Guide to the champion at 75 - builds

When in a fellowship the champion performs one of four roles.

1. Single target dps (damage per second) and utility
2. Multiple target dps (AoE) and utility
3. Main tank
4. Off-tank and utility

To a certain extent your build will depend on your role.  Primarily single target and AoE dps will call for roughly the same build, and off -tanking and main tanking will call for roughly the same build.

Builds

1. Single target dps and utility

Stats

Might is the most important stats for a dps champion.  Might contributes to physical mastery on a 1:10 ratio.  So simply put, the higher might you have, the more damage you do.  Some items of armour and jewellery add pure might as a stat and some add pure physical mastery as a stat.  If you have the choice and all things are equal, always take might, since it also contributes to physical mitigation (how much you reduce incoming physical damage by).

After might, the next stat to focus on is critical hit rating.  Champ dps relies heavily on crits, so once you've got might to an appropriate level, focus on critical hit rating.

After might and crit rating, focus on finesse since this reduces your enemies ability to block/parry/evade (b/p/e)

Vitality and agility will then follow, so you're able to take a bit of damage - essential for melee classes, and so your miss rate is as low as possible

So at level 75, a well rounded dps champion should be aiming for approximately:

(in order of importance)

Might 2,000

Physical Mastery 30,000

Critical rating 8,000

Finesse 5,000

Vitality 400

Agility 550

Will 100

Fate 200

should equate to approx 6,000 morale and 2,000 power

Weapon legacies (always max dps first, before any other stat)

Wild attack damage - as a pip builder a large proportion of your damage will be down to wild attack

Relentless strike and/or brutal strike damage - depending on your preference of rotation (1 hand weapon relentless strike / 2 hand weapon brutal strikes)

Critical damage multiplier - increases the magnitude of critical strikes

Might legacy

Vitality or Agility legacy - depending on which stats need boosting

Rune legacies (as your role is dps, leave incoming healing at it's lowest rank)

Ebbing ire cooldown - one of the best skills to contribute to fellowship dps.  Maxing this legacy means every 60s you can dump 25% of your aggro onto the tank, meaning it's easier for the tank to hold aggro, which in turns means the other dps classes can push harder.

Reduced power cost for swift strike - swift strike is very power hungry

Strikes line power cost - overall power efficiency

Blade line power cost - overall power efficiency

Might legacy

Vitality or Agility legacy - depending on which stats need boosting

Settings

You'll want to use settings to compensate for any of your main focus stats that need a bit of a boost.  In general, might, physical mastery and crit rating are ones to watch out for, along with vitality.  Getting the high level settings is one of the biggest grinds in the game, so I tend to settle for the extraordinary (level 65) set, as these are a good trade off between grind and stat value.  Plus, the higher level settings don't add a huge amount for the effort involved in obtaining them.

A crafted Device of Battle setting is a must, as it boosts might, crit rating and physical mastery.

Suggested class traits

Bloodlust (red).  You use wild attack so often and it crits so often, that this is a no brainer

Deadly strikes (red).  25% is added to crit multiplier for all strike line skills, another no brainer

Flurry of blows (red).  Attack duration is decreased by 20%, permanently when in fervour.  This is basically +20% damage, so another no brainer

Vicious strikes (red).  Increased change to crit on all strike line skills, which works very well with deadly strikes.

Stalwart blade (yellow).  Bladewall makes a great pip builder when this is traited, as it's a low power cost and you use it a lot when dealing with trash mobs.

Vigour of champions (blue).  Recent changes to the power cost of skills has made second wind usage essential, so doubling it's potency is useful

The last slot can be down to personal preference, depending on whether you want the five red capstone.  Braced against defeat (blue) can be useful should you need to heal yourself if things go wrong.

2. Multiple target dps (AoE) and utility

From a build perspective, most of what applies to single target dps applies to multiple target dps.  Your main hand weapon should have maxed AoE damage legacy and maybe rend damage.  If you have rend damage on your main hand weapon, try to seek out the rend pulses legacy for your rune.  Recent changes to ardour have tried to align the stance with AoE situations.  You'll find that in almost all cases, the 20% extra damage fervour gives far outweighs any bonus ardour will give, even traited deep in the yellow.

