Introduction
The Withered Knight is a Mistfall Hunter class with one of the most versatile playstyles available. They can wield a Greatsword to heavily focus on damage or the Polearm and Shield to focus more on defence.
Due to the extreme focus on damage of the Greatsword playstyle, and the false absence of mobility of the Polearm and Shield, many Withered Knight users have a hard time closing distances and simply becoming pincushions for ranged attacks. The Withered Knight is arguably the most complicated class in Mistfall Hunter
This guide breaks down the basic Withered Knight playstyles available and the skills and talents that make them effective, helping you find the build that best fits how you want to fight.
Skill List and Talent Priority
Skills are active abilities tied to the player's equipped weapon. You can equip at least two weapon skills for both your Greatsword & Polearm and Shield, allowing you to bring three weapon skills into battle. With a point in one of the Talents, you can unlock a third skill slot on one of the weapons, giving you four total weapon skills available.
Talents are passive upgrades that enhance the Withered Knight's skills and combat abilities. Levelling up gives you more Talent points to provide you with both passive and active perks that buff your skills or character base stats.
Talents are divided into branching talent paths and independent talent groups. Branching paths require unlocking talents in sequence and eventually force you to choose between mutually exclusive upgrades, while independent talent groups let you freely invest Talent Points without prerequisites.
Skill List
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Light Strike | Press Left Mouse button to commit a quick sword swing. When hitting a three-hit combo, charge weapon with Judgment energy each hit. When fully charged, apply Wither on enemy with the next Light Strike. |
| Heavy Strike | Press Right Mouse button to turn and charge forward with a heavy upward swing. Can be charged to swing twice while dashing further forward. Can trigger Wither on enemies with Wither mark. |
| Opportunistic Thrust | Dodge then use Light Strike. |
| Sprinting Slash | Dodge then use Heavy Stike. |
| Pursuit | Use Heavy Strike once then Light Strike. |
| Radiant Retribution | Three quick slashes with a forward momentum which counts as Light Strikes that charges your weapon. Attacks also marks the target with Wither when the skill is performed with a fully charged Greatsword. The final strike has a brief Super Armor effect. |
| Breakthrough Charge | Thrusts the sword forward and allows an optional follow-up attack by pressing either the left mouse button or right mouse button. Clicking the left mouse button performs a follow-up wide left swing attack while clicking the right mouse button performs the same to the right side instead. |
| Withering Mark | Performs a slash that propels an energy swing forward to the enemy. Enemies hit by the energy slash are marked with Wither |
| Parry | Block frontal attacks for up to 5 seconds and regain Energy with each successful parry. Can also perform a counterattack after blocking a hit by pressing either left mouse button or right mouse button. Just like the Breakthrough Charge, you can choose the direction of the follow-up dashing sweep attack according to the mouse button direction. The follow-up attack applies Wither. Parry has a shorter base cooldown in trio mode. |
| Thorn Guide | Extend vines of thorns that pull the first enemy hit toward you. Enemies too large or in special states will instead pull you towards them. |
Knight Talents
These are talents that apply to both Greatsword and Polearm and Shield users.
| Talent | Effect |
|---|---|
| Greatsword Specialization | Unlocks a third Greatsword skill slot when using a Greatsword. |
| Endless Flow | Lower Skill Cooldown. |
| Polearm and Shield Specialization | Unlocks a third Polearm and Shield skill slot when using the Polearm and Shield. |
Greatsword Talents
Talents that specifically affect Greatsword users.
| Progression | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime | Wither marks last longer and triggering it no longer consumes it. However, damage dealt is reduced. | Reprieve | Triggering a Wither mark no longer instantly consumes it and deal damage. It instead deals increased damage, gets consumed, and causes an explosion that hurts nearby enemies after a brief delay. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ||
| Bad Karma | Wither marks apply movement speed reduction, increased vulnerability, and damage over time to enemies. Once the Wither mark is gone on an enemy, the debuffs also disappear. | Collective Punishment | Enemies hit by the explosion after the Wither gets triggered are applied Wither. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ||
| Legacy | Defeating enemies affected by Wither using a Greatsword gives you health. Amount of debuffs applied on the enemy marked with Wither increase the recovered health. | Auto Execution | Wither applied by a Greatsword can now trigger on its own after some time. However, Wither cannot be placed on the same enemy for a duration and the explosion from the automatic execution does not apply Wither to nearby enemies hit. |
Polearm and Shield Talents
Talents that specifically affect Polearm and Shield users.
