Introduced in Build 65, the Knight was implemented in the game to be the most resilient class, with incredibly high Defense and low Speed. Like the Warrior, he was equipped with a sword, a shield, and heavy armor. The shield originally did nothing but provide a DEF boost. In Build 96, the Knight was given access to the MP and Wisdom stats to use with the newly implemented shield bash ability, which the Warrior lost in the following version. In Build 113, his base DEF stat cap was nerfed slightly, to where it stands today.
Today, the Knight is commonly regarded as a strong class thanks largely to his defense. He is a short range attacker, relying on said defense and his equipment to make it easier to approach enemies. The Knight also possesses strong burst damage with his shield, to compensate for the lack of being able to buff his sword DPS. To unlock Knight, reach level 20 with Warrior. You can find his stat gains, caps, and averages here.
The most exceptional stat Knight possesses is a defense cap of 40, the highest of all classes. Combined with the stats of Heavy Armor and a Shield, the Knight can easily stay Out of Combat and regenerate quickly. Like the Warrior, he has a high vitality (75) and shares the highest health capacity of 675 (average, level 20) and 770 (cap). His other stats are not particularly noteworthy; his attack, speed, dexterity, and wisdom all cap at 50.
Keep in mind, DEF will only block up to 90% damage of any single shot, meaning that each shot will still do at least 10% of its damage. A high DEF does not equal invincibility, and many bosses can still rip you apart.
The Knight’s weapon of choice is the sword. Swords provide high damage output, but have a very short range. The Knight’s high defense and stunning ability make sword range much less problematic for Knight than it would be for a Warrior or Paladin. You may want to refer to the Sword Comparison guide for a more comprehensive comparison of all the practical swords available.
Tiered swords are very strong and consistent options on every sword class.
The Sword of Acclaim (Acclaim), Sword of Splendor (Splendor) and Sword of Majesty (Majesty) are the main weapons for the Knight, dealing the highest damage of all tiered weapons, at the cost of their 3.5 tile range. The Sword of Splendor and Sword of Majesty drop from endgame bosses (Void Entity and Oryx the Mad God 3), but Acclaim still deals great damage. Plus, Majesty is soulbound
, making it very difficult to obtain.
These swords require you to get even closer to the enemy, but deal even more damage.
The Demon Blade (DBlade) and Pixie-Enchanted Sword (Pixie) fire multiple shots; while each shot is weaker than tiered swords, they deal much higher damage, easily competing with T14 and other endgame swords. In exchange, they have a very small true range (2.25 or 1.87 tiles, respectively). Thankfully, the Knight’s stun helps you approach enemies… those that you can stun, anyway. Pixie deals more damage against 0 defense.
The Crystal Sword (CSword) and Ancient Stone Sword (A.S.S.) don’t have impressive damage outputs, but sport better range (4.5 and 4 tiles, respectively). They are great against dungeon bosses in certain phases, and can be used for mob control - the A.S.S. might also one-shot foes that take multiple swings otherwise. However, their lower overall DPS may be undesirable for the Knight, who is already (slightly) lacking in that department.
The Keychain Cutlass has a similar damage output to the T12 Acclaim, but with massive damage variance. What makes it unique is that the Keychain provides a +50 boost to MP, useful for supplementing the shield. While it is forgable and tradable, both the sword and its blueprint only drop from the event boss, The Keyper.
The Sword of the Colossus (Colo Sword) not only has a large 4.5 tile range, but clearly beats all non-point-blank swords in DPS. However, the shots curve out and in, hitting consistently only at the end of its range. This makes it very difficult to use with most shields, let alone actually hitting your target. However, the combination of DPS and safety are amazing for any sword class, even if other melees could see more use from it. It rarely drops from the Marble Colossus, a difficult endgame level boss.
Divinity, an endgame drop from Oryx the Mad God 3, is one of the few swords that can pierce multiple targets. It fires a series of Exalted Beams per second (which ignore the defense of targets) at the end of their range, dealing great damage. It beats out both the T14 Sword of Majesty and the Colo Sword when unbuffed, making it best for solo play. Even though the beams are unaffected by DEX and Berserk, this endgame sword still deals massive group damage in any situation, with its high versatility making it a great option for the knight.