As far as class traits are concerned, the useful yellow ones are Stalwart blade, Winds of Storm, Eye of the Storm, Swift to Anger and Improved Red.  Bear in mind that you'll likely still be in fervour stance for that 20% damage, so some of the ardour stance bonuses may not apply.

3. Main tank

When performing the role of main tank, your most important stat becomes vitality.  It's boosts your maximum morale, helps you mitigate both physical and tactical damage, and increases your resistance to damage.  Unlike the other tanking classes (warden and guardian), vitality only gives champions morale on a 1:3 ratio basis.  Wardens and guardians get a 1:5 ratio.  This is offset by the fact that we will do more damage than a warden or guardian, even when traited tank.

The rest of the stats then follow the same as dps in order of importance.  Since we rely somewhat on our dps to hold aggro, having might, physical mastery and crit rating all at reasonable levels is desirable.

You'll be running in the glory stance for main tanking, which hasn't got the same In Combat Power Regen level as fervour, so power conservation is vital to good tanking.

So at level 75, a well rounded tanking champion should be aiming for approximately:

(in order of importance)

Vitality 1,500

Might 1,000

Physical Mastery 15,000

Critical rating 4,000

Finesse 5,000

Agility 300

Will 100

Fate 200

should equate to approx 13,000 morale (in glory stance and traited blue) and 2,000 power.

Weapon legacies (always max dps first, before any other stat)

Doing decent damage is part of holding aggro, so most of the dps legacies will apply here.

Wild attack damage - as a pip builder a large proportion of your damage will be down to wild attack

Relentless strike and/or brutal strike damage - depending on your preference of rotation (1 hand weapon relentless strike / 2 hand weapon brutal strikes)

Critical damage multiplier - increases the magnitude of critical strikes

Sudden defence duration - increasing the length of your bubble can be very handy

Vitality legacy

Might or Agility legacy - depending on which stats need boosting

Rune legacies (as your role is tanking, max incoming healing before any other stat)

Ardour/glory pip interval - 8s pip generation is vital in glory stance

Increased heal for bracing attack - 15% increase to your self heal, helps conserve healers power

Ardour/glory In Combat Power Regen - your ICPR is much lower in glory than in fervour, so this helps

Adamant/invincible duration - increases your incoming damage reduction skill

Reduced power cost for swift strike - swift strike is very power hungry

Strikes line power cost - overall power efficiency

Blade line power cost - overall power efficiency

Vitality legacy

Might or Agility legacy - depending on which stats need boosting

Settings

As with dps, you'll want to use settings to compensate for any of your main focus stats that need a bit of a boost.  Aiming for vitality or just morale is the thing to focus on first.  Again, the level 65 settings are more than adequate, and don't require weeks of grinding.

A crafted Device of Battle is worth adding too.

Suggested class traits

When tanking, the best option it traiting completely blue.  It's surprising how few people know this, but when a mob has generated additional aggro towards a player, other than via damage or healing, you'll see a red arrow type market about the mob's head.  If you see if above several mob's heads, the tank is using AoE threat skills, or taunts.

Aggressive exchange - bladewall is a great pip builder (see stalwart blade trait), so additional threat generated with this skill is very useful

At the ready - ireing aggro off your healers/dps is key to good tanking, so reducing the cooldown for that skill is a must

Call of the wild - as with bladewall, wild attack is one of you key pip builders, so additional threat and rising ire cooldown decrease is great to have traited

Reprisal - ensures reflect damage and extra aggro for 75% of hits, and a 25% chance to receive a fervour pip.  Possibly the best tanking skill the champ has for holding aggro.

The remaining three slots are situational.  Stalwart blade is always good for extra pips, and second wind is probably good to slot give the power regen reduction in glory.

As far as virtues are concerned, look for anything with tactical or physical mitigation or resistance.

4. Off-tank and utility

This role is very much dependant on the instance you're doing.  If you're only off-tanking loose trash mobs at elite level, then you can probably do this dps traited with a good healer.  If it's one of the larger instances, where you may be on an elite master or nemesis whilst the tank is on the main boss, you might be required to change your built to something between full dps and full tank.  Try combinations that give good levels of morale ( >9,000), but also ensure you're able to put out decent dps (>25,000 physical mastery).

That's enough about builds, now on to tactics, rotations and the utility element of the champ.

Signing off, Higendorf.