Sentinel Class Overview
Last Updated:March 4, 2024|Changelog
Introduction
Welcome to the Sentinel Class Overview! Here we provide all the key information to help you understand and maximize the Sentinel Class and its Masteries: the Void Knight, the Forge Guard and the Paladin.
This article compiles the most valuable tools the Sentinel has to offer to help you understand the Class and decide what build you want to play!
Take a look at all the Skills available for the Sentinel and its Masteries. Don't miss out on the best Passives and learn why they are valuable.
Find out more about the Sentinel fantasy in our Class and Mastery Introductions.
Level your Sentinel with our Sentinel Leveling Guides.
Check out our Sentinel Guides and find the perfect Sentinel Endgame build for you.
Skills
Skills are what define a build and its playstyle. They are the starting point for theory crafting any character and everything pivots around them. Most builds use at least one Damage Skill, one Movement Skill and one Defensive Skill. The remaining slots are normally used on Support Skills to buff your main Damage Skill, additional Movement Skills or a secondary Damage dealer if needed.
- Vengeance
Vengeance is the first Skill unlocked for Sentinels. It's mostly used as a Mana Generator Melee Attack that provides great defensives buffs and applies Ailments to enemies.
- Warpath
Warpath is your classic Spin2Win channelled Skill. It's very versatile, easy to play and grants Stun Immunity and Phasing. It has great synergy with the Void Knight's Echoes.
- Hammer Throw
Hammer Throw is amazing while leveling and brings back memories from Diablo II. It's often combined with Smite, since it can be procced through specific Idols.
- Lunge
Lunge is the basic dash for the Sentinel. It's used on most builds to move around the battlefield with ease. It shares Cooldown with Shield Rush.
- Rive
Rive is an aggressive Mana Generator Melee Attack with great offensive tools. It can do good Damage on its own but it's often paired with another skill with good AoE.
- Shield Bash
Shield Bash is a Support Skill that can be used to enhance Shield based builds. While it has some nice Nodes and utility there are currently better options for Sentinels.
- Javelin
Javelin is amazing for leveling and extremely versatile in the Endgame. It can be combined with Smite, since it can be procced through specific Idols.
- Void Cleave
Void Cleave is a powerful Melee Attack with great Damage scaling. It can be paired with Warpath, Erasing Strike or any of the Sentinel Mana Generators.
- Rebuke
Rebuke is an incredible Defensive Skill. The downside is that you are immobile while channelling it, but its Damage Reduction can save you from an otherwise certain death.
- Shield Rush
Shield Rush is a channelled Movement Skill that can traverse long distances. It's mostly used for fast mapping but can also do great Damage. It shares CD with Lunge.
- Multistrike
Multistrike has great Damage output potential for a Mana Generator Melee Attack, but requires great gear to do so. Its Skill Tree also allows it to proc Smite.
- Smite
Smite is an amazing single target Spell. It is very versatile and can be self-casted or procced through Idols with Chance To Cast Smite When You Hit With Throwing Attacks.
- Volatile Reversal
Volatile Reversal might take time to get used to, but it's worth it! It's often used to instantly recover all Mana spent recently or as a kitting tool with great offensive buffs.
- Abyssal Echoes
Abyssal Echoes can be specced for great single target Damage, decent AoE clear or utility buffs. When used for DPS, it's normally paired with Smite or Devouring Orb.
- Devouring Orb
Devouring Orb is one of the signature Void Knight Spells, famous for its multiple procs and explosions. It's perfect for beginners when combined with Smite.
- Anomaly
Anomaly provides some of the strongest offensive buffs available to the Sentinel. Try to always include this utility Skill into your Void Knight builds if possible.
- Erasing Strike
Erasing Strike is the Mastery Skill attached to the Void Knight. It can do great Damage specially when combined with Void Cleave, but requires serious Mana management.
