Class Guide · Updated for patch 0.30 (Early Access) · September 2026
How to build, level and play a Fighter in Monsters and Memories — race and trait picks, stances and Vengeance, holding aggro, group and solo tactics, a leveling path and gear to chase.
01The Fighter at a Glance
The Fighter is the dedicated tank of Monsters and Memories — a master of arms who can wear every armor type, wield every weapon, and stand at the front of the group holding every enemy's attention. You switch stances to fit the fight, answer incoming damage with Vengeance, and keep the mobs looking at you so your healer and casters never have to.
The official class page calls the Fighter “the purest expression of physical defense” and says that in a group “the Fighter is the anchor. No other class holds enemy attention as reliably.” Your job is simple to describe and hard to master: be the one thing every enemy wants to hit, and survive it.
Strengths
The most reliable threat and aggro control in the game · all armor and all weapons · three stances for offense, defense and control · Vengeance turns the damage you take into attacks and self-healing · strong defensive cooldowns (Defense, Shield Block, Final Stand) · an interrupt, stuns, a snare and a ranged pull.
Weaknesses
No spells, heals or utility magic · you lean heavily on gear and a healer · slower to solo than hybrids · no invisibility, gating or travel tricks · your damage is lower than dedicated melee classes by design · a lost mob is your fault, fair or not.
02Is the Fighter Right for You?
You’ll love it if…
You want to be at the center of every fight; you like a class with fewer buttons and clear priorities; you enjoy leading pulls and setting the pace; you like collecting gear sets and weapons for different situations; you want to be wanted in every group.
You might not if…
You want to cast spells, heal or travel with magic; you mostly play alone and want to kill fast; you dislike being blamed when a pull goes wrong; you'd rather follow than lead; you want to top the damage charts.
The Fighter is one of the best classes for learning Monsters and Memories. Your toolkit is compact, your armor keeps you alive while you learn, and every group needs a tank. The skill you really have to learn is not your hotbar but the game itself: how mobs link, where to pull, and when to call a retreat. Tank a few dungeons and you will understand the game better than almost anyone else in your group.
03Choosing Your Race
Eight races can be Fighters at Early Access. Your class adds +4 STR, +3 STA and +1 AGI to your race's base stats, and you get 10 bonus points to spend at creation. Starting values before bonus points:
| Race | STR | STA | AGI | DEX | Starts in | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | 20 | 20 | 17 | 16 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | Even stats and a Night Harbor start next to the Steel Talons. Tenacity resists mesmerize and incapacitate, which is great for a tank. |
| Dwarf | 21 | 20 | 16 | 18 | Night Harbor | Strong STR/STA, and Stone Form (−10% physical damage, +25% AC for 15s) is a superb tank emergency button. |
| Ogre | 24 | 22 | 15 | 15 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | The highest STR and STA of any Fighter. Ogre Smash stuns nearby enemies. Big bodies struggle in tight spaces, and Ogres are Kill-on-Sight in Evershade Weald. |
| Halfling | 19 | 20 | 18 | 16 | Faelindral, Night Harbor | Good STA and AGI, plus Sneak and Forage. The only race that can take the Sneak trait. Eats more food than most. |
| Wood Elf | 18 | 17 | 21 | 18 | Faelindral, Night Harbor | The highest AGI, and Hide for safe travel. Lower STA means you'll rely more on gear to tank. |
| Goblin | 19 | 18 | 20 | 19 | Underdocks | High AGI and DEX; Bribe can make a mob forget past wrongdoings. |
| Gnome | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | Slippery clears roots and snares — very handy for a melee class that has to reach its target. |
| Deep Elf | 18 | 18 | 19 | 16 | Underdocks, Ail’Vorith | Ultravision for the dark Underdocks and good AGI. Evil-aligned, so surface guards are less friendly. |
Spending your 10 bonus points
A tank's first job is to stay alive, and Stamina is your health pool. Strength drives your melee damage, and damage is part of how you hold threat. Agility helps you avoid hits.
- Recommended for most players:+6 STA / +4 STR. More health makes every pull safer while you learn, and the STR keeps your threat and damage respectable.
- Ogres and Dwarves already have plenty of STR and STA — you can put a few points into AGI instead.
- Wood Elves, Gnomes and Goblins start lower on STA; put most of your points there.
- Skip INT, WIS and CHA entirely. Fighters have no spells, so those stats do nothing for you.
