Sentry Knight Tactics

Overview

Sentry Knight Tactics is the first commercial installment of the Sentry Knight series, a group of popular free online Flash games created by Tyler Myers, Jason Coates, and Justin Wolf. The plot follows the Knight, the Marksman, and the Priestess, as they journey to save the kingdom from dark forces invading through mysterious portals appearing all over the land. Although the game features the three heroes from the original games, no experience with them is needed to play Sentry Knight Tactics. The game is being published by Armor Games Studios.

Gameplay

Unlike previous games in the series, Sentry Knight Tactics is a real-time strategy game with RPG elements and an emphasis on challenge. Players click and drag characters to order them around the battlefield, directing them to attack enemies or moving them out of the line of fire. Orders cannot be issued while the game is paused, necessitating players to keep a constant eye on everything happening and react quickly to threats. Each character can be directed individually or as a group, and will keep attacking anything they are directed to until told otherwise. If a character's Hit Points fall to zero, they will fall to the ground and be unable to act for the remainder of the battle.

Winning a battle earns experience points, which are awarded to the entire party rather than individual characters. Everyone levels up at once, and doing so unlocks points for each character to spend in their unique skill tree. These can be passive buffs or powerful spells and attacks that, when triggered at the right time, can deal large amounts of damage, or heal or otherwise temporarily enhance the party. Each skill has a timer-based cool down before it can be activated again using the corresponding hotkey. Additionally, single-used scrolls and potions can be equipped to each character that will automatically trigger during battle under specific circumstances.

While players can find and purchase new equipment for the party from vendors throughout the kingdom, by collecting "scraps" (or converting unwanted loot into scraps) and paying a fee, not only can new items be crafted, but existing ones can also be enhanced. Equipment comes in various tiers of increasing power, though a sword, for example, found later in the game can still be made stronger than a fully upgraded weapon bought at the start of it. Some items even posses abilities that have a chance to activate, like returning a percentage of damage dealt as health to the user.

Outside of combat, the party can explore the world, talking to people in towns, searching for treasure in dungeons, and completing quests. NPCs can ask players to complete various tasks for them, such as slaying unique monsters that are stronger than normal, or gathering certain items. Completing a quest will give you a reward of gold and/or items.