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

Templar at a glance

Role: Main tank
Weapon: Longsword and shield
Difficulty: Easy–Moderate
Solo: Slow but safe

The client's only pure tank. The Templar holds enemy attention, gathers packs and controls the boss so the party can do its job. Durable and with a clearly defined role, it is often called the easiest class for a beginner.

The only pure tank. Holds enemy attention, controls bosses with stuns and knockdowns, and shields the whole party. Damage is low, but no group content runs well without one.

Strengths

Always wanted in groups
Very high survivability
Clear, well-defined job

Weaknesses

Lowest personal damage
High responsibility: party wipes are often blamed on the tank

In a group: Essential tank. In PvP: Protecting objectives.

PvE rotation and core skills

PunishmentShield SmiteJudgmentWarding StrikeAnnihilate

Gather enemies with Poach and Shield Smite; Taunt anything heading for the back line.
Use Judgment and Annihilate, then Punishment for the Executor buff (+200 Accuracy, +20% PvE Damage Boost, 20s).
Warding Strike heals you and adds +20% PvE Damage Tolerance.
Fill with Vicious Strike.

Tip: Use a Combat Speed reduction Theostone; it is the only proc that slows the target's attack speed.

Best Stigmas

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

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Taunt
2	Lv 27	Empyrean Lord's Punishment
3	Lv 32	Battlefield Banner
4	Lv 37	Doom Shield

Popular alternative: Noble Armor. PvP swaps: Noble Armor, Grapple.

Templar PvE build

For dungeons, raids and bosses.

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Taunt
2	Lv 27	Empyrean Lord's Punishment
3	Lv 32	Battlefield Banner
4	Lv 37	Doom Shield

Taunt and Empyrean Lord's Punishment are near-universal; the last slot varies. Noble Armor is the common defensive swap.

Rotation

Poach / Shield Smite to gather → Taunt anything heading for the healer → Judgment → Annihilate → Punishment (Executor: +200 Accuracy, +20% PvE Damage Boost, 20 s) → Warding Strike (heal + damage tolerance) → Vicious Strike filler.

Tips

Insulting Roar (Daevanion) gives +100% Enmity Boost; take it early.
Keep Warding Strike for heavy phases: it heals and adds +20% PvE Damage Tolerance.
Guarding Seal automatically shields you for 21% of Max HP when you fall below 50%.

Templar PvP build

For the Abyss, Artifact Sieges and arenas.

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Empyrean Lord's Punishment
2	Lv 27	Doom Shield
3	Lv 32	Grapple
4	Lv 37	Noble Armor

Grapple and Noble Armor are the client's listed PvP swaps.

Game plan

Pull a target out of position with Grapple (Root 3 s) or Poach (75% Root 2 s).
Chain Shield Smite (60% Stun 3 s), Empyrean Lord's Punishment (50% Stun) and Doom Shield (75% Knockdown).
Your damage dealers do the killing; keep the target locked down for them.
Optional Stigma swaps: Executing Blade (−30% Defense, 5 s) for more kill pressure, or Nezekan's Shield to protect teammates under burst.

Weakness: Low damage: you set up kills rather than finishing them.

Theostone: Combat Speed reduction (the only proc that slows enemy attacks).

Templar solo build

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

Slot	Unlocks at	Stigma
1	Lv 22	Doom Shield
2	Lv 27	Taunt
3	Lv 32	Battlefield Banner
4	Lv 37	Noble Armor

Tips

Slow but almost impossible to kill: Warding Strike heals you while hitting a group.
Use Poach to pull from range, then gather mobs with Shield Smite.
Battlefield Banner turns your high Defense into Attack for 10 s.

Templar in a party

Your job: Main tank. Face the boss away from the group, hold threat, and use party shields on big hits.

