Ragnarok Online 2 Warrior In Depth Guide

Ragnarok Online 2 Warrior In Depth Guide by StryfeK

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Cheat Sheet
3. Stat Builds
4. Skill Builds
5. Play Styles
6. Equipment
7. Cards & Runes
8. Professions & Guardian
9. PvP / Colosseum
10. Partying
11.Comparison vs. Other Classes

1. Introduction

Hello everyone. I decided to make this guide to help out new players, as well as players who are familiar with the warrior class, but interested in taking it to the next level. This guide covesr pretty much everything involving the warrior class.

This guide is based off of personal experience, with a minimal amount of theorycrafting, so rest assured that most of the concepts here are tried and true!

Special thanks to RO2Base and RO2SkillSim for the simulators, and Klyde for the awesome graphics.

2. Cheat Sheet

This is a section for the tl;dr people, or the ones who just want a quick reference for a build. No worries, I won’t hold it against you if this is the only section you’re interested in. ;D

Why a Warrior?:

• Best at Off Tanking (With the potential to be the best at main tanking)
• Well Rounded
• Giant Sword (Duh)

Why not a Warrior?:

• Takes a lot of work to become a viable main tank, compared to other tanks, due to being fairly fragile early on.
• Will never be as strong as the other DPS classes
• Not very high in demand when it comes to parties

DPS Build: 3 Free Skill Points, Hit/Vigor Equipment
Main Tank Build: 4 Free Skill Points, Dodge/Parry Equipment
Off-Tank Build: 5 Free Skill Point, Dodge/Parry Equipment

Note that these build skeletons are generalized. For variations and explanations, as well as suggestions for where to allocate the free points, check the respective sections.

3. Stat Builds

As long as you’re putting stats in the right place (Str/Vit/Agi), you should be alright. Tank builds can have any combination of these stats since all 3 benefit defensive capabilities (Parry, HP, and Dodge respectively). DPS warriors have a little bit more reason to stay with Str/Agi, but it’s not a big deal.

Full Str/Agi: 40 Str – 40 Agi / 8 Vit
Full Str/Vi t: 40 Str – 40 Vit / 8 Agi
Hybrid: 33 Str / 33 Vit / 32 Agi
Hybrid II: 35 Str / 35 (Vit or Agi) / 25 (Vit or Agi)

• Vit is a Polarizing Stat: Many would agree that vit, as a stat isn’t very good at 5 hp per vit. Hence why many tank players go Str/Agi instead of Str/Vit. While one can argue that 100 or so hp is the difference maker when surviving boss AoE, take into considering that vit is the most VISIBLE stat. Many players set an HP limit for their raid parties. (For example, a minimum of 5k hp for DPS and 5.5k for tanks for Raid [x]). Vit helps a lot more than you might think.
• Difference between Hybrid I and II: The first build is balanced, solid choice. Hybrid II leans toward more Agi or Vit, taking into considering that 35 is where stats starting cost 8 points instead of 7.
• I’m not a fan of 40/40/8 builds: I added this mainly for DPS warriors who want to reach specific milestones, or for people with a strict preference to specializing in stats. But generally, its a good idea to take advantage of the fact that early stat points are cheap! This is very relevant to warriors, since they benefit directly from all 3 stats. II changed my build from a 40 Str / 40 Agi build to a 3x/3x/3x build and I didn’t really notice a drop in terms of damage output, while the 120HP helped me in more ways than one.

