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How to solo Kane, as a Buccaneer

AuthorMessage
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Ahoy there mateys! I thought I'd share with you guys & gals my Buccaneer strategy for soloing that crafty Kane & his Courtly cohorts. Note-- this also should work for other melee classes.

I am currently on a quest to solo Kane 100+ times as a Buccaneer, & just recently hit 40 successful runs. Now I had 8-10 runs within the first 15 attempts where I used henchmen as I learned how to deal with the Court. So that leaves 30+ successful runs w/ no henchmen used, thus far. So this strategy works extremely well & I have had several runs w/out losing a single crew member. Before I get into some of the specifics about the battle, here's a couple notes.
  • Moo/Tower gear is not at all necessary. I do use 2 pieces-- but they are not the most sought after pieces.
  • You do not need any Crown or Bundle Companions-- just crew that the game gives you.

NOW FOR THE GEAR
Gear you do need for this specific strategy- Captain Blood's Jacket, Doubloons & decent doubloon management. Besides that you can get by quite successfully w/ a good mix of hard hitting attacks, shields & heals.

My Gear (I have Relentless & Burst Fire trained)

Hat- Oishi's Great Helm w/ Assassin's Strike
Outfit- Captain Blood's Jacket w/ Blood Flames
Boots- Golden Hoof Tabi (Tower) w/ Super Strike & Levi's Call
Access.- Schemer's Eyepatch w/ Assassin's
Totem- Token of Moo Manchu (Tower) w/ Super Strike & Vicious Charge
Charm- Special Branch Ribbon w/ Valor's Fortress
Ring- Black Pearl Circle w/ Revive
Pet- Scylla Spawn w/ G- Regroup, G-Rally, G-Shark's Fury, G-Relentless, G-Burst Fire, G-Elusive, G-Dodgy

Reasons behind gear choices: You need extra oomph (Assassin's, Super Strikes, Vicious) to hit the Court hard & trigger your Bucc's chains. You need extra shielding because the court hits hard (Valor's for companion...Levi's, Kraken's for you). You need extra heals. W/ only 3 out of 7 enemies STR-based, extra STR-Buffs will help trigger Criticals against most enemies.

Preferred Doubloons

*Weapon Power (supercharges attacks)
*Maelstrom/Hurricane/Galewind (great for creating space)
*Critical Boost (Blade Storms/Epics galore)
*Health/Retreat line of doubloons (just stayin' aliiiiiiiive!!)
*Any Summons types (keeps enemies entertained)
*Armor Buffs/Tower Shield/Shield Wall (take less damage)
*Sluggish (puts a halt to enemies Chains, while you unleash your own)
Dodge (can help a bit)

CREW CHOICE

Peter Quint (1st Mate)For his 1st round Whale's Might, Relent/Second Chance/Blade Storm chains
Scratch (2nd) For his Mojo Buffs, AoE attacks, only 1 Will based enemy (besides Kane), extra summon
Gracie Conrad (3rd) For her HtL3 Golem & her own HtL

Companion Notes

Gracie's Golem is vital to solo success as a Bucc. & can prevent/minimize crew damage for 1-2 rounds.
Quint's Vicious helps reduce an enemy's Accur.
Scratch's Buffs give the Blood Flames a mega-boost in damage.

OTHER KEY, CREW NOTES

Vengeance Strike 3 is a life saver!
When in doubt, spread out!

(actual combat tips...in next post)

Thank You for reading
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
TIME TO ENGAGE

First, some key elements of the Kane battle- things that I've learned from soloing & strategies/tips that work for me, as a Bucc. Other players have their methods that they prefer, but these are things that have helped me solo Kane 40+ times, thus far & easily at times.

