I am a random person on the internet and I've got just the right key to your heart. I like my men clad in plate armor and wielding a two-handed weapon of some variety.
I've spent a couple of hours in this game and I think I like it, but take my advice with a grain of salt.
And I guess I feel the need to pass my questionable wisdom to further generations or something.

Properties are displayed in an order from recommended to alternative, just in case you want to toy around with these.

When the knight packs heavy metal every Beastman skull gets rattled.
Properties:

1. +5% Attack Speed
   
2. +30% Block Cost Reduction
   
3. +5% Crit Chance.

Traits:

1. Opportunist
   
2. Swift Slaying

• Arguably the heaviest hunk of metal, so you want all the available momentum propellant enhancements.
  
• With the right Properties and Talents, Opportunist helps break Stormvermin overheads with a mere push. Lesser foes will straight up fall down with one or two nudges, this translates to more THP from Back Off, Ugly! and gives you a broader window for all your stagger related damage utilities.
  
• This build focuses on retaliation style brawling, so you absolutely must be able to get whacked and still be standing. Requires at least two 30% equipment BCR modifiers.
  
• A sideways or downwards smack across the Packmasters face will send him packin' his hook home, even mid-attack.
  
• Simply pushing will break Stormvermin out of their overhead charged attack. Won't work on Bestigors or Maulers, but a hearty sideways smack will.
  
• Speaking of sideways smacks, they have enough stagger to interrupt Plague Monks even out of their flurry. Chaos Berserkers are affected even more, but the only thing you can't interrupt is their leap attack.
  
• Push Stormvermin with shields twice, on the second push follow with a push-attack and finish with a regular overhead, this little combo will usually do the job.
  
• Sweeping attacks cleave through armor, about 5 Stormvermin with Taal's Champion (+10% Power) and +10% Power vs Skaven.
  
• Swift Slaying and Crit Chance is for what we'll call Bad Manners and Hammers. You're mean and you just don't care. Pactsworn got nothing on you. I mean, at this point you might just as well play a pure melee DPS, but still.

It's still good, so why'd I bother, it's on this list like two others.
Properties:

1. +10% Power vs Monsters
   
2. +10% Power vs Skaven
   
3. +5% Crit Chance

Traits:

1. Conservative Shooter
   
2. Scrounger
   
3. Hunter or Barrage

• Standing still significantly descreases Repeater's spread. Crouching descreases it even further.
  
• Stacking Power vs Monsters & Skaven helps against Packmasters.
  
• If you build for crits consider Scrounger, since you will often run & gun, hitting bodyshots regardless.
  
• If you are stingy with your ammo try Hunter or Barrage (crit & non-crit boys specifically), it will pack a punch against Bosses, especially if there's a resupply box. It's not great, but it's something.
  
• Use Valiant Charge on an approaching Packmaster if he's too close or if you're surrounded by a horde. Whip out the Repeater, spin the barrel and unload.
  
• You don't have to unload all the chambers. Just release your aim button and you'll stop shooting. It helps if you need a small burst of damage, for example time sensetive events like teleporting sorcerers.

Getting pushed around no longer, hitting him just makes him stronger!
Properties:

1. +30% Block Cost Reduction
   
2. +2 Stamina
   
3. +20% Health
   
4. +30% Push/Block Angle

Traits:

1. Boon of Shallya
   
2. Barkskin

• You need Block Cost Reduction to effectively utilize Counter-Punch, a crux in this build.
  
• All the usual tank traits and properties are solid, but I prefer a bit extra Stamina to work with. Consider this especially if you run Taal's Champion (+10% Power) over Rock of the Reikland (+20 Block Cost Reduction aura).
  
• With the redux of THP, options for it's generation became considerably stricter, in some instances nigh non-existent, so anything that helps you boost your health gains helps a lot. As a small bonus it will affect Healing Draughts which don't do as much for your large HP pool otherwise.
  
• I've included Block Angle more or less for giggles and never tried it. But I should, seems like it could be fun, given the build specifics.

Set aside the shotgun pellets, overwhelm plague ridden zealots!
Properties:

1. +5% Attack Speed
   
2. +10% Power vs Skaven
   
3. +10% Power vs Armored

Traits:

1. Decanter
   
2. Proxy

• Slap some Attack Speed in there, the darn hunk of metal is still the slowest.
  
• You need one of: +10% Power vs Skaven, +10% Power vs Berserkers, Taal's Champion (+10% Power) or Enhanced Power (+7% Power) combined with Staggering Force (+35% Stagger Power) for your horizontals to break Plague Monks out of their flurry.
  
• Same story with Stormvermin overhead attacks: you need one of the above for your push (not horizontals, that works as is) to stagger them out of it, or +10% Power vs Armored.
  
• With the removal of CDR Reduction in Talents, I've got nothing particular about traits, go with preference, whether you're a nice guy or a mean bean.

No use standing dilly-dallying, get in there and get to shoving!
Properties:

1. +30% Stamina Recovery
   
2. +10% CD Reduction
   
3. +5% Crit Chance
   
4. +33% Curse Resistance

Traits:

1. Grenadier
   
2. Shrapnel

• As this build revolves around crowd control, blocking and pushing, I consider Stamina Recovery one of the essential parts of it. Your Stamina regeneration is not interrupted when you push during Counter-Punch.
  
• Often times you don't go colleting grimoires on Cataclysm, until you do. Smear Curse Resistance all over yourself when the need arises.
  
• I love my Valiant Charge and you can't stop me. So, unless you have Bad Manners with Hammers, I would like to interest you in some of our finest Cooldown Reduction.
  
• Shrapnel is for big men, but Grenadier is actually very useful since the circle chasers will probably already have something prepared for the boss. Preference.

