Aion 2 Templar Class Guide: Abilities, Gameplay, and Build Basics

The Templar is the main tank class in Aion 2, making it an important choice for players who want to take the frontline role in difficult PvE content. This guide provides an introduction to the Templar’s abilities, general gameplay, and the skills you should focus on while leveling.

The Templar is particularly important in endgame PvE content such as raids. The class is also highly useful in mass PvP, where its numerous crowd-control abilities allow it to control enemies while standing on the frontline and absorbing damage.

The Templar’s Core Gameplay

If you are looking for a simple leveling rotation rather than an in-depth explanation of every ability, the Templar can be made surprisingly straightforward. By setting up a macro for Judgement and another line of abilities, you can use your Basic Attack and macro simultaneously to execute a reliable rotation throughout much of the leveling process.

The Templar’s gameplay is fast, but it does not necessarily have to be complicated. A large part of the class revolves around using abilities as soon as they become available and taking advantage of its various proc abilities.

Vicious Strike and Pummel

Two of the Templar’s early abilities are Vicious Strike and Pummel. Vicious Strike replenishes mana, while Pummel consumes mana.

By using an in-game macro that alternates between the two attacks, you can increase your overall damage while recovering enough mana to prevent yourself from running out.

Pummel is particularly important because it can be placed in a macro that makes the game register the key as being pressed repeatedly rather than simply held. This allows a basic attack to fit between skills.

Because of its importance to the basic rotation, Pummel should be one of the first abilities you prioritize while leveling, and it should eventually be upgraded as much as possible.

Judgement: The Core Damage Ability

If Pummel is important to maintaining your rotation, Judgement is arguably the centerpiece of the Templar’s damage kit. Judgement is a proc ability that can be triggered by several skills, including:

• Shield Smite

• Warding Strike

• Shield Rush

• Doom Shield

Early in the game, Judgement has a five-second cooldown. This means that, if you want to maximize its use, you need to space out the abilities that trigger it.

For example, you can use Shield Smite, cast Judgement, continue with your filler rotation, and then use Warding Strike followed by another Judgement.

Later, however, one of Judgement’s passives removes its cooldown. Once that passive is unlocked, you no longer need to wait five seconds between triggering abilities. You can also fit multiple Judgement casts between your other abilities.

This is why Judgement is one of the most important abilities in the Templar’s kit, and why you should prioritize leveling it.

In simple terms, the core Templar DPS gameplay revolves around using abilities that trigger Judgement and then casting Judgement as frequently as possible.

Poach

Poach is an extremely useful ability with applications in several different situations.

Its basic effect pulls a target toward you and roots it. At level 8, however, you can select two particularly useful passive abilities.

The first allows you to move toward a target if that target cannot be moved. This means that Poach can also function as a gap closer against bosses.

The second passive resets Poach’s cooldown when you defeat an enemy. This is especially useful while farming or leveling because you can move from one target to another as you defeat them. With enough damage, Poach can eventually become a ranged one-shot attack.

In PvP, another passive can give Poach a 50% chance to stun the target.

Poach can also be used on teammates, allowing you to pull an ally toward a safer location.

Shield Smite

Shield Smite is a relatively straightforward ability whose primary importance comes from the fact that it triggers Judgement.

There is generally no reason to prioritize leveling Shield Smite early. Eventually, you will decide which passive abilities you want for your less frequently used skills. Many of these abilities can remain around level 12 to unlock two passives.

Flash Rampage

Flash Rampage is a spammable ability that becomes available when the target is staggered.

It is not one of the abilities you need to prioritize early, so it can generally be ignored while you focus on the more important parts of your kit.

Debilitating Smash

Debilitating Smash is another proc ability. It activates when you use Shield Smite or when you block.

In PvE, its main effect is reducing the enemy’s defense by 25%. Since you will generally use it whenever it becomes available, you do not need to overthink its use.

Its PvP potential is more significant. One of its passives provides a 60% healing reduction, making it a powerful anti-healing tool.

For PvP players, Debilitating Smash is therefore one of the Templar’s main tools for countering healing.