| Progression | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Morale | Increase charge level of Charge Dash by 1 after successfully casting a Polearm and Shield skill. | ||
| ↓ | |||
| Momentum Shift | Can dodge twice while rasising shield durign a Charged Dash. Each dodge increases Charged Dash charge level by 1. | Counter-Impact | Enhance shield bash of next Charged Dash after using a Polearm and Shield skill. Enemies first hit by the shield bash causes an explosion that hurts nearby enemies. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ||
| Shield Wall Slam | Dashing forward using a Charged Dash grants Super Armor, and increased dash distance. Enemies hit are also damaged, while those marked with Wither have their marks triggered. | Brute Force | Explosion from Counter-Impact's shield bash deals better knockback and applies Slow to enemies hit. |
Recommended Greatsword Builds
The Greatsword offers more offensive options with a straightforward playstyle. The Withered Knight already has great damage with the Wither effect, so it only makes sense to double down on it by focusing on staying on top of your enemy and providing many opportunities to apply and execute Wither.
We recommend equipping the Greatsword Specialization talent and these three skills:
• Breakthrough Charge
• Radiant Retribution
• Withering Mark or Thorn Guide
Breakthrough Charge allows you to close significant distance between you and the enemy, while Radiant Retribution allows for a solid follow-up to it with its 3-slash attack. Do it correctly, and you can instantly pressure enemies and even one-shot squishy opponents.
Choosing between Withering Mark or Thorn Guide is up to you, as both offer different offensive opportunities. Withering Mark allows you to cast a long-range attack and apply Wither, while Thorn Guide lets you grab opponents close to you or the other way around. In Trio Mode, we recommend Thorn Guide as it can separate one enemy player from the group and give your team a chance to instantly down or heavily hurt an opponent.
| Recommended Weapon Skills | Reason for Choosing |
|---|---|
| Breakthrough Charge | Great for closing the gap between you and your opponent by dashing forward. |
| Righteous Creed | Increase damage when triggering a Wither mark. |
| Withering Mark | Long-range attack and good for interrupting casting and healing. |
| Thorn Guide | Great for closing the gap between you and your opponent by dragging them close to you or yourself to them. |
| Recommended Talents | Reason for Choosing |
|---|---|
| Greatsword Specialization | Grants third weapon skill slot. |
| Radiant Retribution | Solid three-hit attack with decent damage. |
| Long Range, and Whiplash | Allows more distance covered when casting Radiant Retribution, and increases damage potential when triggering Wither with the skill. |
| Dominance | Super Armor is great so you do not get interrupted when attacking. |
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| • Deals tons of damage. • Lots of options to close the distance. • Straightforward and easy to learn. • Great at dealing damage and defeating regular mobs, Elite mobs, and bosses. | • Fairly squishy and vulnerable to attacks; especially those with staggers, knockbacks, or knock downs. • Easily countered by enemies that have Super Armor and shields, or can block. • Can easily mess up combo and positioning due to skills that have mobility. • Susceptible to energy exhaustion if Weapon Skills and Heavy Attacks are mindlessly used. • Little to no defensive options aside from dodging. |
Recommended Polearm and Shield Builds
The Polearm and Shield is an effective weapon for pressing forward, or hunkering down. Whichever action you choose, you will almost always have options to defend yourself against an enemy. The Polearm and Shield is also much more balanced than the Greatsword, and is deceptively mobile due to the mechanics of the block and charged dash.
For the Pressure Tank build, we recommend the skills Javelin Thrust, Spear Barrage, and Breaker Shield Bash. These three skills allow you to chase enemies down, deal tons of damage, apply slow, and interrupt them which makes it very suffocating for enemies who are not used to repositioning quickly far from or behind you with their dashes.
The Javelin Thurst lets you close in on enemies hit by the thrown polearm; it also has a good follow-up attack that can charge Judgment and a stun if you pick the right talent to go along with it. Hitting an enemy with this skill also instantly applies a Wither mark which is very convenient. Spear Barrage is an extremely powerful skill where you stab enemies in front of you multiple times; this skill allows you to burst enemies with the right affixes like Strife, Valor, or Fervor that increase your physical damage.
