AION 2 Gladiator Guide: Build, Skills, Stigmas, Rotation

Gladiator at a glance

Role: Melee DPS / off-tank
Weapon: Greatsword
Difficulty: Easy–Moderate
Solo: Strong

A durable bruiser that fights in melee range with wide sweeping attacks. Most of its hits strike up to 4 enemies, so it clears packs fast and is one of the most recommended classes for solo leveling and for newcomers.

A sturdy melee damage dealer that fights in the middle of packs. Most attacks hit up to 4 enemies, and its passives heal it as it fights, so it's one of the most comfortable classes for both solo farming and group off-tanking.

Strengths

Fast pack clearing (most attacks hit up to 4 targets)
High durability for a damage dealer
Simple, forgiving rotation

Weaknesses

Must keep repositioning around boss mechanics in melee
Less distinct party role than a dedicated tank

In a group: Off-tank, melee damage. In PvP: Chasing and breaking groups.

PvE rotation and core skills

Ruinous BlowLeaping SlamOverhead SlamRending BlowKeen Strike

Close the gap with Leaping Slam.
Ruinous Blow: hits up to 4 enemies and grants Prepare for Battle (+20% PvE Damage Boost, +100 Critical Hit for 20s; 45s cooldown).
Burst inside that buff with Mocking Blade, Overhead Slam and Rage Burst.
Fill with Rending Blow and Keen Strike until Ruinous Blow is back.

Tip: Use an AoE elemental Theostone, since most of your attacks hit several targets.

Best Stigmas

Stigmas unlock at levels 22, 27, 32 and 37. These are the picks top Global Gladiators equip for PvE.

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Zikel's Blessing
2	Lv 27	Lunge Stance
3	Lv 32	Rage Burst
4	Lv 37	Focused Block

Popular alternative: Lifestealing Blade (solo). PvP swaps: Tenaciousness, Wrath Wave.

Gladiator PvE build

For dungeons, raids and bosses.

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Lunge Stance
2	Lv 27	Zikel's Blessing
3	Lv 32	Rage Burst
4	Lv 37	Focused Block

Matches what top Global Gladiators equip. Lifestealing Blade is the common swap for Focused Block when you don't need to parry boss hits.

Rotation

Leaping Slam → Ruinous Blow (Prepare for Battle: +20% PvE Damage Boost, 20 s) → Mocking Blade → Overhead Slam → Rage Burst → Rending Blow → Keen Strike.

Tips

Open every pull with Ruinous Blow; do your burst inside its 20-second buff.
Use Focused Block on a boss's heavy hit: blocking triggers Experienced Counterstrike, a party damage buff.
Rage Burst also leaves Wounded on the target (−10% Attack for 10 s).

Gladiator PvP build

For the Abyss, Artifact Sieges and arenas.

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Lunge Stance
2	Lv 27	Tenaciousness
3	Lv 32	Blade Toss
4	Lv 37	Wrath Wave

Tenaciousness (brief immunity) and Wrath Wave are the client's listed PvP swaps; Blade Toss is the go-to opener against healed targets.

Game plan

Close the gap with Leaping Slam or Lunge Stance's speed.
Open with Blade Toss: −30% Defense and −50% incoming healing on the target for 10 s.
Chain knockdowns into Overhead Slam while the debuff lasts.
Save Tenaciousness for when you're focused or crowd-controlled.

Weakness: Melee only: kiting classes and slows keep it out of range.

Theostone: AoE elemental for Abyss group fights.

Gladiator solo build

For leveling, farming and open-world elites on your own.

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Lunge Stance
2	Lv 27	Zikel's Blessing
3	Lv 32	Rage Burst
4	Lv 37	Lifestealing Blade

Tips

Lifestealing Blade is AoE and heals you for part of the damage, ideal for big pulls.
Blood Absorption heals you on attack and when you drop to 50% HP, so you can chain packs without stopping.
Most of your skills hit 4 targets: pull 3–4 mobs at a time.

Gladiator in a party

Your job: Off-tank and melee damage. Stands at the boss's front or side and soaks hits the main tank can't.

Buffs you bring

Buff	Who	Effect	How you get it
Experienced Counterstrike	Party	PvE Damage Boost for 20 s when you Block	Always (passive)

Debuffs you apply

Skill	Effect on enemies	How you get it
Rage Burst (Wounded)	−10% Attack, 10 s	In this build
Blade Toss	−30% Defense, −50% incoming healing, 10 s	Stigma: swap in

Tips

Focused Block is in your PvE set mainly to trigger Experienced Counterstrike for the party on boss hits.

