There are many weapons that are considered effective but lack the amount of satisfaction that comes with using certain weapons.
I want to know what weapons you have the most fun with (that aren't very useful).
I enjoy using the Kaminarin, the BAB, and Fov.
The risky slow attack, the raw power exhibited, and the risky charges for some reason draw my attention.
DVS cause you can spam it on certain enemies but have to watch yourself on others that can counterattack.
Vortex bomb, ASI+DMG boosted Wild Hunting Blade charge. that is all.
I like using sudaruska and mega magnus, because juggling wolvers is just too much fun.
Sudaruska, DVS/WHB, and Callahan (and probably Triglav and Iron Slug) are great fun, and not very good.
Alchemers and Warmaster Rocket Hammer are also great fun, but they're disqualified by being actually good.
I wouldn't know where to begin with bombs.
Signed~
An Ironmight user
But my real favorite weapon is the Volcanic Pepperbox. It will be even more so once I actually get it! (I'm at a level 10 Fiery right now. Need the radiants to boost the Volcanic up to level 5 later.)
Then, I will love it even MORE once the Gunner Update comes out. But I can't give any details unless this was in the testing forum of course...
My fav weapon would be the Biohazard. It's fun to plant a bunch of charges and then shoot it for one giant explosion.
Vortex (it's actually pretty effective... but it's always fun!)
Suda/Triglav (always nice, combined with vortex)
Neutralizer (especially nice with vortex)
Voltaic Tempest (!? I'm considering replacing Vortex with this, because it's funny laying out VT while I'm running across a room and finally come back to half-dead enemies XD)
Rocket Hammers would float your boat because they're both effective and fun. The best part is, they're only good if you're good with them!
The dash attack Hammers are known for can get you killed or save your life; it could mean you can play extremely aggressively or extremely dead.
it could mean you can play extremely aggressively or extremely dead.
Both, really!
Every weapons are effective, it is just that how you use it.
that is a lie Midnight
Maybe it is because you haven't figure it out yet...
Or maybe it's because they're not effective, or to put it more simply, there are weapons that are clearly less powerful than others.
Cutter vs. Brandish.
Antigua vs. Polaris.
Graviton Vortex vs. Electron Vortex. [but Obsidian Crusher is ok]
Troika vs. Sealed Sword.
Big Angry Bomb, Deconstructor vs. Nitronome.
Shard Bombs vs. most bombs.
It's a shame, too, because some of these weapons are only held back because of damage type or bugs.
Here's some more examples.
WHB vs. DVS. Even though I was always a Kat person, I still feel bad for the WHB.
VP and Plague vs. Blitz. No comment.
Iron Slug vs. Pretty much every weapon in the game ever. No comment.
CIV vs. Leviathan Blade. CIV looks cool and should thus be better, but nope.
Leviathan Blade vs. a single Brandish, no dual switching. Split Normal/Elemental damage is ridiculous.
Acheron vs. GF. No comment.
Acheron vs. CIV against Undead.. No comment.
Acheron vs. OE. No comment.
Acheron vs. Pretty much everything else. Still no comment.
Drakon vs. Seraphynx. Drakon fails in offense whereas Sera actually does something players can't do on their own and more quickly.
Drakon vs. Maskeraith. Ditto.
Drakon vs. No Sprite. You won't need to waste your time trying to use Sprite skills of Drakon.
Catalyzers vs. Most guns in DPS. Fun? Yes. Effective? Debatable. Better than getting a Pulsar instead with those Modules? Nope.
FoV vs. Combuster. Sure, it's effective at imitating scorched-butt-Mario. Or Luigi. I like red more though.
Et cetera.
Ugh, Draycos, when I say effective, I didn't meant that every weapons in this game has to have the same DPS, crowd control capability and fire rate, that simply won't float. Some deal damage faster (brandishes), and some slower (Seal sword and troika line), some rely on single target damage (magnus), others rely on heavy crowd control (pulsars). I mean, you can't judge which weapon is powerful just by looking at how fast a weapon can kill something. Every weapons has its own 'niche', hence why I said you need to 'figure it out'.
Cutter vs. Brandish.