First Priority & Key Tactics
  • Halt &/or eliminate Queen's/2 Marines' charges before they reach your crew-- but semi-close to your crew. Their charges & leaving the other Court members behind, can be their downfall.
  • Shield/Buff 1st...attack 2nd. As a Bucc, you & Quint have a full arsenal of Epics to chain against the enemy. You can wipe out Queen/Marine w/out attacking them. If they hit you, more than likely it will trigger a long chain of Buffed-Epics, thus doing major damage.
  • Don't directly attack Rooke w/ a melee unit...pretty much ever. He will kill himself by attacking you & Kane will have already moved. If you attack Rooke & do damage, Kane will port in & be within 2 squares of your pirate. Then your move is up & Kane will be in range to attack you in the next round. By letting Rooke come to you, Kane will have already moved. He may Castle in, but you will get your turn to move, out of harms way.
  • If possible, take down Bishop after dropping Blood Flames. He can destroy the Flames w/ his AoE, if even your pet or a summons is near them & in that AoE 'X' pattern range.
  • Just because you can't kill Kane until all units are removed, it doesn't mean you can't get him near-death prior to eliminating the rest of the Court.
  • Don't underestimate Kane &/or strike him too early. If needed, take 5-10+ rds to get the right doubloons/powers to show up, summon minions, Buff/Shield/Heal your pirate & remaining crew. Wait until you are guaranteed to finish him off. I've seen him Dodge 3 Relent. & 3 Burst Fires...& more!
  • Know when to hold 'em...know when to fold 'em. Sometimes you get dealt an absolutely horrible hand. If you're goal is to solo Kane, it's ideal to have your powers available.

(continued....)
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
(...continual)
  • Burst Fire can be good & bad. BF's against Rooke will get Rookechet'ed to allies. Buuut, since Buccs have Vengeance 3 the BF's can 'get through'. If Veng. 3 stuns Rooke, it will cancel his Rookechet, & the BF's will hit (no damage). They may become Crits which will trigger Blade Storms.
  • Positioning of Gracie's Golem is crucial & requires a bit of luck/guess work for max. effectiveness. I choose to center her Golem, 2 rows in front of my crew. The only enemy units that will probably reach, are Queen & the 2 Marines-- these are who you want to halt. Sometimes Bishop will reach, but if Gracie is in front she can help with Holding the Line. The key is to stop Queen & the 2 Marines from reaching you & doing any damage in the 1st (maybe 2nd) round. A few things will happen when they reach the Golem. Queen will just be held...or she will waste her Assassin's Strike on the Golem. It may finish it off & allow the Marines to advance-- but that's one devastating attack off the board. Most times she does not attack the Golem. If both Marines reach & get halted, they will waste their Vicious Charges on the Golem. The best scenario is all 3 are halted & both Marines waste their charges. Golem will be destroyed but it did it's job & the next round you can hit HARD!!
  • Positioning of the Blood Flames is so important. You either want to hit the hard charging Queen & Marines & wipe them out. Or you want to place them where Rooke will run into them. You not only hit him hard & get his massive health down...Kane will port in & hopefully get hit by them after the round. If Kane doesn't, he often will pass through the remaining Flame-field & exhaust nearly all his health. Other enemies will voluntarily run into them.
  • Once Rooke is gone, & if you have successfully taken Kane's health down, Kane is in serious trouble. Though he has been full of surprises before!!! But in most cases, you should have enough tools to easily finish him off, w/out his Castle buddy around.
(cont'd...)
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
(...continual).

MY STRATEGY
Luck is ever present in P101 & often success (especially solo) is dependent upon things not going wrong. Sometimes it's beyond our control-- endless enemy Crits, wrong doubloons, pets/summons interfering, key powers not showing. In some cases there's not much we can do. If you get one of those absolutely unlucky battle scenarios, it may be best to FLEE, regroup & retry. Again, we are talking about soloing one of the toughest instances in P101...& as a Bucc. So you will need some things going in your favor.
Round 1
Again, what powers show up will determine your course of action. I've soloed w/out Blood Flames/Valor's Fortress showing up for 5+ rounds. It's harder...much harder, but it can be done. For this guide & the purpose of helping Buccs (or other melee classes) solo Kane, I'm going w/ a best case scenario. And I'll add some other effective, alternative strategies as well.

First round priorities
  • Ideally you want the Flames & Fortress in your Roster-- at least 1 of them. Hopefully a Kraken's/Levi's & hard hitting attacks show up, as well. I alternate attack w/ buff/shield/heal. Flames in 1st slot, Valor's in 2nd slot. Then I go attack, buff, attack, shield, attack, heal, attack.... This way you should get a good mix of power & defense.
  • Doubloons I want in RD 1-- "Pushback", Weapon Power, Sluggish, Spell Power, Tower Shield. If I get one of those, I save it for round 2. If I don't, I use whatever shows up. The doubloon system is wonky & I often get the same 5 doubloons the entire battle, despite having 6 pages.

