This article is part of a directory: Gotham Knights Guide - Tips, Tricks, Abilities, Bosses, & Puzzles
Table of contents

Highlights

  • Gotham Knights offers players the freedom to explore and play as their favorite Bat Family characters, with four playable characters available.
  • Players should choose their character upgrades wisely, as they cannot be reversed, and each character brings something unique and thrilling to Gotham City.
  • Robin excels in stealth and gadgets, Red Hood is a skilled marksman and brawler, Batgirl is a well-rounded solo fighter with hacking abilities, and Nightwing is fast-moving with crowd control abilities and benefits from co-op gameplay.

With four playable characters, Gotham Knights give players the freedom to explore their favorite characters from the Bat Family. Although Gotham Knights only feature Red Hood, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin rather than the entirety of the ever-expanding Bat Family, it just means that these four characters are given more care and craft in their abilities and upgrades.

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Players should pay close attention to which characters they upgrade, as the points that they spend on their characters cannot be reversed, therefore making all upgrades final. Out of the four characters, each of them brings something brilliant to the table, with plenty of thrills for Gotham City along the way.

Updated on November 24, 2023, by Jake Fillery: Gotham Knights gives players the opportunity to explore the vastness of Gotham City as four iconic Batman-related heroes: Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood. Yet, which of these heroes is the best character in Gotham Knights that players are going to want to use and upgrade first? Upgrading heroes in Gotham Knights is no easy task, nor is it a reversible decision, so some characters will benefit players more than others, especially depending on their preferred style of play, whether that's as a solo defender of Gotham, or one of the best members of the Bat Family as a group.

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4 Robin

Stealth Expert

Robin in Gotham Knights

Best Perks To Unlock First:

  • Light Footed (Shadow Tree) - Silent footsteps to allow for sprinting and faster crouching in stealth.
  • Turnabout Takedown (Shadow Tree) - Stealth takedown large enemies.
  • Vantage Hanging Takedown (Shadow Tree) - Takedowns from vantage points.
  • Elemental Decoy (Slugger Tree) - Robin's Momentum decoy provides elemental damage when disappearing.

Building to the release of Gotham Knights, and thanks to history in DC Comics, fans knew what to anticipate when it came to Tim Drake, the third Robin. Playing as Robin in Gotham Knights means that players need to rely on stealth, gadgets, and elemental attacks. Robin shines through his teammates not only as the youngest member but as an inventor of gadgets, drones, and decoys to help him achieve the stealth that Batman would be proud of.

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Most of Robin’s primary abilities are reliant in some way or another on stealth, including his exclusive stealth takedowns. He can also become invisible. This makes Robin a great asset for those players that want to do a majority stealth run through Gotham Knights, especially since Robin can act as a ghost. What’s even better, is Robin’s staff, which can release unrelenting blows on enemies, and offer a great melee range, despite not being a specialist. Robin certainly paves the way for stealth and has great use of the five different elemental damage types thanks to his gear and his skill tree.

3 Red Hood

Marskman & Brawler

Gotham Knights Red Hood

Best Perks To Unlock First:

  • Extended Grab Window (Brawler Tree) - Grab enemies below 50% HP.
  • Focused Fire (Marksman Tree) - Aim at targets for up to 4x damage.
  • Large Grab (Brawler Tree) - Grab larger enemies to make them vulnerable.
  • Iron Grip (Brawler Tree) - Harder for Red Hood to be interrupted after grabbing an enemy.

It’s no secret that Red Hood is the rogue of the Bat Family. Ever since his death and resurrection, he’s been the distant black sheep that prefers to work alone. He’s a character that lacks what Batman stands for, especially since he has guns. However, Gotham Knights do not feature murderous pistols, as Red Hood uses non-lethal rounds, making for a brutal character in close-quarter combat, as well as an artist when it comes to ranged combat since his pistols act as his weapons on all fronts.

Playing as Red Hood certainly will not turn the game into something else, as for the majority, characters will still soak up damage despite the velocity and power of pistols being shot in their faces. However, his abilities are great for solo play, as he is an impressive brawler character. Red Hood has basic attacks that can deal great damage, and evolving his skill tree and upgrading Red Hood means more moves, and more power, which could make enemies explode with an area of effect that damages groups of enemies that dare stand against Red Hood.

2 Batgirl

Well-Rounded & Solo

controversial character development

Best Perks To Unlock First:

  • HP Plus (Grit Tree) - Increase Batgirl's HP by 40%.
  • Second Wind (Grit Tree) - Self-revive to restore 50% of HP once health is depleted.
  • Digital Ghost (Oracle Tree) - Electronic devices cannot detect Batgirl.
  • Enemy Counter Focus (Grit Tree) - Enemy Counter Focus provides 75% bonus to defense when hit by counters.

Everyone knows of Barbara Gordon's trauma, and what she went through after being shot by the Joker. She has been wheelchair-bound but turned her disability into a strength by becoming Oracle. In Gotham Knights, after the death of her father Commissioner Gordon, she was encouraged to undertake experimental surgeries and physical therapy to walk again. Now, she’s back as Batgirl, and Gotham Knight’s most well-rounded character, with great abilities reminiscent of Batman himself.

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Her movement style is reliant on gliding thanks to her cape, meaning that players can fall through Gotham City in style. Batgirl never backs down, and thanks to abilities like Second Wind, she won’t ever have to, as she is entirely self-reliant. Batgirl can revive herself with certain skill tree abilities and can dish out brilliant combos that make sure she starts the fight and ends it within seconds, no matter how outnumbered she is. Where Batgirl also excels, is in her hacking abilities, as Batgirl can use her environment to her advantage. This is all thanks to her time as Oracle, as turrets, cameras, and lasers will enhance her combat abilities, and make stealth all the easier.

1 Nightwing

Fast Moving & Crowd Control

A new Gotham Knights trailer showcases Nightwing and what he brings to Gotham's defense.

Best Perks To Unlock First:

  • Extra Momentum (Acrobat Tree) - Adds another Momentum bar to Nightwing's character.
  • Trampoline (Raptor Tree) - Follow through with the Pounce Momentum Ability to perform another aerial attack.
  • Aerial Bounce (Raptor Tree) - Add on to Trampoline's aerial attack with another attack.
  • Evade Chain (Acrobat Tree) - More dodges for better evasion and Momentum building.

Nightwing is certainly the fastest of the characters in the game. The developers truly lean into his acrobatic abilities, and fighting as Nightwing is a lot of fun. The character will leap off of enemies and bounce between them as if to share the punches and kicks. His momentum abilities focus on crowds and can be used to devastate the criminals of Gotham City. However, perhaps the most curious asset of Nightwing is his reliance on co-op abilities.

For the most part, Nightwing features a few co-op abilities in his skill tree. Although players can largely ignore these perks, and carry on their game with the rewards they see fit from Nightwing, the character truly excels when another hero is battling by Nightwing’s side. He’s entirely capable, with a ton of area-of-effect attacks, so being surrounded, and even without a friend, will not be an issue.

Gotham Knights box art
Gotham Knights
$20 $40 Save $20

Platform(s)
PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS5
Released
October 21, 2022
Developer(s)
WB Games Montreal
Genre(s)
Action RPG