~The Complete Knuckle Knight Guide~

[AsutoruDesu]

//~~~~~~~~~~Introduction~~~~~~~~~~//
The Knuckle fighting style, in my own opinion, is one of the most interesting out there. All 4 of the beginning classes can use them, and learn their associated skills. They are also the starting weapon for Knights, and I think Warriors as well? This kind of leads newer players to believe that Knuckles are "noob" weapons. I hope this guide can disprove that.

Knuckles have 3 Skill trees, the most of any class (Mages technically have 4 [one per element], but it is highly inadvisable for Mages to go beyond 2). Each skill tree has its advantages and disadvantages, which I will mention later.

//~~~~~~~~~~Advantages of Knuckles~~~~~~~~~~//
-99 hit combos are simple to pull off (I could do them against Bamboo Boys in the training field).
-As a result, Knuckle users get slightly more experience per monster killed (provided they can keep a combo going).

-A lot of friends / guildmates of mine like to brag whenever they get a 99 hit combo. 99 hit combos for us Knuckle users should be a regular occurrence. If you aren't getting an 80 hit + combo, you are either doing something wrong, or in too weak of an area, with too low of a spawn.

-Skills are generally quick to use. The entire Kick tree, and the first half of the Beam tree, start doing damage the instant you use them. The remaining skills have a small, yet noticeable, delay to them.

-The skills themselves are extremely versatile.
-The 3rd and 4th skills (Crescent Kick and Dragon Kick) in the Kick tree are arguably the best moves in the game.

-They can be chained into each other to "hop" over enemies, while racking up a nice 11 hit, highly damaging combo (against 3+ enemies).

-While using these skills, you are temporarily invincible. With enough defense / STA, you can offensively tank Hyunmu into a corner, and repeatedly spam Crescent Kick > Dragon Kick, and avoid around a third of his attacks, using these alone.

-If you JAS (Jump, Attack, Skill), and use Crescent > Dragon while in midair, you actually gain extra jump height. This will allow you to reach those inconveniently placed areas, just above / beyond your reach. Climbing the Beanstalk becomes a lot faster and easier.

-Knuckles are just fun. Who doesn't enjoy jumping to the top of buildings, and Dragon Kicking across maps? Skill comboing (especially seeing how long you can keep a 99-hit combo going) is fun. Your weapons and skills just get cooler looking as you go on... I'm honestly not sure why I am drawn to this class so much. I have tried Sword Knight, Bow, X-Bow, and Dagger. X-Bow was the only tree I somewhat enjoyed, but it still paled in comparison to Knuckles.


//~~~~~~~~~~Disadvantages of Knuckles~~~~~~~~~~//
-Skill combos take a lot of SP. As a Knuckle Knight, you want to do as much damage as possible, and that can only really be obtained by skill combos. A lot of the individual attacks require hardly any SP, but chain 6 or 7 of them together, and you might be missing 60% of your SP bar.

-You can't equip a Shield with them. Swords and Maces can carry wield a Shield along with their weapon, giving them a decent defense boost. At level 76, I take about 50-60 points of damage more without a Shield, than when I wear one. This doesn't mean you can't equip a shield, and switch from Knuckles to that when you are tanking.

-You won't be seeing high damage numbers. Ignoring the Fist tree, and with unstatted equipment, you won't be seeing 1k crits until around level 66-71. With the Fist tree, the 4th skill (Twin Fist) can pull off 2k crits against single enemies at those levels, and 1k crits against mobs. Don't despair, you are a knight (at least, I assumed as such). You won't be doing the damage of a Warrior / XBow of a comparative level, but you also won't be dying nearly as much.

[AsutoruDesu]

//~~~~~~~~~~Stats / Weapons~~~~~~~~~~//

The average reader might be puzzled as to why I threw these two extremely broad ideas into an even broader category, but I have my reasons. Your weapons basically are just stats. Expensive, cool looking stats. So, think of this as the Statistic building section.

I am still guessing that you are a Knight, so if you are an Explorer / Mage / Warrior, and want to get in on this information... it might not be of complete help. Sorry T-T

First, I'll start this off with our stat distribution. Each time you level, you earn 7 stat points, which are "Randomly" distributed into your build. However, this randomization is actually determined by your class.

Stat Distribution for Every Job. But you only really need to pay attention to the first two jobs ^-^ The numbers under each of the stats represent percentages. For each stat point that you earn upon leveling, it has that % chance of going into that stat. Last level, my stat gain was Stamina +6, Str +1. But I've had stat gains of +3 mgc, +2 lck, +1 sta, +1 str before. Overall, my stamina as a Knight is higher than my other stats, and it generally follows the 25/40/15/20 distribution I have listed.

A Knight's two most important statistics are its Stamina (Sta) and its Strength (Str). Stamina affects the amount of HP and Defense that you have (More of this = You die less). Strength affects how strong your attacks are (Coincidentally, stronger attacks = faster kills = less damage taken).

So, does this mean that you should enchant all of you equips with Str and Sta stuff? While that isn't a terrible idea, you might also consider Min / Max Physical Damage +, Crit Rate + (Not enchantable), Crit Damage +, Speed +, and Phys. Accuracy +. You might often find yourself not being touched by enemies, while doing low amounts of damage, so these Enchantments will help you do a lot more damage.

Min / Max Phys. Damage is preferred over an Str boost of equal level, because while Str rises your damage by about 0.42 per Str point, the Max / Min buffs increase you damage by actual percentages. A 5% min / max boost could turn your damage numbers from 200-221 to 210-232. That would take 26 Str points to match that! Str is actually calculated into the formula for skill damage. While I don't know the actual formulas, having higher Str might actually be more useful than a Phys. Dmg. % increase.

And here is my handy Equipment Enchantments guide, for your viewing pleasure. I highlighted the noteworthy stats and which equipments should use what stats. Its very general (I have at least 3 buffs on each item, and 6 on the weapon), so it allows you to stat to your personal preference. Also, you should never be using a normal shield. Bucklers give you way more defense.

