Knight

Knight
Biographical information
Species:	Hive
Sect:	Hidden Swarm ; Spawn of Crota ; Blood of Oryx ; The Silent Brood
Gender:	Mixed
Purpose:	Heavy Infantry
Combat information
Weapon(s):	Boomer (common) ; Cleaver (uncommon) ; Shredder (rare)
Abilities:	Wall of Darkness ; High Durability ; Rapid Movement ; Berserk Mode ; Arc Shield (Epic) ; Hive Melee

"You Knights [...], lead your followers in battle. Take enough devastation to feed your worm, and a little more to grow, and take the tithe of your followers. Then take another portion, as much as you dare, and use it for your own purposes. But if it is too much, your peers will kill you and take it. Then tithe the remainder to the Ascendant you serve."

— Oryx, the Taken King

Knights are a caste of formidable Hive creatures.^[2] They are elite soldiers, and typically wield Hive Boomers or a Cleaver.^[3] They can also summon a shield directly in front of them for a few seconds to block incoming fire, while regenerating a small amount of health in that time frame. ^[4] On top of their formidable weaponry and defenses, Knights are even more deadly on Nightfall strikes where they acquire an Arc shield and increased effectiveness with their weapons. Some other knights, such as Blades of Crota or Urzok, the Hated, innately have Arc shields.

Overview

Knights are promoted from the ranks of the Hive's Acolytes, chosen based on their ability to fight and feed their hungering Worm on the power of conquered foes.^[5]

Gameplay

"It put up a hand and swallowed the rocket with a wall of shadow."

— Grimoire description.

Clad in armor as hard as relic iron, Knights serve as the Hive's forward heavy infantry and are their most versatile soldiers due to their superior arsenal. All Knights are capable of putting forth a Wall of Darkness, a large, black and ovular shield that completely protects them from frontal assaults and restores a set portion of their health. They are also surprisingly fast given their heavy armor, and are far more durable than most other Hive troops. Additionally, when on low health, they will be sent into a berserker rage, rushing towards the player for a high-damage melee attack while regenerating some of their lost health. The weapon they carry will affect their combat behavior.

Knights are most commonly armed with a Boomer, a handheld siege weapon capable of launching explosive Arc bolts that have devastating splash damage properties. Each bolt has a long effective range and can easily be fired one after another, forcing Guardians to fall back to another position on the battlefield while allowing the Knight to slowly corner his target. Since this dissuades any sort of close range combat, long-range weaponry with sustained damage output will fare the best against such Knights.

Alternatively, they can also be seen with a Shredder, a one-handed carbine that launches Void bolts one after another. While in the hands of an Acolyte, this weapon doesn't deal much damage, but in the hands of a Knight, it is far more accurate and has a faster rate of fire. This means that the player can get more easily suppressed by them. Knights with this weapon tend to stick to a certain distance and will try to re-position themselves if they are overtaken. Concentrated fire at any range will hold them in one place.

Knights armed with a Cleaver are some of the deadliest close-range enemies the player will encounter. They will constantly rush towards their target to land a series of powerful sword strikes, and will not stop until they kill them. Keep them at a distance to negate the use of their weapon and concentrate your fire on them to keep them stunlocked.

Known Knights

Types

Anointed Knight (Arc-shield)
Ascendant Knight
Breaker Knight
Brood Enforcer
Chosen Knight
Hallowed Knight

Unique Variants

Blade of Crota—found in Old Russia and the Moon. Drops a Sword when killed.
Swordbearer—found in Crota's End. Drops a Sword when killed.
Gatekeeper—found in Crota's End. Can only be killed by a Sword.
Vessel of Oryx—found in King's Fall. Consumes Corrupted Light and holds an Aura of Immortality that must be taken by the Brand-Claimer in order to kill it.
Light-Eater Knight—found in the Hard version of King's Fall. Acts like the Vessel of Oryx, except that it does not have an Aura and is not a Major.