4. Skill Builds

DPS Build: Your main task should be maximizing damage output. Hence, all the main DPS skills are maxed. Tension Relax is a must have skill for any warrior. You’ll have 3 skill points to allocate freely, here are my suggestions:

Battle Tactics: This skill gets a lot of hate, because INT and Warriors are so far apart. it just feels “weird” getting in for a warrior class. We don’t use it for anything else, and we rarely get INT bonuses from our equip. However, there are plenty of opportunities for you to increase your int. Cards, Titles, Runes, Accessories, Wizard Buff, to name some. This set up becomes more and more viable, the further you progress in the game.
Brandish Storm: It makes sense, an AoE DPS skill for a DPS class. So why isn’t this maxed as part of the core? The main reason is that you should be killing things 1by1. If you AoE, it increases your threat towards the mobs, and if your tank is only handling 1 mob, there’s a good chance they’ll go to you, which is something you don’t want as a DPS. However, it does see some niche uses, and you don’t have many options to begin with..
Battle Leap: Leveling it isn’t for the damage increase, but the utility that comes from a lower CD. You can use battle leap to escape, or knock down a group of summoned adds.
Parrying / Endure: You can utilize this as a miniature clutch defensive option. Many times, you’ll be faced with an issue where you can’t avoid an AoE. When Tension relax isn’t enough, this can help you survive it. Feel free to tweak the core build in order to incorporate this. One thing that warriors have over their melee counterparts is the ability to be sturdier ;]

Main Tank Build: You’ll have 4 skill points to allocate freely. There’s really not much you can do with them, but here are my suggestions:

Parrying: Wait, a tank build without max parry? Thats right. The reason being is that the “Natural Parry Cap” is 70%, which tank warriors will reach eventually. At lv4, the % increase is already 32%, which is enough to carry you to 100%. I put this as a suggestion since 70% is still pretty far, since its pretty easy to get to 60, but kinda hard to get to 70.. Once you pass 60%, that 5th point in parrying becomes more and more unnecessary.
Provoke / Wide Area Provoke: The cool down decrease is good for added utility to help you maintain threat, in case your DPS is overtaking you.
Battle Tactics: Helps build threat, makes use of accrued INT that would have otherwise been completely useless, definitely a viable choice, especially once you accumulate enough int.

Off Tank Build: This is the Off Tank build I’ve been using, and I’ve had great success with this build, not only as an Off Tank, but as a Main Tank as well. Key difference between this and the MT Build is that it has Max Brandish Storm (This is because one of your main tasks is to handle summons and adds, so you’ll be using this often, so max lvl is a good idea) and only lv4 Parrying and Lv5 Defender. You only need 1 Defense buff for emergencies. The reason I chose parrying over endure is simple, because of the cooldown. You’ll be using Parrying as a clutch defense to hold a flurry of damage (From adds before you down them, or from temporarily holding bosses while the main tank is being resurrected). Having it up asap is important, because you need to be able to quickly respond to the situation. You have 5 free points to spend freely, here are your options:

Endure: With this, you’ll pretty much be the same as the main tank build,but with extra AoE capabilities.
Berserk: How about some more offense? Berserk mitigates you -10% for defender, giving you some flexibility towards the damage you dealt. More consistent DPS overall, compared to your other offensive option.
Rage Strike: How about another route of offense? While Berserk is more consistent for of increasing your damage output, Rage Strike provides an excellent form of Burst Damage that Warriors need, especially in PvP Coloseum.
Aura Blade: Not the best idea, but it works as a way to control your threat, and allows you to swap as an Offtank and Psuedo Melee DPS when the need arises.
Battle Leap: One of the best utility skills in PvE. Used to knock down a group of summons, escape from an AoE (Which you’ll need since youre squishier than a Main Tank), or save an ally from certain death.

5. Play Styles

This section will talk about knowing your role, and how to play it properly!

DPS Role: Probably the most straightforward. Get in there and do as much damage as you can. However, I -do not- recommend going full DPS as a warrior. The reason being is that you won’t be able to out DPS the other melee DPS classes such as Rogue and Assassin. Slots for “Melee DPS” classes are very few, to begin with in raids. Feel free to, but it might be a difficult road unless you have a guild or pre made party to help you out. Here are the general tips:

• Your skill rotation will be to use Bowling Bash and Rage Strike whenever its up, and Bash/Aura Strike whenever possible. (Note: There’s a known bug with RageStrke, where it consumes all your Rage when hitting multiple monsters)
• Always have your threat meter up. You don’t want to out DPS the tank and steal aggro. Especially true when using brandish storm.
• Have Tension Relax ready in case you can’t avoid an AoE. This is because hea;ers won’t prioritize you when healing.
• Prioritize killing adds 1 by 1.

