Overrated or underrated: Karnak

EdisonLaw

Continuing this series with the 7th post, let’s have a chat about the Inhuman martial artist himself, Karnak

So, before his Buff, Karnak was very below average. He did have some utility back then, like True Strike on sp1, easy access to Critical hits, and a Concussion like debuff called Daze on his sp3, but his damage was in the noodle territory.

After his buff, he is definitely an improved champion. The damage was raised by a lot, he had some additional utility such as instant bleeds, and he also kept some of his old tricks such as his True strike and his ability accuracy reduction.

So, what do you think about him nowadays? Is he overrated, underrated, or perfect? Do you think he will be a 7 star alongside Medusa and possibly Black bolt? Personally I like him, his playstyle is similar to other “heavy counter” champs like Crossbones, Onslaught, She Hulk, etc, but it’s effective

ChaosMax1012

Underrated

People still think he’s the same champ as he was before. Little do they know godnaks the 🐐

RoachBMW

There are way better skill champs to rank then karnak

Terminatrix

EdisonLaw said:

Continuing this series with the 7th post, let’s have a chat about the Inhuman martial artist himself, Karnak

So, before his Buff, Karnak was very below average. He did have some utility back then, like True Strike on sp1, easy access to Critical hits, and a Concussion like debuff called Daze on his sp3, but his damage was in the noodle territory.

After his buff, he is definitely an improved champion. The damage was raised by a lot, he had some additional utility such as instant bleeds, and he also kept some of his old tricks such as his True strike and his ability accuracy reduction.

So, what do you think about him nowadays? Is he overrated, underrated, or perfect? Do you think he will be a 7 star alongside Medusa and possibly Black bolt? Personally I like him, his playstyle is similar to other “heavy counter” champs like Crossbones, Onslaught, She Hulk, etc, but it’s effective

I won't rate him because I don't see him as a champ I must get and use.

Serious question: How in the hell does he logically have a bleed debuff? I know this is just a game and everything "logical" won't be applied. But I'm just asking out of curiosity. He has no bladed weapons, no claws, nothing that lacerates, no bullets, is not a bloodsucker, etc. Is it internal bleeds from blunt force trauma or something, like Apocalypse's heavy,.since he inflicts critical hits?

EdisonLaw

Underrated

@Terminatrix probably through blunt force trauma

Sachhyam257

Who is overrating this man lol

Wardruna

He’s definitely got some good stuff going for him. Wish they would decrease his focus charge timer to 8-10 seconds. Also, I wish a non-intercepting/non-interrupting heavy wouldn’t consume a charge but rather pause the timer for a few seconds

Ayden_noah1

Perfectly rated

I forgot that Karnak was stil in the game. This is what happens when new champs keeps getting added to the already huge current champion pool, unless the champ is good to great, they get left behind real fast.

Cat_Murdock

Underrated

Terminatrix said:

EdisonLaw said:

Continuing this series with the 7th post, let’s have a chat about the Inhuman martial artist himself, Karnak

So, before his Buff, Karnak was very below average. He did have some utility back then, like True Strike on sp1, easy access to Critical hits, and a Concussion like debuff called Daze on his sp3, but his damage was in the noodle territory.

After his buff, he is definitely an improved champion. The damage was raised by a lot, he had some additional utility such as instant bleeds, and he also kept some of his old tricks such as his True strike and his ability accuracy reduction.

So, what do you think about him nowadays? Is he overrated, underrated, or perfect? Do you think he will be a 7 star alongside Medusa and possibly Black bolt? Personally I like him, his playstyle is similar to other “heavy counter” champs like Crossbones, Onslaught, She Hulk, etc, but it’s effective

I won't rate him because I don't see him as a champ I must get and use.

Serious question: How in the hell does he logically have a bleed debuff? I know this is just a game and everything "logical" won't be applied. But I'm just asking out of curiosity. He has no bladed weapons, no claws, nothing that lacerates, no bullets, is not a bloodsucker, etc. Is it internal bleeds from blunt force trauma or something, like Apocalypse's heavy,.since he inflicts critical hits?

Karnak has no need for weapons, Karnak has his hands

Cat_Murdock

Underrated

R5Ascended Karnak gang checking in 🤝

He’s been in the Attactic this season so even though I hate Crush, I still get to have fun bringing the boy

Karnak is absolutely underrated. Like ChaosMax said above, most people I talk to about him have completely forgotten that he got a buff and still look at him from like a very 2018 lens and refuse to give him a second chance. He’s not a champ that’s for everyone, he’s got his play style he likes, match ups he’s gonna thrive in more than others, and he’s got a desire for high sig so most don’t give him the chance because they don’t want to invest. But, when you do there’s a great champ behind it.

He’s got shortened non damage debuff duration and can completely bypass nodes like Encroaching Stun (if there’s no duration enhanced and you have Limber) which are a pain in the butt.

He gets a lot of combat power from smacking into the opponent’s block (like Valkyrie, but way more), which is great when the Defender is being a passive turtle, or when you need to reach a bar of power before your opponent does (or without having them gain much power at all). This power gain also bypasses nodes like Polka Dot Power. I used to take the Polka Dot Power/Stunning Reflection mini in AW against Thing and Peni Parker with him all the time using this to my advantage.

Another thing that I think is overlooked about Karnak is his crit rate is actually pretty high. as long as you have just one Focus Charge (if he’s duped he starts with it, and if not it doesn’t take long to get) you get a passive +2750 increase to your crit rate. It’s technically not a base stat, but since it’s with you pretty much all the time I consider it so. Fragility debuffs + crit rate + passive furies = a good yellow number time.

