If nothing else, I hope you can impress on your viewers this one simple piece of advice: If you're a guardian and you're standing on the point with someone, PUT UP YOUR $*%&*$% SHIELD.
This, this, a thousand times this. If I'm lucky enough to come across a guardian who will sit on a point with me and heal me, or walk around while healing me, I will spend the entire match with this person. Lockdown is a team game and so many guardians fail to be team players just by neglecting to use this ability.

re: armour. I only play T3 so I can't give advice on anything else. In T3 I have found status resists to be a hundred times better than damage resists. I've used full skolver with a med and low normal damage bonus and I still get 2-3 shot killed by snarby and flourish blades. I switched to a divine veil plus two freeze trinkets and I'm doing much better. I'm immune to shivermists, which is insanely helpful because a) people don't expect you to run up and slash them when they're freezing, especially when they can see you're not in full skolver, and b) because a lot of people keep freezing! God knows why, but if I run into a freeze haze, blatantly immune, and hit them, they just keep trying. It's entertaining and very helpful to me. I wear the DV because of the shock resistance; freeze and shock are, IMO, the most important status effects to defend against. It definitely helps having that shock resistance. I also have high curse on top of the curse on the DV which is kinda useful, but curse is pretty rare.

re: weapons. Shivermist or voltaic tempest, definitely your friend for defending a CP. I'd advise using one if you're a recon or a guardian. Snarby blades or flourish are good, fast swords (and also insanely unfair, but if you can't beat 'em, join 'em). Definitely a good one for a striker. GFs and DAs are also fairly popular. I think the GF is better. I'm not sure why it is, but I've played with both and it's definitely more effective. For a gun, a polaris is the best for defense, IMO. And it hurts to say that because I hate the polaris anywhere that isn't Lockdown, but it's definitely good for defense. For attacking, the argent peacemaker and the sentenza are great. Sentenza > AP if you ask me because shadow defense is more rare.

1.Recons
-More annoying than strikers
-Can be easily discovered two ways:
Auto Target (Use at your own risk for you will become an unfavorable noob)
Capture Point Camping (If at a control point which is constantly under caution use a sword with a charge attack that covers a wide area, stand in the center if you are capturing it or if captured by your team stand on the opposite side of where the enemies are most likely to come from, if a recon is on a control point it will either stop if you are taking it or it will get smaller if you already have it, since this is given away you can unleash your charge and it will most likely get the recon, and then only a few more hits are needed for a complete kill)

2.Guardian
-First timers should chose this class first to get used to lockdown
-Easily defeated however time consuming:
Lunge Counters (When a defender swings there is a period of time where the shield can't be put back on quickly enough a striker is the only one who can seize this opportunity to kill him, this is long and not advised to be used when a guardian is accompanied by others)
Friends are Foes (To remove the shield from a guardian it is better to aim for his friends to begin with, it is much less time consuming and better to take advantage of an enemy who is a striker or recon not another guardian, it is helpful to have someone accompany you)

3.Striker
-Less health than others this is a class for the highly skilled
-No weakness, but low health:
Dodge (Strikers can easily go to far if they are using a flourish, snarble barbs, or speed boost. This is a time where you can land a few hits before it can react, once the striker moves again quickly hide if a recon or put up a shield if guardian, but if a striker you must chase the striker you are attacking so that you never lose the advantage of being behind him)

Wrong, you want to stop the enemy from capturing checkpoints.
If you keep recapturing things an enemy has taken there will be no end.
There is a pattern to an enemy's path and that's what I take advantage of.
Do not incorporate Nod's suggestion into any strategy.

< Incoming wall of text >
Note: This post contains equipment advice, not strategy. I may add strategies at a later point.

