Overview
Hero is the quintessential heavy tank of Hibernia, wearing heavy scale armor and wielding your choice of Large Weaponry (two handed weapons) or Celtic Spear (large spears). It’s the closest thing Hibernia has to a true wall: high hit points, Stag ability which turns them into a moose with boosted hits, strong armor access, large shields, and access to virtually every major melee weapon line. Their design is straightforward: soak damage, protect allies, and control melee space. The Hero is built almost entirely around durability and combat mastery. Hero is a good choice for players who enjoy playing main tank and sacrificing utility/unecessary buttons for pure melee oriented play.
Group Playstyle
In 8v8 fights, the Hero’s primary role is usually peeling and defensive control. They are often the anchor of the group’s backline, responsible for keeping enemy tanks off your healers and casters. This means constantly triaging:
- Who needs to be Guarded
- Who needs to be Slammed
- Who needs to be Snared
- Who needs to be Engaged
- Am I better off peeling and stopping damage, or pushing up to create damage?
The Best Offense is a Good Defense
A good Hero is always reading the fight. If enemy tanks dive your backline, the Hero is often the first line of defense, locking them down with shield styles such as using Numb, Slam, and/or Guard to absorb pressure and disrupting their assist train.
In many Hibernian caster groups, the Hero is the class that makes your overall group function. By guarding/protecting an Enchanter or Eldritch, they create space for uninterrupted nuking. Without this, the group simply does not work. Though it is a “caster group” its the Hero that makes the wheels spin by permitting casters to execute. Their ability to absorb pressure and force bad positioning on enemy melee makes them one of the best “babysitter” tanks in the game.
The Offensive Hero
When there’s no immediate peel needed, Heroes can switch into offensive mode. Large Weapon or Celtic Spear builds can put out heavy burst, especially when assisting onto crowd-controlled or isolated targets. They’re not as naturally explosive as a Blademaster or Valewalker, but when they connect, they hit extremely hard.
A good Hero is constantly evaluating when the right time is to shift into offensive mode. In this context, Hero’s can survey the battlefield and jump on a target simply to interrupt or immobilize it. For example, after a Hib caster group secures its first kill and the fight becomes effectively a 7v8, Hero’s with good battlefield awareness will typically push forward and either jump on a high priority enemy (such as an enemy MA or support) and either lock them down by rupting or slamming them for 9 seconds. While the priority is always defense-first, Hero’s capable of recognizing when its time to be aggressive heavily tilt the battlefield in Hibernia’s favor.
Group Spec Options:
Hero character builder:
https://blackthorn-daoc.com/class/Hero
50 Large Weapon / Celtic Spear, 42 Shield, 38 Parry, 10 Blades
- Most common spec
- You go either 50 LW or 50 CS for best damage and weaponskill in your main damage line
- 42 Shield is mandatory for group play because it gives you Slam style (9.0 sec stun)
- 38 Parry keeps your overall defense extremely high, even when using a LW/CS (since you can’t block when the two hander is out)
- 10 Blades give you a side snare style which is useful when the shield is out and you are guarding
50 Large Weapon / Celtic Spear, 50 Shield, 27 Parry, 10 Blades
- Same as above spec, but some Heroes prefer boosting Shield to 50 for better block/guard rate while sacrificing Parry.
- Still a very good spec.
Group Realm Ability Builds:
- First priority: Determination, Purge, Long Wind
Unlike damage dealers, whose effectiveness may simply be reduced by crowd control, an Armsman's value often drops to nearly zero when he is mezzed, rooted, or stunned. If the Armsman is unable to act, he cannot protect the group.
- Second priority: Dashing Defense
The value of these RAs is that it you can situationally defend your entire group in moments of vulnerability, often at the pivotal moments fights are decided for 30 seconds. DD allows you to block/parry for the entire group.
- Third priority: Passives (e.g., Mastery of Blocking) and other Actives
Solo Playstyle
In solo combat, the Hero is best understood as a survivability-first duelist who wins by attrition and control rather than burst damage. They are extremely hard to kill, and abilities like Stag (which turns you into a large moose for 30 seconds while boosting your hit points) make you nearly immortal vs certain enemies.
PvE/Leveling
Hero is the primary tank of Hibernia and the backbone of most leveling groups. In PvE, everything flows through the Hero: pull stability, aggro control, and survivability all depend on how well you perform your job. Your role is simple and absolute: Serve as the main tank, soak damage, and hold aggro through consistent taunting with your shield while the group deals damage. If you are doing your job correctly, the rest of the group feels safe enough to operate at full efficiency.
Core Role: Main Tank and Aggro Anchor
The Hero is responsible for:
- leading or receiving pulls
- controlling multiple mobs
- maintaining aggro on everything dangerous
- absorbing incoming damage
- protecting the group from chaos
You are the anchor point of every fight. Nothing in the group works without you holding steady.
Shield Usage: Your Core Mechanic
While Heroes can utilize LW/CS weapons for damage, in PvE groups, they are typically tanking with “sword and board [shield]” to minimize the need for additional healing and mana cost for support. Typically they want to:
- open with taunt styles
- maintain constant aggro pressure
- re-taunt any mob that switches targets
- keep enemies focused on you at all times
- If there is another shield tank that isn’t doing damage, cross guard each other
Every mob should be looking at you, not your group.