King Groot

King Groot is a Cosmic Champion. Being a Cosmic Champion, he has a Class Bonus against Tech Champions, but is weak to Mystic Champions.

Bio[]

Rising from under the canopy of a mysterious alien forest, Groot, the invincible master of plants and King of Planet X conquers all! This savage and ferocious monster from a parallel universe never met Rocket or joined the Guardians, instead he became a galactic warlord and experimented on captured humans. But now, the ruthless King's mission has been interrupted by the Collector, and he has set his sights on a new goal: hoarding all of the abundant treasure and power The Contest has to offer!

Mechanics[]

King Groot’s human experiments have uncovered new techniques for the master of plants to utilize in his quest for power. In addition to his Immunity to Bleed, the King of Planet X’s thirst for power can no longer be quashed, and he is immune to Power Drain and Power Burn effects. His Malice now grows more intense as the battle wears on, granting additional potency to his Fury Buffs and, with his Signature Ability unlocked, longer Poison duration.

Experimentation into the effects of Poison have also granted him new abilities; his Heavy attack now prolongs Poison and Armor Break Debuffs on the opponent, and his noxious Special 2 breath now deals direct damage on top of its poisonous effects. His devastating Special 1 now deals lasting effects to his opponent’s Armor, chipping away with each Armor Break Debuff until there is nothing left to break.

Stats[]

Max Rating	Max Health	Max Attack
571	2989	125
-	-	-
1512	7942	332
-	-	-
3802	19917	833
-	-	-
7681	39934	1670
-	-	-
13100	68140	2849
-	-	-

Abilities[]

Always Active

Unique physiology grants Immunity to Bleed, Power Drain and Power Burn effects.

Dev Notes: Tech and Mystic Champions alike will now find their Power-reducing abilities useless in the presence of mighty King Groot!

Personal Fury Buffs

Unless otherwise stated, King Groot’s Fury Buffs each provide +X Attack Rating and last 13 seconds.

Tier	Attack Rating
	37.5
	99.6
	249.9
	501
	854.7

Whenever King Groot receives a Debuff, he will spend 1 personal Fury Buff after 0.5 seconds to Purify that Debuff.

Dev Notes: Don’t let King Groot’s low base Attack fool you; his Fury Buffs allow him to pack a serious punch!

Malice - Passive

King Groot starts the fight with a Malice Passive, which grants 3 Fury Buff(s) each time it activates. Malice lasts as long as King Groot has at least 1 Personal Fury Buff remaining.
While Malice is active: Gain up to +100% Fury Buff Potency based on how long the fight has gone on. Max Bonus after 100 seconds.
When Malice ends, it goes on Cooldown for 13 seconds.

Dev Notes: The King grows more and more impatient as time wears on, granting his Fury even more potency with each passing second; great for King Groot, bad for stubborn opponents!

While Malice is on Cooldown

Any attack from either Champion has a 20% chance to grant 1 Fury Charge. When Cooldown ends, gain 1 Fury Buff for each Charge acquired and re-enter Malice.
Each time King Groot’s attack is Evaded, Auto-Blocked, or Misses gain 2 Fury Charges. Cooldown 2 seconds.

Dev Notes: Cowardice only fuels the King’s rage. Slippery Spider-Verse Champions and autonomous Auto-Block opponents alike will find their cunning crafts used against them when the King’s Malice returns!

Heavy Attacks

Pause all Poison and Armor Break Debuffs on the opponent for 3 seconds.
Malice: Spend 1 Fury Buff to instead Pause for 6 seconds.

Dev Notes: Use in unison with King Groot’s Special 1 to continuously degrade the opponent’s Armor, or with his Special 2 to keep the Poison flowing through the opponent’s veins.

Signature Ability[]

Unyielding Might - Special Attack 2

While Malice is active: Gain up to +X% Poison duration based on how long the fight has gone on. Max Bonus after 100 seconds.

Tier	Poison Duration %
	40 - 100.01%
	40 - 100.01%
	40 - 100.01%
	50 - 100%
	50 - 100%

When Malice enters Cooldown, gain a Regeneration Buff, recovering X Health over 13 seconds.

Tier	Health
	104.62 - 366.13
	277.97 - 972.82
	697.1 - 2439.66
	1854.54 - 7572.69
	3164.42 - 12921.39

Dev Notes: With his Signature Ability unlocked, King Groot will see the benefits of saving his Special 2 for when Malice is active as the fight goes on!

Special Attacks[]

Special 1 - Floral Ferocity
The monarch of Planet X smashes his opponent into the unforgiving Earth with two mighty slams.

Inflicts up to 3 Armor Break Debuffs, with each having a 100% chance to activate, removing an Armor Up Buff and reducing Armor Rating by X for 15 seconds. Max Stacks: 10. These Armor Breaks also reduce future Armor Up Buff Potency by 10%.

Tier	Armor Rating
	231.82
	252.27
	272.73
	286.36
	306.82

Malice: Spend 1 Fury Buff to make the Armor Break indefinite.

