The Iron Giant: Blacksmith Guide
By: Raij
Table of Contents:
0. Introduction
1. Blacksmith Move List
2. Blacksmith Basic Strategy
3. Blacksmith Class-Specific Strategies
3.a. Versus Mage
3.b. Versus Archer
3.c. Versus Ninja
3.d. Versus Swordsman
3.e. Versus Blacksmith
4. Blacksmith Stat Allocation
0. Introduction
Rakion is a game of chaotic blood drenched warfare. If the thought of lumbering
into the battlefield as one of the biggest, toughest, hardest hitting, armored
juggernauts and cracking skulls with a hammer larger than your opponent appeals
to you, then perhaps you have what it takes to be a Blacksmith.
The Blacksmith is not for everyone however, he is a very slow attacker and has
considerable delays on his more powerful moves, but with the proper practice
and developed striking precision, an intelligently played Blacksmith can be a
terror to the opposition. Fast attacks are for people who miss. The skilled
Blacksmith does not swing unless he knows he will hit.
The Blacksmith is not all about Offense though, as many people seem to overlook
he is a fantastic approacher. In fact, that is his crowning achievement and
what truely separates him from his less defensive class counterparts; the
Walking Guard.
We will discuss all of these topics within this guide, as well as present some
class vs. class analysis and general tips and strategies. This guide is useful
for playing Blacksmith as well as playing against Blacksmith. Knowing your
enemy is every bit as important as knowing yourself.
1. Blacksmith Move List
The Blacksmith has a fairly limited move list when compared to the swordsman,
but he has more than enough attacks to do some serious damage. The strategy to
playing the Blacksmith is to know the delay on his moves and learn to be able
to judge if you can survive the delay without taking damage. In the beginning,
every swing of your hammer will feel like a risk, for some ninja to dart around
and grip you from behind, or some mage to position up casually for an ice
spike. After the move list, we will look at how to prevent that, how to play
the Blacksmith as a reactive attacker instead of a proactive attacker.
The basic rule of thumb for Delay is as follows:
If your enemy blocks a delay1 attack,
they have time to follow up with a regular strike
If your enemy blocks a delay2 attack,
they have time to follow up with a regular strike or a grip
If your enemy blocks a delay3 attack,
they have time to follow up with a regular strike, a grip, or a special attack
Button Abbreviations:
W=Toward
S=Away
A=Left
D=Right
C1=Left Click
C2=Right Click
C1C2=Both Click at the same time
Shift=Guard
Space=Jump
Swinging Abbreviations:
Horiz=Horizontal; Looks like this -
Vert=Vertical; Looks like this |
Diag=Diagonal; Looks like this / or \
360=360 degree attack; AOE
NAME BUTTONS DELAY NOTES
Single swing C1 1
Swing hammer horiz
Double swing C1, C1 1.5 (Knockdown)
Swing hammer horiz x2
Double swing2 C1, C2 2 (Narrow, powerful)(Knockdown)
Swing hammer horiz+diag
Forward stab W, W, C1 2.5 (Knockdown)
Move forward and stab rotating hammer
Forward stab2 W, W, C2 2.5 (Knockdown)
Move forward and stab hammer diag
Jump attack Space, C1 2 (Aerial)(Knockdown)
Jump and Strike down with hammer vert
Special attack Hold C2 2 (2.5m radius)(Guardless 1s)
Store up energy in hammer and strike down 360
Spinning attack C1C2 3.5 (Invincible)(Knockdown)
Invincible, Mobile 360 hammer attack
Wake up attack C1 1 (When Knockdowned)
Spin hammer while rising-up in 360
Guard Shift
Front grip C1C2 *CLOSE* 2 (Approach from Front)
Rear grip C1C2 *CLOSE* 2 (Approach from Rear)
NOTE ON GRIPS: Grips are tough because you have to be close, very close to your
opponent to account for lag. They are best reserved for coming up behind
archers and mages who are already firing. Important note about grips and the
Blacksmith, if you try to grip and are not close enough, you leave yourself
open immensely by performing the spinning hammer, which leaves you dizzy for a
few seconds afterward. Grips are a risky proposition in the hands of the
Blacksmith and should be reserved for when you know you can get close enough.
