Shao's Guide to the Shield Champion

(by Shao of Igraine, Arbiters Guild)

Last update: 12-FEB-2002


Hibernian Tanks

When I first started looking at Camelot, I noticed that Hibernia was very magic-heavy. Many people were likely to start playing pet classes (druid), or nuking classes (eldritch), or hybrid group-friendly classes (warden, bard). I wanted to be different and useful, and I realized that all these people would need someone to absorb damage for them. So I decided to make a shield specialist. I figured that soloing would be a bit slower with such a defensive character, but no more difficult overall. I was wrong... it isn't any slower.

Why a Champion? There are only three classes that can plausibly be tanks: Hero, Blademaster, and Champion. Heroes seem a bit obvious.. they can use large shields, and they get good levels of Protect and Evade, but that's it. Blademasters simply can't wear the good armor, which would cause problems in the end. Champions give up the top levels of Protect and Evade, plus can't use large shields, but they get a damage spell (for instant pulling), and a debuffing spell line that, in addition to being great in general, is a decent initial taunt to keep enemies focused on you right from the start of the fight. Tank and puller in one character. Seemed like a good tradeoff to me, and the spell line keeps the character fun to play, vs. a magicless Hero or Blademaster.

I'm sure a lot of this guide would apply to a shield-focused Blademaster or Hero as well, but me, I play a Champion.

I'll assume you know the basic details of the the game and the Champion class, like what the Valor spell line contains. As a general disclaimer, I'm only level 32 at the time of writing. Yes, I can still solo yellows, and usually pairs of blues if necessary.


Attribute Points

Clearly if you want to take the hits, you don't care much about Intelligence, Empathy, Charisma, Quickness, or even Strength. Dexterity is documented as the primary damage-taking stat, so I went with that. I'm a Celt, and I put 10 points in Con (for extra health), and 15 in Dexterity (for extra defense). Your mileage may vary. Strength and Intelligence will go up pretty well on their own as you increase in level.


Specializing

How to allocate spec points? The initial premise was a shield specialist, so stick with that. 50 Shield at level 50. Then, looking at the Valor spells, there's a huge gap after 40 spec that's probably not worth jumping. So 40 in Valor, to get the second-best of each debuff (str/con, dex/qui, attack speed, snare, and direct damage). The leftover points are enough to get you to 29 in the weapon of your choice, and 29 in Parry. Nothing in Large Weapons, of course, because those take two hands and you need one hand to hold your shield. If you'd rather go for higher melee output and less spell focus, there's a lot of tradeoff available between the Valor and Weapon specs (and Parry).

My personal target therefore is:

50 Shield
40 Valor
29 Blades
29 Parry

At my current level, 32, I have:

29 Shield
23 Valor
22 Blades
12 Parry

And I'm next raising Blades to 29 by level 35. You get items that give bonuses (I have +2 Shield, +3 Blades, and +1 Parry at the moment), so you generally don't want to spec all the way to your level (e.g. 32 in Shield), as that would waste your bonus points -- everything caps at your current level.

Shield blocking and parrying both work roughly as (BasePercentage + 0.5%/level) to determine chance to trigger. Assuming that the base shield block rate is around 5% (it's certainly close to that, though it depends on shield size), at level 50, blocking would be 30%. Using a 30% bonus magical shield would raise that to about 30*1.30 = 39% chance. 29 Parry is worth about 20%. And the Evade 1 skill is worth about 5%. So as a rough estimate, you'll avoid attacks entirely about 2/3 of the time at level 50. Sounds good to me. You won't be dealing damage much, but you won't get hit. Good for you, good for the healers. Note that the relative level of your opponent seems to affect your block rate as well -- I seem to block grays most of the time, though I haven't run the numbers. Also, it's probably not REALLY a 2/3 chance to avoid damage, because the skills are almost certainly applied in sequence: Evade, Parry, Block. It's really more like 55%, not 65%. Still pretty good.

You get the Guard I ability at Shield spec 5, Guard II at spec 10, and Guard III at spec 15. This ability gives you a chance to block an attack intended for the Guarded member of your party. Select someone who gets hit, click Guard, and forget about it.. it works automatically as long as they're near you when attacked. This is a fantastic skill if someone else in the group takes hits regularly.


Gaining Levels

A few basic tips on how to gain levels effectively. So far, I've encountered two solid "targets" for specialization. The first is that you want Valor to hit 5 as quickly as possible, for the Blast (damage) upgrade. The level 1 version does about 4 points of damage, and the level 5 version does about 16 points. Life gets a lot easier when you get that. The second is the Incapacitate style at Shield level 18. This does a huge amount of damage after a block, with a good duration stun (about 4 seconds).

My suggestion for spec point training in the early levels is as follows:

Level 2: Weapon to 2
Level 3: Weapon to 3
Level 4: save your points
Level 5: Valor to 4
Level 6: Valor to 5 (gaining the new Blast spell), Shield to 3 (gaining Numb).