Deep Dwarf and Troll are listed as Fighter races on the official site but aren't playable at Early Access. Halfling values are calculated from the race's base stats plus the Fighter class bonus.
04Recommended Traits
You pick one trait from each of four categories at creation (see the New Player Guide for the full lists). For a Fighter:
| Category | Best pick | Why | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Combat | Tough | +10 STA passive is more health on every pull, and Second Wind scales with Stamina. The active (+10% STA for 5s) is a small extra buffer in a crisis. | Strong (+10 STR for damage and threat), Agile (+10 AGI; the active adds 200 AGI for 15s), Magic Resistant (for caster-heavy dungeons) |
| Minor Combat | Shieldman | Block starts 10 higher and rises 25% faster, and you start with a Trainee's Buckler. Most Fighters tank with a shield, and Shield Bash and Shield Block both need one. | Defender (Defense skill +5), Deadeye (Archery +10 plus a longbow and 1,000 arrows for ranged pulls), Swordsman or Bludgeoner for a weapon skill head start |
| Major Non-Combat | Infravision / Ultravision | You lead the group through dark dungeons and at night, so you need to see what you're pulling. Deep Elves should take Ultravision. | Fast Metabolism (+25% Endurance, but you eat faster) |
| Minor Non-Combat | Medicine | First Aid starts 25 higher and you start with 20 bandages and a Survival Kit. With no healing spells of your own, bandaging between pulls saves time and your healer's mana. | Blacksmith (make and repair your own gear), Miner, Forager |
05Getting Started
Your starter quest
Every Fighter begins with a class starter quest that teaches the basics and hands out your first gear. For the full step-by-step walkthrough, with every NPC, location and reward, see our Fighter Starter Quest Guide. Individual quest pages: Fighter Starter Quest (Night Harbor) · Fighter Starter Quest (Faelindral).
Where to buy abilities
- Fighter abilities are bought, not learned from drops. Your class trainer and vendor sell each new ability as you reach its level. Ask a city guard for directions if you can’t find them.
- Underdocks and Ail’Vorith starts (Deep Elves, Goblins, and some Humans, Gnomes and Ogres) don’t have a dedicated Fighter starter quest listed yet. See our Underdocks and Ail’Vorith pages for the local layout.
- Weapons and armor from city merchants are worth buying early. Your starter quest covers a few pieces; fill the rest with the cheapest AC you can find.
06Your Toolkit
Fighters have no spells. Instead you buy abilities, many of which come in ranked lines you upgrade every ten levels. Levels shown are when the first rank (and each upgrade) becomes available.
| Line | Starts | Progression | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stances | 1 | Offensive Stance 1 → Defensive Stance 4 → Tactician Stance 250.30 | Offensive: +5 Offense, +10% physical damage. Defensive: +5 Defense, −10% physical damage taken. Tactician: +10% resist to root, stun and incapacitate. Every stance can grant Vengeance when you're hit. |
| Rend0.30 | 1 | Rend I → II 10 → III 20 → IV 30 → V 40 → VI 50 | Your core threat attack: weapon damage plus bonus threat, with a chance to reset Cleave, Feint, Frenzy and Shield Bash. |
| Shield Bash0.30 | 10 | Shield Bash I → II 20 → III 30 → IV 40 → V 50 | Damage based on your shield's AC, extra threat, and it interrupts spellcasting. Shares a cooldown with Shield Block. |
| Shield Block | 12 | Shield Block I → II 22 → III 32 → IV 42 → V 52 | Absorbs a chunk of incoming damage for 5 seconds. Requires a shield. |
| Taunt | 7 | Distracting Taunt | Taunts nearby enemies onto you. Moderately difficult to resist. No longer shares a cooldown with Unnerving Shout. |
| Challenging Arrow0.30 | 9 | Challenging Arrow I → II 29 → III 49 | A ranged shot with high threat — your pull from a distance. |
| Shouts | 2 | Battle Cry 2 → Unnerving Shout 5 → Intimidation 8 → Rallying Shout 45 | Battle Cry raises group STR; Unnerving Shout cuts nearby enemies' physical damage by 5%; Intimidation makes nearby enemies flee. All Shouts share one cooldown. |
| Vengeance attacks0.30 | 13 | Frenzy 13 (→ 23, 33, 43, 53) · Cleave 18 (→ 28, 38, 48, 58) | Spend Vengeance stacks. Frenzy strikes up to five times and raises attack speed; Cleave hits a frontal cone and needs a two-handed weapon. |