The Knight’s ability, the Shield, creates wide shield bursts in the direction you aim, which deal damage and (typically) inflict 
Stunned. Shield projectiles pierce obstacles and enemies, but require being in melee range (Tiered shields have a range of 3.2 tiles). High tiered shields improve on equip-defense, damage, shots, and MP cost, but not the stun duration.
Once you use your shield, make sure you keep track of time. Each stun only lasts for 3 or 4 seconds depending on the shield you use. If you can’t land another stun before the last one expires, try to escape a half second before the stun expires. Even if you think you’ve missed the stun, you should back off, regardless. Better safe than sorry!
In addition to their defense, Shields are useful for either their burst damage or the actual stun. Many gods will fall to a single, high-tier shield bash. Meanwhile, enemies simply can’t attack while stunned, making many enemies a joke to kill afterwards. Not all enemies are vulnerable to stun; keep note of them and don’t get too close.
The Colossus Shield and the Shield of Orcish Regalia are the highest tiered shields. They give a high Defense boost (+12 / +14), and like other T6+ abilities, give HP and MP. They have a reasonable MP cost of 100, so you can use the shield almost three times without having to flee. This is all the time you and your group will need to do heavy damage to most bosses and events.
The Shield of Ogmur (Ogmur) is one of two sources of 
Armor Broken, which negates all their defense. Only two bosses are immune to this status; in every other situation, it is a massive increase in group defense. It also gives sublime defense stats (+60 HP, +14 DEF) and has has a fairly strong shield-bash. However, it is an exceptionally rare item, due to its status as a drop from an event boss (and lack of blueprint).
The Spiteful Scutum (Scutum) doesn’t cost much MP, offers an extra second of stun, a slightly longer range, and armor piercing. However, it requires precise aim: firing only 2 shots, with a long 1.5 second cooldown. It is a rare drop from Janus the Doorwarden. This shield is great when you want to prioritize stun time over burst damage, and if the user has good aim.
The Shield of Flowing Clarity (Clarity) provides the best passive DEF boost of all shields (+17). Instead of stunning, this shield inflicts 
Slowed on enemies for 4 seconds. There’s better slows that don’t require you to be in melee range available, but it is still extra utility when solo. Don’t overrate the DEF boost, either; tiered shields give more than enough. This shield is a rare drop from the Fountain Spirit and also lacks a blueprint, so it may not be worth to grind for.
The Champion’s Bastion (Bastion) has the highest burst damage of any shield in the game. However, its stun duration is much shorter, at 1.5 seconds. It also boosts the user’s DEF by 15 for 2.5 seconds, which pairs nicely with the entire ST set, but is gimmicky with regular equipment. Due to its very short stun duration, it is very costly or even impossible to chainstun with this shield, but it is more feasible to sustain the DEF boost. This shield is rarely dropped by Oryx the Mad God 2, and is best used for dealing damage if one does not have a better shield.
The Brutal Buckler (Buckler) shield can do insane damage, gives +4 ATT, and has a slightly longer range. The Full Strength proc adds extreme damage, though with a true range of 0. Despite this, it only reaches Full Strength at 80%+ HP, and doesn’t stun at all. Use this when another Knight is stunning, or stun is otherwise irrelevant. As an Agents of Oryx item, it is difficult to acquire outside of events; you must trade in 30 Shards of the Intern to The Tinkerer.
Oryx’s Escutcheon (Escutcheon) is the shield for endgame DPS. It sends out a series of 3 consecutive exalted beams, dealing a great amount of AOE damage that pierces enemy defense. They still stun; while for a shorter length then most other shields (2s per beam), the delay for each beam makes it an effective 3.2s stun if all 3 beams hit. It is a very strong alternative to the Brutal Buckler, but is a drop from Oryx the Mad God 3, a very difficult endgame boss.
The Crystal Shield (CShield) grants 
Armored at the high cost of 40 MP/second and lowered speed. When you are hit while armored, you will heal a small amount and retaliate back.
