How to use Recon in LD: The guide to perhaps the hardest class in PVP

Ehhh, I also need help PUTTING it on the wiki, I suck at it...

What is a Recon? ⬇

Recons are stealthy soldiers, able to sneak past any class. Recons use their invisibility to come behind a soldier or soldiers, and take them out. This class is underestimated, since it is only used by people with no skill, or as a last resort for a team. Recons are a deep and varied class, and can use bombs, swords, or guns for their advantage. A skilled recon should be able to kill people without the opponent knowing where they are, which requires skill.

How do you use Recon?⬇

Many people have asked me that question. As a skilled Recon, I can tell you it is a hard class to master, but is very rewarding if you do. First, you need to understand what a “Recon Mark” is. A recon mark is a pulse, which circles around your character like a radar line. When this pulse hits your enemies, they will see a mark of a recon close by. If you hit them more than once with the pulse, a “Death mark” appears. This mark destroys their defense for five seconds. However, the enemy will now know for sure that a recon is very close, and will wildly attack, trying to swat at this annoying bug. It is hard to keep a pulse on an enemy if they are trying to find/evade you, and if you have an ally Recon, it is good to stick together to make a death mark quickly. If you want to use the Death Mark, is entirely your opinion:

Jempires Recon, Xair says:

"Regarding deathmarking, I prefer not to use it for multiple reasons. Firstly, good players know how to 'recon-hunt' with maximum efficiency, and while it wastes their time and puts them at risk, it also puts the recon at risk. Secondly, good ambushes are executed sans deathmark. That is to say, I walk up to a group on a point, do NOT ping them with my radar, and get in a nice double-swing while they don't know I'm there.

Imperialstriker says:

"From my experiences in T3, I can tell you that a Deathmark + GF/DA combo = instant assassination.
I don't think it is useless, personally."

Weapons ⬇

- Swords are for assassination or emergency use. They're your strong punch when you need it- slow (well, we do get a low Attack Speed Increase (ASI) penalty), powerful.
Sword-based recon tends to not make use of deathmark, though it is VERY welcome, regardless of what kind of sword you use. Cloak-stabbing works if you have ASI boosts. If swords are your main weapon, you WANT to have things boosting your ASI. Faster slash means faster cloak. Swords are terrible if you cannot shield. Because of the low decrease of attack speed, it is optional to get a quick strike module or an elite quick strike module.

- Guns ⬇

They are for annoyance and IMO the staple weapons for recon. They're your jabs. Jabs might feel weak, but they are VERY important.
Gun-based recons tend to be the most mobile and can/should take advantage of deathmark when possible. If you are gun-based, I highly recommend Storm Driver/Valiance/Polaris. I hear good things about Antigua-lines with good aim being able to prevent strikers from slashing up close, but I don't have that line.
Valiance is decent regularly, but it is AMAZING with deathmark. Imagine Nova/Umbra driver with 3 shots and no ricochet. That's DM Valiance. Oh, and that knockback+smart footwork can actually keep you out of stab range when fighting sword strikers up close!
I hear in order to be immune to moderate shock, you'd need natural shock-immune armor AND strong anti-shock UV's. Since Storm Driver deals moderate shock status, it's a great side arm to sword recons and a decent general-use gun. If you cannot deathmark, Umbra/Nova driver are great picks as well.

- Bombs ⬇

They are for holding points. A Recon cannot reliably stay on points to defend like Striker/Guardian can due to shield fragility, so if you want to hold points as a recon, you want bombs. I won't speak about damage bombs here, since that's really your preference on what you consider your main weapon. Mist bombs (shock, stun) are great at holding points, especially against guardians since forcing them to shield will slow them down, and walking near them will bait them to counterattack/get status inflicted on them. Stun bombs are a little iffy on strikers though. Versus strikers, I prefer using Electron Vortex. UV's will not protect strikers from gravity, and just like PVE, the whole point of the bomb is not for damage, but control. Once you have someone stuck in vortex, you can gun or sword them down as you wish.

Armor ⬇

Certain armors can grant you Attack Speed Increase, or Attack Power Increase. Vog cub and hat/coat grants you med Attack Speed Increase (per piece), and Skolver hat/coat grants you med Sword Damage Bonus (per piece). At least one piece of vog is highly recommended. If you are a gunner, then obtain gunner sets to increase your gunning power. If you are a bomber, then I would suggest Mad Bomber suit and mask. Shadowsun set is recommended for a gunner.

Trinkets ⬇

To be the best you can be in Lockdown, you will need Trinkets! The trinkets that you need, is entirely your opinion. If you need Attack Speed Increase, you should obtain a quick strike module or an elite quick strike module. If you want more bang for your bombs, you may want a boom module or elite bomb module, etc, etc. If you need more health in lockdown, try to obtain heart pendants! Look here for more information! http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Trinket

REMEMBER: Trinket slots cost 150 CE each, and last for 30 days. You can have a maximum of two slots.

Tactics:⬇

Cloak and Dagger ⬇

This is a general tactic best used with a speedy weapon. You go in cloaked, walk literally into the enemies' face, swing a sword and try to cloak before they get a lock on you, you either continue the onslaught or continue moving. DO NOT APPROACH FROM BEHIND. Your prey is not an idiot, remember to treat them that way.

Pros of this tactic:
If mastered, you become an assassin.
Morale of your enemy can drop quickly if you develop a killstreak.
Easy to target almost anyone, even if only to weaken them.

Cons:
You're in an extremely dangerous zone.
That warning mark can give you away quickly.
1v1 focus.