Buffs you bring

Buff	Who	Effect	How you get it
Fury	Party	+5.5% PvE Damage Boost for 20 s	Always (passive)
Nezekan's Shield	Party (40 m)	Shield worth 41% of your Max HP for 3 s; 60 s cooldown	Stigma: swap in
Comrade in Arms	Party (40 m)	You take +20% PvE Damage Tolerance and redirect party damage to yourself; 120 s cooldown	Stigma: swap in

Debuffs you apply

Skill	Effect on enemies	How you get it
Debilitating Smash	−25% Defense for 5 s when you Block	Always (regular skill)
Executing Blade	−30% Defense, 5 s	Stigma: swap in

Tips

If a raid has big party-wide hits, consider swapping Battlefield Banner for Nezekan's Shield: it's short (3 s) but huge.

Planning a party? Try the party composer.

Stats, Daevanion and Arcana

Stat priority

BlockDefenseHPCritical Hit ResistAttack

Daevanion board

Nezekan: Enhance Health, Ironclad Defense and Guarding Seal pairs, then Zikel: Fury. Take Insulting Roar.

Arcana

4 Magic cards for Magic Armor (+1,000 PvE Defense above 50% MP), with Bell of Vigor for Defense.

Theostone

Combat Speed reduction.

Key passives

Passive	Effect
Enhance Health	+7.5% Max HP, +6% incoming healing
Ironclad Defense	+7% Defense
Guarding Seal	Shield for 21% Max HP below 50% HP (60 s cooldown)
Insulting Roar	+100% Enmity Boost
Block Pain	+11% PvE Damage Tolerance for 10 s after being hit

