Comprehensive Keeper Guide
Table of Contents [+]
Class: Keeper
Faction: All Factions
Level: All Levels
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The Keeper is a noble warrior, a hybrid profession defined by the ancient conflict between the Redeemed and Unredeemed forces in the Shadowlands. Unlike most professions, the Keeper relies on Auras, powerful self-and-team buffs that grant exceptional defenses, healing, and damage capabilities, making them an unparalleled tank and support unit. Wielding large Two-Handed Edged (2HE) OR Melee Energy(ME) weapons and utilizing a number of damage perks, the Keeper is a formidable force capable of dominating battlefields through sheer resilience and the powerful synergy of their abilities.Faction: All Factions
Level: All Levels
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I would like to start out by stating that this guide is not "all encompassing" and does not include any end game build solutions. The beauty of Anarchy Online is that you have the choice to build and create the character you would like to play. I am simply going to provide you a great starting point on your Keeper journey and hopefully see you in game one day.
1 - Breeds
2 - Skills
3 - Weapons
4 - Armor
5 - Nano Formulas
6 - Implants/Symbiants
7 - Perks
7.1 - Shadowland Perks
7.2 - Alien Invasion Perks
7.3 - Lost Eden Research
8 - Keeper in PVP
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1 - Breeds
For the Keeper profession. Breed is very much a choice to be made depending on 2 main things.. 1 how do you intend to use the character and 2 who looks the best? That being said. Please refer to our Breed Statistics Guide for detailed information on each breed.
Solitus:
The bread and butter choice for many keepers. Simple and straight forward, no surprises and will not excel at anything in particular. Solitus Keepers will be able to equip all items just fine and have an easy time with Alpha Symbiants. AI Breed perk lines are pretty good for Solitus Sphere is a very complementary buff for keepers to use on cooldown in team settings.
Opifex:
My personal favorite for almost every profession in Anarchy Online. I enjoy the aesthetic of Opifex and find that with the large number of Strength & Stamina buffing items available in the game. I prefer to have higher base Agility & Sense. Higher base evades can be helpful for solo players but nothing here will make or break a build.
Atrox:
The defacto choice if you insist on PVPing. Altho PVP is very limited in todays Anarchy Online it does still have its place. The aesthetic of Atrox is appealing to many and having a higher base health pool is also not a bad deal! The main attraction even in its nerfed state is Mongo Rage for PVP. Because Keeper has access to Support and Infantry Symbiants. Atrox does not have a terribly hard time getting in Alpha Symbiants
Nanomage:
Either you just want to be different or you had a specific goal in mind when you rolled Nanomage Keeper. Dreadloch Endurance Booster - Nanomage Edition is a useful nanomage only item for solo keepers. If you planned on doing Ward Spam for defenses the Nanomage is also a top choice. Outside of a few niche choices there is nothing inherently wrong with choosing Nanomage.. But is it right?
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2 - Skills
The Keeper is fairly decent on IP (Improvement Points) usage throughout leveling. A bit more complicated if you decide to dual wield with Melee Energy weapons at low levels but not terrible. At endgame Keeper has a lot of spare IP as the nano skill requirements for most endgame nanos were significantly reduced with the 18.7 patch. 1-110 will still feel quite tough at times but it frees up once you get 120+.
| Abilities | |
| Strength | A core base ability for Keeper - most armors you use will use this stat |
| Agility | Very important for lots of skills and some armors |
| Stamina | A core base ability for Keeper - most armors you use will use this stat |
| Intelligence | Used for Nano skills - much more important than psychic as it has a larger trickle effect on nano skills |
| Sense | Semi-important for skills |
| Psychic | Used for Nano skills - I would consider this the least important base ability but you will want it maxed once you have spare IP |
| Important skills | |
| 2 Handed Edged | The default choice for weapons as a Keeper. Easy on IP and plenty of support |
| Melee Energy | An alternative weapon choice for Keepers, not as much support for the skill or in weapon choices |
| Sneak Attack | Supported mostly when Melee Energy. Also Sneak Attack is a popular attack in PvP. |
| Evade-ClsC | For avoiding hits by melee weapons |
| Run Speed | Only way of travel in SL, handy if you have to flee |
| Melee Init. | To increase attack speed on our weapons, they are fairly quick to begin with, max this eventually to fight at lower aggdef setting. |
| Psychological Modifications | Keeper nanos utilize this nano skill to buff our stats |
| Sensory Improvements | This is the second nano skill that is used to buff our stats |
| Body Development | Keeper has a healthy HP Pool and can tank when needed |
| Beneficial skills | |
| Brawling | Brawling is one of our main special attacks but is light blue and can eat up IP early |
| Dimach | Our Dimach is different than anyone elses and is a self heal, does no damage. 5min recharge. Heal scales directly with skill |
| Riposte and Parry | For equipping weapons, not useful at higher skill levels, Parry also useful for deflector shields. For Riposte there are deflection shield projectors which add a damage shield. Basicly raise these skills only untill you can equipt the weapon of your choice. |
| Multi Melee | You will only use this skill if you decide to go Melee Energy and dual wield. |
| Fast Attack | Most of the weapons shown in the weapon section require Fast Attack to equip, as well as Flurry of Blows which can be useful. Fast Attack lock timer can be reduced by higher skill |
| Computer Literacy | While Keepers do not have great Computer Literacy skills, required for belts and NCUs, usually have this maxed |
| Dodge-Rng | Will be crucial to raise of you venture beyond Shadowlands to Rubi-Ka and/or PvP (Player versus Player) |
| Duck-Exp | Not a lot of Monsters check check against this evasive skill but it has been said Hecklers are definitely one of them. For PvP this skill might have some use versus Shotguns and few other weapons. |
| Nano Resist | Raise this if you plan to PvP, but is also useful for Shadowland mobs as they cast some relatively nasty nanos. Usually left for later to cap when you have extra IP. |
| Biological Metamorphosis | Used for our HP/NP Auras and procs and others |
| Time & Space | As above. |
| Treatment | This will normally be at max as you level so you can install the best implants or symbionts available |
| First Aid | Is a skill to try and keep raised. Dark blue, but this is a welcome addition with some first aid spindles and stims, can be the difference between life and death |
| Nanopool | Raise your Nano Pool for being able to cast your nanos. The Proc buff nanos are very heavy on (Nano Points) NP cost |
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3 - Weapons
Before showing you a compilation of weapons that are said to be good for Keepers we will cover the special attacks you are most likely to encounter on the weapons Keepers use. a comprehsive guide covering attack rating, weapon damage and Special Attacks can be found Here
Fast Attack
Fast Attack is your bread and butter special attack that is available on almost every weapon that you will use from level 1-220. With a few exceptions
Fast Attack has a base cooldown based on the attack speed of the weapon, see table below, and is capped at 6seconds.
