Thornguard

Taunts enemies onto itself, soaks the hits, and reflects a share of all damage taken — a sturdy front-line that punishes every attacker.

Parent Class

Druid

Unlock Condition

Hero Level 10

Toughness Bonus

Vitality Bonus

Signature Ability

Entangle

"Strike me and bleed. Strike again and die."

What Changes at Level 10

When a Druid reaches level 10 and you select Thornguard, three things change permanently:

Stat bonuses are added to the hero's ability scores immediately and permanently.
Active ability is replaced with the subclass variant (Entangle).
Passive effect is unlocked and becomes active in all future runs.

Ability: Entangle

Entangle: Taunts all enemies onto the Thornguard for [6 + AP × 0.01] ticks, roots one in place, and wards allies with a protective aura ([12 + AP × 0.1, max 30]% less direct damage). Passive: reflects 30% of damage taken plus [max HP × 0.01] bonus damage back at the attacker.

Permanent Stat Bonuses

Thornguard grants the following ability score bonuses on top of the Druid base scores:

+2 Toughness — adds to the Druid base toughness score
+1 Vitality — adds to the Druid base vitality score

These bonuses stack with ability score points allocated from levelling. They cannot be removed without retiring the hero.

Passive Effect

Reflects 30% of incoming damage back to the attacker, plus a bonus that scales with the Thornguard's max HP.

This passive is always active during combat — no gear or skill tree investment required to trigger it.

Recommended Skill Tree Themes

Defense (Second Wind, Living Fortress, Iron Wall) for the Thornguard tank, Chaos (Pain Reversal for the reflect combo).

See the Skill Tree deep dive for the full 119-node reference and routing advice, or the Druid build guide for a complete path recommendation for this class.

Thornguard vs. Ravager vs. Spiritmender

All 3 subclasses unlock at level 10. Compare them to choose:

	Thornguard	Ravager	Spiritmender
Identity	Taunts enemies onto itself, soaks the hits, and reflects a share of all damage taken — a sturdy front-line that punishes every attacker.	Fights permanently in Beast Form; its claws stack a bleed that ramps the longer a fight lasts — a savage melee bruiser that excels on bosses and long fights, weak in short bursts.	A dedicated healer: a strong single-target heal that follows whoever the enemy is focusing, wrapping the tank and another ally in Nature's Ward (less damage from enemy strikes), plus a gentle heal-over-time on the most-wounded allies. Surplus healing makes allies Bloom — their next attack carries bonus grove damage that grows with Ability Power. Distinct from the Cleric's group burst.
Stat Bonus	+2 Toughness, +1 Vitality	+2 Strength, +1 Agility	+4 Spirit, +1 Intelligence
Details	This page	Ravager page →	Spiritmender page →

The choice is permanent — use a Scroll of Divergence consumable to re-select without retiring the hero.