• The only reasonable way for Footknight to gain Temporary Health. While swinging your Greathammer will provide a meaty chunk of THP on a sizeable horde, you can also safely farm THP by pushing. Your push will stagger everything barring an occasional Monk, Berserker or a Bestigor overhead (or a Packmaster). Most of Bestigor's other attacks can be interrupted. Monks and Berserkers can be staggered inbetween their attacks.
  
• THP gained depends on how hard you slammed someone down, so the more Power (or Stagger Power in particular) you have, the better it works.
  This is big wrong, this hersey has been unveiled courtesy of Malacar in the comment section.

Baby, you're built for shovin'. I'd love to say that Executioner's Sword can work with Bloody Unstoppable!, but it only happens in my dreams. I can't stop you from including the Nice Guy Sharehealing Lord vibes tho', but I'd advice against it.

• This is your bread and butter, one of the few things that make Footknight shine these days and which nobody can take away from him. Barring Zealot and his power stacks, but as long as he doesn't have a Greathammer we'll have a spot under the sun.
  
• Directly synergizes with pushing, shoving and all things we're lovin'. Yes, it does affect your push strength, which is sorta' one of the pillars of this build. It makes things go down so you make sure they stay down, and it fills your heart with joy and THP.

The other Talents are all neat in concept, but, even in it's nerfed state, Staggering Force brings something to the table you (and only you) can make a delightful buffet out of.

• It's one of those perks that Vermintide throws at you and gives you a choice: "You play along nicely and all's well, or you can have this other thing, but don't tell me I didn't warn you". I'll expand on this later, but what this essentially is: a hipster Sword & Shield build. It combines Footknight's innate crowd control capabilities and mixes a little "oomph" in there, a little punch, a little whack. So far this Talent is the main way you interface with the system to create a concoction of defense and meaningful offense.
  
• Increased Stagger Power provides you more room to take advantage of this Talent. Enemies climbing slopes or stairs are considered to have 2 stagger levels (+60% damage out the gate), your Valiant Charge does essentially the same thing by applying knockdown and 2 stagger levels by proxy.
  
• I couldn't test this properly, but for the sake of placebo I do believe that you can treat your Push attack as essentially having +40% damage, unless you didn't actually flinch whatever you shoved (which is rare with this build).
  
  
• Still, Enhanced Power does give you even more "Oomph". Think of it like all the other Power increases for purposes of this build: big man hit hard, rat fly farer, man get bit more THP. I'd see this more useful on a pure crowd control build with a shield, otherwise this ensemble loses it's offensive spark.

Bulwark is for Nice Guys with Shields. It is seemingly just 10% less damage on paper, but I accept no compromises. Not on my watch. I think they also buffed Valiant Charge to apply Bulwark. Okay, this is mighty tempting, let's just move on before I change my mind.

• This is a safe, team-oriented Talent that will help you hold the line. Sometimes you just don't have a choice whether to get poked by a stick or a greataxe, and you won't believe how much difference that extra 20% makes in those situations. Besides, it keeps the benefit of extra Damage Reduction.
  
  
• Yet still, this is another Nice Guy vs Bad Manners deal, but I actually like both and currently use Taal's Champion. You could treat these as little edges that don't massively swing you one way or the other, but the loss of extra Damage Reduction takes some getting used to. I do recommend to go with extra BCR, then try some Power for that extra bit of punch, cleave and THP, and see how you feel.

Defensive Formation is my all-time favorite and will remain in my heart as a classic, but I used to pick it more out of the lack of choice than preference. It's outlived it's usefullnes, unless you specifically stack Damage Reduction.

• Yet another pillar of this build. If Mainstay, Taal's Champion and Trample are the offensive pillars, then this is the structural beam along with Back Off, Ugly!, all that Stamina and Stagger Power which keep your backbone intact.
  
• Don't hesitate to let you enemies hit you on purpose just to trigger this. It will allow you to make room even if you're surrounded by a horde mixed with Elites, all the while generating you THP. Otherwise you end up using actual Stamina for pushing, which is better reserved for blocking heavier hits.
  
• As part of the retatiation theme, you will actually want to get hit most of the time before dishing out the punishment, because your Stagger Power is high enough to flinch most enemies with Push to get enough time and windup a heavy sideways swing. Treat it as a failsafe to reliably get swings in, since if you try to just spam left and right too much, you risk hitting a Cleave limit or fresh arrivals at the frontline that will poke you between your strikes.
  
• Once again, to reiterate, you push has nigh-infinite cleave and, in this case, rather comparable Stagger Power, so treat it as your main source of Crowd Control along with Valiant Charge, and get swings in to deal damage or stagger heftier foes out of their big attacks.

This is somewhat of a core to this build, so there's not much to add. I don't see a lot of use for It's Hero Time when you have Valiant Charge, and That's Bloody Teamwork works only if you go out of your way to stack Damage Reduction, which is too defensive for this style.

• I've come to appreciate Trample and treat it simply as extra 80% (additional 20% combined with 60% from Mainstay) damage on anything I knock down with Valiant Charge. It's not as good on single targets, especially with Witch Hunter who'd cancel the benefit of this ability, alas, with the reach your Career Skill has, you can apply it to a full screen worth of enemies at once for you and your teammates to dismember.
  
• If you don't have a Witch Hunter, treat it as a worse Shrapnel (less time). Charge a Boss before a Shade's hit, prop it up for a Bounty Hunter's shot, you name it. Also works wonders on knocked down Chaos Warriors.
  
• If things truly get bad, it will help you finish off Specials within the crowd with your Repeater a little more easily after you knock them back.
  
  
• This one works as a fine alternative and is up to preference. Both lead to higher DPS after your Valiant Charge, one is restricted to afflicted tagets, the other is a personal buff. If you wish, you could get more crowd control with you hammer swings and faster THP gain for a short period.