Main Tank Role: By the time you get to a point where you can main tank consistently, you should already know everything there is to know about tanking, trust me. But here are some tips:

• Know what you can and cannot tank. This is especially true right after you hit 50, during the Random Hard Dungeon phase.
• Always have your threat meter up, you should be at the top of the list. If someone outranks your threat, act fast before the boss switches targets.
• Use Potions to accumulate threat.
• Alternate Parrying and Endure so that you have one or the other up a majority of the time. Or use both at the same time during critical moments.

Off Tank Role: This role is actually a bit more complex. As I mentioned earlier, your job is to handle adds, but you also have to be able to pick up the boss in case the MT dies. On top of all this remember that the healing priority will go to the tank, and not you, so you have to be extra careful.

• With only my Off Tank, I saw myself being able to out-tank other MTs (thats just how awesome warriors can become). Which is why its important to pay attention to your MT when you are playing OT. Find out how they do it, because at one point or another, you’ll be doing that as well.
• Use your battle leap to jump to your allies when adds are summoned on them.
• Utilize brandish storm to quickly draw aggro from adds.
• Manage your Rage carefully. There will be times when you need to have it near max, in case you need to use tension relax. Throw a few aura strikes when its 100, but remember that you need tension relax as a clutch heal during critical moments.
• Your threat should be second, right below the main tank, but above the DPS. This is important and sometimes hard to maintain, but if your positioning in the threat ladder is incorrect, you won’t be able to take control of the situation if the Main tank dies.

6. Equipment

Gear Progression: Prior to lv50, it doesn’t matter what equipment you get. Once you hit 50, you’ll follow a pretty clear path, going from 1 set to the next. Feel free to mix and match between sets of, but try not to skip steps too much. Your raid raid members won’t be too happy with you if you’re a DPS class with only 4k HP, since you didn’t bother to do more Random Hard Dungeons. Feel free to use the chart below to help guide you.

Note I won’t go into detail about specific drops, or recipes. That’s reserved for a separate Dungeon/Raiding Guide.

Green Equipment: RHD is no walk in the park. I’ve seen many players skip this and go straight to RHD with lv 4x equipment, or worse, lv3x equipment! If you choose to skip this, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Goblin King Sword: This is an optional step, but many do it because it’s so convenient. While not as strong as RHD Weapons, Goblin King Weapon is a good pit stop to upgrade your weapon.
RHD Sets: Random Boss Drops, or from OBB. Decent, Slotted Equipment.
Raid Sets: Bosses drop tokens of varying colors. Details aside, players trade these tokens for corresponding equipment. The later Raid Sets (Culvert of Abyss and Above) that grant set bonuses as you complete the set (For example, Having 2 Pieces will grant % Haste bonus).
Colosseum Set: A very strong set, that can be worked towards as soon as you can enter the colosseum. In terms of strength, matches that of CoA. While it lacks the set bonuses, the Colosseum set features PvP Damage Increase/Reduction bonuses.
Crafted Sets: Crafted sets are a lot harder to obtain, since the materials for making them are rare, but the recipes are even rarer. However, they boast a huge increase in Vigor/Haste or Parry/Dodge compared to other sets, and they tend to have 1 more rune slot.
Other sets worth mentioning: There are also lv50 Epic/Blue Field Sets and Victor Points I, II, III sets. They all have their purposes, but they’re isolated cases. You’ll learn about them on your own eventually.

Haste/Vigor Set Vs. Dodge/Parry

Each set of equipment has two types. One for that grants Haste/Vigor and another Dodge/Parry. It’s pretty straight forward as to which build should pursue which set. This is important because its where tanks will be getting a significant amount of their parry, so don’t make a mistake and keep the wrong type of equip.

