I'm kind of tired of people saying just do a SL (although I myself say it). I personally probably couldn't run uFSC if I tried with three 45k+ Vanguards. Thing is, when you can't heat ANYTHING, you have no weapons or armours to even use in uFSC. Right now if I went into uFSC my choices stand as:

Armours:
Level 5 Chaos Cowl and Cloak
Level 1 Divine Veil and Mantle
Level 10 Mask of Seerus
Level 10 Vog Cub Coat
Level 5 Vog Cub Cap
Level 1 Snarbolax

Obviously, my best choice for survival would be to use my Vog Coat + Seerus Mask. I'm going to assume this is nowhere near good enough for uFSC, but even if it were, I still have to choose my weapons and shields.

Shield choices:
Level 10 Grey Owlite Shield
Level 5 Crest of Almire
Level 2 Volcanic Plate Shield

I'd go with Grey Owlite as it's basically the only one of my shields that can even survive regular FSC, although I normally use my Crest of Almire which gets broken in one hit by a Trojan/Vana.

My weapons:
Level 7 Blitz Needle
Level 6 Polaris
Level 7 Volt Driver (NOT Storm Driver)
Level 3 Silversix (NOT AP)
Level 10 Voltedge
Level 10 Warmaster Rocket Hammer
Level 4 Divine Avenger

I don't even know what to pick from this. I'd probably grab Voltedge, Polaris, Blitz, and then put Warmaster at the end (where I'd normally have my Shiv as I usually run FSC with Chaos) just to kill things like Crusaders without having to worry about getting destroyed trying to charge my Blitz.

After having gone through a couple of Shadow Lairs, I honestly don't think I could tackle this whatsoever. Funny thing is, if I just had some RADIANTS to actually heat my stuff, I'd probably be fine and dandy to go to uFSC. Instead, I'm stuck running the Arcade getting Orbs and Sparks, making new weapons I'll never use because I won't be able to heat them.

Shadow Lairs ARE NOT the answer to this problem.

/endnoobyrant

You can get them at Depth 28, I've gotten about 6 or so in the past 3 days from doing regular Arcade runs.

Kappa?

Do a shadow lair. Paying 450 energy (If everyone pays the same amount of energy) is better than paying 700 energy in the supply depot for 50 radiants. In a SL, you'll likey get more than 50+ radiant fire crystals.

____

People really have got to stop suggesting Shadow Lairs as a solution. It's the laziest and most BS band-aid solution to a problem.

Get out.

The horrible leveling system where 5* weapons are worse than 4* weapons you "upgraded" from is the main real issue. Like I said before, this never made sense and the new forge system and radiant drought have really showcased how terrible this is. You shouldn't be forced to suffer through using an "upgraded" weapon with much worse dps until you can heat it to a high level or buy an extra weapon slot to get around the issue.

Now with the radiant drought, most players will not be able to get the 5* weapons up to par with 4* weapons without paying real cash. Grinding crowns to buy radiants from the supply depot takes much more than crafting an old 5* weapon did.

Finding a good group for Shadow Lairs is really hard for the people it is suggested to. The group has to go through clockworks until basil before even entering the SL leaving a good chunk of time that people need to set aside. Party finder has no way of knowing that people are going to a SL.

The group needs to be able to trust the people to not need to be carried. UFSC which is suggested for radiants is especially critical in this regard. People with 4/5* gear after the radiant drought are likely unable to get 2 high level 5* weapons to do good dps to keep from being carried. People don't want to waste 450 CE and a bunch of sparks.

This issue has gone on for too long. Shadow Lair is rediculous, a pathetic solution to a gargantuan problem! I propose implementing Radiant Crystals through depths 25-28, that way you have to do at least a little more work to get to them instead of just making it to level 24 and leaving. Thoughts?