Round 1 Course of Action
  • Use Fortress on Quint
  • Use Quint's Whale's Might
  • If Blood Flames shows, use Scratch's 100% Mojo Buff. If BF doesn't show, I discard a couple of less desirable powers & use Scratch's 5-round buff-- hoping it will allow BF's to show up in the next couple RDS. If you use the 100% buff too early, you may waste it if BF's don't show up within 3 RDS.
  • Place Gracie's Golem centered 2 rows ahead of my crew.
(cont'd...)
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Round 2

If all goes well in RD 1, you'll have Forted Quint, Buffed your crew's Strength & Spell Power, & placed the Golem where it halts the 3 hard charging enemies & uses up some of their pesky powers. You will have a useful Doubloon at your disposal for RD 2. Depending on how the randomness of battle plays out, you will have a few ways to go in the next few rounds.
  • If the Golem halted the enemy chargers, now is your chance to hit them...& hit them hard! If I have a Kraken's/Levi's at my disposal, I like to use it in the 2nd round, to protect my pirate. If not, I'll either Buff STR w/ a Shark's Fury or Super/Assassin's Strike the Queen or a Marine. I'll send Forted Quint to hit the Queen with his Super. If Flames had shown up in the 1st round, I either keep my pirate next to Scratch, Shield & then use his 50% Buff (on top of his 100% Buff, from RD 1) or if there is a good opening for all 5 flames, just drop the Flames. If I choose to drop them I try to move my crew back behind them. But if 1 is adjacent to a Marine, I worry about that En Passant Immobilizing, so I don't waste the opportunity to attack. If conditions are right, I prefer to get 2 Scratch Buff's active before dropping the Flames-- 1 Flame will then finish a Marine...2 for Queen. But don't hesitate to drop w/ only 1 active Buff, especially if the enemy got to & through the Golem & advanced a bit too close for comfort.
  • Maelstrom/Galewind/Hurricane work well in the 2nd or 3rd RDS...if I have Flames, Fortress & Shields showing-- & if the Golem did it's job stopping all 3 chargers. Then I have time to Buff/Shield for 2 rounds w/ pirate & Scratcth. And hit hard w/ Quint. In that 3rd round I use the 'pushback' doubloon & drop the Flames, knowing the enemy will have to advance through them.
  • Weapon Power is great for RD 2.
  • If Sluggish shows up, I want to use that in the 2nd round. I get my Fort/Shields/Buffs in, use Sluggish & hit with Quint & Gracie, without fear of Queen/Marine Epics kicking in.

(cont'd...)
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
BEYOND ROUND 2

If you drop BF's in RD 2, you want to try to take out any enemies that you're confident you can dispose of. If Queen or a Marine are low in health, in RD 3 finish them. You want those Flames to do maximum damage on Rooke & Kane...along w/ any other full-health enemies that choose to move into them. It stinks when an enemy with only 50 health left wipes out a Flame (unless that enemy is Kane at the end of the battle) So finishing off any 'weakened' enemies via attacks helps the Flames do max damage to other enemies. Also, you want to be careful not to move any allies into a position that allows Bishop to target them & the Flames w/ his 'X'-shaped AoE. If he's within range of some hard hitting attacks, go take him out to eliminate the possibility of Bishop destroying the Flames. Most times he can't handle a Buffed chain of attacks from Quint &/or your Bucc.

There are always some enemy stragglers that you can safely pick-off as you evade Rooke/Kane. As a Bucc, eliminating Deacon & Bishop are very easy. Take them out before they can get lucky & score some Crits against your crew.

Things left to be wary of

  • If a Marine is still on the board, don't let it promote into a Queen! Most times, once you get on the opposite side of the board, Marines go after you & stay away from the Courtly Promotion, 1st row. Use this & summons to your advantage.
  • Watch out for a Marine's En Passant.
  • Always remember Rooke's Overprotection/knockback. Letting him attack you eliminates it & Kane attacking you in the next RD (because you still get your move) & you often score a big chain.
  • Be careful with Burst Fires on Rooke, but know that if Veng. 3 stuns him, your BF's will not get blocked & can trigger Blade Storms.
  • Overbuff/Shield before going in to finish Kane off. Save an Assassin's or Super Strike to attack him, after Buffing/Shielding via doubloons. Save a Sluggish/Weapon Power/Tower Shield/Critical Boost for your final strike- just to be safe!