Brawl
Brawl is the 2nd most common special attack and mostly available later on when using 2 handed edged weapons from 1-220.
Brawl has a set cooldown of 15seconds and is not impacted by Brawling skill. Higher skill will directly impact the brawling attack rating & damage done.
Sneak Attack
Mostly found on later Melee Energy weapons and not particularly useful in PVE as Keepers do not have much support for Concealment. If you can hide to land a Sneak Attack that is great but I would not rely on this. It is mostly for PVP encounters. Cooldown locked at 40seconds.
Dimach
Keepers Dimach is different than other professions and that includes shade who also have a special Dimach. Dimach is on a slightly longer recharge timer and does no damage but heals the Keeper.
"Your faith renews you." Heal directly scales with Dimach skill. As I am unsure of the cooldown scaling, I have not included it in the below table until that information is determined.
| Special Attack | Formula |
| Brawl | 15 seconds (fixed) |
| Fast Attack | (Attack x 16) - Fast skill/100 |
| Sneak Attack | 40 - Sneak Attack skill/150 |
2 Handed Edged Weapons
Now we have come to the part everyone was excited for.. WEAPONS!
Keeper is sort of blessed with a lot of weapons to chose from.. but are they all worth using?
When you start your Keeper you'll arrive in Arete Landing. You will start with one Worn Blade.
Naturally, you'll want to upgrade and get something better when you first arrive in Arete Landing. Go through the quest line in Arete and you can upgrade your weapons. A full Arete Landing guide can be found here.
A few recommended follow up 2 Handed Edged weapons after Arete Landing are:
| These Illegally Modified Ofab Weapons drop from enemies in The Subway. You are bound to find one as they are randomly dropped | |
| | This Weapon drops from Mind Shard in Steps of Madness |
| | These are unfortunately No Drop - But at lower levels 5-40 they can be quite effective if you happen to find a decent QL while leveling. |
| | This weapon drops from early enemies in The Temple of the Three Winds from Windcaller Rendal, Exarch Gevarain, Exarch Truan, Exarch Ecclese, Reverend Cadelly |
| | This drops from the Deathless Legionnaire enemies in The Temple of the Three Winds |
| | This drops from Aztur The ImmortalThe Temple of the Three Winds |
| | Drops from Rubi-Ka Dyna bosses around the same level. Quite a rare item but if you have one in your bank or can purchase one they are decent at low levels. |
The above 2 weapons will get you to about level 80-100 before you really will feel like you need an upgrade.
Here are some mid level options that you can look into.
| QL100 - 104 and quite annoying to farm. Thankfully they are Yes drop and can be traded. Drops from Cenobite Shadow in Crypt of Home | |
| | QL105 and quite annoying to farm but usually the most common QL to drop. Thankfully they are Yes drop and can be traded. Drops from Cenobite Shadow in Crypt of Home |
| | Reward for completing the Penumbra Xan Questline and can be further upgraded as seen below! |
| | Previous weapon can be upgraded to this "nearly endgame" version by killing Escaped Prisoners and following this tradeskill process |
| | These are not particularly great but they are awesome collectors items. They have the same model as the Keeper statue in the character creation screen. |
| | Drops from Tarasque. Worth grabbing as it can be upgraded - See in the table below |
| | QL 140-159 Drops from Mooching Dryad in Adonis - Yes drop weapon that can be bought or traded for if farming is not an option. Lower minimum damage so it is not great vs higher SL mobs. Demolishes things on RK and vs Aliens |
| | QL 160 Drops from Mooching Dryad in Adonis - Yes drop weapon that can be bought or traded for if farming is not an option. Lower minimum damage so it is not great vs higher SL mobs. Demolishes things on RK and vs Aliens |
| | QL 240-159 Drops from Tuq Usk in Inferno - Yes drop weapon that can be bought or traded for if farming is not an option. Lower minimum damage so it is not great vs higher SL mobs. Demolishes things on RK and vs Aliens |
| | QL 260 Drops from Tuq Usk in Inferno - Yes drop weapon that can be bought or traded for if farming is not an option. Lower minimum damage so it is not great vs higher SL mobs. Demolishes things on RK and vs Aliens |
| | Drops from trash mobs and bosses in Sector 7 |
| | Available in QL 1-300 and can be upgraded with Bio Types to add specials as seen in the AI Weapons Upgrade guide |
| | Available in QL 25-300 in increments of 25. Purchased from the Ofab vendor in the Defense Hub. Upgraded to Mk6 requires Bio Types from LE Missions. Follow This Process to upgrade. Unless you have types on hand, I would likely skip the Ofab Wolf |
The following weapons are considered to be endgame 2 handed edged weapons: Mostly in no particular order but the bottom one is widely considered "Best in Slot".
