KotBS help?

[Garner]

My KotBS is nearing level 40 and I want to know what gear I should be aiming for. Full ruin? A mix between ruin and anni? Also, what build should I run if I will be tanking for a 6man? (I want to be sword and shield)

Summary: What tactics? What gear? What weapons? (I am using sword and shield) What build? (I am tanking for a 6man group) What talismans should I slot my gear with?

Any tips about 6vx combat as a KotBS would be nice too.

[Thelen]

The Empire class forums have dozens of threads with the kind of info you are looking for.

I'd start by reading through (and maybe asking) here:

viewtopic.php?f=75&t=15559

viewtopic.php?f=75&t=17096

[Garner]

The Empire class forums have dozens of threads with the kind of info you are looking for.

I'd start by reading through (and maybe asking) here:

viewtopic.php?f=75&t=15559

viewtopic.php?f=75&t=17096

Thanks for the help! I forgot about the forum sections on classes.

[Gerv]

I find full ruin for sword and board because of 5% block and good tanking set bonuses. Picking up dirty tricks, knock down, heavens furry, focus mending and sliced through. Slotting banished darkness to round out the 4 tactics.You could also Either slot full armor or full toughness talismans can be a great way to survive everything. Can be helpful for solo tanking for a group of 6. The sword and board can come from scenario weapons. Picking up the reduced chance to be crit and parry weapons because you are looking to mainly survive.

Either full annihilator for the 5% parry from set bonus or a mix of 2pc ruin and 3 pc annihilator gear can get a good set for a tanking 2hd build. There you pick up Encouraged Aim, sliced through, Knock down, and vigilance. Slotting runefang and banish darkness to round out the 4 tactics. I would focus on getting at least 7k wounds if you are 2hd tanking. The choices for 2hd are varied, I personally like the +% mitigation 2hd from the eqpic quests. The Dwarf influence weapon can also be used along with the speed proc 2hd from epic quests as knights suffer from a lack of mobility.

*Moral gear is also worth a look, so you can reach m4/m3 in a reasonable time. There is a +3 belt, +2 jewlery pcs and +4 cape. Very useful for small groups where morals can turn the tide.

**Full mercenary can be used for extra damage, it has +5% mele crit but should be supplemented by decent mitigation and reduced chance to be crit, otherwise you will find yourself dropping quite fast.

[GodlessCrom]

Is 2h knight ever worth it over SnB knight in your opinion, Ray? With recent nerfs to SnB (Encouraged Aim requires 2h, Dirty Tricks is 5% crit rather than 10%), is it looking like 2h can be viable compared to SnB, or does it still lag behind? Knight has always seemed like it was built to be an SnB tank more than the other two tanks on Order, but recent changes (good ones, IMO) make me wonder if 2h KOTBS could see some usefulness beyond "lol Runefang."

[Gerv]

Is 2h knight ever worth it over SnB knight in your opinion, Ray? With recent nerfs to SnB (Encouraged Aim requires 2h, Dirty Tricks is 5% crit rather than 10%), is it looking like 2h can be viable compared to SnB, or does it still lag behind? Knight has always seemed like it was built to be an SnB tank more than the other two tanks on Order, but recent changes (good ones, IMO) make me wonder if 2h KOTBS could see some usefulness beyond "lol Runefang."

I think that after discussions with guild mates, we have agreed, that 2hd spec on a knight can be viable and I do use it. The keys are, one, remaining tanky, high levels of mitigation (resists, armor and parry/dodge/disrupt), low chance to be crit (insert runefang / futile strikes and mitigation proc 2hd) and at least 7k wounds. Two, the effective use of the wounds debuff, ensuring you reliably get behind the target to prevent it getting mitigated as well as making the most of your additional dps. Three, because you are giving up the +5% healing crit and the extra mitigation from block, so your application of cc and damage reduction abilities, more than ever, although obvious, need to be used appropriately because of the reduction in party healing.

Depending on your group make up, you can mix up the mastery spec.

One option I want to try is forgoing the KD and vigilance, if you have amply supply and taking the Focus mending and stagger. dropping sliced through (dependent on group comp) and throwing all points in the left tree for a massive wounds debuff. You could also drop Vigilance and just grab the KD and put all the rest in the left tree, again for a massive wounds debuff. This would allow you to take sliced through for better fight control but would mean you lose the +15% healing, again it all depends on your group comp.

[Garner]

@Gerv Thanks for the help!

[Halhammer]

You never ever drop Slice Thru, THE most annoying KOTBS tactic.

As for OP question about gear set-up for SnB:
I'm currently runnin 3 Piece Ruin + lair cloak (block) + lair boots (block) + lair chest (crit reduction) which brings me to around 23% block and 1.5% chance to be crit (with renown points)

[Tertilus]

You never ever drop Slice Thru, THE most annoying KOTBS tactic.

As for OP question about gear set-up for SnB:
I'm currently runnin 3 Piece Ruin + lair cloak (block) + lair boots (block) + lair chest (crit reduction) which brings me to around 23% block and 1.5% chance to be crit (with renown points)

Can you give us any further information on those lair items, such as which lair you got them from etc.?

[Halhammer]

Sure,
cloak drops from Ravack's lair in BFP, chest from Silveroak in Norsca, and boots from Morra in Nordland. There's also helm and gloves which have block stats on em.