You have a lot of options for customizing your primary character in Tyranny, one of which is your primary and secondary expertise. Although choosing what you're most interested in is most important, several of the options are better than others.
Below we will go over every expertise and share our take on how they perform in the meta.
Sword and Shield
Description: Wielding a sword and shield puts you in the front line of combat, standing between enemies and your allies. Holding a shield will slow down your attack rate slightly, but give you good defensive bonuses.
Skills:
- +6 One-Handed Weapons
- +5 Parry
- +4 Athletics
Abilities:
- Shield Slam [RECOMMENDED] – Slam your shield against a target, Dazing them for a moderate duration.
- Sunder – Deliver a powerful overhead attack that reduces the target's armor.
Our Rating: 5/5
Making your primary character a tank is a great idea, as it ensures that the front line of your offense is well build and cared for. By choosing this you can focus on selecting mages and damage dealers to compliment you as you're concerned with gaining the attention of enemies and trying to shut them down. Shield Slam's control is extremely beneficial to your party, making it the preferred ability choice. This is a safe pick that will provide good leverage early in the game to choose from a variety of characters to add to your party.
Best For: Players who like to get into the face of enemies.
Javelin
Description: Wielding a javelin is a good compromise between melee and ranged. Thrown weapons deal more damage than bows, but cannot attack from as far away. They also have the benefit of being able to switch between ranged and melee attacks depending on the enemy's distance.
Skills:
- +6 Thrown Weapons
- +3 Dodge
- +3 Parry
- +5 Athletics
Abilities:
- Heart Shot – Delay your aim to focus on hitting the target's heart. Gain additional Accuracy for this attack and leave the target Bleeding.
- Hobble [RECOMMENDED] – Target your enemies' feet with a ranged attack, Hobbling them if successful.
Our Rating: 2/5
Although having a javelin in your party isn't a bad idea, making your primary character one is a sub-optimal idea. This expertise isn't specialized enough. It is desirable that you have every character in your party focused on a core element of combat. With the use of Hobble you can effectively kite dangerous foes, but it requires a high level of micromanagement. You are better off focusing on damage and debuffs instead.
Also Read: Tyranny Attribute Explanations
Best For: Players who enjoy kiting enemies.
Greatsword
Description: Wielding a two-handed weapon puts your focus on power rather than speed. This is a slow attack style, but the damage you deal will often overcome the armor of your enemies.
Skills:
- +6 Two-Handed Weapons
- +5 Parry
- +5 Athletics
Abilities:
- Sunder – Deliver a powerful overhead attack that reduces the target's armor.
- Cleave [RECOMMENDED] – A sweeping cone attack that hits multiple nearby enemies.
Our Rating: 4/5
The Greatsword is a superb primary expertise as it is capable of delivering high damage, and has options for dishing AoE. When compared to Dual Wielding they are highly effective at going toe-to-toe with armored types, making them a great accomplice to the Sword and Shield. Cleave is the more generally effective of the two abilities, providing a means of smashing a group of enemies before you. Early on you will meet a tank that you can use to zone enemies while your main character pummels foes with his or her Greatsword; not such a bad idea.
Best For: Players who enjoy overpowering enemies.
Dual-Wielding
Description: Wielding two weapons gives you the advantage of versatility as each weapon can deal different types of damage.
Skills:
- +6 Dual Wield
- +5 Parry
- +5 Athletics
- +3 Subterfuge
Abilities:
- Flurry of Blows [RECOMMENDED] – Unleash a double attack on your target.
- Slice – A carefully placed attack that attempts to open a major artery, leaving the target bleeding.
Our Rating: 2/5
Dual-wielding performs similarly to the Greatsword, but is instead a bit more agile and capable of rushing lower armored characters. This exposes the character to damage in many cases, which is ill-suited for your main character. If you do decide to bring along a dual-wield, be sure to pick Flurry of Blows so you can smash an enemy to low health in a swift blow.
Best For: Players who enjoy assassination.
Shortbow
Description: The shortbow is the weapon of choice for those who choose to attack from a distance, avoiding direct engagement with their enemies.
Skills:
- +6 Bows
- +3 Dodge
- +5 Subterfuge
- +3 Athletics
Abilities:
- Heart Shot [RECOMMENDED] – Delay your aim to focus on hitting the target's heart. Gain additional Accuracy for this attack and leave the target Bleeding.
