Cleave, Rally and war banners put the Vanguard where it belongs: in the way.
Hello, front line
The first Vanguard abilities are in the standalone game. Cleave gives you an answer to a crowded approach. Rally gives the group something to gather around. Three persistent war banners let you commit to a patch of ground.
It is a kit for the player who sees an enemy heading toward the caster and takes that personally. The job is to make the space in front of the group a difficult place to cross.
Make the action readable
The abilities have authored animations, cooldowns and replicated effects. Banners need to be visible to the people using them, and the attack needs to line up with the thing it hits.
Spellbook integration puts the tools where players can find them. That sounds obvious, but an ability hidden behind an implementation detail is not much use when the fight starts.
Hold something back
Stamina and cooldowns put limits on the enthusiasm. Commit to an attack and you still need enough left to deal with the response. A shield is helpful. Timing is better.
This is the Vanguard’s first implementation day. The later full class tree adds the longer progression path, and you can inspect every current node on its class page.