There’s a certain cadence to the Vanguardian: a measured punch, a step forward, a flash of neon, and everything that was between you and victory is suddenly rearranged. The Vanguardian feels like a frontline hero and a brawler rolled into one — a class that lives in the fight, empowers allies, and punishes anyone who thinks they can outlast a well-timed Hero’s Charge. In Trove 2025 the Vanguardian occupies a comfortable niche: it can anchor Delves as a hybrid tank, punch through bosses as a fist-DPS, or speed-run topside routes when optimized.
This Trove guide walks you through the Vanguardian Abilities, and the three builds: Fist-DPS, Tank, or speed-Farm — with practical rotations, gem choices, emblem/flask picks and endgame tuning.
The Vanguardian Abilities & passive
The Vanguardian swaps between a ranged “energy orb” mode and a melee “fist” mode. It’s a physical-damage class that combines mobility (Hero’s Charge / Laser Leap), short-term self-buff windows (Fired Up / Force Flash), and a powerful crowd-control / buff beam (Eye Lasers / Eyebeam) to both enable teammates and punish foes.
Touchdown
Glide/landing supercharges the Vanguardian. When you land from a glide you produce a shockwave at your landing spot that deals damage and has utility effects (damage at landing, block destruction in the open world). This passive also interacts with the “Up and Away” subclass landing shockwave tiers.
- How to use: Glide into a fight or reposition with jump + glide to trigger extra damage on landing; useful for burst engages.
Ranged Mode
- How to use: weave basic bursts to proc on-kill gems and keep sustained damage pressure.
- How to use: aim for clumped packs or boss add piles to maximize AoE value.
- How to use: pop Fired Up to amplify a short pressure window or farming burst.
- How to use: use Hero’s Charge to start a pull, heal up in the middle of a pack, and immediately follow with melee combos.
Melee Mode
- How to use: move in, chain your pummels to maximize the 4th-hit bonus and on-kill procs.
- How to use: use Eyebeam to mark a target for your team before you (or teammates) unload big cooldowns.
- How to use: Force Flash is great mid-pull to gain mitigation while still laying down pressure.
- How to use: use Laser Leap to disengage after you’ve landed melee damage or to immediately return to ranged pokes.
Signatory Ring — Vanguardian hidden effects
The Trove wiki lists three common hidden effects that appear on Vanguardian signatory/crystal rings:
- Champions! Congregate! — Fired Up and Force Flash also apply to up to 2 nearby allies when used (adds team utility).
- Combo: Energy Blast now applies the same damage increase that Eye Lasers applies (synergizes your ranged impact with the Eyebeam debuff).
- Hero’s Stand: Laser Leap and Hero’s Charge grant a short buff that heals while dealing damage.
These hidden effects substantially change playstyle (more team utility or stronger combo windows) and are selectable via ring polishing.
The Vanguardian Builds: Fist-DPS, Tank, or speed-Farm
Tank Build
If you lead groups, this is your safest bet. The Hybrid Vanguardian mixes Max Health, Stability, and solid Physical Damage so you can stand in the middle and convert presence into control and respectable DPS.
You’ll be the anchor: Hero’s Charge to initiate, Guard/Taunt to hold, then steady fists with occasional ultimate windows for boss phases. Your role is to enable teammates and finish mechanics.
- Core stats priority: Max Health → Stability → Physical Damage → Crit Damage (secondary).
- Gems: prioritize survivability on lesser/crystal gems early, then shift to PD/Crit as your PR rises. Explosive Epilogue is a strong empowered pick because your taunt + burst windows convert to room-wide damage.
- Emblems & flasks: Unyielding / Knight + Chronomancer (cooldown support) or Unyielding + Martial when you need extra windows. Death-Defying Vial is recommended for risky solo pushes.
Fist-DPS Build
This is the Vanguardian that delights scoreboards. Focus heavy on Physical Damage, Crit Chance, and Crit Damage to maximize per-hit output. Use Hero’s Charge to start the chain, then weave basics and ultimate bursts to explode targets. The Vanguardian’s fist animations reward precise spacing and timing; perfect aim + ready Empowered gem = massive clear and single-target damage.
- Core stats priority: Physical Damage → Crit Chance → Crit Damage → Light (late-game).
- Gems: Explosive Epilogue for clearing the aftermath of your burst; Pyrodisc if you want a more mobile DPS flavor.
- Emblems & flasks: Martial + Surestrike for peak windows; damage flask during boss windows.
Farming Build
For geode farming and route efficiency, lean into Attack Speed, Movement Speed, and empowered movement/AoE gems. Vanguardian is surprisingly effective at topside clears when you combine Pyrodisc with high AS and movement—Hero’s Charge serves as a traversal tool more than an engage.
- Core stats priority: Attack Speed → Movement Speed → Primary Damage → Moderate Crit.
- Gems: Pyrodisc is often recommended for speed: area damage + movement bonus. Explosive Epilogue remains useful if you want consistent chain-clears.
- Emblems & flasks: Beamer/Trailblazer + Elysian Bandolier for minimal downtime.
Emblems, Flasks & Allies
Emblems (recommended):
- Martial + Surestrike — classic damage windows for Fist-DPS.
- Unyielding + Knight — solid for Hybrid tanking.
- Beamer / Trailblazer + Martial — for speed builds and sustain summon synergies.
Flasks:
- Death-Defying Vial — essential for risky soloing and clutch moments.
- Damage Flask — pop during ultimate windows.
- Elysian Bandolier — reduces downtime on farming loops.
Allies:
- Rapt Berserker — raw DPS ally for Fist-DPS.
- Chronomancer Qubesly — cooldown support if you want more ult windows.
- Jingles / Movement Allies — useful for speed builds.
Vanguardian Gear Stats priorities by slot
| Slot | Tank/Hybrid | Fist-DPS | Speed-Farm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Max Health → Physical Damage → Stability | Physical Damage → Crit Damage → Crit Chance | Attack Speed → Physical Damage → Movement |
| Hat | Max Health → Stability → Physical Damage | Crit Damage → Physical Damage → Light | Movement → Attack Speed → Physical Damage |
| Face | Max Health → Physical Damage → Energy Regen | Physical Damage → Crit Chance → Crit Damage | Energy Regen → Movement → PD |
| Ring | Max Health / PD → Crit | Crit / PD → Light | Movement / AS → PD |
| Banner | Light → PD → HP | PD → Light → Crit | AS / Movement → PD |
- Tank builds prioritize Max HP & Stability; Fist-DPS prioritizes PD & Crit; Speed builds prioritize AS/MS. Invest Light on banners for long Delve scaling.
Progression roadmap — early → mid → endgame
Early (0–PR5k): Learn punch rhythm and Hero’s Charge timing. Prioritize survivability so you don’t die to simple pulls.
Mid (PR5k–PR20k): Choose a role, hunt empowered gems (Explosive Epilogue, Pyrodisc), and test class gems when you get them. Optimize emblems.
Endgame (Long Shade / Shadow Tower): Invest Mystic/Cosmic gem upgrades for Light and final stat ceilings, tune emblem/ally combos, and practice PD/Crit balance for sustained carry runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Thoughts
The Vanguardian is a satisfying class for players who like to be part-fortress, part-fist. It rewards prediction, timing and the kind of steady presence that turns chaos into opportunities for your team. Whether you’re anchoring a Delve, carrying a boss, or speed-running geodes, the Vanguardian has a build for you. Master Hero’s Charge, respect your windows, tune your gems, and you’ll be the fist that writes the crew’s highlight reel.