35 replies to this topic

[-PenguinFetish-]

Video Link


Abilities:

- Charging Bull (Charge into enemies, 10% guard per enemy hit, 150% weapon damage, 8s cooldown, 5 stamina cost per second. Upgrade enables next ability to cost no stamina up to 6s after charge)

- Mighty Blow (200% weapon damage. 200% extra damage to knocked down enemies. 16s cooldown, 50 stamina cost. Upgrade costs 15 less stamina and deals 300% more damage to knocked down targets)

- War Horn (8m AoE, 6s Fear duration, 24s cooldown, 35 stamina cost. Upgrade deals 1200% to guard and reduces armor by 20%)

- To The Death (taunt a single enemy. 15m range. Target deals and receives 5% more damage per second this is active. Cooldown is activated when target goes out of your range. 32s cooldown. 35 stamina cost. Upgrade generates 25% guard per hit on enemy)

Mandatory Passives

- Bear Mauls the Wolves (Cannot be flanked by enemies and less likely to be staggered from the front)

- Fervor (30% damage increase for 5s when an enemy dies 10m from you)

- Grisly Mutilation (Killing an enemy has a 20% chance to panic enemies in a 10m radius. Basically a free war horn.)

- Scenting Blood (Move 50% faster and have a 10% chance to crit enemies with 35% or less health in a 10m range of you.)

Unlock Order

Unlock upgraded Mighty Blow and upgrade Charging Bull (level 5). Get Bear Mauls the Wolves then go for Upgraded 'To the Death' (level 11). Get War Horn and then Grisly Mutilation (level 14). Finally, get Scenting Blood (level 18). Drop the last two points in whatever you choose. I recommend Blood Frenzy and Coup de Grace.


Strategy

I have chosen some clips which aren't actually cherry picked to make me look good. I have deliberately picked clips which have forced me to play defensively and tactically rather than just massacring everything. I also chose not to include any clips where I have a barrier active. I mess up in a lot of these clips and i feel this really exposes what I personally feel is wrong with the Katari. Its slow, its way too glassy and it just feels like its not the tank it looks like it should be. It really needs babysitting in the form of a barrier to be optimal. This barrier enables you to actually start smashing things in the face with no care for the one archer behind you, or the rogue thats just sneaked up behind you.

My strategy is to charge in and knock over as many enemies as possible. I immediately use Mighty Blow to instantly kill a knocked down target and roll the chance to cast war horn for free (Grisly mutilation). Then I generally review my situation. If I am surrounded by Archers, I cast War Horn to panic them. By this time, Charging Bull will be off cooldown and I can knock them down. If you see Full Draw being used on you, **** yourself, then try and break LoS or use Mighty Blow or Charging Bull to make the Full Draw archer a priority target. If you have an enemy that can take a fair number of hits before dying(Templar Horror/Knight/Behemoth, Venatori Brute/Stalker/Mage, Fear/Despair/Pride demons) then cast To The Death on them. Hitting them generates 25% guard per hit, meaning you can tank single enemies a bit better. You still won't be as tanky as a Legionaire or Templar, but you can hold your own pretty well. To The Death is great for bosses. Just make sure you have the aggro, or your team will hate you and they will go down pretty fast.

Lastly, id like to just state that this class really doesn't fill any niche well at all. Its easily tied at the bottom with the Alchemist for the weakest class in the game. The Reaver puts out tons more DPS and the other two warriors are significantly better tanks. If you choose this class, do it to have fun, not to be effective. And try and make sure there is someone who can Barrier you, because that helps a lot.

**Please feel free to check out my other character guides:**

[Necromancer](http://www.reddit.co...ueen_or_how_to/)

[Arcane Warrior](http://www.reddit.co...wler_or_how_to/)

[Reaver](http://www.reddit.co...rior_or_how_to/)

[Assassin](http://www.reddit.co...ow_to_assassin/)

[Archer](http://www.reddit.co..._how_to_archer/)

[Legionnaire](http://www.reddit.co...naut_or_how_to/)

[Alchemist](http://www.reddit.co...w_to_alchemist/)

[Elementalist](http://www.reddit.co...fire_or_how_to/)

[xROLLxTIDEx]

After watching your video, i have 2 questions.

