Relationships
Mom
King Knight's mom is very caring and spoiling to King Knight. She constantly treats her son like a child, calling him her "pumpkin-pauldron prince" and so on. Although he acts like he dislikes the attention, deep down he seeks her approval, which he lost at the end of King of Cards in exchange of the Pridemoor Keep's throne.
King Pridemoor
When King Pridemoor first reached King Knight, he was very welcoming and nice to him. When King Knight discovered his mother was in love with him, his attitude towards Pridemoor quickly changed to hate.
Specter Knight
Specter Knight has a hatred towards King Knight due to him being a "fool" and "a child, in the guise of a monarch". Every dialogue exchange between them has King Knight taunting on Specter Knight, calling him names such as "loyal lapdog" or "mangy beggar", showing their rivalry and antipathy for each other.
The Enchantress
At first, the Enchantress thought King Knight was a fool and a loser, but when he reached her, the Enchantress admitted that she underestimated him and attempted to persuade him that he was true king, and he didn't need any "jesters". When King Knight defeated the Enchantress and then The Grand Triumvirate, she offered him to become a true king in exchange for the lives of his "friends", labeling him as a Crown Jewel of the Order With No Quarter.
Strategy
Boss Battle
As one of the first members of The Order the player can face, King Knight is a fairly simple boss. He moves slowly and in a flashy prideful manner befitting of his personality. His main method of attack is to hop around the stage before executing a paralyzing stomp (if the player is on the ground, they will be stunned for a short time). Should the player fall prey to his attack, King Knight will slowly walk over to them and then strike with his scepter.
King Knight also uses a slashing charge which makes him quickly move in a straight line through the screen. After depleting approximately half his health, he will move into a corner and two horns will launch confetti into the air. While this is a good time to deal damage to him, the confetti will inflict damage to the player as it falls slowly to the ground.
In Specter of Torment
King Knight's stomp will change the floor levels so that the ground is no longer flat with some of the flooring being replaced with pits. He may also move in the air with help of Propeller Rats, leaving him briefly vulnerable, but also moving away from Specter Knight's reach.
His confetti is replaced with playing cards that can be Dash Slashed, each moving in a direction indicated by a corresponding arrow beside each card. He usually uses the Propeller Rats when the player knocks him into a pit he created, but he will also drop cards below him at both sides while hanging onto the rats.
As a playable character
Similarly, to Plague Knight in Plague of Shadows and Specter Knight in Specter of Torment, King Knight receives a new sprite set in King of Cards that makes him slightly smaller (almost the same size of Shovel Knight) and with unique animations for walking, jumping, climbing, among others.
King Knight can attack by dashing toward enemies with a move called the Shoulder Bash, which he can execute also while airborne. Hitting an enemy, a rough wall, or any object this way will send him into a twirl in which he can bounce off enemies and destroy dirt blocks like the Shovel Drop. Should he bounce off enemies or other objects, he can use his Shoulder Bash again, allowing the player to infinitely keep King Knight airborne as long he can continue to bounce off obstacles; most of King of Cards platform sections revolve around this mechanic.
His life meter is in the form of red hearts. He can also pick up hearts when damaging enemies, which recover health. He uses his own form of Relics, called Heirlooms. King Knight's magic, called Vigor, is numerical as opposed to a meter. He can also find and later buy special items called Decrees, which temporarily summons special minions to aid King Knight.
Much like the other playable characters, King Knight can also buy different armors that improves his abilities, as well purchase upgrades for his Shoulder Bash.
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