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

All 35 Templar 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
Vicious Strike	Active skill	Lv. 1	None	Deals 79 (+94.8% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and increases Enmity. Restores 100 MP.
Pummel	Active skill	Lv. 1	None	Deals 93 (+119.5% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and increases Enmity. 3 Stagger Gauge Damage
Poach	Active skill	Lv. 1	15s	Deals 49 (+87.5% Attack) damage to a target within 20m and pulls them in front of the caster, with a 75% chance to inflict Root for 2s. 100% chance to inflict Root on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Shield Smite	Active skill	Lv. 3	10s	Deals 173 (+175.8% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m. Has a 60% chance to inflict Stun on the target for 3s. Triggers [Judgment] for 2s. 100% chance to inflict Stun on NPC targets. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Judgment	Active skill	Lv. 4	5s	Deals 227 (+229.5% Attack) damage to a target within 4m and increases Enmity. 5 Stagger Gauge Damage
Flash Rampage	Active skill	Lv. 5	None	Deals 152 (+108% Attack) damage to a target afflicted with Stagger within 4m and increases Enmity.
Debilitating Smash	Active skill	Lv. 7	10s	Deals 336 (+184% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and inflicts Debilitate for 5s on Block. Debilitate: Reduces Defense by 25% 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Warding Strike	Active skill	Lv. 8	30s	Deals 388 (+212.5% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 5m of the caster. Immediately restores 180 (+100% Attack)-198 HP and grants Warding to the caster for 10s. Triggers [Judgment] for 2s. Warding: Increases PvE Damage Tolerance by 20% and PvP Damage Tolerance by 10% 5 Stagger Gauge Damage
Shield Rush	Active skill	Lv. 10	20s	Rushes to a target within 10m and deals 258 (+105% Attack) damage after using [Dodge] or while flying. Has a 30% chance to inflict Stun for 3s. Triggers [Judgment] for 2s. 100% chance to inflict Stun on NPC targets. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Annihilate	Active skill	Lv. 12	20s	Deals 791 (+321.8% Attack) damage to a target afflicted with Stun or Knockdown within 4m with a 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Knockdown on NPC targets. Has a 5% chance to trigger when attacking a target with Incapacitated Immunity. 10 Stagger Gauge Damage
Punishment	Active skill	Lv. 14	30s	Selects a target within 20m and deals 1,394 (+430.5% Attack)-4,184 (+1,291.5% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m of the target and grants the Executor effect to the caster for 20s. Executor: Increases Accuracy by 200, PvE Damage Boost by 20%, and PvP Damage Boost by 10% Max 3 Charge Levels 20-35 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.
Enhance Health	Passive skill	Lv. 1	None	Increases the caster's HP by 250. Increases Max HP by an additional 7.5% and Incoming Heal by 6%.
Warding Shield	Passive skill	Lv. 6	None	Increases the caster's Block by 200 and restores 53 (+100% Attack)-64 HP on Block. Cooldown: 3s
Punishing Benediction	Passive skill	Lv. 9	None	Increases the caster's Critical Hit by 100 and grants Punishing Benediction for 10s when landing an attack. Punishing Benediction: Has a 50% chance to deal 69 (+38% Attack) extra damage to the target when landing an attack. Cooldown: 1s
Ironclad Defense	Passive skill	Lv. 11	None	Increases the caster's Defense by 7% and Endurance by 1%.
Guarding Seal	Passive skill	Lv. 13	None	Grants a Guarding Seal that blocks damage equaling 21% of Max HP for 30s when HP is 50% or less. Cooldown: 60s
Impact Hit	Passive skill	Lv. 15	None	Increases the caster's Impact-type Chance by 11.2% and Double Chance by 0.3%.
Insulting Roar	Passive skill	Lv. 17	None	Increases Enmity Boost by 100% for the caster and increases Attack by 5.5% for 5s on landing a Front Attack. Cooldown: 5s
Fury	Passive skill	Lv. 21	None	Increases Front Attack Damage Boost by 0.3% for the caster, and increases PvE Damage Boost by 5.5% and PvP Damage Boost by 2.75% for 20s for the caster and party members on Block. Cooldown: 1s
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
Block Pain	Passive skill	Lv. 25	None	Grants Block Pain for 10s when struck by an enemy. Block Pain: Increases PvE Damage Tolerance by 11% and PvP Damage Tolerance by 5.5% Cooldown: 20s
Second Skin	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Increases PvE Damage Tolerance by 30% and PvP Damage Tolerance by 15% for 10s. Unaffected by cooldown increase effects.
Grapple	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Selects a target within 20m and deals 1,045 (+182.5% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 7m of the target, pulling them in front of the caster. Inflicts Root for 3s. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Empyrean Lord's Punishment	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	60s	Selects a target within 20m and deals 939 (+164% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m of the target. Has a 50% chance to inflict Stun for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Stun on NPC targets. 50 Stagger Gauge Damage
Nezekan's Shield	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	60s	Grants a Protective Shield that blocks damage equaling 41% of Max HP for 3s to the caster and nearby party members within 40m.
Assault Fury	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	120s	Selects a target within 20m and deals 951 (+166% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m with a 30% chance to inflict Stun for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Stun on NPC targets. Increases Defense by up to 20% proportional to the number of targets hit.
Doom Shield	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	30s	Rushes to a target within 20m and deals 1,254 (+219% Attack) damage. Has a 75% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s. Grants a Protective Shield that blocks damage equaling 5% Max HP for 5s on hit. Triggers [Judgment] for 3s. 100% chance to inflict Knockdown on NPC targets. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Battlefield Banner	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Increases Attack proportional to Defense for 10s.
Shield of Protection	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	20s	Temporarily increases Block Damage Reduction by 100% and guarantees Block. Restores 110 MP and Stamina once on Block.
Noble Armor	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	120s	Increases Max HP by 5.4% for 120s and immediately restores HP by 5.4% of Max HP. Not affected by buff dispel effects.
Executing Blade	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	45s	Deals 1,335 (+233% Attack) damage to up to 4 enemies within 4m and reduces Defense by 30% for 5s. Deals 20% more damage on attacking a target inflicted with Impact-type status. 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Taunt	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	30s	Deals 888 (+155% Attack) damage to a target within 20m and increases Enmity. Inflict Shrink for 15s on hit and has a 50% chance to inflict Taunt for 3s if the target is a player. Shrink: Reduces Accuracy by 200 and Attack by 10% 20 Stagger Gauge Damage
Comrade in Arms	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	120s	Increases the caster's PvE Damage Tolerance by 20% and PvP Damage Tolerance by 10% and redirects damage taken by a party member within 40m each time they are attacked, sharing 50% to the caster and 50% to the attacked party member for 6s. Unaffected by cooldown increase effects.
Armor of Balance	Stigma skill	Lv. 22	90s	Increases Impact-type Resist by 50% for 10s.