| Upgraded from Lord of Pride or Lady of Pride From The Beast with this Xan Weapon Upgrade guide. Very solid weapon. | |
| | While not the best in slot weapon overall - It looks amazing and holds its own. |
| | Drops from Zaal during the Birthday Event. If you happen to need a weapon when the event is active, this is a good choice. |
| | Drops from Vergil Aeneid in the LVL 201+ Subway Raid. Has a 5% proc chance to reduce initiatives by -1100 Rended Will |
| | Drops from Binyacht the Faithful in the LVL 201+ TOTW Raid. Has a proc to do damage to HP and NP with a nano recover. Interesting! Sanguine Corruption |
| | Base sword as seen above drops from Tarasque. You will need a Nanobot Infusion Device to upgrade the weapon to this Honed version which is considerably better! Tarasque has more info. |
| | Drops from Aztur the Immortal in the LVL 201+ TOTW Raid and is considered to be the best 2 Handed Edged weapon a Keeper can use. |
Melee Energy Weapons
Melee Energy is mostly an endgame option for Keepers but if you decide you want to go 1-220 with Melee energy. Here are some options. IP will be tighter as Melee Energy is not green and you will be dual wielding most of the time.
| Available QL 1-300 and can be upgraded to have Fast Attack and Brawl with Type 76 - AI Weapons Upgrade Guide - Yes drop and widely considered trash. Friends likely have some sitting in bank if you ask around! 2 Handed weapon | |
| | Available QL 1-300 and can be upgraded to have Fast Attack, Brawl & Dimach with Type 112 - AI Weapons Upgrade Guide - Yes drop and widely considered trash. Friends likely have some sitting in bank if you ask around! 1 Handed Weapon |
| | Available QL 1-300 and purchasable from vendors in Fair Trade shops ICC/BOR Etc. Comes with Brawl and Can be upgraded 000 Weapon Upgrade Guide to E-Blade - 850 to also have Fast Attack. |
| | Available QL 1-199 - Drops from RK mobs - not very viable Strong North Wind Katana is the QL 200 version |
| | Drops from Techleader Praetor in the Cyborg Barracks.If you have a friend to help get this early, it is very fast and even with the high multi requirement, just 1 with another weapon can work quite well at lower levels |
| | Drops from trash mobs and bosses in Sector 7 |
We will kind of skip midgame because the weapons do not change..
Below are you Endgame options for Melee Energy Keepers.
| Upgraded from Sword of Dusk or Sword of Dawn From The Beast with this Xan Weapon Upgrade guide. Very solid weapons! and.. LIGHT SABERS! | |
| | QL 300 and can be upgraded to have Fast Attack, Brawl & Dimach with Type 112 - AI Weapons Upgrade Guide - Yes drop and widely considered trash. Friends likely have some sitting in bank if you ask around! 1 Handed Weapon and dual wielded with a Xan weapon gives you Fast Attack, Brawl, Sneak Attack for a very potent combination |
Final note on Critical strikes
Keeper benefits very greatly from Critical strikes through most of their leveling time. Many of the weapons they use and very much so at endgame you will want to build for critical strikes if you want to do maximum DPM. Obsidian Desecrator only gets better with more crit chance and +dmg. Critical strikes are even important if you decide to tank as damage is your main way to holding aggro on bosses. Keeper will not be able to hold off very high DPM classes without given time to establish aggro for a bit as they have no real taunt and must rely on a few items and one perk for taunts.
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4 - Armor
Below are some armor options as you level with some notes. There are a few keeper only pieces here and there but overall keeper uses most of the same gear as most other professions.
Rubi-Ka Armor
These are your bread and butter armor sets from Rubi-Ka. Some come from Arete Landing, Shops, looted from corpses, trade skilled or rolled via missions.
