- "Brave yourself, as you are facing true warriors."
- ―Christmas area message denoting the appearance of Knights[src]
The Knight is an armored, extremely agile enemy wielding a sword and a shield introduced in Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.
Seemingly unrelated to Mental's Horde, these mysterious knights are only encountered as a secret fight in the main game and in the "Castle of Pain" survival level.
Overview[]
As the name suggests, Knights are soldiers clad in grey medieval armor, though it is just as likely that there is no person whatsoever underneath. They wield a large metal shield on one arm and a one-handed sword in their other hand.
Appearances[]
In the main game, the Knights are only encountered in a secret found at the end of the '"Siberiade" level. Underneath the bridge that leads to the level exit is a small hallway, which leads to a small fire with a broken blade in it. Interacting with the fire unlocks the gate behind it. Past it is a long corridor ending in a large circular room, where three to nine (depending on the difficulty and if the game mode is either single player or co-op) Knights rise from the ground shortly afterwards and attack the player.
Defeating them unlocks the Knight's armor as a player model and rewards the player with a H.E.A.R.T., Super Armor (giving 200 armor instead of the usual 100), Extra Large Health, and lots of ammo.
They also appear as regular enemies exclusive to the "Castle of Pain" survival level, being the first enemies to spawn and remaining a constant threat throughout the run.
Knights can be spawned in the Christmas area in "The Song Of The Stormbringer" by spinning the wheel and landing on the sword and shield icon. They will always be spawned in a trio.
Behavior and skills[]
Knights are significantly more dangerous and complex than most other enemies in the game and, indeed, the series as a whole. While most enemies are limited to running towards the player and/or shooting projectiles while stationary, the Knights actively dodge attacks directed at them and use their shields to block projectiles and bullets.
Knights themselves only use melee attacks, but apart from simple but highly damaging sword slashes they can also jump in the air to perform a fast lunge attack that is even more powerful and needs to be side-stepped to be avoided.
Tactics[]
- Using the TCC-2 "Perun" Crossbow against the Knights is ill-advised - though it will punch straight through the shield, they take only 75% damage from crossbow bolts.
- The MK III Grenade Launcher is a more useful alternative to the crossbow, especially with its Cluster Grenade alternate firing mode, although it is only usable in New Game+.
- Ironically, the Combat Knife is very effective against the Knights, especially when doubled. By attacking with the correct timing, coupled with good side-stepping, the player can stagger them and finish them off quickly, especially with a Rage Serum active. One slash from the knife will inflict a massive 520 damage with the Rage Serum active, which is already slightly more than half the maximum health of a Knight, and rapidly using dual knives even without a Rage Serum can almost completely stunlock a Knight to death.
- The Hoverboard Scooter is very useful against the Knights, as it gives the player better firepower and mobility against the Knights.
- However, the player should quickly dismount from the Hoverboard Scooter in the event it is about to explode, as the game may treat the player as having died if the Hoverboard Scooter runs out of battery charge with the player still riding on it.
- Saving a few L.I.F.E. gadgets is highly recommended in case the player's health is about to run out.
- H.E.A.R.T. gadgets are useless in the secret Knight battle since the player will automatically be sent back to the beginning of the secret with 1 HP if they are defeated anyway.
- In the Christmas area in "The Song Of The Stormbringer", if the player has summoned the friendly Draconian Burner via the wheel, he can be used to help the player against the Knight trio by distracting them.
- The SBC Cannon does massive damage to Knights, but should only be used when a Knight is in a state where it cannot dodge (e.g. just after attacking), as they will easily evade the cannonball otherwise. Just two fully charged cannonballs will kill one and can even potentially damage the other Knight behind him. With a Rage Serum active, the player can even quickly eliminate multiple Knights with one fully charged cannonball as long as they are lined up and not shielding themselves against projectiles. On the other hand, the player must be careful when using other explosive weapons for as long as the Rage Serum is active since close-range self-damage from explosive weapons can be high enough to instantly kill the player (gib them in the case of the XPML21 Rocket Launcher).
Trivia[]
- The Knights are a direct reference to the Dark Souls series. The fire with the broken sword is nearly identical to the Bonfires that act as save spots in the series, while their usage of a dodge roll is a common tactic used by players and enemies alike. The way the Knights spawn, rising from the ground while engulfed in a red light, is also similar to how Invaders spawn in.
- Furthermore, if the player loses to the Knights in the secret area in "Siberiade", they will be sent back to the bonfire, with an on-screen hint message reading "YOU DIED" (with a red background instead of blue). This is the same death message shown when a player dies in the Dark Souls games.
- The Knight's player model version reuses Sam's gameplay sounds from Serious Sam 2, albeit modified.
- The Knight lacks a NETRICSA entry.
- Although piercing projectiles, such as cannonballs and A-24 Devastator rockets, can pass through the Knight upon killing him, he can never be gibbed; instead he will always perform his death animation. This is not true for his player model counterpart, though, who uses the generic player gib model used since Serious Sam 3: BFE.
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem (First appearance) (non-canonical appearance)