[KotBS] Tips & Tricks

[Zafiriel]

Help me guildies, I just started playing mu KotBS and can't stop! ;)

Hehe no really after playing so many squishy classes being a tank is a refreshing experience.
Actually I like playing tanks, my first 2 chars in WAR were BO and Chosen, but since I got bored of destro side (visually and otherwise) I guess this feeling just crossed over to my general dislike for playing tanks... Until I finally started my knight yesterday and all the sweet tank things came back to me ;)

So, with this short reflection done, please guildies, some tips and tricks, builds and gear advices would be much appreciated!

We have some great KotBS in our ranks (not to name names and point fingers at :P) so guys share your mojo with us fledglings... or should I say: illuminate us feeble squires, oh mighty Knight Lords hehe

To kick off the discussion here's some questions:

I'm looking for a S/B main tank build, so which mastery tree is best?
What is the preferred build for leveling in your experience?
The age old question: what to stack on gear and renown: armour, toughness, wounds, block...?
And the 1mill$ question: how to balance it all with some reasonably decent damage output?

I think we have enough for starters ;)

Big thanks!
:beer:

Zaf

[eeinrich]

complete guide to lvl 40 is here

http://forums.war-europe.com/warhammeronline/board/message?board.id=kotbsEN&thread.id=22


How to use twister - A KotBS best friend is here (in chosen forums but detail is still relevant to KotBS)

http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=306721

more info and advice from fellow guildies here

http://immune-systems.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4212

hope some of this helps

[Zafiriel]

Big thanks Eein! This guide is great :)

Of course twister is a must for Chosen/KotBS, bind it to a "spam attack" key and enjoy ;)

And yea I totally forgot about Netro's thread... some sweet stuff there :)

:beer:

Zaf

[Peavey]

Knight shines in RVR in its ability to twist auras (debuffs, stats enhancement, damage, heal/ap regen)

Knight is a very versatile class!

By play style I am a defensive knight, simply because I enjoy playing like that.


For pure offensive spec, spend points in Conquest Path + Glory. These days also you may see knights loveing the single target knock down there fore speccing Conquest + Vigilance.

I am a Vigilance/Glory Knight. I always spend points in abilities that are useful to the group such as Focused Mending and Dirty Tricks.

As I progressed in my renown I even took the 25% healing debuff aura which is useful in RVR and seem to stack with other healing debuffs.

I don't necessarily play for the damage numbers. I could do so, but... hey just love the team play and you harass destro's with good team defense play and team utilities.

[konfuzfanten]

Personally I must say that Poly is one of the best harassment tanks I have played with, if every order tank could play like you order would win 9/10 sc’s.

[Fait]

Personally I must say that Poly is one of the best harassment tanks I have played with, if every order tank could play like you order would win 9/10 sc’s.

I'm thinking about leveling a KotBS too. I'm pretty bored with my IB and thanks to Tory and Ovation I'm in pretty much in love with the class already.

[Zafiriel]

That's exactly the play style I'm going for: team utility, survivability and harassment.

The thing I enjoy the most in the game is when group synergy and team work kicks in, when our strengths and weaknesses just click together FTW :)

I want to be good friend to my team mates and pain in the neck of destro ;)


Big thanks for the input, and keep it coming :D

:beer:

Zaf

[Meng]

on my Knight - Mathild - i've recently sp[ecced full Glory and used the tactics that change all your damage to Elemental - i'm finding it fun to play and its a nice harassment and stagger build

there was a thread on teh official forums about it i'll see if i can dig teh link out.

i'm also finding it very survivable - would be even better in a guild group :)

M

[Zafiriel]

Here's an interesting guide for AoE leveling KotBS, all with abilities, tactics, masteries and with sweet spots for grinding...

Enjoy :)

http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=289964

[Peavey]

Another note:

If you want to make lol-dps Knight, which one day I would perhaps start building the template for it... Try going high weaponskill at around 500+ and str mininum 600... I would think with Conquest spec, your spam of precision strike (http://www.wardb.com/spell.aspx?id=8005) would show big numbers :banana:

[Peavey]

My Twister setup for Running with Bomb Group runs the following auras:
1. Gather Your Resolve (Resist debuff)
2. Stand Strong (Toughness debuff)
3. Stay Focused (AP/Heal Regen) combined with Focused Mending Tactic.