| Newcomer's armor is available in Arete Landing & will level up to QL 220 at level 220. It can be upgraded to an Omni-Tek Newcomer's Body Armor or Joint Clan Newcomer's Body Armor version from the respective vendor in Arete Landing | |
| | Carbonum Armor is tradeskilled line, you can find a guide how to craft it here. Mostly outclassed now days but works fine if that is what you have. |
| | Older armor that some people still enjoy using. |
| | This is a high level armor line, requires level 175. You may like to have one or the other part of this armor, but at that level you have access to some better armor lines already. However if you still like to get it, you can read up how to get it here. |
| | A crafted armor. Before you can make your Prowler you have to get your hands on the according Crawler part , out of the Crawler you can make your Prowler Armor |
| "Miy's Armor" | This is quite a nice line of armor. It's available in quality 1-300 and different versions: Melee, Nano, Ranged, Scary & Tank. You get boosts in health along with various skills defined by the version. This armor is dropped by not human NPCs like Cyborgs, Medusas etc. |
| | This armor is a special Halloween loot - means it is only dropped during the Halloween season (patch) of some nasty looking mobs called Uncle Pumpkinhead. The reason I add this armor here is that there are some quite nice boosts on it, you may not want all pieces, but some of the boosts are quite nice. |
| | The Enhanced Dustbrigade Armor mostly endgame armor, not gear but decent stuff with some good buffs. you can find out how to get it here and here. |
| To my understanding the only useful part of Tarasque's Armor.. especially for pushing out more damage. The equip requirements are quite low compared to the place you need to go for it. | |
| A much improved version of the Living Dragonflesh armor but requires a much higher level to equip. You can buy this from other players or get lucky and get it as the reward from the Dust It Off quest from the Arbiter. Although his rotation of quests means this is only available every 6 weeks! | |
| More pieces of the same set you see above. While many of the stats are focused on Ranged skills. 2% crit is very helpful in some builds. You can buy this from other players or get lucky and get it as the reward from the Dust It Off quest from the Arbiter. Although his rotation of quests means this is only available every 6 weeks! |
Shadowland Armor
While Keeper's origin are the Shadowlands there is not a ton of armor available worth using. The tier sets are nice to farm for social and there is some good stuff that is available in endgame.
| Well.. it has some Armor Class, not really an overwhelming armor and some might argue if it is worth the cash.... yes, it is buyable! You have to talk with the Vendor at the Jobe Training Area. The armor is comparable with the Newcomer Armor from Arete Landing. Available QL1-15 | |
| A very popular armor set for many professions. Sadly the place you can hunt it is often camped by high level characters who want to sell it... in addition it is not really a common drop. In case you want to hunt it yourself head for the unique predators south-east Elysium, good luck. | |
| A white armor set... You will get this if you decide you want Tier armor as it is required as part of the process. Find out how to gain it here. | |
| Interesting set of armor that has never really been utilized. It is not easy to target farm and other gear has simply always been better overall. Here you can find a guide on how to obtain and make it. | |
| The Bellum Badonis armor set drops from a few different Inferno Dyna Bosses. Just a fun little set of armor that could find some use. | |
| Another Inferno Dyna Boss drop that has some Niche uses. Can be worn by Keeper & Meta Physicist. | |
| This once was the first of three armor versions. it is not really easy to get hold of. First you need the Jobe Suit (not all parts but most), then you have to hunt additional parts... or buy them. Here you can read up what to do. Quality: 100 - 160 (leveling by right-click, if your skills match) Note: Since Alien Invasion Expansion was released it is not considered top gear anymore. And since Lost Eden Expansion you might think twice before going this route. Mostly used for social sets now days | |
| This is the follow up gear of First Tier, more buffed skills, better ACs and you actually get shoulderpads and a helmet... well headgear it is called. Downside from my point of view is the availability of items you need to enhance, but feel free to read it up here and judge yourself. Quality: 160 - 220 (leveling by right-click, if your skills match) | |
| | Top gear back in the days when Shadowlands was the highest expansion. Still not really a bad choice if you have invested into Second Tier. The glyphs to upgrade Second Tier to Chosen/Faithful can be found (inactive) in Pandemonium, so this final step is really easy compared to previous steps. With Chosen (Omni version) and Faithful (Clan version) you also get a back item. A guide how to upgrade can be found here. Quality: 220 - 300 (leveling by right-click, if your skills match) Important note: Neutrals are not able to wear Chosen or Faithful, for them the end of the tier is Second Tier!! |
Alien Invasion & Lost Eden Armor
These two expansions I have under one headline, because both do not offer many really helpful lines. All three Alien Armor examples are available in Quality 1 to 300. The Ofab line starts at Quality 25 in steps of 25 quality levels.
| This armor is crafted, the items needed can be found during city raids and additional parts are buyable or in case need to be quested for. Here you can find out what you need to know. | |
| Combined Commando's (CC) is a combination of Strong & Supple - which makes it pretty much the most valuable alien armor. Here you can find out again what you need to get it. | |
| This armor (CM) is also a combination of Strong, now with Enduring. Since Enduring is not as hard to find as Supple, it might be easier than the above mentioned CC. Again here you can find out again what you need to get it. | |
| This armor line comes in three different versions: the "basic", the Improved and the Penultimate ... for upgrading you need Kyr'Ozch Bio-Material - Type 64 which you can find as loot on Alien Mothership Bosses. Ofab armor is considered to be an upgraded version of Tier. The process is different though, you need Victory Points (VPs) to buy the basic on at the Tower Shop Keeper Booth. The VPs you gain by fighting on the Battle stations most effectively. |
Backitems
A variety of back armor to consider, but this is just a taste of what is available in game.