| Second Wind0.30 | 15 | Second Wind | Consumes a Vengeance stack to heal you over 10 seconds. Scales with Stamina. |
| Dual-wield attacks0.30 | 11 | Cross Cut I → II 21 → III 31 → IV 41 → V 51 · Feint 24 (→ 34, 44, 54) | Cross Cut hits with both weapons. Feint lowers the target's AGI and knocks it off balance. |
| Charge line | 3 | Charge 3 → Juggernaut 150.30 | Close the gap and immobilize the target for 1 second. Juggernaut also raises your threat by 20% and cuts damage taken by 10% for 10 seconds. |
| Control | 8 | Clobber 8 · Kneebreaker 120.30 · Disarm 14 | Clobber stuns for 6 seconds, Kneebreaker slows movement by 50% to stop runners, Disarm removes the target's weapon and cuts its damage. |
| Debuff | 6 | Armor Break | Lowers the target's AC; stacks up to three times. Helps every melee player in your group. |
| Defensive cooldowns | 16 | Defense 16 · Vanguard 220.30 · Final Stand 35 | Defense cuts physical damage taken by 40% for 30s. Vanguard lowers a group member's threat generation. Final Stand raises max health by 25% for 30s. |
| Burst | 20 | Merciless Assault | +50% physical damage and guaranteed critical hits for 12 seconds. Save it for burning down a dangerous target. |
| Skills | 10 | Dual Wield 10 · Double Attack 15 · Triple Attack 55 | Passive skills that raise your attack rate as you level. |
Vengeance is the heart of the new Fighter. Every time you take damage in any stance, you have a chance to gain a Vengeance stack. Frenzy, Cleave and Second Wind spend those stacks, so the harder you're being hit, the more you can hit back and heal yourself.
07Abilities to Prioritize, Levels 1–28
You won't always have the coin for every ability as soon as it unlocks. This is the order that matters most for a new Fighter:
| Level | Key abilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Offensive Stance, Rend I | Rend is your main threat tool for the whole game. Use it on cooldown. |
| 2–3 | Battle Cry, Charge | Battle Cry before every pull; Charge to close the gap. |
| 4–6 | Defensive Stance, Unnerving Shout, Armor Break | Tank in Defensive Stance from here on. Stack Armor Break three times on tough mobs. |
| 7–9 | Distracting Taunt, Clobber, Intimidation, Challenging Arrow I | Taunt is your most important purchase. Challenging Arrow lets you pull from range. |
| 10–12 | Shield Bash I, Rend II, Cross Cut, Kneebreaker, Shield Block I | Dual Wield unlocks at 10. Shield Bash interrupts casters — use it on every healer and caster mob. |
| 13–15 | Frenzy I, Disarm, Juggernaut, Second Wind | Vengeance comes online. Double Attack at 15. |
| 16–20 | Defense, Cleave I, Merciless Assault, Rend III, Shield Bash II | Defense is your first big "oh no" button. Upgrade Rend and Shield Bash right away. |
| 21–28 | Cross Cut II, Shield Block II, Vanguard, Frenzy II, Feint I, Tactician Stance, Cleave II | Vanguard helps your damage dealers stay below you on threat. Tactician Stance for fights with stuns and roots. |
Past level 28, the pattern continues: upgrade Rend and Shield Bash first (they're your threat), then Shield Block, then your Vengeance attacks. Final Stand at 35 and Rallying Shout at 45 are the big later additions.
08Playing in a Group
Tanking is what the Fighter is built for. A good Fighter makes the whole group calmer: the healer knows who to watch, the damage dealers know what to hit, and nobody else gets chased.
Before the pull
- Switch to Defensive Stance and use Battle Cry on the group.
- Agree on the plan: you pull, you pick the kill target, and nobody attacks until you've hit it a few times. If your group has a crowd controller, let them handle the adds.
- Check your healer's mana before every pull. Pulling while they sit at 30% is how groups wipe.
- Know the way out. If a pull goes badly, the tank decides when to run.
During the fight
- Pull it to youUse Challenging Arrow from range and back up around a corner so the mobs come to your group, not the other way around. Fight where your healer can see you.
- Build threat fastOpen with Rend and Shield Bash, then Armor Break. Taunt anything that turns toward a group member.
- Face the enemies awayKeep mobs facing you and away from the group, with your back to a wall if you can. Line your group up behind or beside the target.
- Interrupt and controlSave Shield Bash for enemy spellcasts, especially heals. Kneebreaker stops runners; Clobber buys time on a second mob.
