Basic Gameplay
Find your center with this robo-ronin and devastate your enemies. Tol-Ren is a respected Ren, or teacher, of Nidus – a branch of Omni Trust that wishes to bring GAIA back to the world. He specializes in dealing precision damage. You’ll recognize that many of his techniques have been passed down to his students, Asana and Kaigin. He is a master of chasing down his enemies with an intense calm and brutal strikes.
Like any good warrior, Tol-Ren is very aware of his surroundings. His Twin Slash lets you target 2 strikes separately – a short cone and a slightly longer line. Overlapping the strikes means more pain for your unfortunate target. Being melee, Tol-Ren can find himself in the middle of his enemies, about to take some serious damage. He can activate Ren’s Fury as a free action to gain a shield for some staying power and his next attack will hit a bit harder! When he’s out of range Tol-Ren can release Spirit Rend, a strike so swift it sends out a wave of energy that can even curve to ensure his target is damaged and slowed.
Rushing Steel is an aggressive dash that let’s Tol-Ren close the gap, dodge, and deal damage all at the same time, putting him up close and personal. To make matter worse for his opponent, he can move after this dash, making sure to follow up and close out kills. Tol-Ren’s ultimate is also a dash. Showdown plays out like the classic samurai standoff- Dash through your enemy with an imperceptibly fast slice. Hold pose. Sheath blade. Enemy crumbles to the ground in a spray of crimson. Combining your ultimate with “might” and the bonus damage from Ren’s Fury will decimate an unsuspecting foe.
Abilities
- Twin Slash
- Slash and slice with his sword. Overlapping these will result in more pain for his enemies.
- Ren’s Fury
- Taking damage after activating this free-action shield will grant him bonus damage on his next attack.
- Spirit Rend
- Slice the air, sending a curve-able energy wave through his enemies, slowing those hit.
- Rushing Steel
- An aggressive dash that creates a positional advantage to win damage trades. He may still move after this dash.
- Showdown
- Dashing and slicing through an enemy so fast they won’t feel it right away. The target is knocked down and dealt damage in the Blast phase.
Advanced Tactics
When playing as Tol-Ren:
- Ren’s Fury only grants bonus damage if you take Direct damage, and the bonus damage applies to your next attack, which doesn’t have to be on the next turn.
- Rushing Steel allows you to move AFTER the dash, which includes inputting a Chase command to ensure you hunt down and close out kills.
- Showdown only hits the first target you’d dash through, but you can line up multiple targets just in case one of them dashes!
- If Showdown would cause you to dash through a Might buff, it will apply to the damage it would do in the Blast phase!
- Tol-Ren can be modded to be fairly tanky with shields. However knowing when to get out is a very important skill as a melee lancer.
Coming up against Tol-Ren:
- On the turn you think Tol-Ren may use Ren’s Fury, consider targeting a different enemy so as not to grant him additional damage on his next attack.
- Tol-Ren’s dashes (Rushing Steel & Showdown) both have fairly predictable pathing. Take advantage of that with predictions or traps.
- While his mods can give him extra shielding, a strong round of focus fire can push Tol-Ren out of a fight.
- Since Tol-Ren can move after dashing, know when to give up on a Power-Up near you and move to safety. Also, consider running back toward your team in case he chases you. You’ll be in a better position and have the support of your team!