7. Cards & Runes

Cards generally have a similar progression as equipment, but it’s a bit more linear. Once you hit 50, the only cards you should be attempting to get are:

 Scratch Thief Cards x5 or Scratch Thief Cards [Normal+] x5 if you’re rich. You’ll be stuck with these for a while, since there’s nothing thats much better until..
Culvert of Abyss Sets. This is where “Set Bonuses” from cards actually make a huge difference. Work towards one of these next.
Some other cards to consider would be Garbong for DPS, and Poisona Cards for those utilizing Battle Manual.

Runes are pretty straightforward as well. Go for the runes for the stat that interests you. Note that “Enhanced” runes come from the cash shop. The highest an artisan can craft are +5. In order to put runes on your equipment, you need to use a Hole Driller (Crafted by blacksmiths) on equipment with rune slots.

Strength Rune: Decent early, but take note that once your natural parry hits the 70% cap, you only get damage from STR, making it only half as useful.
Dexterity Rune: AGI is good for both offensive (Crits) and Defensive (Avoid) reasons.
Health Rune: You can never have enough HP! Note that the runes are called “Health” runes, but they actually give VIT, and not just 1 Health.
Intelligence Rune: For those utilizing Battle Tactics, this is a good opportunity to get a good chunk of INT.

8. Professions & Guardians

Choosing a profession isn’t too complicated. Its more of an economical preference really

Blacksmith is an obvious choice right off the bat, as it allows you to create all your equipment. This is devalued because most are crap until you start finding epic recipes at lv50.
Chef is also a great choice because they can make buff foods (one of which increases dodge/parry, while another increases haste/vigor).
Alchemists makes the strongest pots in the game, enough said.
Artisans, I really wouldn’t suggest it for warrior, but its worth nothing that its one of the easier job professions to level.

Guardian Tips:

• They all do the same thing, besides look different.
• Use to increase your running speed during your travels
• Use it right before a tension relax, or a priest’s resurrection, so they can share in the CD reduction.

9. PvP/Colosseum

You’ll generally have a tough time in PvP. While DPS Warriors are pretty capable, Tank and OT builds especially will lose most of their matchups. Colosseum, while not impossible, is also gonna be fairly difficult. Here are some tips:

Duels: Note that this is assuming the two players are equally geared, and skills are generalized. The outcome of duels differs greatly depending on build and skills.

 vs. Assassins: Expect to lose most of your duels against assassins. I can’t really give too much advice against assassins, its basically take their damage and hope you can dish out more.
 vs. Rogues: Another really tough match up. A few tips include using your Brandish Storm to knock them out of hiding, or to use headcrush (The DoT will prevent them from hiding). If they pop gangsters paradise, judge whether or not its best to try and out damage their heal, or to avoid them until it runs out. Prolonged battles are not recommended, since their DoT Heal has a shorter cooldown than your tension relax.
vs. Beast Masters: Not a bad match up. Pretty even on both sides. Treat this as you would a regular a Bigfoot mob, tank and spank!
 vs. Rangers: Another unfavorable matchup. OT/MT builds will lose 99% of the time due to snares. DPS Warriors have the ability to catch them off guard, by chaining your stuns together, before they can snare you. But, prepare to be kited.
 vs. Sorcerers: Ranged DPS is always going to be a problem. Their main advantage is the ability to do up to 4x damage on you with their combo. Anticipate it with a well timed parrying/endure/tension, and hope you can survive past the first frost diver. As usual, prepare to be kited.
vs. Wizards: They don’t have the same amount of bursts as Sorcs, but they pose the same threat as all ranged DPS have. They also have the ability to wait out your berserk or early tension relax with icewall, so be weary.
vs. Knights: It’s pretty even, with warriors having the slight advantage. As with other tank classes, tank and spank away.
vs. Warrior s: It’s all a bout skill and luck here! A few tips is to make him waste his tension relax. If he pops while he’s around 60% HP, kite him until it runs out.
vs. Priests: Over here, it’s all about doing more damage then they can heal, while hoping that you can get it done before they whittle down your hp. DPS Priests, with their multiple DoTs and decent damage will usually be able to pull that off. A good tip is force them to use their high cd skills such as full heal, then burst them down with berserk + Battle Leap + pommel strike.
vs Monks: This is the one tank class that you simply can’t treat as another mob. Their Asura Strike + CD Refresh means you’ll be eating two Asura Strikes for around 2k~3k each. Timing here is key. Use Parrying/Endure when you know its coming, and you’ll have a better chance of coming out on top.