- Use cooldowns before you need themShield Block, Defense and Second Wind work best early in a spike, not after your health is gone.
09Soloing as a Fighter
Fighters aren't built to solo quickly, but they are very safe solo. You can take a lot of punishment, and Vengeance keeps you fighting.
- Use Offensive Stance when solo. You don't need extra threat when nothing else is fighting, so take the extra damage.
- Pull one at a time. Challenging Arrow pulls a single mob from range; fight it away from its friends.
- Pick easy targets: mobs at or slightly below your level, non-casters, and things that don't call for help.
- Let Vengeance work for you. Every hit you take can fuel Frenzy and Second Wind, so long fights are less punishing than you'd expect.
- Bandage between fights if you took the Medicine trait, and sit to regain health. Resting near a campfire also builds your Rested experience bonus (15%).
- Stop runners with Kneebreaker so fleeing mobs don't bring friends back.
10Leveling Path
A suggested route for a Fighter. You can solo the early levels safely, but a tank levels fastest in groups — and every group is looking for one.
| Levels | Where | Why it’s good for Fighters |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Night Harbor newbie yards / Evershade Weald outskirts / Underdocks newbie yard | Do your starter quest. Rats, bats, beetles and snakes are easy practice. |
| 3–11 | Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane | The best early group dungeon, and the best place to learn to tank. Skeletons come in groups, so you'll practice holding several at once. |
| 4–9 | Evershade Weald scout paths / Shaded Dunes edge | Wolves and Fellstone orc scouts, or non-hostile crocodile hatchlings for safe solo XP. |
| 7–12 | Underdocks Wererat Warrens / Ail’Vorith caves | Deep-race options with steady camps of melee mobs. |
| 8–14 | Infested Crypt | Easy solo pulls near the entrance, then spider swarms deeper in that test your area threat. |
| 8–10+ | Shaded Dunes camps | Ashira and smugglers camps with low-level named mobs. Better with a group. |
| 10–16 | Tel Ekir Ashira Outskirts / Tomb deeper halls | Ashira camps in Tel Ekir drop the Shield of the Protector and Scratched Armguards. High Marshal Fionna (~16) waits at the bottom of the Tomb. |
| 18–27 | Fallen Pass, Keeper's Bight | Dense camps where a solid tank lets the group take big pulls. |
See Where to Level in the New Player Guide for more spots, and each zone page for maps and named mobs.
11Gear to Look For
Fighters can wear anything, so wear the heaviest armor with the most AC you can find, then stack Stamina and Strength, then Agility and hit points. For tanking, a good shield in your off hand is worth more than a second weapon. Keep a two-hander or a pair of weapons in your bags for soloing and for fights where someone else tanks. Avoid gear with negative HP or big stat penalties, like the Savage Heartplate.
Early gear (roughly levels 1–16)
| Item | Slot | Stats | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilded Claw of the Gladiator | Primary | STR +7, STA +6, HP +15, DMG 11/30 | Jorvan Ironfist, Night Harbor |
| Faceguard of the Gladiator | Face | AC 7, STR +4, STA +3, AGI +3, HP +10 | Jorvan Ironfist, Night Harbor |
| Twilight Gladiator Helm | Head | AC 32, STR +5, STA +1, DEX +2, HP +10 | Night Harbor |
| Thirstbound Grips | Hands | AC 37, STR +5, STA +4, AGI +1, HP +25 | Captain Caspian, Night Harbor |
| Moonveil Bracer | Wrist | AC 22, STA +4, HP +20 | Night Harbor |
| Hallowed Bone Amulet | Neck | AC 8, STR +3, STA +5, INT +3, HP +15 | A Pale Forman, Night Harbor |
| Giant Femur | Weapon | AC 6, STR/STA/AGI +4, HP +25, DMG 15/45 | Bone Construct, Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane |
| Shield of the Protector | Secondary | AC 21, STR +3, STA +3, AGI +3, DEX +1, HP +15 | Ashir the Protector, Tel Ekir |
| Scratched Armguards | Wrist | AC 13, STR +3, STA +3, DEX +2 | Animast Wafi, Tel Ekir |
| Umbracast Greaves | Legs | AC 29, STR +4, DEX +1, HP +15 | A shimmering shadow, Shaded Dunes |
Upgrades for later
| Item | Slot | Stats | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heartwood Buckler | Secondary | AC 28, STA +7, HP +35 | Bree Weatherstoll, Sungreet Strand |
