Karls Brandt

Unique Passive🔗

Star of Transcendence Passive

Tier	Effect Name	Effect
First Acquisition		At game start, if there is a unit with higher attack power than the user, attack power increases by 15%. Once per game, when taking lethal damage, revives with 35% HP. On revival, deals damage equal to 35% of attack power to enemies within 1 tile radius.
Max Awakening		At game start, if there is a unit with higher attack power than the user, attack power increases by 30%. Once per game, when taking lethal damage, revives with 50% HP. On revival, deals damage equal to 50% of attack power to enemies within 1 tile radius and recovers TP equal to the number of enemies hit. After revival, all normal skill cooldowns are reset.
Max Manifestation		At game start, if there is a unit with higher attack power than the user, attack power increases by 50% and HP increases by 25%. Once per game, when taking lethal damage, revives with 80% HP and removes all debuffs. On revival, deals damage equal to 80% of attack power to enemies within 1 tile radius and recovers TP equal to the number of enemies hit. After revival, all normal skill cooldowns are reset.

Classes🔗

Tier	Class
Tier 1	Fighter
Tier 2	Knight, Gladiator
Tier 3	Arc Knight, Dark Knight, Dragon Slayer

Common Classes🔗

Fighter [Tier 1]+33 more → - Basic class that fights up close using a sword.

Offensive

Lv	Effect
1	When attacking in combat, takes 25% less counter damage.
2	When attacking in combat, takes 25% less counter damage, and on critical hit takes 50% less counter damage.

Knight [Tier 2]+14 more → - Knight class skilled in group combat through long training in advanced swordsmanship and formal tactics.

Uplift

Lv	Effect
1	Damage taken by the user and adjacent allies is reduced by 10%, and in combat if there is an adjacent ally, attack power increases by 20%.
2	Damage taken by the user and adjacent allies is reduced by 10%, and in combat if there is an adjacent ally, attack power increases by 25%.

Gladiator [Tier 2]+6 more → - A powerful and valiant battlefield warrior who uses a greatsword and is hardened in real combat.

Valor

Lv	Effect
1	When attacking in combat, attack power increases by 20%, and if HP is 50% or below, critical hit chance increases by 10%.
2	When attacking in combat, attack power increases by 25%, and if HP is 50% or below, critical hit chance increases by 15%.

Arc Knight [Tier 3]+5 more → - Superior knight who leads battles to victory from the vanguard with skilled swordsmanship and strong knightly spirit.

Suppression

Lv	Effect
1	Before using a skill, attack power increases by 30%, and gains an aura until the start of the next turn that applies the Suppression effect to adjacent enemies. (Suppression Cannot be removedSkill control:: Attack power/Spell power/Critical hit chance -25%. Class passives cannot activate.)
2	Before using a skill, attack power increases by 40%, and gains an aura until the start of the next turn that applies the Suppression effect to adjacent enemies.

Dark Knight [Tier 3]+4 more → - Hybrid knight who uses a sword and embraces the power of darkness for special abilities and techniques.

Curse of the Abyss

Lv	Effect
1	When using an area skill, attack power increases by 30% and applies the Weaken effect for 2 turns with 40% chance to enemies hit. At the end of the character's turn, applies Weaken for 2 turns to adjacent enemies. Damage taken in combat against enemies with a debuff is reduced by 5%. Damage taken in combat against enemies with the Enfeeble effect is additionally reduced by 5%. (Weaken Enfeeble (duration 2):: Attack power/Spell power -25%.)
2	When using an area skill, attack power increases by 40% and applies the Weaken effect for 2 turns with 40% chance to enemies hit. At the end of the character's turn, applies Weaken for 2 turns to adjacent enemies. Damage taken in combat against enemies with a debuff is reduced by 10%. Damage taken in combat against enemies with the Enfeeble effect is additionally reduced by 10%.

Unique Class🔗

Dragon Slayer [Tier 3] - Superior warrior class that severs the enemy's lifeline with explosive techniques and combat ability using a greatsword.

