[915][Guide] How to use the knight effectively

So the last guide that was written for the knight is really outdated, and I wanted to write up a new one. I'm not an expert player, and I especially fail at bomb-jumping in Beta so if Contrary someone could outline effective bombjumping, that'd be appreciated.

First, let's talk about the abilities that knights possess.

1. Stab. A single click of the mouse allows you to stab a foe. This is the weakest attack and completely ineffective against another knight about 50% of the time. It's more effective against a newer player that doesn't shield much, and fairly effective against builders. The best use is a single slash+stab attack against a knight, or chaining the stab after a double slash.

2. Slash. Hold down L mouse for a second and release. This deals a lot of damage and can kill archers in one hit, I do believe. Shields can block it, and the enemy knight will not be stunned. It can sometimes kill builders in one hit, though I find that they sometimes survive. A slash can cut through wood and dirt fairly quickly too.

3. Double slash. Hold down L mouse for about 1.5 seconds, and wait for the glint on the blade and the "ching" sound effect, then release L mouse and quickly press it again to perform this move. The first strike will knock a foe's shield down and the second will cut them, most of the time. Note that slashes in beta must be aimed at the foe, they aren't 180 degree attacks of fury, therefore they have a significantly higher skill ceiling than classic. A double slash, if it connects successfully, will kill all archers and builders in one attack, and can even kill an enemy knight if they're unshielded at full HP. For the extra half second of charge time, it's also much better at digging through wood and dirt than a normal slash.

4. Shield. Hold down R-mouse and aim around to deflect attacks and arrows coming from various directions. In all honesty, shielding is only used against archers, noob knights who use stabs a lot, mine detonation, and bomb-jumping. In a regular knight-on-knight fight, you would stick to single/double slashes to defeat your foe. Against a builder, it would be better to stab them instead of wasting time deflecting their attacks. Hold R-mouse and aim upward while falling to shield-glide, which slows your fall down and allows you to jump greater distances. It also protects against fall damage 90% of the time.

5. Bombs. The average knight has a choice of two main side weapons, the bomb and the water bomb. Both have considerable risks if you have no idea how to use them and any bomb can harm the owner of it as well as the enemy.
-Regular bombs can destroy any tile (except bedrock, unlike in classic Kag) though it may take a couple hits, and they can also be used for bombjumping. If you're hit with a bomb at extremely close range and you don't shield against it, you may die in one hit, even at full health. Bombs have no timer, however they flash red right before they explode, so use that for a visual aid.
-Water bombs stun any friend or foe at close range upon impact with the ground. And when I say "close range" I mean it has to practically land on top of them or it won't work. If you hit yourself with it, you'll be stunned as well, but it's extremely effective against group crowd control. The uses for it are minimal (Though it may put out fires? I always assumed so but I've never tried this) aside from allowing time to charge a strike, and if it misses you just wasted 30 coins.

6. Kegs. Knights have access to Kegs (Any class can purchase them and carry them, but only a knight can light them) which are (currently) 120 coin destruction devices that are used to destroy enemy bases (and your own if you're a fucking asshole!). Note that once a keg is lit, it cannot be destroyed (Correct me if I'm wrong about this, I've tried and failed multiple times) but prior to this, it's very fragile and easily destroyed. In fact, if an ally is carrying a keg, you can slash and destroy it right off their back, so beware of that. Kegs can be loaded into catapults for long ranged mayhem (Please someone tell me the exact process for this) and you can light a keg and toss it to another team member, such as an archer, to carry into the enemy base, though people rarely do this. (I saw it done once and the results were fantastic.)

-Note that you can still use your shield while carrying a keg, but you cannot use your sword and your movement speed is slightly reduced.

7. Mines. Mines are actually purchasable and usable by all the classes, so I don't consider them knight exclusive. For 80 coins, you have a weapon with nearly as much destructive power as a keg with 1/4th the arming time and much more ease in positioning (it fits into smaller spaces.). However, it can be destroyed or safely disarmed by all the classes, with builders simply right clicking to destroy it safely, archers shooting it with arrows, and knights shield jumping onto it. Note that the last two will detonate it, destroying nearby tiles, therefore you might be able to still use this to destroy a part of the enemy base.

-Note that you cannot use your shield or sword while you're carrying a mine, but movement speed is not appreciably reduced. Mines will also break if tossed from high up, so launching them into the enemy base is a waste of resources.