Good luck & have fun soloing!!
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
ValkoorTheVictorio... on Aug 30, 2016 wrote:
Ahoy there mateys! I thought I'd share with you guys & gals my Buccaneer strategy for soloing that crafty Kane & his Courtly cohorts. Note-- this also should work for other melee classes.

I am currently on a quest to solo Kane 100+ times as a Buccaneer, & just recently hit 40 successful runs. Now I had 8-10 runs within the first 15 attempts where I used henchmen as I learned how to deal with the Court. So that leaves 30+ successful runs w/ no henchmen used, thus far. So this strategy works extremely well & I have had several runs w/out losing a single crew member. Before I get into some of the specifics about the battle, here's a couple notes.
  • Moo/Tower gear is not at all necessary. I do use 2 pieces-- but they are not the most sought after pieces.
  • You do not need any Crown or Bundle Companions-- just crew that the game gives you.

NOW FOR THE GEAR
Gear you do need for this specific strategy- Captain Blood's Jacket, Doubloons & decent doubloon management. Besides that you can get by quite successfully w/ a good mix of hard hitting attacks, shields & heals.

My Gear (I have Relentless & Burst Fire trained)

Hat- Oishi's Great Helm w/ Assassin's Strike
Outfit- Captain Blood's Jacket w/ Blood Flames
Boots- Golden Hoof Tabi (Tower) w/ Super Strike & Levi's Call
Access.- Schemer's Eyepatch w/ Assassin's
Totem- Token of Moo Manchu (Tower) w/ Super Strike & Vicious Charge
Charm- Special Branch Ribbon w/ Valor's Fortress
Ring- Black Pearl Circle w/ Revive
Pet- Scylla Spawn w/ G- Regroup, G-Rally, G-Shark's Fury, G-Relentless, G-Burst Fire, G-Elusive, G-Dodgy

Reasons behind gear choices: You need extra oomph (Assassin's, Super Strikes, Vicious) to hit the Court hard & trigger your Bucc's chains. You need extra shielding because the court hits hard (Valor's for companion...Levi's, Kraken's for you). You need extra heals. W/ only 3 out of 7 enemies STR-based, extra STR-Buffs will help trigger Criticals against most enemies.

Preferred Doubloons

*Weapon Power (supercharges attacks)
*Maelstrom/Hurricane/Galewind (great for creating space)
*Critical Boost (Blade Storms/Epics galore)
*Health/Retreat line of doubloons (just stayin' aliiiiiiiive!!)
*Any Summons types (keeps enemies entertained)
*Armor Buffs/Tower Shield/Shield Wall (take less damage)
*Sluggish (puts a halt to enemies Chains, while you unleash your own)
Dodge (can help a bit)

CREW CHOICE

Peter Quint (1st Mate)For his 1st round Whale's Might, Relent/Second Chance/Blade Storm chains
Scratch (2nd) For his Mojo Buffs, AoE attacks, only 1 Will based enemy (besides Kane), extra summon
Gracie Conrad (3rd) For her HtL3 Golem & her own HtL

Companion Notes

Gracie's Golem is vital to solo success as a Bucc. & can prevent/minimize crew damage for 1-2 rounds.
Quint's Vicious helps reduce an enemy's Accur.
Scratch's Buffs give the Blood Flames a mega-boost in damage.

OTHER KEY, CREW NOTES

Vengeance Strike 3 is a life saver!
When in doubt, spread out!

(actual combat tips...in next post)

Thank You for reading
WHOOOOPS!!! I forgot to list my weapon of choice in the original post.

Helios Set from the Crown Shop.

Since I have Relentless 2 & Burst Fire 2, I wanted the highest damage output, Shooty/Slashy weapon I could get. There are other Shooty/Slashy weapons that will surely work...even from the Bazaar. But the ranged AoE power from the Helios Set can actually come in handy towards the end of the Kane fight, when Kane is all alone. An extra 300+ damage from a safe range is always nice.
Lieutenant
Mar 23, 2012
184
Hey Valkoor, this is indeed a most excellent post and I will definitely be trying it out myself later, however I have a question to ask you regarding doubloons:

How do you go about farming them? Is there a particular method that you've found to be the most effective?