| Probably your first "real" back item as you level. Drops from Exarchs in the Temple of the Tree Winds and is often left rotting even if you cannot kill them yet. | |
| Drops from the Guardian of Tomorrow in the Temple of the Three winds! Worth farming? Probably not but it looks soo good! | |
| | This is a popular backitem for many professions... surely for you too!? It can be found on unique named monster in the Adonis Temples. Note: Watch out for the "not Clan/Omni" flag! |
| Sector 10 tradeskilled back item. Very useful of you can get your hands on one and equip it early. S10 Tradeskill Guide | |
| Well.. a nice little back item, but really really hard to get. It drops of Notum Scourges in northwest Penumbra (maybe also at Brinks in Inferno). Can also drop from Notum Scourge type bosses in the Inferno "new" missions. Note 1: The type of the shroud alters when you right-click it. Note 2: Very very low droprate, there are reports of more than 1000 kills without a drop. | |
| | These back items are part of the Tier mentioned above. |
| The OFAB back item is - like the other OFAB gear - available at the booth in the Tower Shop. Same procedure like with the other parts, but little more VPs required. | |
| series | obtained through a little grind from COH and a lot of prisoner kills, Here you can find out how get one.. or two... or more. Gladiator might be the kind you want most. |
| Drops from The Hollow Reaper during the Halloween event. Cool back item that buffs 2HE skill, evades and more! The Hollow Reaper Guide | |
| Drops from Virgil Aeneid in the endgame Subway Raid Buffs 2HE skill and AAO/AAD. | |
| 2% crit is very helpful in some builds and overall a nice back armor. This is the one piece of gear that is No Drop that you get as the reward from the Dust It Off quest from the Arbiter. Although his rotation of quests means this is only available every 6 weeks! | |
| From the Gauntlet in Shadowlands - Pain to farm, pain to equip.. Great stats! Gauntlet Guide | |
| Drops from Abmouth Supremus in the endgame Subway Raid |
various special armor parts & utilities
| | These shoulderpads are gained by hunting in Alappaa, for the superior version you need to follow our crafting guide. |
| Nifty little bracer that can drop from Loren Warr during the AO Anniversary Event -AO Anniversary Event Guide It should drop from the corpse and possibly from the gift every player gets but I have not confirmed that. Also Yes drop so you can trade for it. | |
| | This item comes in 3 "flavors" and it determines which breed can wear it and what slot it fits into. Opifex = 5 Slot Belt. Solitus & Nanomage = Helmet. Atrox = Right Wrist. Not super useful but a neat item none the less. |
| | Personally I wouldn't wear either of them. Still there is a reason to have one of them: Skin of the Believer. You don't need to wear them, just right-click them to get the absorb up. You may say 500 is not much, but at the level you can get the first the buff can be a real life saver. Desecrated Flesh being 3000! Withered Flesh is loot from Temple of the Three Winds, Corrupted Flesh is loot from Inner Sanctum Desecrated Flesh from TOTW Raid |
| | Here we got something helpful from Temple of the Three Winds/Inner Sanctum, besides the add damage from simply wearing them you also receive a nice damage buff by right-clicking them! Strength of the Immortal from TOTW Raid |
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5 - Nano Formulas
The Keeper utilizes a handful of nano formulas but almost nothing that is actively used in combat. Almost every buff the keeper has is either a self buff or an aura that is shared with the team. the 18.7 patch did bring down some of the requirements and made most keeper nanos much easier to cast at endgame. They are still not very easy but before the rebalance patch, they were very difficult to cast.
This first group of nano lines are dedicated to Keeper self buffs:
| Line | Buff list | Effect(s) |
 2 Handed Edged Buffs | Keeper's Edge Impartiality of the Blade Decision Maker Judgement Bringer The Adjudicator's Blade Finality's Edge Colossus of Swords Giant of Swords | Increases the Keeper's 2 Handed edged AND Melee Energy Skills(ME). ME does not have a dedicated Nano Line. The last 2 also increase Melee Inititive |
 Fast Attack buffs | Fervor of the Henchman Fervor of the Devotee Fervor of the Minion Fervor of the Disciple Fervor of the Fanatic Fervor of the Zealot | Buffs your Fast Attack skill |
 Sneak Attack buffs | Footpad Apprentice Silent Dagger Dagger in the Back Backpiercer Shuffle of the Rogue Backstabber | Provides a buff to the Keepers Sneak Attack Skill |
 Ward - Attack Blockers | Ward Benevolent Ward Guardian Ward Sentinel Ward Warden Ward Watch Ward | Very strong buffs that can completely block an incoming attack every time the Ward is refreshed. The final buff will block 2 attacks per team member and refreshes every 18 seconds! |
 Strength/Stamina/Agility buffs | Transfuse Vigor A Keeper's Physique Guardian of Might Improved Guardian of Might | The first 3 buff your Strength, Stamina & Agility by a fair amount. The final one also provides +980 Max Health |
 Evade/Dodge/Duck buffs | Sidestep Quicken Reflexes Sharpen Instincts Elude Pain | Increases the Keepers Evade / Dodge and Duck skill. |
 Deflect/Riposte/multi melee buffs | Defender's Poise Warden's Resolve Guardian's Balance Grace of the Samurai Discipline of the Vindicator | Buffs the Keepers Deflect, Riposte, Multi Melee skill. The final one adding a tiny amount of Add All Defense |
 Fury/Wrath | Fury Wrath | Provides a new special ability Fury or Wrath respectively and has different effects based on alignment with Omni/Clan/Neutral for Wrath and Omni or Clan for Fury. |
 Fear Ward | Courage Of The Just | blocks incoming fear effects from players or enemies. With a fast attack speed and decent recharge. In many endgame fights you might be asked to spam this on cooldown to help the team |
 LE (PvP) debuff | Blow Their Cover | This nano formula will reduce the skill with which an Agent uses his rifle by -1250! |
 Add All Offense buff | Punisher of the Wicked | Buffs your add all offence by 30 |
 Reverse Knock Back | Clarion Call | This nano formula will tractor the target player to you. |
 Resurrection Sickness Removal | Rebirth | Rebirth is an ability that allows the Keeper to remove resurrection sickness from a target. |
 Root/Snare Break | Release Me Now | Break root or snare on a 4min cooldown. Ofab nano |
The "Proc" buffs require Biological Metamorphosis (Bio Met) and Time & Space (T&S). They are all on the same line so you can only have one running at a time. These buffs will give the chance of an attack doing a special effect as listed below:
The Health and Nano heal auras like the procs above. Only one can be running at a time and lock out the nano line for 3minutes to prevent cheeky swapping back and forth.
