Gladiator

01Overview

The Gladiator is a frontline melee DPS that buffs the party, can pseudo-tank, and deals huge damage with fewer decisions than most classes. On Korean and Taiwanese servers it has stayed S-tier — Sorcerer and Assassin edge it on a static dummy, but Gladiator is close behind and far simpler to play.

The build in one sentence

Overhead Slam at 16–20, Lunge Stance at stigma level 20, and Rage Burst to enable Overhead Slam. Everything else is support.

This guide covers a PvE Greatsword DPS Gladiator for Global Season 1: skill levels, stigmas, passives, gear soulbinds, Daevanion, macros, and boss/AoE play. Full skill data: Gladiator.

02Global Season 1: What Changes

Global servers open separately from the Korean/Taiwanese servers. For Gladiator that means:

• 4 stigma slots instead of 6 (expected for Season 1 only).
• Stigmas cap at level 20 — the level-25 tier is not in the global client.
• No Heroic gear in Season 1, so gear has fewer bonus lines for passives.
• Weaker Daevanion bonuses than in Taiwan: fights run longer, so uptime matters more.
• Bigger groups: 5-player expeditions and 10-player sanctuaries, and Elyos and Asmodians can queue together. Party buffs are worth more.

03PvE Build Summary

Core active priorities (boss-focused):

	Skill	Target level	Role
	Overhead Slam	16 → 20	Primary damage; always up with Rage Burst + Lunge Stance
	Rending Blow	16 → 20	Second damage source and mana engine
	Ruinous Blow	16	Big nuke; grants Prepare for Battle (+20% PvE damage, 20s)
	Leaping Slam	12	Main gap-closer; short Prepare for Battle before Ruinous
	Rush Strike	12	Dodge into a gap-close; prefer Stamina with Lunge procs
	Mocking Blade	12	Emergency heal: 15% HP absorbed from bosses
	Ankle Slice	12	Backup closer; skip the Ankle Smash chain
	Keen Strike	12 early	Day-one mana helper; stop holding once cores are 16
	Defiance	16 if spare	CC break for raids — nice, not a priority
	Sword Aura Rampage	16 if spare	Only on Staggered targets; −1s all CDs per hit at 16
	Aerial Snare	12 optional	Bosses are CC-immune; +100% vs immune is the niche pick
	Crushing Wave	12 AoE only	Too slow for bosses; AoE and self-heal on trash

04Recommended Skill Investment Order

Push these first:

1. Overhead Slam → 16, then 20
2. Rending Blow → 16, then 20
3. Ruinous Blow → 16
4. Leaping Slam / Rush Strike / utility → 12
5. Keen Strike → 12 early, then stop investing
6. Spare levels: Defiance, Sword Aura Rampage, Aerial Snare

05Passive Skills

Passive points are plentiful — most passives max without hard choices. Gear and card rolls matter more than the tree order.

	Passive	PvE value
	Attack Preparation	Priority #1: flat PvE Damage Boost, Defense, Accuracy — no conditions
	Experienced Counterstrike	Front damage always; 20s party PvE Damage Boost on every block
	Murderous Burst	Every 5 hits = AoE burst + crit damage
	Impact Hit	More Impact / Double chance
	Blood Absorption	No investment needed: heal chance on hit + big heal at 50% HP
	Destructive Impulse	Bonus damage on Staggered targets — take after the mains
	Identify Weakness	Fine filler after the core four
	Protection Armor	Trap on gear/cards: tiny heal on block — reroll it
	Survival Stance	PvP-leaning; low PvE priority
	Survival Willpower	Status resist while CC’d — dead weight in most PvE

Reroll Protection Armor on gear

Protection Armor on gear and cards. Blood Absorption is why Gladiator gets by without a dedicated healer.

06Stigmas

Three stigmas are locked in, and the fourth depends on your party. Skip Wrath Wave, Armor of Balance, Forced Restraint, Assault Strike and Fracturing Rush in PvE; Blade Toss only in a group (below).

