Armsman

**Armsman** can fill the role of a Tank when specializing in Shield, Parry and One-Handed Weapons, or DPS when specializing in Polearm or Two Handed.

The Armsman is a member of The Defenders of Albion. They are heavily armed fighters and can use almost all melee weapons while wearing the heaviest armor of all realms. They are distinguished by high defensive and offensive qualities. Armsmen can amass the largest amount of hit points of any class in Albion while also absorbing most damage dealt to them due to their ability to wear Plate armor. If specialized in One-Handed Weapons, Shield and Parry, they can build a nearly impenetrable defensive wall. However, if the Armsman chooses to specialize in Two Handed or Polearm, they can deal a substantial amount of damage to their enemies.

## Attributes & Races

The following attributes increase with every first, second or third level up starting at level 6:

* Primary Attribute: Strength (45 points at level 50)
* Secondary Attribute: Constitution (23 points at level 50)
* Tertiary Attribute: Dexterity (15 points at level 50)

## Distribution of starting points

If you create a character you can distribute 30 points amongst your attributes. The following distributions are often used:

## Abilities & Specialization

Cloth Leather Studded Chain Plate
**Weapon**
Staves Slashing Thrusting Crushing Two Handed Polearm Crossbow Shield (Large)
Battlemaster Warlord
**Sub Classes**Acolyte Disciple Elementalist Mage Rogue
Armorcraft
Basic Crafting
Bountycraft
Clothworking
Fletching
Gemcutting
Herbcraft
Leatherworking
Metalworking
Siegecraft
Spellcrafting
Tailoring
Weaponcraft
Woodworking

## Specialization Options

**Defensive (Sword/Shield)**

* Shield: 50
* Weapon: 50
* Parry: 31 (spec in Slash/Thrust, 28 (spec in Crush)

This specialization is ideal for a second block tank in PVE. Both weapon and Shield hit reliably and cause average damage. Thanks to the high defense skill, the Armsman gets hit less often, and can protect another member of the group. With this specialization an RVR should choose the Battlemaster line from the master abilities to gain access to Bodyguard.

**Very Defensive**

* Shield: 50
* Parry: 50
* Weapon: 31 (spec in Slash/Thrust), 28 (spec in Crush)

**Hybrid (Shield, Polearm/Two-Handed)**

* Polearm/Two-Handed: 50
* Shield: 42
* Weapon: 39
* Parry: 13 (spec in Slash/Thrust, 6 (spec in Crush)

The Armsman can act defensive in emergency situations. He has his high shield skill mainly for the stun. The 39 points in weapon are there for the basic damage (Slash,Thrust or Crush) while the 50 points in Two-Handed or Polearm determine the maximum damage. Therefore you will only see this Armsman armed with a Shield if he wants to stun someone. Right after the stun, he will switch to the Two-Handed weapon or the Polearm to do the real damage. This specialization is for both PVP and PVE. As master level it is recommended to choose Warlord because he can support an Assist Train. It can also make sense to choose Battlemaster for Bodyguard because the Snarestyles both for Two-Handed weapons and Polearms can take a tank completely out of the equation.

## Realm Abilities

 Dashing Defense Purge Soldier's Barricade

### Realm Rank 5 Ability

 Reuse
 Effect