Frenzy

Lv	Effect
1	When attacking in combat, attack power increases by 40% and critical hit chance increases by 15%. If HP is 50% or below, ultimate damage increases by 40% and damage taken is reduced by 25%.
2	When attacking in combat, attack power increases by 50% and critical hit chance increases by 20%. If HP is 50% or below, ultimate damage increases by 50% and damage taken is reduced by 25%.

Common Skills🔗

Skill	Tags	TP	Range	CD	Effect
Chained Slash+23 more →	Melee Battle	1	1-1	3 turns	Deals damage equal to 130% of attack power to an enemy, and if counterattacked, a follow-up strike triggers dealing damage equal to 30% of attack power. Allowed weapons: Sword, Greatsword, Sword/Shield, Gun Slicer, Axe
Double Piercing Wave+19 more →	Melee Healing Movement Attack Combat	2	1-1	4 turns	Deal damage equal to 170% of Attack Power to an enemy, and when a critical hit triggers, restore HP equal to 50% of Attack Power. Upon killing an enemy, advance to the spot where the enemy was. Allowed weapons: Sword, Greatsword, Sword/Shield, Gun Slicer, Axe
Sprint+24 more →	-	1	1-1	2 turns	Immediately after using the skill, gains an Additional Action and critical hit chance increases by 15% during this turn.
Vigor Roar+7 more →	Shout	4	Self	2 turns	Applies the Vigor effect to self and adjacent allies for 2 turns. Vigor Shout (Duration 2): After a melee attack, you can additionally use an attack or skill. Removed when triggered.
Wind Flame Slash+5 more →	Melee	2	Self	3 turns	Sweeps with the sword, dealing damage equal to 110% of Attack Power to enemies within 1 tile radius and applying the Rupture effect for 2 turns. Rupture Damage over timeBleed (Duration 2 turns): At the end of the character's turn, deals physical fixed damage equal to 5% of Attack Power per 1 tile of distance moved. Allowed weapons: Sword, Greatsword
Spinning Wheel Slash+3 more →	Melee Healing TP Removal	2	Self	2 turns	Sweeps with the sword, dealing damage equal to 60% of attack power to enemies within 1 tile around and lowering their TP by 1 each. Recovers HP equal to 10% of attack power per enemy that took damage. Allowed weapons: Sword, Greatsword, Sword/Shield
Dark Embrace+5 more →	Magic Dark Ranged Directional Position Control	3	1-1	2 turns	Designating a direction, deals damage equal to 50% of attack power to enemies within 4 tiles ahead and pulls them to the nearest possible tile while dealing damage equal to 50% of attack power.

Unique Skills🔗

Skill	Tags	TP	Range	CD	Effect
Void Slaying Slash	Slash Melee Combat	-	1-1	3 turns	Critical hit chance increases in proportion to the ratio of HP lost, and consumes all TP to deal damage equal to 110% of attack power plus added damage equal to 25% of attack power per TP consumed. On critical hit, gains the Fighting Spirit effect for 2 turns and teleports to a selected tile within 4 tiles around. Allowed weapons: Sword, Greatsword • Fighting Spirit (duration 2 turns): Attack power/Spell power +20%.

Ultimate🔗

Heaven Earth Crusher

Ultimate Strike Flame Ranged

• Max Awakening: Deals damage equal to 70% of attack power to enemies within range, plus additional defense-ignoring damage equal to 70% of attack power.
• Max Manifestation: Deals damage equal to 100% of attack power to enemies within range, plus additional defense-ignoring damage equal to 100% of attack power.
• CostTP 5RangeSelfAreaWide (AoE)Cooldown5 turns
• Allowed weapons: Sword, Greatsword

Artifacts🔗

Warrior's Essence+11 more →

Lv	Effect
1	On melee skill use, Attack Power +15%.
2	On melee skill use, Attack Power +20%.
3	On melee skill use, Attack Power +25%. Physical Penetration +10%.
4	On melee skill use, Attack Power +30%. Physical Penetration +15%.

