Advanced Theory and Strategy: Tywin
Table of Contents
Overview
In this section we will discuss advanced concepts that revolve around end game content. As the game changes constantly we will attempt to give you the most updated information to help improve your game both in PvP and PvE content. Character builds and concepts for advanced PvP and PvE will help open your eyes to a new world of possibility. Dust off those old characters you thought were no good and get ready to dominate!
This week the first character we will look at is Tywin, the five star knight available through covenant summons. Let’s look at Tywin’s base stats when fully leveled and awakened and see how he might help improve your game. We will start with a concept build for PvP and then one for PvE and some of the instances where he would shine.
Tywin can act as both a defensive and offensive knight simultaneously giving you multiple options during a PvP match that can lead to a decisive victory.
Tywin’s Base Stats
Attack 821 (decent for a knight, Tywin doesn’t need a ton of attack because his damage scales from his health total. Add some attack bring it to 1.2k or as high as your gear allows but you don’t need to focus on this attribute)
Health 6751 (this is an area where Tywin shines, though not as high as some other characters his health is high enough that you can add to it using your gear without difficulty. You want this stat as high as it will go (aim for 17k) as he will do more damage and survive longer but you don’t have to devote a ton of stats to this because he will also be giving himself a defense buff on his Skill 3. This gives him versatility using alternate builds)
Speed 110 (this is one of the hardest to get and most important stats for many characters but for Tywin 110 base means he will be easier to gear than any other knight. It is very important that Tywin goes first so speed is a priority. 230 is the number to aim for but if you can get it higher go for it. This is one of the reasons why Tywin may be more of an end game build rather then someone you focus on for starting a new account)
Defense 648 (at first glance this seems very low for a tank but keep in mind his kit gives him a boost in this area so you don’t have to focus here as much. Aim for 1.2k
But don’t exceed 1.8 as this will have diminishing returns and the extra stats are best placed elsewhere)
Crit Chance 15% ( depending on the build your critical hit and damage can be modified to meet you goal. The general rule is aim as high as you can but focus on the stat you need the most. Is Tywin going to be a primary member in a lot of your teams?
Do you plan to invest mola gora beyond the -1 skill cooldown and 100% effect chance on his s3? Have you taken into account that he buffs himself with his s2? The glory of using Tywin is that his ability to increase both attack and critical hit stats allows you to build a character at a lower crit rate putting the stats into other categories then using Tywin to boost them the rest of the way. Aim for 50% and allow his buff to do the rest.)
Crit Damage 150% (As noted above Twins bread and butter is his unique ability to boost both attack and crit at the same time. If you can get to 200% beautiful but if not you don’t have to focus on this stat at all.)
Dual Attack 5% (don’t overlook the fact that dual attack is a very overpowered mechanic and characters like Tamarine, Lilias, Kitty Clarissa, and Taranor Guard are best suited if you want to add dual attack. No need to add more here.)
Effectiveness 18% (Remember that effectiveness and effect chance are two different mechanics. Tywin when Molagora’ed on his s3 will have a 100% chance to proc the decrease defense debuff but not 100% chance to beat the enemy’s effect resist. Get this number to 100% + and you will land that debuff far more often.)
Effect Resist 0% (this is up for debate as no matter how much effect resist you have there is still always an innate 15% chance for a skill to proc. However a high effect resist does help you avoid those nasty debuffs far more often as anyone who has ever tried to attack Momo (Angelic Montromancy) can attest to. Try to aim for 100% and you won’t be sorry you did.)
Keep in mind that when scaling your Tywin or any character for Defense in Arena or Guild Wars that you can effectively double many stats and chances to proc both in the character and any artifact that you place in the artifact slot.
Ever been hit by a Dizzy with Abyssal Crown? The proc chance on offense for a maxed out Abyssal Crown is 20%. On defense this becomes doubled even if the game designers don’t give that information in game. Following this you will find four examples of advanced builds for Tywin both offensive and defensive and a sample of the team compositions you would place him in.
Offensive/Defense Build
Set 1: Speed/Immunity
- Necklace Main Statistic: Health
- Ring Main Stat: Health
- Boot Main Stat: Speed
This build allows you to use Tywin in both your defense and offense teams. The screenshots here show you my defense success rate with Tywin and it has been very effective. Tywin in defense will use his S3 first and his speed means he usually goes first or second.
Opening up with a AoE 100% defense break instantly puts the attacker on defense and takes away turn advantage. When Tywin uses his S2 it will put the buffs on the character with the highest attack. In this case it’s Seaside Bellona and the effect of both a crit and attack buff plus a 30% increase in combat readiness allows you to play around with your attackers stats.
What that looks like is instead of having to focus on extra attack, crit, and speed you can up the effectiveness, defense, health, and effect resist which allows your team to survive longer. In the current meta Dizzy is a prominent defense team member and usually runs around 230+ speed.