Warding Strike

Warding Strike is an area-of-effect ability that also triggers Judgement.

Because of this, you generally want to use it whenever it is available in order to trigger another Judgement.

Warding Strike also restores some HP and provides significant damage mitigation for a short duration. In a normal DPS rotation, you will primarily use it as another way of triggering Judgement, but its defensive properties make it useful in more dangerous situations as well.

Shield Rush

Shield Rush is a dashing ability with a chance to stun the enemy.

It has one important limitation: it can only be used after pressing Dodge while you are in combat.

This makes it particularly useful for responding to enemy attacks. You can dodge an incoming attack and then immediately return to your target with Shield Rush.

In PvP, the same mechanic can be used offensively. You can dodge toward an opponent and then immediately follow up with Shield Rush to close the distance.

Annihilate

Annihilate is another powerful proc ability.

In practice, you will generally use it as soon as it becomes available. This is one reason why it can be useful to place multiple proc abilities on a single key or macro, allowing you to spam one button and automatically execute whichever proc is currently available.

Overall, Aion 2’s Templar gameplay is fast. You generally do not need to hold abilities for long periods waiting for a specific moment, particularly in PvE. Instead, many abilities are most effective when used as soon as they become available.

Punishment

Punishment is one of the Templar’s most visually impressive abilities.

It is a charging attack, meaning that you can hold the ability until it reaches level 3 before releasing it for maximum damage.

Because of its strength, you will generally want to use Punishment whenever it becomes available, and it is often used early in the rotation.

Defiance

Defiance is a straightforward defensive utility ability that removes a stun from your character.

Its purpose is simple, but it provides an important answer to crowd control.

Templar Stigma Abilities

Stigma abilities are particularly powerful, but there is an important limitation: you can only equip a selection of them at the same time. Choosing the right combination therefore depends heavily on whether you are focusing on PvE, PvP, or tanking.

Empyrean Lord’s Punishment

Empyrean Lord’s Punishment is a ranged AoE attack with a chance to stun the target.

Because of its range and crowd-control potential, it is particularly useful in PvP and can also be useful in free-roam PvE. It is generally less suited to hard PvE boss encounters.

Nezekan’s Shield

Nezekan’s Shield creates an AoE shield for party members based on your maximum HP and lasts for three seconds.

Its main purpose is to protect the party from large incoming attacks. It can be used when expecting a raid-wide AoE or as a defensive cooldown against a tank buster.

A tank buster is a powerful, unavoidable attack from a raid boss that the tank is expected to absorb. Because these defensive abilities have such short durations, they are generally intended to protect you from a specific incoming hit rather than provide continuous protection.

Shield of Protection

Shield of Protection is the Templar’s dedicated tank-buster cooldown.

When activated, your character stops moving and gains 100% block chance for three seconds.

The ideal use is immediately before a massive attack that cannot be avoided, allowing you to block the incoming hit.

Taunt

Taunt is the Templar’s standard provoke ability, but it also provides defensive benefits. It grants damage tolerance while reducing the target’s attack.

Naturally, it is extremely useful in PvE tanking, but its ability to taunt players also gives it applications in PvP.

Armor of Balance

Armor of Balance provides impact-type resistance for a short period.

This makes you more resistant to being stunned and gives the ability a particularly clear role in PvP.

Second Skin

Second Skin provides protection for a short period, with its duration increasing as you level the ability.

This makes it useful during large dungeon pulls. You can gather multiple monsters, stop to tank them, and activate Second Skin to provide yourself with additional protection while you establish control.

Doom Shield

Doom Shield is a dashing ability with a chance to knock an enemy down.

It also grants you a shield and resets the cooldown of Annihilate, one of the Templar’s powerful proc abilities.

Most importantly, Doom Shield also triggers Judgement.

Because it combines mobility, defense, crowd control, Annihilate cooldown management, and another Judgement trigger, Doom Shield is likely to be a Stigma ability that fits into many Templar builds.

Noble Armor

Noble Armor is a buff that can maintain 100% uptime.

It provides numerous useful stats, and its benefits become increasingly significant at higher levels. Because it can remain active continuously, it is an important part of the Templar’s overall stat package.

