On June 10th, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad received a level cap increase and a fresh batch of new regions. Naturally, the leaderboards are currently in absolute shambles. Let’s take a cheeky look at how the meta is shifting this week.

The Mercenary's Rising Popularity

Last week, the Mercenary class sat at a 19% share, but it has surged to 26% this week. While still trailing behind other classes, the momentum is impossible to ignore. If you pop into the community forums, you will find far more chatter about Mercenaries than their peers.

The reasons for this climb are varied. Some fans swear by the visceral impact, while others point to the destructive potential of a well-timed charge. Indeed, the Mercenary's 'Merciless Strike' is infamous for dealing over 1,000% damage when fully charged.

Of course, critics argue that this playstyle doesn't quite fit the current meta, which prioritizes raw clear speed. Getting interrupted during a charge in a raid is a quick way to lose your window of opportunity. It is a double-edged sword, and I am genuinely curious to see if this popularity holds up in next week's rankings.

A Skyrocketing Momentum Stat

Last week’s update unlocked World Difficulty 4 and pushed gear drops to Tier 4, leading to a massive boost in player stats. Looking at the top 10 leaderboard, the average momentum jumped from roughly 130,000 to 180,000—a tidy increase of 50,000. This is largely thanks to the expanded level cap, Tier 4 gear, and the introduction of the new 'Amulet' equipment slot.

A quick heads-up: you will need at least 120,000 momentum to tackle the new raid, 'Abyssal Altar: Kraken of the Steel Coast'. Falling short? I suggest farming 'Stronghold Hideouts', 'Fierce Beasts', or 'Smoking Cabins' to stock up on Tier 4 Hero-grade gear.

Elite Hideouts: Use the 'Shortcut'

Elite Hideout objectives are split into two phases. Phase 1 requires you to clear a set number of enemies, followed by the boss fight in Phase 2. You don’t need to do the first part together; splitting up at junctions is a solid choice to speed through the mob-clearing phase.

Once Phase 1 is done, a 'Shortcut' button pops up in your top-left UI. Clicking this zips you straight to the boss. It is a simple but effective bit of knowledge to shave time off your clears.

Solidifying the First Weapon Build

With data rolling in from the early North American launch, the 'one primary, two secondary' skill setup for primary weapons is becoming the standard. Assassins are sticking to 'Slash' as a base with 'Ambush' and 'Venom', while Knights are pairing 'Continuous Slash' and 'Morale Boost' to amplify the punch of 'Piercing Thrust'.

Mercenaries, however, are still in the lab. 'Merciless Strike' provides the best raw numbers, but its usage is dipping in favour of 'Earth Shatter'. It seems the reality of raid patterns makes it difficult to find safe windows to charge up, and players are adjusting accordingly.

As for the second weapon build, there is no definitive answer yet. Interestingly, the Assassin’s 'Deep Thrust' saw a slight drop in usage, despite a recent update making it the only Rapier skill capable of triggering 'Blood Break'.

Regarding relics, our previous analysis holds true: low-grade Legendaries are still king. Top-tier players have maxed these out to 5 stars, while high-grade Legendaries are largely stuck at 2 stars. It is safe to say that the higher-tier relics aren't quite ready to take over the meta just yet.

※ Note:[Game of Thrones Tips] Why low-grade Legendary relics are currently at their peak [Link]