AION 2 Gladiator Build
The Gladiator is AION 2's greatsword melee class. The build revolves around three skills, one key breakpoint and a short macro.
- Core damage: Overhead Slam, Rending Blow, Ruinous Blow. Upgrade in that order.
- Key breakpoint: Overhead Slam level 16 removes its cooldown.
- PvE stigmas: Rage Burst, Lunge Stance, Zikel's Blessing, plus Focused Block for bosses.
- Stats: Might, then Precision, then Intelligence.
- Late macro: Overhead Slam > Rending Blow. Keep buffs and Ruinous Blow on separate keys.
Skill priority
| Skill | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Slam | Main damage, upgrade first | Level 8 adds the Upward Strike chain, level 12 adds Critical Hit on hit, level 16 removes the cooldown, level 20 adds another Specialty slot |
| Rending Blow | Main damage, upgrade second | Its MP specialty restores 50 MP on a critical hit, which fixes mana |
| Ruinous Blow | Main damage, upgrade third | Keep its Prepare for Battle buff up. Letting it drop costs a lot of damage |
| Keen Strike | Early MP generator | Drop it from the rotation once Rending Blow's MP specialty is unlocked |
| Leaping Slam | Gap closer | Specialty resets its cooldown when you defeat an enemy. Great for open-world farming |
| Rush Strike | Situational gap closer | Range specialty improves movement |
| Defiance | Crowd-control break | Use when stunned, knocked down, grabbed or feared. Separate key |
Stigmas
| Stigma | Effect | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Rage Burst | Damage, lowers target Attack, raises PvE Damage Boost. Lets you use Overhead Slam for 10 seconds without its normal trigger | Opens every burst window |
| Zikel's Blessing | Short Attack and Accuracy boost | Just before the main damage window |
| Lunge Stance | Short Combat Speed boost | With the burst window |
| Focused Block | Guarantees Parry for its duration, so you take no damage | Boss openers and big hits. Can trigger Experienced Counterstrike |
Power Up Gaming also lists Lifestealing Blade as a PvE option, and Doom Shield, Executing Blade and Nezekan's Shield for PvP.
Passive skills (PvE order)
| # | Passive | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Experienced Counterstrike | Front Attack Damage Boost, plus a party PvE damage boost after a successful Block or Parry |
| 2 | Attack Preparation | PvE Damage Boost, Defense and Accuracy |
| 3 | Impact Hit | Double Chance on top of Impact-type Chance |
| 4 | Murderous Burst | Builds stacks through attacks, then adds damage when they trigger |
| – | Blood Absorption | Good for solo play, below the offensive passives for group PvE |
Stats and Daevanion
Primary stats (PvE): Might, then Precision, then Intelligence. Add Constitution if you are dying too often.
Secondary stats: Attack, Accuracy, Front Attack Damage Boost, Weapon Damage Boost, Combat Speed, Critical Damage Boost, PvE Damage Boost and cooldown reduction.
Daevanion, PvE (Power Up Gaming): core skill nodes for Rending Blow, Overhead Slam and Crushing Wave, then Nakiel (Combat Speed and Attack), Ezekiel (Damage Boost), Multi-Hit Chance and Ariel (Boss Damage).
Daevanion, PvP: gap-close and crowd-control nodes for Leaping Slam and Mocking Blade, then Nakiel, Azphel (PvP Damage and Tolerance), Accuracy and Resistance nodes and the Overhead Slam sustain nodes.
Specific gear pieces are not covered by the guides we checked, so none are listed here.
Macro order and rotation (PvE)
- Early game macro
Rage Burst > Overhead Slam > Rending Blow > Keen Strike. - Late macro
After Rending Blow's MP specialty and Overhead Slam's cooldown removal: Overhead Slam > Rending Blow. Keen Strike comes off. - Keep off the macro
Rage Burst, Ruinous Blow, Lunge Stance, Zikel's Blessing, Focused Block, Defiance and movement skills go on separate keys. - Open the fight
Zikel's Blessing and other buffs first, then Rage Burst to start the burst window. - Hold position
Fight from the front of the boss to benefit from Experienced Counterstrike. Gladiators hold aggro through steady damage. There is no taunt.
PvP build
Detailed Gladiator PvP guides for the global version are still scarce. This setup follows Power Up Gaming's Daevanion PvP build.
- Combo: Leaping Slam, Mocking Blade, Rage Burst, Overhead Slam. Stagger with Mocking Blade, then finish with Overhead Slam.
- Skill mods: Leaping Slam, Overhead Slam, Crushing Wave, Mocking Blade, Rush Strike.
- Stats: Critical Hit, Combat Speed and Accuracy, then PvP Damage Boost, HP and crowd-control resistance.
- Large fights: wait out the first wave of crowd control before diving in with area attacks.
- Utility: Ankle Slice can be extended to 16 meters to lock targets down. Crushing Wave pulls enemies and disrupts healers.
- Sustain: at higher levels Overhead Slam has no cooldown on knocked-down targets and returns 20% of damage dealt as HP.
FAQ
Is the Gladiator a tank or a DPS in AION 2?
Sources disagree. Mobalytics and ExitLag treat it as melee DPS, while Oslink and Power Up Gaming call it a tank DPS. In practice it is a durable frontline damage dealer that holds aggro through damage, without a taunt.
Which Gladiator skill should I upgrade first?
Overhead Slam. Level 16 removes its cooldown, which is the biggest single power jump in the build.
How do I fix Gladiator mana problems?
Use Keen Strike as a generator early, and take the MP Recovery option on basic skills. Later, Rending Blow's specialty restores 50 MP on a critical hit and Keen Strike can leave the rotation.
What is the best Gladiator macro?
Early: Rage Burst, Overhead Slam, Rending Blow, Keen Strike. Later: just Overhead Slam and Rending Blow, with every buff and Ruinous Blow on manual keys.
What stats does a Gladiator need?
Might, Precision and Intelligence for PvE, plus Combat Speed, Critical Damage Boost and Accuracy. For PvP add PvP Damage Boost, HP and crowd-control resistance.
Why do some guides call the class Swordsman?
Some guides based on the Korean or Taiwanese client use different translations for the class and skill names. This page uses the global English names.
Sources
Unofficial fan site. Not affiliated with NCSOFT, NC America or Valve. AION is a trademark of NCSOFT Corporation; Steam is a trademark of Valve Corporation. Player numbers come from Steam's public data.