Numb to Pain was my old favorite. It was nerfed from 5 to 3 seconds, and with the THP changes you no longer get that huge window of opportunity to freely farm gross amounts of THP. Still, I believe it has it's uses, but it's best paired with Damage Reduction stacks and a shield at the frontline.

So let us have a little heart to heart. This build... It's been done before. I didn't neccesarily steal it, it's right there at the bottom, and I've used it even before it became the go-to and considered meta. But yes, I essentially smelted my shield into a brick of iron and put it at the end of my longsword. I just like doing niche things and play outside the box. I am that special snowflake that's totally different from everyone else. And now you can be too!
Now, on a less heart to heart note, this build takes the essence of a Sword & Board style and applies it in a more brutal fashion. If you think my Nice Guys guide is outdated, joke's on you, just apply the Talents above to the rest of the Nice Guy's kit and you've got yourself an S&S 2.0 guide.
Nonetheless, Kruber's tank playstyle, defined by his shield combos, became so well outlined now that I've lost my niche, that one weird thing I did which sorta' worked. Well, if you don't fill your expected role and try to be something else, you might as well switch to another hero. Yet here we are. So take my hand, and let me lead you to the land of a bootleg sustainable retaliation DPS.

There is not much complexity in regards to wielding a Warhammer: you have your standard light combo of:
Light_1 (top-right slam) -> Light_2 (top-left slam) -> Light_3 (right smash)
As well as your horizontal area sweeper that chains into itself:
Heavy_1 (right sweep) -> Heavy_2 (left sweep)...

For the sake of being thorough I will mention that a Push-attack chains into the left-right sweep:
Push_Attack (right slam) -> Heavy_2 (left sweep)
As well as the first light downwards slam chains into the left-right sweep:
Light_1 (top-right slam) -> Heavy_2 (left sweep)
This particular bit of information is completely useless and you should never employ it, and now that we're done with it, let's proceed.

Heavy_1 (right sweep) -> Light_2 (left sweep)...


Your thing', your signature spineroo. You see a crowd of rats, you do a spineroo, very simple, really. During my tests I could do a spineroo through 5 thick rats.
You only sweep when there is a moderate group of hostiles and/or a few Elites mixed together. Go overboard and you will get smacked, because your spineroo has a cleave limit which you'll get accustomed to in time.
These sideways strikes will interrupt nigh anything up to a Chaos Warrior: Maulers overhead, Stormvermin overhead, Bestigor overhead, Plague Monk flurry, Berserker flurry, incoming Packmasters. They will not interrupt that one Berserker leap attack, though.



Block -> Push_Attack (right slam)


Blocking and pushing is what you do when there is more than a moderate group of hostiles and/or more than a few Elites mixed together. Despite clubbing a few of them, you don't want those that remain to get a shiv in your side.
Thus you block, and after you block you push. Depending on the situation you might need to push a lot, or maybe in a few different directions, if not all at once. Since you can push for no Stamina cost after you block an attack, you want to save your Stamina to actually block and reap the benefits of free real estate afterwards. Getting Block Cost Reduction will allow you more leeway in situations when you don't have a lot of choice in terms of what to get hit by.
After you push you can do two things. You can push more or you can attack. Whether or not you should attack depends on two factors:

• Is there something I couldn't push?
  
• Is there something I didn't push?

In terms of the former: those include Bestigor overheads, Mauler overheads and Chaos Warrior overheads.
In terms of the latter: those include enemies outside of your direct push angle (to your rear and your sides), as well as enemies with spears or doing a running attack.
To alleviate the former — reposition, block or push more.
To alleviate the latter — move into your push, don't be afraid to take ground.
Critical asessment of any given situation helps with both.
After you've gathered enough field intel to confirm a possibility of employing a sweeping attack, do so freely. Your Stagger power is high enough to confirm that everything you've stumbled can be followed-up upon with smashing fury. Continue to rain justice on the Pactsworn until the situation requires you to go back to the beginning of the paragraph.

Obliterate:

Light_1 (top-right slam) -> Heavy_2 (top-left slam) -> Light_3 (right smash)


Now, for the most easily digestable part of these ramblings: you use light attacks when you want something gone. These three attacks are identical to one another barring their timing, so what you will often see, more so on Slayer, is that people will cancel their first swing right after it connects and continue to spam Light_1:
Light_1 (top-right slam) -> Block (interrupt chain) -> Light_1 (top-right slam)...
It can be done with more ease if you have two Greathammers, but can still be done with one if you double-tap Q. This can also be set up as a macros to make your life easier and streamlined, but this type of disco is not really my style, so I only occasionally use it once or twice in a combo to confirm my mistimed strike rather than for DPS. Thus I will let you figure this one on your own if you pursue it.
Apart from focusing on a high priority target singled out in a crowd or a lone enemy, there isn't much more to say, as it's rather self explanatory.

Miscellaneous:

• Don't expect to compete with powerhouses like Battle Wizard, Unchained and Zealot. Your job is still dedicated to tanking and creating space, now you're just a bit more self-reliant, especially against armored targets.
  
• Time your Valiant Charge with Trample in tandem with high-damaging abilities of your teammates like Bounty Hunter's and Shade's ultimates.
  
• Eat your veggies.

Properties are displayed in an order from recommended to alternative, just in case you want to toy around with these.

Use this sword with righteous might, execute fools left and right!
Properties:

1. +5% Attack Speed
   
2. +10% Power vs Chaos
   
3. +5% Crit Chance.

Traits:

1. Swift Slaying
   
2. Parry

• Clean strikes to detach a variety of heads without dilly-dallying. Some heads are armored, though, and will require a modicum of dilly-dallying.
  
• Second property is preference. I enjoy Power vs Chaos for no real reason, but with Glory Hound it will grant bodyshot kills on Fanatics (basic Chaos infantry).
  
• A well aimed blow will fell an approaching Packmaster. Read the first note.
  
• Adjust your aim slightly, hitbox doesn't strike exactly at the middle. Strike higher for CWs.
  
