I'm at a crossroads at the moment. I'm trying to decide what second weapon to buy, because even though I love my flourish, it does so little against constructs and jellies that I am just not contributing. Now I have to ask, which would be more effective: gun or second sword? I'm not a fan of bombing personally.
And to add on, is it better for a character to specialize completely or is there something to be said for versatility? Best combos?
I decided to try out the blaster first. I can't say it's the best thing ever, but it does do more damage and keeps me further away from constructs, and for that I am happy with the purchase. I can see why guns in general aren't typically used. They need better range damage and clip size. Granted that's after only a couple tier two levels, but guns are weak. Hope that gets fixed. When I get the chance, next one I'm going for is a brandish. I figure I'll be around long enough that I'll have time to try out most everything if I really want to, so why not?
Thanks for the advice.
in a specialized world, versatility is overrated... especially when, with multiple weapons slots, you can cover any weakness your specialization may bring to the table.
currently i run with an Acheron and Hail Driver. I got the Acheron (as a brandish) after using a Vile Striker for quite awhile, and I honestly dont miss the "versatility" that normal damage brought me.
if that isnt enough, I'll bring along a mega magnus too, for fiends and wolvers.
With that set up, I do the best damage possible to everything in the game with a quick weapon switch.
EDIT: having tried the Blaster line, the Magnus line, the Autogun line, and the Alchemer line... I can say, without a doubt, if I could only bring one gun it would be my HAIL DRIVER. you know, if you are looking for a specialized gun.
Play around with different combinations of stuff to figure out what you like.
I think I've recentally settled on Callahan/Leviathan Blade/ Firey Atomizer but I occasionally swap out the Callahan for a Volt Driver for certain stratums.
The person I normally play with is a gunner mainly, and I generally appreciate the support his range gives. He caries a flourish, and two alchemers (shadow and ice or fire depending on how the stratum looks). He occasionally swaps out his flourish for a vile striker mainly for things like jelly king though.
I prefer versatility in my weapons loadout. I carry two swords so I don't have any damage weaknesses, a gun for switches (saves so much time!) and kiting when necessary, and a bomb (typically Ash of Agni) for AoE and kiting.
I were restricted to two slots, I would choose a sword and gun. I want the sword for the damage and knockback. As for the gun, I find having one saves so much time - being able to shoot switches, boxes, minerals, trees, explosive boxes, etc., not to mention monsters that are across gaps or in a position where using a sword is too dangerous.
I'll throw in my vote for versatility.
I always carry at least one of each type of weapon (two bombs), but I've worked up several different types of each weapon so I can tailor my firepower to a specific stratum. For instance, I'll take my fierce flamberge to a fiend stratum (fiends are weak to piercing), but my dread venom striker to a construct or jelly stratum. Nitronome always comes with me. Sometimes I'll pair that with Shivermist or Ash of Agni and other times with my new twisted spinecone (soon to be upgraded). For a gun, I like either antigua line, the cryotech alchemer line, or the blaster series. Guns are very nice against gun puppies and retrodes, so the elemental damage of alchemers is ideal in construct strata.
so icee...
you mean you have a variety of specialized weapons?
What I meant was to equip yourself for versatility in the sense that you can be a range fighter (gun), a bomber, or a swordsman depending upon the specific situations you encounter, but choose which sword, gun, and bomb to carry based upon the stratum type. Bring a piercing sword if you're going to be seeing a lot of wolvers, but avoid that sword in a jelly stratum. Bring a fire bomb to an ice stratum, but don't waste the slot on it if you're going into a fire stratum. Bring an elemental gun to kill constructs (especially gun puppies), but also make sure you have a normal or shadow weapon to take out the gremlins that tend to pop up where constructs do (deconstruction zones and arenas especially).
You said u didn't like bombing, is this based on experience or assumed?
Just wondering.
Cause how could anyone not love bombing :) Get a construct mid or greater fire bomb, upgrade it to ashes, and the elemental damage just destroys constructs (arenas). And when you are single handedly saving your team and dominating arenas it's hard to not 'be a fan of bombing'.
Honestly, there is no RIGHT answer, it depends on what you enjoy doing. Personally, I have 3 swords, one for each damage type, and an elemental gun for switches/pesky constructs. If you love your flourish, I would recommend either an elemental weapon (then you'll get something doing good damage to constructs, and acceptable damage to slimes) or a normal damage weapon. Shadow would be fine, but most people find constructs to be more dangerous than slimes, so it is less of an issue. The elemental brandish lines or alchemers would be the most obvious choices for elemental, and calibur, cutter, and blaster are the more common for normal. End game having a mix of damage types like I do is useful, but not required.
For spec/versatility, I think pure specialization is not worth it. Specing in swords, particularly, can get you dead a lot faster when you don't have that back-up gun or bomb to finish off a mob when at low health, or deal with that out-of-reach gunpuppy that's happily shooting you down. It can be done, and quite well, but once you have a weapon of each damage type, there is much less incentive to toss your 4th. If you only want two weapons... yeah.
Again, this is all personal opinion, so take any advice with a grain of salt.