Now, to find those awesome weapons! I took the liberty of running around town and finding out weapon prices. I don't have the prices for the weapons that we don't have yet, as OGPlanet changed the prices from what previous versions had.

Here is the Spread Sheet for the Shop Data of All Knuckle Weapons!

If you are wondering why some prices are Green, Blue, or Orange... Those colors represent enchantment levels that Shop NPC's offer. You can get the colored enchants early on by selecting the "Item Trade 2" Option that Weapon / Armor Shop NPC's have. Green = 1 Enchantment, Blue = 2, and Gold = 3. Red has 4, but those aren't in any shops that I am aware of, even in other versions.

//~~~~~~~~~~Shields~~~~~~~~~~//

I just recently had a discussion with someone about this issue. Apparently, there is this crazy, wide-spread belief that just because we can't equip shields with our weapon, that we are going to die a lot faster. Hrmmmm...

1.) Why yes, we do take more damage without a shield. Sitting in a mob of Kukiris, at level 84, I took on average, 60 damage per hit without my shield, and 12 damage per hit with one (My shield is level 72, has +13 phys dmg def.)

2.) However, that doesn't mean that we die faster. Swords and Maces hardly move while attacking, so they get hit more often. Knuckles, however, allow the user to move around the battlefield with their skills, and avoid attacks while using them. Less attacks on you = less damage taken = more survivability.

3.) There really isn't a way to compare this that I can think of, so I am just going to throw it out there, that we survive just as well without a shield as Sword / Mace does with one. Myth busted?

[AsutoruDesu]

//~~~~~~~~~~Weapon Skill Descriptions~~~~~~~~~~//

So, right before I got off this to do my homework, I noticed that I mentioned beneficial skills in the Advantages section, but only for Kick Moves. Then, I added a few about Beams, and a few about kicks... and I suddenly had about 75% of this section unwillingly done!

So, I'll just move that over here. XD


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' /_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
'( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Beam Skills!
' \___________________________




4th Beam skill (Final Crash) isn't actually a beam. Its more of a tackle. You fly forward across the screen, crackling with energy sparks, damaging whatever you hit. It hits up to 4 enemies a total of 3 times, making it an excellent mobbing skill. It takes a while to recharge, so you can't exactly throw it into a dedicated combo loop, but when you do use it, you will be pleased.

3rd Beam skill (Energy Boom) is excellent for taking on evasive bosses / enemies (Invoke). You draw your hands back for a brief moment, then push them forward, shooting out a large beam of energy, doing one hit of damage to multiple enemies in the beams range. One of the coolest looking Knuckle skills, IMO. While it can hit up to 4 enemies at once, it is as slow as Twin Fist when it comes to activating, and has a pause after it activates, making it near impossible to fit into a combo.

The 2nd Beam skill (Aero Boom) is the best combo-filler move we have. 3 hits against up to 3 enemies each, instant activation, wide range of effect, and relatively quick activation. Stronger enemies will probably walk right through this, but it is perfect to keep a combo going, and to rack up a good amount of damage.

The 1st Beam skill (Sonic Boom) is quite a nifty move itself. Instant activation, wide range of effect (Think Bow), and delivers one strong hit against up to 2 enemies. This usually knocks back the affected enemies, and makes a nice combo finisher / restarter.

``____
_/```````)
_````````) Fist Skills!
` \____)



-4th Skill (Twin Fist). Short, but noticeable delay before activation (It might kill your combo if you lag, usually doesn't). Small range of effect. Massive damage v. single enemies. With my Crescent Kick (The strongest single hit skill besides Fist Skills), I was barely able to scrape a 1k crit. Now, with Twin Fist, I can hit around 2.1k crits. That number drops down to 1k in mobs... but still, 1k against 3 enemies (Twin Fist) is better than 1k against 2 enemies (Cres. Kick).

-3rd Skill (Chulsango). It breaks ribs! No wonder it took me so long to finish that Skeleton killing quest... Jokes aside, this is an okay move. Activation delay is the same as Twin Fist. Basically, a weaker, lower cost, forward moving version of Twin Fist.

-2nd Skill (Hell Fist). I actually like this move better than Chulsango. You don't move forward nearly as much, and this move is a tad faster, but weaker. This move is quite reliable when thrown into a combo (Meanwhile, Chulsango and Twin Fist are barely comboable... usually just limited to fist-only combos).

-1st Skill (The Fist). Here is The Fist. Its an introduction to what The Fist is, and it gives you enough time to run away. Sonic Boom is a far superior move to this one, often doing more damage, at a quicker rate, with a longer range, and better damage against multiple enemies. The only advantage that The Fist has, is its low SP cost. This move can be used as combo filler.

`O_
'/|__] Kick Skills!
`|



3rd Skill (Crescent Kick). Why did I put this one first? Why was I going backwards anyways? For that second question, I'll save that for later. But as for why I put this before the 4th skill, there is a good reason. This skill is key to pulling off the 4th Skill most effectively. With this skill, you perform a rising backflip, propelling yourself forward. It does 1 hit of damage, and hits 2 enemies. Normally, it's not that great. But, whenever it does hit an enemy for enough damage, it actually kicks the enemy up into the air. And for most enemies, they can't attack while airborne. So this move is just as defensive as it is offensive. Also, this move is evasive, as well. If you can't reach that ledge just above you, just jump, press the attack button BEFORE you get to the peak of your jump, then use Crescent Kick, and go higher than you have gone before. This can be used to avoid ground-dwelling mobs, or to scale impossible heights (I am on top of the Elias Department store in those GIF animations.)

4th Skill (Dragon Kick). This skill just rocks. The real reason that Knuckles can be used by any class, is because every character should at least experience this skill at least once. This skill can only be used while mid-air, so make sure that you aren't trying to spam it on the ground. When you use this attack, you become a swirling, rotating mass of blades of wind, that rockets in an arc (forward and up, then forward and down). While the move is active, you are mostly invincible (You might be able to take damage, haven't seen it happen yet, but you definitely don't get knocked out of the attack). This attack lasts as long as you are airborne, so if you jump off of, lets say, the Department Store roof, then you will be kicking the whole way down.