I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say on this matter, as doubloons seem to be crucial to this battle.
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
King Crimson on Sep 1, 2016 wrote:
Hey Valkoor, this is indeed a most excellent post and I will definitely be trying it out myself later, however I have a question to ask you regarding doubloons:

How do you go about farming them? Is there a particular method that you've found to be the most effective?

I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say on this matter, as doubloons seem to be crucial to this battle.
Thank you & best of luck to you on going in solo.

It's funny because doubloons are pretty crucial to bettering your chances. But that being said, I have had many runs where 'junk' doubs showed up in just about every round-- discarding doubs every round because what was showing up wasn't worth using, just for the sake of wasting them. I have even had some runs where the Flames never came into play & also with little help from doubs too.

Doubs are key but you absolutely have to know the ins & outs of the battle/enemies. Even someone w/ the "best" possible doubs, can struggle in this battle if they don't execute combat properly. You have to have luck on your side, but you also better come with your A-game. Kane & company don't hold back, that's for sure. But I would say that the Blood Flames & battle tactics are far more important than the doubs. I have a much easier time solo if the right doubs don't show, versus the Flames not showing (Fortress too).

As for farming for doubloons...

If you have a group, the Tower is always a good source of GPC's & high level doubs. Get a skilled group together & hit the Tower for some speed runs.

But for me, I prefer to farm 2-lock GPC's in Achaea, because I can go at my own pace. I have 2 accounts so I speed through the realms looking for 2-lock chests & then port in w/ the 2nd account. Also, & I don't think many people know this, but the doubloons that come from GPC's appear to be weighted towards the classes of pirates unlocking them. I have spent some time researching this & it appears that the doubloons are tailored towards specific classes. If I need Spell Power, Summons or Shields, I use WD & my Bucc...or 2 WD's. I will almost always get Will- based doubs. When I use a Musket, I get a lot of Accuracy & Agility doubs. Also, using a low level pirate w/ a high level in a high level area, seems to grant you doubs that your high level doesn't already have.

But the 2 Achaea chests are my fastest source for acquiring doubloons.
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Some Additional Tips/Tactics

Your max has Vengeance 3, which gives a chance to stun when landing any of your 3 VS's. Use this advantage when going in against enemies w/ melee Epics. If your pirate is shielded & buffed, don't hesitate to attack Queen &/or Marines. You will trigger a combo of First Strikes, Repel Boarders, Vengeance & possibly Relentless. Chances are you will get hit, while being shielded. Your VS(s) will kick in & possibly stun the enemy. If it doesn't, you should nearly exhaust the enemy's Epics. Whether you stun or exhaust their Epics, sending in a Forted Quint to follow your pirate, will give him the chance to score a chain of Attack/Blade Storm(s)/Relentless/Second Chance...w/out facing retaliation, due to the enemy being stunned or out of Epics. It's a great, shielded 1-2 punch.

Be very careful w/ attack positioning if 1 of your Blade Storm companions is adjacent to an enemy & Rooke.

For example: Quint is adjacent to both Queen & Rooke. You have Quint's Super available. Make sure to re-position Quint to where he can attack Queen while no longer adjacent to Rooke. This will assure that the attack, ensuing Blade Storms & Relentless strikes only target Queen. But most important, it will prevent Blade Storm from triggering against Rooke. What happens is, if it hits Rooke Kane will Castle in & probably be within that 2-tile, striking range of Quint. Quint will continue his Chain & in the next round Kane will be able to Deadly Frenzy Quint & finish him. By attacking Queen from a position where Quint is no longer adjacent to Rooke, it eliminates that scenario.

If it comes down to just your pirate vs. Rooke/Kane...do not attack Rooke. Use your Courtly Promotion & move far enough away to heal/shield/buff w/out being attacked. When comfortable let Rooke attack you & whittle away his health via chains. Rinse, repeat & use Doubloons until Rooke is eliminated. Then you have free-run of the board, to Buff/Heal/Shield/Summon until it's time to hit Kane.
Captain
Jun 26, 2010
734
ValkoorTheVictorio... on Aug 30, 2016 wrote:
Ahoy there mateys! I thought I'd share with you guys & gals my Buccaneer strategy for soloing that crafty Kane & his Courtly cohorts. Note-- this also should work for other melee classes.

