CThe Investor
The Investor Passive
At start of combat, spend 4 Shards to give Gustav an Investment. Give all Heroes 2 Mana Regen per Investment. Backup. Every 5 Investments, gain 30 Shards.
Hero
Gustav
Tier C
Mystic
The Analyst
Gustav tier and best specialization
C
C tier on patch 0.5.12
Runs with Gustav sit in the lower half overall and on SSS difficulty, and player lists for Red Rift rate him C or lower, but he plays in both S tier Stall comps, as a Glacier tank or for The Investor's Mana Regen.
Plays in these tier list comps
Specializations, best first
Picked at rank B and locked for the run. The order weighs what each one does for this hero in the comps that win, not the ability on its own.
- B
The Glacier Passive · +TankMakes him a Tank whose Blizzard always targets him and adds Shields from his Defense; Stall Tanks runs it, and its runs win the most of his three. - CThe Investor PassiveSpends Shards to give every hero Mana Regen; Stall Aria runs it, but its runs win the least of his three and a spec list rates it last.
- C
The Avalanche PassiveShards on cast, then Mana Regen and Magic for every Shard generated; no published comp uses it, and its runs sit between his other two.
Guides
Tiers are reviewed by hand after each patch (latest: 0.5.12), weighing the runs players share, most of them in Red Rift, the comps that clear the high difficulties, current player tier lists and recent balance changes. All 25 heroes side by side are on the hero tier list.
Gustav's Blizzard is Frost first and damage second: it slows everything inside it for five seconds while shielding your heroes in the same area. He has the largest mana pool in the game at 150, so he casts rarely and the cast has to matter — position it where the enemy front line will be, not where it is.
Shards in, Mana Regen out
The Investor turns Shards into Mana Regen for the whole guild. Gustav spends 4 Shards on an Investment as every combat begins, every hero gains 2 Mana Regen per Investment he holds, and every fifth Investment returns 30 Shards. Five Investments cost 20 Shards and pay back 30, and by then each hero draws 10 Mana Regen from the spec, with Backup. Stall Aria runs him this way at rank A, without a class upgrade.
His items there feed Blizzard, which deals 15 damage plus 50% of Magic each second, inflicts 2 Frost plus 1 per 8 Mana Regen and Shields heroes inside for 10 plus 75% of Magic. Mage's Glyph adds 75 Magic and counts him as a Mage in combat, Amulet of Shields adds 8 Mana Regen and 25% to every Shield he applies, and Mystic's Staff doubles its 4 Mana Regen and 20 Attack Speed on a Mystic.
Blizzard on top of himself
Stall Tanks takes The Glacier: the Tank class, 40 Defense and 1 less range. Blizzard then always targets Gustav and applies extra Shields equal to 75% of his Defense, and after Stall (25) and again after Stall (50) he permanently gains 2 Defense plus 2 per rank. Shield Magnification, his rank A upgrade there, adds 50% to every Shield he applies. Flaming Gauntlets add 30 Defense, 200 Max HP and 4 Burn on his auto attacks and on anyone who auto attacks him.
The Avalanche, which no build picks, pays in Shards and Magic: 1 Shard per cast, and 1 Mana Regen plus 5 Magic each time Shards are generated.
How the numbers moved
The early patches trimmed his Shields. The first of them lowered Blizzard's Shield scaling from 100% to 75% of Magic and The Glacier's Defense bonus from 50 to 40; 0.5.2 took The Glacier's Shields down to 75% of Defense, from 100%, and added the range penalty. In 0.5.4 the damage side went up instead, to 15 per Blizzard tick from 10, with a base of 2 Frost from 1.
Base stats
- Health
- 700
- Defence
- 30
- Attack
- 22
- Crit
- 15
- Magic
- 0
- Range
- 3
- Max mana
- 150
- Mana regen
- 8
What Gustav gains per rank
A hero climbs C → B → A → S — 3 upgrades in all. Every stat rises at the same rate on every hero, with one exception: the primary stat of the class rises three to four times faster. For Gustav that stat is Mana regen.
| Stats | Per rank | C → S |
|---|---|---|
| Health | +12.5% | +37.5% |
| Defence | +8 | +24 |
| Attack | +6 | +18 |
| Magic | +6 | +18 |
| Attack speed | +5 | +15 |
| Crit | +4 | +12 |
| Mana regenprimary | +4 | +12 |
Health rises as a percentage of base health; every other stat is a flat addition. The specialization is chosen at rank B, and the class modifier pools open at A and S.