- Shield Throw
Shield Throw is a versatile Throwing Attack that can be rapidly spammed if specced for. It can be build around Smite and has great synergy with Manifest Armor.
- Manifest Armor
Manifest Armor is a powerful minion that can scale from the player's gear. It has great synergy with Shield Throw.
- Ring Of Shields
Ring Of Shields is a powerful Defensive Skill. It can block incoming projectiles, heal the player and buff its Block Effectiveness.
- Smelter's Wrath
Smelter's Wrath is a powerful Melee Channelled Attack. It can do great Damage while making you extremely tanky but greatly hinders mobility.
- Forge Strike
Forge Strike is the Mastery Skill attached to the Forge Guard. It can do good Damage and summon Manifest Weapons, but requires some Mana management.
- Healing Hand
Healing Hand is a Spell that heals all allies in an targeted area. It currently has no Skill Specialization Tree.
- Sigils Of Hope
Sigils Of Hope is a powerful Support Skill present in almost all Sentinel builds. It grants incredibly powerful offensive buffs and a ton of flat armour. It has a high Mana cost.
- Judgement
Judgement is a very special Melee Attack. After the initial hit, it procs a Damage Over Time Spell called Consecrated Ground, which burns enemies and heals allies.
- Holy Aura
Holy Aura is the Paldin's Mastery Skill. This buff provides amazing offensive and defensive benefits to yourself and everyone around you, making it great for party play.
Valuable Passives
Passives are a key factor when min-maxing characters and are crucial to define the different Classes. In order to maximize what your character offers, you must take look at what the Class Passives are and understand them. Remember that you can allocate Passives Points on the first half of all Masteries, regardless of the one you are. Keep in mind that all Passive Nodes can be useful in specific situations or builds.
- Juggernaut: The Resistances are really good early on and they free up gear Suffixes in the Endgame. The Strength also provides %Armour and Damage if your build scales with it.
- Armour Clad: The main source of Damage Reduction the Sentinel has access to. 10% it's not much on it's own but synergizes well with other defensive layers.
- Valiant Charge: The Cooldown Recovery for your movement skills helps moving around faster. The Health on top is a nice bonus. Don't take this Node if your build does not use movement skills.
- Fearless: Specially valuable in Hardcore. Health is always welcomed and some Sentinel builds can scale Damage from Vitality. Using leftover Points on this Node is always a good idea.
- Time and Faith: Is a must for builds that need a Mana Generator.
- Gladiator: Enables Dual Wielding for the Sentinel.
- Blademaster: The Attack and Cast Speed are really good but require 25 points in the Sentinel Tree. If your build starves for points somewhere else this Node might be too much investment.
- Gladiator: Place 1 Point into this Node if your build uses a Shield for the 3% Block Chance.
- Axe Thrower: Can be very useful as the Axe proc can apply Ailments and trigger Smite through specific Idols.
- Abyssal Endurance: Provides really high Resistances and Health. This Node is really good early on and is key for opening up gear Suffixes for most Endgame Sentinel builds.
- World Eater: Insane Life Leech for any Melee build and Void spellcasters.
- Void Corruption: Great for any Critical Strike based build.
- Eternal Form: Grants tons of Life. Must have for any Void Knight.
- Echoing Strikes, Time Legion and Avatar of Regret: Increase the Echo chance of you skills. Skill Echoes are one of the main sources of DPS for Void Knights. The Melee Attack Speed of Time Legion is extremely good for Melee builds.
- Temporal Corruption: Converts Smite's Base Damage to Void. 2 points are enough to unlock Void Bolts or Void Blades.
- Void Bolts and Void Blades: Provide really high Base damage for your skills. These Nodes are insane for adding DPS into any Void based build.
- Finality: The Cull is useful when fighting pinnacle Bosses, specially on low DPS Melee builds.
- Renouncement: Gives Vitality scaling to Smite. Incredible way to scale Damage for any Void spellcasters that uses this skill.