| Vindicator Gauntlets | Hands | AC 36, STR +8, STA +6 | Balindor Silvertrowel, Sungreet Strand |
| Vindicator Greaves | Legs | AC 41, STR +7, STA +2, HP +10 | Balindor Silvertrowel, Sungreet Strand |
| Kroth's Warplate Girdle | Waist | AC 7, STR +5, STA +8 | Muggrah War-Ogre Kroth, Sungreet Strand |
| Onyx Breastplate | Chest | AC 77, STR +8, STA +6, AGI +5, HP +25 | Guillome The Accursed, Glass Flats |
| Spiked Onyx Pauldrons | Shoulders | AC 48, STR +3, STA +6, AGI +2, HP +20 | Hovarth Ezzadel, Glass Flats |
| Scarred Crusader Shield | Secondary | AC 69, STR +7, STA +2 | High Wyrmseer Valthrun, Glass Flats |
| Disgraced Captain's Cuirass | Chest | AC 68, STR +6, STA +5, AGI +5, HP +15 | Yeoman Borin Smythe, Fallen Pass |
| Kell's Hollow Standard | Primary | AC 8, STR +12, STA +14, HP +20, DMG 24/32 | Watch-Captain Dorian Kell, Fallen Watch |
| Gillmarked Bracer | Wrist | AC 9, STR +10, STA +14 | Kreel the Gillmarked, Grimtide Sanctum |
| Blightfather's Warmaul | Primary | STR +16, STA +14, HP +20, DMG 28/38 | Grothmar the Blightfather, Scarwood |
Stats from our item database. Item levels aren't published, so "early" is based on where they drop. Browse the database for more STA/STR plate.
12Holding Aggro
- Threat comes from abilities, not just damage. Rend, Shield Bash, Challenging Arrow and Juggernaut all add bonus threat on top of their damage. Keep them on cooldown.
- Get a head start. Ask your group to wait until you've landed Rend and Shield Bash before they open up. A few seconds of patience saves the whole fight.
- Taunt is a correction, not a rotation. Save Distracting Taunt for when something turns to a group member or a new add arrives.
- Use Vanguard on your top damage dealer. It lowers their threat generation for 5 minutes, which helps them stay below you.
- Juggernaut on the opener. Charging in with +20% threat generation and −10% damage taken is a strong way to start a big pull.
- Mind the shared cooldowns. All Shouts share one cooldown, and Shield Bash shares one with Shield Block, so decide in advance whether you need the interrupt or the absorb.
- Rend resets. Rend can reset Shield Bash, Frenzy, Cleave and Feint — watch for them lighting back up.
13Common Fighter Mistakes
- Tanking in Offensive Stance. Switch to Defensive Stance whenever you're holding a group's mobs.
- Pulling too much. The tank sets the pace. One pull at a time until you know the room.
- Ignoring adds. Check every enemy's target regularly, not just the one you're hitting.
- Wasting Shield Bash on damage. Save it to interrupt enemy heals and spells.
- Using Intimidation in a dungeon. Feared mobs run, and running mobs bring friends.
- Fighting in the open. Pull mobs back to a safe spot where your healer has line of sight.
- Saving cooldowns too long. Defense and Shield Block used early prevent the damage; used late, they only delay the wipe.
- Neglecting AC. A Fighter in weak armor is just a melee player with a taunt. Upgrade armor before weapons.
14Fighter FAQ
Is the Fighter good for new players?
Yes. The Fighter has a compact toolkit, the best armor in the game and is always wanted in groups. Tanking teaches you how the game works faster than any other role.
What’s the most important Fighter stat?
Stamina, for health, then Strength for damage and threat. Agility helps you avoid hits. Fighters have no use for INT, WIS or CHA.
Can a Fighter solo?
Yes, safely but slowly. Use Offensive Stance, pull single mobs with Challenging Arrow and let Vengeance fuel Frenzy and Second Wind. Fighters level fastest in groups.
What’s the best race for a Fighter?
Ogre for the highest STR and STA, Dwarf for Stone Form and a strong all-round start, or Human for an easy Night Harbor start and resistance to mesmerize.
What is Vengeance?
A Fighter mechanic added in the recent rework. Taking damage in any stance can give you a Vengeance stack, which you spend on Frenzy, Cleave and Second Wind.
Shield, two weapons or a two-hander?
Shield for tanking: Shield Bash and Shield Block need one. Dual weapons unlock Cross Cut and Feint, and a two-hander unlocks Cleave. Keep all three options in your bags if you can.