Then start training up shield, weapon, parry, valor, etc as you like. Keep shield within a few points of your level. Aim for 18 shield by level 18 or 19. By keeping shield high, you get early access to styles that do large amounts of damage -- at least as much as a comparable weapon style, and you get the added advantage of blocking attacks. Once I got Incapacitate, I focused more on my blades until I got the Horizon Blade skill at spec 21. This is a great block-opener style that uses almost no endurance.

When fighting, remember that endurance regenerates much faster than health or mana. Use your shield or weapon styles every single fight (at least when you're solo). Not much point in ending a fight with endurance left -- use it up! Once I got block styles, I tried to wait until just after each enemy attack to trigger it. If I blocked, I'd hit my block style, otherwise I'd just use the good old Numb style. Numb is the bread-and-butter attack of the Shield Champion. Many of my solo fights up to about level 21 went: Blast, debuff, numb, numb, blast, numb, numb, dead. No sword attacks at all.

There's an interesting thing about shield styles. A normal weapon style attack does normal weapon damage, plus a bonus if the style was performed correctly (e.g. "(+7)"). A shield style does *shield* damage, plus a bonus. So an attack with your weapon might do 25-38 damage, but an attack with your shield, even with a failed style, might do 40-55 (there will also be a longer delay after the attack, because shield attacks are slower). This is why using Numb is good, even though it's a level 3 style that only does (+5) or so. For me, Numb generally did up to double my weapon damage on normal opponents. In effect, the shield is a "large weapon" (both slower and more damaging than a regular 1-handed weapon) that you can swap in at will, by doing shield styles.

When you get to higher levels of weapon skill, the weapon styles start to be useful as well. For example, the level 21 blades skill (Horizon Blade) does extra damage and a medium (2.5 seconds or so) stun after a block, for virtually no endurance. You can do probably 10 Horizon Blades for the cost of one Incapacitate -- shield styles all use more endurance than comparable weapon styles. However, in a group where opponents don't live very long, you can get off that one huge stun and not bother with any other styles during the fight.

Don't forget that your Blast can be reused every 15 seconds. Free damage is free damage. It does use up a little endurance, but even if you run out of endurance (from styling so much) you can still use your spells.

By using up all your endurance every fight, you won't be able to sprint away. I've been jumped while low on health and out of endurance, knocked down to a completely empty health bar while my (blue) opponent still had 40% health left, and won. You just never know. Fight to the death if you're already low on endurance, and die with honor if necessary. Or, snare the opponent before you enter combat, then run away with honor.


Equipment

Obviously, you need to have a good shield. Shields generally are one material level higher than whatever weapon/armor you're currently using (that is, they "con low"). This is good, because you can get better enchantments for better materials. Always enchant your shield -- that bonus is a bonus on your chance to block, which is the whole point of your character. There are some good dropped medium shields in the upper 30's (Crested Glow Worm Carapace, Siabran Mystic Shield), but I don't know about the 40's.

Always enchant your weapon too, since the bonus there is a bonus to hit. Or do quests for 100% Qua pre-enchanted weapons (such as the Sword of the Keeper or the Pestilent Sickle). Enchanting armor pieces is up to you.. you need to do a whole lot of enchanting to get all those pieces, but if you have tons of extra cash, go for it. At higher levels (once you get into scale armor), you'll keep your equipment for longer periods of time, and you'll start to take more and more damage when grouped. So at that point enchanting becomes much more cost-effective.

Keep your shield yellow or orange. I generally bought a new orange shield when my old one was about to turn blue. You'll be using a "kite shield", which is a medium-sized shield. Your weapon should obviously be yellow too, if you can afford it.

At level 9, talk to Caitriona in Ardagh. She may be able to help you with a nice new quest shield. After your outgrow that, find a good weaponsmith to make you one.

The other things to look for, other than items that increase Dex, Con, and Health, are items that give you resistances, particularly melee resistance. At the moment, I have 17% slash resist and 13% crush resist. Bonus damage absorbtion is a very good thing.


Realm vs. Realm

Okay, I haven't done much real RvR combat yet. However, so far RvR is mostly about killing vulnerable targets as quickly as possible, and your entire goal as a Shield Champion is to be invulnverable. Snipers don't generally shoot at people in full scale armor with a big shield on one arm.

Offensively, the Valor line will let you snare, slow, and stop your foes, then finish them off from a distance if you like. What will that sniper do when his strength drops to 40 (so he's encumbered and can't run), his dexterity and quickness drop to 70 (so he can't fire arrows well), he's snared (so he can barely even walk), and you're bearing down on him with a gleaming sword and shield? Answer: He'll die quickly.

Note: Don't try this on a purple!


Other Things of Interest

* Always buy armor and weapons from players, not from NPCs, at least after level 10 or so. It's cheaper and better. That "Qua" (quality) rating directly affects your chance to block, hit, etc.

* For similar reasons, never let your shield get below 95% condition.

* Don't forget about your weapon's Taunt style. It really does work, and if your healer starts getting attacked, you may not have many options. So save some endurance for just that emergency. If nobody's used stuns in the fight, you can also bash the enemy in the back or side (Disable, Paralyze, Mangle) to stun them for a few seconds and let the healer recover.