- Singular Purpose: Is a great source of Void Damage if you decide to not use a Shield. Grab 4 Points in Woe or Rot Grip depending on the build you are playing to access this Node.
- Void Aegis and Void Flux: Increase survivability. Void Aegis works best with Shields. Grab Dread if you prefer a more glass cannon approach.
- Might: Decent amount of Health with some Strength on top. Forge Guard is one of the best Classes to stack Armour, so any Strength you can get is a nice bonus.
- Infinite Bulwark: Provides a huge Armour buff on potion use.
- Liquid Iron: The Damage Reduction against DoTs is huge, specially because Forge Guard has some signature skills with low mobility and can struggle to manoeuvre in the battlefield.
- Smelter's Might: Is a very versatile node that has a ton of value for DoT based builds.
- Folded Steel: Turns the Forge Guard into a great Minion Class. Combine it with Hammer and Anvil to get tankier while you Minions cause havoc.
- Weapons Master, Guardian and Thornmail: You can spend leftover points in this Nodes for the Strength, Health and Armour.
- Duelist and Lethal Strikes: Are both must haves when playing a Forge Guard build based around Melee Critical Strike.
- Fresh from the Forge: Grants a huge amount of flat Damage. Good value if you use nuke skills with Cooldown.
- Steel Aegis and Flawless Defender: Place 1 Point into each Node if your build uses a Shield for the Block Chance. Osprixbane, Walls of Solarum and Rallying Block complement these Nodes offensively and defensively.
- Shield Crafter: Enables the ability to auto-proc Ring Of Shields. This does not consume the skill's Cooldown and it can proc multiple times simultaneously. If you play Minions, this Node has great synergy with Iron Attunement.
- Champion of the Forge and Molded by the Forge: Increase the damage of any Two-Handed Melee Forge Guard builds. Specially valuable for Two-Handed Sword users.
- Siege Captain, Crusader, Javelineer and Shield Breaker: Are all useful for different Throwing Attack builds, combine them depending on the one you are playing.
- Conviction: Grants an insane amount of Damage for Physical, Lighting and Fire based builds.
- Defiance: Resistances are great early on and can also be used in the Endgame if needed.
- Valor: Really high HP per point. Useful when all you want is to unlock Sigils Of Hope.
- Holy Symbol: Great for capping your Necrotic Resistance easily.
- Heavenfire: Allows any Sentinel to have the same Flat Spell Damage as if they were using a Staff while wielding a Shield. Incredibly strong Node for any Spellcaster.
- Faith Armour: Allows Paladins to easily cap their Critical Strike Avoidance.
- Reverence of Duality: Grants tons of Life and Mana. Must have for any Paladin.
- Honour: Place 1 Point into this Node if your build uses a Shield for the 2% Block Chance.
- Shield Wall: Grab this Node if your build uses a Shield for the 5% Block Chance. Put 1 to 8 Points in Sanctuary Guardian depending if your build benefits from the flat Spell Damage or not.
- Holy Precision: Must have when playing a Crit Paladin based around Spells or Throwing Attacks.
- Divine Bolt: This procced Subskill can be really useful to apply Ailments.
- Dedication: Use this point if you need Mana Regeneration and scale Attunement.
Penance and Redemption: Are amazing for any Bleed based build. - Light of Rahyeh and Prayer Aegis: Good Nodes for leftover Points. Movement Speed, Damage and Health are always nice.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Summary
Overall, the Sentinel is the typical Knight type class. It has great support for Melee, Armour and Shields. This Class fits with players who like the 'Bruiser' playstyle. However, the Sentinel is very versatile and also performs amazingly with Spells, Throwing Attacks and Support for a party.
Level up any of the Sentinel Masteries and reach Level 70 with our Sentinel Leveling Guides.
Check all our Sentinel Guides if you are looking for Endgame guides for its Masteries.
Credits
Written by Lizard_IRL.
Reviewed by Terek.