Glaive | Character classes Torment: Tides of Numenera Guide

Glaive is a class of elite warriors of the Ninth World. During combat they use weapons and armor. It is an archetype of a warrior, a perfect choice for players who prefer to solve problems by force.

Bonuses

If you decide to make your main character a glaive, you will receive the following bonuses:

Traits:

• +1 to Might pool,
• +1 to Speed pool,
• 2 point that can be spent on any pools,
• +5 health for each promotion on Tier 1,
• +7 health for each promotion from Tier 2,
• One free weapon skill on each Tier,
• One ability on each Tier,
• 1 athletic skill on Tier 1.

Class skills:

• Opportunism - An active ability - using it ends the turn. You will perform a basic attack on the first opponent in the reach of your protagonist. The ability provides +15% bonus to attacks that are performed in that way.
• Practiced in Armor - A passive ability (it doesn't require activation). It reduces the "cost" of wearing armor by 3 Speed points and by 3 Might points. It also reduces armor penalties related to esotery attacks by 15%.

Who is this class best for?

Glaive is an equivalent of a warrior. By default he will solve problems with force - either by fighting or by intimidating others in conversations. What's important, you can select the type of weapon in which the glaive will specialize. You can choose from heavy, two-handed weapons or medium weapons combined with shield. You can choose whether to play a glaive with the highest defense skills or one that is more agile on the battlefield and uses speed to weaken the enemies. glaive is the only class that can select +15% bonus to damage level of selected weapons: heavy, tactical (medium), light, melee or ranged.

Glaive is not only a master on the battlefield. Additional athletic skills and high speed can impact optional dialogue options and make it easier to complete many challenges in the game. High strength and a reputation of a strong warrior will make it easier to impress other inhabitants of the world.

If you want to play a strong, resistant warrior and learn the secrets of the world by using brute force, then select this class. You won't discover all the secrets and hidden conversations (companions of other classes might help you with that), but you will defeat every opponent. Unlike the characters focused on diplomacy, glaive will manage perfectly during crises. If you plan to frequently participate in combat, you should have even two glaives in your party (the main protagonist and Erritis who is also a glaive).

All in all, the class is perfect for players who prefer a more direct approach to the game and don't intend to avoid combat. This class is much easier to develop than the two other ones as it doesn't have too many unusual skills. What's more, many useful skills are passive. Thanks to that you don't have to remember to always manually activate them when needed.

Which descriptor to choose?

At the beginning of the game you can select one descriptor. You should choose wisely as later you won't be able to change your mind. If you plan on playing as glaive, consider selecting one of the following descriptors:

• Strong - it increases Might by 3 points and additionally in increases Intimidation and Endurance by 1 point. It reduces Quick Fingers by 1 point and Intellect by 2 points. It is a "safe" selection for a glaive.
• Tough - It increases Armor, Resistance and Endurance by 1 point. It weakens Evasion by 15%. It is a good trait if you plan to create a strong, resistance character that will use heavy weapons.
• Rugged - it increases Resistance by 2 points and additionally it increases Endurance and Natural lore by 1 point. It reduces Machinery Lore and Deception by 1 point. It is an alternative to the Tough description that doesn't penalize evasion. Higher resistance will enable you to minimize harm done by special types of damage.
• Wrathful - it increases Heavy Weapons, Intimidation and Smashing by 1 point. It reduces Concentration and Stealth by 1 point. It is an interesting choice if you plan on using two-handed weapons and if you want to depend on glaive during interactions with NPCs and surroundings (Intimidation and Smashing).

Which exploration skills to choose?

Below there is a list of exploration skills you should spend at least one development point on (and it is best to reach mastery in them):

• Endurance - this skill provides you with additional health points every time you gain new level. The health points are very useful if you plan to frequently fight.
• Intimidation, Smashing - These skills might be useful during conversations with NPCs or when interacting with the surroundings.

Which weapon skills to choose?

Weapon Skills are available only for glaives (Jacks and Nano cannot use them). You can choose from five skills. However, only two of them are really interesting:

• Heavy weapons or Medium (tactical) weapons - Make a pick depending on whether you want to fight by using two-handed weapons or by using weapon and shield.
• Melee Weapons - This skill increases the damage dealt by all melee weapons.

General information about developing a glaive

Glaive has surprisingly many great passive skills

Glaive, similarly to other classes, can be developed in various ways. It should depend on how you plan to use this character and what is your preferred playing style. Below there are a few suggestions related to development paths that aren't too complicated and that enable the player to utilize the main advantages of glaive. You can use this advice both while developing the main protagonist who is a glaive and when improving Erritis who is the only available glaive companion.

The first suggested development path for glaive

The first development path is based on building a glaive with heavy armor and two-handed weapon focus. Such character can be a great tank that protects the other party members by focusing enemy attention on themselves. They can also deliver powerful melee attacks.

• Might is the most important parameter for a character that follows this development path. You can focus only on improving might whenever you gain level or you can spend a few points on Speed as well, so that your character won't be completely useless when it comes to speed-based attacks and skills.
• You should equip your glaive with heavy armor and a two-handed weapon. When it comes to armor, remember that there may be some penalties coming from the fact of using heavy armor.
• You should select the passive ability Unfailing Precision for your character. This will increase critical success chance of a melee attack. Taunt and War Cry passive skills are very interesting as well. These are good choices for a tank, since they force the opponent to focus their attacks on this character. Their disadvantage is the fact that they are dependent on Intellect, regardless, they can be very useful when it comes to protecting weaker companions.
• It is very important to quickly unlock the passive ability Armor Expert - preferably as soon as your reach Tier 2. It will enable you to reduce penalties for using heavy armor.
• Other useful passive skills are Vindictive Combatant and Brawler. The first one enables you to deal more damage to enemies with active positive fettles. The second one allows you to ignore negative fettle Flanked when there are enemies around the character. It might save the character from serious damage and enable him to continue luring the enemies away from weaker companions.
• Interpose is a good active skill. It enables you to switch places with a nearby ally who is attacked and intercept the damage he was about to receive. It is very useful when you want to protect a weaker companion.

The second suggested development path for glaive

The second development path is building glaive as a dedicated warrior. Instead of being a typical tank, he can easily move around the battlefield and quickly attack selected targets. Such character should use one of the medium armors and be equipped with a weapon (medium or a very good light one) and a shield combo.

• For a character following this alternative development path, it will be important to develop Might and Speed simultaneously. The glaive will remain an efficient warrior on the battlefield, but thanks to the Speed he will also become efficient in Speed-based skills and checks.
• Try to quickly equip your glaive with a high quality medium armor, a good one-handed weapon (preferably a medium/tactical one) and a shield.
• You should select Unfailing Precision while creating the character. It will increase chance for critical success of a melee attack. Skill With Defense, another passive skill, might be useful as well - it improves evasion and willpower.
• Shield Master is one of the more useful passive skills you can obtain early in the game. It increases evasion effectiveness by 10%. You can also take an interest in Armor Expert skill that removes penalties related to wearing armor. It isn't as important in this case as it was for our first suggested character build, but you shouldn't skip this skill anyway.
• Never Boring is an interesting passive skill for a character that moves through the battlefield a lot. It guarantees 20% chance for performing a critical hit whenever a new target is attacked. Kinetic Overdrive provides a 3-point boost of Might and Speed.
• Pierce and Fell Swoop are good Tier 2 active skills. Both are Speed-based and enable the player to deal damage to several enemies positioned in front of the glaive. You must only make sure they are in the range of the selected skill.