-If you JAS (Jump, attack, skill), using a Crescent Kick right at the peak of a jump, and Dragon Kick immediately afterward, you will gain even more height on your jump. I'm at work, so I don't have much to compare this to, but I am fairly sure that the added height from the two skills equals anywhere from 3/4's to a full additional jump's worth of ...jumping.

2nd Skill (Wind Kick). You perform a vertical swiping kick, then a rotating two-hit kick, all in one compact, easy to use move. The overall damage is somewhat low, making it more of a combo filling move than a member of your heavy duty moves. Personally, I use it as part of a combo that backs me away from my enemies, while I continue to do damage to them.

1st Skill (Flame Kick). Your weakest skill. Its a quick kick in front of you, that doesn't move you forward. Its a good move early on, when you are in dire need of skills, but there really isn't any reason to use this skill, unless you only have 12 sp left.

[AsutoruDesu]

//~~~~~~~~~~Misc. Skill Descriptions~~~~~~~~~~//

The best offense is oftentimes a good defense. As a Knight, your defense is near-legendary, and many of your Misc. Skills will only further your survivability on the field of battle.

Almost forgot some of the most important skills! They are technically weapon skills, but as you can't actually use them to deal damage, I'll put them here. These are your Knuckle Masteries. They affect your hit accuracy. All three of them (Unconfirmed, as the second one is supposed to be a damage increase). The first one (and supposedly the second one) increase your accuracy by 10% when mastered, and the third one by 20% when mastered.

Stamina Upgrade: Available at Level 5, Upgradeable 10 levels. For each skill point you put in this, your Stamina will rise by 3%. So overall, this is a Stamina boost of 30%. Seeing as Stamina is one of your most important stats, and that this is the only one of two Misc. Skills you have available at the beginning, I would recommend starting on this somewhat early.

Iron Armor: Available at Level 10, Upgradeable 10 levels, Requires Stamina Upgrade Lv.10. For each skill point that you put into this, your Physical Defense will rise by 3%. So, overall, this is a Defense boost of 30%. In addition to the previous Stamina boost, the fully mastered Iron Armor skill will make it a lot harder for you to get injured in combat. Your defense should already be quite high from the Stamina Upgrade, so you can ignore this skill until you level higher, but more defensively-minded players will want to add this earlier.

Magic Armor: Available at Level 20, Upgradeable 10 levels, Requires Iron Armor Lv.10. For each skill point that you put into this, your Magic Resistance for all elements will rise by 3%. So, overall, this is a Magic Resistance boost of 30%. If you tend to fight bosses or magic-wielding enemies in PvP a lot, you might want to invest some points into this skill. Otherwise, you can ignore it until higher levels / entirely. Comes in handy around level 70-75-ish, when you start fighting enemies in Ktuka Ruins, or Javawalks.

Pain Relief: Available at Level 40, Upgradeable 10 levels, Requires Magic Armor Lv.10. For the first skill point that you put into this, you will be given a 1/10 chance of recovering 10 HP if you are hit by a Physical attack, and a 1/10 chance of recovering 10 MP if you are hit by a Magical attack. For every skill point invested into this skill after that, the rate of HP / SP increase will increase by 3 HP / 2 SP. So, with a Mastered Pain Relief skill, you will have a 1/10 chance of recovering 40 HP / 30 SP, depending on what type of attack you are hit by. IMO, this skill is pretty much useless. I could see this skill being useful from level 1-25, when a 10-40 increase in HP would actually amount to something. Don't get this skill.

Weapon Blocking: Available at Level 10, Upgradeable 10 levels, Requires Stamina Upgrade Level 10. For each skill point that you invest in this skill, your physical evasion will rise by 1%. So, with this skill mastered, you will have increase your Physical Evasion by 10%. Its effect is noticeable when attacking large groups of enemies. Especially nice for PvP, especially in tandem with Evasion-enchanted shoes.

Weapon Specialist I: Available at level 30, Upgradeable 5 levels, Requires 2 SP to level once, Requires Weapon Blocking Level 10. For every 2 Skill Points that you invest into this stat, your Minimum Physical Damage will increase by 2 points. So, when this skill is mastered, your Minimum Physical Damage stat will be 10 points higher. 10 points = 10 damage more. So, calculating averages, you will be doing 5 more points of damage overall, when you completely level this skill up. A complete waste, don't bother. :\

Weapon Specialist II: Available at level 40, Upgradeable 5 levels, Requires 2 SP to level once, Requires Weapon Specialist I Level 10. For every 2 Skill Points that you invest into this stat, your Maximum Physical Damage will increase by 2 points. So, when this skill is mastered, your Maximum Physical Damage stat will be 10 points higher. 10 points = 10 damage more. So, calculating averages, you will be doing 5 more points of damage overall, when you completely level this skill up. Combine that with the bonus from Weapon Specialist I, and you will be doing a whopping 10 more damage per hit. I have never seen a poorer usage of 20 Skill Points... honestly.

Encouraging Shout: Available at Level 10, Upgradeable 10 levels. For each skill point that you invest into this skill, this ability, when cast, will temporarily increase the HP of yourself and people around you by an additional 2%. So, with this skill Mastered, you will be able to cast this skill, and temporarily increase your HP by 20%, as well as the HP of anyone else around you. Having to recast this skill to keep the HP increase up might be tedious, but an extra 1/5th of your already massive HP total is too good to pass up. I still need to personally test the shouts out, to see how viable they are compared to other skills.

