Dark Knight

This article is about the enemy in Kingdom Rush and the companion/enemy in Legends of Kingdom Rush. For the tower in Kingdom Rush: Vengeance, see Dark Knights.

• Kingdom Rush
• Legends of Kingdom Rush

Dark Knight
HP	240 / 300 / 360
Damage	15-25
Attack Rate	1.0s
Armor Rating	High (80%)
Magic Resistance	None
Speed	Slow
Lives Taken	1
Bounty	25
Abilities	None

Dark Knights are slow, durable, and heavily armored enemies. They are stronger versions of the Brigand, usually appearing as numbers just as often.

Overview

Full plated corrupted knights, almost impervious to damage.

Strategy

• Despite the description's comment, there's actually a good number of ways to acceptably damage Dark Knights, as they have only moderate HP and no magic resistance in tandem with low mobility. If the player used a decent mixture of tower types, the Dark Knights will eventually succumb.
• Keeping Mages and Artillery up to speed is recommended, as they are the most casual way of bypassing the Dark Knights' heavy armor, with the former targeting the non-existent magic resistance instead and the latter ignoring half the armor rating.
• Arcane Wizards are the most effective way of killing Dark Knights, due to their impressive damage output. The Sorcerer Mage is also useful for dealing with them, with the curse ability lowering the Dark Knight's substantial armor. The sorcerer's elemental can block a Dark Knight while the curse opens a way for more damage to be dealt.
• Dark Knights are typically backed by Shadow Archers. Micromanagement of barracks is therefore crucial. Shadow Archers can also be wiped out quickly by a likely built Sharpshooter Tower and so shouldn't get out of hand whenever they get in front. It might be tempting to have the Rangers Hideout's Poison Arrows to bypass both armor stats as well as the Dark Knights' frontlining, but Poison Arrows has cost-effectiveness issues and so shouldn't be bought without consideration of the efficiency of your other defenses.
• When dealing with both Dark Knights and Demon Spawns simultaneously, it's once again guaranteed that Dark Knights will be in the front. Dark Knights probably should be treated as the higher priority targets to be able to have free rein against the Demon Spawns sooner.

Trivia

• Dark Knights are reanimated in a Graveyard as Skeletons on Casual, but as Skeleton Knights on Normal and Veteran.
• A total of 282 Dark Knights appear throughout all of the levels in the game.

Appearances

• The Citadel
• Coldstep Mines
• Icewind Pass
• Stormcloud Temple
• The Wastes
• Forsaken Valley
• The Dark Tower
• Sarelgaz's Lair

“

Deal struck.

”

Description

Dark Knights are the backbone of the Dark army. Having traded their vitality for great unholy powers, they have resorted to wearing heavy armor to compensate for their poor constitution.

Dark Knight is the sixth Companion to be unlocked in Legends of Kingdom Rush. He is made available by unlocking the I Fought The Law achievement.

Lore

BECOMING A DARK KNIGHT: DEAL STRUCK

The metal tower dominated the view from where he was standing. He couldn't remember the exact date he had started this journey to find it, but he was elated it was about to end. He had heard countless stories about them. He wasn't sure if what he heard was true, or just an exaggeration from the traveler. But if there was an ounce of truth in the rumors, then this exhausting journey would have been worthwhile.

For the first time in months he had a glimmer of hope. It was a strange feeling, an alien one to him. He had been submerged in a never-ending nightmare since that fateful day. He did not want to remember the dread, anger, and guilt he felt that day when he returned to his farm. He had spent a long day at the market and upon his return, he found his home ravaged and his family missing. He desperately looked for them only to find torn and bloodstained clothes. He cursed those who would do this to an innocent farmer. He needed justice to be done, he owed them that much. He had requested help and had sent word of the crime to the authorities, but no one answered.

No one cared for the fate of a family of farmers. If he wanted justice to be done, he would have to do it himself. He would hunt down those who had wronged him and have his vengeance, no matter the cost. The first time he heard about them was from the mouth of a well-traveled exotic bird dealer. He told him the story of these unholy knights that possessed incredible powers. It was rumored that those knights were mere humans, much like him, that they had taken an oath and bound their souls with dark magic in exchange for the incredible powers they wielded.

The bond was unbreakable and once one joined their ranks, there was no backing down. Every Dark Knight had their own reasons for joining, and in a land as tumultuous as Linirea revenge was as good as any other. He was more than willing to give even his soul to them if that allowed him to get his sweet revenge on the bandits that slaughtered his family. If that was the price, so be it! He arrived at the tower and darkness embraced him as he crossed the threshold into the unknown.

Recruiting

We came across a camper during our travels.

We realised the camper was a heavily armoured Dark Knight staring at the horizon. The Dark Knight turned around to face us and stared at us without saying a word. The Dark Knight simply nodded and walked towards us, mumbling unintelligible.

"..."

Stats

Level	HP	Armor	Attack	Speed	Armor regen
1	4	7	3	2	2
2	5	8	4	2	3
3	6	9	6	2	4

Traits

Armor of Thorns : Deals 1/1/2 retribution true damage every time the hero receives a melee attack.

Fortify : Gains extra armor until the next turn if the character ends their turn without using any skills

This unit has +2 armor for this turn.

Skills

Tier 1 Skills

	Name	Cooldown	Type	Range	Effect	Epic
	Dark Slash	0	Regular	1	Dark Knight's basic attack, deals [attack] damage.	Applies Knockback to Weakened targets.
	Rupture	3	Regular	1	Deals [attack] +2 damage and applies Knockback and Bleeding to the target.	None

Tier 2 Skills

	Name	Cooldown	Type	Range	Effect	Epic
	Impervious	3	Regular	Self	Fully restores armor and +4 armor for 3 turns. Remove Burning and Poisoned status.	None
	Spike Reforge	3	Regular	Self	Fully restores armor and gains +3 thorns damage for 3 turns. Removes Burning and Poisoned status.	None

Tier 3 Skills

	Name	Cooldown	Type	Range	Effect	Epic
	Soulstrike	3	Full action	melee	Deals [attack] damage and heals HP equal to the [level]	Deals True damage if the target is weakened.
	Porcupine Slam	4	Regular	Self	Deals [thorn damage * 2] physical damage to all adjacent enemies.	None

Quotes

• "Deal struck!" - Upon select
• "Harder, better, stronger." - Upon upgrade
• "My turn." - During combat
• "Hmm." - During combat
• "Ready." - During combat
• "Ghuuuuuh!" - When hurt
• "Hggggh!" - When hurt
• "" - When hurt
• "Ghhhrrrrgh!" - When killed

Enemy

Dark Knight
	4
	3
	7
	2
	0

The Dark Knight also appears as an enemy in Krum'Thak's Dominion. They appear in a unique challenge triggered by encountering a Dark Knight node on the map. If you do not have a member of Vez'nan's army in your party (Asra for example) they will attempt to pilfer potions from you, upon which you have options to fight them. Defeating them without any casualties unlocks the I fought the law achievement and the Dark Knight as a companion.

Traits

Armor of Thorns : Deals retribution damage every time the hero receives a melee attack. Damage retribution: 1

Fortify : Gains extra armor until the next turn if the character ends their turn without using any skills

Skills

	Name	Cooldown	Type	Range	Effect
	Dark Slash	0	Regular	Melee	Slashes an enemy with its sword

Strategy

• Any kind of armor piercing attack will be very effective. The Arcane Wizard and the Ranger (with Poison Arrows) can one shot them even at level 1.

Appearances

• Krum'Thak's Dominion

View All Enemies