Seriously? It is like killing an ant with a 50. cal machine gun, why would you ever compare the two things? The fast/aggressive mobility of the cutters are meant to be used against fast enemies such as wolvers and whatnot. And also, these two weapons aren't even in the same niche, one is generalized jack of all trade while the brandishes are specialized in different area, they are meant to do more damage and be more effective than cutter during certain circumstances, while cutter been the 'meh' against all races. And let's not forget not all of us here are willing to invest the time and money to try to master a weapon like cutter thanks to lag and desynch. (if I had four bar connection, I would be going cutter all day just for the giggles)
Antigua vs. Polaris.
Again, the Niche... the two guns fill two completely different roles, one is designed to maximize damage bonus and take out ranged enemies in quick succession while the other is designed to push back a large horde of enemies to give some room for the gunner to charge up the big boys. There are no really comparisons here other than the damage and knock back. And let's not two mention the two wildly different charge attacks, one(pulsar) literally tickles the enemy while the other(antigua) is the most amazing and deadly when used right.
Graviton Vortex vs. Electron Vortex. [but Obsidian Crusher is ok]
Well, I can throw you a dragon bone on that one, yes, there are imbalances with the status infliction, but then again, how can you balance shock and poison, two wildly different statuses that can affect the battle in two completely different ways? By removing an imbalance, you implement in another... I am not saying that Hentai bomb(my nick name for obsidian crusher, figures) is OP, but it certainly isn't balanced with electron vortex.
Troika vs. Sealed Sword.
Again, jack of all trade Vs. master in sumthing, it is natural for the specialized weapon to deal more damage than generalized (otherwise no one would use SS). As for the charge attack, yes, there are imbalances here, but do keep in mind that trioka's and GF's charge attack are much more risky to use than DA's, so if you want to fix DA's charge attack to balance it with all the other slow swords, sign me up.
Big Angry Bomb, Deconstructor vs. Nitronome.
BAB and nitro are really two beasts of their own, one is defensive while the other is offensive (I don't need to tell you which is which). However, no one is saying that you can't use BAB aggressively, but since it has slow fuse and long CT, it will take one hell of a bomber (Zeddy...I am looking at u) to make it work. As for heavy decon, the winmillion of the bomb world, yes, that little guy needs some love. <3
Shard Bombs vs. most bombs.
OOO and Zeddy really are the only persons I am going to blame here, on one side, I blame Zeddy and the bomber elites for making the shard too powerful/gud and on the other side, I blame OOO for fixing things that aren't broken, practice makes perfect, and every weapon can be good if you have the skill to use it. AND I AM TALKING TO YOU BRANDISH NEWBS, GIT GUD.
I am aware of the 'niche' in gears, but still, crappy weapons are crappy weapons...
I have really nothing to say then, at the end of the day we will just have to #dealwithit
@sandwich
Yep, and the list will be lengthened once when the gunner update hits, I am sure we will be given new prize boxes that cost $5.00 with absolutely no energy attached.
Drakon is very useful, really. In fact, I don't think there's a single bad skill for him when counting all the final ones. Maybe Explosive Firestorm? Either way, it's a great sprite for spreading fire and some damage. If you choose Backfire Barrier, you are also a beast in terms of getting to da choppa and if you choose the other one instead, you've got yourself a terrific damage tool. Like, really good.
N-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-NITRONOME >:)
But the Super Stun Gun will always be my favorite <3 Best particles eva, FREAKING STARS >:O
The problem Krakob, though, is that I've tried Maskeraith, and every one of its skills knocks Drakon into the dust. Vengeful Quills kills monsters faster than Firebolt (which isn't even a guranteed proc chance), and the Haze also takes down large crowds of annoying monsters faster than a Firestorm, plus it has ugly arms if you choose the good Ultimate :W. Only Flame Barrier is really useful, and I prefer the cloak because I can gather enemies up, shield bash them, and then finish with a Suduruska flash charge.
@Midnight
Cutter vs. Brandish.
Seriously? It is like killing an ant with a 50. cal machine gun, why would you ever compare the two things? The fast/aggressive mobility of the cutters are meant to be used against fast enemies such as wolvers and whatnot. And also, these two weapons aren't even in the same niche, one is generalized jack of all trade while the brandishes are specialized in different area, they are meant to do more damage and be more effective than cutter during certain circumstances, while cutter been the 'meh' against all races. And let's not forget not all of us here are willing to invest the time and money to try to master a weapon like cutter thanks to lag and desynch. (if I had four bar connection, I would be going cutter all day just for the giggles)
Cutter has the knockback problem where the first swing pushes the monster out of the range from the ghost swing. And besides, Acheron is just better against Beasts and Fiends too in sheer damage per hit. I'd love the Cutter if they:
Antigua vs. Polaris.
