After taking a long break from the game I've decided to come back and attempt some sort of new setup. I want to be able to play on hard or higher difficulties. I would love to have a character developed in a similar fashion as the the Guardian from guildwars 2... but I haven't been able to decide upon a setup to suit that need.

What I'm looking for is a defensive warrior. Damage output isn't overly important as long as it does the trick I don't mind having long battles.

As far as areas of focus:

Heavy Armor
Smithing (and only mining/smelting my own materials if at all possible)
Block

The rest I'm playing by ear really. I'd like to hold off on deciding on single or double handed weapons, or even which types... I'm someone who prefers unique weapons and those spectral blue weapons that upgrade with ectoplasm may be the ticket for me.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1371707-the-trickster-build-discussion-challenge/page__fromsearch__1
Interesting and Challenging

hey,

I recently made a defensive battle mage type, my build doesn't use much block but you could work it in. here is the link.
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1372352-build-battle-mage-kind-of/page__p__20739679#entry20739679

Played on master difficulty it is challenging for first 30 levels or so, after that it kind of get easier as smithing and enchanting get op... if you want to avoid that then just use armor you find or don't use enchanting.

Anything with smithing in it won't be very "challenging" honestly, you'll find that it makes the game a joke and takes the challenge away, even on Master difficulty. If you want a challenge, don't use smithing/enchanting/alchemy at all.

Or, you can try playing a pure mage with no Illusion or Conjuration magic or Armor on Master difficulty. That's probably the hardest thing I've ever played in this game so far.