Otherwise leave grips to other classes who need them (like ninja) and let
Blacksmith pound away with your hammer, only using grips when you know you have
an opening.
2. Blacksmith Basic Strategy
I spoke above about being a reactive versus proactive attacker. Playing a
blacksmith is in most cases a reactive game, because you REALLY don't want to
miss your hits. Let's take a moment to define reactive and proactive as meant
in this guide before proceeding.
Proactive: Attacking first;Allowing your opponent to respond to your action
Reactive: Attacking last; Responding to the actions of your opponent
Looking above, you can see what is the safer bet. With the Blacksmith, your
attacks are very slow so you must make sure they connect. Your delays are long,
so when they do not connect, you are wide open. An impatient proactive
blacksmith will be defeated every time by a patient reactive blacksmith. The
same goes for other classes, running up to attack a ninja, swordsman, mage, or
archer will get your attack block/dodged, and you pounded or cast on. There
will be times when you attack first and you can do so without risk, if you
follow the golden rule of Blacksmith offense:
*************
SWING ONCE AND ONLY ONCE IF YOU ARE PLAYING PROACTIVELY
*************
That's right, swinging once is the golden rule. When you are chasing or opening
up a fight, NEVER swing twice unless you KNOW you have your enemy with your
first hit. If you swing once, your delay is marginal and you can get right back
to moving or blocking, but if you swing twice, then you commit yourself and
many players are proficient at killing a blacksmith by dodging the two big
swings and then positioning to respond. Again, remember only to swing twice
when you KNOW you will connect both hits. (in other words, when you are playing
reactively or have chased someone into a corner or against a wall). Keep in
mind you will be playing proactively only when you are chasing. Swinging once
while chasing will hereby be referred to in this guide as the One-swing
Strategy.
Melee:
The basic strategy of the blacksmith is a mix between offense and defense. Most
of the time you will be running around with your pinky resting on block. You
will have to learn to time your blocks and be good at blocking on a moments
notice. An enemy who just attacked a blocking blacksmith is an enemy in trouble
Swordsman and Ninja will be your common melee opponents. They both swing faster
than you (and the swordsman hurts more than you), so blocking and reactively
attacking is your bread and butter in melee. Never run up to a competant melee
player and start swinging, if you do catch one off guard, try the jumping
hammer smash as your opener. With practice you can knock them down, take off a
good chunk of life, and let them know you're there and ready to fight. Make
sure to step back after the jumping smash to avoid their wakeup attack.
Ranged:
Pick your targets carefully, which will mostly be ranged attackers harassing
the melee. One of your most powerful moves against a ranged attacker is the
jumping hammer smash. This works remarkably well on any class that has to stop
for a second or two. (mage to cast, archer to shoot bow). Depending on your
opponent, your approach will differ slightly, but that will be covered in
specific class strategies below. Against ranged, the jumping hammer smash is
your bread and butter.
Throwing Axes:
Your throwing axes are one of the strongest ranged attacks in the game,
however it severely lacks distance and accuracy. Most of the time, if you are
close enough to hit with an axe, when you factor in time to switch to axe and
switch back to hammer, you could have approached and done more damage with
melee. Axes are best used in co-op missions or against summons, particularly
the minotaur and the dragon. Infrequently however, you will see an opponent
standing still, but you know you are out of the range of a melee attack.
Throwing axes do considerably high damage so you may find them handy when a
sitting duck is just out of hammer reach.
3. Blacksmith Class-Specific Strategies
The class-Specific strategy section will be divided into three subsections to
detail the specifics of an individual fight.
The three sections will be:
a.) Approach - The time from when you identify your target to when you are in
melee range
b.) Fight - The time from when you arrive in melee range until your defeat your
opponent
c.) Finish - The time when you defeat your opponent
3.a. Versus Mage:
Approach: Your approach on the mage is the key to defeating the mage.