Bravery Shout: Available at Level 20, Upgradeable 10 levels, requires Encouraging Shout Level 5 or greater. For each skill point that you invest into this skill, when you cast this skill, the Physical Damage and Magical Damage stats of yourself and players around you will rise by 2 points each. So, with this skill mastered, you can cast this skill to increase the Physical and Magical Damage of yourself and players around you by 20 points.
Personally, I prefer percentage-based abilities over point-based ones. However, keep into mind that Knuckle Knights usually kill enemies in multiple hit combos. Think of a 99 hit combo. Now, add 20 damage to each hit. That's an extra 1980 damage there. This skill will fade into obscurity at later levels, but if you don't mind a skill reset in the distant future, then try this skill out! At the very least, it will make running the latest instant dungeons easier.

[AsutoruDesu]

//~~~~~~~~~~Skill Builds~~~~~~~~~~//

A key idea behind Knuckle Knights is that they are extremely versatile. They can play many roles in a party, which is why Knights are usually desired in a party. They can tank (Equip a buckler for this!), deliver close / long-range damage, gather mobs together (We are exceptionally good at drawing enemy attention), and party buffing.

Here is the Link to some of the Skill Builds I created! Feel free to try these out, or to even make your own.

//~~~~~~~~~~Skill Combinations~~~~~~~~~~//

Now that you have the skills that you want, you probably want to know how you are going to use them. ....Yep, figured as such.

First, I want to say a little something. Knuckle skills are legendary for their comboability. With 3 distinct skill trees, our combination possibilities are limitless. I will show you the ones that I enjoy using, and let you guys experiment and try out combos of your own.

Disregarding move accuracy, every attack skill we have can combo into at least 1 other skill, usually many more.

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---Double Jump
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JAS (Jump. At the peak of the jump, press your attack button, then immediately perform the following skill) -> Crescent Kick -> Dragon Kick.

-Knuckle users are blessed with the ability to perform a near-double jump (You don't go the complete height of a double jump, but your height gain is quite noticeable). If you just used JAS -> Crescent Kick, or JAS -> Dragon Kick, then you would gain a slight height boost, enough to get you up to that barely unreachable platform. By using both skills, you gain even more height. The Blader deviant of the Warrior Class is given a full double jump, but we can still laugh at them, because they don't have attack skills. Nyahhh.

-You can also pull off this combo without jumping, and make it into a nice mob killer.

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---General Mob-Killing Combo that I use all the time:
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Crescent Kick -> Dragon Kick -> Aero Boom -> Sonic Boom -> Flame Kick -> Wind Kick -> Crescent Kick -> etc.

-If you already have a mob of enemies gathered in front of you, this combo is excellent at controlling their movement, avoiding damage, and dealing lots of it. With a few repetitions, you can easily pull 70-99 hit combos off of 5 or more evenly-leveled enemies. The best part is, you equally damage all of the enemies using this, so they die at the near-end of the combo, where they give the most experience.

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Aerial Acrobatics
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Final Crash -> Crescent Kick -> Dragon Kick

-Extremely fast, damaging, SP-burning combo. Final Crash sends you flying forward, getting 3 hits per enemy, up to four enemies total. Then, quickly face the other way and use Crescent Kick to knock up to two of those enemies in mid-air, and finish it off with Dragon Kick to rack up 3 additional hits on up to 3 enemies. If you like, you can throw in an Aero Boom / Wind Kick / other skill to keep the combo going. Extremely effective in PvP. 7-21 hits.

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Launcher
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Flame Kick > Crescent Kick > Dragon Kick

More of a PvE novelty combo than anything. Flame Kick knocks enemies upward, right in front of you, where you can then Crescent Kick, and knock them even farther skyward, and finish with Dragon Kick, hitting them back to the ground. While the enemies are in midair, they can't hit you, so it has some benefit.

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Simple Boom Combo
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Aero Boom -> Sonic Boom

-This should be common sense, but I felt like I'd use it anyway. Aero Boom delivers a good 3 hits of damage to 3 enemies, then Sonic Boom knocks two of those enemies back with one strong hit. A quick 4-11 hit combo.

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Some other good ways to place skills
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Aero Boom / Sonic Boom / Wind Kick / Hard Attack (just your normal hard attack button) -> Hell Fist / Energy Boom / Twin Fist / The Fist

-The latter four skills are somewhat slow to activate, so if you want to combo them, you should use them the moment after you deliver damage.

Hell Fist / Energy Boom / Twin Fist / The Fist -> Sonic Boom / Crescent Kick / Aero Boom / Wind Kick / Hard Attack

-In addition to being slow starters, these skills are also slow to finish. In the off-chance that one of those skills missed, you want to catch your combo as fast as possible, and these skills will give you that quick activation time you need. Be wary of Crescent Kick, as it can miss too.

[AsutoruDesu]

//~~~~~~~~~~Party Strategies~~~~~~~~~~//

-------Ignore what I say about the Behemoth Adventure title for now. It doesn't work at all.-------

I've heard people say that Knights are the lone-wolves of the game. "They are better solo", "They don't like to party" and "They are good for people who don't like talking", are just a few of the examples of what I've seen.

Myth: Knights are terrible in parties
Fact: Knights are a necessary part of many parties, and party buffing skills make them desirable. Oftentimes, Knights assume the lead role of the party, even if they aren't the "party leader". Once you finish this section, you should be able to assume control of a party and be able to give "orders" to people. I am always constantly telling people "Don't jump in yet", "Use Behemoth Adventure", and my recent favorite, "Can't talk, too busy killing" (A useful macro for when people ask you questions while you are combo chaining a boss to death, or just don't want to lose a combo whilst training.

You are basically going to be the party tank. Equip a buckler for this (Level x2 shield [12, 22, 32, etc.]). You might not need to use the shield in a normal mobbing party, but it comes in handy in case you find yourself low on HP.

Remember that you are also a Knuckle Knight, in addition to being a Knight. You can draw enemies away from your party members and kill them at the same time. Crescent Kick helps in a pinch, if a party member is about to get killed.

You will notice that X-bows and Warrior-classes will be outdamaging you. That is because they are. Don't worry, it is normal. You can probably equip your shield, and sit in enemy attacks of slightly lower level. They can't. They need you to protect them as much as you need them to kill stuff faster.