Again, the Niche... the two guns fill two completely different roles, one is designed to maximize damage bonus and take out ranged enemies in quick succession while the other is designed to push back a large horde of enemies to give some room for the gunner to charge up the big boys. There are no really comparisons here other than the damage and knock back. And let's not two mention the two wildly different charge attacks, one(pulsar) literally tickles the enemy while the other(antigua) is the most amazing and deadly when used right.
The problem with the Antigua charge is that it roots you down for several seconds, during which time you could've thrown a few Blitz Needle charges that'd roflstomp enemies. Although I agree that you can't really compare Antigua and Polaris.
Troika vs. Sealed Sword.
Again, jack of all trade Vs. master in sumthing, it is natural for the specialized weapon to deal more damage than generalized (otherwise no one would use SS). As for the charge attack, yes, there are imbalances here, but do keep in mind that trioka's and GF's charge attack are much more risky to use than DA's, so if you want to fix DA's charge attack to balance it with all the other slow swords, sign me up.
It's not damage I think Draycos is concerned about. Sudu's damage is FINE to me. The problem is that the Suduruska swings slower than the GF or DA, so you'll take much more time to take down enemies unless you meet your friend the Electron Vortex and throw in a bootiful charge ;~;. If they upped the swinging speed of the normal hit, I'd be happy.
Big Angry Bomb, Deconstructor vs. Nitronome.
BAB and nitro are really two beasts of their own, one is defensive while the other is offensive (I don't need to tell you which is which). However, no one is saying that you can't use BAB aggressively, but since it has slow fuse and long CT, it will take one hell of a bomber (Zeddy...I am looking at u) to make it work. As for heavy decon, the winmillion of the bomb world, yes, that little guy needs some love. <3
I like red explosions and all, but Nitronome just slaps the others around with a lollipop in terms of sheer damage. Either increase BAB/Deconstructor damage, or rename BAB to F-bomb like Krakob said and do something clever and witty with the Deconstructor.
I love to use my Sudaruska, especially the charge attack. Specifically have CtrVH on it just for that.
Just the screen shaking slam of a mountain crashing down on a group of enemies is so satisfying, especially when you use a Vortex Bomb to bring them together and then send enemies flying half-way across the screen like rag-dolls. (>ω<)
And as such, a brandish type weapon charge (Acheron/Voltedge) does more overall damage than Sudaruska, which is kind of disappointing.
Imo, the skills serve different purposes. The Firestorm is more like an instant, possibly self buffing AoA. It's not something that wins you the battle but it's something that helps you get there. Same goes for the firebolt. You throw it and with good aim, you should be able to inflict status on at least one enemy.
Maskeraith definitely works more with pure damage and yes, it might be better for some, if not most things but there's no way Drakon is entirely a waste of time.
Smart strategy with the cloak, btw. I'd try it but I'm too lazy to get my Maskeraith another 50 levels.
Cutter has the knockback problem where the first swing pushes the monster out of the range from the ghost swing.
That's why you midstep with cutters!
Acheron is just better against Beasts and Fiends too in sheer damage per hit.
But most certainly not in DPS. The difference is 100 according to Lancer Knightz' data.
Lastly, regarding the balst bombs... Forgetting Irontech, are we? I want to remember that it has the highest DPS of the four.
I'm surprised you thought that I was only looking at raw stats when I made those comparisons. You know I'm not stupid.
Cutter v. Brandish, Brandish does literally everything the Cutter can do and better. Brandish is more powerful, it's got a better charge, etc.. The only situation in which it's better to fight using a Cutter is when you're fighting enemies that flinch on any attack, and want to stunlock them. Did you ever consider that Brandishes 'chase after' enemies the same way, because of shield-cancelling? I don't think you see the problem with a melee sustained-damage weapon that roots you in place/in the direction you're attacking, either. Also, normal damage is broken and you know it, thanks to weapon slots.
