Welcome back, filthy exiles! Today, we’re diving deep into one of the most brutally effective builds to rise from the ashes of Warborne Above Ashes Solarbite: the Smith of Kitava Shield Build. This monster of a setup is proof that defense can be offense — and that a wall of steel can hit harder than any blade.

With the right mix of armor scaling, regeneration, and smart skill synergy, this build doesn’t just survive endgame content — it dominates it. Whether you’re face-tanking T16 bosses or grinding through late-game chaos encounters, the Smith of Kitava proves that the mightiest weapon in Warborne isn’t a sword… it’s a shield.

The Philosophy of the Build

The inspiration for this setup came from an old-school idea — what if the ultimate blacksmith, the Smith of Kitava, could weaponize his own shield? Instead of relying on flashy elemental explosions or fragile glass-cannon tactics, this build doubles down on endurance, bleed damage, and resonant shield mechanics.

The result? A tank that not only shrugs off enemy attacks but reflects them back with devastating force. The build thrives on the idea that the best offense is the best defense — and when executed correctly, it lets you walk through endgame maps like a god forged in iron.

Core Stats and Strengths

At its peak, the build achieves around 470 HP regeneration per second, effectively turning the player into a walking fortress. Armor values scale aggressively thanks to a combination of masterworks, passives, and item bonuses — giving you both mitigation and damage scaling from the same stat.

Even in high-tier content, damage intake remains minimal. The build’s regeneration and shield uptime make it possible to tank almost everything short of the hardest Uber encounters, and even those fall quickly once you learn the rhythm of the shield resonance.

Core Mechanics: Resonating Power

The build’s central mechanic is Resonating Shield — a skill that not only acts as your primary defense but doubles as your main damage dealer. The secret lies in how shield resonance interacts with enemy armor.

By layering a few quick hits, the build can break armor within 4–6 strikes, which massively boosts subsequent damage output. Once the enemy’s armor is shattered, your shield detonations hit with near-boss-level force. The synergy between Shield Wall, Resonating Shield, and Fortifying Cry ensures that your explosions scale effectively with both armor and regeneration.

Interestingly, “crisscrossing” shield patterns (firing from alternate directions) increases damage further, likely due to multiple shrapnel overlaps hitting the same target — a small mechanical quirk that smart players can exploit for maximum DPS.

Key Supporting Skills

Here’s how the main active setup comes together:

Fortifying Cry – Enhances damage from shield explosions, providing a burst window for massive AoE hits.

Herald of Blood + Blood Chain – Core of the “perpetual blood” system. These skills sustain bleed and poison chains, increasing both survivability and passive DPS.

Wind Dancer & Magma Barrier – Amplify your damage output while granting elemental resistance and mitigation.

Bleed Force + Tear – Adds incision and scaling bleed damage. While Tear’s impact is debated, it still synergizes with the overall ailment theme.

All together, these create a near-permanent loop of regeneration, bleed spreading, and armor-crushing retaliation. You’re not just surviving enemies — you’re feeding on their aggression.

Gear Breakdown: Crafting a Fortress

While Warborne is notoriously gear-dependent, the beauty of this build lies in its affordability. You don’t need a mirror-tier arsenal to make it work — just a few well-rolled items and smart stat priorities.

Core Item: Constricting Command

This item is so powerful that it almost feels unfair. It’s essential for maximizing your ascendancy bonuses and passive damage scaling. Though the build can technically run without it, your overall performance will drop significantly. Constricting Command bridges the gap between raw defense and overwhelming offense — a must-have for serious endgame players.

Armor and Masterworks

You’ll be using a white-tier ornate plate to activate Smith of Kitava’s ascendancy bonus, Smith Masterworks. The mastery requires a “normal” armor base, which adds an interesting constraint but pays off with powerful scaling.

The plate synergizes beautifully with molten alloys, granting increased regeneration, fire resistance, and overall tankiness. It’s simple, effective, and brutally efficient.

Weapon

The weapon of choice is a two-divine mace offering global damage as extra physical, +5 to all melee skills, and increased skill speed. Though not flashy, it delivers reliable base damage. Avoid over-investing in high-end maces unless you’re chasing leaderboard-tier DPS; the gains aren’t worth the cost early on.

Shield

The heart of the build — aim for 1,300–1,400 armor, life gain on block, and reduced stun buildup. This not only keeps your resonance uptime consistent but also prevents long stun locks in heavy mob packs. Ideally, you’ll also want increased stun threshold or armor applies to elemental damage if you can roll it.

Accessories

Amulet: +45 spirit, melee damage recoup, rarity bonuses, and the Acceleration anoint.