I also line up other auras on my bars and fire it from time to time at my own judgment depending on the situation:
1. Now's Our Chance (Heal debuff)
2. On Your Guard (Damage Shield)
3. Press The Attack (Strength debuff)
4. All Out Assault (Damage ticks <circumstancial usage, utilize with care so as not to break crowd control>)

Also if you have a communicative Hoeth specced Swordmaster firing Whispering Wind (http://www.wardb.com/spell.aspx?id=9030) you can have all your auras fired up within the span 10 seconds.

Powerful stuff eh?

[Peavey]

Just answering Tory's question on the other thread (http://immune-systems.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=14897&postcount=17)

First of all Tyrant stuff does not give initiative bonus obtained from the two pieces... It's Darkpromise from Lost Vale...

Complete knight item set details can be accessed from WarDB.com (http://www.wardb.com/search.aspx?browse=7.10)

For a Hardcore RvR player it must be hard to miss the RVR nite in place of PvE which doesn't always guarantee a drop (but you might get extremely lucky too!)

As a knight, you are some sort of counter force already with the twisting of auras...

General stats guidelines

Primary stat you should be concerned, at least for a defensive sword and shield knight in RVR would be:

Wounds: Should be at the minimum a solid 9200+ (or whatever that gets you over 10k with buffs/liniments)

2 Tyrant + Warlord pieces gives you 10k+ wounds unbuffed.

Avoidance: Block rate (over 30% recommended base)

Toughness: Maintain at least 600. Toughness is very very good in PvP/RVR, it counts as mitigation of all damage type practically. Try getting into the range of 750-850, it would mean sacrificing your melee damage though in place of being harder to kill. It can be useful when you're guarding someone as well.

Strength: 400-500 minimum

Weapon skill: 300-350 minimum

as PvE tank especially on dungeons like Vulture Lord:
Armor: 3700-4500 minimum base

Initiative: Try to hold it around 250 at the very least (or around 300 recommended) to minimize chance to be critically hit. Combined it with crit reduction items (jewels)

Tory asked about the extra initiative and the relation to his stagger ability (Heaven's Fury). There is no direct correlation in between the two of them (at least as far as I am aware. As I've said initiative helps detect stealth and reduce chance to be critically hit. It contributes to survivability, avoiding high critical hit damage...

[ToryBasher]

Awesome posts Ovations for sure, bumping this for PoleAxe and Tinprients attentsion following last nights chat.

ps Also look at

http://wargorfang.blogspot.com

This chaps web blog, some where in his blogs that is, there are specs for sword and board and 2 hander AoE builds. WarDb links in there too. I dont have the exact links as im at work.

[Peavey]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion about 2 hand or S/S.

I stand by mostly on S/S because, hey, I am a tank after all, and I believe I should put a body to tank the damage and stand lots of damage. I let the Bright Wizards and Slayers and other DPS doing the damage. And most importantly, on a basis of personal preference I feel most comfortable playing Sword and Shield :D

Edit: You have seen few Chosen like the one from No Manner uses two hand, and he does his part/role that serves very well for his setup. So it's not to say S/S is the ultimate, it all depends. Though consensus wise or broadly speaking S/S brings very good contributions!

I won't go into theorycrafting here (at least not yet :P)

But here is the post on that blog you mention Tory, about his opinion on running 2hander: http://wargorfang.blogspot.com/2010/01/knight-of-blazing-sun-community.html

[ToryBasher]

Yes 4sure S&S take priority over 2 hander, however there is defo a role for 2 hander KoTBs with that wounds debuff. But only room for 1 in a warband. That is a good blog but the chap is a wee bit biased towards 2 hander. He's funny though with his bi-montly rage quit from warhammer lol

[Peavey]

Set Jewelries item: Obdurate Seal (http://www.wardb.com/item.aspx?id=640111) / Crow Caller's Chain (http://www.wardb.com/item.aspx?id=640110) / Wordbreaker Band (http://www.wardb.com/item.aspx?id=640112)

