Isengard Champion: Ardour

[Roatrux]

Ardour

Ardour has been something of a mistreated stance for Champions. It occupied no clear niche and by all accounts and experience its value was limited; very limited. Hopefully, changes being made to Ardour with Isengard will put those experiences to an end and allow Ardour to become a viable stance, albeit still fairly niche.

The goal I set out with Ardour was a little odd. I wanted to make it into a power conserving AoE stance that allowed for damage a little under Fervour with a greater level of survivability. It also was set up to highlight and accentuate the AoE skills over the strikes.

As such the following was done to the base skill of Ardour: entering Ardour provides a reduced cooldown to Great Cleave/Improved Great Cleave, Blade-wall will generate a fervour pip on successful hits, AoE skills will cost less power to use, threat generated by AoE skills is reduced, and the power regeneration and fervour generation of Ardour are unchanged.

Here are the highlights starting with the skills that were adjusted, modified and set into the Engage the Tide section of the skill panel.

Ardour – Skills

Flurry: Changed to no longer require a defeat response to activate. Instead, the skill’s duration has been improved and the cooldown to use it has been lowered. It will be a part of the rotation, but a lesser part of the rotation. This skill also gets a better boon in Fervour stance.

Battle Acuity: This skill was formerly called Fighting Dirty. The alteration to the skill removes the need for a defeat response. The duration has been lowered to 10 seconds; instead of generating 1 fervour on use, the skill will now cost 2 fervour to activate. The cooldown on the skill is now 30 seconds.

Rend/Improved Rend: Renaming Cleave and Rend to be more consistent and to help avoid confusion with Great Cleave.

Great Cleave/Improved Great Cleave: Cooldown of the skills are greatly reduced. Improved Great Cleave is the renamed version of Death Storm. In addition to resetting AoE skills, adding 10% damage to AoE skill and reducing the fervour cost of AoE skills by 5 fervour, Improved Great Cleave will also apply the same buff as Battle Acuity. These buffs will not stack, but the skill cooldown on Battle Acuity will not be triggered. The duration of Improved Great Cleave is 18 seconds.

Ardour – Traits

As with the Martial Champion line, the traits in the Deadly Storm trait-line have been altered. Only those changed are listed here.

Eye of the Storm: This trait will now set the fervour requirement on Blade-storm, Cleave and Improved Cleave to cost 1 less fervour.

Battle Acumen: This trait was formerly called Dirt Cheap. In its new form the trait modifies Battle Acuity so that it costs only 1 fervour to activate.

Ardent Rage: Formerly Fervent Rage.

Swift to Anger: Taken from the berserker line, Swift to Anger will now change Swift Strike into Swift Blade. Swift Blade will generate a fervour on critical hits. Finally, Red Haze will now activate when the Champion enters Ardour. While in Ardour, Red Haze will provide the Champion with a fervour pip for every enemy defeated.

Ardour – Trait-set

The capstone remains the same, although the name has been changed to Improved Great Cleave. The two-set bonus now provides the Champion with an increased chance to hit with their AoE skills. The three-set bonus reduces the chance that the AoE skills used by the Champion will be blocked or parried. The four-set bonus decreases the power cost and increases the damage dealt by blade skills and also lowers the amount of threat generated by blade skills while the Champion is in Ardour.

Ardour – Conclusion

While the changes to the Ardour stance are more subtle, they are no less transformational. It appears that the Ardour line’s niche will be landscape grinding and high trash count instance spaces or skirmishes. It also might be handy in the Ettenmoors.