[SIZE=4]//~~~~~~~~~~Boss Strategies~~~~~~~~~~//[/FONT]

Boss monsters in this game are renowned for their insanely high HP, their imperturbable accuracy (They never miss), and field-annihilating attacks.

If you are around the level of the boss in question (-10 ~~ +10), then you should probably bring a full party, regardless of class. Healers will be necessary to keep other classes alive. For Knight classes, a healer isn't a necessity, but it will save you loads of Ely in the long run.

Before taking on a boss, make sure that you are wearing either the full equipment set named after the boss (Invoke Armor, Hyunmu Armor, etc.), or armor of sufficient def / elemental res.

Once you start getting way higher in level than the boss in question, you can solo it quickly and effectively

-Level 76 Knuckle Knight v. Level 45 Hyunmu
-12 Minutes to solo and kill.
-Required around 50 each of Lesser Sta. Powder, Lesser Mgc. Powder, Lesser Combo Powder. (level 70 potions)

Now, for the actual boss strategies!

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XXX Invoke XXX
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Level 27, Fire Elemental, Dragon's Lair Instance.

Part I: Sitting Duck. Invoke will stay stationary in the middle of the battle field. There is a jet of fire that intermittently spouts up, damaging anyone that is right next to him. On the edges of the highest-up part of the ground, there are also two jets of poison gas. If you need to heal, hide behind these, away from Invoke. You will be just out of reach of his attacks.

Tail Swipe: If you are close to Invoke, he might swipe his tail and knock you backward. The only way you can avoid this attack is to stay away from him. IIRC, the attack isn't that deadly, more of a painful nuisance.

Fire Breath: Invoke will **** back his head and charge up fire in his mouth. You will hear a "charging" noise when he does this. When he does it, you have two options.
-Run behind Invoke. If you do this, then you will have a good window of time to beat on him before he focuses on you again.
-Run behind poison gas vents. He can't hit you here, but you can't hit him there.

How you Kill him: Really just straight-forward. Just unleash skill after skill on him until he dies. If you are in a party, have a member or two run to a side and distract him, while the rest of the party assaults his back. Once he falls down to about 20% of his health remaining, he will vanish, and a portal will open up. Now, the real fight begins.

Part II: Hovering Duck. You are now in a new battle-field. The floor is lava, and there are two floating platforms that you can fight on. The lava isn't deadly at all... just does a small amount of damage over time. You can sit on it and fully heal yourself with ease. Be wary, however. On the far left, far right, and dead center, are three fire jets. You want to avoid those. Invoke will be at the right side of the screen, just past the right platform.

Wind Fan: Invoke flaps his wings, unleashing a 2 hit wind combo on anything standing on that platform by him. Fairly low damage, you can either just skill through it, to avoid the knockback of the move, or just move to the other platform / go into the lava.

Fire Breath: Same as before, except slightly stronger. You want to get the heck off that platform by him. Lava is preferable to any of his attacks... especially his fire ones.

Tail Swipe: Same as before, same, same, same.

How you kill him: Tanking Invoke is useless, as he moves around of his own free will, so just unleash massive damage on him. Beam skills are your best bet here, as your kick / fist skills move you forward, and you might fall into the lava / on a fire jet. Once his health goes down low enough, you move on to:

Part III: Flying Duck. Same enemy, still has the skills from before, but also gains the following skill:

Air Tackle: Invoke will fly upward a short distance before using this attack. He will then glide across both platforms, and move to the other side.

How you kill him: This part is where the battle gets annoying. You can't use that left platform to rest anymore, as you now have the added risk of getting hit by Invoke. This attack is a tad stronger than Wind Fan, and hits a lot more and over a wider range. If you don't want to get hit, then go into the lava. Its the only place he can't hit... yet. Just chase him down and continue to use the same attacks as before. Once his HP falls low enough, you have to face:

Part IV: Run and Hide. Not so much a boss title anymore... its more of a command. Same boss, same skills from before, in addition to this skill:

Sky-Fire: Invoke will signal this attack by leaning far back, toward the edge of the screen. He then vanishes, and a "Warning" sign appears in the background, accompanied with sirens. The top of one of the two platforms will briefly sparkle, then will be showered in a gigantic flame jet. Anything caught in this will take 5 huge hits of fire-based damage. Kills virtually any player 35- who isn't wearing full Invoke Armor.

How to avoid this attack: Luckily, there are a few ways that you can avoid getting murdered here. The warning signs are plentiful and time-consuming, so the second you notice them, take action!

1.) Hide under a platform and guard (Down key). You should be able to avoid all damage (Hide toward the side by the middle)
2.) Jump off the platform. You need crazy-fast reflexes to pull this off, especially if you notice the warning too later.
3.) If all else fails, jump straight upward. You will only take 1 hit of damage, and be knocked into the lava. Worst case scenario, you land on an erupting fire jet.

DO NOT:
1.) Stand in the attack.
2.) Duck on the platform. The first hit of fire will most likely break your guard, and you will be open to the next 4 hits.

Killing strategy is the same as before.

XXXXXXXXXX
XXX Zoe XXX
XXXXXXXXXX

Level 30, Scenario Boss (You only get to fight her 1 time)

Too easy to even bother writing about. Stay right next to her, and wail away with various skills. At level 35, wearing Ceramic Armor, I only took 1600 damage the entire duration of the battle (I was soloing it as well). Zoe has a ton of HP, but doesn't do much damage. I managed to keep a combo going the entire duration of the battle. I would recommend bringing party members, just to make it go faster.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXX Hyunmu XXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Level 45, Earth Elemental, Shangrila Instance.

This boss may be level 45, but it still causes level 80's problems. Fortunately, you are a Knight (right?), so you shouldn't encounter them as much.

Hyunmu doesn't have "Parts" to it, unlike Invoke. The Hyunmu you start fighting is the Hyunmu you kill. I definitely recommend using a party up until at least level 71 for this (71 is when you get new weapons XD)

Ideal Party:
-Tanker (You) [use either Indomitable Explorer or -Tough Explorer titles]
-Healer [Great Hero title]
-2 Ranged Damage characters. [Behemoth Adventure title]

There are basically two ways to fight this battle.

