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The Forge Guard is one of the Sentinel’s three Class Mastery options inLast Epoch. Armed with heavy armor and summoned Forged Weapons, the Forge Guard has a unique playstyle unlike the other two Sentinel Masteries, with a focus on fire damage, minions, and throwing attacks.
While definitely not as popular as the Paladin or Void Knight, the Forge Guard can be incredibly strong with the right setup. If you want to level through the campaign with this Mastery, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ll take a look at a beginner-friendly build for the Forge Guard.
This build utilizes two of the Forge Guard’s Throwing Skills,Hammer ThrowandShield Throw, to blow through groups of enemies and stay alive with high block chance and sustain.SmiteandSymbols of Hopeprovide buffs and healing, whileShield Rushoffers great mobility and a bit of extra damage.
This build’s general playstyle involves moving between packs using Shield Rush, then throwing out waves of hammers with Hammer Throw, which is first Specialized to have the Hammers orbit around you, but later on makes them throw out in waves from you, dealing more damage.
Shield Throw is used as a much-neededsingle-target DPS Skill, which Hammer Throw can lack with this setup. That said, this build hasgenerally low single-target damage, so taking down bosses or high-health enemies may take a bit longer. This is more than made up for by its excellent pack-clearing abilities, though.
Skills And Passive
Hammer Throw is unlocked at level three, and will be our main form of damage. In its Skill Specialization tree, first unlock theCatapultandAvatar of the Spirenodes to make Hammer Throw spiral where they are thrown,hitting enemies multiple times when they spiral.
On the left side of the tree, get theIron SpiralandHammer Vortexnodes, making your Hammersspiral around youandorbit youas you move. TheZealot’s Convictionnode is also a good increase to damage. Finally, unlock theEnra’s Techniquenode toremove all spiraling and orbiting, instead causing the Hammers to bethrown out in a fan patternin all directions from you.
Mana Starved Forgingwill let youcast Hammer Throw for freewhen you’re out of Mana.
The next skill you unlock and the next you should Specialize in isShield Rush. In this skill tree, start byreducing Shield Rush’s Mana costby maxing outRush Mastery, then getProtective SpeedandUnstoppable Chargefor added defense and utility. Then, put points intoConsuming PathandWarrior’s Entrancefor more damage.
Once you unlock Forge Guard, Specialize inShield Throw, and unlockSiege Breaker,Defender’s Rage,Throwing Arm, andColossusas your first skill tree nodes.Aeroplates,Vampiric Steel, andHemrin’s Techniqueprovide some sustain to Shield Throw and let itricochet more, increasing its overall damage.
Put the rest of this tree’s points intoFleet of Footfor more movement speed after using Shield Throw.
Next up isSmite, which will be used foradditional damage and sustain. In Smite’s skill tree, first getDesperate Measuresto let Smite be cast for free when you’re out of Mana, thenSoothing BalmtoRegen Health and Manaafter using Smite. Put the rest of your points intoRighteous FuryandRighteous Flurryfor more damage.
Finally, after you’ve allocated15 points to the Paladin PassiveTree, you’ll unlockSymbols of Hope, which provides a few different buffs. In this Skill’s tree, start on the right side withIron Symbols,Enduring Hope,Tetragram,Meditation, andSign of the Guardian. Then, unlockQuiet Mind,Invigorate,Polygram,Empowering Symbols, andHeavenly Justiceon the right side of the tree.
Passive Trees
This build uses both the Forge Guard and Paladin passive trees, with the minimum 20 points in Sentinel. In the Sentinel tree, start by maxing outJuggernautto increase your Strength, then add points intoArmour Cladto max it out. Putone point eachintoFearlessandStalwartto unlockTime and Faith, then max out this node.
Once you have Forge Guard unlocked, start by putting three points intoSteel Aegisand two intoWeapons Masterto unlock Shield Throw. Then, you’ll want to put 15 points into the Paladin tree to unlock this build’s final skill,Symbols of Hope.
In the Paladin tree, max outConviction, then put a few points intoDefianceandHonoruntil you hit 15.
Back in the Forge Guard tree, you’ll want to start unlocking important damage nodes likeFresh from the Forge,Siege Captain,Hammer and Anvil, andMight. TheIron Reflexespath is also strong, which includesIron Reflexes,Crusader, andJavelineer. Be sure to also unlockWalls of Solarumfor a big boost to defense.
For cheap Resistances, you can put a few points into theVoid Knight passive Abyssal Endurance, which grants Health, Void Resistance, and Physical Resistance. This node has veryhigh value for low investment, so use this tomax your Resistancesif necessary.
Stats And Uniques
Luckily, this build is quite easy to gear, with the potential for much higher damage with a few Uniques. Since Hammer Throw and Shield Throw are your main damaging abilities, increases toThrowing DamageandThrowing Attack Speedwill be suitable for the entire leveling process.
Additionally, Hammer Throw and Shield Throw both scale off of Strength and Dexterity, so buffing up these stats will also increase your damage.
For survivability, be sure toincrease your Resistances as you level, and stacking more Health is good, too.Block Chanceis also very valuable for this build, which also scales well with the Walls of Solarum passive.
On your Idols, You’ll want to get twoAdorned Rahyeh Idosl(thetwo by twoone) with theChance to Cast Smite on hit with Throwing Attacksstat. This will greatly increase your damage, Mana regeneration, and survivability.
In the rest of your Idol slots, you can fitfour Large Rahyeh Idolswith theThrowing Critical Strike MultiplierandChance to apply Shred Armor on Throwing Hitmultipliers. These aren’t as necessary as the Smite on Throwing Hit stats, but can provide a decent chunk of extra damage.
Here’s how you should prioritize your offensive stats for this build.
And here’s how you should prioritize your defensive stats.
Uniques
While this build is very easy to gear, there are a few Uniques that can take it to the next level, and a few of them can be obtained relatively early on.
Firestarter’s Torchstarts dropping at level one, making it extremely common from early-game Nemesis encounters. This Sceptre has a chance to inflictSpreading Flamewith each hit, which dealshigh damage overtime. This weapon will also reduce the Mana cost for Fire spells like Smite.
Bleeding Heartis a great early-game Unique that can help with sustain until you unlock Smite, while Uniques likeThorn SlingerandRiverbend Graspincrease the effectiveness of yourThrowing attacks, making them great to have around.
If you find aSigeon’s ReprisalUnique Shield, you can unlock the full potential of this build. This shield gives you a chance toautomatically use Shield Throw when you’re hit, and it increases the damage of Shield Throw for everyten Damage Reflected to Attackersstat you have.
UsingSmall Weaver Idols, you can stack this stat pretty high, greatly increasing Shield Throw’s damage for a bit of investment. If you happen to get Sigeon’s Reprisal,stack this stat as high as you can get itand watch Shield Throw blow through the rest of the campaign.
