Cosplaying Kruber: Killing stuff with the highest swagfactor possible (Patch 4.4) // CHAOS WASTES Chadkrubers now included

Vermintide is fashiontide! The somewhat viabla kinda memey build for each career, which I consider the most stylish and thematic ones for our beloved imperial manly man Kruber.

Introduction

Updated for Chaos Wastes/Forgotten Relics Weapon Pack! Kruber finally has his spear lance and shield! This means, we are even cooler now!

I love Action RPGs, I love fast paced hack’n slashers and I do like the Warhammer lore. I’ve always had the same problem: I tend to value style and “lore friendliness” more than anything else. What’s the catch? In most games of this type the coolest looking and “archetypical” character builds are not the strongest ones, not the meta. This is somewhat true to Vermintide 2 too. Nevertheless I want to share my personal Kruber builds for each career which I consider the most swag-ones. Not the strongest, not the meta, but by Taal the most fashionable ones. And I super love to play them. Why not share the love? On top: Kruber mains like me might switch between those builds depending on the rest of the teams needings – all of them serve a somewhat different roles, use different weapons, have a different "feel" to them.

I played this builds successfully on legend/legend deeds/cata/cata twitch (And I only got hard carried like half of the time hehe). So I do consider them viable. However, I know there are better (meaning more min maxed) options for each career (Maybe not for Merc). Especially in terms of pure damage dealing qualities. I prefer "support" and "crowd control" implemented in my personal playstyles. Also I still mainly play cata quickplay at least half of my rat slaying time (with cata expeditions now mixed in). So all builds have a certain versatility to them so that you can adapt on the fly (to a certain degree - huntsman won't be a tough tank out of the blue).

Do you have any other viable stylebuilds? Pls share them with me! I want to be as cool as Cousin Okri! (I know I can’t). Or create your own guide for them. Vermintide II needs more Fashiontide.


I kill alot for Ol' Krubah

I hope you take everything written in this guide with a grain of salt. Especially if you are an elf main. I still like you, we all have our flaws.

Grail Knight: The Ladies' Champion

++ very versatile, can handle every (melee) situation
++ high boss/anti armor ultimate damage
++ high horde damage when room to maneuver is given
++ good crowd control and stagger when needed
+- has a learning curve to it and is kinda technical
+++ people trashtalk and/or admire you for using the greatsword
-- no tools against far away specials, you must be nice to elf players in your group for a change

Being a somewhat snobish nobleman now, looking down on those filthy peasants, only the most elegant, knightly weapons are used by this true devote of the lady: Greatsword and Bretonnian Sword and Shield.

This fearless warrior faces (mixed) hordes with his trusty, long range two-hander, whilst being a fast moving Bretonnian (dodge-)dancer. If himself or his allies are in danger, he staggers every evil being with his shield.Tougher Armored enemies shall perish too, facing his shield (well or the sword which goes along with it) or by a mighty blessed blade ultimate strike. He overall prefers “slow” and heavy blows over fast attacks as well as aggressively using his shield to crowd control bash instead of blocking.

This versatile melee warrior can handle every situation – apart from nasty specials too far away for his sword to reach *cough* *cowards* *cough*.

Appearance

Grail Knights are all about that tasteful (?) bling.

Weapons / Equipment

Greatsword: +5% crit chance / +5% attack speed / swift slaying
Bretonnian Sword and Shield: +2% stamina / 30% block cost reduction / oportunist
Charm: + 10% power against skaven / +10% power against skaven/ decanter
Necklace: +20% health / +2 stamina / barkskin
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resistance in case of book runs) / +5% movement speed/ whatever trait you prefer

Talents


Why enhanced power, you may ask? Because greatsword can cleave through multiple armored enemies (or zerkers). When they are in their attack animations (which makes them not in a stagger state) enhanced power outperforms smiter/bulwark on the greatsword. Greatsword has excellent cleave (which is further boosted by enhanced power) and somewhat okay stagger. Enhanced power synergises very well with it. On top of that, enhanced power lets you reach crucial stagger breakpoints with your shield more easily. I firmly believe this is worth alot. But this is also a personal bias because I really enjoy playing the shielded frontliner in a group. Last but not least, grail knights career kit is so strong on its own in terms of damage, it does not really need smiter/bulwark on top of it.

Alternative, more defensive build variant
If you fancy clutch potential as well as crowd control more, go for Virtue of Confidence. You'll lose quite a bit of boss damage and you cannot instakill chaos warriors anymore. But it's easier to use and excels in fights against berserkers. All in all a matter of taste in my opinion.

The peasant power creep
Take Mace and Sword instead of Greatsword. And/Or use +33% stamina regen on trinket instead of movement speed. You can most probably do the ladies' work more efficiently. Especially if you are not looking forward to "learning" the great greatsword and want to have a (even) simpler, more straightforward way of ratslaying. You lose alot of stylepoints though. Only you shall be the judge on whether this is worth it or not! It's obviously not. If you are not yet ready for a real sword, you may also wield Bretonnian "Long"sword instead of greatsword. This will leave you with a 6.5/10 style score. It's something I guess.

Gameplay tipps:

• Use the range and movement speed of your greatsword to your advance. It can hit most enemies before they can hit you. Because heavy attacks don’t slow your movement speed very much (I love the last balancing patch), you’re still mobile while striking.
  
• Always aim for the head(s) with your greatsword! It is relatively easy to score headshots with it.
  
• The first hit target always gets +25% more dmg due career passive. Make sure your mighty greatsword swings hit the right target first. No point in wastin that sweet buff on a slave rat.
  
• Don't forget about the push attack of your greatsword. Its your best option to counter attack dangerous armored enemies that came to close and somehow survived your heavy attacks.
  
• Get used to very quick weapon switching. If you or your team are on the defense, quickly switch to your shield and push / light attack to stagger. Back to your greatsword, finishing enemies off.
  