- Hobble – Target your enemies' feet with a ranged attack, Hobbling them if successful.
Our Rating: 3/5
The Shortbow is a very reliable damage dealer that requires careful consideration to avoid being rushed by enemy melee. When positioned well it will devastate enemies over time, becoming one of your best damage dealers. Heart Shot will allow it to quickly take down high health enemies, one of its best assets. This is a relatively safe pick since you'll be able to deal damage outside of melee range, although you'll want to bring along some control to ensure you can peel for your main character when necessary.
Best For: Players who want to deliver consistent damage from distance.
Unarmed Attacks
Description: Unarmed fighting is one of the more challenging combat styles. Damage is generally lower, but this is offset by the speed of your attacks. A good style for someone interested in being challenged. While fighting unarmed, the Dodge skill is used to avoid melee attacks rather than Parry.
Skills:
- +6 Unarmed Combat
- +5 Dodge
- +5 Athletics
- +3 Subterfuge
Abilities:
- Flurry of Blows – Unleash a double attack on your target.
- Palm Strike [Recommended] – Perform a powerful palm strike to the target's chest, interrupting them, pushing them back, and Silencing them from spell casting.
Our Rating: 1/5
Unarmed Attacks was designed with veteran players in mind. It is outclassed by the Greatsword and Dual-Wield, having some unique traits that make it a fun and welcomed deviation. In general, it is a poor pick, especially for your main character.
Best For: Players looking for a challenge.
Shock Spells
Description: Mages skilled in shock magic that frequently interrupt their enemies, preventing them from executing their attacks.
Skills:
- +8 Control Lightning
- +2 Magic Staff
- +3 Dodge
- +5 Lore
Abilities:
- Charged Fist – Channel an explosive surge of electrical energy releasing it all at once on a nearby enemy, interrupting them and sending them flying back.
Our Rating: 5/5
Interruption is one of the most potent ways to deal with enemy casters and high priority enemies. Without control you will have to rely on positioning, which isn't always an option when facing agile enemies. You will want a Shock in your group, the only real decision to make is whether or not you want your main character to be focused on this school of magic. When compared to the other magic options, Shock is highly preferable.
Best For: Players who enjoy control.
Frost Spells
Description: Frost magic is an offensive school that focuses on slowing enemies as well as dealing cold damage.
Skills:
- +8 Control Frost
- +2 Magic Staff
- +3 Dodge
- +5 Lore
Abilities:
- Frozen Grasp – Envelop a target in harsh winter cold, leaving them frozen for a time.
Our Rating: 3/5
Frost magic is very potent for providing your ranged damage dealers with space on the battlefield. It requires a lot of micromanagement and careful positioning, but is worth it. In many cases Shock magic is a better choice, though. Frost's effectiveness is situational and will depend upon the battle conditions.
Best For: Players with several ranged damage dealers on their team.
Vigor Spells
Description: The School of Vigor is a utility branch of magic that focuses on granting bonuses to yourself and your allies.
Skills:
- Titan's Touch – Fill the target with a surge of greatness, granting them a bonus to Might and Vitality.
Abilities:
- +8 Control Vigor
- +2 Magic Staff
- +3 Dodge
- +5 Lore
Our Rating: 4/5
Vigor is a must-have on your team. It will make your group stronger. That said, for most players dedicating their main character to support isn't very exciting. This is a divisive pick that is probably best suited for character pick-ups rather than your main.
Best For: Players who enjoy supporting teammates.
Atrophy Spells
Description: Atrophy magic drains the skills and attributes of your enemies, weakening their attacks and making them easier to kill.
Skills:
- +8 Control Atrophy
- +2 Magic Staff
- +3 Dodge
- +5 Lore
Abilities:
- Touch of Atrophy – Gather entropic energy and channel it into an enemy, sapping the target's Might and Vitality.
Our Rating: 2/5
Atrophy scales poorly early on. It isn't until later in the game when enemies pose a serious problem that it hits its full potential. At that point it'll be a godsend for your group. Due to this, you may want to choose a different expertise for your main character and then pick up an Atrophy mage later on.
Best For: Players who like to debuff.