Executing Blade

Executing Blade is an AoE ability that reduces enemy defense by 30% for five seconds.

It is particularly effective when used immediately before Punishment. Since Punishment is a high-burst charging ability, reducing the enemy’s defense beforehand allows you to maximize the damage of the attack.

Comrade in Arms

Comrade in Arms provides significant damage tolerance while protecting one of your allies.

When used, you take 50% of the damage that the protected ally would otherwise receive.

This makes it a valuable defensive tool for protecting teammates during dangerous encounters.

Grapple

Grapple is another hook ability that also applies a root.

Unlike Poach, it has an AoE effect and a relatively long cooldown. However, when used with good timing in PvP, it can be a very powerful crowd-control tool.

Assault Fury

Assault Fury provides another gap-closing option for the Templar.

Its mobility makes it useful for engaging targets and maintaining pressure, particularly in PvP situations where positioning is important.

Battlefield Banner

Battlefield Banner is one of the strongest Stigma abilities in the Templar’s kit.

It increases attack based on your defense, creating a strong synergy between the Templar’s defensive statistics and offensive capabilities.

Its duration also increases as the ability is leveled, giving you another reason to prioritize upgrading it. Battlefield Banner is useful in both PvE and PvP.

Templar Passive Abilities

The Templar’s passive abilities further strengthen its defensive and offensive capabilities.

Enhanced Health

Enhanced Health provides bonus HP.

Because additional health is valuable to a tank throughout the game, there is little reason to be afraid of leveling this passive early.

Warding Shield

Warding Shield heals you after blocking, with a three-second cooldown.

The healing value increases with the ability’s level, although it has a relatively small leveling priority compared with some of the Templar’s other passives.

Punishing Benediction

Punishing Benediction is one of the Templar’s offensive passives.

Because of its contribution to damage, it is generally worth keeping this passive at a high level.

Ironclad Defense

Ironclad Defense provides Defense and Endurance based on its level.

For a class whose primary role is tanking, these defensive statistics are highly valuable, making this another passive worth upgrading significantly.

Guardian Seal

Guardian Seal provides its benefits even at relatively low levels.

Because of this, there is generally little reason to prioritize it over more important passives.

Impact Hit

Impact Hit helps the Templar land knockdowns and stuns.

This makes it particularly valuable for players focusing on PvP, where crowd control and the ability to reliably land it can be extremely important.

Insulting Roar

Insulting Roar is a straightforward attack boost.

It can be leveled according to your available resources and priorities.

Fury

Fury is one of the Templar’s most important offensive passives.

After blocking, it provides attack damage, PvE damage, and PvP damage increases to you and your party members for 20 seconds.

This combination of personal and party-wide benefits makes it a particularly valuable passive for both PvE and PvP.

Survival Willpower

Survival Willpower makes it more difficult for opponents to stun you.

As a result, it becomes particularly valuable for players who intend to focus on PvP and want additional resistance against crowd control.

Block Pain

Block Pain provides PvE and PvP damage tolerance after you are hit by an enemy, with a 20-second cooldown.

The result is that you receive significant defensive protection when an enemy first attacks you, making it more difficult to be quickly burst down.

Final Thoughts

That covers the main Templar abilities in Aion 2.

The class may have fast gameplay, but that does not necessarily make it complicated. Once you understand the core rotation and set up the appropriate macros, much of the gameplay becomes about using your abilities efficiently and taking advantage of your various proc effects.

The central concept is simple: use the abilities that trigger Judgement, then use Judgement as frequently as possible. At the same time, take advantage of the Templar’s defensive abilities, crowd control, mobility, and party protection to fulfill its role as a frontline tank.

At this stage, it is still too early to provide a definitive macro setup. Testing was performed on the Taiwan version, where latency made it difficult to properly test the exact timing and effectiveness of different macros. A more reliable macro setup can be established once the global release is available.

For players interested in the Templar, however, the fundamentals are already clear: it is a fast, durable class with strong PvE tanking capabilities, useful PvP crowd control, and a surprisingly flexible offensive toolkit.