There’s a lot more you could say about him, about Fragilities, his ability to crit through block, the underrated Ability Accuracy Reduction synergy he gets from Medusa, etc but

Tl;dr champ fun and useful, both as an individual and also part of the Inhuman trio

Terra

Underrated

He's underrated. Immensely.

ahmynuts

I wish Kabam fully committed to the dual-class concept with him

Terminatrix

Cat_Murdock said:

R5Ascended Karnak gang checking in 🤝

He’s been in the Attactic this season so even though I hate Crush, I still get to have fun bringing the boy

Karnak is absolutely underrated. Like ChaosMax said above, most people I talk to about him have completely forgotten that he got a buff and still look at him from like a very 2018 lens and refuse to give him a second chance. He’s not a champ that’s for everyone, he’s got his play style he likes, match ups he’s gonna thrive in more than others, and he’s got a desire for high sig so most don’t give him the chance because they don’t want to invest. But, when you do there’s a great champ behind it.

He’s got shortened non damage debuff duration and can completely bypass nodes like Encroaching Stun (if there’s no duration enhanced and you have Limber) which are a pain in the butt.

He gets a lot of combat power from smacking into the opponent’s block (like Valkyrie, but way more), which is great when the Defender is being a passive turtle, or when you need to reach a bar of power before your opponent does (or without having them gain much power at all). This power gain also bypasses nodes like Polka Dot Power. I used to take the Polka Dot Power/Stunning Reflection mini in AW against Thing and Peni Parker with him all the time using this to my advantage.

Another thing that I think is overlooked about Karnak is his crit rate is actually pretty high. as long as you have just one Focus Charge (if he’s duped he starts with it, and if not it doesn’t take long to get) you get a passive +2750 increase to your crit rate. It’s technically not a base stat, but since it’s with you pretty much all the time I consider it so. Fragility debuffs + crit rate + passive furies = a good yellow number time.

There’s a lot more you could say about him, about Fragilities, his ability to crit through block, the underrated Ability Accuracy Reduction synergy he gets from Medusa, etc but

Tl;dr champ fun and useful, both as an individual and also part of the Inhuman trio

Not too long, and I did read it. When @Cat_Murdock speaks, I listen 👊🏾😁 Thanks for the insight!

Herbal_Taxman

Unrated is the proper answer, as no one really cares enough about Karnak to rate him.

ChaosMax1012

Underrated

Herbal_Taxman said:

Unrated is the proper answer, as no one really cares enough about Karnak to rate him.

No One here. Pleasure to meet ya!

FrostGiantLord

Underrated

He's definitely underrated. People just don't like to acknowledge that fact

Marvelfan30

Underrated

ahmynuts said:

I wish Kabam fully committed to the dual-class concept with him

Still don't understand why they did it in the 1st place tbh I mean I get where they're coming from but still he's the only one like this

Terra

Underrated

Marvelfan30 said:

ahmynuts said:

I wish Kabam fully committed to the dual-class concept with him

Still don't understand why they did it in the 1st place tbh I mean I get where they're coming from but still he's the only one like this

He's technically a Inhuman (Cosmic), but instead of being exposed to the Terrigen Mists, he trained his body instead (Hence, Skill)
The Skill/Cosmic cat usage is a reference to.

ahmynuts

Marvelfan30 said:

ahmynuts said:

I wish Kabam fully committed to the dual-class concept with him

Still don't understand why they did it in the 1st place tbh I mean I get where they're coming from but still he's the only one like this

It would've been cool if they made him actually dual class with his buff and not just a waste of two types of cats

Shadowstrike

Underrated

I recently found AllisonEdits on YT where she's showcased Karnak and after seeing how he's SUPPOSED to be played, I have to agree that he's become a very underrated champion.

You need to to hit into their block and intercept their heavy/ special with your heavy to see his skill.

https://youtu.be/Fr2hEGxYda8?si=ba1snYt5PSzCMitQ

13579rebel_

Underrated

I think he's underrated he can do some neat damage with great utility

Would Love to see a write up on vulture

Sachhyam257

13579rebel_ said:

I think he's underrated he can do some neat damage with great utility

Would Love to see a write up on vulture

My biggest gripe with vulture is that you can't do backdraft medium intercepts without draining his chitauri charges, it's so annoying.

EdisonLaw

Underrated

13579rebel_ said:

I think he's underrated he can do some neat damage with great utility

Would Love to see a write up on vulture

Vulture, I don’t use him very often, just mostly as a Bishop counter. But I know he’s a decent champ

PantherusNZ

Perfectly rated

Marvelfan30 said:

ahmynuts said:

I wish Kabam fully committed to the dual-class concept with him

Still don't understand why they did it in the 1st place tbh I mean I get where they're coming from but still he's the only one like this

Isn't Unstoppable Colossus also dual-class with Mutant and Mystic?

Cat_Murdock

Underrated

PantherusNZ said:

Marvelfan30 said:

ahmynuts said:

I wish Kabam fully committed to the dual-class concept with him

Still don't understand why they did it in the 1st place tbh I mean I get where they're coming from but still he's the only one like this

Isn't Unstoppable Colossus also dual-class with Mutant and Mystic?

He gives both Mystic and Mutant ISO on dupes, but only requires Mutant catalysts during rank up, so not quite the same way as Karnak