-General strategies for playing as a knight-

When you're a knight, you're a powerhouse. If you're good at playing as a knight, you can take on hordes of enemies and defend key positions all by yourself. With the right outfitting, you can even assault a base by yourself by utilizing bomb jumps or slash-cutting through wood blocks to gain access to the enemy base. Some simple strategies include:

-Always carry one bomb on you. If you make even one kill per life, you're gaining enough coins on death to purchase said bomb, so make sure you buy it and use the damn thing. Carry more bombs if you actually know how to use them effectively, and never die without using them all or they'll drop on your death and the foe will get to use them.
-By that logic, try to kill enemy knights before they can use their bombs so you can steal them for your own use.

-Slash jumping increases your speed of travel and jump height when climbing a wall. This is doubly so for double-slash movement/jumping, and a decent knight can easily climb a 9 block tower, while a good knight can utilize double slashes to climb as high as 11 blocks! With the right combination of double slash and shielding, you can even airglide around small overhangs and "hook" yourself on a ledge to vault over it.
-Don't forget wall jumping too! You can hop onto a block and try to jump from there, OR you can hop from a nearby wall onto the side of that block then hop off again for increased speed and elevation. Couple with slash jumping for l33t climbing skillz.

-When double slashing, there is the slight downside that if you miss, you need a split second to recover, while a single slash doesn't have this hampering issue. Therefore, only use double slashes against a single foe, maybe even as many as two, or you'll be in for a quick death if you don't kill both of them.

-Learn to shield stun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0L6l5s7aU Seriously nobody uses this and if you do, massive advantage gained.

-Knights can use drills, as can archers. They aren't limited to builders, so next time you raid an enemy base, bring a drill instead of a keg. If an enemy does this to you, slash them to break their drill. This strategy is best used with a team of raiders covering your back.

-Smash down on enemies by dropping on them from above without shield gliding. If you miss the smash and hit the ground though, you're fucked.

-Archers can penetrate your shield with their triple Legolas shot... but only if they get in at close range. Stab any archer that gets within 1-10 tiles of you before their shot fully charges, or take measures to dodge them.

-If you see an enemy mine on the ground, hop on that shit with a lowered shield for a free instant bomb jump. If it's at your base, call for a builder to defuse it (though they're usually retarded and you have to do that shit yourself).

-During build phase when a match starts... swap to builder and go mine materials, then toss them to the most competent looking builder in sight. If none exist, build something yourself. But don't stay as a knight hopping on the towers builders are making... because you're a jackass if you do that.

-If you see an enemy drop materials when they die, especially gold or stone, grab that shit and toss it back to base. Help your allies!
-Similarly, if you see a heart lying on the ground, press C to pick it up, hold F to open your inventory, and put it in one of the 4 bottom slots. Press spacebar to use it when you get hurt. It will not drop on death (If you stack 4 hearts, then when you die if any are left unused, they won't appear. At most only one will appear as the regular heart does on a sucessful kill.)

-You can place a lit bomb inside your inventory and the enemy won't know it's there, then you can kamikaze on them. This is rarely useful but it's useful to know about.





-Tips for facing a knight-

If you're a builder and you see an enemy knight coming, your best defense is a good offense! Haha no, don't fucking do that. If you seriously think attacking a knight as a builder will end in anything except heartache, you should never reproduce. Run away, go hide in a hole and place two stone blocks behind you. If they're slow you might have a couple seconds to do this.

If you're an archer, either take the time to charge a legolas shot (if it's one knight charging you) and hope his HP is low enough to where you can kill him, or if there isn't time or there are more than one knights charging, run the fuck away. Don't even bother shooting a single arrow unless their shields aren't raised.

If you're a knight, use the l33t skills described in this guide to beat ass and take names.

Check out this topic for more useful tips, some of which may be relevant to the knight directly. I hope this improves the competition on pub servers.

 

Could you please change the use of the word 'Gold' to 'Coin'? I've had this cause confusion with new players, and they actually tried to use Gold (Resource) to buy Kegs.

Also, you neglected to mention in your counters section; Water Arrows can screw a Knight over. And an Archer carrying these can at least 'try their luck' in combat.

 

Water arrows don't really "screw a knight over". No more than a fully charged legolas shot or a fully charged single shot would. Sure there's an extra second of stun, but considering fire arrows and bomb arrows are better, archers should be buying those.

I can do this.