Revenant guide: how to tank and deal damage with frost, disease and life steal — talents and build

The Revenant is a risen warrior in plate who strikes with cold and disease and closes their wounds with life stolen from the enemy. They’re Zarhold’s second toughest class and, like the Barbarian, can both take the hits and deal the damage. If you enjoy a long fight where the enemy gets weaker every turn while you only get sturdier, this is your class. In this guide we’ll look at how to play a Revenant: their cards and Class Power, which talent trees to take early on and at level 60, what to wear and how to play in dungeons, raids and the arena.

The Revenant at a glance

• Group roles: tank or damage dealer.
• Armour: plate — the heaviest type; anything lighter can be worn too.
• Resource: Rage. It’s the same Crystals everyone has: 1 on your first turn, one more each turn up to 10, and whatever you don’t spend is lost.
• Health at level 60 without gear: 606 — second only to the Barbarian (632).
• Cards: 22 of their own and 4 more from talents.
• Difficulty: medium. The deck is sturdy and forgiving, but diseases and debuffs only pay off if you apply them early and in the right order.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

• lots of Health and plate, two shields and a defensive buff — the Revenant survives heavy turns;
• life steal: two strikes also heal the Revenant, and there’s a self-heal on top;
• the attacking Class Power hits every enemy at once — strong against groups of foes;
• plenty of damage over time: diseases tick every turn, and one card infects all enemies at once;
• control: a choking card makes the enemy lose a turn, and debuffs raise the damage they take.

Weaknesses:

• no shield in the off hand and no healing for allies;
• the attacking power hits everyone but only a little: against a single target it’s weaker than a single-target strike;
• unlike the Barbarian, there’s no taunt card in the deck — enemies stay on the tank only through the Class Power and damage;
• damage over time takes a while: in a short fight diseases don’t get to finish their work.

The Revenant’s deck: key cards

In Zarhold you don’t build your deck by hand: all 22 class cards and the cards of your learned talents go into battle, and if you have fewer than thirty cards the deck is topped up with copies of cheap ones. Every card with its description is in the Revenant’s Spellbook. Here’s what the class is built on.

Rage and tempo

Two 1-Crystal cards speed up your turn: one deals a little damage and returns 4 Crystals, the other draws 2 cards and returns 2 Crystals. In the early turns they let you play a strike you otherwise couldn’t afford yet.

Frost

Cold strikes for 2 and 4 Crystals (6 and 11 base), a strike with damage over time and a strike after which the target takes 20% more damage from all sources for 3 turns. Frost means pressure on a single target and setting up a big hit.

Diseases

Three cards put damage on the enemy at the end of each of their turns — 3 turns in a row — and a fourth, for 5 Crystals, infects all enemies at once. The earlier your diseases are out, the more damage they get to deal.

Life steal and defence

• two strikes for 8 base damage that also restore 5 of your Health;
• a self-heal for 10;
• an 18-point shield for just 2 Crystals and a 20-point shield for 5;
• a defensive buff: you take 30% less damage for 3 turns.

Buffs, debuffs and control

• a 3-turn buff — +30% to the damage you deal, plus another, for 5 Crystals, — +50% for 2 turns;
• a blood mark — the target takes 25% more damage from all sources for 3 turns;
• a choke — the enemy loses their turn.

Damage

A strike on all enemies for 5 Crystals and a finisher for 7. Base card numbers grow with Power: the more a card costs, the bigger the share of Power it gets.

The Revenant’s Class Power

Your Class Power is the round button that costs 1 Crystal, once per turn. Which one you have depends on your specialisation — the tree with the most points in it:

• the two attacking trees (and no specialisation, before level 10) — a strike on all enemies at once; against a single target it’s weaker than the single-target powers of other classes, but against a group it hits every foe;
• the third tree — Taunt: bonus armour, and in a party against creatures enemies attack you right away and for 2 of their turns, dealing 40% less damage to you; usable again after 3 turns. One-on-one and in PvP, Taunt only gives armour.

The numbers for every power by tree are in the Class Power reference.

Revenant talents: three trees

Talents unlock at level 10 and you get a point for every level — 51 by level 60. Each row of a tree opens for every 5 points in it, and the top talent needs 20 points in its own tree. A hero can only have one top talent per loadout. The Revenant’s trees hold 22, 23 and 22 ranks — 67 in total — so you can’t learn everything: talents are about choices.

1. The first tree — frost: control and burst. Attacking. Its talent card is a 2-Crystal strike after which the target takes 30% more damage for 2 turns.
2. The second tree — disease and rot. Attacking. It has two talent cards: in the third row, damage over time on all enemies that also raises the damage they take by 20% for 3 turns; in the fifth row, a strike on all enemies with damage over time.
3. The third tree — life steal and attrition. The only Revenant tree that grants Taunt, and so the only one for tanking. Its talent card is a 3-Crystal strike that also puts up a shield.

Third-row cards unlock at level 20 at the earliest, the second tree’s fifth-row card at level 30. Every tree with its talent and rank counts is in the Talent trees reference.

What to take early on

Until level 20 you have only one specialisation, so for open-world quests take an attacking tree: your Class Power hits all enemies — handy when there are several foes. Put your points into one tree in a row — that opens the next rows and the talent card faster.

A level 60 build

From level 20 a hero has two specialisations, and they suit the Revenant especially well:

• Spec A — attacking: 21 points in the frost or disease tree (20 to reach the top talent plus the top talent itself), the other 30 into bonuses from the neighbouring trees. Frost is stronger against a single target, disease when there are several enemies — and the disease tree has two talent cards;
• Spec B — tanking: 21 points in the third tree, the rest into whatever supports your survival.

Switching specialisations, loadouts and talent resets are free. How to count points and put a build together is covered in “Talents in a card RPG”. You can test a new build right away: the Try out button in the talents window takes you to the training dummy.