AP vs. Polaris, Polaris outdamages AP (1.7x damage per expanded shot or something, AoE damage) and is easier to use. AP doesn't even have a niche; it's weak because it doesn't do anything unique and has nothing to show for it. It shoots fast and deals mediocre damage, that's all. Its charge attack roots you in place for an extremely long time, and if you're gonna be charging with a gun, it loses out vs. an Autogun as well.
If you want a better comparison of AP being totally shafted compared to another weapon, look at Alchemers or some of the new Blasters coming out.
Graviton vs. Electron, I said 'crusher is ok' because it IS fine in comparison. The reason Graviton is worse than Electron is because the Shock from Electron helps keep enemies in place and gives a little bonus damage. It's simple, but huge.
Troika vs. Sealed, most has been said already, but normal damage definitely is weaker than specialized damage. Weapon slots, my friend.
BAB vs. Nitronome, nothing new to say.
There is a difference between an intended niche and how well a weapon actually performs.
Also, about Drakon v. Maskeraith; anyone remember that gigantic thread I did on Sprites a long time ago?
My opinion is this: Firebolt is a waste, Flame Barrier is the best thing since sliced bread, and Firestorm is pretty underwhelming unless you're using Explosive with a Vortex. The ASI from Frenzied isn't that bad, though.
Drakon is the hardest Sprite to use effectively, but is also the worst; Seraphynx has health, a defense debuff, and a shield. Maskeraith has Quills (with awesome poison), Deadly Cloak, and a better damage-centered ult. Unless Drakon's skills deal way more damage, making up for its lack of utility, it just won't compare.
Which is sad, because I think it's the most fun Sprite.
I've always been an Antigua user, even with the knowledge that they're not as good as alchemers. But I enjoy the mobility and better fire rate that they provide, plus the damage bonuses stack up with enemies that I frequently find annoying. And I honestly dislike the Polaris quite a bit, because it always feels boring to use it.
I also prefer the WHB over the DVS, but part of that is because I have a maskeraith and can inflict poison pretty much any time I want to.
Antiguas are actually less 'mobile' than Alchemers, since you spend more time shooting..
Arguably. Alchemers have fewer bullets so you'll either just be pause shooting with one bullet, which isn't very effective, you'll be shooting full clips, which makes you reload and I believe therefore even slower, or you'll be switch shooting, which will make you spend time shielding.
Each bullet deals about 1.5x the damage of a single AP bullet [not counting ricochets]. If you take short pauses, you can shoot 3 times in the time that an Argent shoots 6. Briefly shield in between the shots and you're given a lot more freedom of movement.
Also, your movement speed while shooting an alchemer is slightly higher than when firing an antigua.
While this does add up to 4.5 vs. 6, it's very likely that at least one of your shots will ricochet, even hitting the same target twice if they're moving towards you and you aim to the side just a bit.
Switch-shooting with good timing doesn't leave you shielding for very long at all.
I remember the first time I saw a Khorovod, I absolutely loved the way it looked.
I have one now, and it came with Slime high when I made it :D
Seriously, though, Strikers are considered bad because no one uses the proper armor. You need to use DEFENSIVE ARMOR to get the most out of it. You also need a Drakon if you're a serious striker. That Flame Barrier + the right armor/helmet is win mode.
If Antigua would get a damage buff, that'd be really sweet. That's really all it needs (besides the obvious charge that has yet to be changed).
Regarding Drakon, he just isn't good when he stands up against other sprites for obvious reasons whether it be Firebolt damage being terrible, Flame Barrier being good, and Firestorm just being mediocre. For an offensive sprite, he does a bad job at doing that as he offers little to nothing to a knight, and what he does offer lasts for such a short period that...say if you didn't have him equipped during fights, you wouldn't notice he wasn't there; it's all cause his benefits are all teensy little 2-5 second buffs and debuffs that wouldn't make much of a difference in how you defeat you foes.
I hope there is some sprite rebelancering (yus) in the future because not only was Drakon my choice sprite, he's still my favorite...y'know, cause he's red...and a dragon.
Therefore, by that logic he should be better than a silly cat and a ghost ball.
But seriously, let's see that rebalance happen, yeah?
Lies. So many lies.
Drakon is OP. Drakon is so OP. You guys use him wrong.
Firebolt is delayed. This sounds bad, until you start using it. With swords. Fire a firebolt at something (usually a turret) while you're running up. As long as you do the neutral damage amount, (i.e. not shadow vs Howlitzer) that turret will always flinch. Before that turret can attack again, you are already in its face.