Knight is one of five classes to wear heavy armor, further boosting his already high DEF. This allows Knight to shrug off damage from most swarm attacks, and proceed to deal with a boss. Many UT options let you forego ‘overkill’ defense for various practical perks, such as more DPS or MP.
The Acropolis Armor and Dominion Armor are the best tradable tiered heavy armors. They provide Knight with a substantial boost to his DEF stat, though without any additional bonus or penalty. The Annihilation Armor is a small upgrade, providing +28 DEF, but is soulbound and can only be acquired by fighting in The Shatters or Oryx Sanctuary.
The Resurrected Warrior’s Armor (Resu) gives a low 17 Defense coupled with a massive 150 MP and 20 WIS. The Knight’s abilities are incredibly important, and the guarantee of multiple extra stuns (considering pet MHeal and faster regeneration) are lucrative prospects. Taking more than 40 damage will lower your WIS, though it’s still higher than without the armor. It drops from the Haunted Cemetery.
The Breastplate of New Life is a rare but useful heavy armor that provides a massive +160 HP bonus, at the cost of defense. Knight’s already high DEF cap makes him arguably the best class to use this armor, able to stay Out of Combat more. It is most useful in other endgame content, where shots deal massive damage (which DEF has little impact in reducing). However, this is a rare drop from an endgame-level boss, the Marble Colossus, so be sure to not lose it.
The Royal Guard’s Cuirass is a more unique defensive armor. Its defenses are quite spread out; +60 HP, +10 VIT, and a decent +20 DEF. What makes the Cuirass unique is its proc; you will go Invulnerable for two seconds if you shoot while in combat. This is incredibly useful in silencing phases where items such as CShield may fail. It is a rare drop from various enemies within The Shatters.
Mercy’s Bane and Gladiator Guard (GladGuard) are armors focusing on pure DPS. Mercy’s Bane provides +7 to both ATK and DEX, unmatched by any heavy armor. It has a measly defense of +10, though the ST set as a whole serves to mitigate that. GladGuard gives a “modest” +5 to both stats, but has much more defense along with an additional +7 speed buff (knights are slow!), making it better in most practical situations. Mercy’s Bane drops from Oryx the Mad God 2, while GGuard drops from Oryx the Mad God 3 (which is much harder than O2).
Knight is a class that has a high amount of defense, but he lacks statistically in his offensive stats compared to other classes. You should wear a ring that either boosts your offensive capabilities or your health capacity. Alternatively, rings that boost MP can help with ability usage.
The tiered health rings are the best rings to maximize survivability, especiallly as a Knight. The Ring of Exalted Health (ExaHP) and Ring of Unbound Health (UBHP) will boost your HP by 140 and 180, respectively. If you happen to have a Ring of Decades (Deca), then you gain +190 HP. A Deca with New Life and Ogmur will give you 1180 HP, which is certianly no slouch! However, tiered defense rings should not even be considered for the Knight, as he already has high DEF and any more would be detrimental as he could gain other useful stats.
The Knight is, along with the Priest, one of the best users of MP boosting rings.
Both the Bracer of the Guardian (Bracer) and the Sourcestone provide HP and MP buffs. This gives the Knight some extra survivability, but more importantly, much more room to stun. The Bracer gives +90 HP and +80 MP, in addition to some attack and a large defense boost. The Sourcestone gives +110 to both stats, and +6 SPD to help with dodging.
These rings are dramatically cheaper than the above rings - from non-endgame sources, and are even tradable.
The Experimental Ring (Expo) is a cyan bag UT which gives +50 to both stats, along with DEF and VIT. The Ring of the Nile gives +60 HP/MP and a small DEX boost, though it gives speed instead of defense. Esben’s Wedding Ring’s most noticable stat is the massive +10 ATT boost, which comes with +60 HP and MP. In exchange, you lose 5 DEF, which the Knight can often afford to lose.