These also scale with your Biological Metamorphosis skill making them much more useful than the old versions prior to the rebalance patch.
| Effect | List |
 Health Heal Aura | Adaptive Ambient Restoration |
| Adaptive Ambient Regeneration | |
| Adaptive Ambient Renaissance | |
| Adaptive Ambient Renewal | |
 Nano Point Heal Aura | Adaptive Tone of Clarity |
| Adaptive Tone of Harmony | |
| Adaptive Tone of Serenity |
The next shared Keeper auras are the Vengeance & Enervate lines. As before only one can be running at the same time. Stacks with all other similar buffs from other professions like Crat, Soldier, Engi etc
| Effect | List |
 +Direct Damage Aura for the whole team | Vengeance of the Loyal |
| Vengeance of the Steadfast | |
| Vengeance of the Resolute | |
| Vengeance of the Virtuous | |
| Vengeance of the Blessed | |
| Vengeance of the Holy | |
| Vengeance of the Pure | |
| Vengeance of the Immaculate | |
| Improved Vengeance of the Immaculate | |
 Snare & Root reduction aura for the whole team + an innate root/snare resist amount for the keeper | Enervate Bonds |
| Enervate Constraints | |
| Enervate Impediments | |
| Enervate Shackles | |
| Enervate Bindings | |
| Enervate Imprisonment | |
| Improved Enervate Imprisonment |
The final shared Keeper aura line is the Imminence & Barrier line. As before only one can be running at the same time. Stacks with all other similar buffs from other professions like Crat, Soldier, Engi etc
| Effect | List |
 +AAO & AAD for the whole team | Imminence of Scrimmage |
| Imminence of Conflict | |
| Imminence of Battle | |
| Imminence of Havoc | |
| Imminence of Warfare | |
| Imminence of Bloodshed | |
| Imminence of Slaughter | |
| Imminence of Carnage | |
| Imminence of Extermination | |
 +% Reflect aura for the whole team | Barrier of the Loyal |
| Barrier of the Staunch | |
| Barrier of the Devoted | |
| Barrier of the Veracious | |
| Barrier of the Resolute | |
| Barrier of the Righteous |
To run these nano though requires the Keeper to have "Specializations" and these need to be quested for. It is important to get "specced" as quick as possible to utilize these buffs. There are quests that can be completed and have the specialization books as reward, please see our Specialization Guide for more information.
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6 - Implants and Symbiants
Implants
The keeper can utilize all of the standard Implants that are available from shops or through item creation.
In your sided shops like in Old Athens, Tir, Omni Ent etc. You will find Pre-Made Implant shops like all other professions available in QL 10-100.
In the Fairtrade shops that are available - You will find a Keeper implant shop that has prebuilt implants from QL 10 - 125. Although these are a bit spendy and if you are a new player might find them to be out of reach if you do not have help with credits. The Fairtrade shops were added as a little bit of a credit sink so many items here are quite over priced.
If you need to know more about implant creation Follow our Implant Guide
Creating your own implants can be a bit of a chore but you will get total control over the buffs available in each location. There are a few tools available to help you determine what cluster goes into each location and can assist with your build process. Below are 2 options.
Auno Implant Tool
Tinker Tools Implant Designer
Symbiants
The Keeper has access to 2 of the 5 symbiant types - Infantry and Support. Most of the time Infantry will be the ones you wish to use as they will have melee stats that you are looking for but Support does fill in nicely in a few spots!
You can check out our Symbiant Guide here that gives a good over view.
At the symbiant endgame you will be obtaining QL 300 Intelligence Symbiants & Beta Symbiants. These will be combined into your final build of symbiants called Alpha Symbiants. You can check out our Alpha Symbiant Guide to learn more about how to obtain them and build them.
Note: A nice tool to help compare between Infantry and Support symbiants is the Kennyboy Symbiant Comparison Tool
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7 - Perks
Perks are attained for every 10 levels and every shadow level, which will result in a total of 40.
Like the Shade profession. Many of the Keeper perk specials will scale directly with 2 Handed Edged skill as seen below. Not every perk action scales in this manner.. Seppuku Slash for example does not scale based on any skill and does a static amount of damage. You may want to visit AO Galaxy Perk Planner and do some investigating!
| | First Perk action for a result of 1 to 500 |
| Second Perk action for a result of 501 to 1000 | |
| | Third Perk action for a result of 1001 to 1500 (or above) |
For example with 1500 2 Handed Edged you get a "quality 750" perk item. This way the second perk action item is the base of your special and has a quality 250 damage calculation.
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7.1 - Shadowland Perks
Profession Perk Lines
Aura of Revival(10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | Will give the Keeper a pulsing team heal aura. The more perks the Keeper has in this line, the more powerful the heal gets. |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Aura of Revival | 10 | +70 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 30 | +174 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 50 | +250 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 70 | +336 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 90 | +384 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 110 | +446 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 130 | +478 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 150 | +532 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 200 | +670 Health per Pulse | |
| Aura of Revival | 206 | +792 Health per Pulse |
Specials: These are not usable specials - This is just an indication of the intended heal amount per perk point allocated to Aura of Revival
This perk line is quite strong from levels 1-110 and typically loses its effectiveness at higher levels. Still very useful if you are mostly a solo player and wish to be as defensive as possible and want to avoid reclaim.
