Gnarox Blackhorn — guide

In short

Gnarox Blackhorn is an Epic Defense champion of the Skinwalkers with Magic affinity. His job is a 50% [Ally Protection] buff on the team, a [Counterattack] on himself, an AoE [Provoke] and 30% [Reflect Damage] for everyone. Build him for Speed and survivability first — without uptime on those buffs he is just another body.

Strengths

• Means To An End places 50% [Ally Protection] on all allies except himself and a [Counterattack] on him for 2 turns — a ready-made defensive shell.
• Bullish Fighter hits all enemies, has a 50% chance of a 1-turn [Provoke] and gives the team 30% [Reflect Damage] for 2 turns.
• That [Provoke] cannot be resisted if Gnarox's DEF is lower than the target's — you can deliberately build a “thin” tank to make the control reliable.
• Loathed Pariah passive: 15% chance to [Provoke] the attacker every time someone under [Ally Protection] is hit.
• His basic hits twice with a 30% chance of 30% [Decrease SPD] — small, but handy in Faction Wars.

Weaknesses

• Base 1 387 DEF and 17 505 HP are modest for a defender — under [Ally Protection] he soaks a lot of damage himself.
• 6- and 5-turn cooldowns: without books and Speed his buffs constantly fall off.
• The Bullish Fighter [Provoke] fights with a tanky build — more DEF means more resists.
• In Hard (2.0) and Chimera (2.5) he has almost nothing to offer.

Where to use

His clear home is Faction Wars (3.5), where the buffs and provoke actually matter. Then a flat 3.0 across Arena, dungeons, Clan Boss and Hydra as a second defensive support and controller. In Doom Tower (2.5) and especially Chimera (2.5) and Hard (2.0) bring him only for a specific job.

Stats and gear

• Speed 170–200 so [Ally Protection] and [Reflect Damage] don't drop between cooldowns.
• HP 45–60k and/or DEF 2 500+ — he has to survive what he eats for the team.
• Accuracy 200–250 for the 30% [Decrease SPD] on his basic and for the provokes.
• No C.RATE or C.DMG needed — he brings no damage.
• Sets: Perception, Guardian, Protection, Bolster, Pinpoint, Feral.

Masteries and blessings

Key masteries from the list: Invigorated, Targetfinder, Expeditious Exploitation, Gathering Momentum — fill the rest with survivability. Blessings: Commanding Presence for team support or Cruelty to chip away at enemies. Relics: Orb of Transfixion or Perched Shadow.

Tombs

Book Means To An End first: it is his main skill and the cooldown reduction directly extends [Ally Protection] uptime. Then Bullish Fighter so the provoke and [Reflect Damage] come around more often.

Verdict

A solid Epic support-tank for Faction Wars and mid-tier dungeons who won't carry hard content. Build him for Speed and bulk and he does his job honestly.