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Templar
October 6, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Added guidebook class description, corrected the April 22 synergy summary, added August 27 and October 7 balance entries and links to the new skills page
Templar is the game's dedicated tank. It holds the front line with a sword and shield, generates threat, absorbs the mechanics the rest of the party cannot, and converts good defensive timing into offence rather than just surviving it.
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Role | Tank |
Weapon | Longsword and shield |
Signature mechanic | Shield block and parry, including Perfect Shield Block and Perfect Parry |
Party fit | The main tank slot in five-player Expedition and ten-player Sanctuary content |
NCsoft's own class overview calls the Templar the steadfast protector who brings order to the chaos of battle, taking up sword and shield. The class is part of the eight-class roster offered on the global service, which opened to Founder's Pack holders in paid Advance Access on September 30, 2026 ahead of the official launch on October 5, 2026.
NCsoft's official Korean guidebook describes the Templar as the typical tank: it blocks enemy attacks and protects allies with a longsword and shield, has high Defense and a range of defensive skills that protect allies as well as itself, and holds the center of the front line in party play.
The Templar's core loop is defensive timing rather than a damage rotation. A Perfect Shield Block, added to the live build in March 2026, triggers at a low chance from any direction and stops most of a hit's damage, and the class carries a shield-triggered follow-up that punishes a successful block. Its passive line feeds Frontal Damage Amplification, one of the directional stats added with the Chapter 1 update, so facing matters to a Templar in a way it does not to a ranged class.
The basic line is Vicious Strike, which restores MP, with the follow-up strikes Decisive Strike and Desperate Strike (a specialty adds Threatening Blow), alongside Pummel, which spends MP. Shield Smite, Warding Strike, Shield Rush and Doom Shield each open Judgment for a short window, so the rotation alternates shield attacks with Judgment. Punishment is a charge skill with three levels that hits a group at range and grants Executor, a buff to Accuracy and damage. Taunt adds a very large amount of enmity, and Insulting Roar doubles the Templar's enmity generation.
Templar is one of the classes NCsoft deliberately pushed toward group value. The April 22, 2026 update turned the party-wide effects of the Ranger, Sorcerer and Spiritmaster into self-only ones and raised the Templar's party tools (Nezekan's Shield absorbs 20% more and Comrade in Arms splits damage evenly, 50% each), so that filling the tank slot carries a reason beyond survivability.
The September 2, 2026 pass reworked the class's strike chain so that leading with Vicious Strike no longer lost efficiency, redistributing damage across the line to widen skill choice: several core strikes gained 30 percent PvE damage, Judgment gained 15 percent and Punishment 20 percent, while two other strikes were trimmed.
The Templar's party tools are written into its kit. Fury raises the damage of the Templar and its party for 20 seconds after a block, Comrade in Arms takes half of the damage dealt to a party member within 40 meters for a few seconds, and Nezekan's Shield places a shield sized by maximum HP on the Templar and nearby party members. The August 26, 2026 pass on the Korean and Taiwanese service cut Fury's party damage values from 18, 26 and 34 percent PvE to 10, 15 and 20 percent at skill levels 10, 20 and 30, part of a pass that toned down the party synergy of Gladiator, Templar, Chanter and Cleric.
In the client data every class has 12 active skills, 13 Stigma skills and 10 passives, plus Dodge and chain follow-ups that do not take a slot of their own. Stigma skills are equipped through the Stigma System and keep every specialty they have unlocked. Each skill also unlocks specialties (numbered Spec 1 to Spec 5 in patch notes) as it levels up.
Templar Skills is the full reference for this class: Korean names, unlock levels, cooldowns, MP costs, every specialty option, how the skills fit together, and the complete balance history since the November 2025 launch.