• Use your Bretonnian Shield/Sword to snipe armored enemies out of mixed hordes when under pressure (push attack/heavy or push / break / heavy). Heavy / Light / Heavy is also nice against elites. Especially if you staggered them with bashes before.
  
• If the hordes are spread out, use the greatsword against them. If they are lined up and forming some sort of "pile" in front of you (e.g. on a chokepoint), your shield bashes are surprisingly efficient in both holding them off and killing them.
  
• When engaging ambushes/hordes, start swinging fast light attack until swift slaying triggers. Continue with heavy strikes then.
  
• Don't hesitate to engage hook rats in melee (even or especially when they appear in hordes) them before they can reach you.
  
• A bomb can help to get rid of a dangerous special from afar or saving a teammate from an assassin or hookrat in an emergency.
  
• Restrain yourself a little when using the fast push light stagger of your shield. Don't spam it. It's better to push stagger 1 or 2 times and then wait until stamina regen kicks in. If you are out of stamina - your in severe trouble. Look at your stamina as if it was your Lady's blessing. You're useless without it.
  
• In dense situations: drink a strength pot and witness the true potential of the greatsword. No seriously, it synergises extremely well with strength pot buff and can turn very difficult situations for you and your team around.
  
• Make sure you and your team mates stay hydrated during battle. (Seriously, drink those strength potions!) Encourage your mates to consume them too.
  
• Did I mention that the lady hates strength potion waste? Leaving them on the ground because nobody has a free potion slot anymore is a capital sin.
  
• Don’t waste your ultimate on lesser threats. Save it for dense situations. Also: Your ultimate has a range and you can move/dodge while performing it (between the strikey). Use this. But be careful, your defense is open. Sometimes it is better to block cancel the second stab.
  
• Sometimes its better to snipe a single chaos warrior (or special) within a mixed horde with your ultimates first stab and then block cancel the second stab. With a bit of practise, enemies have a very low window of attack and you are save to instakill a dangerous enemy.
  
• Use your shield stagger to leech THP on trash enemies and/or in dense situations.
  
• Your ultimate can push bosses off cliffs. Always fun.
  
• Your group has a shielded IB which is super crowd control focused? Play more dps focused with your big pee pee sword. Your group consists of three ranged glass cannons? Play more cc-focused with your shield. We are Krubers, we don't care about green circles.
  
• Greet your team mates with: ”A good day to you. Don’t worry. Rescue is near” whenever you join a game. Also, if benison RNG is in your favor, never ever forget to make yourself and your mates saying a prayer in the Lady’s name!
  
• If you use voice chat, do it with an epic sounding French accent.

Yes I know! I had to play Kerillian to get the Lileath frame. Sigmar forgive me.

Mercenary: The Ruthless Skullcrusher

++ very high horde damage
++ good special sniping potential
+- mediocre single target damage, especially outside of horde events
+++ people trashtalk you for not using the executioner sword
+- easy to play, very straightforward
-- can get overwhelmed under pressure, especially if ultimate is not ready

Kruber has seen things in his life. Grim things. Things that have darkened his soul to this day. He once was a powerful swordsman and sergeant in service of the Empire. He is not anymore. Where there is darkness, there is light. He does not have to follow a code of honor anymore. He does not have to look after his now fallen comrades in arms. He uses every tool available to him. This allows him the follow a ruthless and somewhat egoistic path. A path which makes his combat appearance and performance more devastating to all his enemies than ever. He is fast, swift and powerful. And he doesn’t give two damns anymore. Don’t expect any mercy from him – no matter being his ally or foe.

This fierce warrior is a damage dealing beast. He just has to make sure he’s overwhelming and not being overwhelmed himself.

Appearance

He looks as dark and grim on the outside as he feels on the inside.

Weapons / Equipment

Mace and sword: +5% crit chance / 30% block cost reduction / swift slaying
Any other weapon works well too. Merc can make it work. I personally just love the sheer brutality / lawnmower feel of mace and sword
Handgun: +10% power against skaven / +10% power against infantry/ conservative shooter
Charm: +10% power against chaos / +10% power against infantry / decanter (or proxy to buff those weak elves)
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / boon of shallya
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel

If you prefer the repeater gun over the handgun - totally valid. Use +power against skaven / +crit chance together with scrounger trait on it.

Talents


LVL25 Blade Barrier (or Stand Clear)
Since the range of Mace/Sword is not very good you have to stay very close to your enemies all the time. Which is nice - but also dangerous. I prefer Blade Barrier because you'll catch some chip damage eventually. If you're better at avoiding damage than me, feel free to use Stand Clear.


Gameplay tipps:

• Make sure to hit 3 enemies at the start of combat. Position yourself accordingly if necessary.
  
• Your push attack has high cleave. Don’t underestimate this and use it against mixed hordes or packs of stormvermins. Follow up with a heavy attack and repeat the whole procedure and you have a recipe for destroying everything. Add in dodges when necessary.
  
• Don’t waste your ult. It is very powerful and might save your and your allies sorry bottoms. Use it in advance or in the midst of potential overwhelming situations. (Don't waste that sweet 25% damage reduction)
  
• Letting yourself hit also fills you ability bar. You can use it to your advantage. Be careful though.
  
• Your handgun oneshots (almost) all specials even on cata. Your aim is always to shoot that single one special which would’ve otherwise possibly cause serious harm to your party. You can and should also take out specials with your gun while fighting hordes or even bosses. Stagger threats with your ultimate, switch to handgun, shoot, switch back to melee. (Just make sure you reload sometime later). You can also take a hit or two. It’s worth it in exchange for a dead deadly special.
  
• Your charged handgun pierces any armor. Sometimes a couple of well placed (head)shots against chaoswarriors or bosses can make a difference.
  
• Near enough specials can be hip shotted with your handgun. Just quickly switch to your gun and shoot as fast as you can.
  