It is also the longest range Sprite skill. To my knowledge, it also has the shortest cool down. It also requires no follow-up whatsoever. You can shoot something and run off. Maskeraith's requires that you follow up, and Sera's requires proper placement.
Flame Barrier massively boosts defense. This is not a laughable amount. Try wearing Volcanic Plate mail and helm and then get hit by a lumber. Its defensive value is worthless unless you have the right gear, though.
The point of that defense, though, is offense. Go all out. You can shrug off damage and at least some things you kill will probably return some HP to make up for what you lost.
Firestorm is the only one which lacks. I rarely use it. However, when I do, it's usually able to catch 6-7 targets on fire, assuming I have been kiting. Once I get the attack-buff ultimate, I will probably use it a lot more.
"You can shoot something and run off. Maskeraith's requires that you follow up, and Sera's requires proper placement."
Maskeraith can poison enemies, specifically gremlins, more specifically everything inside a Mender's Healing Rune. Why use a Firebolt to do some extra damage when you can use Maskeraith to kill.
Seraphynx needs proper placement? Do you know how long the fully upgraded Light Ray lasts? I'll tell you: long enough that you don't need to spend as much time getting your placement down as many people think.
"Flame Barrier massively boosts defense. This is not a laughable amount. Try wearing Volcanic Plate mail and helm and then get hit by a lumber. Its defensive value is worthless unless you have the right gear, though."
And on the other hand, you could TURN INVISIBLE with Maskeraith. You can keep tanking your Lumbers all day if you want, but I'll be sitting nicely not getting hit at all.
And Seraphynx? Heart Attack is a joke. Not a joke in a bad way, but in the way that it's such an amazingly useful skill that it alone makes Seraphynx superior to Drakon.
"Firestorm is the only one which lacks. I rarely use it. However, when I do, it's usually able to catch 6-7 targets on fire, assuming I have been kiting. Once I get the attack-buff ultimate, I will probably use it a lot more."
I can personally say that, if anything, Firestorm is Drakon's best skill outside of Flame Barrier's Ultimates. And Firestorm is terrible.
If you honestly believe that Drakon is OP, or for that matter good in any way, shape, or form, then you're mistaken. It's lacking, even when not being compared to the other two sprites. It has terrible damage, it lacks the defensive capabilities that the other two sprites have, and it's only good skills require you to have the Ultimate version of them to be any good, which is far beyond the average player's budget or, if they try to upgrade without buying food from other people, far outside of their play-time. Maskeraith is good right out of the box, and Seraphynx becomes a saint as soon as it reaches level 15. Drakon is far from "OP".
I made a terrible mistake picking the drakon.
I wish OOO would buff drakon.
It's gonna be the new updated magnus line in the gunner update. (Callahan/ironslug/WG) Nuff said.
- Concussive Firebolt is essentially a free stun vial. Surprisingly short cooldown, but I don't use it much.
- The Firestorm that gives your entire party attack buffs will continue to replenish its 5 second timer as long as enemies are inside the fire aura, effectively making it last longer than maskeraith's buff, as long as you have some enemies around and inside the fire. If you can get Vanaduke to walk into it, that's like, damage boost for entire party for at least 10 seconds (AND you can do a "flash charge"/ double attack all the same).
- Barriers... favorite skill. The damage beautifully with close-range gunning (you can walk around enemies without triggering knockback while doing your trgular damage thing). If you have afterburner, then while doing things like hauling keys/cursed sprites around, you can drop it, trigger afterburner, then pick it up again for a much-needed burst of speed (basically push you at least 10 tiles ahead of where you would have been).
More importantly is this little-known fact: you can use Drakon's fireball to trigger a damage ping from a hazard as you walk into it, allowing you to walk for 25-.5 seconds without taking damage from it. (1-2 tiles, if you don't do a dash/hammer dash/shield bash/afterburner sprint).
Really nice for speed running and shaving seconds waiting for those 1-4 tile gaps (can get up to 4 if you use any of the 'burst' movement from any of those options above), along with the general defense increase.