>>>>>>If you are low-leveled (60-):<<<<<<

You've got a long, boring experience ahead of you. Ensure that you have equipment with high Defense and Earth Res, and a Buckler. Make sure that your team has their correct titles set, have 100+ of HP and Combo Cookies (of your level).

Go in before everyone else. The second you go in, locate Hyunmu, and lure him to the right side of the stage. He is stubborn, and might want to use attacks instead. Just avoid / defend them, and guard in the right corner (with your shield). Eventually, Hyunmu will be standing directly over you, facing right [off-screen]. This is exactly how you want him. Now... you play the waiting game.

Your main damaging characters should be constantly attacking Hyunmu, and the healer should be healing. They should be able to stand out of the way of all of Hyunmu's attacks, yet be in range to do damage and heal you. You, however, are subject to lots of damage.

Earthquake: Hyunmu will rise up on his back two legs, and crash downward. Spikes of rock will erupt from the ground, and anyone in range will be knocked skyward. When you see him rise up, jump. It won't hit you in air.

Earth Sphere: Hyunmu will slightly raise his head, a warning siren goes off, and he fires a sphere of earth energy in front of him. If you are tanking him correctly, it will have absolutely no effect on the battle.

Dash: Hyunmu will rapidly stamp his feet and attempt to move forward. He should be facing a wall, so he will just run in place. If you are standing up, you will get knocked down, and get up fast enough to get knocked down again. Just duck.

Earth Breath: You don't want him to do this, but there really isn't much you can do. He will tilt his head back, and release a shower of green flame around him. It won't hit your party members, but you will take a large amount of damage. Just keep ducking, use hp / combo cookies, and hope that your healer starts the healing soon.

Body Slam: Hyunmu jumps upward, and slams onto the ground, knocking any standing player to the ground. Duck to avoid this.

While Hyunmu is eating away at your HP, you should be eating away at your cookies. Once you find out how much damage Earth breath does to you, aim to keep your health at least twice that high. You might have to chain pot, using combo cookies the second the effect of the HP cookie wears off. Just keep ducking long enough until he dies.

>>>>>>If you are High leveled (Lv 61+)<<<<<<

The battle can actually be some fun at this point. Without a healer, you might want to wait until Lv. 71+.

The beginning of the battle is the exact same, same titles / party recommendations / bring shield & cookies / lure Hyunmu to right side. Except instead of ducking, you get to attack! Facing right, repeatedly spam skill combos, ensuring that Crescent Kick -> Dragon Kick is used often. These two skills allow you to avoid up to a third of Hyunmu's attacks, and avoiding damage is quite nice. You shouldn't even need the directional arrows at this point, so just keep your hands by your skills / potions / jump button.

For all of Hyunmu's skills, you can simply skill right through them, except for Earthquake. You still need to jump. This attack will break your combo

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXX Shaowee XXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Level 47, Scenario Quest Boss (Can only defeat once)

OMG Spoilers! Shaowee is the Scenario boss for this dungeon.

Like Zoe from the previous dungeon, she has a ton of HP. Unlike Zoe, she moves a lot, and her attacks actually hurt.

Killing Strike: The screen fades black for a short time, and kanji characters appear. When you see this, jump immediately. The screen will quickly turn normal, and Shaowee will deliver her killing strike. Any player on the ground will be thrown clear across the screen. Not incredibly damaging, but annoying.

Ehru: Shaowee will play her Ehru, rendering you immobile for a short time. You can't move left and right, or jump (IIRC), so just stay there and deal with it. Hit Shaowee if you can, otherwise, just wait it out.

She has other attacks, but none stuck out as deadly, so just try to avoid things if you are near dying. ...I shouldn't have to remind you of that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXX Sphinx XXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Level 64, Kings Burial Chamber Instance (Pyramid Ruins), Wind Elemental

Honestly, I was level 81 when I first went here, and I just breezed through this one, so I'll try to be somewhat helpful.

I'd recommend getting at least 2 pieces of the Sphinx Armor set (Seeing as only 4 monsters in the entire dungeon, sans Sphinx drop armor, I can't expect you to get the full set, but you can), along with some equipment with Wind Resistance. At 600+ Wind Res (only 3 pieces), I had little problem.

Basically, Sphinx is just a less-harmful version of Hyunmu. With more lasers.

When you first enter the room, you will be on a suspended platform. Sphinx will be below you somewhere on the ground. Once you jump off the ground, you won't be able to reach the platform... well, the rest of your party won't. You should be a Level 60+ Knuckle user, right? Just Cres -> Drag at the peak of your jump, and you should be able to make it back up. Sucks for your teammates ^-^.

Assuming you actually want to kill Sphinx, have your party wait at the top for a few seconds while you lure Sphinx to the right side of the screen, just like you would Hyunmu. Once he is at the far right, facing off-screen, just hammer away with skill combos. Your party should come down, Behemoth Adventure titles equipped, and hammer away at his back.

Unlike Hyunmu, Sphinx doesn't knock you around nearly as much. He only has 1 - 2 attacks that can knock you down, and he doesn't use them until after his HP goes down so far, from what I noticed. I might be wrong, so if you notice anything different, then let me know so I can fix it and credit you.

For strategies, follow Hyunmu's strategies. These bosses are so similar, its not even funny.

