Archetype Guide

Defenders

Defenders are tanks, with high HP and defensive stats. Most of them can also block 3 enemies. Some even have offensive capabilites that rival that of guards.

Protectors

Trait: Blocks 3 enemies
Also known as: Normal defenders
Difficulty: Beginner

Protector defenders are a pretty standard tank class. They have excellent HP and defense and can block 3 enemies, at the cost of doing pretty much no significant damage. Their skills enhance their defense further, which can be mandatory against extremely hard-hitting enemies.

Sentinel Protectors

Trait: Blocks 3 enemies and attacks from long range.
Difficulty: Beginner-intermediate

Sentinel Protectors used to be lumped in with the regular Protectors but are now their own archetype. They have similar stats to Protectors, with slightly higher attack stats. They have an attack range of 2 tiles in front of them and can hit aerial enemies. They're perfectly good being used like Protectors, but more advanced players often take advantage of their enhanced DPS and support capabilities.

Guardians

Trait: Can heal allies by using the skill
Also known as: Healing defenders
Difficulty: Beginner

Guardian defenders can heal themselves and allies using their skills. Depending on how much healing you need, they can even act as substitutes for medics in some cases. Their defense isn't as good as that of the Protectors, and they usually don't have any options for increasing it. However, unlike Protectors, they have decent RES that allows them to soak more Arts damage.

Juggernauts

Trait: Cannot be healed by allies
Also known as: Enmity defenders
Difficulty: Intermediate

Juggernaut defenders live up to their name by having massive all-around stats, at the cost of not being healable by allies. There's also a literal cost - their DP is the highest among all the archetypes! However, they have tools at their disposal for keeping themselves alive (one of which is just killing things very quickly), so they can be used to hold lanes on their own or even duel bosses in some circumstances.

Arts Protectors

Trait: Normal attacks deal Arts damage while the skill is active
Also known as: Arts defenders
Difficulty: Beginner-intermediate

Arts Protector defenders are offensively-tuned, with decent attack and the ability to do Arts damage. In exchange, they have lower defense, but they also have the highest RES of the defenders, which makes them fantastic Arts tanks. Some of them even encourage you to use them for this purpose with talents that only trigger when they take Arts damage. While they usually won't work as your primary defender, having a double-duty tank can be very useful in a lot of situations.

Duelists

Trait: Only restores SP when blocking enemies
Difficulty: Advanced

Duelist defenders are more like guards than defenders, as they have 1 block, very high attack and HP, and worse defense than the other defenders. On top of that, they're expensive and can only generate SP when they're blocking! This makes them very difficult to use, as they need a lot more prep time than other duelist operators. In exchange, they have extremely strong skills that can pay off handsomely if you set them up well.

Fortresses

Trait: When not blocking enemies, prioritizes dealing ranged AOE Physical damage.
Difficulty: Advanced

Fortress defenders are effectively ground snipers because they have high attack and specialize in ranged AOE attacks. While they can block 3 enemies like other defenders, this isn't advised because they attack very slowly, so they take a very long time to clear out enemies with their melee attacks. They also have a unique attack range that allows them to be placed in weird spots that no other operator can take advantage of.