• Don’t waste your ammo though. Killing specials is not your main job. Let pesky elves do that for ya.
  
• In chat you always answer in grim, sarcastic, short manner. You’re here to kill rats and avenge your fallen comrades – not to banter.
  
• You don’t use voice chat.

Foot Knight: The Blazing S(t)un

++ high crowd control abilities
++ good defense
++ good special sniping abilities
+- more forgiving to your mistakes than other careers
+- relatively poor damage output - I mean, in comparison


Like the sun pushes away darkness every morning, this knight pushes away darkness whenever a battlefield is blessed by his appearence. Famous for charging into every foe directly and without hesitation, this walking tin canny battering ram is a sight to behold. Especially for his allies, which are much safer around him than without him.

Being a member of a more unconventional knightly order, he won’t hesitate to use a gun if necessary. All to snipe / control the most dangerous enemies and protect his mates.

He’s stunning both in appearance and abilities. He never falls back, always first in line.

This tank – while not being the most damage dealing of the bunch, although he still can go toe to toe with all kinds of heretics – has often been called near immortal. Where others retreat, he charges ahead.

Appearance

This one indeed is a sunnyboy!

Weapons / Equipment

Spear and Shield: +5% attack speed / 30% block cost reduction/ oportunist
Handgun: +10% power against skaven/ +10% power against infantry/ conservative shooter
Charm: +5% attack speed / +10% power against armored/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health (or +2 Stamina if you feel confident) / 30% block cost reduction / boon of shallya
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier

Nothing wrong with taking the Repeater Gun over the Handgun. Use Skaven/+crit chance as properties as well as scrounger trait then.

Talents

Why no staggering force? Have at thee! together with comrades in arms as well as your power buffs from your charm lets you hit crucial stagger breakpoints with more damage output overall.

Numb to Pain is a viable alternative to Bull of Ostland, if you prefer control / clutch potential over sheer damage. But Bull of Ostland does increase your damage alot - especially if you are confident pulling off the weapon combos on higher speed.

It's hero time: High utility. Especially in combination with Bull of Ostland a fine damage buff. The problem with this talent is, the better your mates, the less useful it becomes. If yer mates kill / dodge all disablers it won't trigger.

Counter punch: Since spear and shield has no bash (unlike sword/mace n shield), you rely more on pushes for crowd control. Generally the best choice if you have defense in mind.

Inspiring blow: An odd one, but I like it very much. Since there is nothing wrong with focusing elites of all kind in generall almost all time with spear and shield (and its push attack follow ups have a decent stagger), its surprisingly good. However, your mates have to make sure to stick around you and make use of it/realise that it is there. So the worse your mates, the less useful this talent becomes. Kinda the opposite of It's hero time.

Gameplay tipps

• This is counter intuitive but CC focused shield users and tank have to be played the most aggressively out of all careers. You’re not here to block – you're here to stagger, to control, to be the wall, to rush to allies in need. If there are enemies that are not or allies that are put on the ground, you’re doing your job bad.
  
• In case you didn’t know, you can block cancel FK ult, use this to your advantage.
  
• Counter punch users: Whenever you hear the "clonk" voice of your shield - your next push will be free. Nothing wrong with taking advantage of this as much as possible.
  
• It's hero time users: If you have a full ability bar in a dense fight and you hear several disablers. Use your ultimate in advance. Chances are high you can use it again right after that because a mate got caught.
  
• Use light light block cancel against hordes when you are not in defense. Use push heavy repeat to crowd control or to leech THP. Use push attack heavy heavy to snipe elites/armored out of mixed hordes.
  
• Discussion with good inputs about the usage of special Blockattack mechanic.
  
• Your ultimate can push bosses off cliffs. Always fun.
  
• Don't use your ultimate solely for defense. Use it as much as you can with offense in mind too. It activates your and your mates' stagger damage bonus and provides openings to attack. I repeat, your ultimate has low cooldown and is as more of an offensive tool than anything else. Too many FK players don't use his ultimate enough often during a run. This is especially true if you use Bull of Ostland.
  
• Your valiant charge triggers Have at thee!. Make sure to use it in dense situations to get those sweet push stagger breakpoints you want.
  
• Your handgun oneshots (almost) all specials/elites even on cata. Your aim is always to shoot that single one special which would’ve otherwise possibly cause serious harm to your party. You can and should also take out specials with your gun while fighting hordes or even bosses. Stagger threats with your ultimate, switch to handgun, shoot, switch back to melee. (Just make sure you reload sometime later). You can also take a hit or two. It’s worth it in exchange for a dead deadly special.
  
• Your charged handgun pierces any armor. Sometimes a couple of well placed (head)shots against chaoswarriors or bosses can make a difference.
  
• Near enough specials can be hip shotted with your handgun. Just quickly switch to your gun and shoot as fast as you can.
  
• Don’t waste your ammo though. Killing specials is not your main job. Let pesky elves do that for ya.
  
• Whenever there is a serious fight upcoming, spam CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE! into the teamchat. The more dire the situation, the more “A” in your CHARGE!
  
• Always make sure that Kerillian has her eyes on your knightly backside.
  
• You boast about your heroism in voice chat: “Don’t worry dear friend, I’m gonna save you!” and so on!

The DPS Knight



You may use Swift Slaying and +5% crit chance on your spearshield. You lose quite a bit of defense but your damage over time increases. You cannot push stagger plague monks out of their attacks anymore. But this DPS variant is a good excuse to make some use of the special block attack mechanic of your spear and shield against those enemies.