Health amount is impacted by +% healing efficiency last time I tested this perk line.
Blessing (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +2770 Max Health |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Lay on Hands | 10 | The effect of this Special is a heal Recharge, 40 seconds - Gets stronger with each perk point in the line | |
| Devotional Armor | 80 | The effect of this Special is a reflect AC buff Duration, between 14 and 20 seconds depending on how many perks the character has trained in the Blessing LineRecharge, 2 minutes | |
| Curing Touch | 180 | The effect of this Special is a heal and removes blindness Recharge, 2 minutes - Gets stronger with each perk point in the line |
Note: Very useful perk line for Max Health and heals that get stronger as you add more perks into the perk line.
Cybernetic Samurai (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +180 Melee Energy |
| +120 Sneak Attack | |
| +200 Fast Attack | |
| +200 Riposte | |
| +200 Parry | |
| +187 Add Damage to all damage types. Melee, Projectile, Energy, Cold, Fire, Chemical, Radiation, Poison, Nano |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Deep Cuts | 10 | It will be more efficient if target is already running Bloodletting The effect of this Special is a direct damage and damage over time Duration, 40 seconds Recharge, 60 seconds | |
| Blade Whirlwind | 100 | The effect of this Special is a parry and damage buff Duration, 50 seconds Recharge 1 minute 50 seconds | |
| Honoring the Ancients | 160 | The effect of this Special is a direct damage Recharge, 45 seconds | |
| Seppuku Slash | 203 | Special will be more efficient the lower the health of the target is. The effect of this Special is a high direct damage Recharge, 95 seconds |
Note: Seppuku Slash is best used with the target has 15% or less Health as it can only be used once per target and will do the most damage at 15% health or less.
Holy Mark (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +320 Max Health |
| +200 Evade ClsC. | |
| +150 Dodge Rng. | |
| +150 Duck Expl. | |
| +2000 to all Armor Class (AC). Melee, Projectile, Energy, Cold, Fire, Chemical, Radiation, Poison |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Mark of Vengeance | 20 | The effect of this Special is a evade debuff Duration, between 40 and 60 seconds depending on how many perks the character has trained in this line Recharge, 80 seconds | |
| Mark of Sufferance | 90 | The effect of this Special is a dispel DoTs and slow healing over time Duration, 5 minutes Recharge, 10 minutes | |
| Mark of the Unclean | 150 | The effect of this Special is a damage modifier debuff Duration, 45 seconds Recharge, 2 minutes 20 seconds | |
| Mark of the Unhallowed | 202 | The effect of this Special is a attack and defense debuff Duration, 50 seconds. Recharge, 4 minutes |
Group Perk Lines
Bio Shielding (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +890 to all Armor Class (AC). Melee, Projectile, Energy, Cold, Fire, Chemical, Radiation, Poison |
| +3% Reflect all damage Types. Melee, Projectile, Energy, Cold, Fire, Chemical, Radiation, Poison, Nano | |
| +80 Shield Damage to all Damage Types. Melee, Projectile, Energy, Cold, Fire, Chemical, Radiation, Poison, Nano |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Bio Shield | 10 | The effect of this Special is a self damage shield Duration, 5 minutes Recharge 10 minutes | |
| Bio Cocoon | 40 | The effect of this Special is a self absorb shield Duration, 30 seconds Recharge, 2 minutes | |
| Bio Rejuvenation | 130 | The effect of this Special is a area heal Recharge, 30 second | |
| Bio Regrowth | 201 | The effect of this Special is a heal over time Duration, 30 seconds Recharge, 5 minutes |
Reaver (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +180 2Handed Edged |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Cleave | 20 | The effect of this special is a direct damage. Recharge 28 Seconds. | |
| Transfix | 100 | The effect of this special is a direct damage. Recharge 56 Seconds. | |
| Pain Lance | 180 | The effect of this special is a direct damage and a damage over time. Duration 15 Seconds. Recharge 60 Seconds. | |
| Slice and Dice | 204 | The effect of this special is a direct damage. Recharge 40 Seconds. |
Mountaineer (5 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +35 Strength |
| +35 Stamina | |
| +90 Adventuring | |
| +215 Max Health |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Encase in Stone | 190 | The effect of this Special is a self snare and critical decrease and AC buff Duration, 30 seconds Recharge, 3 minutes | |
| Detonate Stoneworks | 207 | Special requires either Encase in Stone or Stoneworks root effect to already run. Is more efficient if Stoneworks root effect already run The effect of this Special is a huge direct damage, removes Stoneworks root Recharge, 90 seconds |
Spatial Displacement (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | none |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Removal 1 | 90 | Reduces time of snares | |
| Removal 2 | 160 | Reduces time of roots | |
| Purge 1 | 200 | Reduces time of snares & roots | |
| Purge 2 | 204 | Reduces time of snares & roots | |
| Great Purge | 212 | Reduces time of snares & roots & Buffs resistance against snares & roots for a short time |
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7.2 - Alien Invasion Perks
These perks require you to have Alien Invasion expansion. To gain available perk points you have to kill aliens, with every completed alien level / defender rank you receive one point. However these alien level are 'real level' locked, please have a look at AI Levels & you.
