This is the newest pairing in Throne and Liberty — both halves are post-launch weapons. The Orb places summoned spheres that barrier allies, block enemy advances and detonate on your command, and the Gauntlets give you the frontline body to hold the ground those spheres are controlling. The result is a team anchor: not a pure tank, not a pure support, but the player who decides where the fight happens.
If you like being the reason a fight happens where your team wants it to, this is the most interesting pairing added since launch. Here's how the two newest weapons in the game fit together.
What the build is
The Orb arrived in the New Wave update and is unlike anything else in the game: you place up to three summoned spheres at range and trigger them later, either to protect allies, to stop enemies advancing, or to open a hole in a line. It rewards planning and placement rather than reaction. The Gauntlets, added with The Frozen Divide: Nix, are a two-state brawler — a heavy default stance built for holding ground, and Eclipse of Blood, which transforms them into claws for a fast chained-damage window. Together they make a zoning bruiser: the Orb decides the shape of the fight, the Gauntlets enforce it.
Why players run it
- Area denial with a body behind it — spheres only matter if someone can hold the space, and you can.
- Barriers scale your durability — Orb protection on top of the Gauntlets' heavy stance is a lot of effective health.
- Both weapons are post-launch — the pairing is almost entirely unexplored.
- Group utility without being a healer — you enable a team without committing to a support role.
How to play it
Play it in that order, and the order is the build. Spheres go down before the fight arrives, because the Orb's whole value is pre-placement and there is no version of this build where reacting works as well as planning. Hold your ground in the Gauntlets' default stance while the enemy commits, detonate to break the push, and only then transform — Eclipse of Blood is your punish, not your opener. Split your points between Strength and Wisdom: Strength is why you can stand there, Wisdom is how often your spheres come back. The honest difficulty is that a badly-placed sphere is worth nothing at all, and unlike most weapons you don't get to correct it mid-fight.
The honest trade-off
✓ Why to run it
- Genuine area control — you shape the fight, not just participate in it.
- Barriers plus a heavy stance make you very hard to move.
- Both weapons are new, so almost nobody has played against it.
- Contributes to a group without locking you into healing.
△ Honest caveats
- Placement is unforgiving — a sphere in the wrong spot is simply wasted.
- Split Strength/Wisdom gearing is slower to come online than a single-stat build.
- Lowest raw damage of the Gauntlets pairings.
- Two recent weapons means double the balance-patch exposure.
Kit for a zoning anchor
Sphere placement is a precision task performed while people are hitting you. A mouse you can place accurately under pressure earns its keep.
Quick answers
Is Gauntlets + Orb good in Throne and Liberty?
It's a strong bruiser-tank pairing built around area control. Orb barriers and zoning stack well with the Gauntlets' heavy default stance, though it does less raw damage than other Gauntlets combos.
What stats should Gauntlets + Orb prioritize?
Strength and Wisdom together — Strength for the health and heavy-attack chance that let you hold ground, Wisdom for the cooldown speed and buff duration the Orb runs on.
How do Orb spheres work?
You place up to three summoned spheres at range and trigger them when you choose. They can barrier allies, block an enemy advance, or detonate to create an opening.
Is it beginner-friendly?
Not especially. The weapons are simple to use but the pairing rewards pre-planning placement, and misplaced spheres are wasted with no way to correct mid-fight.