If you want a bit less madlad overkill, change +5% attack speed with 30% block cost reduction. It's the more reasonable choice - by quite a margin. Hehe

Foot Knight: The Reikland's Champion

+++ crowd control beast
++ good support package for your team, can make runs save and laid back
+- surprisingly versatile in range combat
+++ can trashtalk all premium / dlc cosmetic/career users
-- poor damage output, is heavily reliant on team mates dishing out damage


Picture the scene where the arena to Bödvarr Ribspreader opens. Three heroes enter the arena. All of them wearing fancy expensive clothing and wielding exotic "forgotten" weapons. Bödvarr burst into laughter. But suddently an intimidating shadow enters the scene from behind those three heroes. Whilst that shadowy figure pushes away said heroes and begins to charge ahead leading his mates, Bödvarr starts wetting his pants.

Behind the big mustache even bigger shield combo this Kruber represents all allies of any kind can be useful and shine (yes, even elves!). Meanwhile everything in front of this beast are nothing more than bowling pins. He focuses heavy on controlling the battlefield while looking absolutely stunning doing so. (And he didn't even have to pay for it)


Appearance

Are you not entertained?

Weapons / Equipment

Sword and Shield: +5% attack speed / +30% increased block push angle/ oportunist
Repeater Gun: +10% power against skaven/ +5% crit chance/ scrounger
Charm: +10% power against chaos / +10% power against skaven/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / boon of shallya
Trinket: +5% movement speed (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier

I like increased push angle on Sword and Shield because it has the highest effective push range (distance in front of you on which enemies are affected by your push) of any of Kruber's shields. It synergises well with it. On top of that - at least in my opinion - 50% block cost reduction (Rock of The Reikland) is more than enough on a shield that has a bash. At least on every vanilla difficulty.

Talents

Have at Thee! together with enhanced power as well as +10% skaven on your trinket lets you reach push stagger breakpoints you need (plagues, maulers).

Bull of Ostland I like alot because the attack speed helps push/bashing faster. So it helps with crowd control. And if crowd control is not necessary, it still is a fine offensive buff.

Gameplay tipps

• Make sure Have at Thee! has the hightest possible uptime. In normal fights this shouldn't be a problem, because you push alot. However, maybe you are being charged by plagues out of the blue. Don't forget, that your ultimate triggers Have at Thee!
  
• Use light / heavy / light / heavy ... against trash mobs when you don't need to care about crowd control.
  
• In very dense situations, push / heavy (bash) repeat until you or your allies have an opening.
  
• push / bash / light / heavy or push / bash / light / light are the way to go when fighting in the centre of a horde which isn't overwhelming you or your mates.
  
• Use push attack / heavy against armored targets. If you have a good headshot oportunity , follow it up with a light swing towards a head.
  
• Use push attack heavy light heavy light ... against bosses and unarmored beefy single targets like maulers.
  
• Make sure you are always in the centre of attention of the biggest threat. Whether this is a group of chaos warriors, a minotaur or a horde on an open field. You are here to control and to go toe to toe. Your movement speed buff as well as your ultimate help you having the mobilty to reach foes earlier than your allies.
  
• Never hesitate to use your repeater gun to snipe specials (or stormvermins). Even on very large distances it is very accurate with a bit of practise. You can make yourself room by push/bashing away enemies and then quickly switch to your gun and go for it. With a bit of practise you are able to use your ranged weapon in the midst of a dense horde fight.
  
• If you spot an ally which doesn't use any kind of dlc weapons or premium cosmetics like yourself, protect him at any cost and let the others die instead of him.
  
• In voice chat, make sure you use a voice changer which deepens your voice. Because you are an insane chad.

Handgun or Repeater Gun?

Both Mercenary and Foot Knight have the dilemma of deciding between the Handgun or the Repeater Gun. I just want to give my two cents here.

The Handgun

Advantages

• Can oneshot elites and (far away) specials with the right properties (+20% infantry +10% skaven on legend, +20% infantry +10% skaven +10% chaos on cata)
  
• With conservative shooter - given you're good ad shooting heads - ammo sustain is surprisingly good
  
• Good tool to switch to in dense situations while frontlining: You do your melee thing, you see a far away stormer, you switch, you shoot, he is (hopefully) dead, you go back to melee thing
  
• Charged shot pierces stormvermin shield as well es chaos warrior armor
  
• Deals damage to armored bosses
  
• Pierces through trash mobs and still gets the special behind them

Disadvantages

• Long reload time...
  
• ... which result in the fact, that your shots kinda have to hit. Otherwise much time / damage is wasted.
  
• Therefore, for being efficient, it really does need those 1-body-shot breakpoint properties on itself supported by your charm.

The Repeater Gun

Advantages

• Still good breakpoints, 2 - 3 shoots most specials
  
• With a bit of practise, far away specials are still easy to shoot. The gun is surprisingly accurate
  
• Right alternative fire is a very efficent "panic tool". It's very strong in clearing specials like hook rats or assassins that are on the brink of getting you (or your mates)
  
• Good against unarmored bosses

Disadvantages

• Ammo sustain is a problem.
  
• Not able to damage chaos warrios (unless you hit the head of course)

The Blunderbuss

Advantages

• Highest amount of friendly fire if you shoot an elf from point blank range

Conclusion
The Handgun excels in sniping far away specials as well as in chip damaging chaos warriors. The Repeater Gun is more versatile and "forgiving". Or in simpler words: Apart from sniping far away opponents, Repeater Gun is better in all other aspects. All in all, I'd say it is a matter of personal preference and playstyle. The Repeater Gun overall has an edge over the Handgun I assume. I still prefer the Handgun though (but I keep switching to the Repeater Gun back and forth myself, on both Merk and FK every couple of runs... ). Also - it once again comes down to your party/team composition. If you have a dedicated far away special sniper around (Saltspyres with crossbow, Bardins with handguns, Siennas with Bolt Staffs or.... an elf with a "longbow"), the handgun loses it's charm on a frontliner. If you use the handgun - make sure you have the breakpoints which let's you oneshot specials on the difficulty you're playing. This is mandatory. Otherwise the Repeater Gun outclasses the handgun. Generally speaking, the better you are (speed, aim without zoom) the better the repeater gun becomes in comparison to the handgun.