Starting ability
Blizzard Active
Create a Blizzard for 5 seconds. Each second, inflict 2 (+1 per 8 Mana Regen) Frost and deal 15 (+50% Magic) damage to enemies inside the Blizzard. Shield Heroes inside it for 10 (+75% Magic).
Specializations
A hero unlocks one of these at rank B. The choice is locked for the run, and it decides which role the hero ends up playing.
BThe Glacier
Extra classes it can gain: Tank
Gain the Tank class, 40 Defense, and -1 Attack Range.
The Glacier Passive
Blizzard applies 75% Defense more Shields and always targets Gustav. After Stall (25 and Stall 50), permanently gain 2 (+2 per Rank) Defense.
CThe Avalanche
The Avalanche Passive
On cast, gain 1 Shard. On Shards generated, gain 1 Mana Regen and 5 Magic.
Class upgrades
Picked at rank A and again at rank S. Drawn from the shared pool for the hero class, so two heroes of the same class compete for the same upgrades.
Stall Certainty
Stall abilities trigger 6 seconds faster. Backup.
Rolling Conduit
Mystics gain 1 Mana Regen for each reroll this game. Backup.
Shard Weaver
Every other cast, gain 3 Shards.
Sideline Support
Backup Only: At start of combat, gain 5 Shards and give Heroes 500 (+500 per Rank) Shields.
Stall Battery
On Stall trigger, gain 1 Shard and give Heroes 3 Mana Regen. Backup.
Stall Enlightenment
After Stall (30), permanently gain 5 Mana Regen.
Shield Magnification
When this Hero applies Shields, apply 50% more Shields.
Empowered Magic
On cast, give other Heroes 100% Mana Regen Attack and 100% Mana Regen Magic.
Shield Formation
At start of combat, give this Hero and adjacent Heroes 400 (+250% Magic, +1000% Mana Regen) Shields.
Sideline Empowerment
Backup Only: At start of combat, give Heroes 4 (+4 per Rank) Mana Regen, 50 (+25 per Rank) Attack, and 50 (+25 per Rank) Magic.
Protective Magic
On cast, give the lowest percent health Hero 100 (+500% Mana Regen) Shields.
Arcane Growth
On cast, permanently gain 4 Magic.
Debuff Amplification
On cast, increase the amount of each Debuff on enemies in range by 50% Mana Regen.
Debuff Channeling
On cast, gain 1 Mana Regen for each type of Debuff on all enemies.
Debuff Protection
On cast, give the lowest percent health Hero 1 Shield per 2 Debuffs on all enemies.
Guildrun Heroes
Questions people ask
What tier is Gustav in Guildrun?
Gustav is C tier on patch 0.5.12. The strongest specialization is The Glacier, rated B.
What class is Gustav in Guildrun?
Gustav is a Mystic hero with 700 health, 30 defence, 22 attack and 15 crit at rank C.
Which specializations can Gustav take?
Gustav has 3 paths: The Investor, The Glacier, The Avalanche. One is picked at rank B and stays locked for the rest of the run.
What does Gustav gain per rank?
Every stat rises at each rank, but Mana regen rises three to four times faster than the rest, because it is the primary stat of Gustav’s class. There are 3 upgrades between C and S.
What is Gustav’s starting ability?
Blizzard (Active). Create a Blizzard for 5 seconds. Each second, inflict 2 (+1 per 8 Mana Regen) Frost and deal 15 (+50% Magic) damage to enemies inside the Blizzard. Shield Heroes inside it for 10 (+75% Magic).
What does ranking a hero up actually do?
Rank B unlocks the specialization. Rank A adds a class upgrade. Rank S adds a second class upgrade and a fourth item slot. A hero below rank B cannot take a specialization at all.
Can a hero play outside its class?
Yes, and that is the point of the game. Specializations exist to pull a hero out of its class role. A Mage can end up as the damage carry, a Vanguard can end up generating shards.
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