Breaker Shield Bash is another skill that, while not outright an offensive skill, is great to set up the rest of you offensive options by slowing and staggering your enemies. The effective range of the skill is fairly wide, and you can even extend its range with the right talent.
| Recommended Weapon Skills | Reason for Choosing |
|---|---|
| Javelin Thurst | Great for closing the gap between you and your opponent, but it has to hit. Applies Wither Mark |
| Spear Barrage | Stationary skill but deals a lot of damage. |
| Breaker Shield Bash | Blocks frontal attacks, interrupts and staggers enemies, also applies slow. |
| Recommended Talents | Reason for Choosing |
|---|---|
| Shield Wall Slam | Important to all Polearm and Shield builds for more dashes to escape, charge in, or reposition while also building up Charged Dashes. |
| Javelin Stun | Allows a stun on the follow-up attack of the Javelin Thrust. |
| Off-Balance | Applies slow to enemies hit by Breaker Shield Bash. |
| Buildup | Maximizes damage dealt and utility of Spear Barrage by increasing Charged Dash level per thrust. |
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| • Not a lot of weaknesses. • Lots of options to close the distance. • Lots of options to block attacks. • Lots of options to slow down, stagger, stun, and debuff enemies. | • Relies heavily on use of Charged Dashes. • Can easily exhaust energy due to blocking, dashing, and use of skills. • Relies on hitting Javelin Thrust to set up most attacks. |
Recommended Equipment Affixes
Depending on your general playstyle and the weapon of your choosing, there are a variety of Affixes viable.
If you are prioritizing damage either as a Greatsword or Polearm and Shield user, choose:
- Valor
- Fervor
- Burst
Valor and Fervor allow you to get more damage for any and every attack, while Burst increases Wither trigger's damage. Valor and Fervor are more consistent, so we recommend them the most, and Burst can be inefficient if you can't consistently trigger their Wither mark.
If you are primarily using Polearm and Shield and want to focus on defense, choose:
- Focused
- Bulwark
- Aegis or Stoic
Focused lets you charge your Charged Dash faster while increasing movement speed while charging it. Bulwark strengthens your block, making you more durable against attacks.
Aegis and Stoic makes you more durable regardless of what build you go so it is perfect, but Aegis is more consistent by providing raw Defense stat while Stoic grants percent resistances that take effect only when your health is below 50% so it can be less reliable and consistent.
In Trio Mode, we recommend taking:
- Brotherhood
Regardless of what playstyle you choose. This grants the Withered Knight extra durability either as a damage dealer or tank which it needs, and assist allies regardless of what they do.
Advanced Playstyle
In much higher levels of play, you may notice that Withered Knight players will switch between weapons to utilize at most 4 weapon skills. For Greatsword users, they will most often switch to the Polearm and Shield to use the Javelin Thrust as another gap-closing skill. For Polearm and Shield users, they will switch to the Greatsword and use Thorn Guide to grab enemies or pull themselves away from enemies.
The Withered Knight is arguably the most complicated class in the game with the difference between the two weapons' playstyle, the skills being less straightforwardly oppressive, and lack of mobility. While classes such as Seer and *Mercenary can consistently cast Super Armor on themselves, the Withered Knight does not have the same opportunities and will almost always get interrupted, especially with its long wind-ups in its attacks.
Which Build Should You Choose?
| Build | Best For | Difficulty | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass Cannon | Players who want consistent melee damage. Is very weak against Assassins. | High | Engage and Pressure |
| Balanced | Players who enjoy mind games and a slower pace. | High | Counterattacks |
| Pressure Tank | Players who prefer deliberate, high-damage charged attacks. | High | Engage and Pressure |
| Support Tank | Players who want to protect teammates and care less about dealing damage. | Easy | Crowd Control and Shields |
Solo Player Tips
Withered Knights are strong but extremely slow in movement and attacks. They are susceptible to getting interrupted by attacks in the middle of their swing, and worse, have their slow attacks eventually bounce back due to a block or Super Armor. The slow attacks also make their moves more telegraphed, so timing, patience, and feints are more important with the Withered Knight than any other class.
Doing mobs is very easy except for the Elite Executioner, the slow attacks and the Mistboss Flesh Eater. The slow attacks make it hard to react to their moves, even if the enemy moves are also slow. For all other mobs and monsters, they should be relatively easy as the Withered Knight can easily break them with the Wither marks that they place and trigger.