Huntsman: The Reikland Avenger

++ Good single target range damage
+- surprisingly high stopping power in melee combat
+++ people think you're a pro just because you play this career
-- Cannot be played while overly tired, drunk or distracted by girlfriend; you have to make your shots count


Desperate times lead to desperate measures. It's the end times after all. Cities and strongholds have fallen - regiments of the Empire's finest slaughtered. Kruber can and will not fight enemies on open battlefields anymore. From now on he'll strike from the shadows. What some might call a retreat yet strikes fear into his enemies' hearts - right before he fires an arrow into the same spot.

He might not be as skillful a marksman or archer than some other folks (ye ye, you know who I mean) - but he makes up for it with sheer brutality.

Appearance

Good guy Kruber strikes again: Killing from (social) distance and always wearing a facemask!

Weapons / Equipment

Mace +5% crit chance / +30% block cost reduction/ swift slaying
Sword or spear are also thematic and viable. Heck... even spear and shield has its' uses especially in quickplays where you sometimes cannot trust the frontliners doin their part right. If you like the Bretonnian longsword - its also surprisingly strong/stylish. Use whatever you are the most comfortable with. Just make sure, you do use THP on kill when using swords.
Longbow: +10% power against armoured / +10% power against skaven/ scrounger
Charm: +10% power against chaos / 10% power against skaven/ concotion
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel

Talents


Gameplay tipps

• Your first and foremost priority is to snipe elites / specials wherever they occur...
  
• ... yet you're surprisingly though in melee with 40%dr, good stagger as well as 20% dmg increase after each crit.
  
• Make sure you and your allies mark elites and specials. It really helps to snipe them.
  
• Use push attack / light / light / repeat against hordes. Mix it with heavy attacks in case of armored enemies.
  
• U can use your ultimate to get back ammo during hordes. Especially if they run towards you in a line. Just activate the ultimate and shoot swift arrows into em. Whenever you crit hit you get back some ammo.
  
• Your bow has three states of charge/zoom with different damage output. You don't always have to zoom in the max to oneshot enemies.
  
• Your ultimate in combination with concotion and swift shots melts bosses. (And patrols, and unfurtunately careless teammates... :D)
  
• Your ultimate can be used defensively for tactical retreats or to revive fallen mates.
  
• Your charged shots can pierce trash mobs and still hit elites/specials behind them.
  
• Nothing wrong with casually headshoting ambient mobs to get that sweet 25% crit chance.
  
• Audio clues are extremely important to the performance of this class. I have quite good hi-fi headphones - and I could not play this career without them (or while listening to music). At least 50% of the specials I shoot I've already aimed for before they appear on screen.
  
• Whenever there is a longbow using elf in your group - things are getting serious. Drink an espresso, an energy drink or do some push ups. It is absolutely necessary that you perform better than the elf player.
  
• In voice chat you only whisper. You always command your mates to do the same. You have to be quiet and hidden. So from time to time a "SHHHH!" is in order.

The Chaos Wastes Chad Krubers

Here is a serving suggestion of talent loadouts before entering a chaos wastes expedition. Talents which are useful to you (and your team, remember, we are Krubers, we are the good guys!) as well as keep you active rather than reactive regardless of any RNG shenanigans the wastes throw at you, are favoured! In terms of starting weapons: I prefer loadouts which make you able to "grind" your way to exotic weapon shrines of any kind in the most "safe" way. I would skip any weapon upgrades (if possible!) before exotic gear shrines appear in the last two locations of an expedition.



Grailknight

His biggest assets are his boons, especially health regen which can sometimes hard counter debuffs as well as his boss nuke (and push) potential. Having two melee weapons at hand increases your chance of ending up with something viable and strong in the end. However not being able to snipe far away specials is a big liability. Especially in The Wastes where you often dont have the room to outmaneuver globadiers / stormers / ratling.

Enhanced power is useful in every situation with every weapon or boon. Virtue of Purity fights the RNG (a little... : )) Virtue of Audacity is strong against bosses - which you fight alot in The Wastes.

Recommended starting weapons for tryharding

Empire Sword and Shield:
To crowd control and for making space for your team, has in terms of pure crowd control an edge over his Bretonnian cousin. But if you prefer Bret Sword/Board ... nothing wrong with it either.
Mace and Sword:
Versatile horde clear weapon which still does decent single target damage thanks to GK kit.


Foot Knight

He has two things going for him that are (not) instantly obvious: His aura and his very low ulti cooldown. Being able to buff your team's block cost reduction is very useful in The Wastes where noone can bring along traits on equipment. Boons are often linked to usage of career skill. Something you can potentially do very often. He also is versatile enough to make good use of many weapons. Overall a very strong career in Chaos Wastes which is useful right from the start.


Enhanced power is useful in every situation with every (ranged) weapon or boon. Crowd Clearer likewise, no matter the weapon, occasional pushes grant you valuable attack speed. Numb to pain helps you to clutch / survive the stupid dense situations, The Wastes can throw at you (blood tornadoes anyone?). The real showstealer is Rock of the Reikland. Block cost reduction with a bit of damage reduction on top of it - you can't go wrong with that, a talent which makes having a Footknight in a party worthwile on its own! If you feel confident, you can also go an offensive route with Have at Thee! (remember, your ulti counts toward this talents trigger too) as well as Bull Of Ostland combined! This combination shines with spear and shield.

Recommended starting weapons for tryharding

Spear and Shield:
Krubers most versatile shielded weapon at the moment, even in The Wastes it's good to pick a weapon that has some crowd control in mind for the first levels. His other shield weapons are also a great pick. Especially if brought along with a more defensive/crowd control talent loadout.

