Aion 2 · Guides
Aion 2 Gladiator guide: playstyle, build and boards
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TL;DR
- Gladiator is a greatsword melee class that counts as a tank. In a party without a Templar, you hold the boss.
- It has no taunt. Your main attacks raise Enmity, so you hold aggro by dealing damage.
- Creators describe it as a bruiser: more damage than Templar, fewer party buffs, and strong self-healing from lifesteal.
- Most of your damage comes from Overhead Slam. Rage Burst opens a window where you can use it again and again.
- Stand in front of the boss. Gladiator gains Front Attack Damage Boost, and blocking a hit buffs your whole party's damage.
Is Gladiator right for you?
Pick Gladiator if you want to stay in melee range, take hits and still deal real damage. Grobs is clear that it is a tank first: you cannot spec out of the tank role, and with equal gear a pure damage class will out-damage you.
Creator tip
If you want to play a true 100% DPS, then Gladiator is not for you.
What you get instead is flexibility. Anders calls it a jack-of-all-trades that is strong in PvE and PvP and does not need perfect gear to feel good. Storyteller, who plays Gladiator, recommends it as the melee class for players new to MMORPGs because it can join parties as a tank or as damage.
Creator tip
A Gladiator that can off-tank in a pinch and still damage is a very easy invite.
Gladiator or Templar?
Kanon, who mains Gladiator, compares the two front-facing tanks:
| Trait | Gladiator | Templar |
|---|---|---|
| Average damage | Higher | Lower |
| Party buffs | Weaker | Stronger |
| Threat | Less | More |
| Learning a raid | Less preferred | Usually preferred, for its mitigation (Grobs) |
Creator tip
The best way to look at this class is to look at it as an alternate version of Templar.
Kanon also warns that balance changes often, and Gladiator has been near both the top and the bottom of the damage charts. Pick it because you like how it plays.
Grobs advises against pairing Gladiator with a Templar, because some of their buffs do not stack. The game data confirms the main one: the PvE and PvP Damage Boost from Experienced Counterstrike does not stack with the Templar's Fury effect. When a Templar is in the group, it holds aggro.
How Gladiator plays
Your damage comes from a few skills that mostly run through one macro key:
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
| Keen Strike | No MP cost, raises Enmity, restores 100 MP |
| Rending Blow | Costs 120 MP, hits up to 4 enemies, raises Enmity |
| Overhead Slam | Hits a knocked-down target. Bosses cannot be knocked down, so against them it has a 7% chance to trigger on attack. Half your damage (Kanon) |
| Rage Burst | Stigma. Triggers Overhead Slam, +10% PvE Damage Boost, -10% enemy Attack |
| Ruinous Blow | Grants Prepare for Battle: more PvE Damage Boost and Critical Hit |
Gladiator also heals itself as it attacks. Blood Absorption restores HP on hit and restores more at 50% HP or less. Grobs and Kanon both say Gladiator can extend lifesteal to the party. In the game data, Lifestealing Blade applies a Predation effect to party members from rank 10.
Creator tip
The Gladiator has no taunt for that. The only way you hold aggro from bosses is through your damage.
The build in one panel
These are the skills Grobs builds around for PvE. The specialties, stigma order, passives and macro are in the Gladiator PvE build.
Core Gladiator skills and stigmas
Overhead SlamRank 16 first: no cooldown
Rending BlowRank 16 first: MP on Critical Hit
Ruinous BlowRank 16 later
Sword Aura RampageRank 16 later
Keen StrikeLeveling only
Rage BurstStigma, rank 5 first
Lunge StanceStigma, then rank 20
Zikel's BlessingStigma
Focused BlockStigma, rank 5
Experienced CounterstrikeFirst passive
Attack PreparationSecond passive
Daevanion boards
Gladiator has five boards. Each of the first four has one node for each of Gladiator's twelve base active skills, so together they add up to four ranks to every one of them.
| Board | Unlocks at | Crystals |
|---|---|---|
| Nezekan | Level 12 | Daevanion |
| Zikel | Level 20 | Daevanion |
| Vaizel | Level 30 | Daevanion |
| Triniel | Level 40 | Daevanion |
| Azphel (PvP) | Level 45 | Battle |
Skill points only take a skill to rank 10, as Grobs notes, so the boards are how Overhead Slam and Rending Blow get closer to the ranks you want. The Gladiator Daevanion guide shows where those skill nodes sit on each board.
Gladiator guides
- Gladiator PvE build: specialties, stigmas, passives, rotation and macro.
- Gladiator Daevanion guide: the skill and passive nodes for the build, on each board.
- Daevanion planner: plan your own route and check the stat totals.
- Gladiator skills: every Gladiator skill with its specialties and stigma tiers.
- Templar guide: the other tank, if you want to compare.
- Beginner guide: the first hours on any class.
- Gear score guide: each item level gate and how to reach it.
- Daily and weekly checklist: what to run every day and week.
- Which class should you play?: Gladiator next to the other seven classes.
- Class finder: answer a few questions to find a class.
Explore the encyclopedia
Sources
- Grobs: The only Gladiator PvE guide you need
- Grobs: AION 2 classes explained, PvE and PvP gameplay
- Kanon: AION 2 ultimate class guide (breakdown and rankings)
- Anders: Which AION 2 class is right for you?
- Storyteller: AION 2 newbie guide #2, class overview and recommendations
- aLuckyRO: AION 2 Gladiator PvE build for skills and stigmas
- Corpus: Aion 2 Gladiator skills
Related articles
- Aion 2 Gladiator Daevanion guide: skill nodes on each board
Where the Aion 2 Gladiator PvE build's skill and passive nodes sit on Nezekan, Zikel, Vaizel and Triniel, shown on the live boards, with what each board's big stat nodes give.
- Aion 2 Gladiator PvE build: skills, stigmas and macro
An Aion 2 Gladiator PvE build from creator guides: which specialties to pick, the stigma order, the four passives to level, and the rotation and macro before and after level 45.
- Aion 2 skills and Stigma: ranks, specialties and what to slot
How Aion 2 skill ranks, specialty slots and Stigma skills work, where the ranks past 10 come from, and how creators choose specialties and Stigmas.