* Don't forget to turn on Guard and Protect when you're in a group. They're free, and they'll save your healer's life, which will save your life. Or at least get you a res.

* Each successive stun on the same enemy is half as long as the previous one. The first stun is full-length, the second is 1/2, the third is 1/4, etc. If you start with a 1 second stun, then follow with a 4 second one, the good one will really only last about 2 seconds at best. So if you're going to use a long stun, use it first.

* Double styles. If your first shield style does a medium-length or longer stun (e.g. Incapacitate, or even Horizon Blade if your weapon is fast), you can get off a second style before the first wears off. So if you're using a style with a block opener, since the enemy hasn't attacked you again, you can use *another* style with a block opener for that second attack. For example, you can get off two Incapacitates in a row, after a single block. If the enemy has already been stunned before, the first Incapacitate won't last long enough for this to work.

* Snare can't be used in combat mode, though it is still "instant" like the other spells. If you're going to snare, do it on the pull. Once you're in trouble, it's too late to use it for escape.

* If you're Guarding a group member, and you successfully block an attack on them, you can use a style that requres a block opener (e.g. Incapacitate).

* There's a farm of Parthanans at the NE corner of the Great Center Lake. This is fantastic for a shield specialist, especially once you have Incapacitate. They don't have much health, they take a penalty to shield attacks, and there's a merchant right there. You can solo there very efficiently from 18 to at least 22, as long as it isn't overcamped. They cast a disease spell that keeps you from healing, but I rarely needed to heal much, and disease doesn't affect Endurance or Power regeneration.

* At level 20, you'll do a quest that gets you a really nice scale tunic. Don't run to a merchant when you hit level 20 and waste 25 gold on a new scale tunic, because you'll get one for free. Hope that didn't ruin it for anyone, but I know someone who did just that, and I thought I'd warn people. Similarly, you get a very nice helm at level 30.

* Gain and keep good Siabra faction (Siabras are now also called Siog, Moheran, and several other names). Gain it by killing lots of Curmudgeons. Keep it by finding something to hunt other than Siabras (like.. curmudgeons). I think this is good for anyone, but Champions have a half-dozen quests that are a *lot* easier when you can walk right into a Siabra camp and talk to or kill the guy you need without having to worry about all his friends. Oh, and probably don't kill Sheeries either, because they're everywhere and better not to have them mad at you.


Advanced Tactics

Much to my surprise, as I increased in level I found I wasn't a perfect Main Tank. When grouped with only healers and spellcasters, sure, I absorbed all the hits just like I'd expected. But when grouped with Blademasters or Heroes (or Champions) who had specialized in damage output, I simply couldn't keep the enemy's attention without constantly taunting. You'd think those Valor debuffs would upset creatures a bit, but they really don't. In this case, I keep one of the "bash from behind" styles up, like Paralyze, and throw one in during each fight.

In a large group, I found that my best role was that of backup tank. The Hero who deals all the damage absorbs most of the hits, because the monster hates them the most. I use my Guard skill on him, blocking some attacks and thus reducing the healing that's needed. I can also use no-opener shield styles like Paralyze, by standing behind the target. When there are multiple enemies at once (and nobody around to keep the extras controlled with magic), I can debuff them while they're still running to the group and keep them occupied while the rest of the team focuses on the primary target. Since I'm the only one engaging the extras, damage output isn't a factor. The extras spend their time beating on the heavily armored champion instead of on the healers or casters. This, by the way, is what the Engage skill is for. 90% chance to block (will be lower against reds/purples, from my experience), but no damage output.. your choice whether to Engage or just fight the extras.

A simple version of this tactic is if you have a group of three players. The "bring a friend" system usually means that you'll pull two creatures at a time. One of the other players would pull, and I'd target the second enemy and keep him busy until the first was dead, then the other people would come help kill mine. This worked very consistently, and you get to kill things in pairs (especially good if there's a "group bonus" for them).

If you're clearly more "tanky" than the other potential damage taker (which is likely if you really focus on damage taking, as I suggest here), then keep hitting your taunt style during the fight, and don't worry about stunning much or even doing damage. Just keep the enemy's attention. I've found that taunting every other hit works fine, or less often if you aren't competing with heavy damage dealers. In other words, you *are* a great main tank, but only if you give up most of your stuns and other styles in favor of taunting. I usually act as both puller and main tank when possible, to keep all the hatred focused squarely on myself.


Wrap-Up

As a Shield Champion, you won't be the one in there doing massive damage blow after blow. Instead, you'll be the one who keeps the rest of your group alive by taking the hits and demoralizing your enemies, while knowing you can seriously cripple your opponents with a Bash or a Blast if the fight starts to tip in their favor. If that sounds good to you, consider the virtues of the Shield.


---

This guide is Copyright 2001-2002, by Shao of Igraine. If you'd like to use it, please email jasond@olagrande.net with "Champion Guide" as the subject (so I'll see it), and I'll almost certainly give permission, and I'll make sure you have the latest version. The guide may only be used in its entirety, including this copyright notice.