The E.Y.E outclasses both the Ring of the Nile as an HP/MP ring and Expo’s stats entirely, providing +70 to both HP and MP - though that is not its main purpose. Instead, it fires an attack for every shot you take, with no cooldown, even if you took no damage from it. This fact makes the E.Y.E incredibly potent with the Crystal Shield. It drops from a Court of Oryx dungeon, High Tech Terror.
The Forgotten Crown and the Magical Lodestone are great rings for boosting general DPS stats - both rings provides +6 to ATK and DEX alike. The Forgotten Crown boosts HP by 110, which is more useful on the high DEF knight than the Lodestone’s 6 DEF (although the latter’s speed helps a little). While the Chrysalis of Eternity is a direct upgrade to The Forgotten Crown, it still lacks the Magical Lodestone’s SPD and DEF boosts, along with being much harder to obtain than either accessory.
The Twilight Gemstone has historically been a weak ring, but now posesses one of the best utility for ability users - least of which the Knight. In addition to the Sourcestone’s +110MP, the Gemstone gives +5 Wis and discounts 30% MP on ability uses (notably, it doesn’t work for CShield).
While this is largely overkill for stunning, combining this with shields like the Oryx’s Escutcheon deals incredible damage; just a few bursts is enough to overtake even the Chrysalis of Eternity. In exchange, it sacrifices survivability, providing 8 DEF & 5 SPD instead of the Sourcestone’s 110 HP & 6 SPD.
The Chancellor’s Cranium is a popular choice for Knight. Its moderate +6 DEF and +120 HP is on par with most tiered rings. However, its true synergy with Knight comes whenever he takes at least 50 damage; it creates a short range, highly damaging head (with a cooldown this time). Being a close range class, the Knight will naturally tank a lot of shots, and the ring gives the durability to trigger the proc often.
Knight’s high DEF makes him stand out by being able to take high-damage shots more safely. His high VIT and HP capacities maximize his chances of taking even less damage indirectly. In addition, the Knight’s equipment affords him maximum survivability. For these reasons, the Knight is thought as the most resilient class. They should be at the front lines of the battlefield to take the heavy damage first in order to disable enemies. With the addition of Vital Combat, the extreme DEF and VIT help keep Knight Out of Combat in many more situations, regenerating quickly even in the heat of battle.
The Knight’s primary weakness is his short attack range, though his ability to stun enemies makes range less of an issue than the other melee classes. The other issue is damage: while Swords deal good damage, the Knight has the worst damaging stats in the game (50 ATT/50 DEX, worse than even the Priest). Finally, the Knight doesn’t give much group utility if things are stun immune; you would rather have a Warrior or Paladin for their damage and group buff.
A fresh Knight has identical average stats to a fresh Warrior; the amazing 40 DEF cap doesn’t come until you drink 40 defense potions. Knights can function well below that, and the stun defintely makes things easier. But longer ranged classes like Archer and Necromancer might fare better at farming stat potions, at least unmaxed. So, like Warrior, a Knight should only be used to farm stat potions if the user is skilled and comfortable with the attack range.
It’s worth noting that with the Oryx’s Escutcheon (Escutcheon) especially, endgame Knights can compete with other classes (even Warrior!) in damage and practical performance, maintaining the defenses of a Knight in the process.
Knights are most useful to the group for their stun. A large portion of event bosses (and a fair chunk of dungeons, including Oryx 1 and 2) are vulnerable to this status. Stun makes it that much safer for the group to approach in and deal damage. Even if a boss is immune, their minions might not be - for example, Knights are helpful in the Marble Colossus fight as they can disable the Marble Pillars.
Knights can tank many more shots than frailer classes, such as Wizards or Huntresses. Ironically, this makes maxed Knights decent at rushing through Godlands and its dungeons (despite their speed).
In endgame content, almost every enemy will be immune to stun. With endgame gear, Knights become a fairly powerful DPS class, due to the raw strength of the Oryx’s Escutcheon. When combined with The Twilight Gemstone, they can even outdamage the Warrior.
The Knight is a simple and straightforward character to use, who has plenty of defense to back himself up, and can deal truckloads of damage at a safe position after using his shield. For players who want a bulky character who leads the offensive, the Knight is a perfect choice for you.
