So i’ve been away for a while and i played a game yesterday and i’ve seen the grail knight being used in my lobby and he looks very strong for the amount of effort required, just an impression.
So my question is, to players that have already played grail knight on cata or weaves, how easy is he in comparison to his dmg? is he just another shade with an option to sideswipe and oneshot hordes? how broken is his ultimate?
I normally buy him immediatly on release, but as i’ve been away and i have a chance to ask i was wondering everyone’s thoughts.
He is lacking crit, or attack speed to get something from his power. There is no escape mechanic built in what so ever. No range weapon makes you fodder for gas, storm and any kind of special that can attack you from afar without you being able to reach it, like a leech on a ledge, and he lacks any kind of meaningful mitigation since Stoicism (aka straight up horrible version of oblivious to pain) is just a weird joke when most of your damage is from specials, AoEs and your Blessed Sword not letting you block instantly after executing it. His monster damage is not half of what Shade is able to pull off even with Audacity and Confidence has a maximum amount of targets, after which it deals no more damage, which makes it annoying to get Elites from waves at times you really need and want to.
In terms of close combat killing power he lacks far behind WHC, Shade, Zealot and Slayer, while having no access to a range weapon. His passive group support also is random, while not getting close to what a WHC has to offer at all times.
He is fun because he is new, but once that shine vanished there is nothing left that makes him stand out from any other class. Reworking Stoicism, giving him a bit of DR and taking a look at the Blessed Sword in terms of damage and/or the openings you have to suffer using it might make him a decent career. (Also the Day 1 bug of Knightly Temper kills not granting THP on Kill is rather annoying.)
The long-sword itself is a very unique weapon since it has a lot of different combos. The main draw comes from the ability to block attacks in heavy charged stance (which can be hold unlimited, at least until stamina runs out). This makes it an interesting weapon if you want to try some kind of counter-based hero making weapon traits like parry or off-balance a possible choice.
Have not tested the S&B to much so can’t say something reliable. It can block Warpfire (from specials, not the Stormfiend) but technically this is a character trait instead of weapon trait. Also it has a shield bash mixed in the light attacks. So there is that.
Other than that just check the Feedback area. There were … some discussions last week.
Probably the glassiest cannon in game. He’s fun, but, it’s extra frustrating to be him with a group that doesn’t stay together or clear specials. Man’s got huge single target damage, but his arsenal is Kruber’s gear, so it’s all slow.
But honestly the only thing I actually don’t like about him is that I can’t hit a breakpoint to stagger plague monks out of attacks with shields, yet.
The generalist - people who search for all-rounder builds - would probably say that there is more or less just one worthwhile build. I would consider myself more a specialist as I tend to chose builds which have definite weaknesses but excel at special roles. As such I say there is some variety to consider.
Personally, I consider Virtue of Heroism - Smiter/Enhanced Power - Virtue of Purity - Virtue of Discipline a very interesting choice. It has certainly a weakness against hordes and specials but it is probably the most specialized build in the whole game against elites and bosses. In a true one on one against a Rat Ogre or a Spawn for example (special note: going invisible in front of a boss is NOT a true one on one …) there is no class which can do better. There is something satisfying in riposting the three-hit ogre attack just to follow up with a charged attack in a monster’s face followed up again with a Blessed Blade. For extra damage chose Off-Balance as weapon trait, if you have annoyance during the fight chose Parry to not run out of Stamina. Grail Knight may even be able to fight two bosses at once without to many issues.
This is also an interesting nod lore-wise. Just yesterday I unlocked one of the paintings which described Grail Knights as not very bright and also as duelists against stronger foes. And most stories of the super-powered Grail Knights are in fact stories where a single Grail Knight prevailed against a single demon or other strong entity. The problem is that it is only worth so much in a game centered around being swamped by hordes.
In general, it really depends on your attitude. I always get the impression that if it is not nub-nub-chop then it isnt meta and not worth for most of community. An example would be Zealot. There is a very viable choice for him to take flail with Opportunist and chose one of the strongest defense builds in the whole game (up to 40 % damage reduction) and do crowd control for the team. But have you ever seen someone run such a build?
Another example would be me currently playing with Searing Grasp. After testing out I consider this talent as viable and depending on situation being on par with Frenzied Flame. Still most would not consider it worthwhile as it only really shines in certain situations.
You can, I think. You should need a total of about 25-30% power vs. Skaven / Berserkers (can include the 7% power skill) and Opportunist on your shield weapon, and you can push Plaguemonks out of their attack.
About his new shield weapon: It’s a really strange weapon, since - even though it has a shield - it’s designed way more for single target fights. The light attack chain does have a bash, but it feels like a different bash from that of other shields. The heavy attack chain also starts with an overhead chop, which actually does very good single target damage in combination with GK’s skills. I could one hit SV on Legend with it if I got a (relatively easy) headshot with it. The push-bash combo is also done differently from other weapons: you push and then light attack really quickly after. It also lacks good cleaving sword sweeps, but has the same push attack into power attack combo as imperial S&S.
What I like about GK is his melee versatility. Because he can pull a shield out of his back pocket, you can cover the weaknesses of other Krub weapons pretty nicely. Things like the Executioner have great damage output, but fold under pressure. In that case you can draw your backup and make space, however. It also alows him to cover multiple roles on the fly. Need to make some space in the frontline? Time for a one man shield wall. Need to hack away at something? No problem, just draw that damage dealer.
That’s why I feel that - ironically - the Brettonian Longsword is not the best pick for GK. That weapon has versatility as a strenght, which is a little less important for GK because of his backup weapon. I actually had most success with him with a combination of imperial S&S and the executioner. The Executioner is the Executioner, off course, and GK’s single target skills + power attack bonus skill really synergize well with it, while still leaving it as a quite decent damage dealer vs. hordes. The imperial S&S covers the Exe’s weaknesses rather nicely because it’s better vs. (mixed) crowds than the brettonian one. GK’s skillset also makes it do a suprisingly respectable damage output. My preverence could also be because those are weapons I’m just more experienced with, however…
Yeah, it looks like I need to invest more power into it to get use without his passive, haven’t tried that because I’ve been debating if sinking that much power at the detriment of Chaos stats is worth. Right now my experience is with shield he can hold back a solid majority of enemies except for the usual suspects. My defenses break down when plague monks or an unseen/camouflaged SV in his overhead animation enter the fray. Obviously CW and Maulers are a big threat, but it’s easier to see their attacks telegraphing so I can back away, dump light 1 to use the chain shield-bashing into push-bash to create space after they attack. Might just be personally better for me to give up on the dps breakpoints for survivability since I’d rather stagger monks for days to slay at my leisure instead of getting hilariously stomped on by rats.
