[Meca Ranking] The entry barrier for the 'Game of Thrones: Kingsroad' leaderboard has stiffened, with the lowest combat power currently sitting at 141,367. To even crack the list, you are looking at a baseline of two Amulets and an average slot enhancement level of at least 24. For context, the top combat power this week hit 222,872, with the top 10% averaging well over 200,000.

A rare sight in high-end raid rankings

Last week, I noted that the Knight and Assassin classes were dominating the top of the combat power rankings. This trend holds firm in the Abyss Altar rankings as well. There are only three Mercenaries in the top 30, and that number drops to a solitary figure when looking at the top 10. This state of play is unlikely to shift until new high-level content arrives. The nature of these encounters, which demand exploiting tiny windows of opportunity, makes it incredibly difficult for the Mercenary—burdened by slow attack speeds and long charging times—to hit their peak performance.

Conversely, the situation in the Elite Hideout rankings is far more interesting as the Mercenary presence continues to climb. After showing a gradual uptick two weeks ago, they have secured a 30% share this week. The Mercenary excels here by leveraging their heavy-hitting potential in an environment where securing attack windows is significantly easier than in raids. Ultimately, the meta established by the new end-game content arriving in Q3 will be the deciding factor for the Mercenary's future standing.

The 'Morale Boost' (Enhanced) Imprint is mandatory for Knights

The Knight’s three two-handed greatsword skills remain undisputed leaders this week, just as they were last week. You might as well call them the 'Big Three' at this point. However, before any newcomers decide to mimic the pros, there is one crucial detail to grasp.

The Knight relies on a unique effect called 'Fighting Spirit'. By using strike combos or specific skills, the Knight grants themselves 'Valor', which stacks up to six times to transform into 'Fighting Spirit'. This state reduces rage consumption by 20% and boosts active skill damage by a massive 25%. Consequently, the optimal Knight playstyle is to dump all active skills the moment 'Fighting Spirit' triggers.

And the 'Morale Boost' (Enhanced) Imprint is essential to instantly grant the aforementioned 'Fighting Spirit' effect. While the base effect of increasing active skill damage for the Knight and the party is excellent, the influence of the (Enhanced) Imprint is far more significant. In fact, the vast majority of Knights on the leaderboard are running this specific (Enhanced) Imprint.

Beyond that, more players are adopting the Assassin’s 'Retreat' skill. While the base effect seems modest, investing in the 'Shadow Raid' Imprint can increase the damage taken by enemies by up to 20%. Furthermore, by investing in the 'Raid' weapon specialization, you can bump up the critical hit rate by as much as 17.5%. It is the perfect setup to ensure that heavy-hitter, 'Slash', lands as a critical hit.

In the past, there was a persistent issue where skill effects would obscure the ground, hiding incoming boss patterns. Assassins using 'Venom' and 'Retreat' were often shunned in raids for this very reason. Fortunately, the update on June 24th resolved this, meaning you can now use these skills without losing sight of critical boss telegraphs.