AION 2 Templar guide: the tank
The Templar is AION 2’s main tank: sword and shield, and the only class the Korean party finder files as a tank and nothing else. Its job is to pull enemies onto itself, keep them there and shield the rest of the party, and guide makers on the Korean servers call it the forgiving choice for a first tank.
“A sworn guardian who stands firm like a fortress wall, holding the battlefield with an unbreakable shield”
(NC’s one-line description, from the class list on the official AION 2 global site)
The Templar’s job in a group
In the Korean version NC describes a textbook tank: it stops enemy attacks, protects allies, and stands at the front of the party. Its defence is high, and its defensive skills cover the group as well as itself. When the party finder asks for a tank, the Templar is one of two answers; the other is the Gladiator, which trades some of the Templar’s protection for more damage.
| Templar | In the Korean version |
|---|---|
| Role | Tank |
| Weapon | Sword and shield |
| Korean party finder | Tank |
| Range | Melee |
| How it takes a hit | Blocks with the shield, plus shields for itself and the party |
Holding a boss: the Korean skill list
- Threat
- Its basic chain raises the enemy’s attention on you, a passive amplifies the threat you build, and a stigma taunt weakens the target and can force another player to attack you.
- Pull and stun
- A hook that drags a target in front of you and can bind it, a shield bash that can stun, and a shield rush after an emergency dodge. Against monsters the bind and stun always land.
- Rewards for blocking
- A strike that fires after a successful block and lowers enemy defence, and a passive that raises the whole party’s damage whenever you block.
- Party protection
- A stigma shield for you and the party around you, and a stigma that splits the damage party members take between them and you. In the Abyss, battlefields and the arena it takes a larger share.
- Staying up
- A shield that appears when you fall below half health, once a minute, and a strike that heals you and raises your damage resistance.
That last group is why a Templar can make a run easier for everyone else: some of the damage aimed at the party ends up on the player with the most defence. For how group content is laid out, see the dungeons page.
What Korean-server players say about playing it
In a class thread before the global launch, one player set out the difference between the two tanks:
“Templars are mitigation tanks and their kit is much heavier in party support, party damage reduction and party Health shield making it the most comfortable option for casual groups and progression.”
(From r/Aion2 thread: Clearing some class balance misconceptions)
English-language guide makers who play on the Korean servers agree on the shape of it: mistakes on a Templar are easier to recover from than on most classes, and the hard part is placing the boss in fights with positioning rules, not the rotation.
Strengths
- The most tools for holding a boss: taunt, pull, threat passives.
- Shields and damage-sharing that protect the whole party.
- A slot no damage class can fill; for the hardest Korean content, groups look for a Templar first.
Trade-offs
- One queue only: the party finder never lists it as damage.
- Lower personal damage than the Gladiator on Korean-server damage charts.
- In fights with positioning rules, the tank is the one who has to get the boss’s facing right.
Before you commit
A tank is only as comfortable as its healer, so it is worth reading the Cleric page too; on the Korean servers the two are the pair hard groups are built around. Whether a tank is a good first character at all is weighed on the best class for new players, and the tier list page shows why damage charts undersell the Templar. The Founder’s Pack weapon skin binds to one class on one server, which suits a player who already knows they want to tank; the Founder’s Pack comparison covers the rest.