Flash Charge (help needed for testing)

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Wolfe-Knight's picture
Wolfe-Knight

I seem to have *stumbled upon a amazing "mechanic" (its a bug, but im calling it a mechanic) which allows something to happen which I have dubbed a flash charge. What a flash charge is is just a second instantaneous charge following a charge you have just finished (IE: 2 charges in roughly the same of a normal single charge).
How a FC happens is a little odd and focuses on what statuses you currently have (buff or debuffs, both work here). If you finish a charge just as a status is done a second charge will occur, the flash charge. Note however that some weapons do not have flash charges and not all statuses work (IE: poison does not while stun does). Getting a FC off with debuffs is difficult and not always reliable, where as buffs work great as you can practice to have the timing down perfectly (or as you will see, it times it for you).

To do a flash charge requires a few things:
Deadly Shadow Cloak or Frenzied Firestorm
High-Max CTR (Max works better, as the faster you can shoot the more likely the FC will show up)
FC compatible weapon (I will need help to test what weapons work and which ones dont, list below)

1. Activate cloak, at the same time charge up your weapon (breaks cloak and instantly starts charging) demo screenshot
2. As soon as you are charged release (if you do it too late the buffs will leave without a FC) demo screenshot
3. If both 1 and 2 worked you will have a Flash Charge which looks like this. Aftermath

As you can see it is simple enough to do but will required a bit of practice to get the hang of it. There is another way to break the cloak as well as charging instantly. Cloak-shield-hold attack-press shield, this will break you out of cloak any time you wish. Note though that doing a Flash Charge will keep you stationary a bit longer than normal so be wary.

Working flash charge list:
Blitz (tested max CTR, FC is hitscan)
Hammer (tested max CTR, Only the first blast occurs)
DVS (tested max CTR)
Acheron (tested very high CTR, only sword swing occurs, no blasts)
Gran Faust (able to fire off the blade and is immune to self curse damage)

Not working:
Polaris (tested max CTR)
Master blaster (tested VH CTR, need Valiance to be tested)

*stumbled: I saw a video on youtube (pretty sure it was zeddy) of two blasts going of a single bomb after stun debuff deactivated. I research further but nothing showed up so I did some solo testing, thus the flash charge was found.

Side not: Bombs work with flash charges but are very unreliable as you need to time the blast with the deactivation by yourself.

Zeddy's picture
Zeddy

I dunno if flash charging bombs works with buffs, but the window is fairly lenient with stun. As far as I can tell, you just have stun wear off while the bomb is out.

I never made a video about it, but you're probably thinking of the gif.

I think Valkyrian Aura with its CTR buff has the ability to FC as well.

Edit: It doesn't. Your buff/debuff needs to affect ASI.

Enshadu's picture
Enshadu
This has always been a thing.

This has always been a thing. If your attack speed changes after your attack resolves but before the animation finishes, it duplicates. It only works with certain weapons, though I'm not really interested in discovering which weapons work. I tested it briefly with Gran Faust here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QOrBEbQC60 and managed to trigger it twice in a row at the beginning of this fight with Vanaduke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcjcj42HlCA

It's the reason I love using Frenzied Firestorm. I think it's better than Mask ult because, compared to a single chance only for you, Drake ult applies to the team and can give it twice, although the first is mostly by luck.

Wolfe-Knight's picture
Wolfe-Knight
Hmm

@Zeddy

It is possible to flash charge with bombs but it requires a lot more practice. So far the best way I could do it was to place a bomb and activate and break cloak almost instantly. It is tricky but it is doable, but since it is so tricky to get down thats why I called it unreliable.

That is the gif I watched, thanks for reminding me. It would seem I need to test more on bombs to see how they react.

I would have though Valkyrian Aura would be the perfect skill for FC, as it is based around charging. This makes Seraphynx the only sprite without the ability to do a FC.

@Enshadu

Really? I did not know it was found before other than the stun version. Oh well, I just really wanted to document the weapons needed and effects of said weapons.

I find it weird that Gran Faust is able to shoot its blade as most slow shots do not work with flash charges. It also seems you do not get hurt from the curse, which makes me also wonder if the second blade can self inflict curse at all.

Frenzied Firestorm is amazing with flash charges! The fact that you can pull of more than one with the skill is awesome. I have added to my list of requirements.

Poopsie's picture
Poopsie
...

synchronizing mask + drakon buff + stun would get you quadraple flash charge? o_O
Working or not, it may be the exact timing you need to know when you release charge since polaris charge is almost instantly compared to swords charge. Also, not sure if spark of life attack buff behaves like these skills.

Enshadu's picture
Enshadu
"It also seems you do not get

"It also seems you do not get hurt from the curse, which makes me also wonder if the second blade can self inflict curse at all."
The entire attack is counted as a single action. Since it decides curse application only as you begin the attack, firing off a second blade due to a change is speed is not considered as you doing anything. Thus you remain undamaged, and the second blade does not in fact curse you.

"not sure if spark of life attack buff behaves like these skills"
It does not.

Wolfe-Knight's picture
Wolfe-Knight
Hmm

So using a GF FC is safer way of inflicting ranged curse, maybe GF's charge can finally be used.

Poopsie's picture
Poopsie
...

4* faust has weaker self-inflict curse and faster charge, btw. Though, I've tried faust charge spam, not really that amazing ._.

Poopsie's picture
Poopsie
oh look what I found o_o
Seiran's picture
Seiran

idk why you felt like you had to bump this.

But random thing: it doesn't have to be charges. Any attack in the middle of animation/dealing damage at the end of an attack buff will double. You can do it with GF second swing.

Random challenge: If you do it with the Magnus line with the right timing, you can have two charges hit different targets (more like, first charge goes as planned and second one fires off after you've moved backwards, hitting something adjacent to you).

:|

Poopsie's picture
Poopsie
...

boredom is always the reason :D
and I have no good working brain so....