• Break Shielded SV's guard with two pushes or a charge and go for a fatal blow, don't smack em' around. Regular shields can be outright destroyed with an overhead.
  
• Heavy attacks have +20% Crit Chance, use it to proc Swift Slaying.
  
• Light attack can slide past armormed boys. Helpful to gain THP and for mild crowd control.

Spin your barrel, pop a squat, gun's now steady: blast the rat!
Properties:

1. +10% Power vs Monsters
   
2. +10% Power vs Skaven
   
3. +5% Crit Chance

Traits:

1. Conservative Shooter
   
2. Scrounger
   
3. Hunter or Barrage

• Standing still significantly descreases Repeater's spread. Crouching descreases it even further.
  
• Stacking Power vs Monsters & Skaven helps against Packmasters.
  
• If you build for crits consider Scrounger, since you will often run & gun, hitting bodyshots regardless.
  
• If you are stingy with your ammo try Hunter or Barrage (crit & non-crit boys specifically), it will pack a punch against Bosses, especially if there's a resupply box. It's not great, but it's something.
  
• Use Valiant Charge on an approaching Packmaster if he's too close or if you're surrounded by a horde. Whip out the Repeater, spin the barrel and unload.
  
• You don't have to unload all the chambers. Just release your aim button and you'll stop shooting. It helps if you need a small burst of damage, for example time sensetive events like teleporting sorcerers.

Boy is big, but can get bigger, shiny necklace gives him vigour!
Properties:

1. +20% Maximum Health
   
2. +10% Damage Reduction against Chaos
   
3. +10% Damage Reduction against Skaven

Traits:

1. Boon of Shallya
   
2. Barkskin

• A huge health pool gives you a lot of Valiant Charges by virtue of taking damage, DR lets you spend this health wisely.
  
• You are also a living mountain. Congratulations.
  
• While you would usually get +Stamina, focus on your innate crowd control makes it obsolete.
  
• I prefer Chaos resistance, but without Barkskin you can also invest into Skaven resistance against Warpfire, Globadiers and Rattlings.
  
• This build focuses on offense, hence Boon of Shallya. Barkskin is a defensive alternative.
  
• Dealing damage also decreases your cooldown, so a healthy mix of dealing and taking HP/THP damage will keep you in a comfy spot in regards to Valiant Charges.
  
• Basically: charge, smack fools for THP, lose THP to get charge, charge, rinse and repeat.

Hunk of metal is still slow, so am I, but watch me go!
Properties:

1. +5% Attack Speed
   
2. +10% Power vs Skaven
   
3. +10% Power vs Armored

Traits:

1. Concoction

• Slap some Attack Speed in there, the darn hunk of metal is still slow.
  
• You need +10% vs Skaven to be able to decapitate Stormvermin in one overhead. It also translates to Repeater and thus Packmasters.
  
• +10% vs Armored does the same thing, but without benefit against Packmasters. But you can slam CWs with two crit headshots if you combine it with Glory Hound, I guess that's a thing.
  
• Chugging any potion will lend you around 4 charges due to lowered CD. Otherwise pick by preference.

Pactsworn swarming, patience thin, no more waiting: charge, get in!
Properties:

1. +33% Curse Resistance
   
2. +10% CD Reduction
   
3. +5% Crit Chance

Traits:

1. Grenadier
   
2. Shrapnel

• I would say pick something else instead of Curse Resistance, but you actually need to stay as tall as you can.
  
• You can consider CD Reduction a 33% improvement to your 25 Career Skill rather than a 10% decrease.
  
• If you're still not a believer in the glorious CDR age, crits would be useful.
  
• Shrapnel is for big men, but Grenadier is actually very useful since the circle chasers will probably already have something prepared for the boss. Preference.

• This is a second-to-last step to getting the most huge you will ever be and you will need it. Specifically combine it with a Max HP necklace.
  
• You're extremely tall now, so draughts will restore relatively small portions of your overall Health pool, try to priorotize medkits. They seem to either heal a percentage of HP, or have a huge base value for healing.
  
  
• That darn hunk of metal probably has enough speed now, but if you're feeling the thirst, you can slap even more Attack Speed in there.

The lack of use for Push Angle for this build is rather self-explanatory.

• This is not much of an important choice, but once in millenia this will be useful when your Block is broken and you enter into a pure THP brawl with an army of pactsworn surrounding you.
  
  
• Regroup is for nice guys without a Shield. You can opt for this one if you're feeling charitable.

While Stamina regeneration is very nice your Valiant Charge be more than enough cword control to extensively rely on pushing or blocking.

• Your transformation is complete. You've reached the optimal level of huge to survive the onslaught of Vermintide.
  
  
• Although you can try to stack some Movement Speed. It's not very practical but kind of fun. You'll keep the pace and even leave those wutelgi in the dust. Doesn't help to chase the actual green circles. This also might or might not translate to the burst of speed you get when you make your overhead attack. You will also feel like a snail for a while after you revert back.

I don't see the appeal of one Stamina difference in leash's range, although it is the most easily observable benefit of the three. Damage Reduction, on the other hand, helps your huge Health pool not get chunked down as easily overtime, which is one of your weaknesses. Moreso your build relies on overcoming spikes in difficulty through overwhelming offense rather than defensive sustain.

• Your tool to feast on hordes and gain THP. This is one of the things that will let you set roots in one place against an oncoming wave of rat people. Light attacks of the Executioner slide past armor which is a niche bonus.

In theory Templar's Rally could work if you feel like it, but I suggest being a bit more egoistic and transfer that to the ability of personally taking heat off your team.

• One of your other tools in your crusade to becoming an unmovable object against an unstoppable force. Combine it with Cooldown Reduction on a Trinket, this directly lessens the amount of damage you'll need to take in order to retaliate, as well as allow you to charge a bit more recklessly while having your ultimate up for time-sensetive moments like controlling important targets or saving teammates.