There is one very important thing to remember when approaching
a mage. STRAFE. Never run straight toward a mage, circle in
toward him by pressing W+A or W+D. The mage fires most of his
spells in a fairly straight line and strafing toward him
removes the vast majority of risk in approaching the mage.
Fight: The key to fighting the mage is by using single swings with
strategic jump attacks. Only swing twice at the mage if
you KNOW you will connect both times. Strafe around the mage or
chase him (which is what you will be mostly doing) but do not
swing twice, unless he just cast a spell (and even then there's
may be a better option, such as gripping). Swing once whenever
you get close and keep following. Occasionally he will cast
tornado and blow you away, in this situation refer back to the
Approach above. Whenever he stops to cast, you can jump attack
if he's alone, or hammer spin if he has friends near. If you
are skilled at gripping, then by all means attempt a grip after
he casts as you have enough time, but if you are too far from
the mage you will do the 360 hammer spin, leaving you wide
open when it's done. Chances are you'll see the ice spike from
this point if you miss the grip. Mages penetrate armor with
their spells, so you must be sure NOT TO BE HIT BY MAGE. A
skilled blacksmith can take out a mage without soaking a
single spell.
Finish: I finish most magesprimarily with jump attack or possibly
hammer spin (ONLY spin if you are sure it will hit, a dizzy
Blacksmith can be taken apart by a griping mage). Also be
careful hammer spinning by ledges as it is easy to knock your
prey down and away from you, preventing you from scoring. Watch
for the mages armor to pop off and start looking for the finish
If a mage starts running without trying to cast at you, chances
are he is very close to death and you can start one-swinging
while chasing. Also keep in mind that mages can heal with
special orbs they place around the map. They may be running to
one of these, or a health pickup.
3.b. Versus Archer:
Approach: Your approach on the archer is again the key to defeating this
class. The archer has a less complex approach method, but that
does not mean she is easier to defeat than the mage. First off,
remember that you are the Blacksmith, the biggest baddest tough
guy on the field. Pay special attention to that first verb,
BIGGEST. That's right, archers love to shoot at Blacksmiths
because they are large and easy to hit. Expect to see many
arrows coming your way when you are opposing a lot of archers.
Fortunately for you, Blacksmiths have the secret weapon here,
the infamous Walking Guard. The Walking Guard will allow you to
approach Archers with very little risk, so long as you can time
your defenses well. They have a one second delay inbetween each
shot, so the general strategy is: Run straight forward for one
second, block arrow, run straight forward, block arrow. This is
accomplished by holding W the whole time, and tapping shift as
necessary with your pinky. Never stop moving during the entire
approach. Put the pressure on them. They have two choices as
you close into melee range, they can run away or they can try
to get one last shot in, either way you want to jump attack at
the end of your approach. If they stay and shoot, you will jump
over their arrow and crack their skull. If they run, you will
chase and use the one-swing strategy. The first jump attack
will, most of the time, knock off an Archer's helmet. Once this
happens, look at that blond hair as your hammer's bullseye. Get
proficient at knowing exactly how far away you can be to
connect with the jump attack. You want to jump as soon as you
can during your approach. Special note: So, why not strafe you
may ask? Well against noob archers, strafing is very effective,
but once you get up in levels you will notice the skilled
archer can hit you fine when you strafe, unlike mage, so you
will have to block anyway. Making an approaching inward-spiral
circular path (like the mage) will take you much more time than
a straight forward path, so straight forward is the ideal
choice against the seasoned archer. It puts pressure on them
and gives you the quickest approach possible against this class
Fight: Most of the fight against archer is kiting. Very few archers
will go toe to toe with a Blacksmith. Thus the approach
of this class is still relevant in this section of the fight.
You will be chasing the archer's back when you are not
following the approach strategy above, so use the same
one-swing strategy as you would use when chasing a mage. Also
note that archers like to jump over the horiz one-swing of the
Blacksmith. If you see your archer opponent repeatedly doing
this, adapt by getting close enough to swing but not swinging,
prompting them to jump, and then wait til they are on their way
down and one-swing wack them. Unaware archers are also your best
grip practice. Run up behind an archer shooting at someone else
and grip them. Then follow the tactics above.