1 - what difficulty?
2 - Do you feel like you have trouble with the Katari and surviving because you are taking too much damage and the enemies around you are not dying fast enough?

[-PenguinFetish-]

After watching your video, i have 2 questions.

1 - what difficulty?
2 - Do you feel like you have trouble with the Katari and surviving because you are taking too much damage and the enemies around you are not dying fast enough?

 

1) Threatening, as is with all my guides. I have tried this build on perilous and passed, though I do not recommend it and playing without a barrier is near impossible. 

 

2) Definitely. I feel like he is just too glassy and doesn't put nearly enough damage. I mean a rogue can kill me in 0,5 seconds with full health and 90% guard. Thats ridiculous to me. 

 

This actually made me notice that the 10 second clip I just described failed to render annoyingly. Ive added an annotation which links to said clip. You can find it here.

[diagorias]

To the death, interesting choice. I always feel Katari to be a bit chancy, sometimes it goes pretty damn well and you can hit every enemy with your charging bull, the other time they all jump just out of your run and you are screwed. The charging bull part is really enjoyable, after it a bit less, because of the clunkiness and slow attacks, like you mentioned.

 

Do you see the templar as the other tank, aside from the legionaire? Because I am finding tanking with the templar always a mess, considering the lack of taunts and movement.

[xcenic]

i dont know, 2h melee in this game lack some mojo, DAO and DA2 2h melee was amazing, in the time you swing you big epeen to kill one trash i have killed 5 with my  alchemist.

 

Bioware really give a step back with this melee system. 

[xROLLxTIDEx]

Penguin, I do not intend this to be rude, so please do not take this that way, but i watched you charge into situations and struggle in your video. I also know that in those same situations, i charge in and walk out with 5-7 kill streaks taking minimal damage.

Im buying my gf a laptop for Christmas. When that gets here i'll be able to show you. Give me 2 weeks.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Penguin, I do not intend this to be rude, so please do not take this that way, but i watched you charge into situations and struggle in your video. I also know that in those same situations, i charge in and walk out with 5-7 kill streaks taking minimal damage.

Im buying my gf a laptop for Christmas. When that gets here i'll be able to show you. Give me 2 weeks.

I mentioned in the OP that i deliberately chose clips which most accurately showcase what i find happens in typical katari gameplay. I admited that these are not the best possible clips. Far from it. These arent cherry picked by any means. I could have quite easily shown the clips i got where i got 5+ killstreaks where enemies bunched up for easy pickings, but i dont think this would have accurately showcased the katari. I also deliberately excluded any clips whereby i had a barrier active, or skills like pull of the abyss. Again, this skews the displayed effectiveness of the katari.

If you can reliably get 5+ killstreaks per enemy cluster, more power to you, you are obviously a better katari player than i. I have no doubt that there will be players who can play the katari as if he were an arcane warrior. I dont think im a bad player in general and i really feel the katari along with the alchemist is just bad in comparison to their counterparts, so i feel these mediocre at best clips best represent a mediocre at best class.

[xROLLxTIDEx]

I'm talking specifically about the charge at 26 secs and then the fight with the stalker. The Katari can clear both of those in half the time, pretty much by himself on threatening. I LOVE both of those areas.

[xROLLxTIDEx]

Just beat threatening with a level 6 Katari. Did not go down one time. Finished 2nd on the leaderboard. Will link picture when i get to work with cpu access tomorrow.

[Hurkaleez]

Just beat threatening with a level 6 Katari. Did not go down one time. Finished 2nd on the leaderboard. Will link picture when i get to work with cpu access tomorrow.

 

 

Three thoughts:

1. Depends on your weapon. Weapon damage plays a HUGE part on the effectiveness of some classes in this game.
2. Leaderboard is very misleading. I have gotten 140 kills in Perilous and landed 3rd on leaderboard.
3. Write your own guide if you are as good as you claim.