I will not go into much detail on other talents here. While they have their place, this Talent is THE core of this build.

Basic Light Combo:
Light_1 (right-left sweep) -> Light_2 (left-right sweep) -> Light_3 (underhanded sweep)


Placeholder.

Basic Heavy Combo:
Heavy_1 (right overhead) -> Heavy_2 (left overhead)


Placeholder.

Push-attack:
Push_Attack (cleave)


Placeholder

Stand your ground with sword and board, push and bash oncoming hordes!
Properties:

1. +5% Attack Speed
   
2. +10% Power vs Chaos
   
3. +5% Crit Chance
   
4. +30% Block Cost Reduction

Traits:

1. Opportunist
   
2. Off Balance
   
3. Parry

• The main thing to keep in mind is Shield Bash, your bread and butter. It has seemingly limitless cleave and will stagger pretty much everything in your line of sight up to CWs. Pushes are, obviously, not as effective, but serve a role as part of your chain so that downtime on your stagger is nigh zero, and they prevent windows of opportunity for enemy to hit you between bashes.
  
• If you thought you needed to stack Block Cost Reduction, Stamina or Push Angle to make a tank build, forget anything you've known about making a tank build. Now slap some Attack Speed in there. As explained above, the continuous combo of pushing and bashing is your core and is more than enough to control the battlefield (with an occasional charge), that's why you enhance it in place of acquiring passive defensive properties.
  
• After pushing, Shields start recovering stamina 50% faster than other weapons (0.75 seconds instead of 1.5).
  
• The secondary trait is mostly preference. Mine is a placebo effect of being better versus Chaos hordes (by virtue of Power improving stagger, or so Fatshark says), thus getting slightly juicier crowd control and THP from crowd control.
  
• Alternatively you can try to stack Crit Chance. While it doesn't bring much to a build like this in terms of DPS output or whatnot, it's benefit is the fact that a critical Shield Bash will stumble CW even out of overheads.
  
• Last and probably the least is BCR. While I will not accept any bonus Stamina hersey for this particular build, BCR is somewhat acceptable since it helps against one of this build's weaknesses: being caught with your pants on the ground and without Stamina which is a death sentence if things get too chaotic in the thick of it. And you're built to be in the thick of it.
  
• Opportunist is the obvious choice for crowd control and all the good stuff it brings with it since your main combo is mixing pushes and bashes, although it is not cruicial to your effectiveness.
  
• Otherwise opt for Off Balance or Parry. Both are pretty niche, since you're geared towards offense and will not be blocking very often, and parrying is not as relevant with nerfs to tracking. Still, it will occasionally help you stop your Stamina from being splintered to pieces by Elite strikes.
  
• Be an absolute madlad and go for Heroic Intervention for 100 bonus Nice Guy™ points.

No gun handles job the better, spinning barrel crowns the meta!
Properties:

1. +10% Power vs Monsters
   
2. +10% Power vs Skaven
   
3. +5% Crit Chance

Traits:

1. Conservative Shooter
   
2. Scrounger
   
3. Hunter or Barrage

• Benefits are the same as with Rude Dudes™.
  
• Standing still significantly descreases Repeater's spread. Crouching descreases it even further.
  
• Stacking Power vs Monsters & Skaven helps against Packmasters.
  
• If you build for crits consider Scrounger, since you will often run & gun, hitting bodyshots regardless.
  
• If you are stingy with your ammo try Hunter or Barrage (crit & non-crit boys specifically), it will pack a punch against Bosses, especially if there's a resupply box. It's not great, but it's something.
  
• Use Valiant Charge on an approaching Packmaster if he's too close or if you're surrounded by a horde. Whip out the Repeater, spin the barrel and unload.
  
• You don't have to unload all the chambers. Just release your aim button and you'll stop shooting. It helps if you need a small burst of damage, for example time sensetive events like teleporting sorcerers.

Not mere man: a living wall, clad in armor blessed by Taal!
Properties:

1. +20% Maximum Health
   
2. +10% Damage Reduction against Chaos
   
3. +30% Block Cost Reduction

Traits:

1. Barkskin
   
2. Boon of Shallya

• Benefits are the same as with Rude Dudes™, but have different philosophy behind them.
  
• A huge health pool and DR serve the purpose of withstanding difficulty spikes. Be it general crowd control, saving a teammate or locking down a priority target, you want to be able to take stray hits without flinching.
  
• You are still a living mountain.
  
• Stamina is obsolete by virtue of extreme Stamina regeneration.
  
• I still prefer Chaos resistance, but if you'd like you can stack BCR. Again, you will not be blocking much and BCR comes into play in edge cases and emergencies, but it's something.
  
• This build focuses on endurance, hence Barkskin. It will help when you're overwhelmed or peppered with AoE, and you'll still get plenty of THP when bashing sizeable hordes. You will also not lose as much HP during ambient encounters, so you don't need to keep up the moment-to-moment tempo of THP generation.

Swift onslaught will ground intruder, he shall kneel before Sir Kruber!
Properties:

1. +5% Attack Speed
   
2. +10% Power vs Infantry
   
3. +10% Power vs Skaven

Traits:

1. Proxy
   
2. Decanter
   
3. Concoction

• Slap some Attack Speed in there. The darn sheet of metal is nor particularly slow, per se, but in my own experience getting enough Attack Speed makes your combo reliably stunlock foes, since it does affect speed of Shield Bash and Push. It affects Repeater's firing rate too, but that's beside the point.
  
• I love me'self some placebo against hordes. Infantry also counts towards unarmored specials like sorcerers and globadiers. Otherwise you might want to opt for Skaven to buff Repeater against Packmasters. Or anything else, it's mostly preference.
  
