August 19, 2021
-Build created

October 8, 2024
-Build updated for NW:Aeternum
-New weapon trees added
-Accounted for Treat and Taunt changes

Sword and Shield is the primary weapon of choice for nearly all the tanks. After all, it's the weapon setup that with its' Defender tree offers the highest damage mitigation and defensive utility. If you are looking to become the primary tank in Dungeons, Expeditions, you have no other option here. You are mainly going to utilize active skills and passives from the Defender tree to reduce incoming damage and generate the highest possible threat (if you are not familiar with the tank role, the threat is what determines who is the monsters' primary target, so if you don't generate enough threat, monsters will attack your DPS and/or healers, and the party will eventually collapse). Picking up skills from the Swordmaster tree is optional, and those will be mainly used during leveling/solo play. Leadership is amazing but it would require you to sacrifice quite a bit of your defenses to get to it, but that's potentially also an option. 

Let's take a look at the Sword and Shield weapon tree:

This is a balanced setup that will perform with any party you end up with. The main target here is to prioritize keeping your team safe with AoE fortify and keep some offensive capabilities. This tree is designed to be used with The Butcher artifact sword which applies bleeds on each Whirling Blade use, which translates to fast heart rune charging.

Remember that every basic attack, skill, and blocking generates threat that is an essential mechanic to make sure mobs will be targeting you and not other party members. A good tank will make sure all mobs are focusing on him. With the Aeternum update all melee weapons basic attacks have increased threat generation. Use this to your advantage when leading your teammates through epic boss fights and long dungeon corridors.

Active Skills:

1. Whirling Blade: this will be your only left tree ability, used in heavy armor weight it will apply 16% weaken to all targets hit and as mentioned is an amazing way of recharging your heartrune.
2. Shield Rush: the main benefit of this skill is long-duration AoE weaken triggered on hit and a lot of threat it generates, you can use it to interrupt mobs when you time it during their special animations
3. Final Stand: this skill makes you basically unkillable in PvE for a short duration, additionally enemy attacks will drain less stamina during blocking

Core Passives:

1. Defensive Formation: Your ultimate passive creates a powerful fortifying aura for all allies that stand within. This works when you hold the block and you can spot it as a yellow aura around you with a more visible outline
2. Sturdy Grip: most attacks you will block are melee, thanks to this passive those attacks will drain your stamina 15% slower
3. Recuperation: increases incoming healing and health regeneration on your character by 10%. Makes the life of your healers much easier, and you are less likely to die during Boss fights
4. Freeing Justice: in combination with Empowered Stab your heavy attacks change into a powerful tool that you can use to get yourself out of CC or nasty DoT effect. Empowered Stabs greatly increase your DPS after heavy attack.

War Hammer while set up properly is a crowd-control machine that allows us to deal more DPS than a sword on a group of mobs. Each of our skills will result in a CC in the area around us, thanks to our passives we will use two light attacks between each ability to shorten cooldowns on all your abilities. This will enable us to make a vicious cycle of CC, debuffs, and damage.

Speaking about our Weapon Tree choices:

Active Skills:

1. Wrecking Ball: strike hammer into the ground knocking down enemies in front of you in 1,5-meter radius, we will also gain fortify on the use. 
2. Shockwave: a powerful AoE stun that affects all enemies in a 3-meter radius around your character. It can also weaken affected enemies, which reduces the damage they deal by 10%
3. Clear out: an AoE attack that knocks all enemies around you down, it will also grant you and all friendlies in 6 meter radius fortify 

Core Passives:

1. Acceleration: our main tool of cooldown reduction for all our skills, that's why we will aim to use one or two light attacks between each ability
2. Hardened Steel: all the abilities we choose have grit, thanks to this passive we will take less damage while casting them and it will also grant us grit on heavy attacks
3. Epitome of Bonk!: adds armor penetration to all of our basic War Hammer attacks
4. Aftershock this right tree ultimate passive will make sure we have debuff applied on enemies at all times to benefit from healing and cooldown reduction passives

Weapons:

• Sword: 

You can use The Butcher artifact and upgrade it with a gem slot. If you do not have it yet try to combine some of the perks below.

Perks: Refreshing Move, Trenchant Rend, Hated

Gem: You need to use Cut Pristine Carnelian to trigger taunts with your abilities and generate as many threats as possible.

• War Hammer: 

Perks: Sundering Clear Out, Refreshing Move, Hated

Gem: As War Hammer also has abilities that will taunt if we slot Carnelian we would highly suggest to do so.

Enchanted Ward
Sturdy
Slash Shield Ward (or other Shield Ward perks, for example, Frozen if you are going to play Icebound Mutation dungeon.

We are aiming for a heavy equip load for most resistances and a tower shield, we can use the artifact shield The Wall but it is not necessary.

We recommend using the Frigid Dawn set you can acquire playing Glacial Tarn dungeon as it has the best perks for PvE.
5 x Health
5 x Enchanted Ward or Elemental Aversion (unless you are using Frigid Dawn)
1 x Sundering Shockwave (for additional rend source)

Gems: Split gem resistances evenly or use more elemental protection. If you are going to play Mutation dungeon, slot gems that correspond with the mutation.

Amulet: Health, Divine, any Protection perk for example Frozen if you are going to play Icebound Mutation dungeon.

Ring: Refreshing, Hearty, Purifying Heart

Earring: Refreshing, Regenerating, Despised

Brutal Heartrune of Grasping Vines - will rend and weaken all enemies around you rooting them in place.

Stalwart Heartrune of Stoneform - will make you immune to crowd control while healing for a short duration.

ENDNOTE

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