Aion 2 Gladiator PvE build: skills, stigmas and macro

This build follows Grobs's Gladiator PvE guide, which covers both the leveling phase and the switch at level 45. Where aLuckyRO's beginner build differs, both picks are shown.

Leveling: active skills and specialties

Early on, most of your skills have long cooldowns, so you spend most of the fight on Keen Strike and Rending Blow. Neither has a cooldown. Keen Strike restores MP and Rending Blow spends it, so the two balance each other.

Rending Blow's mobile specialty comes first. Without it, the skill locks you in place, and you use it constantly.

Creator tip

If you don't have this perk, this class will feel incredibly clunky.

Overhead Slam only hits a knocked-down target. Bosses cannot be knocked down, so against them it has a 7% chance to trigger whenever you attack, and Rage Burst can trigger it too. Its Upward Strike chain follows each Slam with a second hit, which Grobs says hits harder than the first.

Grobs binds both to the same key, so the second one fires when the first is on cooldown.

aLuckyRO's beginner build leans more on survival. He takes Absorb HP on Mocking Blade, and on Crushing Wave he picks between Absorb HP and the bonus for hitting more targets, depending on how well you dodge mechanics.

After level 45: rank 16 specialties

Grobs's first goal after level 45 is to level all your actives, passives and stigmas. Four rank 16 specialties change how the class plays.

Overhead Slam without a cooldown is the core of the build. Combined with Rage Burst, you can use it repeatedly for the whole Rage Burst window.

Creator tip

This ability will be just the majority of all your damage.

Rending Blow's MP on Critical Hit matters because you stop using Keen Strike at this point. Grobs treats Keen Strike as a damage loss once Rending Blow can fund itself.

Sword Aura Rampage only works on a staggered target, and you can use it repeatedly while the stagger lasts. Its rank 16 specialty cuts all skill cooldowns on hit, and Grobs notes that includes your stigmas. Grobs calls it situational and says not to prioritize it. The same goes for Ruinous Blow, which you mostly cast for its Prepare for Battle buff.

Stigmas

Stigmas level with stigma points and unlock a fixed effect at ranks 5, 10, 15 and 20.

Grobs runs the first four. Lunge Stance and Zikel's Blessing are self buffs. Rage Burst adds 10% PvE Damage Boost, reduces the boss's Attack by 10% and lets you trigger Overhead Slam on the target. Grobs reads the window as 10 seconds; the game data does not record its length.

His leveling order is:

1. Rage Burst to rank 5, for its 15-second shorter cooldown.
2. Focused Block to rank 5, for a second use. You open most fights with it, so two charges help.
3. Every remaining point into Lunge Stance until rank 20.

At rank 20, Lunge Stance gives a 50% chance on Critical Hit to cut all skill cooldowns by 1 second while it is active.

Creator tip

As soon as you have this ability on level 20, you have more or less a 100% up time on all your buffs.

aLuckyRO splits his stigmas by role. He takes Focused Block when he is the main tank. When he is not, he swaps it out for what sounds like Blade Toss, which lowers the target's Defense by 30%. He also uses Wave Armor and Lifestealing Blade, and treats the root, seal and resist stigmas, such as Fracturing Rush, Forced Restraint and Armor of Balance, as PvP picks.

Passives

Experienced Counterstrike is the reason Gladiator fights from the front. It raises your Front Attack Damage Boost, and every time you block, it raises PvE Damage Boost for you and your party. Blocks happen passively when you get hit, or on demand with Focused Block.

Creator tip

What a really good gladiator, for example, in a boss fight is doing, he initiates the fight and immediately blocks actively the first attack of the boss.

Murderous Burst builds a Menace stack on every hit. Grobs says you hit fast enough to keep its Critical Damage Boost up nearly all the time.

Blood Absorption heals you on hit and again when you drop to 50% HP or less. Grobs likes it but does not push it. aLuckyRO ranks it among his most important passives because it helps you tank. He also suggests Destructive Impulse, which deals extra damage to staggered targets.

Rotation and macro

Grobs uses a single macro row in both phases: Rage Burst, then Overhead Slam, then Rending Blow. The macro tries Rage Burst first, uses Overhead Slam while it is available and falls back to Rending Blow.

1. 1 Buff

   Cast Lunge Stance and Zikel's Blessing.

2. 2 Engage

   Jump to the boss and cast Ruinous Blow for Prepare for Battle.

3. 3 Block the opener

   Use Focused Block on the boss's first attack to trigger the Experienced Counterstrike party buff. On some bosses it works better to block first and buff after.

4. 4 Hold the macro

   Stay in front of the boss and hold the macro key.

Every boss opens differently, so Grobs says you learn each fight and fit the block in at the right moment. To keep track of the boss's front, open Settings, then Info Display, then Combat, and turn on Display Boss Orientation Indicator.

Next steps

• Gladiator Daevanion guide: the board nodes for these skills and passives.
• Gladiator guide: the class overview and every Gladiator page.