Pit of War Theatrics Gladiator Guide

Pit of War Theatrics Gladiator Guide by Oedi

Generally id say, don’t go lower than 950 gold on the slaves, unless they have some exceptional stats. I love big gladiators and run a size 90 , and a size 94 which both sadly started with less than adequate strength.

Strength – I generally don’t go lower than 65, and of course higher is better.

Intellect – I like high int, but as far as i can see it only helps speed up skill trains (on the few skills that use int) and since there is a limit of skills you will get them eventually. I have a few low int gladiators that does well, but i see a tendency that they stop in their progression. I think/hope they will catch up again when the skills get there. So if you don’t bother to much about your win loss record, be patient.
Int also helps you to pick up your weapon again if your so unlucky to loose it.

Agility – Again i generally don’t go below 65, and higher is better.
I actually run 4 gladiators with a low 60 in agility, and in the lower brackets that’s working just fine. But if you plan on running your gladiator in to the top brackets you want something that you can bring over 100. At the top end an agility of 115 to 140 should do the trick for your gladiator.

Stamina – I’ve started to really like stamina on my gladiators. In my oldest lot i neglected this stat, and that really hurts their performens now. My defensive styled theatrics is far better than my offensive styled. I no longer run pure offensive theatrics in the ranks above juggernauts.
Don’t go below 70, but if you like a real challenge try something around 60 or lower.

Size – I run both large and small gladiators. largest being 94, smallest being 48. The tiny guy is sold off and i try not to go below size 70. Size is the most important factor in both health and your carry capacity, and both are very important.
Small gladiators sadly lacks the ability to carry armour, which i find somewhat strange. And i cant see any defensive benefits either. Still couldn’t see any benefits after the change that should give small gladiators a defence benefit.

Presence – I can only see that it helps speed up certain skills.
Most important are signature move and gracious violence. Those 2 are key skills for you theatrics so you don’t want to go to low.
And if my assumption is right it might lose you some fights with high presence. I’ve lost far more fights when ive got more hit points than my opponent than the opposite, while both gladiators are in the `danger zone. I connect that to high presence and crowd pleaser.

Chi – My high chi gladiator do slightly better than my low chi ones. Again a stat i don’t pay to much attention to atm. If you’d like to go Ormgar styled theatrics go high chi. His current chi 108.

I let the higher of strength and agility decide my weapons choice. I like swords and axe/mace best. unless the strength is much higher than the agi ill go for blades. I rarely use exotic weapons. I run a few theatrics with shield, but I think those skill points will be of better use in an other skill.
My absolute favourite is duel wielding bastard swords.

With skill trains i make 3 different types of theatrics, rager, war or pure.
For the rage oriented i use these skills: blades, barrelling attack, brute force, feint, create distance, iron jaw, devastating power, blood drunk, signature move, gracious violence, last stand.(death from above and strength of the crowd can be useful additions). Ormgar use this set up.

war oriented: any weapon, barrelling attack, brute force, feint, create distance, iron jaw, grim determination, death from above, signature move, athleticism. Flesh out the skill pool with your personal favourites.
Farum use this set up.

pure theatrics: any weapon, brute force, feint, create distance, called shot, iron jaw, signature move, gracious wound(if you use axe/mace skill use an axe), armour movement, knock out, show off.
Oedi is my current best example of this version, but Novalar will be my next contender in the top ranks i believe.

Fighting styles: I mainly use defensive fighting styles with counter strike as my personal favourite. Early in the career you’ll be better off only using offensive styles. Play around with triggers to find what suits your gladiator best.
Activity: i find that my guys respond best to medium to high activity. I use low/very low if i try to outlast my opponent, either on endurance or letting them bleed out. Very high activity i use when my opponent is unable to defend himself one way or another.
I see many advice young gladiators to use an activity of 3 to 5, or even lower, personally i usually don’t go lower than 6 and often all the way up to 8 even for my level 1 gladiators. Once again when you get triggers start play around with them to se how you can control your gladiator.
I use endurance triggers most, then some combat effects(usually stun) and health triggers.

General guide on skills for theatrics.
Never ever train crowd pleaser.
Never ever train finishing blow.
Knock out is a poor skill in the daily arena game, but a very useful tool in the arena challenges.
Only train called shot if you plan on using knock out.
Always make room for brute force and create distance in your skill set up.
You probably want to use feint also.
Strength of the crowd is a useful skill, but you want it at a minimum of lvl 8 and use it with a heavy weapon.
Have fun on the sands with your theatrics gladiator.