Once you unlock the Lord class in Tactics Ogre: Reborn, the options you get might seem dizzying. By switching to any class, Denam “memorizes” the skills from that class, allowing them to be used as a Lord. This allows Denam to “multiclass” to basically any combination of skills.
Once you have a unit that has access to practically any Human class skill, it is absolutely daunting. Here are some of our favorite builds to use. Feel free to customize them however you see fit!
Fire Hammer Lord
? Hammer weapon skill
? Lament of the Dead
? Phalanx
? Meditate IV
This Denam gets to be a frontliner with a unique gimmick: he’s the only character that can dual-wield two 1H Hammers. Meditate IV allows Denam to use Hammers’ best finisher, which is a multi-target Fire blast that can be used slightly past melee range.
Packing Fire Magic lets you hit multiple enemies with Fire Averse — this is especially fantastic if you are running Cerya as a Shaman, or Deneb as a Fire Wicce.
Lament of the Dead opens up the enemies for multi-target finishers. Phalanx can be any tanky skill you prefer; those who leveled Denam as a Ninja might have a certain taste for Steelstance, for example. If your Denam will be duking it out with a beefy frontline, you can give him Risk Management instead.
Brick House Denam
? Any weapon skill
? Phalanx
? Steelstance
? Lament of the Dead
This is a fun example of stacking two relevant skills. Whereas berserkers do it with Berserk, Mighty Impact and Sanguine Assault for damage, this particular Lord Denam can do it with three tank skills. Phalanx and Steelstance can overlap, giving a gigantic tank boost, and Lament of the Dead protects your whole team from damage.
Remember, the “Frighten” Debuff makes the enemy take some more damage, but also output significantly less damage. Denam will have the tankiness of the Knight, the best skill from the Terror Knight, and some extra Ninja goodness on top.
Alternatively, you can give this Lord build Meditate and take away the weapon skill. You’ll have an unkillable mage spitting out whatever Summon or Support magic you like!
Dark Dread Samurai
? 2H Katana
? Lament of the Dead
? Meditate VI
? Double Impact
Instead of combining Berserker and Terror Knight using Lord’s class combining ability, this build combines Terror Knight with Swordmaster. Using Instill Darkness and a Katana with Dark-Averse as an effect means you’ll have big damage on your first swings if Meditate doesn’t proc.
You can also opt for a support skill, like First Aid, and replace Double Impact. You’ll instead use Meditate’s capabilities for Ghostwail, the 70 MP 2H Katana finisher. Ghostwail also does Dark damage. With Dark Averse already activated from Instill Darkness, you’ll have an easy time killing any enemy.
Light Lord Denam
? 1H Sword
? Phalanx
? Reflection
? First Aid
A certain legendary sword from the main story has the Light element (and causes Light Averse) along with the ability to use a once-per-fight Resurrect. This is convenient if you’re not one of those hardcore gamers going for a no-incapacitation run.
This is the ultimate support tank Denam Lord build. First Aid heals allies, Reflection (though it requires a Lich swap) will provide magic immunity (but better!) to nearby units, and the 1H sword comes with Resurrection — and can be paired with a utility shield. I’m a fan of the Medusa Shield, and the Petrify effect it has comes in handy.
You can also run a 2H Light sword instead so Denam has the ability to chew through health bars easier.
Ultimate Summoner
? Conserve RT
? Conserve MP
? Nature’s Touch
? Meditate VI
No weapon skill needed, as the slight boost in damage is outweighed by the power of each individual skill in tandem. This Denam will be able to fire off Summon spells, the highest single-target damage spells in the game, faster than most other casters due to Conserve RT. However, Wizards (who get access to Conserve RT) don’t get access to Summon spells OR Nature’s Touch which makes elemental casts significantly stronger.
See how much better Lord can be than a normal class?
Totally Ignore It
? Evade
? Reflection
? Preempt
? Hammers
This works well as a Dark lord with Dagda’s Hammer or as a Light lord with any weapon skill for a weapon with Counterattack, as the combo of Preempt, Evade and Counterattack can allow you to totally reverse the attack of an enemy and annihilate them in the process.
However, this build can be altered for basically any 2H you like. It is partially inspired by the Juggernaut and Hoplite classes, which are typically only available for Lizardman, Orc, and Lamia races. Their skills can also be transferred to generic characters through the body snatching mechanic.
Reflection makes for a better Apostate, and gives it to more units than just Denam. If you find that Evade is hurting you, as it can block Denam receiving items or buff casts, feel free to replace it with Meditate IV. If you’re spamming the Fire finisher, consider making this Denam the Fire element as well.