With a certain talent, you can also recover health from enemies whose Wither mark are triggered and defeated. This makes clearing small mobs relatively worth doing, if you want to save your healing items.
In PvP, Shadowstrix and Sorcerer users are best avoided. Shadowstrix players can easily overwhelm the Withered Knight with their constant pressure, interrupting attacks midswing or simply backing off very easily. Sorcerer players can be easily dealt with if they do not know what they are doing, but the crowd control spells make it hard for a Withered Knight to get close to the Sorcerer. Even if the Withered Knight does get close to the Sorcerer, the Sorcerer's dodge is one of the best dodges in game due to its nature of phasing through enemies or obstacles very easily. The Withered Knight, on the other hand, will have a hard time closing the distance from the get-go.
Blackarrow players can also be a problem since they have up to six dashes (including dodges) and mini-knockbacks from their attacks. While the Withered Knight can block most physical attacks, it cannot block one of the Blackarrow's skills which is a powerful shot of arrow.
As for all the other classes, the Withered Knight has a fighting chance and can overwhelm them much easier. If you are going for a Greatsword build, you are mostly on the offensive and will only play a bit more defensively if you are playing the Balanced class. When using the Polearm and Shield, you can always wait out your opponents then use Charged Dashes to engage the opponent. Pressure is the main key, and you are expecting your opponent to eventually make a mistake and run out of energy. What the Polearm and Shield makes up for its lack of instant gap-closing skills, is its more defensively built skillset and talents that can be suited for both greedy or passive playstyles.
Trio Player Tips
In Trio mode, we recommend using any of the Polearm and Shield builds as it can be more consistent in increasing of you and your team's survival. While you are losing some damage, you can make up for it by protecting your teammates or holding back enemies from moving or attacking.
If you choose to use a Greatsword build, be prepared to work around an enemy party's frontline and staying consistently engaged on the enemy backline to keep them distracted and hopefully burst them down. If you fail in chasing down the enemy backline (mostly Sorcerers and Backarrow), you may be susceptible to getting ganged up on by 3 opponents at once if the enemy frontline players decide to turn their backs and help their teammate out.
Once caught, it is much harder to get away with a Greatsword using Withered Knight, as their mobility skills cannot block and have some casting time before they activate. This gives enemies time to hit or interrupt them before they can get away.
A Withered Knight's main "team-oriented" skill as a Greatsword user is the Thorn Guide, which is used to separate an enemy from their team by dragging them towards them. However, grabbing enemies with Super Armor will pull the Withered Knight towards that enemy instead, so choosing the right enemy and the right timing is important.
Best Class Synergies
The Withered Knight can fit all types of play but can never be the main damage dealer in most scenarios at high level of play despite having high amounts of damage. Instead, they are great at following up on allies' attacks and disrupting enemy team coordination with a "Greatsword" build, or a tank and buff-giver with a "Polearm and Shield" build.
This make it seem like there is no true best class to synergize with the Withered Knight, but that is only if we look at it from what the Withered Knight can do. If we look at what it cannot do, then it is obvious that a Withered Knight needs teammates that can hold down enemies so it can attack consistently, as well as attack quicker than the Withered Knight does or else they will both get kited.
The best synergy with the Withered Knight are definitely the Sorcerer and Seer. A Mercenary can also work as a fellow "frontline", but only if the two players can coordinate their engage timings. Another Withered Knight can also be good, if both can hit the Thorn Guide attacks, or if both play different roles so they can make up for each other's weaknesses.
Related Guides
Guides By Category
| Guides By Category | |
|---|---|
 Latest News and Update |  Classes |
 Weapons |  Weapon Skills |
 Ciphers |  Bosses |
Guide to Classes
| Guide to Classes | |
|---|---|
| How to Change Classes | |
| Recommended Class | |
| Best Class for Beginners | Best Classes for Solo Players |
| Best Classes for Multiplayer | |
| Best Builds | |
| Mercenary Best Build | Sorcerer Best Build |
| Blackarrow Best Build | Shadowstrix Best Build |
| Seer Best Build | Withered Knight Best Build |
Beginner Guides
| Guides to Get You Started | |
|---|---|
| Game Overview | Is there a Demo? |
| Beginner Tips & Tricks | |