• Proxy passively provides you with 50 bonus Nice Guy™ points just by being on your Charm. Keep in mind that it allows you to power up Grimoire carries, who otherwise cannot obtain potion effects.
  
• Decanter allows you to charge fools with Concentration potions for lengthy periods of time and extends mileage of Strength potions, which does buff your ranged weapon with damage and armor-piercing ability. Particularly helpful against Bosses.
  
• Concoction can still be used to get an extra Valiant Charge or two, but depends on what you invest in CDR.

Mighty arms refuse exhaustion, here comes forth a one-man bastion!
Properties:

1. +33% Curse Resistance
   
2. +30% Stamina Regeneration

Traits:

1. Grenadier
   
2. Shrapnel

• You are a beefy boy, wouldn't want all that meat going to waste due to a book or two.
  
• Stamina regen is vital here. It allows you to not lose any Stamina when you perform you main pushing and bashing combo: it's just quick enough to feel reliable, but not outpace your regeneration. If you still manage to dip down ever so slightly, take a breather and block for half a second or chain pure Shield Bashes.
  
• Trait is mostly preference, although Shrapnel won't bring a lot of value to a supportive tank personally.

• This is a second-to-last step to getting the most huge you will ever be and you will need it. Specifically combine it with a Max HP necklace.
  
• You're still extremely tall, so draughts will restore relatively small portions of your overall Health pool, try to priorotize medkits. They seem to either heal a percentage of HP, or have a huge base value for healing.

S&S, unlike M&S, reaches it's full potential with +10% AS. Health increase is too good to pass up, hence AS is distributed amongst gear. If you feel like toying around with this, however, feel free mix and match. Push Angle is irrelevant since Shield Bash has more than enough reach.

• Along with the other Stamina regen increase this is a vital part of your build that lets you perform your main combo with minimal Stamina loss. As your Shield Bash procs this ability, you will have this buff nigh permanently.
  
  
• While I strongly advice against it, Regroup will passively grant you 150 bonus Nice Guy™ points.

Counter-Attack is for trading damage, hardly beneficial for someone behind the safety of their Shield. Besides, losing all of your Stamina is the last thing you'd want.

• Did I already tell you I love stacking Damage Reduction?
  
  
• Despite my troubled relationship with this talent, it still provides 50 bonus Nice Guy™ points.

You're a one-man stronghold, speed is hardly your strong suit.

• You get temporary health for bashing things. The harder you bash, the more you get. What's not to love? May not seem like a lot until you bash a frontier of rats, stormvermin, marauders and maulers.
  
  
• This will grant you 100 bonus Nice Guy™ points by itself and additional 25 per teammate wound healed. Your giant Health pool can withstand a lot by itself, but your gameplan will have to get ever more defensive. Consider bringing Healer's Touch trait for an extra round on the house.

Did I stutter? Oh, I probably did. I meant push and bash, not hack and slash. Theoretically, though, THP on cleave could still work. But it doesn't even grant any Nice Guy™ points, so why bother?

• I'll be honest: I've turned around on this talent, but for a very specific reason. Every once in a while, moreso during deeds or on modded difficulty, you'll find yourself REALLY in there. So much so that your Stamina is in the negative and Valiant Charge will phase through enemies that clip into you, doing close to nothing. If this happens, something went exceptionally wrong, and that doesn't happen much on vanilla Legend. Nevertheless, you're born for that kind of heat and this will let you get a breather in those specific scenarios and regain Stamina in particular.
  Let me reiterate that you should almost never use this proactively: there should rarely be a situation where you sit and take a pummeling instead of bashing skulls. Treat your Valiant Charge as a vanilla talent with no benefits and hold ground only when you truly depend on it.
  
• Without CDR, albeit still relatively quickly regained, your Valiant Charge will take a moment or two to come back. Don't use it mindlessly, your Shield will provide most of your offense. It is always better to arrive for a timely rescue or react to a disabler than be stuck after wasting your ultimate on something mundane.
  
• If you get any Block Cost Reduction it will, surprisingly, regenerate your Stamina on hits since your BCR will be above 100%. So that's apparently a thing.
  
  
• You're still very beefy and your Career Skill is still really good. The more you charge things, by virtue on Concentration Potions, Concoction or taking damage, the better. In my opinion this is an equally good option.

Glory Hound could be, perhaps, better for occasionally beating more THP out of pactsworn or for some neat breakpoints, but this personally is not my style.

Your Sword and Board is a toolbelt and there are a few instruments you should familiarize yourself with.
Being a supportive crowd control tank you are proficent in keeping pactsworn off their teeny feet and taking the heat whenever the situation warrants it, yet your stuns and knockdowns far exceed your lethality, so to keep foes grounded for good you will either need an ally or two or a bit of time.
As such you will mainly bulldoze foes with a huge sheet of metal in your left hand, yet the sword in your mighty right arm will also bring pain in a variety of ways: your basic slashing attacks are decent against infantry and can be mixed with a sweeping cleave, precise piercing strikes will penetrate armor and can also be chained in a multitude of ways.
All of this is intervowen into your "stomp and bash" routine, lending you safety of your shield as well as leaving helpless ratmen to mercy of your allies.

Before we begin we should understand the mechanics of Sword & Shield combos, as examples presented below are mere excerpts from this system and you can toy with it yourself.
There are two main combos: 3 light attacks and 3 heavy attacks, chained one after the other. There is also push and a push-attack. The concept is that your attacks will chain regardless of type, allowing to mix heavy and light attacks in one combo. Think something like:
Light_1 -> Heavy_2 -> Light_3
Heavy_1 -> Light_2 -> Heavy_3
Light_1 -> Light_2 -> Heavy_3
Heavy_1 -> Heavy_2 -> Light_3

The trick in particular case of S&S, however, is the exception of two combos that will chain into themselves and loop:
Light_1 -> Heavy_3 -> Light_1 -> Heavy_3
Light_2 -> Heavy_2 -> Light_2 -> Heavy_2

For our intents and purposes Push can be considered a chain for Bashes. Push-attack is a weaker version of Heavy_2 and chains into Heavy_2 proper.

