THUNDER
ATHENA THE GLADIATOR BUILD
Last updated on August 31st, 2025
THUNDER
Level 70
Elemental • Versatile
PLAYSTYLE
Athena has tons of tools to make her a viable choice, especially when it comes to her elemental damage output and survivability. Her Aspis shield is an incredibly powerful tool that we’ll be focusing on with this build along with her gun damage.
Her game plan with this build isn’t that complicated, but does take a bit of practice to fully utilize successfully. At the start of any combat encounter, you want to activate the Aspis ability, which in turn will activate tons of your skills, and take in some damage. Don’t wait for any enemy to be in the cooldown state, you want the shield to get hit, and a lot. With enough juice in the shield, it’s time to throw it and reap the rewards while you start outputting gun damage to boot.
SOLO
This build is perfect for solo play and makes excellent use of Athena’s multiple abilities. The focus on survivability and thunder are key here, and as long as you effectively use the Aspis ability, most enemies, and bosses won’t stand a chance. Her elemental damage is boosted tremendously, and Athena will often not consume ammo if you activate Storm Weaving by swapping weapons. Essentially, it all comes down to how well you’re using the main Aspis ability, which can in turn boost your damage output.
COOP
Athena is always one of the best characters to bring to a team because of her excellent damage, AOE (Area of Effect) attacks, support and Aspis ability. She can revive teammates, regenerate health, and even regenerate shields while she summons the literal power of thunder. Some of her kill stills can boost her fire rate significantly, making her a perfect character to finish off enemies with as well, which happens often thanks to her Aspis being thrown around the battlefield.
GEARS
Slot 1: Fire Hail
Slot 2: Hyperion Development Shotgun
Slot 3: Thunderfire
Slot 4: Badaboom
Grenade: Storm Front
Shield: Black Hole
MOD: Celestial Gladiator
OZ Kit: Tranquility
SKILLS
While Aspis is active, Vanguard regenerates Athena and the team’s health, United Front absorbs Aspis’ damage to convert that into shield for the entire team, while Clarity of Purpose boosts Athena’s maximum health by 3%.
Zeus’s Rage spawns lighting and fire which damages all nearby enemies, while Wrath of the Goddess allows the Aspis shield to ricochet between targets.
Prepare for Glory taunts nearby enemies to attack Athena, while giving her a stack of gun damage.