If you have crowd control in mind - and a crowd control focused hero can be very useful especially on higher difficulties in the wastes - take Sword/Shield as well as Staggering Force/THP on stagger. The downside to this viable role/build - which can literally carry groups through the waste - is, that you are forced to a role and cannot fully embrace RNGJesus. Unless you received boons (like cleave THP talent) during your run.

Handgun:
Good breakpoints for special sniping, try hitting heads though. We only start with a 450 power gun.

Mercenary
If there is one career kit (apart a certain Witch Hunter Captain) which is very well suited towards The Wastes it is Mercenary. Everything his kit offers will be useful no matter what. So if you don't know which career to pick at first, pick this one. To me personally, this is Krubers most fun career in The Waste - it really let's you embrace those random weapon shrines.


Enhanced power is useful in every situation with every (ranged) weapon or boon. Strike together is a decent party buff which you can basically upkeep almost always. Blade barrier helps when you got "blessed" with a weapon, that is not very mobile. You can also go crazy and go Black Market Supplies for some ranged shenanigans or just improve your dodges witch Stand Clear. It's a matter of taste. Ready for action can become potentially very strong if Slaanesh blesses you with cooldown reduction or something. Overall, Mercenary allows for many different combinations of talents which can turn out viable. Its Kruber's most versatile kit after all. None of his talents are useless. So if you get another career talent to pick as a boon, it is mostly a win too.

Recommended starting weapons for tryharding

Mace and Sword, Spear, Halberd, Spear and Shield, Bretonnian Longsword:
versatile, somewhat offensive options that all suit Merc kit very well. Sure, you can always go Executioner Sword. But in the wastes I prefer somewhat more versatile/defensive options. At least to begin an expedition.

Handgun: good breakpoints for special sniping, try hitting heads though. We only start with a 450 power gun.


Huntsman
Huntsman's biggest strength is his access to Kruber's best ranged weapon. He remains the special sniping lad he has always been. Oddly enough, with his crit chance increase, his headshot/after crit damage buff as well as his invisibility, he can end up being a melee beast too. He may need a fair bit more rng luck in both weapons and boons than his brothers, but if he receives a fitting loadout ... he flexes his muscles hard. And don't forget about his crit aura. A lot of powerful boons and traits in The Wastes trigger critical hits.


Huntsman has a higher skill ceiling than other classes - given that his buffs are built around headshots. The better your aim is, the less compromises you have to make. The reason is, that huntsman in theory has infinite ammo. But you need to hit heads for that. If you struggle with it, shot crafter is kinda a must. But you lose 40% damage reduction. His melee department is also a give or take. The better you are at avoiding damage with dodging or awarness in general, the more offensive weapons you can use. If you need more suvivability by default, THP on stagger and a shielded weapon (or mace) are the go to.

Recommended starting weapons for tryharding

Spear, Spear and Shield / 1H Mace:
Weapons with high survivability while still capable of dealing some amount of damage

1H Sword:
Strong horde clear, good crit modifiers and high mobility. But more risky than his other options.

Manbow:
Do I really need to explain why? ; ) Okay, let me elaborate: It is a good tool to show those Moonbow freaks what a real bow on a real ranged career actually looks like!

Bonus 1: The Sigmarite Maniac

Unfortunately Kruber spot is sometimes taken by another player of culture. In this case, here are four fun builds which look and feel (almost) as good as Kruber does.

I won't get too much into details.

This zealot build is actually "meta" and very powerful. There is not much to it other than spam charged attack and your ult like the insane maniac you are. This build is so strong/versatile it can complement any of Krubers career.

Appearance

This one is complete bonkers. At least he nailed his appearance.

Weapons / Equipment

Flail +5% crit chance / +5% attack speed/ swift slaying
Crossbow: +10% power against skaven/ +10% power against infantry / conservative shooter
Charm: +10% power against chaos / 10% power against skaven / boon of shallya
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / concotion
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel

Talents

Bonus 2: Cousin Okri's Ironbreaker Build

This is the toughest tank out there. A smaller, uglier Footknight. If you want to make him (generally, not always, highly depending on difficulty and the performance of the groups dedicated special killers) more useful (but less fun/thematic in my view) use handgun instead of flamethrower. Also Smiter (or Enhanced Power to buff your flamethrower/stagger) is superior to Bulwark in most cases. But again, I often prefer style over substance.This build works very well if a huntsman or mercenary is Krubering around.

Now, that trollpedo has arrived, it's another very stylish and somewhat viable ranged option on this build. Just make sure you use chaos/armored on it as well as enhanced power +10% damage against elves. This let's you oneshot chaos warriors elves. Grenadier on your trinket is also recommended because it works with trollpedo projectiles.

Appearance

Cousin Okri was an Engineer before it was cool.

Weapons / Equipment

Hammer and Shield 30% block cost reduction/ 30% block push angle / oportunist
Drakegun: +10% power against chaos/ +10% power against infantry/ heat sink
Charm: +10% power against infantry / 10% power against chaos/ boon of shallya
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / proxy
Trinket: 10% cooldown reduction (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel

Talents

Bonus 3: The Green Circle Huntress

Well what to say. Sometimes you just want to feel good about yourself by getting all the green circles. With this build, you easily can. Just keep dodging. (I know bladedancer is not the go to talent for dash - but its sooo fun melting hordes with dash; which also helps collecting green circles.)The dps somewhat reckless nature of this build complements frontliners like FK or GK quite well. They also profit the most from your op stamina regen aura.

Appearance

Almost as elegant as Grail Knight, almost as fast as Mercenary, ... Wutelgi is all about being almost cool.

