Vargas (Mobile)/Builds

## **Introduction**

Vargas is one of the best tanks in the game and is often considered the 2nd best tank (after Ledin, King of Tanks). Despite only being an SR, when he is a Royal Vanguard, Vargas has the highest DEF stat in the game (not counting the limited collab character Estelle from Trails in the Sky) and is in the top 10 for total HP. Vargas even takes less Physical Damage when Troop HP is high, and he can also revive himself one per battle! **If you need to tank Physical Hits, Vargas is your man.** His only weakness is MDEF, which is the 2nd lowest value in game (Aaron has the lowest). Needless to say, keep Vargas away from magic and he will perform extremely well.

However, Vargas can not only tank. He can also deal out impressive damage due to his DEF -> ATK conversion skills (**Unbreakable Guardian, Power Stab**). As Vargas has some of the highest DEF in the game, all of those multipliers will add up and help him tank and deal damage even more. While Freya may deal fixed damage and can kill targets, Vargas just smashes his foes when his buff is active. Ledin is still King of Tanks because of his Talent allows him to attack twice, he has a better conversion skill *[Divine Guard]*, and the fact Ledin can take and guard against Magic Attacks.

**So, why use Vargas?**

* You want an Empire/Strategist tank. Vargas is the best man for the job (beating out Bernhardt and Altemuller if they want to try tanking).
* You want a tank who can actually deal damage as well as take it. Vargas makes excellent use of his conversion skills to accomplish this.
* You need someone to take at least 2 hits, which Vargas can due to his single use revive. Basically, Vargas can't be oneshot like everyone else. He needs to be killed twice to remove him from the field.
* Bald Man Best Family Man

In short, if you need to tank Physical Damage, Vargas is there. It helps that Vargas can also dish out damage as well due to his conversion skills.

Now, what about **Royal Vanguard** *(Lancer)* vs **Brave** *(Infantry)*? Typically, Royal Vanguard will be preferred for pure tanking due to the higher HP and DEF, as well as being in the Lancer class to hold off pesky Cavalry units. However, Brave is better in every other stat (ATK, INT, MDEF, SKL) and despite being Infantry, Vargas' lancer soldiers may be able to deal with incoming Cavalry threats.

To choose between the two, the main question to ask is: *"Do I want to be effective against Cavalry (Royal Vanguard) or do I want more MDEF (Brave)?"* Royal Vanguard is more for the min-maxed physical tanks and to deal with Cavalry threats, while Brave is more well-rounded and can handle magic attacks better than the Royal Vanguard class.

**So, what class to choose?**

* **Royal Vanguard:** Min-Maxed Physical Tank (High HP & DEF)
* **Royal Vanguard:** Handles Cavalry Threats
* **Brave:** Well-Rounded Tank
* **Brave:** Has more MDEF than Royal Vanguard (~60 points!)

Personally, by default I would go for Royal Vanguard for tanking because of the Lancer type. Cavalry units are a pain to deal with due to their extra movement while Infantry and Mages can be sniped off as they approach. // Brave can be used for tanking as well, mainly trading cavalry effectiveness for a substantial boost to MDEF. Oh, and Brave is better for building an Offensive Vargas, but we'll get to that later.

Anyways, onto the guide!

## **Wiki Build Guide - Royal Vanguard Vargas**

### Skills

**Unbreakable Guardian** is present to allow Vargas to tank for his allies as well as providing another source of conversion. **Last Stand** is used as insurance, the fact it works on both phases, and increases DEF.
Like before, **Land Stand** can be replaced by **Protect** for that 5% physical damage reduction.
This build is probably best used on a Brave Vargas as it uses none of the skills from the Royal Vanguard tree. However, if there are Cavalry targets that need to be taken out, Vanguard Vargas can do so. (Although one begins to ask, *"why not just let them run into your spears?..."*)
If one desires just a tiny bit of protection, replace **Battle Cry** with **Protect.** The active skills will still mean Vargas is DPS focused, but he will be able to off-tank for adjacent allies if needed.

### Equipment

The **Protect Ring** is a solid accessory, granting extra HP and DEF while increasing HP as its bonus.
**Greaves** are an okay accessory, granting DEF and MDEF while further increasing MDEF as a bonus.

**Bloodline Magic Armor** is the best armor for pure survivability due to its ability to reduce incoming melee damage by 30%. Even though this damage reduction is RNG based, its effects are extremely powerful when it does activate. This damage reduction effect even stacks with other sources, such as from Vargas' Talent! The Bloodline Armor also increases HP and DEF as a bonus. // However, other armors work just as well, such as **Aeneas' Armor** or **Gaea's Armor**. They are more straightforward with their effects and can be used instead if one dislikes the RNG aspect of Bloodline.
**Overlord Badge** is an alternative accessory for Tanks. Its main purpose is to be immune to Mobility Down which is the bane of any Tank. *(Mobility Down will prevent the Tank from guarding allies.)* If you have a healer or another unit with a Sage Hat that is glued to your Tank, you can pass on the Overlord Badge.
**Holy Ark** is used more for its melee reflect gimmick (30% at max) than anything else. Otherwise, it is not recommended.

### Enchants

For Vargas specifically, Hard Rock may be better due to synergy with his single revive and the Last Stand skill. However, if Tiaris is around or someone has Regenerate, Steel may be preferred instead for overall usability.
**Ice** is mostly used for RNG crowd control and for PvP instead of PvE. It can be nice when it works, but when it doesn't...

## **Wiki Build Guide - Brave Vargas**

### Skills

The main reason to run a Brave Vargas Tank to help Vargas deal with magic damage, as Brave Vargas has higher MDEF than his Royal Vanguard counterpart. His lancer soldiers should be enough to handle incoming cavalry threats while the Brave's more rounded stats and being an Infantry type helps Vargas be a little more versatile.
As always, **Power Stab** is a damage skill that activates the DEF conversion. **Power Stab** is another damage skill, but it decreases the target's armor by 30% after battle. Lastly, **Battle Cry** is used to debuff foes and to dispel a single buff they may have.
**Battle Cry** can be exchanged for **Protect** if Vargas need to off-tank a little bit. Sometimes just being adjacent to an off-tank is enough protection

### Equipment

The **Protect Ring** is a solid accessory, granting extra HP and DEF while increasing HP as its bonus.
**Greaves** are an okay accessory, granting DEF and MDEF while further increasing MDEF as a bonus.

**Bloodline Magic Armor** is the best armor for pure survivability due to its ability to reduce incoming melee damage by 30%. Even though this damage reduction is RNG based, its effects are extremely powerful when it does activate. This damage reduction effect even stacks with other sources, such as from Vargas' Talent! The Bloodline Armor also increases HP and DEF as a bonus. // However, other armors work just as well, such as **Aeneas' Armor** or **Gaea's Armor**. They are more straightforward with their effects and can be used instead if one dislikes the RNG aspect of Bloodline.
**Overlord Badge** is an alternative accessory for Tanks. Its main purpose is to be immune to Mobility Down which is the bane of any Tank. *(Mobility Down will prevent the Tank from guarding allies.)* If you have a healer or another unit with a Sage Hat that is glued to your Tank, you can pass on the Overlord Badge.
**Holy Ark** is used more for its melee reflect gimmick (30% at max) than anything else. Otherwise, it is not recommended.

### Enchants

For Vargas specifically, Hard Rock may be better due to synergy with his single revive and the Last Stand skill. However, if Tiaris is around or someone has Regenerate, Steel may be preferred instead for overall usability.
**Ice** is mostly used for RNG crowd control and for PvP instead of PvE. It can be nice when it works, but when it doesn't...