I originally made Maskeraith and was just making Drakon for the afterburner MSI boost, but exploring the invincibility mechanic completely converted me to becoming a Drakon fan :3
Maskeraith wins in terms of visible effect and boss utility, but Drakon wins in terms of regular game utility. Its cooldowns are way shorter than Maskeraith's too, making it perfect for kill-this-group-then-run-to-next action that makes up most of Arcade runs.
"I originally made Maskeraith and was just making Drakon for the afterburner MSI boost, but exploring the invincibility mechanic completely converted me to becoming a Drakon fan :3
Maskeraith wins in terms of visible effect and boss utility, but Drakon wins in terms of regular game utility. Its cooldowns are way shorter than Maskeraith's too, making it perfect for kill-this-group-then-run-to-next action that makes up most of Arcade runs."
I'd just like to say that, I personally am a Drakon fan too, and I definitely think it's the most fun sprite of the three.
I take mine along on speed runs from time to time, but I'd like to point out that while Drakon has its uses while speed-running, so does Maskeraith.
I usually just go with MSI Med Perk with Mercurial and Maskeraith; the invisibility is a godsend if I ever get cornered, which happens from time-to-time during speed runs. It's also great when I have to wait on something like exploding blocks, or if I just outright want to skip an entire area full of enemies without getting noticed (thanks for being able to break blocks, shield bash!). I also chose Deadly Shadow Cloak as my ultimate, which is extremely useful when a big enemy spawns that I'd normally have trouble with, since I can murder them before they can even aggro. The quills also have their uses; I'm usually pretty limited damage-wise while speed-running so being able to completely stop healing as well as buffing my overall damage is superb.
The whole "kill-this-group-then-run-to-next" thing is perfectly viable for Maskeraith as well; unless you're one of those Combuster/Acheron spamming BKC + Chaos users, which of course wouldn't need a sprite in general anyway because they'd essentially be losing DPS. That or they'd get through the area in under 16 seconds, which doesn't really happen for the average, casual party in my experience.
That said, I love my Drakon to death, but there are just better options.
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As for on-topic: I'm gonna throw Triglav in here and say it's an amazingly fun sword, as well as being very useful (I prefer it to Sudaruska, but apparently that's just me). The freeze it has allows you to get off a free charge (assuming you don't slaughter every enemy on the first combo/charge). The most common thing I've heard about why people prefer Sudaruska is because it always has knockback, whereas Triglav freezes enemies in your face. I'd just like to point out that if you combo/charge an enemy up in their face and it counter-attacks you, then that was your own fault for not taking the two steps to the side needed to not get hit.
If you want to get technical and say that it actually is useful (I think so at the very least), then next in line would be (T)Winmillion(s).
I've never really liked any of those efficient killing machine weapons. They are just so boring to use.
Anyways, for me the weapons I have had the most fun with are Sudaruska/Triglav, Iron Slug, Fang of Vog (free fire vial/barrier pretty much) and Deadly Shard Bomb.
Sudaruska/Triglav and Deadly Shard Bomb is a fun weapon combo since it's normal damage. If you pair that with Chaos set it'll be extremely fun to use since you can just spam the Shard Bomb and charge attack with Suda/Triglav.
@Autofire "OP"? No? So Firebolt flinches, that doesn't matter because that is something you can do yourself with incredible ease along with the fact you're doing acceptable amounts of damage vs. whatever you're trying to smash. If the enemy out of range, you should bring a gun. Bombers should use the silly pots to do their range things or have someone else take care of the switch or puppy. As for being the longest range a lot of people couldn't care less since it does a pitiful amount of damage. You might be able to shoot at a faster rate than Maskeraith and Seraphynx, sure but for what reason would you use this when the damage is so bad? It's a single Wildfi--fire Pulsar shot knockoff. THIS is the thing that's bad about Firebolt, the damage is terrible, and unless it's buffted, Firebolt stays pointless outside of Concussive Firebolt's stun, and even that has a hard time being useful when you're not guaranteed it'll do a thing and merely tickles enemies in a party of four.
About Maskeraith, shoot quills of either version and they're devastating, I only have tried Vengeful though. Even if you need to activate the quills through some means of damage, the output of doing that is tremendous, not only dealing strong poison when leveled very high, the quills explode for just about as much damage a Firebolt would do, only it can do it 5+ times in a group of enemies. This alone makes Drakon ultimately a failure in the offensive cause Maskeraith, the "stealth" sprite, does offense far better. I don't really care about Seraphynx, some tweaking could be used on some skills, but she's really fine as is. But if I remember correctly, Seraphynx has more potential damage than a Firebolt and gets Disintegration Ray to lower the defense of enemies significantly. Heh...the support sprite is better than the "offensive" in that regard too.
