Obsidian Knight: Gems, Skills, Stats Comparison

Obsidian Knight in Game of War Fire Age is the next defense and health permanent gear set released after Skeleton King. Whenever a new defense set is released, I ask myself the question: "Is it better than what I'm using now?" By the end of this article you will know the answer.

Obsidian Knight Stats

Many players have asked me whether Obsidian Knight is better than Skeleton King.  The quick answer is, "yes, it has more defense." But let's take a look at the stat comparison of the most popular sets in Game of War.

So, the Skeleton King is slightly outdone by Obsidian Knight.  A mere 265% of combined defense separate the two.

Obsidian Knight has significant more troop defense than Skeleton King.  However, it has less troop specific defense such as infantry, ranged, or cavalry defense.  Knight also has more attack debuff than any other set.

If you have both sets then Obsidian Knight is your better choice.  However, Skeleton King is still a pretty good option.

I'm not really excited about Obsidian Knight.  Particularly when we consider how strong rally leaders have become during the same period.  Rally leaders added some 5,000 attack power and 2,000 defense debuff but Obsidian Knight adds just 265% defense. Obviously, the 265% more defense is no comparison.

Game of War trap players must get their defense from other sources. Relying on permanent gear alone is no longer a safe bet.  Even training massive number of troops won't save you from the defense debuff and attack numbers of modern rally leaders.

Defensive players must focus more on research, building boosts, gem sets, and potions to obtain higher defense.

If you are under 300 billion power then wearing this gear overnight is probably not safe.  You will want to include a Kinoichi's Kunai (black dagger of defense debuff resistance) or two to reduce the enemy's defense debuff.

Obsidian Knight Set Bonus

Warning: You lose a significant amount of defense if you break the Obsidian Knight set piece bonus to include a kunai or two.

The paradigm shift in Game of War is less defense per item and more defense in the set bonuses.  This is an obvious attack on Kinoichi's Kunai Defense Debuff Resistance.  The obvious choice is still Frostlord and Imperial Dragon which contain all troop defense stats and no specific defense.  If you use these items with 2 kunai then you reduce the enemy rally leader's defense debuff by 80% assuming you have the 20% defense debuff from research.

Should you choose not to use Kunai you need to ensure you have at least 80% of enemy rally defense debuff as defense.

So, if the enemy rally has 6,000% defense debuff you resist 20% from completing the Defense Research Tree without the use of any Kinoichi Kunai. So, you need at least 4,800% defense or suffer complete defense debuff against the rally leader in this example.

Obsidian Knight Gems

Gem selection will depend on your research.  If you have gem set bonus research unlocked then use Aegis Defense Gem Set. However, should you not have this research completed then use the highest defense gems you have in your inventory.  Typically, these include:

Max Defense Gems

• Aegis Gem - 35% Defense
• Bulwark Gem - 35% Defense
• Defense Gem - 25% Defense
• Rainbow Special Gem - 35% Defense
• Total Defense: 130% Defense

Aegis Defense Gem Set

• Aegis Gem: +35% Defense
• Hallow's Gem: +12.5% Defense, +12.5% Attack Bonus
• Shadow Gem: +12.5% Defense, +12.5% Attack Debuff
• Elite Defense Special Gem: +25% Defense
• Total No Gem Set Research: +110% Defense, +12.5% Attack Bonus, +12.5% Attack Debuff
• Total with Gem Set Bonus Research: 185% Defense, +12.5% Attack, +12.5% Attack Debuff

Verdict: If you have Gem Set Bonus Research complete then you should use the Aegis Gem Set, if not then use max defense gems.

Obsidian Knight Skills

When choosing skills you need to ask the question, "is this set worth grabbing the base set bonus skill of 25% down the right side?"

So, in exchange for all the skill points it takes to grab the base set bonus skills, I believe we can put those points to better use down the left side of the hero tree in individual defense rather than waste them on the right side to achieve greater base set bonus.  This is particularly true if you decide to break the base set bonus of the set.

When I set my Hero Skill Tree for any set, first I place the minimum skill points needed to get down to the best skill I definitely want. Don't make the mistake of placing max skill points along the way on each skill you think you need only to get to the bottom and not have enough to get the really great skills!

Your hero level will determine what skill you will aim for first. Currently, I have hero 68 on my trap. My best skill at the bottom is 350% Defense Debuff but I don't need that skill for this defensive set. Above that is "Troop Attack on Tile Offense". Again, I don't really need that for this set.

So, I keep looking up, Troop Health III is next which isn't so bad but I have no real need for Health at 20 billion troops. I could use this set for tile trapping potentially. However, I definitely want Troop Attack III and Troop Defense III. Let's begin there. Also, you only need Hero 64 for Troop Defense III which is more ideal for a trap or player on a budget.

Total Skill Points Hero 68, Gymnos 23 (735 Skill Points)

Main Skills I want (576 Skill Points)

• Troop Defense III - Hero 64
• Full Set Bonus
• Altar Boost Defense
• Enemy Attack Debuff
• Enemy Health Debuff
• Infantry, Ranged, Cavalry Defense
• Troop Defense II
• Troop Defense I

The above Skills are the "main" skills you need for a full set gear such as this one. If you are trapping with a hodgepodge, or incomplete set, you don't need Full Set Bonus.

So, follow the above instructions for the best available skills first and work backward toward the top. Then, if you have enough skills remaining for Base Set Bonus (149 Points) grab that second.

Obsidian Knight Power Up with Gear Workshop

Its interesting to note that when you boost Obsidian Knight you gain troop health AND troop defense.

Skeleton King provides 25% boost to defense only.

Obsidian Knight Final Thoughts

As mentioned above, Obsidian Knight does provide a slight increase in defense over Skeleton King and the other defense sets.  However, the added defense is quite small considering how strong rally leaders have become.

Upgrading from Skeleton King to Obsidian Knight without adding significant troops or research will definitely be a recipe for disaster.  Don't wake up to a zeroed account because you thought since you upgrade to Obsidian Knight you are now suddenly invincible.

For more information on related topics see the following:

Skeleton King

Gem Set Research or Gems Set Bonus Video!

Boosting Building Stats with Time Orbs