The protector, the spear, the bird, the legend — The Guardian! We finally got our official(ly) tankiest character reveal this weekend, and boy oh boy, how often does playing a tank role feel this badass? His spear & shield look and the magnificent gait of a bird of prey has definitely earned a lot of excitement points from the community so far.
Besides, who doesn’t love the classic drop-from-the-sky AoE Ultimate?
We will have to see if the Guardian ends up in the top-played Nightreign character list, but with how often this character pops up in the currently available footage (after “the default” Wylder, of course), the chances seem pretty high.
Guardian Abilities
The Gameplay trailer describes Guardian as “a Pinionfolk captain skilled in offence and defence who prefers halberds” and mentions Guardian’s Abilities:
Passive Ability | STEEL GUARD: A powerful guard stance that is difficult to break.
Character Skill | WHIRLWIND: Summon a cyclone that knocks small enemies off their feet and can repel light projectiles.
Ultimate Art | WINGS OF SALVATION: Dive from above to attack a large area and protect allies.
And, with this balanced assembly, Guardian’s popularity is no wonder — he doesn’t seem to suffer from the expected slow awkwardness of the RPG tank class, and does not budge on either defense or damage. Of course, this character’s strength will clearly be in guarding, and Guardian will likely shine the most in a group (though, there are great advantages to having very high defense in solo play, of course.)
Guardian will likely be quite flexible in their role. If his team does well dodging around and sustaining health, and does not need consistent services of a tank, this character can equip Relics to boost damage and speed, and focus on improving their offensive abilities. If a run is proving to be challenging, of course, Guardian can still easily switch to a guard focus, controlling swarms and defending against ranged attacks with Whirlwind.
Of course, we also have to discuss Guardian’s Ultimate. This ability has already gathered some attention from the community, and the dive-down AoE badassery is not quite the full reason. With more of the test footage coming out, a compelling reason was demonstrated for using Guardian’s Ultimate when reviving allies. Since the requirements behind reviving is damage-based, a burst of damage, then followed by a defense boost became one of the best ways to ensure success of the maneuver in tough battles — after all, the biggest difficulty in those cases is producing enough damage without becoming an easy target yourself.
Guardian Trailers
Are you as hyped to rip through the enemies with your spear and soar into the sky as the rest of the community? If the mighty “Birbman” has caught your attention, you should definitely check out the two official trailers:
What are your impressions? A bit too simple for your taste? Not quite tanky enough? Or, pretty much perfect for some fast-paced Elden Ring action? What builds are you already envisioning for the character, and did you take the “who prefers halberds” bit as a personal challenge? Let us know in the comments below!
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Mila Grish
Dedicated contributor at EIP Gaming and a part-time collector of books she will never have time to actually read. Jumps on the newest releases just as quickly as on the uncovered dusty collections from the basement. For her, shiny graphics can never be an excuse to not have a polished player experience or an immersive story.