Will of the Fatal Strike+4 more →

Lv	Effect
1	On ultimate use, Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage +15%. Area Skill Damage +10%.
2	On ultimate use, Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage +20%. Area Skill Damage +15%.
3	On ultimate use, Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage +25%. Area Skill Damage +20%.
4	On ultimate use, Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage +30%. Area Skill Damage +25%.

Hellkite's Gaze

Lv	Effect
1	Attack Power -10%. Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage/Flame Resistance +15%.
2	Attack Power -10%. Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage/Flame Resistance +20%.
3	Attack Power -10%. Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage/Flame Resistance +25%.
4	Attack Power -10%. Critical Hit Chance/Critical Damage/Flame Resistance +30%.

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Guide🔗

Class (8.1):

• Shared classes are Arc Knight and Dark Knight; unique class is Dragon Slayer. Mainly used are Dragon Slayer (raises crit rate, enables a one-shot ultimate) and Arc Knight (can block enemy class passives).
• In PVE, Dragon Slayer is used to leverage the high crit-damage ceiling; in the 2025 PVP environment where physical penetration became meta and crits fell out of favor, Arc Knight is mainly used.
• Aside: narrative director Choi Yeon-gyu reportedly requested buffs to the Dragon Slayer class from the dev team quite a bit, but it did not pass.

Core Skills and Ultimate (8.2):

• Main skill is the single-target Yeolsalseom from Dragon Slayer. Base 110% of Attack, consuming all TP but dealing +25% extra damage per 1 TP lost; crit rate rises in proportion to lost HP; on crit, a 2-turn +20% Attack/Magic buff applies and it teleports within 4 tiles nearby 1. High single-target power plus mobility, a broken-tier skill. Synergizes well with Karls, who can restore TP via revival and tends to stack crit rate. Because of this skill, crit rate is Karls' core stat, which is why the Dragon Slayer (which grants a flat 20% crit rate) is recommended. Since consuming all TP is the condition, aside from cooldown it can even be cast at 0 TP. So giving him the TP1 skill Yeonseom means he never needs a basic attack. Adding "Dash" to supplement mobility and crit rate completes the basic setup.
• Notably, Karls is a Fighter but has no Swordsman advancement, so he cannot learn Danwolseom. His only ranged (2+ tile) attack is Dark Embrace. Leave ranged combat to others and close in with Dash and Yeolsalseom warp. He has Knight instead of Swordsman so he can learn Vigor Shout, a very good buff, but it costs 4 TP and Karls is a dealer, so it is not much recommended.
• The ultimate Heaven Earth Crusher hits AoE in a cross shape (surrounding 8 tiles plus 6 tiles front/back/left/right) centered on himself: first 70% of Attack damage, then an additional 70% of Attack as defense-ignoring damage, a defense-penetrating ultimate. No extra effects, but high multiplier, wide range, and defense penetration make it quite powerful.
• At Max Manifestation it totals 200% damage; with Dragon Slayer, ultimate damage is +50% when HP is 50% or below, giving it comeback power on par with the Black Prince's Asura Pacheonmu.

Recommended Gear (8.3):

• Signature weapon is Meolsaljiokgeom, a weapon that shares history with the Genesis War series. Bonus stat is Attack%. It grants crit rate whenever HP is not 100%, and on crit deals Attack-scaled damage to enemies within 2 tiles. Also applies a "Rupture" debuff dealing 5% of Attack physical damage per tile moved for 2 turns. Good synergy with the crit-focused Karls.
• For armor, the Crow set is most recommended; if unavailable, the Assassin set is standard. A high-manifestation Karls who can equip artifacts can use "Hellkite's Gaze" (which raises HP/crit rate/crit damage), so the Crow set is not mandatory. But since Attack drops 10%, a Ilgidangcheon set or a Hyeopgaek 2 + Salsu 2 set is needed to shore up Attack.
• Users building physical penetration sometimes drop Meolsaljiokgeom and use Imperial Armada plus the Ilgi set. Karls has high base Attack, so hitting 100% physical penetration can delete most opponents in one hit.
• Note the Karls-themed "Bloodstained Reaper" set is somehow Heavy type rather than Medium, so Karls himself cannot wear it.
• For accessories, since crit is so important, the Golden Dice is essentially required. A high-manifestation Karls who can supplement crit rate via artifact can also run the Sawtooth Arrowhead as main accessory. The Goyeongban is also viable.
• Artifact: in practice, Hellkite's Gaze is used as a fixed choice.