The Colosseum: You should attend the colosseum whenever possible, as its the only way to obtain the Colosseum Equipment. Understand that Warriors are in the lower tier, when it comes to doing well. However, it’s not impossible, as I’ve managed to win Champion 4x as a warrior. Here are some tips to help:

• Avoid “Time Sponges”. These are classes that take forever to kill, usually tank or high sustain classes such as Priests, Knights, Tank Warriors, Beastmasters and Monks. The only exception is when multiple others are attacking that target, and you think you have a shot at taking the kill.
• Kill Steal! When possible, steal as many kills as possible. Know the timing and damage output of your skills, to maximize your chances of going through. Use Battle Leap to KS as well, which can be used to not only knock down your target, but knock down the players around him are trying to get the kill.
• Kill Mobs. Sometimes, 1 Colo Mob is what separates you from being eliminated and going through to the next round.
• If you’re being targeted, sometimes its better to accept death. Running around just wastes your time. Die, come back and resume trying to get kills.
• Kill the porings. It’s a gamble, but those buffs will usually net you at least 1 kill.
• Save up your wind elixirs for this moment. This is a huge difference maker.

10. Partying

I love soloing, and after reading the forums I see a lot of people feel the same way. And I solo’d pretty much all the way to 50, and it was a pleasant experience. But after that, you’re soloing days are pretty much over. All Raids/Hard Dungeons cannot be done solo.

This section addresses what to expect as a warrior when it comes to parties. It answers the common question of “How hard is it to find a party?”. Unfortunately, the outlook isn’t too good. In short, Off tank warriors will be able to find parties in dungeons where OTs are appreciated (Baphomet, PvE Arena, etc.), Main Tanks will find it difficult to gain trust until they’ve proven themselves, and DPS warriors will find it difficult to find a party in the stronger raids. Overall, Warriors simply aren’t in demand.

Fortunately, I’ve never had much of problem with this. Here are some tips to help you:

• Guilds help. You can’t expect a guild to babysit you, but it helps you get into parties. So find a good one.
• Can’t find a party? Start one. It works really well, as there’s usually a number of people looking for parties at a given moment.
• Do a good job at what you do. When you do your role right, people in your party will notice. and when they notice, they’ll add you on their friendlist. Next time they’re running a party and need someone to fill a specific role? They’ll think of you. That’s how you build a raiding network, and that is why I never had a problem finding a party, even without a guild.

11. Comparison vs. Other Classes

A lot of the questions involve “How does a warrior stack up against class x, or class y?” This section will address just that!

As a melee DPS, the only 2 classes you can compare yourself to are Assassins and Rogues. In terms of damage, you’re out classed, sorry! One thing you do have, as I mentioned before, is the potential to be a sturdier (therefore more consistent in certain dungeons) form of DPS. This just means one less thing to worry about for your healers.

As an Off Tank, you are #1. Monks and Beastmasters have very poor mob control due to a lack of AoE. While knights have a similar AoE to yours, warriors can move while casting brandish storm, and knights cannot. This makes kiting and maneuvering possible, thus making them the best.

As a Main Tank, warriors have the potential to be the -best-, but it does not make them the better tank. The monk/BM/Knight class have skill sets that allow them for safer tanking right from the start, whereas a warrior tank can potentially the best, but requires a lot of hand holding and commitment to get there. Go here for an article concerning this point.