Even if your Tywin can’t beat Dizzy you can use him to boost up a character like Momo, Destina, or Lilias to instantly reset the turn by dispelling all the debuffs! You don’t have to focus on buffing your attackers right away, use the utility to gain the advantage.
Tywin’s S1 when skilled up has a 75% chance to dispel 1 buff from an enemy. This can be very useful to get rid of shields put up by Angelica or Luluca, the attack buff from both iterations of Vildred, or take away the immunity first turn from the defense teams squishy DPS. Tywin is not meant to do the job of a DPS unit but can put up good damage if you invest Mola into him. Here are some things to think about when using Tywin in your teams…
Cleave: Use Tywin to boost those slower heros that are filling your DPS role, add Tagehel’s ancient book and use the soulburn to both break defense and add massive damage and your have a turn two kill ready to go.
Utility: Tywin has a lot in his kit. Basically whatever you need to do to gain the advantage Twyin most likely has it. Boost speed, add damage, dispel, and tank all in one. Talk about versatility.
Defense: Tywin’s speed allows him to be very annoying, and very deadly. The opposing attacker will have to focus on taking him out which will be hard to do with 18k hp, high defense, and effect resist.
Artifact Choice
The recent addition of Bastion of Perlutia allows Tywin to cast a huge shield onto your best DPS unit based upon his HP max. Most of the time with 5 star artifacts you may be stuck with them at level 15 as it’s hard to acquire extra copies or a potion of knowledge from the artifact shop. At 15 the bastion grants 22.5% of Tywin’s max HP adding an additional several thousand effective hit points right off the bat and is a great choice.Use this in a defense roll and take your attacker off guard.
Noble Oath allows Tywin to gain super tank status with an up to 50% increase in defense and effect resist making him very hard to kill even to an enemy like Vivan who can cause massive damage especially considering she has elemental advantage.
Holy Sacrifice: Avoid this artifact on offensive but put in on a defense build and it will always proc even at 15. Remember when a character is on defense certain stats and procs are doubled and Holy Sacrifice falls under this category. It can take attackers off guard and cause a jump scare when all of a sudden he’s back in the game.
Justice for All: Even though this artifact was recently buffed it is not recommended as it’s very hard to figure out what buff will be deployed. When your using Tywin you want to count of as much certainty in your build as possible.
Sword of Ezera: Great for PVE this artifact will allow Tywin be much more effective against bosses or elite monsters and can really help in the Abyss or higher floors of the Automaton tower.
Proof of Valor: Available in the guild wars shop this artifact is a guaranteed 5 star that can be brought to level 30 giving Tywin an additional level of survivability that will make him very hard to kill.
Aurius: This will allow Tywin to work more efficiently as a tank and soak up damage that otherwise would effect your other teammates. If your using Tywin for his ability to Tank this is a great way to go.
Adamant Shield: Another artifact that allows damage mitigation this is a highly viable option especially considering the nerf to Crimson Armin. A fully maxed out Adamant Shield his now higher than Armin’s passive however it’s important to note that Crimson Armin with an Aurius equipped will still provide a good amount of damage mitigation and if you own her than allow Tywin to carry something else to maximize his utility.
Hilag Lance: This artifact will allow Tywin to gain his turn faster however is not recommended as Tywin is meant to be a knight run at much higher speeds than you would find in other knight options. When your still trying to great Tywin at lower levels or for newer characters this becomes the BEST option for Tywin as it will allow more versatility.
UNIQUE EQUIPMENT: Estyria the beautiful silver sword that cuts through enemies it’s enemies delicately, like the winter wind.
Tywin has recently been blessed by the smilegate team with his own piece of unique equipment adding to his already packed skill set. Tywin’s sword Estyria is a unique artifact that some say was made during the height of the winter solstice during the first year of Queen Diene’s reign. The sword was rumored to have been tempered in water made from the melted snow gathered during the first fall on the highest mountain. The spirits of winter imbued this sword with three unique features:
The sword has the ability to dispel two buff’s from an enemy with the use of Tywin’s S1.
The second feature will lower the cool down count of Tywin’s S3 by 1 when dispelling a buff using his S1.
Lastly Tywin can give himself a boost of 50% combat readiness (rather than 30%) when using his S2.
Additionally the sword imbues the owner with strengthened constitution adding anywhere between 7 to 14% to the wielders overall health total. It should be noted that when Tywin picked up the sword for the first time he heard the words in his head softly spoken; “Wield me, and you will never miss.”
After using all three skill’s extensively it should be noted that you want to acquire the ability to gain that extra 20% combat readiness when using Skill 2. The reason for this is simple, even with a maxed out S1 the chance to dispel is very erratic and during the heat of battle you want as much surety as possible and the ability to gain 50% CR means that you now have the choice to use his S2 early and then follow up with his S3. Because Tywin is most effective at high speeds he will gain his second turn very quickly thus cycling the skills and being able to take advantage of 2 skills almost at 1 time. Tywin has the ability to Soulburn and gain an extra turn which is very effective for cleaving.