Guardian Melee

Guardian Melee is a class of weapon, a well-rounded melee class with a balance of offense and defense, encompassing Sword & Shield weapons. Light attacks utilize rapid sword strikes to deal increased Weapon damage, while heavy attacks use the shield to bash enemies with increased Break damage. Defensively, the shield can be used to block enemy attacks, converting all incoming damage into stamina cost. Performing an attack immediately after a successful block launches a Block Counter that deals significant damage at the cost of some additional stamina. As with all melee weapon classes, Guardian weapons have native +10% damage mitigation.

The Guardian's weapon mechanic is Latent Power. Blocking and hitting enemies with melee attacks will build the Latent Power meter, and when the meter is full, using a Block Counter or any variety of Shield Slam (a charged heavy attack, an aerial heavy attack, or a heavy combo finisher) will bank a pip; up to three pips can be stored. Performing a weapon ability cashes out all stored pips, increasing the ability's power depending on how many pips were used.

Sword & Shields

Weapon	Ability	Ability Description
Vanguard	Power Bash	Performs a powerful shield bash that causes high guard break damage. Power increases for each Latent Power Pip consumed.
Radiant Dawn	Archon's Blade	Empowers the sword and shield with radiant energy. Extends damage and range of melee attacks, and empowers blocking to greatly reduce incoming stamina damage.
Tooth and Claw	Shredder Toss	Launches the shield to tear through and bounce between enemies. Deals additional damage for each Latent Power Pip consumed.
Warp & Weft	Shadow Tremors	Sweep your blade, sending shockwaves of dark energy forward in a large arc. Can be used repeatedly to perform a shockwave combo.
Grim Harvest	Bone Geyser	Plunges the sword into the ground to unleash an eruption of Bone Spikes in a radius around the Wayfinder, dealing damage and staggering even Heavily Armored enemies. Deals additional damage for each Latent Power Pip consumed.
Bastion	Healing Pulse	Heals the wayfinder and nearby allies. Power increases for each Latent Power Pip consumed.
Legacy	Phalanx	Protects the Wayfinder and all nearby allies with a Damage shield, absorbing all damage until the shield is broken. Produces a stronger shield for each Latent Power Pip consumed.
Dryades	Nature's Grasp	Unleash a cone of roots in front of the Wayfinder that damages and pulls enemies towards them. Damage and range increase for each Latent Power Pip consumed.
Unity	Spirit Slam	Slam the shield into the ground, causing heavy Break damage to all nearby enemies. Also empowers heavy attacks to cause bonus magic damage, 2 hits per pip spent.

Mastery

At certain Wayfinder Ranks (10, 20 and 30), a Wayfinder will be granted higher tiers of a passive Weapon Mastery. The Weapon Mastery bonuses will vary based on the Wayfinder's Archetype.

Archetype	Mastery	Description
Warmaster	Press the Advantage	When gaining a pip, gain (3/4/5)% Weapon Power for 12 seconds, stacking up to 3 times.
Arcanist	Reactive Overflow	Blocking an enemy attack or hitting an enemy with a melee finisher increases Ability Power by (1.8/2.4/3)% stacking up to 5 times and lasting 8 seconds.
Survivalist	Critical Opener	Dash attacks increase Crit Chance by (10/15/20)% for 6 seconds.