Is thee charge attack of pulsar lines and magnus lines useful? People keep telling me that both charge sucks even with ctr vh. Is there anyone that usex either charge attack as the main way of attacking during a run?
You can still have fun playing sk using the charges. Just because the 2 charge attacks are not part of the mainstream, it doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the game when using them.
Sniping enemies with Callahan is great fun, even though its damage output is poor. Its charge attack is slow, with an extremely slow movement speed while charging --- much slower than other guns. So I regard the charge attack with its crazy pratfall as "for comic relief only".
And no, I don't really use the Polaris charge attack either. But then I don't use Polaris much in the first place.
Supernova and polaris have good charge attacks when you're pure gunning or need to fight things at close range+don't have a sword. This is because the damage+knockback+flinch is kind of similar to the 2nd hit of swords like divine avenger, and can be used almost interchangeably with one exception-- they count as bullets and travel like bullets after you release them. So for beasts and gremlins and other dodgy things, its better to get up close to them first.
Not the most exciting charge, but they're not completely worthless either. I find myself using them often enough.
Magnus' charge attack is fun and sometimes useful, in some cases devastating. It's charge travels the farthest of any weapon, has a higher stun chance than normal bullets, and has an even larger exploding bullet, making it pretty easy to land a hit and possibly cripple an opponent if you go undetected in PvP. It also hits dodgy enemies well, more so the Devilites in PvE. The bad thing is it's underwhelming damage and movement speed decrease, cutting you down to 50%(?) of normal movement, and the self knockback upon firing which can fling you into traps or hoards of enemies.
Polaris' charge attack is...utterly pointless. It's more or less like the normal shots, which travel far, shocks, knockbacks enemies, and explodes upon reaching maximum distance or hitting an enemy, except only here it fires a single, instantly expanded shot that does more damage and has a higher shock chance than a normal shot. If you try to think of a situation where you would realistically need this, you really can't, because the normal shots are better in every way, whether it be the DPS, the more chances to shock, or more potential expanded shots to distance enemies away from you. Every time you use the charge, you're effectively losing the 2 others you could already have fired during the time you shot the charge attack.
I just gave you a scenario to use it in. Fighting enemies at close range when you don't have a sword.
But if you're a gunner, especially a pure gunner, you won't realistically be in close range combat. Plus if you're trapped, you'd be using something like Alchemers to kill the enemy quicker rather than take the time to charge your Polaris/Supernova to shove it off. In a worst case scenario, there's more enemies behind the one you're tying to escape from, negating the knockback of your shot.
@Marksmen:
You can still have fun playing sk using the charges. Just because the 2 charge attacks are not part of the mainstream, it doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the game when using them.
Oh yeah, you can totally enjoy the game like that ...when you're soloing.
The problem happens when you're in a party and people either move or kill the thing you were trying to charge attack. It can steal your fun when you don't get to 'do anything'. It's partly the reason why most people don't/can't play with catalyzer guns.
With most weapons, you only need to think about yourself - where you are and where the enemy is. With slower attacks (slow bullets like Catalyzers, or waiting for charge times), you additionally need to think about where your teammates will move your enemies and whether it's worth you trying to contribute damage for them at all.
@Shadowstarkirby:
But if you're a gunner, especially a pure gunner, you won't realistically be in close range combat.
XD maybe I'm a weird one, but... I usually am in close range.
For Catalyzers, it ensures the bullets tag what I want (and also lets me counter-tag something if it's about to attack me).
For Alchemers, it means I get to vary my ricochet angle as I want.
For Blitz, it means being able to bait an attack and immediately circle to a safe angle to release charge.
:P There are lots of reasons gunners can/should play close range
Hmm yeah, I didn't take account of any of that. So okay, there are legitimate reasons that like those that I myself have used in practice, but it still doesn't change the fact Pulsar charges are garbage, it just doesn't do charge attacks justice.
Notice the original poster is trying to sell a CTR VH Pulsar in the Bazaar right now. I think you are asking far too much considering finding a legitimate user to be as rare as the UV itself.
Here's my opinions:
Polaris charge = 1: You can fight mecha knights up close with it in case you don't have anything else, possibly more useful than trying to spam through their shields. 2: Combined with a vortex you can use it as a taser! (good chance of shock, good sized splash damage) Recommended to bury your face into the vortex though, as a ranged shot it acts more like a delicate bubble than a bomb. Ideally would work better if the shot spawned in front of the player, not in them.
Supernova charge = Use it up close as a last resort when fighting wolvers with no other option.
Callahan charge = Possibly the longest charge shot of any gun, excluding Alchemer bouncy bullets? Primarily used to inflict stun rather than damage, but the long recoil animation shaves off time that you could be using to benefit from that stun. Hard to keep up with your teammates when you crawl around with it too, so you might not even get to hit things with it. Can be quite fun though when you can pull it off, if you wanna be that guy.
Iron Slug charge = Not sure, in general the Slug works better in Tier 2 than 3 (can knockdown retrodes, can snap quicksilvers out of their charge up animation..) so I don't know if it has any 'secret' charge abilities, except perhaps flinching/knockdown at deeper depths (I assume).
tl;dr
Status guns do status on charge. Pulsar is bubble/bomb like on charge. Normal damage is boring.
Well if you have acheron or something else to use then yeah, by all means its probably for the best. But if you don't have a very suitable weapon then its a reasonable option. Especially when you can plan around that scenario- if I'm fighting grievers, howlitzers and glop drops, I could use polaris (with ctr max) for the turrets + minis and rigadoon for the grievers and possible devilites etc.
@magnus range:
From my own tests, Callahan charge was longer range than my kilowatt pulsar shot, by 1 tile. Not much reason elsewhere, but it has its uses... in certain... situations :x
You have to legitimately block out other alternatives to think of Polaris' charge to save your life or do anything significant against the enemy. I mean yeah, it's possible in your scenario, but not plausible since there's many better alternatives in that very scenario; 3*+ shield bumping, dashing, bashing, especially bashing, and even just having Fearless Rigadoon slapping Glops Drops (and Greavers) back would be more effective, not to mention the shock could seal your fate if it triggers if you're trapped; you're just allowing yourself to become a damage sponge. All the other enemies, specifically the Howlitzers, Greavers, and Devilites, you'd just use normal shots since you get a large barrage of explosions and the fiends in particular will stagger to a shot regardless if it's expanded or not.
There's just no reason for it other than goofing around...if anything you could use it as the first strike on an unsuspecting turret to guarantee a stagger and shock, but...eh? :s
Back when T2 lockdown was active, one of my favorite things to do in Gardens during a complete roll was to park below the opposing gate and snipe people with Magnus charges as they came barreling toward the first point. Usually they'd scurry back behind the gate to heal, but occasionally I'd tag someone with unheated 2-star gear who would just die outright, which never stopped being funny.
I personally have a CTR High UV'd Polaris, and the only time I've ever used the charge is when I'm trolling in Lockdown. It's effectively worthless.
Magnus on the other hand is very useful, you just have to find the right situations for it. The huge hitbox it has is great, and I've dodged many-a attacks due to the self-knockback it has (though I've been hit by just as many from it as well).