The Man-at-Arms is one of the playable classes that you was added to update named «Fiends and Frenzy». It’s tough and wise veteran who had seen hundreds of battles. You can hire this hero via the Stage Coach as well as all other adventurers. He is a nice choice for frontline as he can protect allies and damage foes. Here we will cover all fronts of the Man-at-Arms including his abilities, strategy builds and tips on empowering.
An overview of the Man-at-Arms
This class is the best variant for tank role. He has a great amount of HP and good DODGE. He also can guard teammates and receive a huge bonus to PROT at once. And this is the second class after the Houndmaster who can protect allies. Furthermore, this adventurer can combine his skills to guard other heroes and counterattack all enemies during one turn! Finally, the Man-at-Arms has supporting abilities to buff party and debuff monsters.
He has both pros and cons. The Man-at-Arms pays for his defense with lowered DMG and SPD as well as poor resistance. His cool skill that allows counterattacking foes also marks the Man-at-Arms itself. It could raise stress and even lead to death so use it wisely. Also, this class cannot heal himself at all and needs healers or supporters to survive. The Man-at-Arms will devastate fiends in a correct build that we will describe later.
List of combat skills
Abilities for a battle we traditionally divide into «attacking», «supporting» and «healing» categories. But the Man-at-Arms has no heals so here you will find only 2 categories:
- Crush (attacking). It’s main attacking ability which only deals damage. Amount of it is relatively small, but the point is Crush can reach enemies up to the third slot. The Man-at-Arms can cast it from first two front slots.
- Rampart (attacking). This ability stuns a single target and pushes it one slot back. So you can ruin two turns for a single foe. The Man-at-Arms also moves one slot forward which protects him from surprises. This skill can be cast from the first, second or third slot.
- Bellow (supporting). The described hero can cast supporting skills as well as attacking skills. Bellow reduces DODGE and SPD of all enemies and allows your party to attack first. However, you still have to suffer some damage as the Man-at-Arms has low SPD.
- Defender (supporting). We love this class for it. Defender allows the Man-at-Arms to guard his teammate. Means he will take all damage from attacks on a protected hero. It also inflicts a buff to PROT of a defender. Highly suggested combining with next skill.
- Retribution (supporting). With this ability, the Man-at-Arms becomes marked and will take more damage. But all attacks of enemies will be counterattacked, because it inflicts Riposte. Combine with Defender to counter even more attacks per turn.
- Command (supporting). Skill can be cast from anywhere and affects all party. It increases ACC of your teammates. It’s one of the least important abilities of the Man-at-Arms, but you can unlock it by supporting tactic.
- Bolster (supporting). Here we have more interesting than Command ability. It also can be cast from anywhere and affects all mates. Bolster increases DODGE and SPD of heroes whereby they can attack before enemies do.
List of camping skills
Here we provide only unique for the Man-at-Arms abilities:
- Maintain Equipment (4-time points). Increases PROT and DMG for moderate amounts. The effect lasts for next 4 battles. This skill affects only the Man-at-Arms.
- Tactics (4-time points). This ability increases DODGE and CRIT for all party. The effect also will disappear in 4 battles.
- Instruction (3-time points). Increases DODGE and SPD for 4 battles. A single-target skill can be cast on self or on other hero.
- Weapon training (4-time points). Increases DMG for sure and CRIT with 75% chance. Affects all adventurers and remains for 4 battles as well.
Tactic and strategy
As you understand, the Man-at-Arms is a good tank and supporter. He can use his skills mainly from the first and second slot. Some abilities can be cast from the third slot or from all positions as well. Place this hero on the front line to absorb incoming damage. Use his Defender skill to protect the most valuable member of your team. Cast both Defender and Retribution to counterattack several foes during one turn.
We offer 2 main strategies for upgrading and using the Man-at-Arms:
- «Tanking at the frontline».
For this strategy, you should use next skills: Crush, Rampart, Defender, and Retribution. It’s a classical scheme where the Man-at-Arms plays his tank role. This hero can use Crush and Rampart to damage and control foes as well as he can cast Defender and Retribution to protect mates. A combo of last two skills allows you to overcome long fights and battles with bosses.
This strategy is good when there are powerful supports in your team. Take the Vestal, the Occultist or the Jester. They can buff and heal the Man-at-Arms and they also can be protected by Defender/Retribution combo.
- «Supporting at the backline».
For this strategy, you should keep Defender and Retribution abilities, but also use Bellow and Bolster instead of attacking skills. Here we will place the Man-at-Arms at the third or fourth slot where he will turn into a support. Use utility skills to debuff enemies and attack before they can damage you.
It works with good attackers and tanks. Take the Crusader, the Hellion or the Highwayman and place them on the frontline. The Man-at-Arms will buff entire team and defend the least protected allies while they will destroy opponents.
Despite you can use only 4 abilities during one mission we suggest unlocking all of them. So you can make both versions of the Man-at-Arms choosing a particular one for each expedition. You can learn skills for battle via the Guild and skills for camp via the Survivalist.
How to strengthen the Man-at-Arms
To unleash the power of this class we recommend equipping trinkets and building Districts.
The Man-at-Arms has 7 artifacts and unique set of trinkets that was added in the DLC. The first three trinkets are eyepatches and others are shields. Try to find or buy Guardian’s Shield if you want to use this hero as a support. Guardian’s Shield has a very rare class and provides bonuses to PROT, DODGE and received healing in the fourth slot. As a tank, the Man-at-Arms can be equipped with Longevity Eyepatch which increases MAX HP. A trinket set gives bonuses to DMG and ACC while counterattacking. It’s very valuable buff.
Districts were introduced in the Crimson Court DLC. You can build additional objects in the Hamlet to receive even more bonuses. The Training Ring District provides buffs with ACC and MAX HP for the Arbalest, the Houndmaster, the Man-at-Arms, and the Shieldbreaker. It costs 5000 gold, 300 crests and 1 blueprint.
Hire the Man-at-Arms and he will help you to demolish enemies!
