legendary)	39/41	Complete the book A Shield-maiden's Song	+20.0% Perceived Threat	-
Shield Smash (Legendary)	39/41	Complete the book The Best Defence	Taunt	-
To the King (Legendary)	45	Complete the level 45 class quests	Powerful attack	-

Class Quests

Your best rewards will come from your class quests, and your Guardian arsenal will be improved admirably with a few of these quest goodies. When you hit Levels 15 and See your local Guardian trainer for 30, seek out your class your class quests. trainers and collect the quests. Unless you have some quests to complete with other fellows or in your kinship, you should prioritize your class quest to collect the rewards sooner.

Articles of Fortitude and Implements of Battle (Level 45)

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Burglar

Captain

Champion

Guardian

Hunter

Lore-master

Minstrel