Tethren · melee bruiser
Tanky melee bruiser with the highest base Life (+80). Fellust stacks damage on consecutive hits, Call of Ancients taunts and halves incoming damage.
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✓ Pros
- Highest base Life (+80) among all Pacts
- Call of Ancients halves incoming damage and taunts
- Fellust greatly increases weapon damage with consecutive hits
- Available at character creation — no unlock required
✗ Cons
- Requires staying in melee range to maintain Fellust stacks
- Lower AoE damage compared to Ode Tempest
- Clash stagger is short range only
- No ranged Arcanic options
Core Arcanics
✨Fellust
Courage
buff
Consecutive melee strikes deal accumulative damage. Each successful hit increases weapon damage.
🛡Call of Ancients
Spirit
defense
Draws attention of nearby enemies (taunt). Increases damage dealt and reduces incoming damage by half.
🌀Clash
Grace
control
Shockwave that staggers enemies around you. Increases defense against Stagger.
Recommended Weapons
| Slot | Best | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Weapon | Gathannan | Wulder |
| Sidearm | Grinn | any Courage-attuned |
Virtue Allocation
Courage (all points)
Rotation
- 1Activate Call of Ancients to taunt and reduce incoming damage
- 2Engage with melee weapon — each hit stacks Fellust damage
- 3Use Clash when surrounded to stagger and create breathing room
- 4Continue attacking to maintain Fellust stacks
- 5Reactivate Call of Ancients when it expires
In-Depth Guide
Tethren · melee bruiser
Overview
Tethren is a Courage-based starter Pact built around tanking and sustained melee damage. With the highest base Life (+80) of any Pact and Call of Ancients halving incoming damage, Tethren excels as a frontline bruiser. Fellust rewards consecutive hits with stacking damage, making sustained engagement the key to high DPS.
- Pact: Tethren
- Virtue: Courage (invest all points here)
- Playstyle: Tanky melee bruiser, sustained damage through consecutive hits
Core loadout
- Gathannan — Courage-attuned Polearm. High reach allows hitting multiple enemies per swing, synergising with Fellust stacks.
- Wulder — Courage-attuned starter weapon. High forgiveness, good for learning the Pact's rhythm.
- Grinn — Courage-attuned sidearm for close-range burst.
- Fellust — Courage Arcanic. Each consecutive melee hit increases weapon damage. Missing resets the stack.
- Call of Ancients — Spirit Arcanic. Taunts nearby enemies and halves incoming damage. Core survivability tool.
- Clash — Grace Arcanic. AoE shockwave that staggers surrounding enemies. Use when overwhelmed.
How to play it
- Never stop swinging — Fellust stacks reset if you stop hitting. Prioritise weapons with fast attack speed or wide arcs to maintain stacks.
- Call of Ancients is your panic button and your opener — activate it before engaging groups to halve damage from the start.
- Use Clash defensively — when surrounded and Call of Ancients is on cooldown, Clash buys time to reposition.
- Invest all Virtue into Courage — this maximises weapon damage and Fellust scaling.
- In co-op, you are the tank — taunt enemies away from ranged teammates with Call of Ancients.
When to use a different build
- Against enemies that kite or stay at range — Tethren has no gap-closer or ranged Arcanics. Consider Ode Tempest (Atmos Sphere for closing distance) or Sirin (Glamour for repositioning).
- When AoE clearing is the priority — Ode Tempest's Seismor and Astra Sphere outperform Tethren for pure AoE damage.
How to Unlock
💡 Available at character creation. Can also be purchased from Faction NPC after switching Factions.
Team Composition
📋 Natural tank and frontline. Taunt with Call of Ancients to protect ranged teammates. Pairs well with Garren Rood (control) or Oscelda (healing).
Other Builds
Changelog
2026-05-14Initial publication.