You have the problem regarding Flame Barrier right in your paragraph, "Its defensive value is worthless unless you have the right gear, though." I'm pretty sure many people couldn't care less about defense if they got the "offensive" sprite. Yeah, I understand the need for defense when shredding things up close, but how defense works in this game is downright bad. Besides, even if you have defense (if it really does anything significant), does that mean you should be reckless and go Leroy Jenkins? It's fundamentally silly...Flame Barrier should've provided a damage bonus instead of defense, then we'd be compelled to fight instead of upgrading to Backfire and going "gotta go fast".
Firestorm is just underwhelming when it comes to what it does for the long cool down. Explosive Firestorm should be how Firestorm starts out when first acquired. Explosive should do something else. Frenzied Firestorm buffs should stack instead of resetting back to five seconds. How is it fair Seraphynx's orbs can be stacked yet Frenzied Firestorm buffs can't? Just silly...
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@Serian What makes you say that Maskeraith can't do that just as good? Yeah, you can run fast with Drakon's Backfire, making clockworks where the place is full of nothing the majority of the level is pathways go pretty quick, but what about places chock-full of enemies? Maskeraith's Vengeful Quills wreck groups so fast and there's plenty of groups to go around. They both even out if anything in that respect, Drakon gets places faster, Maskeraith kills things faster...at least until you need to backtrack to grab stuff, then Drakon wins out a tad bit.
No offense to you two by the way, I love Drakon, but at the moment he's just lame and doesn't live up to his "offensive" title whatsoever. Backfire is fun, but only for so long when you, or rather I, realize one do much more with some other sprite.
EDIT: Also forgot to mention that Drakon had his thunder stolen with the barriers and orbs (particularly the 30 second MSI). If that wasn't a punch in the gut to Drakon owners, I don't know what is. Don't get me wrong though, I like them and there's no reason you can't use both barriers at once, but when you can have these while equipped with another sprite, seriously there's little reason to bother picking him at all. He should get something extra.
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Just remembered that I didn't add anything to the topic.
My favorite fun underdog is Biohazard, strong poison, big explosions, high damaging, and useful in both game modes to boot.
More importantly is this little-known fact: you can use Drakon's fireball to trigger a damage ping from a hazard as you walk into it, allowing you to walk for 25-.5 seconds without taking damage from it. (1-2 tiles, if you don't do a dash/hammer dash/shield bash/afterburner sprint).
Seiran, could you give a more in-depth explanation of this? It sounds interesting.
Also forgot to mention that Drakon had his thunder stolen with the barriers and orbs (particularly the 30 second MSI). If that wasn't a punch in the gut to Drakon owners, I don't know what is. Don't get me wrong though, I like them and there's no reason you can't use both barriers at once, but when you can have these while equipped with another sprite, seriously there's little reason to bother picking him at all. He should get something extra.
Those things are all additional though. So while they're similar and great to use additionally, they don't really 'remove' anything from Drakon, either. MSI powerup + afterburner is my absolute favorite combination in FSC :v
I thought the same way with Maskeraith: "wow, I can just pick up one of those barriers and I AM DRAKON LOLOOLOL", but after picking it up, realized that the Drakon barriers are way more useful for different reasons (ex: barriers don't get invincitinks, afterburner gives you a free dash, and there's the whole hazard-walking thing).
The biggest use for sprites is when there aren't drops around (or if you want to save your drops for something else). Ex: I never carry stun vials when I use Drakon, and I almost never use poison vials if I'm using Maskeraith (though, I might combine poison vial + flash charge).
Strangely enough, since my motives were great and greedy (> speed run FSC to get to Radiant Fire Crystal depths), I only ever thought of Drakon as a utility, not an offensive sprite. It really lives up to that well, especially since its cooldowns are much smaller than Maskeraith's.
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@Orbwanter:
You can try this out in the training hall:
- Approach a hazard while you have your orbs out.
- Move onto the hazard (walk/dash/bash ...etc) right after one of the orbs start to float onto it.
