Spiral Knights - Two-slot gun/bomb hybrid?

Two-slot gun/bomb hybrid?

14 replies [Last post]

Sat, 02/18/2012 - 23:01

Jacxis

Having been a gunner for nearly the whole of my SK career, I'm considering dabbling in bombs as well. However, because I don't play the game often enough to make additional weapon slots sustainable, I'll have to find a way to get the most out of my two slots. Anyway, I'm here to get some opinions on the gear I'm hoping to get. (I'm only at Tier 2, but I'll use the names of the 5* items I hope to get in future.)

Armours
For armours, it's still quite an easy choice:
- Volcanic demo helm
- Justifier jacket
- Grey owlite shield

Also, just a question: is swiftstrike buckler a viable option as well, if I'm using a status/control bomb to support a damage gun? Also, I don't really have a good shadow armour in mind, since there are no dedicated shadow armours for gunners and bombers.

Weapons
Weapon-wise... I'm not too sure about this. I know an elemental gun (nova driver or polaris) would be handy, and so will a DBB. But beyond that... I don't really have a clear idea what to get.

Any help would be appreciated =D (including telling me that this isn't really going to work, if that's really the case)

Sat, 02/18/2012 - 23:08

Fluffyfoxxie

Get a several support bombs

Get a several support bombs that you can swap out. I recommend, in this order, Voltaic Tempest, Shivermist Buster, and Ash of Agni. You should purchase the 2* or 3* versions from other players, with CTR medium, that way, in conjunction with your volcanic demo helm, you'll have CTR max, which helps a LOT for status bombs :)

Sat, 02/18/2012 - 23:14

Demonicsothe

Dbb+polaris/elemental

Dbb+polaris/elemental alchemer. Swap dbb for nitro/rss for constructs.

Get shields that correspond for the damage most present in a stratim.

Or, go vortex and damage gun for stratum. Elemental gun and graviton vortex. Biohazard/umbra and electron vortex.

Sun, 02/19/2012 - 00:14

Unboundsakura

It is really a benefit to have a third weapon slot when using a gun/bomb combo.. but it could work fine without as well.

My own loadout focuses around the electron vortex. (There is no reason to use the graviton vortex, you dont use this bomb for damage, but for control.)
-weapons: Nova/Storm VH CTR + Biohazard VH ASI + Combuster med CTR + Ele Vortex med CTR
-armor: Crown of the fallen + Skolver coat + Barb thorn shield + 2 E trueshot trinkets. (low ASI to guns and swords + VH damage to swords and guns)

If you are going to use a vortex, here are some tips.
-Alchemers generally dont work well with it, because they dont do much AoE damage.
-If you are going to use a gun + ele vortex, the best choices would be either Supernova/Neutralizer or Biohazard if you think poison will help you.
-If you decide to use Ele vortex + polaris, that would kinda screw you over if you had to kill beasts/gremlins.
-Maybe you should give the Combuster a try. Brandish lines work incredibly well with a vortex bomb.
-VH bomb CTR is a MUST have to use a vortex bomb properly, since it reduces your movement speed while charging (V.Demo helm + lv 10 bomb)

Of course, if you want to use Shivermist/Voltaic T/Ashes of Agni + gun, i would recommend the Ashes + Biohazard/Supernova. (Valiance?)
-Ashes really works wonders in arenas etc, and Biohazard will help you deal with any annoying gremlin menders. Supernova is probably your best bet if you just want a damage gun.
-Valiance is also an alternative, although it deals less damage then supernova, it can still prove useful.
-Shivermist dosent work all that well with guns in my opinion, while Voltaic Tempest is works alright, but it dosent do all that much damage (+ -).

If you are going to use a direct damage bomb, DBB/Nitro/RSS is your best bet, + your gun of choice. (Again i recommend Supernova/Valiance)

Send me a mail in game, if you want any more advice. I hope this helps you out a little :) (I can also probably give you a little something that will help you)

-Leafchime <- my IGN name

Sun, 02/19/2012 - 10:10

Mohandar

It's doable, but you'll need

It's doable, but you'll need a couple pieces of gear in my opinion:

Dark Briar Barrage: Gunning Wolvers and Devilites is painfully slow; this bomb makes short work of them, and it murders Gremlins to boot.
Ash of Agni: Your mainstay, it will cook just about anything not immune to fire.
Voltaic Tempest: Your fallback if the enemies are immune to fire, or you need a little bit of crowd control.
Nova Driver (or any elemental driver but Hail): Primary means of killing constructs and undead. Hail is a poor choice because the freeze doesn't add additional damage, and can disrupt kiting.
Umbra Driver (Biohazard is acceptable too): This is your slime/gremlin killer. Most of your damage on these enemies will come from Ash, but the gun will hurry up the process.
Medium Bomb CTR: CTR on your bombs is critical; this influences both survival and damage output. You can get it from trinkets or gear, or UVs if you're lucky.