[diagorias]

Three thoughts:

• Depends on your weapon. Weapon damage plays a HUGE part on the effectiveness of some classes in this game.
• Leaderboard is very misleading. I have gotten 140 kills in Perilous and landed 3rd on leaderboard.
• Write your own guide if you are as good as you claim.

Not to mention accessoires, a 5% heal on kill ring does wonders for melee dps, well It's almost always good, but especially for melee dps.

[Zakmonster85]

Not to mention accessoires, a 5% heal on kill ring does wonders for melee dps, well It's almost always good, but especially for melee dps.

 

Agreed. This ring allowed me to be more effective and exert more presence on the field, rather than being a pincushion.

 

I don't play the Katari like a tank, though. I Charge in, kill one of two mobs that are low on health, run behind cover to get them to clump up and to wait for Charging Bull to cool down, and then I repeat the process. Use Combat Roll to get out of tight spots, and the sprint animation cancel trick (which you showed in a previous thread) to reduce the amount of time I'm exposed and out of cover.

 

Plenty of times I was hiding behind a wall, while some PUG Keeper was getting shot in the face by arrows. Then I Charge in and finish things off, usually ending up with full health, or close to it.

[Valerius Anthar]

Thanks a lot for the guide Penguin. I found your Necromancer build quite effective as well .

 

With regards to gear for your Katari, what are you running? I'm assuming there's some heal on kills accessories. Would you say those and a strong aoe great weapon that has guard on hit or the one with abyss pull is necessary? I'm running with the only decent 2h I have right now which is Mehmet's maul, which does a huge amount of damage but is single target and tends to miss an awful lot. I find myself charging in, killing one target, and then having everything else blown up instantly by an ele or an archer.

[-PenguinFetish-]

Three thoughts:

• Depends on your weapon. Weapon damage plays a HUGE part on the effectiveness of some classes in this game.
• Leaderboard is very misleading. I have gotten 140 kills in Perilous and landed 3rd on leaderboard.
• Write your own guide if you are as good as you claim.

Seconded. You must a very proficient katari player and im sure a lot of people could learn a lot from your gameplay. Id love to see an uncut match witha guide.

[xROLLxTIDEx]

Seconded. You must a very proficient katari player and im sure a lot of people could learn a lot from your gameplay. Id love to see an uncut match witha guide.

 

I'm not trying to brag or be rude or come across as an ass.  I'm aware that I do from time to time but those are not my intentions.  I see many people on this forum posting that the Katari is weak and needs a buff, etc, etc. I do not think he is weak and I find him very much fun to play.  I'm not some super great player, so if I can do it, anyone can do it.   And I KNOW for a fact, Penguin, that you can do it, especially after watching your Archer guide/video.

 

I said I'd link screen shots.  I went into threatening as a level 6 Katari and walked out with a clear over demons as a level 9 Katari.  The next game I went from a level 9 to level 11.  xX PANIK Xx is my friend. I have played with him for 10+ years. I have the luxury of playing with a group of friends that are very good gamers.  I met the majority of my friends on the original xbox live launch game Mechassault and Mechassault 2. (ASYLUM for anyone who played mech)  The other 2 guys are randoms, or dumb dumbs as we call them.   I literally told the Keeper at one point to quit worrying about giving me barrier and that if I died it was on me and not to worry about it. 

 

Game 1 - http://s1094.photobu...html?sort=3&o=1

 

Game 2 - http://s1094.photobu...html?sort=3&o=0

 

As for gear, I've said many times in my posts that I believe the warriors (minus the legionnaire) to be the most gear dependent characters.  That said I do have a good weapon.  I've been running with a 285 DPS rare level 21 Hossberg Twainer (AoE) the past week but switched to a 299 DPS level 22 rare Maul (Single Target).  I do not have a heal on kill ring.  I wish I did but RNG trolls me.  I've spent close to 300k in game gold at the store.  Panik plays mages so he can't for the life of him get a good staff but he has gotten 2 unique 10% heal on kill rings.  I play warriors so I get unique staffs, amulets of willpower, etc but no heal on kill rings. The game knows what you want and trolls you.