Skill | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Vicious Strike | Active | Basic strike on up to four nearby enemies that raises enmity and restores MP; usable while moving. |
Pummel | Active | Basic strike on up to four nearby enemies that raises enmity; costs MP. |
Poach | Active | Pulls a target up to 20 meters away in front of the Templar and can root it. |
Shield Smite | Active | Shield strike on up to four enemies that can stun and opens Judgment. |
Judgment | Active | Strike that raises enmity; it becomes usable after the Templar's shield attacks. |
Flash Rampage | Active | Strike that can only be used on a staggered target. |
Debilitating Smash | Active | Area strike that inflicts Debilitate, lowering Defense. |
Warding Strike | Active | Area strike around the Templar that restores HP, grants Warding (damage tolerance) and opens Judgment. |
Shield Rush | Active | After a dodge or while flying, rushes a target, can stun it and opens Judgment. |
Annihilate | Active | Heavy strike on a stunned or knocked-down target. |
Punishment | Active | Charge skill with three levels that hits a group at range and grants Executor (Accuracy and damage). |
Defiance | Active | Shared escape skill: removes stun, knockdown, airborne, grab, frost and fear, then grants brief status immunity. |
Doom Shield | Stigma | Rushes a target, can knock it down, grants a small shield and opens Judgment. |
Shield of Protection | Stigma | Held guard that guarantees a block and restores MP and stamina once on a block. |
Taunt | Stigma | Ranged hit with a very large enmity gain; inflicts Shrink and can taunt players. |
Second Skin | Stigma | Large boost to damage tolerance for a short time. |
Armor of Balance | Stigma | Raises resistance to impact-type effects for a short time. |
Grapple | Stigma | Pulls a group of enemies in front of the Templar and roots them. |
Noble Armor | Stigma | Raises maximum HP and heals; cannot be dispelled. |
Comrade in Arms | Stigma | Takes half of the damage dealt to a party member within 40 meters for a few seconds. |
Empyrean Lord's Punishment | Stigma | Ranged area strike that can stun and deals heavy stagger damage. |
Nezekan's Shield | Stigma | Shield for the Templar and party members within 40 meters, sized by maximum HP. |
Executing Blade | Stigma | Area strike that lowers Defense; stronger against targets under impact-type effects. |
Battlefield Banner | Stigma | Raises Attack in proportion to Defense. |
Assault Fury | Stigma | Ranged area strike that can stun and raises Defense by the number of targets hit. |
Enhance Health | Passive | More HP and more healing received. |
Warding Shield | Passive | Raises Block and restores HP on a block. |
Punishing Benediction | Passive | Raises Critical Hit; hits can trigger extra damage. |
Ironclad Defense | Passive | Raises Defense and Endurance. |
Guarding Seal | Passive | Emergency shield when HP falls to half. |
Impact Hit | Passive | Raises impact-type status chance and Double Chance. |
Insulting Roar | Passive | Doubles enmity generation and raises Attack after a front attack. |
Fury | Passive | Raises front attack damage; a block buffs the damage of the Templar and party members. |
Survival Willpower | Passive | Status resistance, plus damage tolerance while stunned, knocked down, airborne, frozen or feared. |
Block Pain | Passive | Being struck grants a short damage tolerance buff. |
Changes made on the Korean and Taiwanese service since the Chapter 1 update, through the October 7, 2026 update. Earlier passes, back to the November 2025 launch, are listed on Templar Skills, and the cross-class context is on Classes.
Date | Change (Korean and Taiwanese service) |
|---|---|
July 8, 2026 | Poach no longer costs MP; Insulting Roar now raises the Templar's Attack after a front attack instead of damaging on block; Fury's party PvE damage values fell from 22, 34 and 46% to 20, 30 and 40%. |
July 15, 2026 | Punishing Benediction's Critical Hit gain per level doubled from 5 to 10; Second Skin and Warding Strike recover faster after use. |
July 22, 2026 | Shield Rush's stun chance fell from 50% to 30%; Comrade in Arms lasts 6 seconds instead of 10; Noble Armor can no longer be dispelled; Punishment's Executor PvE damage bonus rose from 10% to 15%. |
July 29, 2026 | Judgment gained 5% and Punishment 7% PvE damage, and a Punishment specialty's damage over time now scales with charge level. |
August 12, 2026 | Debilitating Smash's healing-cut specialty rose from 50% to 60%. |
August 26, 2026 | Core rework: Judgment now opens after shield attack skills instead of on stunned or knocked-down targets, and Punishment became a projectile area attack on targets up to 20 meters away; Warding Strike can be used while moving and its cooldown fell from 30 to 25 seconds; Fury's party values were cut; several shields now scale with maximum HP. A maintenance on August 27 then cut Pummel, Punishing Strike and Judgment by 5% in PvE and PvP. |
September 2, 2026 | Vicious Strike and its follow-ups gained 30% PvE damage, Judgment 15% and Punishment 20%; Pummel lost 10% and its follow-up 20%. |
September 4, 2026 | Class Care: Shield Smite can be used while moving; Vicious Strike and its follow-ups gained another 20% PvE damage; Executor lasts 20 seconds instead of 10; Warding Strike's cooldown returned to 30 seconds. |
September 16, 2026 | Longer cancel delays on Pummel and Judgment to discourage mouse macros; Warding Strike, Annihilate and Punishment gained 10% PvE damage and Shield Smite 20%; Noble Armor's duration and cooldown fell from 5 minutes to 2; Taunt's enmity now scales with damage dealt. |
October 7, 2026 | All classes: fixed attacks made while in the air sometimes failing to land on a target even when in range. No class-specific changes for this class in the October 7 note. |
Every class runs the same underlying loop: tab-targeting with active dodge and parry, skill chains that prompt a follow-up key, a Groggy stagger gauge on bosses, and Perfect Parry (plus Perfect Shield Block for Templars and Clerics), a low-chance block result that stops most of a hit's damage. Loadouts hold twelve active skills, a set of Stigma slots and ten passives, allocated with Mastery Points and Stigma Shards.
Skill names on this page are the English names used in the global client. The skill table is drawn from the global client data as of September 2026 and describes what each skill does rather than its per-level numbers, which change with skill level and with balance patches. The balance history covers the Korean and Taiwanese service, which receives changes on its own schedule; the global build can differ from it at any given time.
Classes for the full roster and the balance history. Combat and Skill Chains for the shared input loop. Gear and Progression for equipment. Daeva System and Daevanion Board for talents. Stigma System for the enhanceable skill layer.
Templar Skills for every skill, specialty and dated balance change.