• 

  Lunge StanceLv 20
  The level-20 proc cuts all cooldowns on crits: permanent Overhead Slam, Rage Burst, block and gap-closers. First stigma to max.
  • 5+5% Double Chance for the duration
  • 10Increases Move Speed by 20% for the duration
  • 15x1.5 [Identify Weakness] effect for the duration
  • 2050% chance to reduce all skill cooldowns by 1s on Critical Hit for the duration

  + All specializations

• 

  Focused BlockLv 5
  Guaranteed Parry. Every block triggers Experienced Counterstrike's party buff — blocking is buffing. At level 5 it can be used twice in a row. Take it first while leveling.
  • 5+1 consecutive use
  + All specializations

  • 5+1 consecutive use
  • 10Changes to mobile skill
  • 15+20% Move Speed for 3s on Parry
  • 20Restores 10% HP once on Parry
• 

  Rage BurstLv 5
  Triggers Overhead Slam on the target for 10s, +10% PvE Damage Boost and −10% boss Attack.
  • 5-15s [Rage Burst] cooldown
  + All specializations

  • 5-15s [Rage Burst] cooldown
  • 10+10% Attack reduction
  • 15Critical Hit on hit
  • 20+10% PvE Damage Boost increase and +5% PvP Damage Boost increase
• 

  Zikel's BlessingLv 10
  Default 4th slot: +20% Attack, doesn't depend on how well your party plays.
  • 5+50% Stagger Gauge Damage
  • 10+10% PvE Damage Boost and +5% PvP Damage Boost
  + All specializations

  • 5+50% Stagger Gauge Damage
  • 10+10% PvE Damage Boost and +5% PvP Damage Boost
  • 15+50% Multi-Hit chance
  • 20+20% Status Effect Chance
• 

  Lifestealing BladeLv 20
  4th slot for an organized party: Predation boosts everyone's hits. Only worth it at 20.
  • 5Up to +20% damage when more targets hit
  • 10Predation effect on party members for 20s
  • 15-30s cooldown
  • 20+5% HP absorbed

  + All specializations

• 

  Blade Tossgroup
  −30% Defense on the boss for 10s, so the whole party kills it faster. Take it in an organized group in place of Zikel's Blessing when you play the semi-tank.
  • 5+20% [Blade Toss] Incoming Heal reduction
  + All specializations

  • 5+20% [Blade Toss] Incoming Heal reduction
  • 10[Blade Toss] inflicts Slow for 5s
  • 15[Blade Toss] breaks Protective Shields
  • 20[Blade Dance] has 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s
• 

  Wave ArmorLv 15
  Only without a Templar. Its strong level-25 tier doesn't exist in global.
  • 5Absorbs 2% HP
  • 10x1.5 [Experienced Counterstrike] effect for the duration
  • 15x1.5 [Murderous Burst] effect for the duration
  + All specializations

  • 5Absorbs 2% HP
  • 10x1.5 [Experienced Counterstrike] effect for the duration
  • 15x1.5 [Murderous Burst] effect for the duration
  • 20Reflects 10% of damage taken

Stigma sources: Nightmare shop, Shugo Festa shop and the tiered Abyss shop. Gladiator needs so few that it's set up within the first days.

07Daevanion Boards

Daevanion takes skills from 10 to 14 and adds stats. Each blue node gives +1 skill level.

08Stat Priority

With no Heroic gear, attack speed, move speed, Might, and Precision take most bonus lines, leaving 1–2 for passives.

1. Attack / Combat Speed — feeds Lunge Stance crit cooldown procs
2. Might / Power and Precision
3. Accuracy — front-of-boss parries are lost damage
4. Critical Hit / Critical Damage
5. PvE Damage Boost / Weapon / Front damage boosts

09Critical Hit

Critical Hit matters because Lunge Stance cuts cooldowns on crits. That is what keeps Overhead Slam and Rage Burst permanently available.

Once crit is comfortable for proc rate, more Combat Speed, Accuracy, or raw damage boosts often beat stacking crit further.

