Some classes in Othercide might seem straight forward and simple based on their name, such as the Shieldbearer, but make no mistake; almost nothing in this brutal tactics game is easy. If you don’t know the proper way to make the best use of the tools the game gives you, it has no problem chewing you up and spitting you back out to start all over again from square one. Thankfully we’ve put together this handy guide on how you can best build your Shieldbearer to keep you in the game a little longer.
As the game’s one and only true tank class, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the Shieldbearer starts with the highest maximum HP of all the classes, plus a good deal of armor. She isn’t just built to take hits, though. Her skills also allow her to delay enemies, which is one of the most useful to have. Slam, for example, is one of the skills she starts with that delays an enemy’s turn, while also drawing their agro on her so that the other classes can attack it freely. Lunge, on the other hand, is a more basic three hit combo when you need to dish out some damage.
Best Skills
As with all classes in Othercide, you’ll be given the option to pick between two skills at level one, five, ten, and 15. Here are the best choices for each skill you’re offered.
At level one, Blacksmith’s Grace is immediately useful. The armor buff helps her be the tanky unit she’s meant to be and how it moves her up in the timeline for each unit attacking attacking her can give her another turn much faster. That is especially useful if she gets into the burst state and her next turn would otherwise be a long way off.
The level five choice between Vital Grace and Saving Grace isn’t an easy one, but not because they’re both good. We would slightly lean towards Saving Grace, which teleports your Shieldbearer to an ally who’s about to be attacked, interrupts the attack, and counters. The only issue is it can backfire on you on certain bosses. Vital Grace is okay as well, but since it doesn’t synergize with Blacksmith’s Grace, and as other buffs are better put on Blademasters or Scythedancers, the delay won’t really make a difference.
Level ten is a much easier choice. Shield Charge is much more useful than Giant Leap for a tank. It is great for getting in close, deals good damage, and delays. Giant Leap does help get her into the action too, but does less damage and then pushes enemies away, which kind of goes against what a tank should be doing.
Again, level 15’s choice isn’t much of a choice because of how good Spear Tornado is. It is a delayed attack, but has a great AOE, nice damage, delays, and immobilizes the enemies. Even though it ends your turn, it is still basically an all around better version of Piercing Spear which does less damage and only immobilizes. Spear Tornado is a fantastic opening move you can set up to go off once enemies come in range so they get immediately hit, delayed, and stuck in place.
Best Memories
The best memories for the Shieldbearer are going to be all the ones that boost her delay skills. Nearly every skill she has incorporates delay, especially if you’ve followed our recommendations. Memories that nerf enemy defense or armor can also be good, but we think increasing delay helped our runs much more.
The memories you’ll be looking for are Inferno for 10 initiative delay, Return for 20, Numb for 25, and Succor for 50.
