Highguard: How To Use Atticus’s Abilities Effectively

Atticus is an Assault Warden in Highguard built around electrical damage, area control, and efficient Vesper collection. His entire kit revolves around three abilities: Shockspear, Supercharged Axe, and Powerstorm.

Quick answer: Play around Shockspear to control space and charge Supercharged Axe, use the charged axe to clear Resource Nodes for Vesper, and save Powerstorm to either wipe clustered enemies or destroy key walls and structures while keeping enough distance that you are not focused down during the ultimate.

Atticus ability summary

Shockspear mechanics

Placement and charges

Shockspear is a thrown projectile with an aimable arc. Holding the Tactical input shows the trajectory; releasing it throws the spear. On impact, it sticks to the surface and starts emitting continuous electrical damage in a fixed radius.

Up to three Shockspears can be active simultaneously. When three placements have been made, the tactical goes on a cooldown timer. Any spear on the field can be picked up and redeployed before that limit is reached.

Damage and interaction with enemies

Any enemy entering the spear’s area takes ticking shock damage as long as they stay inside the field. This makes Shockspear both a chip-damage tool and a form of area denial that punishes anyone walking through a route you cover.

Shockspears are physical objects that can be destroyed if enemies shoot them. A spear that is visible in an open lane can therefore be removed before it does much damage.

Charging Supercharged Axe with Shockspear

The continuous damage from Shockspear contributes to charging Supercharged Axe. Every tick of damage from the spear advances the hidden charge meter. Once the charge is full, the next qualifying axe hit will trigger the explosion described in the passive section.

Deterministic placements for control

Because three Shockspears can exist at once and can be relocated, they can be arranged to create guaranteed chokepoints:

• Doorway edges and tunnel interiors
• Routes leading to the Shieldbreaker
• Entry points inside a base or toward a bomb target

Placing them just around corners or slightly inside doorframes reduces the chance they are shot on sight while still forcing enemies through their damage radius.

Supercharged Axe mechanics

Charge states

Supercharged Axe is a passive that changes how Atticus interacts with Resource Nodes and nearby loot containers.

The axe can be in two relevant states:

• Uncharged: normal melee swing with no additional effect.
• Charged: the next swing triggers an electrical explosion around the impacted Resource Node.

Charging via Shockspear damage

Continuous damage from Shockspear gradually fills the Supercharged Axe meter. When the meter reaches its threshold, the next axe hit on a Resource Node will:

• Cause an electrical shockwave centered on the node.
• Destroy nearby Resource Nodes inside the shockwave radius.

This behavior converts prior Shockspear damage into faster Vesper income by clearing multiple nodes with a single melee swing.

Charging via Vesper mini-game

Atticus can also charge the axe directly by performing the Vesper-harvest mini-game with perfect input timing. A perfect sequence:

• Immediately charges the axe, independent of Shockspear damage.
• Causes the next batch of crystals you strike to explode in a shockwave that destroys nearby crystals and item containers.

In this case, the explosion does not require prior Shockspear damage; the perfect mini-game alone is sufficient to prime the axe.

Guaranteed explosion trigger

Once Supercharged Axe is fully charged, the following deterministic rule applies:

• The next Resource Node you hit with the axe will explode automatically without needing another perfect mini-game input.

After that swing, the charge is consumed, and the axe returns to the uncharged state until the meter is filled again through Shockspear damage or another perfect Vesper sequence.

Vesper collection outcome

When the explosion occurs, every Resource Node destroyed by the shockwave yields Vesper normally. Because several nodes are cleared at once, Atticus can generate more Vesper per unit of time than Wardens who lack this passive. The player knows the passive has functioned correctly when:

• The melee hit on a Resource Node triggers a visible electrical shockwave.
• Neighboring nodes and, when charged from a perfect mini-game, nearby item containers are destroyed simultaneously.
• Vesper is added from multiple nodes at once.