Planning a party? Try the party composer.

Stats, Daevanion and Arcana

Stat priority

AttackCritical Hit (cap 50%)AccuracyHPBlock

Daevanion board

Nezekan: Attack Preparation and Survival Stance pairs, then Zikel: Murderous Burst. Route through Ruinous Blow and Rending Blow nodes.

Arcana

4 Vigor cards for Primal Vigor (+150 PvE Attack above 70% HP), with Bell of Magic for Attack.

Theostone

AoE elemental (most attacks hit 4 targets).

Key passives

Passive	Effect
Survival Stance	+7% Max HP, +5.5% PvE Damage Tolerance
Attack Preparation	+5.5% PvE Damage Boost, +100 Accuracy
Blood Absorption	Heals on attack and when HP drops to 50%
Experienced Counterstrike	Party PvE Damage Boost for 20 s on Block
Murderous Burst	Stacking Menace that bursts on up to 4 enemies

More on gear: Manastones, Arcana and the upgrade order.

All 35 Gladiator skills

Every skill and Stigma with its in-game tooltip at level 1, from the Global client. Full details and maximum-level text are on the Skills page.

Skill	Type	Learned	Cooldown	What it does
Keen Strike	Active skill	Lv. 1	None	Deals 51 (+43% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and increases Enmity. Restores 100 MP.
Rending Blow	Active skill	Lv. 1	None	Deals 70 (+74.3% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and increases Enmity. 2 Stagger Gauge Damage
Leaping Slam	Active skill	Lv. 1	15s	Leaps to a target within 20m and deals 70 (+115% Attack) damage. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Mocking Blade	Active skill	Lv. 3	20s	Deals 207 (+194.4% Attack) damage to a target within 4m and inflicts Knockdown for 3s. Changes skill motion when attacking targets with Incapacitated Immunity. 15 Stagger Gauge Damage
Overhead Slam	Active skill	Lv. 4	5s	Deals 174 (+163.6% Attack) damage to a target afflicted with Knockdown within 4m and increases Enmity. Has a 7% chance to trigger when attacking a target with Incapacitated Immunity. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage
Sword Aura Rampage	Active skill	Lv. 5	None	Deals 124 (+82.5% Attack) damage to a target afflicted with Stagger within 4m.
Ankle Slice	Active skill	Lv. 7	10s	Selects a target within 4m and deals 294 (+150% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m with a 50% chance to inflict Root for 3s on Block. 100% chance to inflict Root on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Crushing Wave	Active skill	Lv. 8	20s	Deals 206 (+105% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 5m of the caster. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage
Rush Strike	Active skill	Lv. 10	20s	Moves to a target within 10m and deals 330 (+125% Attack) damage with a 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s after using [Dodge] or while flying. 100% chance to inflict Knockdown on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Aerial Snare	Active skill	Lv. 12	45s	Deals 479 (+181.5% Attack) damage to a target afflicted with Knockdown within 4m with a 50% chance to inflict Airborne for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Airborne on NPC targets. Has a 5% chance to trigger on attacking a target with Incapacitated Immunity. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Ruinous Blow	Active skill	Lv. 14	45s	Rushes to a target within 7.5m to deal 2,387 (+689% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies nearby and grants Prepare for Battle for 20s. Prepare for Battle: Increases PvE Damage Boost by 20%, PvP Damage Boost by 10%, Critical Hit by 100, and Status Effect Chance by 15% 25 Stagger Gauge Damage
Defiance	Active skill	Lv. 16	60s	Removes Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Grab, Frost, and Fear from the caster and grants Tenacity for 5s. Tenacity: Grants Status Effect Immunity Unaffected by cooldown reduction effects.
Survival Stance	Passive skill	Lv. 1	None	Increases the caster's HP by 200. Increases Max HP by an additional 7%, Natural HP Regen by 20, PvE Damage Tolerance by 5.5%, and PvP Damage Tolerance by 2.75%.
Protection Armor	Passive skill	Lv. 6	None	Increases the caster's Block by 200 and restores 53 (+100% Attack)-64 HP on Block. Cooldown: 1s
Blood Absorption	Passive skill	Lv. 9	None	The caster has a 50% chance to restore 20 (+100% Attack)-24 HP and 1.6% Max HP on landing an attack. Immediately restores 26% Max HP when HP drops to 50% or less. Cooldown: 1s Instant Healing Cooldown: 60s
Identify Weakness	Passive skill	Lv. 11	None	Increases the caster's Critical Hit by 100 and Perfect Chance by 0.5%.
Attack Preparation	Passive skill	Lv. 13	None	Increases the caster's PvE Damage Boost by 5.5%, PvP Damage Boost by 2.75%, Defense by 2%, and Accuracy by 100.
