Table of Contents
Pros
Charles is one of the bruisers in the game and can one-shot any DPS with just one counterattack. He can also dispel all buffs with his Skill 2 (S2). Additionally, his Skill 3 (S3) gives a team-wide Attack buff, while it provides a Defense buff for himself.
Cons
Charles requires Elbris artifact to obtain the highest efficiency, and he has an unreliable dispel with his Skill 1 (S1) S2 Combo.
Charles Summary
Charles is an Earth Knight and one of the first-rate bruisers in the game. He is one of the starting units for “Earth meta” in Player vs. Player (PvP).
Skill 1: Slash (Multiplier 1.0)
Charles attacks with a giant sword, with a 50% to decrease Attack in one turn and a 25% to active the Smash skill. The Effect chance is doubled when the enemy is buffed. It is a robust basic attack when fighting against a team with a Buffer.
He will have a 100% chance to reduce the attack and a 50% chance to proc his S2 when the enemy is buffed. Additionally, wit his equipment, he has a 10% more chance to proc his S2 after he uses his basic attack (the chances also double if the enemy is buffed).
Skill 2: Smash (Passive, Multiplier: 1.5 – 1.85)
He attacks the enemy repeatedly with a goat sword, with an 80% chance to dispel all buffs. The damage dealt increases proportional to the number of buffs granted to the caster. Charles can use this skill to dispel all buffs from the enemy. His damage is based on the number of his buffs.
However, the unique point is that he can proc his S2 after he uses his S1. He can also proc it even on a counter/dual attack. With an Elbris artifact, he procs this S1 S2 combo and kills the enemy right in their turn.
Skill 3: Faithful Strike ( Cooldown: 5 Turns)
Charles attacks all enemies with a sword storm and increases the Attack of all Allies for two turns. Even more, it increases the defense of the caster for two turns as well. When there are three or fewer enemies, the damage dealt increases as the enemies become less.
You can use that all of his skills synergize rather well. This skill grants a team-wide Attack buff and a Defense buff for Charles. Therefore, he will receive at least two buffs with a single skill, and his S2 damage is based on the number of buffs. This skill also deals more damage when you have fewer enemies (three or less), so Charles is an excellent candidate unit for Guild Wars.
PvE Content
Wyvern 11
It is not ideal and quite risky to use Earth units in Wyvern unless you want to challenge yourself.
Golem 11
Charles can be a good choice for Golem. He can reduce the Attack of the Boss with his normal attack and dispel the Boss’s Attack buff with his S2. His team-wide Attack buff is also beneficial.
Banshee 11
He is a strong Earth unit with both single-target and Area of Effect (AoE) damage available, so he is an excellent choice for both regular and a one-shot Banshee team. If you are unable to one-shot the team, Charles, a Healer, a Cleanser, and another DPS can be an excellent regular auto team.
Charles can also be a core unit in a 3-man Banshee team; the remaining two slots can be Wanda and W. Schuri, or S. Rose and Yufine/Baiken. Take into consideration that Charles will need excellent gear to have enough damage to clear the first wave with his S3.
Azimanak 11
Charles is one of the units that can do most Hunts. With both his single-target and AoE damage, team-wide Attack buff, and dispels from S2, you can pair him up with a Healer and another AoE DPS to have a great and unstoppable team for Azimanak 11.
Raid and Abyss
He has good morale. Therefore, he can be used as a potent DPD for Raid. You can utilize him for most Raid Bosses, except Karkanis Hell. Additionally, Charles can also be a decent unit for Abyss. He is not bad, but not the best.
PvP Content
Charles is strong in PvE, but his strength is more significant in PvP. He is an S rank unit for most of the PvP content, such as Arena, Guild Wars (both offense and defense), and World Area. He and Seaside Bellona (SSB) are the ones who started the so-called “counter meta.” He can be a terrifying anti-cleave option in PvP. His power comes from two aspects: He is a Knight, meaning that he uses the Elbris Artifact and his combo S1 S2.
His combo S1 S2 is so deadly and powerful that it is doubtful that he will be nerfed in the future. Whenever he uses his S2, he has a 25% chance to proc his S2 (increases to 50% if the enemy is buffed). However, Smilegate thought that it was not enough and created Exclusive equipment for him. With his Exclusive equipment, Charles will have a 35% chance to proc his S2 (therefore, it can become a 70% if the enemy is buffed).
Even worse, he can proc his S2 on a counter/dual attack. It means that if he uses counter set/ or the Elbris Artifact, he can proc his counter and attack the enemy with is deadly combo whenever they attack him or his teammates. This combo is lethal because it can do a lot of damage and is accompanied by a reduce Attack debuff from S1 and dispels all buffs from S2.
If you compare him against Fire Ken, one of the best bruises, you will know that Ken deals more damage than his combo. But Ken’s S3 has a cooldown period, while Charles has a chance to do this combo every time an enemy attacks him or his teammates. Additionally, he can deal more damage with his S3 that gives a team-wide Attack buff. This skill makes him more solid and harder to kill with the Defense buff while increasing damage when there are three or fewer enemies. Therefore, Charles is an excellent unit for Guild Wars.
With his strong kit, he can be used everywhere. In defense, Charles is feared by every cleave team because eh can kill most DPS with just one counterattack. In offense, he can be used in a bruiser or cleave team as an Attack buffer/AoE DPS. When players play in World Arena, he is the first or second pick.
Charles is also on the most reliable RBG unit since it is not easy to counter him. To deal with him, yo need to try to one-shot him with a strong single-target DPS like C. Dom, Yufine, or Cermia. If you cannot one-shot him, then focus on killing him first because not all Charles has a Counter set. Do not try to attack his teammates if you do want Charles to proc his Elbris and kill you first.
Build
Most Charles is built as bruisers, with around 12k to 15k HP, 160-180 Speed, at least 3000 Attack, and the highest Crit Rate and Crit Damage you can (try for at least 220% Crit Damage).
Counter and Immunity is the best choice. But it will sacrifice a lot of your stats. Therefore, if you cannot give Charles a good Counter set, then a Speed set is a good option. The Elbris Ritual Sword is a must-have, and you should try to obtain the Exclusive equipment that gives him an additional 10% chance to proc his S2 when using his S1.
Skill Enhance Priority: S2 (+3) S2 (+4) S1 (+3) Maxed All (+15)