Item name: The Obdurate Seal
Mob(s) to kill:Giant Scorpion - Stick the Sticker
CALEDOR @ 51, 46. Brightmoon Forest N of (O) ch21. First kill Crushclaw to get: Giant Scorpion Stinger. Then go to 44, 6 and kill Firestrike. The scorpion stinger will disappear and you will get the The Obdurate Seal.
NOTE: If this doesn't work, try reversing the process. Kill Firestrike first, then Crushclaw.
(D) CALEDOR @ 44, 5. Kill Firestrike to get Giant Scorpion Stinger. Then go to (O) side of Caledor @ 50, 45 (via Dragonwake @ 15, 45 and jump to ally side zone. Then go to Dragonwake 2, 60 to take the little secret stage) and kill the champ scorpion mob you find there.
PROOF: Obdurate Seal is now purchasable.
NOTE: To PURCHASE The Obdurate Seal, one must complete the "Pinch to Grow an Inch" unlock in THE BLIGHTED ISLE.


Item name: Crow Caller's Chain
Mob(s) to kill: Giant Spider (Magma Crawler) - Sacking for Sacs
THUNDER MOUNTAIN @ 43, 7.5. Kill the mobs until you get an 5 Arachnid Poison Sac. Unlocks Crow Caller Chain. NOTE: Less than 10% drop rate.
PROOF: Chain is now purchasable.
NOTE: To PURCHASE Crow Caller Chain, one must complete the "Fast Finds" unlock (http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Fast_Finds).
FURTHER: The above note seems to have been stealth fixed, but I'll leave the info up until more confirmation.


Item name: Wordbreaker Band
Mob(s) to kill: Basilisk (Bale Gaze) - No Reflection of Your Skill
CINDERFALL @ 35, 34. Across the lava there is a skeleton "Komnor Bronzemug". Click it and read, "The statue before you is incredible life-like, and highly detailed. The oddest feature is the cracked mirror that you pry from the statues fingers." Right clicking on the mirror in your bag to make this L37 mob appear. Kill it for: Wordbreaker Band part of "The Winds Impervious" set.
TIP: You can climb up the mt near a cave on the edge of cinderfall and then work your way through it.
---

PS/Re:2hander:

Yes 4sure S&S take priority over 2 hander, however there is defo a role for 2 hander KoTBs with that wounds debuff. But only room for 1 in a warband. That is a good blog but the chap is a wee bit biased towards 2 hander. He's funny though with his bi-montly rage quit from warhammer lol

Arcing Swing wounds debuff is deffo, very nice :D :D :D And definitely a space worth in a warband.

[konfuzfanten]

Ovation, i have rolled a baby knight (Panzerfanten) and sometime soon i would like to grab you and have a vent conversation with you. i consider you as one of the best tanks and knights on the server so i would like to learn from the best :worthy:

[Liepzig]

As a s/s noob tank Ova, how high should Parry% be for a tank or is that abit useless? this tips will help my kotbs be slightly less noobish. :worthy::worthy:

[Peavey]

Ovation, i have rolled a baby knight (Panzerfanten) and sometime soon i would like to grab you and have a vent conversation with you. i consider you as one of the best tanks and knights on the server so i would like to learn from the best :worthy:

Yea baby knight!!! Is it female knight? I think they can look alright.

C'mon, I'm really not comfortable being considered that way. I can never consider myself falling in that category of player.

Simply put, I believe, I am just a support player who do my homework and give my best to contribute to a group.

Umm.. I have to say that where I am now, there are people who roll knight alts and really play it very well!!! I do believe you can always learn something new in this game.

Surely can hang out and have a chat sometime when/the soonest am available.

[Peavey]

As a s/s noob tank Ova, how high should Parry% be for a tank or is that abit useless? this tips will help my kotbs be slightly less noobish. :worthy::worthy:

Although Knights have quite nice tactics called Runefang (http://www.wardb.com/spell.aspx?id=8043) (Whenever you parry an attack, your Strength, Weapon Skill, and Initiative will be increased by 240 for 10 seconds!!!) and Coordination (http://www.wardb.com/spell.aspx?id=8056) - I would reccomend if you are sword and shield, to just put it in blocks, because you don't parry spells.

