Lord of the Rings Online — Warden.
Posted by nefchast on April 29, 2009
The second new class added in Mines of Moria is a tank type. This is my current favorite and I’m working on leveling it as fast as possible, so this info and play style could change by the end game. Thus, here is a basic overview of the Warden class in the lower levels.
The Warden
The Warden is a different kind of tank; they use no heavy armor, opting instead for a strong shield and medium armor. The two primary weapons a Warden uses is the spear and javelin, though they are proficient in one handed clubs and swords too. I like to think of mine as a sort of ranger/fighter hybrid and it fits quite well. But, how does a class that only uses medium armor tank and what makes them truly special? One word: Gambits.
Gambit Bar
Much like the Rune-Keeper’s new UI bar, the Warden has one too. Gambits are strings of symbols — spear, shield, fist — that combine to make different combos and have different effects. Using these gambits the Warden can buff themselves, add some HoTs, deal extra damage and taunt nearby enemies. This is how they hold aggro and mitigate damage — fist gambit combos for extra threat and shield gambit combos for defense. The actual play of it can get tricky, however, as you may forget or mess up a combo string — or just anticipate the wrong action next. Thankfully there are skills that help with that by removing the gambit string or the last gambit added. When I started the Warden I had only 2 gambit slots to fill, at 16 the third opened up — at 45 they’ll have 5 slots. That’s a hell of a lot of gambit strings to have and remember.
Apart from gambits and tanking the Warden gets some other fun abilities. The javelins have their own ranged abilities that can deliver some pretty decent damage — Ambush is the first you get and very nice. Ambush is a 5 second cast skill — while out of stealth — that delivers a decent amount of damage, 5 second knock out and movement speed debuff. Where ambush really shines is right from stealth, which Wardens get a basic form of — stealth causes ambush to be instant cast. Note: instant ambush can also come from other forms of stealth like Sylvan Shadows — an Elven racial trait.
The warden gets several travel type skills. Already mentioned is the stealth, which lasts 20 seconds and has a 3 minute cool down. This is largely only useful for ambush, but can help to get around some enemies. Forced March is a toggle ability that caps your power really low but provides a 25% out of combat run speed increase. Then there’s the Musters that allow the Warden to teleport to a few different cities.
To round out the Warden’s abilities are a few stances that provide morale regeneration, power regeneration and defense, and damage — one only at a time.
I haven’t had a chance to do much grouping so I can’t say how hard it is to hold aggro, but I suspect it’ll be difficult in a PUG with a Champion or Hunter around. The Warden can take a few moments to grab aggro since it requires gambits to really give an effective hold. I’d suggest letting your fellowship know that, should make things easier.