Impact Hit	Passive skill	Lv. 15	None	Increases the caster's Impact-type Chance by 11.2% and Double Chance by 0.3%.
Destructive Impulse	Passive skill	Lv. 17	None	Deals 146 (+33% Attack) extra damage to targets afflicted with Stagger or an Impact-type status.
Experienced Counterstrike	Passive skill	Lv. 21	None	Increases Front Attack Damage Boost by 0.4%. Increases PvE Damage Boost by 5.4%, PvP Damage Boost by 2.7% for 20s for the caster and party members on Block. PvE Damage Boost and PvP Damage Boost does not stack with Templar's [Fury] effect.
Survival Willpower	Passive skill	Lv. 23	None	Increases the caster's Status Effect Resist by 17%. Increases PvE Damage Tolerance by 12% and PvP Damage Tolerance by 6% for 5s when afflicted with Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Frost, or Fear. Increases Status Effect Resist by 10% for 5s when hit while afflicted with Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Frost, or Fear (up to 10 stacks). Damage Tolerance Increase Cooldown: 60s Status Effect Resist Increase Cooldown: 1s
Murderous Burst	Passive skill	Lv. 25	None	Grants a stack of Menace for 3s when landing an attack. Removes Menace at 5 stacks and deals 539 (+78% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 5m of the caster and increases the caster's Critical Damage Boost by 5.5% for 3s.
Blade Toss	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	20s	Deals 534 (+87.8% Attack) damage to a target within 20m and reduces Defense by 30% and Incoming Heal by 50% for 10s. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage
Forced Restraint	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	60s	Deals 1,059 (+174% Attack) damage to a target within 4m with a 75% chance to inflict Seal for 5s. 100% chance to inflict Seal on NPC targets. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Wrath Wave	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	60s	Deals 1,068 (+175.5% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 5m of the caster and has a 50% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Knockdown on NPC targets. 50 Stagger Gauge Damage
Lunge Stance	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	60s	Increases the caster's Combat Speed by 20% for 10s.
Tenaciousness	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	150s	The caster becomes immune to damage and status effects for 3s. Increases PvE Damage Tolerance by 50% and PvP Damage Tolerance by 25% for 3s when the effect ends. Cannot block certain powerful attacks. Unaffected by cooldown increase effects. Tenaciousness, Salvation, and Barrier Spell effects cannot be applied for 30s if Invincibility stacking is blocked.
Assault Strike	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	120s	Selects a target within 20m and deals 998 (+164% Attack) damage up to 4 enemies within 4m of the target, with a 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Knockdown on NPC targets. Increases Defense by up to 20% proportional to the number of targets hit.
Fracturing Rush	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Rushes forward 10m and deals 974 (+160% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies on the path, with a 60% chance to inflict Root for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Root on NPC targets. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Zikel's Blessing	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	120s	Increases the caster's Attack by 20% and Accuracy by 100 for 10s.
Lifestealing Blade	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Deals 1,522 (+250% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and absorbs 1000, 1000% HP. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Rage Burst	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	45s	Deals 1,327 (+218% Attack) damage to a target within 4m. Inflicts Wounded for 10s on hit, reducing the enemy's Attack by 10%, and increases the caster's PvE Damage Boost by 10% and PvP Damage Boost by 5% for 10s. Triggers [Overhead Slam] on the target for 10s on hit. Wounded does not stack with the Shrink effect from the Templar skill [Taunt]. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Focused Block	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	20s	Temporarily increases Block Damage Reduction by 100% and guarantees Parry. Restores 110 MP and Stamina once on Parry.
Wave Armor	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	60s	Deals 207 (+34% Attack) Damage over Time to up to 4 enemies within 3m of the caster for 10s.
Armor of Balance	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Increases Impact-type Resist by 50% for 10s.