Guildrun Class Guide: How to Play Tank

The Tank class is the go-to choice for holding down the frontlines. Their impressive Defense and built-in sustain helps keep them alive while your DPS get to work. It's a rare occurrence when you don't have one on the team, as enemies on the rift hit dangerously hard.

If you need a place to start, grabbing a Tank is a great idea. While they each play differently, they are the foundation for a balanced comp. Let's dive in as we breakdown what each one has to offer.

Disclaimer: This guide is based on the Guildrun Demo, so please keep in mind that everything is subject to change as new patches get released.

Tank Mechanics: Stall, Poison, Frost

Tank heroes often fight alongside Mystics in order to maintain a persistent upkeep of Shield. It's one of the safest ways to stay alive, and becomes essential at higher difficulties. It's also especially important as it allows Tanks to survive until their first cast, which can make or break a fight.

C-Rank Tanks are serviceable from the start, making them an ideal pickup in the first few shops. However, you'll really want to upgrade them to B-Rank as soon as possible. Some Tanks can get away with less investment early on, but it definitely helps to grab items along with your Mystic.

Positioning can occasionally be a puzzle you need to overcome, especially when Plants or Lizards are involved. You won't always be able to put the Tank front and center, so pay attention and make any adjustments when necessary.

Pimenta

• Base Class: Tank
• Multiclass: Duelist, Mage
• Starting Ability: Pepper Spray
• Specializations: The Spicy, The Seasoned, The Lover (Pimenta)

Pimenta is a reliable Tank that comes with built-in sustain, making her a welcome choice even at C-Rank. Once upgraded she can support a variety of teams, as her specs each offer unique benefits.

• The Spicy — The Duelist spec is an excellent way to extend Debuffs like Frost. Even a small amount from Frost Surge can quickly escalate, which is a great way to handle bosses.
• The Seasoned — This is the best choice if you're lacking synergies and simply want to improve her role as a Tank. Alternatively, if you can utilize the Mage class, it's a clear standout.
• The Lover (Pimenta) — Has great potential alongside Duelists, if found early enough to begin scaling. It's obviously amazing with Sal, but isn't mandatory to make it worth picking.

Rowan

• Base Class: Vanguard, Tank
• Multiclass: None
• Starting Ability: Hearty
• Specializations: The Tectonic, The Protector, The Friend

Rowan excels at holding the frontlines with his scalable HP/S. His Hearty passive makes great use of items, allowing him to sustain the onslaught of the rift.

• The Tectonic — The combined self Shield + AoE Stun makes this a solid choice, but you'll likely need some additional support so that he can cast in time.
• The Protector — If you have enough sources of Shield, this can potentially turn Rowan into your carry. More synergy is required, but the reward is worth it.
• The Friend — A very strong source of permanent scaling, especially if you have multiple Stall effects. If farmed enough, he can move to the bench and provide huge stats with his Backup.

Skorn

• Base Class: Tank
• Multiclass: None
• Starting Ability: Retribution
• Specializations: The Haughty, The Winter's Bite, The Bristleguard

Skorn inflicts Poison on all enemies that attack him, encouraging a Stall based strategy that slowly whittles foes down. He's a solid Tank built around converting Defense into Debuffs.

• The Haughty — This has potential if you've stacked a lot of Stall triggers, or have a strong source of Shield. Ideally, both.
• The Winter's Bite — A very strong spec that imbues Skorn with Frost. The rate matches his Poison output, allowing you to invest into Defense for an even greater effect.
• The Bristleguard — Relatively low impact unless you're running multiple Tanks, but can still provide some Backup value from the bench.

Zuri

• Base Class: Tank, Assassin
• Multiclass: None
• Starting Ability: Stone Skin
• Specializations: The Cruel, The Serpent's Kiss, The Bladedancer

Zuri is a dual-class frontliner with a built-in permanent scaling passive. If you can solve Crit early, she has the potential to grow throughout the run.

• The Cruel — This offers a strong AoE Stun, but the Poison amount will be pretty negligible unless you've had the time to farm Stone Skin.
• The Serpent's Kiss — Requires some items, relics, and/or stat boosts to be worth it, but it could provide a good chunk of Poison and HP/S.
• The Bladedancer — A very strong choice that lets Zuri handle Act 1 with little investment. The combination of Rush + Stall means she'll have passive healing most of the fight.

Gustav

• Base Class: Mystic
• Multiclass: Tank
• Starting Ability: Blizzard
• Specializations: The Investor, The Glacier, The Avalanche

Gustav fills a nice niche as a Tank Mystic hybrid, making The Glacier are solid choice if you're lacking a solid foundation for your team. It's also nice having two sources of Stall.

Kai

• Base Class: Warrior
• Multiclass: Tank
• Starting Ability: Resolute Strike
• Specializations: The Unstoppable, The Bold, The Intrepid

Kai The Bold scales really well with Defense, which ultimately makes Resolute Strike hit even harder. It's a popular choice especially on Red Rift, as it allows Kai to fulfill Tank on the Rift Seal.

Niklas

• Base Class: Vanguard
• Multiclass: Tank
• Starting Ability: Red Hot Deals
• Specializations: The Dealer, The Executive, The Hoarder

Niklas has a high ceiling but a low floor as The Hoarder. If you've generated a ton of Shards this provides a really solid Backup effect, but if not, it's essentially useless.