Revenant gear and weapons

• Armour: plate. The Revenant can also wear mail, leather or cloth, but their own type gives the most protection.
• Weapons: sword, axe, mace and polearm.
• Off hand: no shield, tome or orb — only a second one-hander.
• Two-handed: polearm, and the two-handed versions of the sword, axe and mace.
• Two weapons: yes. Hands are equal for every class: two one-handers carry as many stats as one two-hander.
• Ranged slot: instead of a bow or a wand, a relic of their own class that only a Revenant can wear.

At level 60 the Revenant’s goal is the Tier 1 set Plate of the Grave Winter: eight pieces of item level 232 from heroic raids and world bosses. The 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-piece bonuses depend on your active tree and don’t work in PvP. Details are in “Tier sets in an MMORPG”, and every class’s armour and weapons are in the Armour and weapons reference.

Which race to choose for a Revenant

Any race can be a Revenant. If you want to squeeze out every bit, match the race’s permanent bonus to your role:

• for a tank — Health: the Gartan get +10%, the Durgar +8%, the Grumak and the Vaerin +5% each;
• for a damage dealer — Power: the Kogran, Nakar and Shaydar get +6% each, the Velion +5%;
• for the arena consider the Morven: no crowd control makes them lose a turn — while stunned they simply have 1 Crystal.

Race is a nice extra, not a life sentence. Every bonus is in the All races reference.

The Revenant in PvE: dungeons and raids

A dungeon takes a tank, a healer and a damage dealer; a raid or a world boss takes a tank, a healer and three damage dealers. The Revenant can fill the tank or the damage slot.

As a tank

• Queue as a tank only in the third tree: the tank role works through Taunt, and only that tree has it. If you’re in the wrong tree, the game will warn you.
• A boss attacks whoever has dealt it the most damage. Taunt pulls enemies onto you for 2 of their turns right away, then there’s a rest turn — and it’s ready again after 3 turns. A tank’s damage makes triple threat, so keep hitting the boss during the rest turn to keep it on you: the Revenant has no backup taunt card.
• The board shows who every enemy is targeting. If the boss isn’t looking at you and Taunt is ready, the game will prompt you: “Use Taunt!”.
• Life steal, shields and the −30% damage buff are your buffer between the healer’s heals.
• Hits on “everyone” strike the whole group, and no taunt saves you from them.

As a damage dealer

The Revenant’s attacking power hits every enemy each turn — especially useful when a boss summons helpers. Spread your diseases in the first turns, weaken the target with frost or a blood mark before expensive strikes and don’t pull the boss off the tank. A long fight is risky: the boss enrages, and every stage adds 18% to its damage.

Step-by-step raid prep is in “Your first MMORPG raid”, and the roles in detail are in the knowledge base article Group roles.

The Revenant in PvP: arena and duels

In the arena (1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5), on the battleground and in duels the Revenant plays an attacking tree — Taunt doesn’t hold opponents and only gives armour.

• In team fights the Class Power hits every opponent at once, and the all-enemies disease card infects each of them.
• Debuffs plus damage: a blood mark or a frost strike before an expensive strike adds 20–25% to its damage.
• The choke takes away your opponent’s turn, but afterwards the target has at least 2 turns of their own when they can’t be stunned again.
• Remember the PvP rules: you can’t lose more than 60% of your Health in a round, from your 10th turn healing and shields weaken by 10% a turn, a card shield lasts 2 turns and can’t exceed 30% of your Health, and the deck isn’t reshuffled — once you run out of cards, fatigue damage begins.
• Defence in PvP is Resilience from PvP gear; Hardiness from regular gear doesn’t work in the arena.

All the rules are in the knowledge base article Special PvP combat rules, and modes and ratings in “PvP in a card game”.

Common beginner mistakes as a Revenant

1. Queueing as a tank in an attacking tree. Without Taunt the boss goes to whoever hits hardest. Check your specialisation before the queue.
2. Applying diseases at the end of a fight. Damage over time works for 3 turns in a row — diseases cast on the last turn simply won’t have time.
3. Saving up Rage. Crystals don’t carry over to the next turn — what you don’t spend is lost. The cards that return Crystals are there to let you play more this turn.
4. Counting on life steal instead of a shield. A strike that heals is nice, but against an enemy’s heavy hit a 2-Crystal shield or the defensive buff is more reliable.
5. Wearing Hardiness gear in the arena. In PvP only Resilience protects you.

Revenant FAQ

Is the Revenant a tank or a damage dealer?

Both. Your specialisation decides the role: the third tree makes the Revenant a tank with Taunt, the other two make them a damage dealer. From level 20 you can keep both specialisations and switch with one button outside combat.

How is the Revenant different from the Barbarian?

Both are plate wearers, tanks and damage dealers. The Barbarian has more Health, a shield for the off hand and a taunt card. The Revenant has life steal, diseases and an attacking power that hits every enemy at once.

Can a Revenant use a shield?

No. The Revenant fights with a two-handed weapon or two one-handers, and wears their own class relic in the ranged slot.

Which Revenant tree is best for solo play?

Either of the two attacking trees: their Class Power hits all enemies. Frost is handier against one strong foe, disease when there are several.

How much Health does a Revenant have?

606 at level 60 without gear — only the Barbarian has more. Gear, talents and race add on top.

The bottom line

The Revenant is the pick for anyone who enjoys a long, grinding fight: diseases tick, frost weakens the enemy and life steal keeps you standing. Start with an attacking tree for quests, add a tanking specialisation at level 20 — and you’ll have a place in both dungeons and raids. Create a Revenant and find out what it’s like to grow stronger with every turn. And if you’re still choosing a class, see “Which class to choose”.