The Gryphon inFor Honorserves as one of the most versatile support characters among the Knights Faction. As a Hybrid Class, the Gryphon wields its Bardiche polearm in dominating mid-ranged combat. However, it also boasts a number of support abilities that make it the perfect backup for team fights.
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However, the Gryphon’s versatile toolkit might make it tricky for newcomers to maximize the Class to their needs. Moreover, the heavy emphasis on support might make the Gryphon unviable for combat at first glance. Still, the Gryphon’s arsenal does offer a few surprises that, in the right hands, can devastate opponents.
They’re The Perfect Support
Unlike other Heroes, the Gryphon’s toolkitencourages supportive play. As such, newcomers may find themselves struggling tomaintain reasonable damage numbersor offense in general. Skilled Gryphons, though, tap into the Hero’s supportive abilities to keep allies alive.
Gryphons possess a flexible kit to accommodate cooperative setups. Aside from its Finishers being Veteran Moves with special properties, the Gryphon’s toolkit excels in ganking opponents. If possible, Gryphons shouldstay with heavy damage dealersin order to keep the pressure in team fights.
Healing Is Key
When used properly, a Gryphon in any team setupwon’t likely need a damage-intensive build.Rather, choosing the right healer Feats can ensure that their team remains intact while other members serve as primary damage dealers.
To do this, the Gryphon may want to prioritize the following Feats:
Understand Basic Attacks
Learning certain quirks hidden in the Gryphon’s basic attack options can help them understand why the Gryphon has what seems to be a “limited” moveset. Here are things to consider:
Veteran’s Moves
Courtesy of the Veteran’s Moves property, all Gryphon finishers possess special qualities:
Compensates Defense With Multiple Options
Granted, the Gryphon hasquite a straightforward toolkit. However, their rather slow attacks leave their defenses wide open to retaliation. Thankfully, the Hero does have unique approaches to Guardbreaks, Parries, and Dodges that boost their defensive potential.
Dodges
As with other Heroes, the Gryphon’s Dodge options allow them to try and outmaneuver enemies. However, this Hero’s versions of Dodges can give them an edge or a vulnerability depending on how they use them.
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Parries
Depending on the situation, a Gryphon can transform a Parry into an enemy’s worst nightmare:
Easy Pressure With Chains
Unlike other Heroes, the Gryphon has a straightforward chain of attacks. Considering their viability as a support role, the accessibility of their chains can greatly complement the Gryphon’s strength in the rear guard.
The Basic Chains
Surprisingl, the Gryphon has just one basic chain. As such, almost all of this class’s other maneuvers try to either lead into this chain, or use this very chain to get into their special moves.
Players shouldn’t confuse this straightforward chain with simplicity, as it to strategically think about the way they string attacks.
Chain Starters
As mentioned, the Hymn of the Winged Lion is designed to be an extremely accessible chain for the Gryphon. Multiple moves and attacks can lead to it:
Mid-Chain Starters
Unique to the Gryphon are Mid-Chain Starters, where certain moves count as the second attack in a combo chain. Players can follow up these attacks with any finisher or even the Veteran’s Kick:
Halt Rhythm With Veteran’s Kick
TheVeteran’s Kick (Guardbreak)is one of the two special moves in the Gryphon’s toolkit, and is designed to halt the opponent’s rhythm. Unlike other special moves, the Veteran’s Kick acts more of a quick finisher that pushes an enemy backward.
The Veteran’s Kick can come from many kinds of attacks. And given the accessibility of the Gryphon’s attack chains, Veteran’s Kick becomes one of the easiest mix-ups players can learn. Here are the many instances that can lead to this move:
Additional Finish
What makes Veteran’s Kick fun is that landing it successfully doesn’t stop the punishment. Should a Gryphon successfully hit with a Veteran’s Kick, they can quickly follow up with a Heavy. This becomes theVeteran’s Slash, a Guaranteed Top Heavy finisher.
Halt Rhythm With Gryphon’s Shove
Similar to the Veteran’s Kick is theGryphon’s Shove (Forward + Space, Guardbreak), which also serves as a neat interrupt to the enemy’s rhythm. This Unblockable attack acts as a fast bash that can lead to nasty surprises should it land on an opponent.
However, unlike the Veteran’s Kick, the Gryphon’s Shove acts more as an initiating tool. It works great when done to start certain maneuvers, or when accomplished in specific situations:
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Perks Should Prioritize Support
Unlike other Heroes, the supportive nature of the Gryphon means they can guarantee the team’s survival. Thankfully, some Perks exist precisely to keep the Gryphon alive and encourage them to get aggressive to dish out their best skills.
Feats Depend On Supportive Needs
True to its supportive nature, the Gryphon’s Feats also incentivize their role on the battlefield. However, just because they’re mainline support doesn’t mean their abilities are always built for healing. In fact, some Gryphon Feats are built to make them a walking debuffer against enemies.
Tier 4
Consider Special Move Risks
While it’s advised that Gryphons stay close to their comrades and maintain support, players may want to try dealing damage on the frontlines. This is perfectly possible with the right build, butthere are a lot of risks involving the Gryphon’s special moves.
Both the Gryphon’s Shove and Veteran’s Kick pose vulnerabilities that can ruin the Hero’s potential when misused. Here are some ways to counteract those flaws:
Countering Missed Shoves
Despite the usefulness of Gryphon’s Shove, enemies who manage to Dodge the Shove can render it useless. In fact, players who do not expect enemies to Dodge the Shove are almost always going to get hit by a nasty counter. However, players who can read what opponents will do after they miss that Shove can punish through certain counters:
Veteran’s Kick Vulnerability
While Veteran’s Kick works well as a pressure move, Gryphons need to be careful as they don’t have other Unblockable attacks. It doesn’t help that missing a Veteran’s Kick meansbecoming wide open for a Guardbreak.
To avoid this risk, players shouldn’t let opponents “read” through the arrival of a Veteran’s Kick. Instead of pulling off a Veteran’s Kick with a particular combo, they shoulddiversify the Kick’s appearance.Thankfully, the Gryphon’s kit has a lot of ways to switch up combos to make room for surprise Kicks, as described above.