Basic Light Combo:
Light_1 (top-right slash) -> Light_2 (top-left slash) -> Light_3 (sweep)

Your standard light combo. First two strikes have plenty of cleave and are good against pactsworn rubbish, third one is more of a finisher with a bit of armor damage and can be, perhaps, used in a mixed horde, but otherwise is not that helpful. No need to make an active effort in avoiding it, just keep it in mind and feel free to go for an occasional push instead.

Basic Heavy Combo:
Heavy_1 (bash) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> Heavy_3 (cleave)

Your standard heavy combo. Other than being chained one after the other, attacks here are more of a random assortment of strikes than a combo. You will never use this pattern by itself apart from Bashing into Stab as these strikes are usually chained in other ways.

Cleave Loop Combo:
Light_1 (top-right slash) -> Heavy_3 (cleave) -> Light_1 (top-right slash) -> ...

This is an alternative to your basic light combo against infantry: the heavy attack is a broad sweep and packs slightly more punch in terms of damage and cleave, albeit is a bit slower. It is useful when you are surrounded and want to stagger bogeys on all sides, as your basic light combo is a tad tunnel-visioned. It is too slow to solely rely upon, but you'll get the hang of it with time.

Stab Loop Combo:
Light_1 (top-right slash) -> Light_2 (top-left slash) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> Light_2 (top-left slash) -> ...

This is your basic Stab mixup. It flows naturally after two of your light strikes, as it loops around on itself with the second one, but in itself this pattern is more of an example than an efficent combo, as you won't find much use in mixing strikes against infantry and against armor. There are a multitude more ways to chain into Stabs and the next few combos revolve around it.

Bash "Stab Loop Combo":
Heavy_1 (bash) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> Light_2 (top-left slash) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> ...

This is your Bash into a Stab mixup, it's part of the basic heavy combo, but instead of the third heavy strike you start looping it with the second light attack. It's fairly standard and you will use it rather often just because you will do plenty of Bashing. It's equally useful for focusing Elites within a horde as well as against singular armored targets by virtue of initial crowd control.

Jab "Stab Loop Combo":
Push_Attack (jab) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> Light_2 (top-left slash) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> ...

This is your Push attack in action and it is followed by a proper Stab. You can consider this a weaker, but faster version of the previous combo, and it's use also depends on where you currently are in your Push and Bash combo. While the initial Bash we discussed previously would disrupt Stormvermin and Mauler heavy overhead attacks, this will do well against basic infantry.

Jab and Stab:
Push_Attack (jab) -> Heavy_2 (stab) -> Push_Attack (jab) -> ...

This is a safer alternative to it's armor piercing comrades, but it is limited by your Stamina. You basically throw away your infinite chain in favor of mixing in Pushes, and there is no downside to following up with a Push-attack other than it taking slightly longer. Use against dense mixed hordes.

Jab spam:
Push_Attack (jab) -> Push_Attack (jab) -> ...

Last but not least, but not much of a combo either: the infamous Stabby McStabberson. Ever more safer, but also draining and way weaker counterpart to the previous combo. Make no mistake: your Push-attack is twice as weak as your Stab, despite looking simillar. Is you're using this you're probably panicking and I'm just here to tell you: it's alright, baby, it's gonna' be fine.

Push and Bash:
Push -> Heavy_1 (bash) -> Push -> ...

Kruber, meet bread and butter. This is what you're going to be using most of the time. If it's a small infantry horde: knock them down and go to town with your sword. If it's an Elite or two: aim for the head. But if it's a sizeable horde you won't really have time to safely poke rats, so get to bashin' skulls. Will stop anything in it's tracks up to a Chaos Warrior (or Packmaster).

Chain Bash:
Heavy_1 (bash) -> Block (interrupt chain) -> Heavy_1 (bash) -> ...

This is your alternative way for crowd control. If you see your Stamina taking a nosedive or, Sigmar forbid — you've lost all your Stamina, fret not and keep bashin'. You're more open to an occasional shiv in your side, but we've not been stacking all that glorious Attack Speed for nothing, so it won't feel as awkward to handle or get used to in the first place.

Make them kneel before Sir Kruber.

• One of the most important things is the notion that you can interrupt your Charge if you block. In fact it is so important that you will actually do a stand-still charge most of the time. Charging into rivers, off bridges and to other sources of certain death no more! Reinhardt flashback are over!
  
• Taking Damage reduces your cooldown by 0.5 for 1 dmg
  
• Knock down Shield Stormvermin. I'm not sure what exactly it depends on, but it seems like the angle at which you connect, so if you slam right into their shield they will be knocked down and give you an opportunity for a clean kill. This is one of the rare situation where the "aftermath", as in the reach of your Valiant Charge, might not be enough and you'll have to make a direct impact.
  
• Knock down Chaos Patrols and fused amalgamations of pactsworn (hyperdensity). Your Valiant Charge cooldown is really low as is, but if you're in a time sensetive situation you or your allies might already be chopped to giblets. Don't forget your Valiant Charge has practically no cleave limit (although you will "sink in" into the horde if it's truly enormous and you fully commit), so before using your ultimate stack as many chunky boys as possible or wait for the horde to get beefy enough (Block or tank a bit) and then knock all the bowling pins down at once.
  
• Stunlock Bosses or throw them into deathpits/rivers. As a rough example: with increased Cooldown Reduction and Decanter you can push the scripted boss on Against the Grain from a haystack to the left of the enterance to the barn all the way into the river. Unless you really want the loot die.
  
• Switch to a Repeater when you kite a Boss in place via dodging.
  
