Greetings, adventurer! Welcome to our PVE guide for the Fighter archetype in Ashes of Creation.
A few points to note down:
- If you are new to the archetype, check out our beginer guide, where skills are explained.
- The build and the equipment are set for the current end game experience. In other words – what you can aim for.
- The build is designed around group play(party/raid).
Skills
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Some “guidelines” for the build:
The build provides 4 ways of CC:
- Crippling Blow – 10s CD, if the target is Staggered.
- Knock Out – 15s CD. “Sleep” type of CC for 10 seconds.
- Cataclysm – 45s CD, if the target(s) is(are) Staggered.
- Battle Cry before Chains of Restraint will result in AOE root.
Fighters can increase their damage done by keeping eye on the debuffs of a target:
Use your Maim after a target(s) is Tripped.
Use Rupture when the target is Bleeding and has close to maximum stacks of Wounded.
Maintain Form Of Ferocity unless there is no one that can apply Shaken.
Stamina
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The main stamina usage of the Fighter should be for “evasive maneuvers”. Ideally, the Fighter should not be in a position to have to block.
Melee Weapon
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Two-handed sword provides the highest damage output and very needed debuffs for damage increase – Bleeding and Wounded. Start with Wounded since it is harder to maintain on target compared to Bleeding.
If maintaining Shaken is not an issue you can free up 3 points from Concussion and Concussion: Flexible Finishers. They can be placed in Power Through for additional 9% penetration on all weapon combo attacks. Another option would be to fill up the rest of Executioner and Deadly Extended Finisher Chance.
Ranged Weapon
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Shortbows provide higher damage per second compared to the Longbows, which is ideal for PVE scenarios. However, you need to be in melee range in order to use your devastating abilities and they will benefit more from the higher physical power rating of Longbow. Additional bonus of choosing Longbow is that they can add Staggered debuff.
Equipment
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Disclaimer: The process is slow! All the displayed items can drop, but to get them to legendary quality you will need the crafting recipe. It will require considerable dedication or help in order to achieve those crafts. Even if the materials are available, a town with journeyman armorsmith or weaponsmith or jeweler stations will be required.
There are 3 medium and 1 heavy set, which can be used by the Fighters.
Gryphon – all recipes can be randomly acquired by killing mobs in and outside of POI.
Toren Scout can be farmed in Befallen Forge.
Bloodrunner set can be farmed in Tower of Carphin.
Rosarium Guard Set can be farmed in Citadel of Steel Bloom.
First we will look into comparison between the actual sets – Bloodrunner and Rosarium Guard:
Rosarium Guard set can provide a bit more defense from physical attacks and more raw damage.
However, adding into the equation the 6% base critical from the medium set and the 190 critical chance rating, you should expect “big” numbers more frequently with the Bloodhunter Set.
Since the medium set contributes more to the damage done than the heavy set, here is the comparison of the other options:
The Toren Scout set provides the highest defense stats. Unfortunately the offensive side is lacking.
Gryphon items provide slightly more damage for the sake of defense compared to the Bloodrunner Set. However, by changing the Chest piece with Black Feathered Tunic, we can get a huge boost to the power rating and thus turning the Fighter into a “glass cannon” type of damage dealer.
The Bloodrunner set is the “safest” approach to PVE.
Gearing tips
Tip 1: Do not immediately jump on level 20 items. Some level 10 rare items are worth enchanting and could still provide more than common or uncommon level 20. Especially if there is no Journeyman Scriber available. Head to our starting guide to check for the items, which are worth keeping/grinding for in order to boost up your character, until the meantioned items in this build are available for you.
Tip 2: General rule for weapons would be to always equip the combination, which will provide the highest power rating. Naturally, level 20 weapons will give more than those from level 10:
Flayer’s Fleshripper vs Bone Shard Greatsword
Tip 3: Be mindful that some weapons (or gear), even in same level range can have very different power rating stats:
Iron Greatsword is slightly weaker than Steel Greatsword.