10Gear & soulbind

With no Heroic gear, attack speed, move speed, Might and Precision take most of the bonus lines, leaving 1–2 for passives. Priority:

#	Passive	Why
1	Attack Preparation	Flat PvE Damage Boost, Defense and Accuracy. No conditions.
2	Experienced Counterstrike	Front damage at all times, plus a 20s PvE Damage Boost for you and the party on every block. Doesn't stack with a Templar's Fury but covers a party without one.
3	Murderous Burst / Impact Hit	Every 5 hits = AoE burst + crit damage / more Impact and Double chance.

Weapon and front/back damage boosts are the strongest types, and Gladiator always fights from the front. Don't chase perfect manastone rolls in Season 1 — rerolls cost roughly 200–300k each on TW.

11Arcana

A card leveled to 5 averages about +2 to a random skill it can roll.

Card	Look for
Parchment of Vigor	Overhead Slam and Ruinous Blow — the only two of its six that matter.
Compass of Vigor	Rending Blow only. Use the Freedom version for Accuracy — parries in front of a boss are lost damage.
Chalice of Vigor	Rolls any skill; crafting lets you pick two. Top up whatever is still short of 20.

Average luck: 14 + 2 (ring) + 2 + 2 = 20 on Overhead Slam. If only one more skill can reach 20, pick Rending Blow over Ruinous Blow.

Sets & passive cards

Aim for 4-piece Primal Vigor (all the Vigor cards above — hover one for the set bonus). Gladiator never needs CDR (Illusion). If MP runs dry at Season 1 attack speed, switch to 2-piece Magic Armor (Mirror of Magic and the other Magic cards). Passive cards: Attack Preparation first, then any mix of Experienced Counterstrike > Murderous Burst > Impact Hit > Identify Weakness.

12Skill-Level Bonuses

When gear or rings offer skill levels, prioritize:

1. Overhead Slam
2. Rending Blow
3. Ruinous Blow

13Macro & rotation

AION 2 has two separate tools, and the build uses both:

• Hotbar line — several skills stacked on one hotbar button. Pressing it casts the highest-priority skill that's ready, and in AION 2 the bottom slot has the highest priority. The cards below show each line top to bottom as in the game, with the priority number on every skill.
• In-game macro — while you hold its key, it presses your hotbar lines in order and cancels animation tails. Skills on cooldown are skipped. Hold your basic attack (LMB) together with the macro key instead of putting it into the macro — the game weaves and cancels it better that way.

Gladiator needs 6 skills on 3 buttons: 4 damage skills and 2 buffs.

1. Hotbar lines

RMBMain line

1. 3Rending Blow
2. 2Overhead Slam
3. 1Rage Burst

Rage Burst sits in the bottom slot — see below.

ERuinous line

1. 2Lifestealing Blade
2. 1Ruinous Blow

Grants Combat Ready. Add Lifestealing Blade only if it's in your stigmas.

RBuff line

1. 2Zikel's Blessing
2. 1Lunge Stance

Both keep themselves up thanks to Lunge Stance's cooldown cuts.

2. In-game macro

Skill window → Macro. Put the three lines in this order and set every Delay to 10 ms (it's the pause between buttons, not your ping). Bind the macro in Settings → Key Settings → General → Gameplay → Macro — a side mouse button is ideal, because you hold it.

1. 1Main lineRMB · 10 ms
2. 2Ruinous lineE · 10 ms
3. 3Buff lineR · 10 ms

3. What you actually press

• HoldMacro key the whole fight.
• SpamRMB main line and E Ruinous line on top of it — the two lines must stay separate so they can be woven.
• By handFocused Block (block = party buff), Mocking Blade (knockdown + heal), Leaping Slam (gap closer), Crushing Wave on packs.

Opening a boss

Lunge Stance + Zikel's Blessing → Leaping Slam in → Ruinous Blow → hold the macro

Block the boss's first attack with Focused Block — Experienced Counterstrike buffs the whole party right away. Every boss opens differently: on some it's better to jump in, block first and only then buff. Learn the bosses and fit the block in.

The macro keeps pace — it doesn't play for you. You still decide when to block, when to close distance and when to self-heal. Season 1's weaker stats mean multi-minute boss fights, so every second of lost uptime counts.

14Recap