• While there is little you can do apart from having situational awareness and putting trust of your well-being into hands of often times three random strangers, your Charge will disrupt Gutterrunners and Packmasters. You can dodge both of them, if that's not an option — charge, if that fails: you can still push Gutterrunners mid-jump. With a bit of practice this will become second nature, although in multiplayer you might still get disabled for a split second. Don't forget this when you put your Slayer pants on.
  
  
• It's not obvious, but your Valiant Charge does not interrupt most channeling actions, so get in the habit of always Blocking before you Charge, since if you're attacked during windup or mid-charge it will get interrupted. But there's more: you can, for example, heal and even ressurect fallen members. Hell, you can even unload your Repeater if you really want to. Your barrel with sway like a drunkard and there is no real use for it, but it's there.
  
  
• And many other useful and nice things about Valiant Charge that I will let you figure out on your own.

[under maintenance]

• Each weapon's base angles are represented via a cone at the top right of the weapon's statistics screen.
  
• Tanking things face forward is most optimal, the effect lessens towards your sides. Tanking things with your back is least favorable.
  
• Punching and pushing things operate on the same basis. Headbutts are most effective, pushing with your elbows is less so. Trying to lay on someone is least favorable.
  
• Block angle and Push angle have different values:
  Standard Push angle is 100° for all Footknight weapons;
  Standard Block angle is 90° for all Footknight weapons except for Sword & Shield and Mace & Shield;
  Standard Block angle is 120° for Sword & Shield;
  Standard Block angle is 180° for Mace & Shield.
  
• Block/Push angle bonuses are additive (Bulwark, Melee Weapon and Necklace bonuses don't multiply each other) and depend on the base Block/Push angle of a weapon.
  
• Footknight's maximum Block/Push angle bonus is +110% which combines Bulwark (+50%), Melee Weapon (+30%) and Necklace (+30%) properties.
  
• Example of a Sword & Shield bonus progression:
  +0% — Block angle: 120°, Push angle: 100°;
  +50% (with Bulwark) — Block angle: 180° (120° + 60°), Push angle: 150° (100° + 50°);
  +80% (with Bulwark and Melee Weapon property) — Block angle: 216° (120° + 60° + 36°), Push angle: 180° (100° + 50° + 30°);
  +110% (with Bulwark, Melee Weapon and Necklace properly) — Block angle: 252° (120° + 60° + 36°x2), Push angle: 210° (100° + 50° + 30°x2).

• Footknight's height is 150 Maximum HP.
  
• Maximum HP bonus from Bastion of the Reik talent is additive, but Maximum Health bonus from a Necklace property is multiplicative (it will increase your Maximum Health based on your base value and Bastion of the Reik bonus combined).
  
• Footknight maximum achievable height is 225 Maximum HP which combines Bastion of the Reik (+25%) and Necklace (+20%) property.
  
• Example of Maximum HP bonus progression:
  +0% — 150 HP;
  +25% (with Bastion of the Reik) — 187.5 HP (150 HP + 37.5 HP);
  +50% (with Bastion of the Reik and Necklace property) — 225 HP (150 HP + 37.5 HP + (187.5 HP x 0.20) ).

• 1 Stamina Shield equials 2 units of Stamina.
  
• Footknight's Maximum Stamina bonus is 4 which combines his innate Stamina bonus (+2/+1 Shield), Melee Weapon (+2/+1 Shield) and Necklace (+2/+1 Shield) propeties, and Battle Drill (+2/+1 Shield).
  
• Footknight's Maximum Stamina is 9 which combines the total sum of aforementioned bonuses and any of the two Shield paired weapons.
  
• Footknight's base Stamina Recovery rate is 1.5 units of Stamina per second (3/4 of a Stamina Shield).
  
• Stamina Recovery bonuses are additive (Build Momentum talent and Trinket property do not multiply each other).
  
• Pushing halts the Stamina recovery process.
  
• Blocking hits does not halt the Stamina recovery process.
  
• Example of Stamina Recovery bonus progression:
  100% — 1.5 units per second (3/4 of a Stamina Shield);
  130% (with Trinket property) — 2 (1.5 + 0.5) units per second (1 Stamina Shield);
  140% (with Build Momentum) — 2.1 (1.5 + 0.6) units per second (~1 Stamina Shield);
  170% (with Build Momentum and Trinket property) — 2.6 (1.5 + 0.5 + 0.6) units per second (1.5 Stamina Shields).

Leeches are the sneaky Chaos equivalent of Skaven Gutterrunners, but as they are rather wide they mainly employ "peek-a-boo" tactics instead of proper stealth. They will always try to teleport out of your sight, but entering Inspect mode (X key by defeault), while a generally useful tool to have a good look around, also fools them into believing you don't have eyes in the back of your head, hence false sense of security for visibly teleporting behind you.

Most of the time you will not have a Concentration Potion availible, because you will either carry a grim or one of those pesky mages or elves think they really need it more. Improvise. An impact from a grenade can act as an additional "Charge". You can also let Bosses do a heavy attack on you (granted it's not a grab) which will refill your Career Skill and keep them in the same place during their attack.

Knocked down enemies will have their mass reduced. I distinctly remember receiving this information... Somewhere, but I'll need to verify it.

prop joe for letting me get that one book for a screenshot and for Penlight Lua Libraries. Also for saving me the the time of spamming Chaos Warriors whenenver I didn't forget to turn this on.
SkacikPL for allowing me to take a few fancy screenshots.
Fracticality for letting me look up some nerd stats on equipment and providing inside intel on the innerworkings of Pactsworn.
Aussiemon for providing a steady supply of test subjects.
Fine people who worked on Vermintide Mod Framework.
Matis for including my guide in a fancy list and making me feel like I did a thing.
Vermintide 2 Wiki[vermintide2.gamepedia.com] for looking up nerd stats for me.
Markus Kruber for taking time and being his photogenic self presented in screenshots.