Dev Notes: Invest your perishable Fury buffs when facing Armor Up-dependent opponents to make their armor permanently useless!

Special 2 - Internal Toxicity
King Groot pours forth a toxic wave of plant-based venoms.

Each hit of King Groot’s caustic breath deals X direct damage. This damage is tripled against #Robot Champions.

Tier	Direct Damage
	87.5
	232.4
	583.1
	1169
	1994.3

100% chance to inflict a Poison Debuff, reducing healing effects by 30% and dealing X direct damage over 10 seconds.

Tier	Poison Damage
	250
	664
	1666
	3340
	5698

Malice: Spend 1 Fury Buff to increase the Poison duration by +100%.

Dev Notes: King Groot revels in the twisting of metal and circuitry. Robot opponents won’t last long with concentrated Special 2 attacks.

Special 3 - Savagery Unleashed
King Groot sends out his plant material to envelope his opponent and crush them.

100% chance to gain a Regeneration Buff, recovering X Health over 3 seconds. This Regeneration Buff is Paused while King Groot is Heal Blocked.

Tier	Health
	298.9
	794.2
	1991.7
	3993.4
	6814

Malice: Spend 1 Fury Buff to increase the Buff duration by 50%.

Dev Notes: King Groot’s evolving regenerative powers allow you to never miss another Regeneration Buff’s benefits again while under the spell of Heal Block.

Synergy Bonuses[]

Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
Giant Monstrosities		King Groot: +35% Poison and Armor Break Debuff duration. Size XL Champions: +4% Health and Attack Rating. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Contemptuous Malice		King Groot: While fighting #Hero Champions, Malice grants an additional Fury Buff and the chance to gain Fury Charges during Cooldown is increased by a flat +10%. Crossbones: [Contempt] Start the fight with 2 Fury Buff(s). Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Friends - Level 3		All Champions: +130 Armor Rating.
Enemies - Level 3		All Champions: +155 Critical Rating.
Nemesis - Level 3		All Champions: +6% Attack.
Incoming Synergy	Partner(s)	Effect(s)
Immortal Kings		Abomination (Immortal): +15% Potency in Personal Poison and Acid Burn effects. King Groot: During cooldown gain a 25% chance to inflict a Poison Debuff dealing 30% of modified attack over 12 seconds each time a contact attack is landed. Additionally the chance to gain Fury charges during cooldown is increased by a flat +11%. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Nerve Toxin Arrows		Hawkeye: Arrow strikes Pause all Slow Debuffs on the opponent for 6 seconds per level of Special Attack. Other Synergy Champions: +7% Attack Rating. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
My Contest Now		Magneto: While fighting #Hero Champions, Special Attacks gain +15% Attack rating and gain a Cruelty Buff lasting 14 seconds and increasing Critical Damage Rating by 800. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Misunderstood Monsters		Man-Thing: Well Timed Blocks inflict a Poison Debuff dealing 25% of its Attack as damage over 5 seconds, and reducing Regeneration effects by 30%. King Groot: Malice grants 2 additional Fury Buffs. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Kings of the World		All Champions: Each member of this Synergy increases the teams Special Attack damage by +12% for as long as they are alive (max 36%). Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Giant Challengers		Sasquatch: Start the fight with 3 Stacks of Rage. King Groot: Malice grants an additional Fury Buff and +30% Fury Buff Potency. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
...But the Best Villain		Villain Champions: +3% Health & Attack Rating. The Hood: Invisibility’s starting Miss Chance is 140% instead of the normal 120%. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Greasy Swamp Boys		Toad: +8% Poison Debuff Potency. King Groot: Start the fight with an indefinite Prowess Buff increasing Special Attack Damage by 60%. This Buff is removed after a Special Attack ends. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.

Strengths and Weaknesses[]

Strengths[]

Long Fights
- King Groot enjoys long battles that allow him to ramp up his Malice effects as time wears on.
Armored Opponents
- Tech and other opponents that rely on Armor Up buffs will quickly find their armor in tatters with King Groot’s devastating Special 1 Armor Breaks.
Robots
- King Groot's best matchups are against Robots. His SP1 has permanent armor breaks, increasing his damage and lowering their defenses, while his SP2 does triple the damage against them even though they are Poison immune.

Weaknesses[]

Mystic Champions
- King Groot is heavily reliant on his Fury buffs to deal damage, which can be easily handled by Nullify and other Mystic tricks, in addition to their Class bonus.

Recommended Masteries[]

Extended / Enhanced Fury
- Further increase the potency of King Groot’s Fury buffs to maximize his offensive capability.

Trivia[]

King Groot is the fourth Kabam Original Champion created specifically for Marvel: Contest of Champions, after Guillotine, Venompool, & Civil Warrior.^[2]
King Groot's design is based on the original appearance of Groot in Tales to Astonish #13.
King Groot appeared in Marvel Realm of Champions as the Baron of the Forest Guardians.