Weapons / Equipment

Spear 30% block cost reduction/ 5% crit chance / swift slaying
Moonfire bow: +10% power against skaven/ +10% power against infantry/ barrage
Charm: +10% power agains chaos / 10% power against skaven / proxy
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: 5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 30% revive speed / shrapnel

Talents

Bonus 4: The Dancing Aristocratic Auntie

A very versatile build with interesting mechanics. Feels like a proper mage to me, which means she is heavily ranged focused. Is a bit squishy though. So make sure you dance around Kruber! If you need a bit more defense (I often do myself too.. : P... equip flail with oportunist, +2 stamina and 30% block cost reduction. Because bolty staff Sienna snipes those specials quite well she accompagnes GK Krubahs preferably.

Appearance

Remember darlings: No matter how badass you are, you will never be this badass. Unless you're Kruber of course.

Weapons / Equipment

Sword 30% block cost reduction/ 5% crit chance / swift slaying
Bolt Staff: +10% power against skaven/ +10% power against infantry/ heat sink
Charm: +10% power against chaos/ 10% power against infantry/ barkskin
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / proxy
Trinket: 10% cooldown reduction (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 30% stamina regen/ shrapnel

Talents

The Imperial MEME Captain

+++ is a complete meme nobody uses
+++ still viable enough to carry randoms in legend games
+++ makes tryhard cata players furious just by looking at you, especially if you pull it off.
+++ makes you feel like an imperial captain
+++ lets you role play the ways Kruber earned his pumpkins back in the day
+++ lets you shout at elfs constantly

The Man. The Myth. The Legend. This is how Kruber lead his troops into battle back in the day. Shouting at them constantly. Standing side by side with them. No matter frontliners or artillery. He was always ready to "support" them by screaming angrily at them.

Appearance

Good looking chads like him do not need any further "premium" Mortal Kombat Kosmetics.

Weapons / Equipment

Sword and shield:+2 stamina / 30% block cost reduction / resourceful combatant
Repeater Gun +10% power against infantry / +10% power against skaven / scrounger
Charm: +10% power against skaven / +10% power against chaos/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: 10% cooldown reduction / + 30% stamina regen (or 33% curse resistance in case of bookruns) / shrapnel

Talents


The basic idea behind this build is simple. You use Helborgs to constantly trigger Resourceful Combatant which lets you use your ulti way more often. What makes this build still viable is the fact, that you reach the necessary frontliner defense with your shield as well as the weird flex, that your ranged combat abilities as well as ammo sustain (Helborg triggers scrounger) is surprisingly awesome. Have fun with this build. Its delicious stupid fun!

Some more Knight Shield Loadouts

I've been playing Footknight with shield since the release of the game. I was always told, it's "weak", "not worthwile", not "meta". I didn't care then nor do I now. So here are more loadouts which I enjoy playing very much! Just be warned, those are (even more) memey and ridiculous. But so is Kruber's mustache.

The Reikland Guardian
This build takes no compromises in regard of team buffing. Highly support/stagger/CC oriented. The goodest of the good guy Krubers. Very nice if you have competent glass cannons in your group. Has a feel good vibe to it because you buff mates in very different aspects. Is however very reliant on having decent damage dealers in your party. Bull of Ostland remains my choice here because it lets you shield bash faster = moar cc/defense/THP leeching.


Sword and Shield: +30% block push angle / 30% block cost reduction/ oportunist
Repeater gun: +10% power against skaven / +5% crit chance / scrounger
Charm: +5% attack speed / +10% power against armored/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health/ 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier


The Fancy Fabulous One
The beauty about this build - apart from the golden shiny swag armor - is the combination of Staggering Force and Inspiring Blow as well as Mace and Shield. Your goal and strength is to keep Inspiring blow and therefore that sweet sweet 100% cooldown regen boost uptime as high as humanly possible. Having a weapon with high stagger on default - your mace - helps alot with that. As always: Want (even more) team orientation? Go Rock of The Reikland! Instead of Comrades.


Mace and Shield: +5% attack speed / 30% block cost reduction/ oportunist
Repeater gun: +10% power against skaven / +5% crit chance / scrounger
Charm: +5% attack speed / +10% power against armored/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health/ 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier


The Reikland Wall
The tankiest of all Footknights out there. They shall not pass. Any other shield weapon works too. Really tanky, but not much else. Feels good to be almost immortal, though.


Mace and Shield: +30% block push angle/ 30% block cost reduction/ oportunist
Repeater gun: +10% power against skaven / +5% crit chance / scrounger
Charm: +10% power against skaven / +10% power against chaos/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: +10% cooldown reduction (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier


The Reikland Gladiator
This "knight" lays down his chivalry and elegance in exchange for brute force and speed. Mows down hordes like a champ while still being able to punch armored enemies quite effectively with push attack /light/ heavy. Very nice if you just want to clonk some skulls. For more support orientation, use Rock of The Reikland and/or Bulwark. If you go Rock of The Reikland, swap the Handgun for the Repeater Gun too, if you want (because of breakpoints). Be aware of the fact, that this build does not allow you to push stagger plague monks.


Mace and Shield: +5% attack speed/ +2 stamina/ oportunist
Handgun: +10% power against Skaven/ +10% power agains infantry / conservative shooter
Charm: +5% attack speed/ +10% power against infantry/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health/ 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: +5% crit chance (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier


Alberic de Bordelulz
A very support and stagger heavy build. Very nice frontliner when surrounded by ranged special killing glass cannons. Mainly uses his shield and its' versatile combos 80% and wears a longsword as backup. Still capable of dishing out some damage. Because it is Grail Knight Kit after all. Since Bret Longsword has surprisingly good stagger on it's heavy attacks, Bulwark isn't even (that) memey. Needs to have some Virtue of Ideal stacks to reach stagger breakpoints. But there's always your cleave ultimate to get them at the beginning of a dense fight. If you want more offensive potential, use concotion together with virtue of audacity talent instead.