[AsutoruDesu]

~~~~~~~~~~PVP Strategies~~~~~~~~~~

Haven't delved too deeply into PvP, so I'll try to be of some help here.

As a Guardian, I have noticed that we have a few positives and negatives going for us, PvP-wise:

Positives
-High base HP (level 98, I have over 9000 HP, as opposed to my normal 3.something k HP)
-We have ranged attacks
-We are awesome JAS'ers
-We can usually pull off a large chain of skills on an opponent in a short time
-Dragon Kick is (conditionally) the farthest reaching move in the game
-Excellent damage output when attacking into a mob of opponents (most classes fit this definition)
-Phenomenal accuracy (assuming you put points into your masteries)

Negatives
-We run out of SP really quickly
-Our normal / hard attacks have a very short range of damage
-Many of our skills can't completely stun opponents
-Can't hold off multiple surrounding opponents if they are targeting you (again, most classes fit this definition)

You have three different ways of PvPing open to you: Random Challenge (talk to Lemy), Random Team Challenge (talk to Chris), and 1v1 Challenge (right click on the player you want to challenge, click Offer, then Challenge).

Once I play enough PvP, I might make class-specific fighting strategies, but I haven't, so I can't yet.

[AsutoruDesu]

**Please Note**
I really only intended this guide to be a Knuckle Knight Guide, not necessarily a Guardian one. Because Knuckle Knights and Guardians are similar classes, a lot of the information about them will be similar. However, Guardians have a lot more to them that I haven't really discovered yet.
************************************************** *

When you become a Guardian, a few things will happen.

1.) Tons of new misc skills.

-Accuracy passive
-Str passive
-Self speed boosting / Physical Evasion boosting skill
-Enemy defense reducing skill
-Party speed boosting skill
-Phy / Mgc Dmg +10% for all party members (Stays permanent as long as you remain in party)
-Phy Dmg Def +10%, Mgc Dmg Def +15% for all party members (Stays permanent as long as you remain i n party)

2.) New Attacks

Basically, add "II" to the end of each attack skills name, increase the SP cost, damage output, and let it hit one more enemy per attack. Oh yeah, and they get cooler looking graphics (Reds are implemented)

3.) Stat Distribution changes, slightly.

You won't gain as much Sta as before, but you will be gaining that much more Str per level up. On average, at least.

************************************************** *
Skill Building Help
************************************************** *
Honestly, I am not rich enough or high-enough of a level to reskill and test the usefulness of every skill path a Guardian has. I'll just make a brief list of "hints" that you can use to make what you think will work well.

-Kick skill tree: Get every skill in here, as soon as possible. These are your fastest-activating skills, and will become quite useful.

~Flame Kick now has the ability to knock enemies in the air a short distance, so it can function as something more than just combo filler.
~Wind Kick is probably the least useful of the four Kick skills, but it is still very useful. It activates fast, and delivers 3 compact hits against multiple enemies. Basically just combo filler.
~Crescent Kick hasn't changed much since the last job: it is still an excellent stunning move that comboes perfectly into Dragon Kick.
~Dragon Kick hasn't changed much either. Not sure if I mentioned it in the description of Dragon Kick earlier on, but this move is -conditionally- the longest reaching move in the game. At least it is when you jump off of a ledge. This move is also excellent in PvP for striking midair enemies, or knocking people off of ladders, or on the ground to get behind an enemy.

-Boom skill tree: Not a lot new here.

~Sonic Boom: Its your fastest long range attack at your disposal. It is also one of the cheapest, and one of the weakest. It makes nice combo filler, and is also useful when JAS'ed, to quickly strike down an airborne enemy.
~Aero Boom: Your best combo building move. It activates fast, has a long and wide range of activation, and hits multiple enemies up to 3 times each. IMO, this is the most useful skill in the Boom tree.
~Energy Boom: A powerful long-ranged attack. Being able to hit enemies from afar is a useful ability, and this move fits that purpose well. However, it costs a lot of SP, and it activates fairly slowly. Its not that reliable of a move for comboing, as the SP cost of it could be used for using several of your lower level skills.
~Final Crash: A flying, energized tackle. It is useful for trapping enemies, and getting behind them. Costs a great deal of SP, and is decent for comboing (slow recharge time will inhibit it from being used for all but maybe a time or three during a combo).

-Fist skill tree: Your 1-hit wonder skills. Slow activation speed and slow recharge time plague these skills, but their ability to flinch opponents and deal major damage is quite useful.

~The Fist: Costs the least amount of SP to use of any other attack you have, and has a quick cooldown. However, its short range, and low damage (Barely above 1 hit of a Hard Attack) make it difficult to use, primarily in PvP. When you do use it though, it makes for a good KB move.
~Hell Fist: Thus far, my favorite attack of this tree. Among the slowest activating skills you have, but it recharges fairly fast, and is relatively cheap to use. Its attack range is similar to Aero Boom, perhaps a bit wider. Its damage output is quite amazing, but it does often trip up combos.
~Chulsango: Haven't tried it yet, or even seen another Guardian use it, so I can't say too much. However, I envisioned it being similar to Knuckle Knight's Chulsango, which means that you probably shouldn't get this skill.
~Twin Fist: Your most powerful move, number-wise. Haven't tried it yet, but I have had it used against me in PvP. Basically, it is a more expensive, more damaging version of Hell Fist.

-Defensive Misc. Tree

~Stamina Upgrade: Same as before, absolutely necessary.
~Iron Armor: Same as before, absolutely necessary.
~Magic Armor: Now that PvP is out, you have to watch out for bards, sorcerers, and magazine-using Gunslingers. This will give you the ability to resist a good amount of damage that you would take from these classes.
~Pain Relief: About as useless as it was last time I talked about it. You need this to get the last two skills in this tree, however. Perhaps, with PvPing, and the shortage of SP that Guardians often face, this skill will be more useful.
~Precision: This is a new addition to this tree: it increases your accuracy by 1% for each skill point you put in this skill (up to 10%). If you put points into your mastery, have a maxed out Knuckle Case, and have this skill, then even crazy-evasion classes (other Guardians, Bladers) will feel your attacks, regularly.
~Max Speed: The final new addition to this tree, this is an active skill which temporarily increases your Movement Speed by 3%, and your Phys. Evasion by 2% per skill point in this skill (max of 30% movement speed, 20% evasion). Definitely worth getting all of the previous skills to obtain.

-Offensive Misc. tree: Helps you increase the damage you can output. Not much else I can say about it... its rather straight-forward.

-Weapon Blocking: 10% Physical evasion at max level = a nice boost for PvP, to stack with some good evasive shoes and your max speed buff, if you have it.
-Weapon Specialist I: Useless, continue only if you want skills below.
-Weapon Specialist II: Useless, continue only if you want skills below.
-Toughness: New addition to this tree. Raises your min damage by 2% per SP you put into this, leading to a max of a 20% increase. Quite a handy boost. If only the weapon specialists were this good.
-Threatening Cry: New addition to this tree. Active skill, lowers your enemies defense by 4% per skill point in this skill, max of a 40% decrease. Not sure if you knew, but a 40% reduction is a lot. Worth the effort of going through the weapons specialists.

-Party Buffing Tree: All of these are active skills, which means recast recast recast.

-Encouraging Shout: Increasing your HP by 20% is nice. Use this in PvP, in tandem with a Bard's healing, to broaden your team's lifespan by a great deal.
-Bravery Shout: Not really that great. Basically, an active version of Weap. Specialist I and II combined.
-Tactical Move: A new addition to this tree, it buffs your parties movement speed and jumping stats for as long as your party is close to each other. Only has 1 level, and costs 3 sp to open.
-Tactical Attack: Another new addition to this tree, it buffs your parties Phys. and Magical Min. attack damage by 10% each. Only has one level, costs 5 sp to open.
-Tactical Defense: Last addition to this tree, it buffs parties Phys. Defense by 10% and Magic Defense by 15%. I'm not sure how many skill points it takes to open, but it only has 1 level to it.

[AsutoruDesu]