Finish: Most of the archers I kill fall to a jumping hammer smash. It
is a ruthlessly powerful attack against weakly armored foes and
it takes the same amount of time to execute as it takes the
archer to fire one arrow. The majority of the archer battle
will be approach, with a little chasing, then more approach,
then more chasing, until you finish them with your approaching
strategy or a one-swing on the chase.
3.c. Versus Ninja:
Approach: The good and bad news. You wont have to approach ninja very
often because they will more often than not try to sneak up on
you. The bad news is that they love to come in for a rear grip.
Grips are the ninja's most powerful attacks and a skilled ninja
will go for the grip a lot. If you are fighting a ninja that
did not sneak up behind you, your approach strategy is very
similiar to that of the archer. Move steadily straight forward,
blocking their shurikens as necessary, until you can jump.
Fight: The ninja is a fast melee attacker. They have a bread and
butter four hit combo, which many noob ninjas will open up on
you with. Just block all four attacks and then open into your
combo of choice. It is very difficult to hit ninjas with a
jumping hammer smash, because they are so quick, so rely more
on your one-hit swing strategy for this fight during the chase,
and open up on them if they attack you and are blocked.
Remember your reactive strategy, wait for them to make a move
and then respond to it. If they stand toe to toe, fight them as
you would a fast Swordsman, reactively block and counterattack.
Whatever you do, do not spin attack unless you get crowded. The
long delay gives a ninja optimal time to land a high-damage
grip. If they disappear, back away under guard (S+shift) until
they reappear and attack, then counterattack. When they get low
on life, they will usually escape instead of die, which is not
the worst thing in the world, because their ranged attacks are
not too deadly (unless they catch you and a lot of teammates in
a shuriken cone). This is different from the mage in that you
should never let a fleeing mage get away, because he's not
trying to escape, he's trying to shake your attention so he can
cast on you. If you do let a ninja get away and you start
fighting someone else, keep one eye over your shoulder to watch
for the grip. If you see the ninja approaching while you are in
melee, let lose with a 360 hammer spin or power up your special
attack (360 also). Against the ninja, timing is critical!
Finish: As stated above, the ninja finish is fairly difficult in
comparison to the other classes. Just keep an eye on their
armor and position yourself for a good combo. USe one-swings
until you feel confidant that you can connect with a two-hit
or hammer spin. Hammer spins are effective for finishing a
ninja, but don't use it unless you know you got it! (or prepare
to be backstab gripped)
3.d. Versus Swordsman:
Approach: There is no approach to swordsman because they want to approach
you also. Most of the time the two of you run up to one another
and begin fighting. However once in a while, you will catch a
swordsman who likes to use daggers and wait for you to approach
him. If this is the case, use the archer approach strategy and
break his head while he switches back to sword with a jumping
attack, then proceed to the Fight section below.
Fight: The Swordsman fight can be a long and tough one, if both
competitors are skilled. The main differences between the
swordsman and the Blacksmith are that the Blacksmith has more
armor/life, but the swordsman hits harder. The difference that
settles the fight in the Swordsman's favor is that he can
attack considerably faster and more often. Due to this fact,
you will have to play reactive against Swordsman. Wait for them
to swing and block, then decimate them with your own combo.
Their bread and butter will be a three hit combo. Make sure to
block all of these hits before you go on offense. If you see
their sword ignite into flames and thrust up into the air, back
away without guarding, because their attack will break your
guard anyway and guarding slows down your backup speed. After
they attack with this combo, which is three consecutive
unblockable hits, then you can move in for some damage with a
thrust attack, combo, or possibly a grip. Jumping hammer
smashes will work against swordsman on occasion, just be
conservative with them and learn when to attempt one. Be very
weary of their wakeup attack, they get up very quickly and have
a pretty threatening range with this attack. I recommend
against using the 360 hammer spin against Swordsman, as they
can get up and wakeup attack you before your spin delay ends.
(the dizzy effect)
Finish: The Swordsman will be one of the tougher classes to finish. You
just have to stick with them and keep them from escaping. They
run quite a bit faster than Blacksmiths, so if they decide to
flee you may just have to accept it. The good thing is that
swordsman are usually pretty brave and tend to fight to the
death, so the chase happens less with them than most other
classes.