I am currently on a quest to solo Kane 100+ times as a Buccaneer, & just recently hit 40 successful runs. Now I had 8-10 runs within the first 15 attempts where I used henchmen as I learned how to deal with the Court. So that leaves 30+ successful runs w/ no henchmen used, thus far. So this strategy works extremely well & I have had several runs w/out losing a single crew member. Before I get into some of the specifics about the battle, here's a couple notes.
  • Moo/Tower gear is not at all necessary. I do use 2 pieces-- but they are not the most sought after pieces.
  • You do not need any Crown or Bundle Companions-- just crew that the game gives you.

NOW FOR THE GEAR
Gear you do need for this specific strategy- Captain Blood's Jacket, Doubloons & decent doubloon management. Besides that you can get by quite successfully w/ a good mix of hard hitting attacks, shields & heals.

My Gear (I have Relentless & Burst Fire trained)

Hat- Oishi's Great Helm w/ Assassin's Strike
Outfit- Captain Blood's Jacket w/ Blood Flames
Boots- Golden Hoof Tabi (Tower) w/ Super Strike & Levi's Call
Access.- Schemer's Eyepatch w/ Assassin's
Totem- Token of Moo Manchu (Tower) w/ Super Strike & Vicious Charge
Charm- Special Branch Ribbon w/ Valor's Fortress
Ring- Black Pearl Circle w/ Revive
Pet- Scylla Spawn w/ G- Regroup, G-Rally, G-Shark's Fury, G-Relentless, G-Burst Fire, G-Elusive, G-Dodgy

Reasons behind gear choices: You need extra oomph (Assassin's, Super Strikes, Vicious) to hit the Court hard & trigger your Bucc's chains. You need extra shielding because the court hits hard (Valor's for companion...Levi's, Kraken's for you). You need extra heals. W/ only 3 out of 7 enemies STR-based, extra STR-Buffs will help trigger Criticals against most enemies.

Preferred Doubloons

*Weapon Power (supercharges attacks)
*Maelstrom/Hurricane/Galewind (great for creating space)
*Critical Boost (Blade Storms/Epics galore)
*Health/Retreat line of doubloons (just stayin' aliiiiiiiive!!)
*Any Summons types (keeps enemies entertained)
*Armor Buffs/Tower Shield/Shield Wall (take less damage)
*Sluggish (puts a halt to enemies Chains, while you unleash your own)
Dodge (can help a bit)

CREW CHOICE

Peter Quint (1st Mate)For his 1st round Whale's Might, Relent/Second Chance/Blade Storm chains
Scratch (2nd) For his Mojo Buffs, AoE attacks, only 1 Will based enemy (besides Kane), extra summon
Gracie Conrad (3rd) For her HtL3 Golem & her own HtL

Companion Notes

Gracie's Golem is vital to solo success as a Bucc. & can prevent/minimize crew damage for 1-2 rounds.
Quint's Vicious helps reduce an enemy's Accur.
Scratch's Buffs give the Blood Flames a mega-boost in damage.

OTHER KEY, CREW NOTES

Vengeance Strike 3 is a life saver!
When in doubt, spread out!

(actual combat tips...in next post)

Thank You for reading
Interesting input Brother, ye have a knack fer Strategy.

- Deadeye Jack Morgan

- Deadeye Edward Morgan
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
jack morgan933 on Sep 3, 2016 wrote:
Interesting input Brother, ye have a knack fer Strategy.

- Deadeye Jack Morgan

- Deadeye Edward Morgan
Thank ye, Jack.

Just thought I would share what tips/tactics/strategies have worked really well for me. I just recently reached that magic number of 50 defeats of Kane & unlocked the Kane's Nightmare badge...with all runs done solo so far. I'm gunning for 100 solo, no henchmen runs (so 110 total) and it's helped me take time to study the Court a bit. I know that there are a lot of players that like to challenge themselves and look forward to successfully soloing the games more difficult bosses and instances. So hopefully some of these tips/strategies/tactics will help them out a little bit, so they can at least say they accomplished something they challenged themselves to do. If this "guide" helps only one person solo Kane...then it served it's purpose. And most of these tips can and will serve players well as they battle Kane & the Court with a team, too. So this guide is labeled as "How to Solo Kane..." but it's contents are meant to help any class (especially melee) as they combat the Court-- whether solo or with a team.