Powerstorm mechanics

Activation and charges

Powerstorm is an ultimate that, once charged, lifts Atticus into the air and grants a fixed number of lightning spear throws. On activation:

• Atticus ascends vertically in a limited area.
• He receives several lightning spear charges (five in one documented description).
• Each input, while the ultimate is active throws one spear toward the aimed point.

Damage to players

Each thrown spear deals heavy damage in its impact area. Two spears landing close to a target are sufficient to kill an enemy from full health. A direct hit is not required; being within the impact zone is enough to receive the damage.

Damage to structures

Every Powerstorm spear also damages structures. This includes walls and buildings within its radius. As a result, repeated spear impacts can:

• Open new lines of sight by breaking walls.
• Create routes into or through buildings that were previously intact.

This structural damage applies whether the structures belong to the attacking team or the defending team, so mis-aimed spears in your own base can unintentionally help the enemy by opening extra paths.

Movement constraints and vulnerability

While Powerstorm is active, Atticus is not stationary but is tightly constrained:

• He can move up and down, climbing higher or diving lower to adjust his angle.
• Horizontal movement is limited to the general area where the ultimate was activated.
• He remains fully vulnerable to weapon damage and can be killed while airborne.

The ultimate does not grant invulnerability. If you trigger it while exposed to multiple enemies, they can focus fire and eliminate Atticus before all spear charges are thrown.

Outcome and completion

Powerstorm ends when:

• All spear charges are thrown, or
• Atticus is killed during the ultimate, or
• The ultimate duration expires if that behavior is present on your build.

The outcome is verifiable when the UI shows the ultimate meter empty, the ability icon enters its recharge state, and Atticus returns to normal ground movement.

Using Atticus to control objectives

Shieldbreaker and objective control with Shockspear

Atticus can influence objective play in deterministic ways:

• Shockspears placed on or directly around the Shieldbreaker force enemies to either take damage when they approach it or spend time destroying the spears first.
• Shockspears aligned through narrow routes inside bases guarantee that anyone entering those routes is exposed to continuous damage.

Because Shockspears can be reclaimed, you can move this coverage as the Shieldbreaker or active objective changes, staying within the three-spear limit.

Base infiltration and defense with Shockspear

Inside bases and tight corridors, three spears can be placed so their areas overlap, ensuring no enemy can traverse the path without being shocked. When defending, this forces attackers into predictable routes. When attacking, using spears in rooms you are about to enter covers most of the room with chained electric damage, making any defenders easier to finish.

Siege impact with Powerstorm

During sieges on enemy bases or bomb targets, Powerstorm has two deterministic contributions:

• Area damage: clustered defenders near bomb targets can be killed quickly by two spear impacts each.
• Structure breaking: repeated spear impacts on a wall or building segment will break it, creating new angles or entrances.

Because friendly structures can also be damaged by the ultimate, using Powerstorm while defending inside your own base can lead to broken walls that help the attacking team.

Atticus weapon and tool pairing behavior

Primary and secondary weapons

Atticus benefits from weapons that match the ranges where his abilities are effective:

• Assault rifles such as Dynasty, Vanguard, or Sabre cover mid-range engagements around Shockspear zones.
• The Ranger sniper rifle in a secondary slot takes advantage of elevated positions and control achieved with Shockspear and Powerstorm.

With this setup, consistent behavior emerges: Shockspear softens or displaces targets, the assault rifle finishes them at medium range, and Ranger handles exposed long-range enemies from perches.

Raid tools and vertical control

A Zipline Gun pairs naturally with Atticus’s kit:

• The long travel arc of Shockspear is easier to exploit from elevated perches reached via ziplines.
• Zipline paths let Atticus reposition between high spots while Powerstorm is ready, giving him better angles and fewer threats in his immediate line of sight when he ascends.

Because Powerstorm can already destroy walls, carrying a dedicated wall-destruction tool is less necessary for that specific task when you are playing Atticus.

How to confirm you are using Atticus correctly