Optional, but recommended:
Nameless/Justifier (at least one piece): Without ASI, your alchemer shots will feel more sluggish. It's not as important as bomb CTR, but it can affect your survival.
Swiftstrike Buckler: In Tier 2 or below, the high ASI is very noticeable, especially if you reach ultra with a piece of 5* gunslinger gear. Your movements will be more fluid and you will be able to respond to things faster, although in T3 you may wish to switch it out for something more durable.

As mentioned, a third weapon slot is idea, as often a level will have multiple enemy types. Valiance is another good option that trades bonus damage for suvivability- the normal shots have a bit of knockback, and it has a clip size of 3, making it far easier to use.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 08:39

Jacxis

RSS in RJP?

Thanks everyone, especially Unboundsakura for your help =D

Also, just another quick question... how does RSS fare against constructs? I'm thinking of bringing a virulent catalyzer and a sun shards (RSS if I can get it in time) to RJP with a swordie friend of mine.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 08:51

Demonicsothe

If you are a pure bomber,

If you are a pure bomber, yep. Turrets will be no problem, retrodes can and will step on the bomb with the swipe step, lumbers are slow and big, you can proably get a few shards off on its back.

If you are going pure bomber, get a graviton for RJP. Shadow damage vortex. The vortex effect allows your swordie friend to deal more damage to groups. Rss is rather hard to use in a group against moving targets, on account of most swords having knockback, and your careful placement will be ruined. I don't think you should bring it to rjp, instead bring an elemental gun.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 08:58

Metagenic

RSS?

No point bringing that to RJP, it can kill gun puppies (and maybe the few Lumbers and Silkwings that show up) but that's about it.

If you're a gun-bomb hybrid, consider this: Ash of Agni with Biohazard. Biohazard for the shadow damage and poison (and explosions on Royal Jelly), and Ash for the fire.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 09:08

Jacxis

Looks like it's time to earn more crowns to shop at Basil's

Fortunately I already have a virulent catalyzer, a 2* fiery vaporizer and a graviton charge recipe as well. All's left would be the actual mixing and matching. Haven't played with that friend of mine since he got some new gear, so I'll need to familiarize myself with his play style again.

Once again, thanks for all the help =D

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 09:11

Metagenic

Just a note here

Do you want to go gunner/bomber all the time? That combination can be effective most of the time but Royal Jelly is actually much easier to defeat with 2 brandishes (Fireburst and Nightblade) than with a gun and a bomb.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 09:20

#10

Juances

For armor I'd rather go full demo.

CTR on bombs is way more important and usefull. ASi on guns is cool but you can live without it.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 09:24

#11

Jacxis

Yup, I'm likely to stay with

Yup, I'm likely to stay with guns and bombs. On most computer games I play, I'm allergic to melee combat :P Anyway my friend is a pure swordie (he revels in melee combat, I guess), so I'll prefer guns and bombs for range and control.

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 09:28

#12

Metagenic

In this case, you might also want to consider a Polaris. Expanded bullets can clear out blocks and push away Royal Jelly's minions, while the shock interrupts his "rage" attack.

Wed, 02/22/2012 - 02:10

#13

Arquebus

Mine was

When I used to run with only two slots with a gun and a bomb (and I still do when my slot runs out and I'm feeling cheap), I used a Nova Driver and an Ash of Agni. Elemental covers the most common types of enemies in the game for the gun, and for grems and breasts, they run around and follow you quickly so they're easy to drag through the fire haze. This setup obviously doesn't work very well for FSC and fire levels, and is pretty poor against devilites, but will get you through most everywhere you need to go.

Wed, 02/22/2012 - 23:55

#14

Ornithopt

So with the new changes to

So with the new changes to the Antigua line, it looks like the best gunner combo would be a Argent Peacemaker + a Sentenza now that neither of them split damage.

Obviously a 3rd gun would be ideal, but for sticking with only 2 slots I cant think of a better combo.

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Two-slot gun/bomb hybrid?