Overall Assessment (8.4):

• An excellent character with a strong nuke, AoE, high-performance revival, and good mobility, with simple setup so even beginners can use him easily. Popping a crit with Yeolsalseom lets him warp for repositioning, so mobility is barely a weakness. With a revive and a 0-TP-cost skill, he is brainless to pilot; revival comes with a 3-part combo of skill cooldown reset + AoE damage + TP recovery, enabling tactics like warping into the middle of the enemy with Yeolsalseom then, after reviving, scorching the map with Heaven Earth Crusher. A high-manifestation Karls is a guaranteed-crit character, so even basic attacks deal skill-level damage, bomb-drop-level effect.
• For high-manifestation Karls, from the 4th manifestation the passive gains HP boost, making him fairly tanky; via artifacts he can raise melee Attack (Warrior's Essence) or equip the effectively-signature Hellkite's Gaze, paying 10% Attack to secure essential crit rate, crit damage, and HP, greatly easing the difficulty of crit specialization. At Max Manifestation there is a 25% HP increase, so he can run as a tanky dealer with HP gear or switch to full burst, and runes no longer must be crit runes, giving flexible builds. In short, beginner-friendly yet high-ceiling with broad investment options.
• Cautions: to gain the "Star of Transcendence" buff you must field 1 ally with higher Attack than Karls, but fielding the Black Prince, or a well-raised Scharnhorst / young Lacid, etc., makes this easy; even a well-raised Sakiseuki works. Also, though the revive is strong, it does not clear debuffs, so if stunned you can revive and die again doing nothing. Also crit (especially crit rate) focused build is essential, but the only relevant trait class is Dragon Slayer, so stat-tuning is tricky. High-manifestation Karls becomes tanky, revive gains debuff removal, and crit setup can be solved via artifact, so if you main Karls, gather shards to secure high awakening + high manifestation. If all that is too much bother, money solves it.
• In PVP he was usable due to the revive, but his lord the Black Prince arrived with Ammyeongyeonsalgeom, a skill that ignores revival and removes the target, so pulling Karls out against the Black Prince is a bit lacking. (Original-lore-accurate.) Still, combining high manifestation with HP-raising armor like Pungun leaves room to endure Death Lord Black Prince's Ammyeongyeonsalgeom.
• Footnote 2: with Myeonggye 2-set + Pungun 2-set, HP rune work and gear work, over 9,000 HP is possible at 6th manifestation. Except against Sword Emperor Black Prince, he won't die in one hit, and revives at 80% HP, so he must be killed twice.

Tier rating: No explicit S/A/B letter tier is given in this text. (tier letter not present)

Awakening/Manifestation progression: Awakening progression via Inner Cube. Each stage grants two enhancements: - Stage 1: Ultimate Enhancement 1; Stat Enhancement 1. - Stage 2: Unique Passive Enhancement 1; Stat Enhancement 2. - Stage 3: Ultimate Enhancement 2; Acquire Artifacts: Hellkite's Gaze, Warrior's Essence, Will of the Fatal Strike. - Stage 4: Unique Passive Enhancement 2; Artifact Enhancement 1. - Stage 5: Ultimate Enhancement 3; Artifact Enhancement 2. - Stage 6: Unique Passive Enhancement 3; Artifact Enhancement 3. Note: The passive/ultimate scaling values appear in the base kit sections; e.g. ultimate Heaven Earth Crusher goes from 70%+70% to 100%+100%.

Release Date🔗

Original Korean release: Not stated as an explicit date in the overview. The overview says he was "released together with the launch". The version table lists the game's launch as 2024/1/9 (2024-01-09), so Karls released at launch, 2024-01-09.

Global status: Live now.