On the utility of crates

and why crates can revolutionise KAG warfare
No, this is not a shitpost

Yes, crates are about as popular as sponges and buckets in the current meta. Many people view crates as merely a curiosity at best. However, I believe that crates may potentially change the landscape of KAG forever if used correctly. Okay, probably not but at the very least, I’d like to promote these little boxes of magic.

First, what are crates? Well, they’re crates, really. They’re bought at the builder shop for 20 coins. You can also buy them for 150 wood but no one in their right mind would actually do this. I mean come on, it’s 20 coins, your bomb that you're going to waste costs more than that. You’d have to be teamkilling every minute to be that skint.


(I'm 99.5645% sure there's no difference between the two crate versions)

Crates, clearly, are intended to be used as storage. Each crate boasts 9 storage spaces, and most items only take up 1 space (the most obvious exceptions being kegs and corpses). Note that when you are carrying a crate and pass along some warfare materials/resources (unlit bombs, arrows, stone etc.), it will automatically be picked up by the crate. Please pay attention to this when you’re moving to the front with your trusty crate comrade: if you accidentally fill the crate with 200 stone lying about and the enemy captures the box, you’re essentially giving them 200 stone.



But, by far the crate’s most powerful function is that you can hide in it! To do this, PICK UP the crate (C key) and click on the GET INSIDE icon (E key). By the way, if you hide in a crate which is already filled with stuff (>5 spaces), the crate will poop out some items to make room for your big 4-spaced body. The last item(s) added will be the first to be excreted.

And it is this simple hide function which lies at the heart of some l33t moves, which will be listed underneath.

Crate tactics
In a vacuum, the crate is not great. No one with an IQ over 80 would pick up a crate with someone inside of it and bring it into base (pls ban for grif), and you can simply force someone out of the crate by pressing E and opening the box (no need to hack away at it). That doesn't mean crates don't have their uses, though.

Fall damage reduction
Self-explanatory


Debris protection
Falling blocks? No problem with your crate (up to a certain extent).


Trolling 1: Soft keg landings
if a situation ever, somehow, inexplicably, demanded that you drop a keg from a height without intending it to explode immediately, the crate will come to your rescue. Note though that this doesn’t work if you just straight up throw the crate away – it needs to “tumble” before going down (I think).

Frankly, I have no idea why you would ever want to do this save for trolling, but to be honest it does make for magnificent trolling in my opinion. You can also troll people by putting lit bombs into crates.
PS: you can just directly put the keg in the crate without dropping & picking it up first (just select the crate icon while having the keg lit on your back)

Trolling 2: crated mines (unverified)
This trolling is much more fun, but I'm not sure yet if it's valid in CTF. Quite simply, put a mine in your crate and give it to the enemy. If all goes well, they'll try to open the crate, at which moment a mine will jump out (literally).


Knight/builder transport
This is obviously an archer tactic and intended for archers who like to move more than 3 blocks every minute. When you hide in a crate, others can pick up that crate. Clearly, this makes for a great synergy between a decent archer & a rat of the most disgusting kind / a decent knight. Knights/builders tend to be unable to quickly bypass enemies, but with the crate express, archers can “safely” ferry their comrades into enemy base to wreak havoc before dying a horrible death.


Combat
Hiding in a crate also nullifies any enemy slash or arrow. This is more useful against archers than knights, since enemy knights can just force you out of the crate and eviscerate you (given fast enough reflexes). This tactic requires some good reflexes, though, which will come with practice. You'll die, a lot. But it's fun.


note
Of course, hiding in a crate won't save you from a keg explosion, BUT it reduces bomb damage, i.e. from 3 hearts to 1.5 hearts. Cool if you can't be bothered to run away from a bomb.


anti-water measure (unverified)
Remember when people bought sponges to counter water-spamming? Well, the crate is the new sponge: you can hide in a crate while being water-stunned! This should be useful against water-bomb nubs.


a crate-driven wood economy
Imagine that you're playing on a map drawn by some sadist who wants to model future earth by not including any trees. Or imagine that the enemy has somehow stolen all tree seeds. Well, not all is lost thanks to the crate! This is because throwing a crate into a saw will yield 100 wood. What does this mean? It means a conversion rate of 20 coins = 100 wood (since you can buy a crate with coins). It's better than waiting for a re-supply every 30 seconds, at the very least.


***
With this, I'd like to encourage everyone to test out crates and spread its wonders on CTF servers

 

Can confirm, mines in crates work wonders in CTF.
Awesome guide!

 

Great breakdown!
It's also worth mentioning that crates block incoming enemy arrows while allowing friendly arrows to pass freely. Basically acts as a transportable wooden platform, very solid.

 

As it appears, crates also save your character in the exact way you've entered a crate. So, for example, if you've charged triple shot when you got in a crate, even after 1000 years, when someone opens the crate, you'll jump out, immediately ready for a triple shot. Same works with double slashes.

 

@Biurza you know that's a bug/exploit that you weren't supposed to share (at least not before it gets fixed), right?

 

Really? I had no idea. Found it myself like 2 weeks ago.

 

That same bug works for Quarters (at least with Knight slashes). I can't remember this bit, but you might have to hold down the attack button. You also have to time it right. I stumbled on it while in my MH mod (none of the sleeping or knight attack code was changed, so it wasn't my mod doing it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADE9V4gWmtM

 

Apparently there is no way to get out of a crate without breaking the crate.
But I found you can be in a crate while near a shop. Inside a crate, change class and you will have left the crate without breaking it.

 

:( stupid fixs

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 23, 2024, Original Post Date: Jan 23, 2024 ---

all was fix ehh