The Guardian Fighter Buttsecks Spec

Encounter Powers (Red border)

These powers are bound to your “Q”, “E” and “R” keys and have a cool down associated with them.  They do big damage and usually have secondary effects.  Important to note there is no Global Cool Down in this game.

Lunging Strike – Your main Encounter Power.  Allows you to charge across the map and hit things very hard.  Bind it to your “Q” key and use it in PvE and PvP.  Max it 3/3.

Enforced Threat – An AoE taunt that does damage to all of the taunted targets and it gives your Guard a bonus of 15%.  No good in PvP but a great and necessary GROUP PvE power.  Bind it to your “E” key for GROUP PvE.  Max it 3/3.

Griffin’s Wrath – A hugely damaging overhand blow that briefly stuns a target.  Maxed it has three charges (swings).  This will almost always one shot minions in PvE.  Not great for PvP, but it will do until you pick up something better.  In PvE bind it to your “R” key and use it on every cool down.  Max it 3/3.

Knee Breaker – A swift kick in the knee that debuffs your target’s run speed.  Useless in PvE.  Situational in PvP.  If you have a lot of Rogues around, bind it to your “R” key in PvP.  I have it maxed but I might respec and only put one point in it.  Each tier of the power only adds 1 second to the speed debuff so it might not be worth three points.  Since its situational I’m not too worried though.  Better choices exist down the road but you might have to dump points into it to open the tier path to those better choices.  PvP only power.  If you’re going to use it put it on the “R” key.  Get it and figure out how many points to spend on it later. 

Knights Challenge – You challenge a target locking them into 1 v 1 combat with you where you both do double damage to each other.  Kind of meh in PvE since the threat mechanism in the game is broken, but it’s a kind of taunt.  I’ve never used it in PvE because I’m not inviting any boss to hit me twice as hard.  In PvP this is a VERY situational power.  I put it on my “R” key if and only if the other team is running more than one Cleric.  Here is why.  Most Clerics aren’t set up to do damage, so them doing double damage to me isn’t scary.  However if I pop the right Daily Power and have all my encounter powers up, I’ll two or three shot one of the Clerics and kill them before the other Cleric can heal them up.  I’ve got two points in it, but one point is enough.  Higher levels just add 2 seconds per level to the buff and you can get your business done during the baseline time if you get everything lined up.

Frontline Surge – This is a cone attack that damages all enemies in the cone and knocks them Prone.  It has some range and it interrupts anyone doing anything in the path of it.  It’s great.  It’s GREAT.  IT’S GREAT!  Its DAoC shield slam on steroids.  Everything in front of you winds up face down and crying for mercy.  Bind it to your “E” key for SOLO PvE and especially PvP.  No one can hit you, defend against you, kite you or get heals when they’re on their face and their healer is lying there next to them.  You can literally flatten their whole team for GANGBANG BUTTSECKS!  Great for peeling enemies off of your healers too.  Max it 3/3.

Into the Fray – A temporary buff to the Action Point generation and Run Speed of your toon.  It also gives every party member a portion of their hit points as temporary hit points and refreshes your Guard meter.  I use this once in a while in GROUP PvE.  It can also help in PvP, but I’d only put it on my “R” key if I’m in a group with another Guardian Fighter who is going to do all the knocking down for me.  Then it might be nice as an “escape” kind of power for my squishies.  I’ve got two points in it.  Others will tell you to max it.  It’s worth a take, but I’m not sure how many points to put in it.  To be continued.

Bull Charge – You charge at your foe and slam into them damaging them and knocking them back and Prone.  It’s a single target power, but a great, great, great PvP power.  Bind it to your “R” key.  Does huge damage and punts the enemy into the air.  When they land they’re face down and in perfect position for you to BUTTSECKS them to death.  Use it to set up the groups focus fire target or peel that pesky tank off of your healer by booting him right off the platform you’re fighting on.  Your enemies will fear you and your Clerics will worship you.  Each point adds 10% damage and 10 feet of knock back, so max it 3/3.

TAKE NO OTHER ENCOUNTER POWERS.

Class Powers (Yellow border)

These are Passive Power that you put up on your quickbar to activate.  Once they’re on the quick bar they’re always on.  No muss no fuss.

