are gladiator's any good?

[zaldaria]

been trying them for awile and they seem to hit like a wet noodle and never out shine the other class's

[ELDEN LORD]

i just bought the dlc myself and one died pretty quick, may have to play them different thatn what im use to and they may do some more balancing, idk. hopefully we get another dlc to this game is amazing i cant stop playing it

[Trolleur_Durden]

Gladiator is the worst of the 5 classes by a noticeable margin, though the class is still pretty much playable overall if that's your kink.

[Jack Hawklight]

My gladiator does alright. I'm early-mid act II. He has something like 70% chance for retaliation. That plus safeguard is pretty impressive at times. They definitely play differently from the other classes... but then they each play quite different from each other to be used effectively.

[Meta]

Gladiators might very well start out as the weakest, but they are probably the one of the strongest classes by the end of the game if you manage to properly stack retaliation.. Its very possible to get 90%+ retaliation towards Tier 3 equipment :)

[Trolleur_Durden]

Originally posted by Meta:

Gladiators might very well start out as the weakest, but they are probably the one of the strongest classes by the end of the game if you manage to properly stack retaliation.. Its very possible to get 90%+ retaliation towards Tier 3 equipment :)

While it might seems strong on paper, it's actually quite irrelevant overall because you aren't really supposed to tank/retaliate in this game, but obliterate the enemy opposition in order to avoid to be attacked in the first place entirely. And that's why the Gladiator is by far the weakest of the 5 classes, even at 90%+ Retaliation: he deals no damage.

[Jack Hawklight]

Originally posted by Trolleur_Durden:

While it might seems strong on paper, it's actually quite irrelevant overall because you aren't really supposed to tank/retaliate in this game, but obliterate the enemy opposition in order to avoid to be attacked in the first place entirely. And that's why the Gladiator is by far the weakest of the 5 classes, even at 90%+ Retaliation: he deals no damage.

Mine is holding up quite well. He does decent damage right now, but I don't judge my characters ability just off pure damage potential. I look at a lot more things than just damage output when putting my team together. I mean, if that is your strategy and opinion it's cool. Just different playstyles.

None of my characters really seem inherently stronger or weaker than the others. If one does seem to be clearly under performing then I have to go and see what I've done to screw them up, switch out their gear, do what ever needs doing.

[Beoris]

Originally posted by Trolleur_Durden:

While it might seems strong on paper, it's actually quite irrelevant overall because you aren't really supposed to tank/retaliate in this game, but obliterate the enemy opposition in order to avoid to be attacked in the first place entirely. And that's why the Gladiator is by far the weakest of the 5 classes, even at 90%+ Retaliation: he deals no damage.

I guess there are different ways to play the game. Especially on the highest difficulty, where being hit by enemy attacks can be quite unpleasant, I found a more defensive approach beneficial.
Gladiators were quite useful in this regard, as they can have a skill that parries any attack for which a retaliation attack is made. Combined with being able to bring the retaliation attack chance to 100% in combat, this means that you can't take any damage from regular attacks anymore. Not even by ranged attacks. Except for fire, the only damage you can take this way is if you are affected by a status effect that makes retaliation attacks impossible (e. g. by standing on oil or being flanked).

This means three things:
1. You can let your gladiator operate completely independently and without any cover, as he can hardly take any damage.
2. He does not only inflict damage through his attacks in your own turn, but also through every strike that is made against him. This can significantly increase the damage dealt.
3. You have an advantage against opponents who carry a shield or have a status effect like "Deflecting". Other classes may be better at dealing a lot of damage with a single attack, but a gladiator can more easily get around the mentioned defenses due to the number of his attacks.

Of course, everyone has to know for themselves whether this suits their own play style. Maybe it doesn't, but that doesn't make the class bad. If you know how to use them properly, gladiators, like any other class, can be very valuable.

[Trolleur_Durden]

I've never been able to reach 100% retaliation chance during my playthrough, but I admit that I haven't really tried to either. If you can reach that point, I admit that it's definitely quite powerful, despite still being counter-synergic to the rest of your team. Once again, why bother parrying anything if you can instead kill everyone? Also, this is certainly a late-game thing, meaning that for most of the game, your Gladiator will be both weak and unreliable. A good class is good at all levels, not only at level 20.

[Beoris]

I wouldn't say that gladiators only become useful at level 20. That's more a question of equipment anyway, and level 3 equipment can already be obtained in act 2.
But even with worse equipment, even without 100% retaliation chance they are useful. Every parried attack and every extra attack for the gladiator is a good thing.

I would call gladiators, at least with the strategy I described, an interesting mix of tank and damage dealer. And since I think some fights require more than just doing a lot of damage, I've come to appreciate gladiators quite a bit.

[Jack Hawklight]

I agree and use them pretty much the same way. Even once you start hitting the 60s and 70s retaliation chance they become quite good with safeguard on. I think I reached that in early act II.