The Stealth Guardian Recon ⬇

You're cloaked, you walk up on the enemy capping... he has friends helping him, so you lay back, the instant they cap and move on, you're on that base cloaked. This tactic is pretty evasive, more often than not used by a recon who, while low on health, still is attempting to contribute on their way to heal. Now, after you begin capping, you have one of two options... spam bombs all over the CP (preferably a shock or stun haze due to the sheer amount of freeze resist) or remain cloaked/evasive while capping. Once the CP turns white, it's advised you keep a cloak on or a decent timing on your bomb spamming... because people will be coming to reclaim that point.

Pros:

Able to use even when low on health
Allows some scouting in the event your team has a voice program available
Not that hard to master due to sheer room away from the base.

Cons:

Few, if any kills made
Likely would want a recon ally along with you
"Sniper" - Grab a gun, when the enemy is visible from a distance, fire. Or fire, cloak, fire from elsewhere, cloak some more. Offensively this isn't much of a valid tactic without a trollaris if you're not much of a gunslinger. Defensively, it's a great tactic. When the enemy sees you or gets to feel a bullet, immediately they want to remove the threat. I've kept 2 strikers easily entertained at a CP for at least a minute before my death, that's a minute that our team continued to receive points. Also, a minute your enemy doesn't get points from that area. You don't get much credit for it, but those instances are what win the battle.

Pros:

Range from enemy
Combining with mindgames makes for a much underrated asset to your team
Time-burner

Cons:

Strikers will be quick to dash after you (and we all know what happens after dash)
Not credited much (and therefore if a loss comes, you stand chance of being blamed)

Bomb spamming ⬇

- Self-explanatory tactic. Find a CP, make it no mans land. Advisable a blast and haze bomb be used in unison.

Pros:
Simple but effective tactic
Nitronome spam for once is applauded (if only barely)
Cons:
Easy tactic to avoid
Easy to interrupt timing should you be solo

Hidden wrecking ball ⬇

A variation of "Cloak and Dagger".
run up to a battle/CP cloaked, hold attack button before shield goes down so that when finally visible... you can blast a charge off into a group. Awesome with a calibur, but has seen effective use with other means of weapons. If you can, cloak immediately after charge, retreat, then come back and do it again if possible.

Pros:

Hard hits and KB
"Tactical Nuke" effect if executed well enough

Cons:

Cloak drain is heavy
Without enough Charge Time Reduction, easily countered by a gunshots

The Trollaris ⬇

You will need a gun of the Polaris line. Simply appear with one bullet of the Polaris and disappear, or spam up a choke point and run away. Your teammates pick off the rest.

Pros: Cruel and evil, and can annoy many strikers. Great time waster.

Cons: Cloak drain is very heavy. You run out of cloak, and you WILL die.
Very little damage dealt.

Weaknesses of Recon ⬇

To use Recon effectively, you must know your weaknesses. Your only defense is your invisibility. If you get shot, sliced, or bombed, your invisibility will be gone. Your only way to survive is to be on the offensive. Slice, hack, or gun your way out of the sticky situation if you can, and survive long enough to become invisible again and go back to base if your health is low. Do not try to run away if there is a striker nearby, as his boost will surely catch up to you and he/she will kill you, hold your ground and hopefully kill off the striker/strikers. Bombs are both your best ally and worst nightmare. Haze bombs such as Voltaic Tempest (Deals shock, destroys invisibility) Stagger Storm (Stunned, moves around slowly, attacks slowly, destroys invisibility), also Shivermist buster (Frozen, cannot move, destroys invisibility), and Ash of Agni (Deals fire, removes invisibility).

Weapons to use ⬇

The best weapons of a recon are either heavy weapons (Gran Faust is popular, as is a Warmaster Rocket Hammer), quick toothpicks (Final Flourish is best), and bombs can be used. For swords, if you want to really destroy enemies, obtain more ASI (Attack speed Increase). Get ASI trinkets or a weapon with an Attack Speed Increase Unique Variant! Most guns can be used, alchemer and Polaris lines are best. Valiance is also a good weapon. Haze bombs such as Voltaic Tempest (Deals shock) Stagger Storm (Stunned, moves around slowly, attacks slowly, destroys invisibility), also Shivermist buster (Frozen, cannot move), and Ash of Agni (Deals fire) are good investments. Be warned, people who see bombers will react by pulling out their Polaris or Antiqua line!

Protips ⬇

Never use the autogun line!
Always move in clockwise or counterclockwise circles.
To make people think you are magical and can teleport, you can be invisible and then appear further off, and appear further off et cetera. The enemies will go crazy.
It takes two hits of a GF/DA (fully leveled) to kill someone with no health trinkets, and three to kill one with trinkets. 4-5 hits of a Final Flourish will basically kill anyone without health trinkets, and 7 to kill anything.
MOVE IN A WAY SO THAT PEOPLE CANNOT PREDICT! I CANNOT stress this more. This is the MOST important thing about being a recon. Do not get scared and run away, that is what strikers hope for, and that is the first place they will look. Instead, hide behind cover if there is cover.

Bonuses of a recon: ⬇

▪ Health Bonus +7 (Base Health: 12)
▪ Charge Time Reduction: Medium
▪ Gun Attack Speed Increase: Medium
Bomb Charge Time Reduction: Medium

Downsides of a recon ⬇

Asi low decrease (This is not at all a problem: Even Heavy Weapons work very nearly as well!)

I hope this helped anyone who wants to use Recon!

Special thanks to:

Vagueabond
Imperialstriker
Thefirstgamer
Traevelliath
Xairathan
Gwenyvier
Tuhui
Nottheanswer
Skold-The-Drac
Raisinfist
Slayzz
Kilmefirst
Chickenuggetz
Whimsicality
Ironskullkid
Seiran
Damienfoxy
Fallconn
Rangerwillx

NOTE: If any of you have more to say, please do! Thanks for the help with the guide! Also, if you have already posted, and I have not added something important, please tell me and I will add it.