Shield Talent – Increases your Guard.  Good for PvE where mobs don’t run around you trying to get behind your shield cone.  Fully specced it gives you a 15% bonus to Guard so Max it 3/3.

Enhanced Mark – This enhances your Mark (Tab) power by increasing the Threat you’re generating with the Marked mob.  I’ll talk more about the Mark ability in a bit, but you’ll need this to maintain agro in GROUP PvE, so get it.  It’s useless in PvP.  Maxed your generating almost double the threat when you hit the Marked mob so Max it at 3/3.

Combat Superiority – For 5 seconds you deal 10% more damage to an enemy that just hit you.  This is nice, but it becomes FANTASTIC when you spec the right Feats (more to come on that).  Decent for maintaining agro in PvE but essential in PvP.  Each level adds 5 seconds to the buff so for 15 seconds of 10% extra damage you must max it at 3/3.

Ferocious Reaction – When you’re below 15% health and someone hits you, you regain 10% of your hit points and the foe that hit you takes that same number in damage.  Oh, my stars and garters is this great!  A great PvP passive.  I’ve got almost 40,000 Hit Points so when someone hits me and I’m less than 15% hit points, I get 4K hit points back and they get hit for 4K?  Gimme gimme gimme!  Initially this power can only go off once every 5 minutes, but if you max it you get it every 3 minutes.  The average PvP fight lasts about 15 to 20 minutes so that’s 5 to 7 procs per match.  Max it 3/3.

TAKE NO OTHER CLASS POWERS.

That’s all for the powers.  Next post will be on the Feats.

Quick Bar Setups

These are the powers I'll have up for different situations.

Solo PvE - It's about survivability

Passives

Shield Talent - 15% more Guard
Enhanced Mark - More threat

Encounter Powers

Lunging Strike - Charge into the fray
Frontline Surge - Knock them down
Griffin's Wrath - Clunk them on the head while they try to get up.

Daily Powers

Villain's Menace - Double damage
Fighter's Recovery - Self heals to go with potions and heal pets means almost no down time.

At - Will

Cleave - Basic attack that does a lot of damage.
Tide of Iron - Recharge that Guard Meter.

Group PvE - Generating Agro through Pain

Passives

Shield Talent - 15% more Guard Meter and 15% more power which equals more Pain
Enhanced Mark - More threat.

Encounter Powers

Lunging Strike - You're first into the fray.
Enforced Threat - You scream at all the mobs to make them focus on you.
Into the Fray - Buff your team's damage by giving them action points.

Daily Powers

Villain's Menace - Double damage = more agro
Supremacy of Steel - More damage = more agro.

At - Will

Cleave - Main attack with damage
Tide of Iron - More Guard Meter please.

PvP

Passives

Combat Superiority - Here come da BUTTSECKS!
Ferocious Reaction - And some more BUTTSECKS!

Encounter Powers

Lunging Strike - KAPOW!  BUTTSECKS!
Frontline Surge - Simon says EVERYBODY ASSUME BUTTSECKS RECEIVING POSITION!
Bull Rush - Bye bye, birdie!  ITS BUTTSECKS TIME!

If the other party has two clerics consider using this in your "R" slot.

Knights Challenge - What's this?  WHY IT'S DOUBLE BUTTSECKS FOR YOU, MR. CLERIC!

If there is another Guardian Fighter in the group talk to them and consider using one of these two in your "R" slot

Knee Breaker - To peel the Rogues and Great Weapon Fighters pursuing your squishies.
Into the Fray - For squishy escapability.

Daily Powers

Villain's Menace - CC immunity is too good to ever give up.  NO ONE CAN ESCAPE TEH BUTTSECKS!

Then you have a choice

Indomitable Strength - Huge single target damage AND MAKES THEM ASSUME BUTTSECKS RECEIVING POSITION!
Terrifying Impact - Cone, long distance knock downs FOR MASS BUTTSECKS RECEIVING POSITION!
Supremacy of Steel - Surprise, big damage BUTTSECKS, Mr. Rogue!

At - Will

Cleave - BUTTSECKS AT IT'S BEST because you don't know is every successive hit does more and more damage!
Threatening Rush - HA!  BUTTSECKS IS BACK, BEOTCHES!