When you get really comfortable with it, you can do things in FSC (picking this because it's relatable) like breeze through the wheel room while carrying a sprite overhead, hit all 4 switches in 'left path', rush and kill the 3 turrets in 'right path' by stepping across the corners. It's really gutsy but kind of awesome when you look back and realize you've fearlessly walked through fire traps and spikes with full negative fire resist and no piercing defense lol.
The great part in comparison to Seraphynx is that you can do this on as many hazards as you want within the 8 seconds that the barrier's on.
A few days ago when Seiran showed me in-game, they hypothesized that it was because the barrier is treated like your actual hitbox; in other words, floor hazards attempt to deal damage where the barrier is, "miss", then go on a short cooldown before they try again.
For some reason, this only happens with hazards. It might have something to do with how hazards ignore invincibility from Dash. Flame Barrier is treated a little differently from the usable barriers, since you can stack them..
I think the mechanic behind it (/reasoning) is a little different from what I thought. Originally I thought it triggered your invincibility frames, but in hindsight, it not triggering your invincibility frames, but instead, probably the hazard's 'hit' on you. Think of it more like a damage ping on your shield, because that's about the time period you're "invincible" for before it tries to damage you again.
You can walk across the switchable hazard in the training hall just fine, as well as most normal 'active' hazards in games, but not the candle-switched 'permanent' spikes in some Candlestick Keep levels (I'll try to confirm this next time I run into it). It might be something specific to those spikes. I'm pretty sure they keep you from shield walking across them too.
And yeah, it doesn't work on enemies, I think. I tried it with some of those drone enemies with no success, but then again, I could also have just missed due to latency. It's safer to err on it not working though, because burden of proof is on it working, and I can only nearly-perfectly pull it off on normal hazards :P
Crystal bomb for to sniping in lockdown with a friend as a spotter. They never see it coming. And knowing the screen is showing me on his screen displayed as his killer so I /Shout (enter cool catch phrase) or /Shrug /dance /sit /laugh 'n stuff. And just like a sniper when I get caught I get my teeth kicked in every other way with the bomb buts its so dang fun. I think I have an addiction.
Thanks OOO. You make me smile.
I will just say that the normal damage weapons are fun to use. From the Deadly Shard Bomb to Pepper box to the Catalyzers. I'll return to read when I've the time. But even one of my favorite loadouts, being with the Winmillion + the Hunter + SSB combined can be fun so long as you know what to watch out for, and know how to dance out of the way of danger. Yes I said dance.
I will just say that the normal damage weapons are fun to use. From the Deadly Shard Bomb to Pepper box to the Catalyzers.
Your position is that Deadly Shard Bomb is more fun than the non-normal shard bombs, Volcanic Pepperbox is more fun than Plague Needle, and Neutralizer is more fun than Biohazard? I don't understand why that would be.
I kind of agree, the effective weapons get really boring after a while. Though, I found a way around it. I'm mostly a sword-user, so the most effective weapons for me are Brandishes and Heavy Swords. In some areas, I even go risky and take a gun with me even though I can't aim if my life depended on it (And it has before, nope, I died). I dual or triple wield, interrupting my own combos, and go back and forth from enemy to enemy without finishing them off. Sometimes I even go around them and hit them from another angle, which groups them together to finish them off. Etc, etc, there's also the combuster charge + gunning. Basically, I juggle them back and forth like a bored cat.
Wrench Wand! It simply got such a unique charge attack and it makes Gremlin sounds while slashing <3 However, it is far away from beeing useful once you left T1.
Catalyzers are useful and are fun to use. I like to be patient and 1hit-ko gremlin menders after filling the air with Biohazard bullets. This is quite less annoying if you focus on guns and dont like to unleash infinite bullets on other monsters around.
Mega Magnus: it can knock down beasts, fiends, gremlins and beast- and bug-minnies and magnus can literally permalock enemies with normal shots+reload skipping until they die (very useful vs thwackers). It is surprisingly effective so I am heating it up right now.
Faust: I like to swing this sword with a wide angel and I love the spin strike of the secound normal attack <3 In most situations other weapons fit better with my playing style, so for me this sword is less effective.
Gorgomega (yes I count it as weapon ;): Relieable stun and even if you dont hit an enemy directly, you still hit it with a lage aoe blast.
i enjoy using acheron combuster and blitz~every noobish chaos user