Parry is nice to have yea still. So I'd say 15% base is nice/good enough. But I can live with 10% base these days. If you want to parry more I guess apart from spending it on items, spend on renown points in parry and up your weaponskill higher :D

I do envy the blockrates and parry rates of Ironbreaker and Swordmasters :D

[konfuzfanten]

C'mon, I'm really not comfortable being considered that way. I can never consider myself falling in that category of player.
I have played with a lot of great destro(back on azgal)/order tanks and you ARE amongst the best [EDIT: both pve and pvp wise]. Order and ofc BnQ+Crimson is very lucky to have you in the game! :D

I just need to lvl him a bit (its a him :D) then ill write a post and get you on vent :)

[Zafiriel]

A short brake has rekindled my love for WAR. Yeeeey :banana: I’m back!

And I’ve decided to ditch all my squishy elfs and focus just on my knight, warbands of BnQ and PUG rejoice ;)

So I've been playing for couple of days now, refreshing my muscle memory and it’s gone surprisingly well for now: my Carpal tunnel is not hurting more than usual from twisting and I don’t even need to stop in mid-fight and read the ability tool-tips anymore :p lol

Now I could use some advice from knight veterans (and we have quite few of those now) on a most important thing for any tank:
renown whoring ;)


My knight is rr39 in anni and I’m not even going to bother with buying conqueror and doing WBT/SC anymore, I’m just going to rush for Invader asap and sort other gear later… So what should I do: should I grind SCs and leech with our damaging auras or just run around ORvR with a banner chasing AAO bonus… or something else, or all of the above? :p


Come on guys please share a bit of your hard earned wisdom on what’s the “fastest” most “cost efficient” way to get renown with a knight!
Plz plz plz plz

:beer:
Zaf

[Peavey]

These days, pretty much build a solid group or two. Get good healers and dps. Bombs away in AAO you'll get lotsa renown.

All Out Assault in turtle blob formation / full frontal ... be aware All Out Assault has risk of breaking staggers so use with caution in an organized squad.

[konfuzfanten]

Dont use "All Out Assault", you will make a lot of ppl mad and you are wasting your most powerful ability: the stagger!

To solo renown whore in sc's: its all about spreading the dmg, so dmg reflection aura, blazing blades on everything and try and find a good dps to guard and support him.

If you want renown on tanks its all about team work: get 2 healers, 1 more tank and 1 good aoe dps (BW/slayer) and a single target burst dps and go kill stuff with AAO.

The last way of getting a lot of renown is to follow crimson/rg around and debuff the destro as they kill them. You do need a LOT of tgh/wounds+armour to survive doing this.

But generally its hard to renown whore on tanks, so try and make premades and utilize the group support power of the knight.

[Peavey]

Use it Zaf!! Use it!!! Go go go maximum dps!!!! Use it manually! But not in regular twist rotation. Whore like mad!
If you're a pro twister like me able to squeeze 4th aura and judge when to do so timely and safely then do it.

Other than that ... Well don't use aoa unless you want to annoy people or yourself by breaking cc!!!

[konfuzfanten]

Another thing get this:
http://immune-systems.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=15495&postcount=16

thx again Ovation :)

[Zafiriel]

:) Tnx for the advice guys ;) if someone knows all the "how to"s it's you two :)

Yep it's tricky to use AOA and not break the staggers (first thing I learned is not to use it in regular rotation )... I'm not too sure how to twist 4 auras without some outside help? Hmmm you'll need to teach me Peavey when you are not busy stomping Destro to the ground, if you'll be so kind :)

And those jewels are definitively on my list to get asap, tnx Konf. :)

Big thanks guys :beer:

[Peavey]

I of course will be flamed for preaching aoa... but u ask something related to renown whoring and possibly mini chance to land some kills with that tiny tick of dps... of course this is somekind of selfish method and not very effective way to ensure kills/wins are earned with highest possible chance.

So, concentrate on getting very good groups to roam and able to land kills.

You're a tank. Your primary role is to guard, hold the line, throw challenges, crow control, and soak up damage. And as a knight you twist auras.

The only time you 'over-extend' would be in that split 5 seconds max to land a stagger and get back to who you're guarding.

Don't worry about 4th auras until you're comfortable with the basics that I have mentioned above.

[Zafiriel]

Aye aye m'lord Baron! I'm on it :)

And yes I was asking for the "most selfish" way to "steal" renown, so the flames should go to me (together with the renown) ;)