3.e. Versus Blacksmith:
Approach: I prefer to use a thrust attack in my approach if the
Blacksmith is fighting someone else or standing still, but this
is slightly risky if you do not time it well. If the Blacksmith
is moving, stay away from the thrust and try to get in for a
one-hit or two-hit to knock them down. Since Blacksmiths are
slow, the spinning hammer attack works pretty well as an opener
with accurate timing. (and you are invincible while performing
it) This is ill-advised if the blacksmith has friends that are
nearby but outside the radius of the spin.
Fight: Since there are no class differences to play off of, the better
and more patient Blacksmith will win, simple as that. Fight
Blacksmith like you fight Swordsman, wait for them to attack
and then waylay them after you defend. Personally, I avoid
fighting other Blacksmiths because it will be a long fight and
chances are one or both of you will be distracted before it
ends. Blacksmith versus Blacksmith one on one can be some of
the most enjoyable fights you participate in, but they are
simply not practical for scoring kills or winning the game.
The best thing you can do to a Blacksmith when he has friends
that he is protecting, is to use the spinning attack to knock
him off a ledge and kill his friends instead. A strong tactic
of a good blacksmith is to protect the team's mage. This is
when spinning hammer sees the best use. There is nothing like
knocking the bodyguard far away and killing the mage he is
protecting.
Finish: This fight will be a tough finish, just use whatever power
moves you have at your disposal. Watch the huge blacksmith for
his shoulderpads to fly off, then you know you are getting
close. Use jumping smashes, thrusts, or hammer spins to finish.
4. Stat Allocation
There are quite a few popular builds for the Blacksmith, so we'll take a look
at the more popular builds before moving on to what I suggest.
Powerhouse:
This Blacksmith strengthens his strengths, pumping basic attack mainly with a
side of armor or health if desired. By focusing on attributes that you are
already very strong in, you will become an enhanced version of your starting
self. This is a reliable and consistently effective build that a lot of
Blacksmiths will go for.
Defensive:
By starting with a very high basic attack power, the Defensive Blacksmith
pumps hitpoints and armor. This will be one tough fighter to take out, but
you will see less kills than the Powerhouse Blacksmith. This is a great build
for Golem battles, especially if you enjoy picking up the Golden Sword. With
the Golden Sword, you can kill the Golem very quickly with a few well-placed
jump attacks, and this build will keep you alive long enough to get there and
do it.
HammerSmasher:
This Blacksmith build focuses on special attack. If you enjoy the 360 hammer
smash, put many points into this attribute and you will see your favorite
move become much more powerful. This again is very effective during golem
matches, moreso if you prefer to escort the Golden Sword rather than carry it
Being able to drop a one-button AOE on the Gold Golem and all of it's
attackers, and again on the defensive force when you reach the opposing
team's golem is very powerful asset to any team. Especially if no one's
attacking you to interupt because you are not glowing gold.
Raij:
This is my personal build and one I have found very effective so far. The
Raij (pronounced rage) Blacksmith is very fast in comparison to other
Blacksmiths. Every level at least one point goes into Travel Speed and one
goes into Attack Speed. The other point is yours to play with, but I suggest
alternating between Basic Attack, HP, and Armor every three levels. Contrary
to the Powerhouse, this build focuses on strengthening the Blacksmith's
weaknesses, which rounds him out to be a very powerful character since he
already has high attack, hp, and armor. Fast travel speed is essential for
catching mages, archers, and ninjas (90% of your kills) and fast attack speed
is essential for consistently defeating swordsman. This is a very fun build,
it puts a lot of pressure on ranged attackers when you run faster than they
do, and it makes for a less difficult Blacksmith to play and advance.
Highly suggested. :)
COMING SOON!!!
5. Equipment Upgrades
6. Team Strategies
7. Creature Compliments
8. Blacksmith Map Strategies!
AND MORE!
All comments, questions, suggestions, corrections should be addressed to:
[email protected]
-Raij