Bretonnian Sword and Shield: +2 stamina/ 30% block cost reduction / oportunist
Bretonnian Longsword: +5% crit chance/ +5% attack speed/ swift slaying
Charm: +10% power against skaven / +10% power against chaos/ proxy
Necklace: +20% health / 30% block cost reduction / barkskin
Trinket: +5% crit chance or 5% movement speed or 10% cooldown reduction - matter of taste. (33% curse resist in case of book runs) / 33% stamina regen / shrapnel or grenadier

The Shilling Addicted Crackhead

This one is on the way back to his lady. After not having seen her for a looooooooooong time...

This build is useful, if you want to farm the weekly challenges (or event) on recruit in order to get Lohnermoney. I personally especially do not like the book challenges, since i play cata alot and don'r really do legend anymore. Also, some challenges - those including - are not doable in the wastes. Last but not least its safer to farm the quests this way when no friends are online (sad), than rely on randoms.

The best map is screaming bell. Lots of critters, guaranteed monster spam (for loot dices and monster quest), ravaged art locations that are on the main level route. And its also very short comparatively. Against the grain is a runner up (hehe) if you want a bit of a change in terms of the map you are rushing through.

Use mace and sword (light block cancel in a fast manner increases your speed further) and a shield of your choice to push enemies out of your way. Dekanter on charm is also very useful because it increases both conc pot and speed pot duration. Use movement speed on your trinket of course. Finally, just make sure your bots are equiped with anti special range weapons and you should be fine! With speed ult active you are fast enough to kill critterrats or sackrats on your way.

Let's talk bots

Sometimes no friend is available, you are not in the mood for quickplay with randoms (or elves) or you want to get some challenges down on your own. Then you have to use bots for substitute.

• Bots stick to you and each other like they are glued to you
  
• They are somewhat decent special killers
  
• In melee, they are kinda passive. They prefer blocking / pushing to killing stuff
  
• They favor weapons with simple movesets. Like glaive or greatsword for example. No hidden combos, very straightforward. Good for bots.
  
• Even though they have had their improvement patch, they may still go braindead from time to time.

All in all, survivability, simplicity and buffs which are active without the bots having to actively do something to trigger them are the way to go regarding bots.

Kerillian Handmaiden Bot
The 100% stamina regen aura is very strong. She is useful by just being there.
Use spear and shield on her with off balance or if you want her a bit more offensive oriented, put a glaive with off balance in her hands. Her very best ranged weapon without any doubt is moonfire bow. Infinite ammo means, the bot can waste as many shots as he wants on trashmobs and/or lesser threats.


Kerillian Son of a Thorn Bot
This kit is in my opinion at the moment the strongest in the game. What makes it so broken (apart from the insanely good passives) is the fact, that it is relatively easy to use. So much so, that even in the hands of a bot she roflstomps on everything. Give her a glaive with off balance and her career kit staff (deepwood is it's name, right?) and she will be a very strong addition to every team combination.... No point in making a secret out of this.



Saltspyre Witch Hunter Captain Bot
Like handmaiden, he is instantly useful no matter what due to his target ping debuffs / party buffs. Put a greatsword in his hands so he can apply bleed damage over time to as many mobs as possible. Also equip him with a crossbow for special sniping duties.


Bardin Ironbreaker Bot
Very tanky. A good grim carrier. Useful ultimate. Not much more to say. Put a shield in his hands (or dual hammers). And a handgun.

Winds of Magic Weaves builds and tipps!

Useful links to other guides

Weapon Combo Guide

Demonstrates the weapon combos of all weapons really nicely!

CLICK HERE

Stagger Breakpoints

Maybe a tadbit overkill for most players. But if you really want to look deeper into stagger mechanics, this guide is awesome!

CLICK HERE

Talents/Weapons

Not exactly a guide but a very useful site to create and share builds.

Ranaldsgift[www.ranalds.gift]

My darkest secret

I'm not proud of it... or am I?

I enjoy playing kerillian. She's my second most played character after them Krubers Knights. Amazing. I secretly love Kerillian too....

With one small exception!

Link to all primary builds on Ranaldsgift

Grail Knight

The Ladies' Champion
Link to the Greatsword focused build.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

Alberic de Bordelulz
The heavy duty stagger/support frontliner in full Bretonnian weapon theme.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

Mercenary

The Ruthless Skullcrusher
Antihorde (well actually anti everything) damage build.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

Foot Knight

The Blazing S(t)un offensive variant.
Lance and shield with that extra damage output.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

The Blazing S(t)un defensive variant.
Lance and shield for heavy frontlining duties
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

The Reikland Champion
Classic Sword'n'Board with good mixture between CC/support/damage.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

The Reikland Guardian
Classic Sword'n'Board, heavily focused on being a tank/supporter.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

Huntsman

The Reikland Avenger
To show those elves who's boss.
Click here[www.ranalds.gift]

Saying thanks and goodbye

Well, this has been a nice bit of useless fun. See you on the battlefields!
It’s a shame about Ussingen and Helmgart’s lost folks – I tell ya.

Always eat your pumpkins.

Special thanks to: DEAD_RaNgEr_888, Parn and Mr. Leberwurst for carrying/pushing me into the higher difficulties of this beyond awesome game.

[Yourbestfiend]

Nice I've played merc since beta and been pretty much solely an executioners sword man since then, and it's just funny to think back to people hating on that weapon so much back in the day. But it does remove his low single target damage weakness a lot with its headshot heavy bs

[v4nd4hl]

@THUGIDragoN

Yea, nothing wrong about those two talents but they go somewhat against the egocentric damage powerhorse my mace and sword machine stands for =)

[THUG|DragoN]

Krubah main here (mostly Merc). Just want to say that "Strike Together" & "On Yer Feets, Mates!" are very viable options too.

[v4nd4hl]

@Implot

Thank you =)

[Implot]

So enjoyable, relateable and surprisingly useful

[Shadows]

lol

[v4nd4hl]

@Vladibear

Thank you! :) Much appreciated !

[Vladibear]

A short and entertaining guide! Loved reading it!