~~~~~~~~~~Reserved~~~~~~~~~~

If I decide to add more to this version, then it'll go here, or fit in elsewhere.

[AsutoruDesu]

~~~~~~~~~~(Abridged) Version History~~~~~~~~~~

v.0.01 = 11/11/08, 9:00 a.m. = Posted Original Topic on OGP forums
v1.00 = 11/30/08, 2:00 p.m. = This guide is officially "complete", as far as completion can be defined. More things can be added, but this guide should allow you to work your way to Guardianship with ease.
vMyMMO1.00 = 12/28/08, 1:00 a.m. = Failed and put this in wrong section, reposted here. Enjoy.

[Momijii]

Just a friendly note, for the size to work, you need to be quotation marks around the 4. Like this [size="4"]

[TehAwesomo]

wow this guide was amazing, nice work(I actually read it all, it's so long ~_~)

[NoeJeko]

Originally Posted by Momijii

Just a friendly note, for the size to work, you need to be quotation marks around the 4. Like this [size="4"]

That's not it. It's because he's opening the tag with SIZE and closing with FONT. It will work regardless of the presence of the quotes if the tags are closed properly.

[AsutoruDesu]

Yeah, I fixed it (using Noe's fix).

It had the font tags because I basically just copy-pastaed this from my OGP guide. Also, I had the PvP Info pasted twice into the same box.

[RandlArancion]

Wow! This has helped me format my Knight build to 80! I was originally planning to take Bravery shout to 7, but now I see that for the time being, the skill points will be much better invested into Expert Knuckle Mastery and finishing Encouraging shout. Thank you!

May I also add that the Magic stat may be of a fair use? I have my Accessory making at 12, and I have been trying to figure out the formula for max SP addition due to Magic on equipment. I had made a pair of Ceramic Earrings with one of the enchantments being Magic Lv.4+10, aside from the included +50 SP on these, I noticed an upwards increase of about 20 extra SP stacked on top of it!

[Teleclast]

I just want to say that this is an amazing guide, and I just saw a link to it, (never knew it was here previously), and I must thank you a LOT for your spreadsheets especially.

One thing I do want to ask however, is whether leveling is hard or not in the beginning while going knuckle? Most knights I know go knuckle (thinking it's cool) until 20, get bored (I guess it gets tiresome?) swap to something else, and then swap back to knuckle around 40~60.

[MCNeko]

OMG OMG OMG WHAT IN THE NAME OF SOAP AND SKITTLES IM GONNA DO NOW GUARDIAN LOOKS PWNISH I SPENT ME WHOLE TIME ON SOWRD AND OMG -goes in panic room-

[saiXAenima]

Hello,

I am starting my adventure into LaTale. I was looking around for an amazing guide to look over and review for my upcoming class choice. Let me go ahead and say this guide is that amazing one I was looking for, it had the vast information I needed, the spreadsheets have a great understanding, and as well the skill spreadsheet let me look over and choose my own build.

This guide was not a follow this to the letter or you will suck. I was looking for something that gave you choices and it does. Beyond this I now know I want my knuckle knight and the gaurdian.

Thanks again for such a great guide.

SaiXAenima

[MacaRoot]

This is a tad off topic, but I'm a beginning knight, planning to become a guardian, and the thing that has always puzzled me is: when you get a free reset at lvl 80 when u become quardian, what happens to the skills of knight. I mean, does the skill points or whatever disappear and everyone has to collect the great amounts of xp to slowly get levels and guardian skills, or can you just put them in a different order or better yet, do you even have to make a reset since you will be using the same weapon??
Come on, help the noob here .

[kimmi]

Originally Posted by MacaRoot

This is a tad off topic, but I'm a beginning knight, planning to become a guardian, and the thing that has always puzzled me is: when you get a free reset at lvl 80 when u become quardian, what happens to the skills of knight. I mean, does the skill points or whatever disappear and everyone has to collect the great amounts of xp to slowly get levels and guardian skills, or can you just put them in a different order or better yet, do you even have to make a reset since you will be using the same weapon??
Come on, help the noob here .

i don't exactly remember what how many skill points it gives you after reset (i'd say around 53 points), but you don't get your first job skills back until lv100.
after changing, your weapon tab is now replaced with skills with the same name as the first job skills,
but with the number II next to them. also, dragon kick would not be available until lv90.

don't want to spoil anymore, but that's the general gist of it.