[J. Peterman]

Oh, we're posting eDong pics now???

 

You asked for it.........................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avert your eyes if you're under 18. Oh, this is also NSFW.............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[xROLLxTIDEx]

Oh, we're posting eDong pics now???

 

No, that's not what I'm doing.  I'm not Sebastianxx.

 

I'm trying to be help people become better Katari players.  I've made claims about what the Katari can do and I've been told that is not possible.  I post pics not for epeen but to back up my claims and show that I do know what I'm doing with the Katari.  If I could record video, I would. If y'all have a problem with me trying to help, I'll stop. 

[EnemySpinach]

I actually just played with a VERY good Katari. He was a bit of a leroy but almost never went down (And when he did, it's because the 3 of us were in a treasure room he ignored, and he bit off more that he could chew.) Team was Katari, Arcane Warrior, Necromancer, Hunter. Katari topped the scoreboards every game, except for the last one when the AW (Me) did, taking advantage of his one bleed out to catch up.

 

From what I could tell, his setup was Charging Bull, Grappling Chain, To The Death, and one other. In the final match, he To The Death'd the Demon Commander, and kited him around as I followed behind shooting it in the back with my staff and spells. It was surprisingly easy, even if it did take awhile with just my 122 DPS staff (He kept going just out of range and resetting the damage bonus.)

[-PenguinFetish-]

I'm not trying to brag or be rude or come across as an ass.  I'm aware that I do from time to time but those are not my intentions.  I see many people on this forum posting that the Katari is weak and needs a buff, etc, etc. I do not think he is weak and I find him very much fun to play.  I'm not some super great player, so if I can do it, anyone can do it.   And I KNOW for a fact, Penguin, that you can do it, especially after watching your Archer guide/video.

 

Score really isnt a thing that proves how good you are. I roll with a 4 person party of some pretty good players and I can top score with my katari no sweat providing I am getting constant barriers and support. Also worth noting that you got zero gold medals and not even the highest scorer, so the scoreboard really doesn't show that you can roll threatening easily with it.

 

To quote the OP: 

 

 

I have chosen some clips which aren't actually cherry picked to make me look good. I have deliberately picked clips which have forced me to play defensively and tactically rather than just massacring everything. I also chose not to include any clips where I have a barrier active. I mess up in a lot of these clips and i feel this really exposes what I personally feel is wrong with the Katari. Its slow, its way too glassy and it just feels like its not the tank it looks like it should be. It really needs babysitting in the form of a barrier to be optimal. This barrier enables you to actually start smashing things in the face with no care for the one archer behind you, or the rogue thats just sneaked up behind you.

 

 

If I were to post my 5+ and 10+ killstreaks with the Katari, I would be making a montage, not a tutorial video. I would also be getting comments like 'What the hell, my katari cant do that'. This would be a false representation of what each game consists of when playing the katari.

 

I post what I find occurs in standard games on a regular basis without relying on my teammates. You are just straight up denying reality if you feel that the Katari is as strong as the other characters in this game. He isn't completely useless sure and he is certainly playable, but just because you can do well with him, doesn't make him a good class in general. Hell, I soloed gold with a Spitfire Volus Adept with no shield boost. That doesn't make that class good in the slightest, it just means that its playable. 

[xROLLxTIDEx]

Score really isnt a thing that proves how good you are. I roll with a 4 person party of some pretty good players and I can top score with my katari no sweat providing I am getting constant barriers and support. Also worth noting that you got zero gold medals and not even the highest scorer, so the scoreboard really doesn't show that you can roll threatening easily with it.

 

To quote the OP: 

 

 

 

 

If I were to post my 5+ and 10+ killstreaks with the Katari, I would be making a montage, not a tutorial video. I would also be getting comments like 'What the hell, my katari cant do that'. This would be a false representation of what each game consists of when playing the katari.

