Man-At-Arms Strategy

Archers defend large areas. Heavy Knights defend small areas and their teammates. Men-At-Arms can defend anything, with a little help.

General Strategy

• Adapt your strategy to the kind of teammate you're working with.
• Defend Archers from attacks and ambushes.
• Shepherd enemies towards Heavy Knights.
• Use your speed to jump into combat after an enemy attacks your Heavy Knight team mate, but before they can recover from their swing and hit you. Back out while your enemy is targeting you to let the Heavy Knight cleave them.
• Chase down and finish off runners, you're the only one who can.
• Avoid fair fights if you can. Wow, some honorable Knight YOU turned out to be.
• Use your varied arsenal to your advantage. What, you were expecting another extremely exploitable weakness?

Weapon Specific Strategy

Halberd

A cross between the damage of a sword, the range of a spear, and the swing speed of an axe.

• The swing speed is painfully slow. Avoid missing.
• Use your speed to close in, swing, and back out before you're hit. This sounds familiar....
• Despite being a two-handed weapon, it's only medium. This sounds familiar too...
• The damage is not as devastating as the Heavy Knight's sword, but it's heavy nonetheless.
• Avoid using weaker, blockable, uncharged strikes.

Mace & Buckler

The only shield not called a shield.

• Your speed and the Mace's damage (and speed) make a hard-hitting combination.
• Useful against Parrots.
• Effective when used against unaware targets.
• Avoid taking too many projectiles on the buckler. Neither your armor nor the buckler's is good enough to take the strain.
• Bash enemies to disorient them for your teammates.
• While not long-ranged, it is nonetheless deadly; it swings faster than your halberd and blocks heavy weapons more effectively.

Fancy Crossbow

A light crossbow with a handful of bolts. Shoulda brought a quiver. Still, storing bolts in the skulls of your enemies works too.

• Its damage is as light as the crossbow itself. Aim for the head to deal more respectable damage.
• With only two bolts to start with, and four at maximum, you need to make every shot count.
• Use it to finish fights, and pick off fleeing enemies. It's a poor opener.
• Avoid using it against shields, unless you're sure that your target is about to die.
• Its reloading process can be cancelled by switching weapons.
• Archers have plenty of ammunition. Take all the ammo pick-ups you need.
• If your target escapes, despite your shot, just abandon the chase and reload. It's better than running into reinforcements without a bolt.

Special: Fart

In some ways a watered-down version of the Berserker's Red Mist, the clouds of noxious fumes keep it fresh and... No. No, just unique.

• Even though you're already faster than average, this makes you even faster.
• It increases the damage enemies take from all sources.
• It renders enemies unable to properly parry. Good against heavy weapons and shields.
• Enemies caught in the clouds are slowed. Handy for when your Archers are being chopped up and your Heavy Knights are left behind.
• It takes a second to get going. Avoid using it when you're about to be smacked in the face. Back off a bit first.
• It only lasts for five seconds (plus another three if you count how long the clouds linger) and your awful attack speed is unaffected. Be sure to use it with teammates to get the most out of it.
• The clouds are difficult to see through. Useful for hiding your attack direction, if you want to hide in the cloud.
• The damage dealt to enemies in the cloud is minor, but irritating. Especially if they try to use a shield.

See Also

Man-at-Arms

Tactics

Combat