Rings: Focus on life, resistances, and flat damage. High item rarity (around 110%) boosts drop quality significantly.

Gloves: Look for armor applies to elemental damage, magnitude of ailments, and increased armor break.

Boots: Skip Trample Toes — they disrupt bleed triggers. Instead, opt for 30% movement speed, high life, and stun threshold reduction.

Belt: Prioritize life regeneration, armor, and strength.

Rounding it all out are your Golden and Silver charms, which help fine-tune resistances and survivability.

Flasks and Upgrades

The build works fine with standard flasks, but there’s clear room for improvement. Unique flasks that boost regeneration, armor, or bleed effect can elevate the build’s performance by another tier. For players wanting to push endgame bosses, flask optimization should be your next milestone.

Skill Gem Setup

The power of this build lies not just in gear, but in how your gems and runes interact. Here’s a breakdown of the primary link setups:

Resonating Shield: Rapid Attacks, Heavy Swing, Rage 3, Heft, and Brutality 3.

Shield Wall: Bleed 3, Heft, Heavy Swings, Magnified Area, and Brutality.

Herald of Blood: Poison 3, Bleed 3, Armor Break 3, Bursting Plague, and Overrage.

Wind Dancer: Bleed 3, Poison 3, Corrosion, Bursting Plague, and Magnified Area.

Fortifying Cry: Magnified Effect 1, Concentrated Area, Heavy Swings, and Close Combat 2.

Tear & Magma Barrier: For experimental bleed amplification and AoE fire retaliation.

Each of these combinations stacks multiplicatively, creating a compounding loop of bleed, poison, and explosion damage. The synergy is what makes this build feel alive — every hit you take feeds back into your offense.

The Ascendancy Path

The Smith of Kitava ascendancy is the backbone of the entire concept. By utilizing Smith Masterworks, Dedication of Kitava, and Molten Symbol, the build gains a potent blend of armor-to-damage conversion and chaos resistance.

Here’s a rough path for progression:

Ten Talum Alloy → Provides early regen and fire resistance.

Coal Stoker → Multiplies your fire-based sustain and synergy with molten skills.

Dedication of Kitava → Converts armor to chaos scaling, massively improving effective HP.

Kitavin Engravings & Support Straps → Further enhance life pool and damage scaling.

Late-game nodes like Greatest Defense, Brutal Strength, and Made to Last are mandatory — they push your armor values high enough to translate directly into offensive power.

Jewels and Pathing

Jewels serve as micro-optimizations for bleed duration, rare enemy damage, and ailment scaling. One standout is Crushing Verdict, which enhances your ability to break enemy armor faster, synergizing with your shield rotation perfectly.

For late-game tweaks, consider Atuli’s Bloodletting, which can double your DPS with a single jewel swap — though at a steep price of around 12 divine orbs. It’s a luxury upgrade, not a requirement, but for those chasing the “one-hit Uber boss” fantasy, it’s your golden ticket.

Leveling and Accessibility

Leveling this build is refreshingly simple. Start with Bone Shatter, progress through the campaign, and transition to Shield Wall as soon as it unlocks. By the time you finish the story, you’ll likely have a 500+ armor shield ready to carry you into endgame.

The build’s affordability and ease of assembly make it one of the most accessible ways to experience Warborne: Above Ashes’s late-game systems. While it shines brightest with certain uniques, its core mechanics are viable even with budget gear.

Endgame Performance

Once fully optimized, the Smith of Kitava build transforms into a walking cataclysm. It effortlessly clears T16 maps, ignores crowd control, and laughs at stun mechanics thanks to constant regeneration. The armor-to-damage scaling turns every defensive investment into offensive gain — making you stronger the longer a fight lasts.

Even high-tier bosses fall quickly once their armor shatters. You don’t need to one-shot Uber bosses (though the Atuli jewel allows it); instead, you crush them under the weight of relentless, resonating strikes cheap WAA Solarbite.

Final Thoughts: The Iron Gospel

In a meta obsessed with speed-clears and fragile glass cannons, the Smith of Kitava Shield Build stands apart as a monument to durability, power, and craft. It embodies what Warborne: Above Ashes does best — letting players forge their strength from the ashes of battle.

It’s not the flashiest or most complex build. It doesn’t rely on gimmicks or infinite loops. Instead, it’s raw, deliberate, and beautifully brutal — a celebration of strength, armor, and mastery.

So whether you’re a veteran exile or a fresh recruit stepping into the forge, remember:

“Big armor shield equals big damage.”

Now grab your hammer, polish that plate, and go show the realm of Warborne what real craftsmanship looks like.