 

I post what I find occurs in standard games on a regular basis without relying on my teammates. You are just straight up denying reality if you feel that the Katari is as strong as the other characters in this game. He isn't completely useless sure and he is certainly playable, but just because you can do well with him, doesn't make him a good class in general. Hell, I soloed gold with a Spitfire Volus Adept with no shield boost. That doesn't make that class good in the slightest, it just means that its playable. 

 

I don't care about score.  I've said so in other threads.  And while I did not get a gold medal I did get a few silver medals and I don't think that's too bad with a level 6 character on threatening.  My level 6 Katari was ALWAYS in the middle of action and did not kiss the dirt one single time. 

 

Now if I were going to do a video and show off my Katari build it would include 2 videos.  1st would be a montage highlight of what the Katari can do and the 2nd would be the unedited full cut video of the run so that all the world could see what I did, when, where and how.  I would even include all of my dumb dumb moments for you to see.

 

I do not in the least bit think that the Katari is a weak character.  I do think that warriors are a bit harder to play than rogues and mages.  Mages and Rogues have the luxury of staying off in the distance and spamming attacks or relying on stealth to get them out of danger.  The warriors do not have that luxury and must enter into danger to be effective.  This makes them a bit harder to play.  It doesn't make the character weak.

 

I speak of what I find occurs in standard games when I play.  If you think that I can only do what I do by relying on my teammates then you are mistaken.  

 

I will now bow out of your thread.  I will thank you for providing your build and guide to the community.  

[J. Peterman]

Now if I were going to do a video and show off my Katari build it would include 2 videos.  1st would be a montage highlight of what the Katari can do and the 2nd would be the unedited full cut video of the run so that all the world could see what I did, when, where and how.  I would even include all of my dumb dumb moments for you to see.

 

If you'd do the same, then what's the problem again?

[DarthLinebacker]

@Penguin

Wanted to say thanks for all the work you've done, while I haven't followed all your guides to the letter they've definitely helped me think more on how to build and watching you play has helped me get better. If I may though, could you start giving a recommendation on what level a character with an "average weapon"(whatever the hell that means) should be ready to move to threatening? I find myself wondering sometimes if I can cut it there without a certain active or passive that I don't get for a few levels and getting past 9 or 10 or so on routine can be a bit tedious.

[Reginald Cousins]

Score really isnt a thing that proves how good you are. I roll with a 4 person party of some pretty good players and I can top score with my katari no sweat providing I am getting constant barriers and support. Also worth noting that you got zero gold medals and not even the highest scorer, so the scoreboard really doesn't show that you can roll threatening easily with it.

If you're doing a 4man group and your katari is topping the score with constant barrier from a keeper or ele with an equal ilvl weapon, that person should stop "leeching" and pick up some slack lol.  Support xp/score is SO heavily inflated which shows how poorly designed the scoring system is.  However, it still gives the group a general idea of people's contribution/gear/spec.  With a well geared mage who spams barrier on group while dpsing should always top the score. 

[simpatikool]

Thanks for the tips.

 

Totally agree on upgrading Charging Bull and Mighty Blow.

 

I really like War Horn and Grisly Mutilation combo. It helps that I also have the War Horn Ring. Causing lots of terror is a good thing.

 

I made a build around the 2H Weapon the Whale which generates guard per hit. Charging bull and Whirlwind attack end up generating a lot of guard for me in events.

[diagorias]

If you're doing a 4man group and your katari is topping the score with constant barrier from a keeper or ele with an equal ilvl weapon, that person should stop "leeching" and pick up some slack lol.  Support xp/score is SO heavily inflated which shows how poorly designed the scoring system is.  However, it still gives the group a general idea of people's contribution/gear/spec.  With a well geared mage who spams barrier on group while dpsing should always top the score. 

The katari has a charged bull, which makes him faster moving than the whole group and if you have a much better weapon than the rest of the group it is very well possible to outscore other classes. And I personally prefer to have a good support keeper or something similar who constantly casts barrier and disruption field/static cage where needed, than a high dpsing one. The first one ensures you can make it to the end, the second one makes it a lot less likely.