Sanctus the Valiant guide: skills, build and team roles
Overview
Sanctus the Valiant is an Epic Light Melee Attacker from the Lightseekers Faction in Invokers: Titan Legacy. His strength is combining attacks with protection: Shields, cleansing and control all sit alongside direct damage. He's worth building when an offensive team needs some defence but you don't want to give up a team spot to every defensive role.
His Shields scale from damage dealt and from his own MAX HP, so ATK and HP both matter. Fully Awakened and before Gear, Sanctus has 829 ATK and 8,333 HP, both about average for a Melee Attacker, along with 665 DEF, 92 Accuracy and 76 RES.
He isn't a healer or a Taunt Tank: his kit has no heal, revive or forced enemy targeting. Shields protect the health you still have rather than restoring it, and cleansing doesn't save an ally who has already died.
Skills To Prioritize
Scourge And Protect attacks one enemy and Shields one random ally. At Level 10 the Shield is 65% of damage dealt plus 13% of Sanctus's MAX HP and lasts four seconds. Max Level keeps the damage part, raises the HP part to 15% and extends the Shield to five seconds. Because the ally is random and the Shield is short, treat it as extra protection, not an emergency Shield on the teammate in danger.
Surge And Purge removes debuffs from one ally, and from Sanctus as well when its hit is a critical hit. At Level 10 it removes two random debuffs from the ally and two from Sanctus if the critical hit lands. Max Level keeps those numbers and lowers the cooldown to 23 seconds. So Crit Rate affects his protection as well as his damage, but the two cleanses are separate: only the self-cleanse needs the critical hit.
Restrain And Detain attacks twice, Launching the target briefly and then placing Stun. At Max Level it Launches for 1.5 seconds and Stuns for six, on a 23-second cooldown. These can stop a priority enemy, but they need Accuracy to land. Don't add the durations together and expect a guaranteed disable; check how the two effects actually land in a fight.
Wield And Shield, his Ultimate, combines area damage with group cleansing, Shielding and Launch. Level 5 already removes two debuffs from affected allies. At Level 10 the Shield is 100% of damage dealt plus 20% of Sanctus's MAX HP, lasts 14 seconds and comes with a six-second Launch. Max Level keeps the Shield and its duration, but removes three debuffs instead of two, Launches for seven seconds and lowers the cost from 850 to 800 Mana.
Those Max Level changes can matter more than a bigger damage number, because they change how many debuffs your team can recover from and how long vulnerable enemies stay disrupted. Don't judge the Shield by HP alone or by the attack number alone: HP raises the fixed part, stronger hits raise the damage part, and enemies that take less damage shrink that part.
If you want Sanctus to protect the whole team, upgrade Wield And Shield first, as Max Level removes three debuffs and Launches for seven seconds. If you want him to shut down a priority enemy, upgrade Restrain And Detain first, as Max Level gives a six-second Stun after the Launch.
Build And Team Support
Accuracy comes first, on his Chestplate and Flask, and then as much as the build allows, so his Launch and Stun land. After that, build Crit Rate to 75-80%, which also makes his Surge And Purge self-cleanse more reliable, then as much Crit DMG as you can. HP adds to the fixed part of his Shields.
For Relic Sets, the Accuracy Set helps his control land. The Crit Rate Set gets you to 75-80% Crit Rate sooner and supports the self-cleanse. The Attack Set raises his damage, which also raises the damage part of his Shields. The Health Set raises the HP part of his Shields.
He has no heal or revive, so bring healing or revival from other Invokers for when the team needs to recover after sustained damage or a death.
Arena, Bosses And Spires
In Arena, Sanctus can back up a damage team by cleansing and Shielding it while disrupting enemies around him. He has to survive and get in range, and you can't count on his Ultimate being ready at the start of every fight, so you may need another source of early protection against fast control or burst.
Against Sorgott, Wield And Shield removes ordinary removable debuffs from your team and Shields allies, but it can't remove Swarm.
Against Galvos, Wield And Shield's Shields count as buffs on his victims, which his mechanics respond to.
Against Light Omnissi, lean on his Shields instead of healing alone. Against Fire and Water Omnissi, his cleansing can help with their debuff pressure. Against Astral Omnissi, be wary of her buff theft, as your Shields are buffs.
In the Light Spire, area damage, group Shields and cleansing give him several useful jobs at once, and his single-target control can hold a dangerous enemy between Ultimates. He doesn't replace healing or revival, though, so invest according to whether the floor calls for his protection, control or damage.
Awaken
Awakening boosts an Invoker's stats significantly. Bonuses from Relics, Accessories, the Trophy Room, Tactics and Titan leader bonuses apply to base stats and Awakening stats alike, so unlocking the Awakening nodes is critical to maximise Sanctus's potential.
Unlocking each Titan node at Star 2, 4 and 6 adds a second to Titan Invokation, taking the total from 12 seconds to 15.
Review the Awakening guide for more detail.