If you are shooting to become a gunner (no puns intended), like already mentioned, Polaris is amazing for road-blocking and being a pain in the neck in general. For purely offensive measures you might want to look into the Storm Driver (that shock is deadly, first hand experience) for your standard elemental gun. The reason for this is because the bullets travel faster than the Polaris, which is going to be very hard to use against enemy strikers as they can easily run around the bullets and knock you down. Second, you'll want a Callahan. The damage is respectable and the stun adds extra insult to injury and makes for an easy target. If you have a fourth weapon slot available to you, the Umbra Driver is a nice shadow gun to have, just to have a weapon for every special element. I am not recommending the Biohazard because the bullets are as slow as the Polaris and Supernova and comes without the explosive effect, making it the easiest gun to avoid taking damage from (aside from autoguns).
Armour-wise the Shadowsun set gives you a medium damage bonus and allows you to max out damage with two elite trueshot modules. If you're particularly worried about the curse (which you would be very unfortunate to obtain), the Justifier set makes for a nice substitute and retains its piercing resistance. Seeing as the flourish is ever so popular, I'd take it over Nameless' elemental defence. This set up works for all classes, as gunners in general don't have a lot of options to choose from.

If you are a bomber, Shivermist Buster and/or Voltaic Tempest is a must. No bomber is complete without a deadly haze bomb. Stagger Storm and Ash of Agni also makes for a nice mix if the other two are deployed by other bombers, but are less defensive and should not be used if not in co-operation with other bombers. Offensively you want the Radiant Sun Shards, it is quick to charge up and detonates shortly after deployment and deals a respectable amount of piercing and elemental damage. Alternatively, I've seen Nitronome being used with much success with its great knockback, giving room for another deployment. Bombers should look into Mad Bomber with or without Volcanic Demo Helm, all of which give medium charge time reduction, and Mad Bomber adding medium damage bonus to boot. Striker-Demos should be sporting full Mad Bomber, as the striker class gives a very high charge time penalty, which is going to greatly affect your role as a bomber and you'll want the maximum charge time reduction for maximum efficiency. Elite bomb focus modules will cover the remaining CTR that the Striker Mod took away. If you are equipped with good CTR UVs on your bombs, you can add the final damage module and any other trinket of your choice (if using full Mad Bomber).
Recon- and Guardian Bombers should go with Volcanic Demo Helm, although Mad Bomber applies nicely if you're not worried about the status weaknesses. Recons also have the luxury of taking advantage of the Mercurial Demo's movement speed increase (also works for Guardians), as the Recon class already gives you a very high CTR, which maxes out if your bombs are level 10 (which they should be). Damage can then be maxed out with two elite boom modules as Mercurial Demo set provides a medium damage bonus on its own.

Swordsmen should always have a flourish-type on them, be it the Final Flourish or Barbarous Thorn Blade. The Fearless Rigadoon and Furious Flamberge add status effects, but are slightly weaker and the swords only have a slight chance of inflicting your target with the status. Regardless, all swords are viable. On the heavy sword-line you'll want a Gran Faust as shadow resistance is uncommon and the curse is a nice bonus (but should not be depended on). Divine Avenger is a good substitute, but you'll find more elemental resistant equipment making it less effective against foes with said equipment. Optionally, Brandish-line swords are fine charge-attackers if you want to open up the fight with an explosion and is capable of one-shotting players without proper defensive equipment. Status afflictions also make for a nice bonus. Guns should also be in the mix for ranged combat and sniping haze bombers, of which Polaris, Argent Peacemaker/Sentenza and Drivers make for suitable options. Having two swords and two guns is a good combination, and I personally use it, which allows for a Polaris and a fast gun for use.
Equipment-wise, we'll be talking Wolver-line. Nobody is going to hate on your Ash Tail, but investing in Skolver with elite quick strike modules is worth considering. Skolver has a nice immunity to Shivermists, so you can sweep in and take them out without having to worry about getting frozen in place, and the damage bonus is well worth it. Snarbolax is just for show, as your main enemy will be opposing strikers with piercing swords and thus not recommended but works as a substitute if, for whatever reason, you got it before Skolver. Vog Cub, much like Snarbolax, leaves you very vulnerable to opposing piercing swords, and adds attack speed instead of damage, which means you will want elite slash modules instead of quick strike. If sporting Vog Cub, the Fang of Vog is a good, yet risky shield-breaker and can easily insta-kill strikers with its charge attack. The charge attack can potentionally strike twice, leaving recons unshielded guardians crisped on the ground and sent back to the locker room. Fang of Vog's charge should only be considered with a decent amount of fire resistance, as it has a decent chance of putting yourself on fire but otherwise makes for a powerful three-strike elemental sword.
This set-up is mainly aimed towards strikers, but works just as good for guardians and recons. If playing guardian or recon, throwing in a haze bomb instead of two guns is highly recommended.

