Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Karok, the giant of the south, will be the game's fourth playable character and the first new character since the game launched last September. As the only player character able to grab an opponent and enact all kinds of creative damage, from hilarious drop kicks to swinging the enemy like a baseball bat into a pillar and much more, Karok adds a new level of physicality to Nexon's already brutal stable of Vindictus characters.

Queen's Glory armor.

Southern Winter armor.

Swift armor.

But there's more to Karok than meets the dropkicking thigh. Karok carries a shield that’s more used for bashing - like a club – rather than a shield. Accordingly, Producer Jae Ho Hwang called the stone-like chunk a Pillar. Watching over my shoulder, Jae showed me how to “pillar charge”, twirl the pillar in a “whirlwind” attack, and even sling it at a faraway enemy. When Karok flings his Pillar, he enters “unarmed mode” – with slightly more attack power than usual. At that point, Karok can either stay fisticuffs, pick up random stuff lying around to use as a weapon a la classic Vindictus style, or retrieve his Pillar.

Karok laying some lumber with a Bash attack!

Starting at level 40, Karok starts receiving a bonus point per level that he can place in either the Paladin or Dark Knight skill tree. Early in the demo level (too early - before Jae could explain the effect), I hit the Z key, and after a straining, energy-crackling transformation right out of Soul Calibur, and Karok turned from a melee/healing oriented Paladin into the highly damaging Dark Knight form. Jae explained that there’s a major drawback, however – at the end of two minutes, all of Karok’s armor breaks as he returns to Paladin form. So, while powerful, this is an effect based save for the bitter end of a boss fight.

At the higher levels, Karok gets access to spells like the area-of-effect devastator Earthquake and Boss Grab. A well-timed press of the E key allows Karok to grab bosses while their down and give Vindictus’s toughest enemies the same sort of grabby, drop-kicky, wall-smashy treatment. You’ll have to be on the ball, though – I wasn’t able to trigger the effect during the demo boss fight, though I did see the prompt flash several times.

A Whirlwind attack.

Grabbing a boss!

Karok enters Vindictus this Wednesday, June 15th, and he’ll need all his skills to take on the Succubus – one of the new bosses slated for Update 5. Unfortunately, the  Succubus wasn’t a part of the demo, but her bed-thrashing cosplay representation formed the centerpiece of the Nexon booth at E3. According to Jae, she’ll make her appearance in Vindictus in August.

Between then and now, players have plenty of time to level up Karok and learn all his skills. Thanks to Jae Ho Hwang and the Nexon team for a quick look at Karok at E3 2011.