Crusade (10 Perks)
| Passive boosts | +51 Fast Attack |
| +50 Melee Inititive | |
| +1500 Max Health |
| Perk Specials | Name | Level | Effect |
| Force Opponent | 15 | The effect of this special is a damage over time attack. Duration 35 Seconds Recharge 110 Seconds. | |
| Insight | 105 | The effect of this special is a team buff. It also contains a small heal over time. This special will grow more efficient upon training more perks in the Crusade line. Duration 20 Seconds Recharge 110 Seconds. | |
| Purify | 210 | The effect of this special is a powerful area stun, but be aware it will create a huge amount of hatred towards the user. Recharge 110 Seconds. |
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7.3 - Lost Eden Research
Lost Eden Research works in a different way than SL & AI perks, please read our Research Guide in the Lost Eden Section. Also our guide on Research Caps might be interesting to you.
Champion
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | +10 Brawling | |
| 50 | +10 2H Edged & Melee Energy | |
| 75 | +15 Brawling | |
| 100 | +15 2H Edged & Melee Energy | |
| 125 | +10 Strength | |
| 150 | Virtuous Reaper | |
| 175 | +30 Brawling | |
| 190 | Symbiotic Bypass | |
| 190 | +20 Strength | |
| 200 | +60 2H Edged & Melee Energy |
Exemplar
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | +10 Sensory Improvement | |
| 50 | +5 Psychic | |
| 75 | +15 Psychological Modifications | |
| 100 | +15 Sensory Improvement | |
| 125 | +10 Intelligence | |
| 150 | +25 Evade-Close Combat | |
| 175 | Ambient Purification | |
| 190 | +50 vade-Close Combat | |
| 190 | +20 Intelligence | |
| 200 | Righteous Smite |
Wisdom
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | Righteous Strike | |
| 50 | Eschew the Faithless | |
| 75 | +15 Sensory Improvement | |
| 100 | +15 Psychological Modifications | |
| 125 | +25 Dodge-Rng | |
| 150 | +25 Time & Space | |
| 175 | +15 Psychic | |
| 190 | +50 Biological Metamorphosis | |
| 190 | +50 Dodge-Rng | |
| 200 | +60 Time & Space |
Loyalty
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | +4 Max NCU | |
| 50 | +5 Sense | |
| 75 | Pure Strike | |
| 100 | +10 Sense | |
| 125 | +10 Intelligence | |
| 150 | +25 Evade-Close Combat | |
| 175 | +15 Sense | |
| 190 | +20 Psychic | |
| 190 | +50 Time & Space | |
| 200 | +25 Sense |
Judgement
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | +10 Fast Attack | |
| 50 | +10 2H Edged & Melee Energy | |
| 75 | Subjugation | |
| 100 | Ingore the Unrepentant | |
| 125 | +25 2H Edged & Melee Energy | |
| 150 | +25 Fast Attack | |
| 175 | +30 Add All Offense | |
| 190 | +50 Fast Attack | |
| 190 | +50 2H Edged & Melee Energy | |
| 200 | Honor Restored |
Virtue
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | Faithful Reconstruction | |
| 50 | +10 Body Development | |
| 75 | +10 Stamina | |
| 100 | +100 Max Health | |
| 125 | +10 Stamina | |
| 150 | +2% Healing Efficiency | |
| 175 | +150 Max Health | |
| 190 | +20 Stamina | |
| 190 | +10 Heal Delta | |
| 200 | +300 Max Health |
Paragon
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 1 | +5 Agility | |
| 50 | +5 Intelligence | |
| 75 | +15 Dimach | |
| 100 | +10 Agility | |
| 125 | Benevolent Barrier | |
| 150 | +25 Melee Inititive | |
| 175 | +30 Fast Attack | |
| 190 | +50 Brawling | |
| 190 | +50 Dimach | |
| 200 | +25 Agility |
Apotheosis
| Passive boosts | Level | Skill enhancement / Proc |
| 200 | +50 to All Trade & Repair Skills (ME, EE, QFT, Chem, WS, NP, Tutor, B&E, CL, Pharm, Psychology) | |
| 201 | +500 Max Health, +500 Max Nano, +5 all base abilities | |
| 203 | +4% Healing Efficiency, +4% Direct Nano Damage Efficiency, +2% Critical Increase | |
| 205 | +100 Deflect, +20 Add All Defense, +25 Nano Resist | |
| 207 | +20 Duck-Exp, +20 Evade-Clsc, +20 Dodge-Rng, +20 Add All Offense | |
| 210 | +10 all base abilities, +30 First Aid/Treatment, +50 Concealment, +75 Runspeed | |
| 213 | +20 all damage types, +20 nano delta, +20 heal delta | |
| 215 | +35 all nano skills, -5% nano cost, +50 Nano Init, +10 Nano Range | |
| 218 | +30 all melee and ranged skills (1he, pistol, shotgun, MA etc) | |
| 220 | +30 all melee and ranged specials (fling, burst, sneak, fast atk etc) |
Compilation of the Proc actions
Note: Only one of each proc type can be active!
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8 - Keepers in PvP
I have only dabbled in Keeper PVP and that was many years ago. Someone else might beable to provide a much better outlook on Keepers in PVP.
Keepers have a very healthy HP pool and very solid defenses vs Melee attacks. Plenty of defensive perks and some heals that can go along way to keeping you alive.
At the end of the day you are still mostly a support profession in PVP. Hard to kill and providing great buffs/auras to your team mates in tower wars or battle stations. Very durable in 1 on 1 combat.. Even if you are going to die.. it is going to take them a long time to kill you!
Last updated on 12.13.2025 by lopnk
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