I realise I didn't touch on strategy in my post, so there's one thing I want to put out there: the game is about getting points. So if you come across a CP with four enemies on it, just hassle them. I play recon and I find running around them with my shield up sends them into a frenzy. Guardians throw up shields, recons cloak up, strikes zoom around - but nobody leaves the CP. You can run them around for a good minute and that's a lot of time for your teammates to capture points. I once held 3/4 enemies at a CP with my shivermist when the game was dead even - 255 points each - and we took a lead and maintained it.

I imagine I'll edit or post more next time I play LD and have something to add.

I would love to give some tips... but does anyone but myself really want to be a gunner? haha
Instead of going into detail and throwing my tricks out there, I just capped a vid for you guys.
A small 5v6 match we pulled through...
Just remember, there are a lot of styles of fighting out there! Be creative! Don't be a clone! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seZ1g1mCbCU

The most important tip:
Lockdown is won by capturing and keeping points, you don't actually have to kill your enemies to win.

It's never over......even if you're down 700 to 100.
I just played a 4 vs 4 round and we were losing 400 to 85.
One of my teamates suddenly quit so it was a 3 vs 4 but we
came back to win 500 to 495. Another time, my team was
winning 485 to 130. We barely won with a score of 500 to 485.
So if you are losing by a lot, PLEASE don't quit.

I am very surprised this did not get posted already.

http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/25687

Oh, and Nicoya is right Ranger. Recons get +CTR med to bombs, and an additional +CTR med to everything, meaning bombs get +CTR very high.

~Gwen

Watch my videos and practice practice practice.
That's all there is to it.
Master one class and stick with it.

http://youtu.be/5MiiR0f4H5E

Does anyone have any advice for a tier 2 striker? I downgraded some of my gear to play this tier and as near as I can tell, gameplay and gear are almost exactly the same as tier 3.

Dusker = Skolver
Swift flourish = Final Flourish
Twisted Snarble = Barbarous
Sealed Sword = Gran Faust/Divine Avenger
Antigua = Argent Peacemaker/Sentenza

Does anyone have a problem with this comparison? I've taken down full duskers with a sealed in two swings and, while I don't have my swift flourish yet, have been gunned down by a Twisted Snarb in three swings. From what I've read so far, these are the exact same numbers as tier 3's corresponding weapons.

@Slayzz, As a ( I guess rich player ) bomber, why not go striker? I use M. Bomber with 2 elite bomb focus trinkets. It gives you max ctr reduction for bombs, and lets you fly around dropping DBB, Volt. Temp., Shivermist, ect. You wont be hit often if you play smart.

As I only play T2 LD I'll give some tips for there.

First:

If you have good enough ping, turn off auto-aim. It takes a few games to get used to but it becomes immensely satisfying once you're actually able to lead enemies and hit them. This goes double for gunning.

Second:

Start by going guardian. This teir is when skills start to develop, and nothing is sadder (to me) than seeing strikers not use their full potential. By starting as a guardian you learn how to attack as a striker without boost, as the guardians asi lends to learning how to shield cancel.

Third:

Three star health trinkets. They are very cheap to craft and double your life. Since these are the only trinkets available mind as well use them.

Four:

When bombing remember that the three star bombs don't have a very big radius. Using haze bombs, a cp can be 90% covered by staggering their placement at opposite sides. A fully heated super blast bomb will kill anyone in three blasts, and someone with trinkets in five.

Last (for now):

Don't go recon on any of the snow levels. You may be invisible, but the footprints you generate aren't.