Now go give it a shot, Jack, and let ol' Kane have it!
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
EVEN MORE COMBAT TIPS

Scratchin' the Surface

Old Scratch is a huge asset in this fight. Many think that just because you're a Bucc. (or other melee class), Scratch doesn't merit a spot on a Bucc's battle crew. To me the most important tool for successfully soloing Kane as a melee class, is Blood Flames. I've soloed him w/out Tower Gear, w/out summons, w/out decent doubloons, w/out BF's showing up & w/out much luck coming into play. Of all of those scenarios, the no-Flames run was by far the most difficult. Buccaneers are an in-your-face class & are limited in their stealthy approaches-- you hit & get hit, hopefully while heavily shielded. There's no true AoE attacks tailored towards a Bucc...so you face the brunt of the enemies attacks, primarily 1 on 1. That is why the Blood Flames are your #1 ally (along with Scratch) in your quest to solo Kane...especially as a Buccaneer.

Tips when using Scratch & Blood Flames

Get at least 1 of Scratch's Mojo Buffs active before dropping the Flames.
Spell Power doubs are awesome to use in conjunction w/ the Flames. If you're lucky enough to get BF's to show & a Spell Power Doubloon, in RD 1, save them for at least RD 2. Fort/Shield in RD 1 & use Scratch's 100% Buff. Gracie's Golem can halt the Court. In RD 2 use the SP doub & drop the Flames-- they will do massive damage.
Don't drop the Flames next to the Golem or adjacent to Bishop's Sparky-Blasty machines. If the Golem is destroyed, it's 'Explosive' will also destroy any Flames next to the Golem. At the end of a RD, any Flames will destroy adjacent "EPIC" machines...possibly destroying Flames as well. Losing a 2,000+ potential multi-hit tool on a 1-hit "enemy", really stinks!
Attack Kane w/ Scratch when possible (watch Kane's 2-tile, attack range). Swift Retribution triggers, but the damage Scratch can do, especially w/ Mojo buffs, will far outweigh Kane's measly SR's damage output.
Scratch is great at attacking any court member except for Bishop. Buffed Mojo Echoes hit hard.
Dread Pirate
Jun 17, 2013
2743
Tips Using Gracie & Her Pre-e-e-cious

Gracie really proves her worth in this final battle. Not only does she possess HtL but her Golem does as well. The Golem is quite possibly the best 1st round defense mechanism available. It can halt up to 3 hard charging enemies & goes down exploding!

Here's a few tips to help you get the most out of Gracie & her Golem.

  • Make sure to select Gracie after selecting Scratch for the Epic Battle. If BF's show up & you use a Scratch Mojo Buff in the 1st RD, it will boost Gracie & therefore boost her summoned Golem. This sometimes can make the difference in the Golem sticking around an extra RD.
  • Positioning of the Golem is crucial. I always place the Golem no more than 2 rows ahead of my crew, so 4th row overall. Your pirate is always on the very back row & sometimes Gracie will get put in row 2. You'll have the choice of placing her Golem 2-3 rows in front of your crew. If you place the Golem too far in front, you can end up holding the "wrong" enemies. You want the Golem to halt Queen & the Marines. Queen almost never attacks it & the Marines always waste their Vicious Charges.
  • Center the Golem in front of your crew, and the 2 Marines & Queen. So if you're crew is kind of diagonal to those 3, put the Golem up or down 1 tile to be in line.
  • Using Gracie's mine in the 2nd round pretty much guarantees a hard hit on Kane. He always moves diagonally down & left. After that 1st RD move, in RD 2 place the mine 2 rows directly in front of Kane. No matter his 2nd move, he'll hit the mine & take decent damage. Just be sure not to do damage to Rooke in that 2nd RD, or Kane will Castle to him & not hit the mine. If this happens, don't worry. Most times the mine sticks around into the later RDs & can be a very useful trap to lure Rooke &/or Kane into.
  • If the Golem was destroyed in RD 1 you may want to skip the mine in RD 2 & move Gracie up a couple rows to help hold any charging enemies. Keeping the Marines from promoting is a must.