Spiral Knights - Help! Equipment advice needed

Help! Equipment advice needed

20 replies [Last post]

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 16:25

Guthixtreme

Okay, so i just made a new character and i am not sure what to do.

Originally, i was planning on just going with the full cobalt set, because you get the recipes free from missions.
Then i started thinking about wolver, and realized that cobalt armor is pointless considering wolver line is almost the same, except a little less normal damage but piercing defense, freeze defense and sword dmg bonus.
Then i realized: Owlite shield > Defender in almost every way.
And, i realized much weapons are superior to the calibur line, though Leviathan is definitely viable.
But, i realized that i'd have to grind for money much, MUCH more than if i went straight cobalt.

So what should i do?

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:08

Midnight-Dj

-going wolver is much

-going wolver is much superior than colbalt, you can just sell your colbalt to get some money boost, that way the recipe shouldn't hard to come by, the extra normal damage on the colbalt means absolutely nothing in T3 and even T2. The sword damage bonus is much more desireble if you are going sword heavy.

-leviathan blade is still a good sword, but definately consider getting some other swords as well, night blade and flourish are two other essential gears for a swordsman, compliment those with the leviathan blade would make you a force to be rekoned with.

-defender is not as good as owlite, but still it is better for piercing enemies than owlite, so before you get another piercing shield, you should keep the defender for slime and beast.

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:09

Guthixtreme

Thanks! Do you have any sword

Thanks!

Do you have any sword recommendations?

And by the way, are you saying i should get Owlite first or Defender?

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:25

Midnight-Dj

my 34 cents

Judging by where you are at the mission, I will persume that you got all of the colbalt stuff and you are on your way to RJP* and IMF*

*RJP=Royal Jelly Palace
*IMF=Ironclaw Munition Factory

If that is the case, then you should be working forward to any of the three swords below:
+Fireburst brandish
This fire inlicting elemental sword can get you through both of those T2 bosses with ease and it deals fire damage, which will be added to the overall damage, a very deadly blade.
+Iceburst brandish
The freeze counter part of the fireburst, it sacrifices extra damage for the ability to root a group of enemy to the ground, in those time, you can charge your calibur for some sick combo
+Night blade
Also a viable option, the shadow damage on the night blade is deadly to jellies and gremlins alike, and as for the shadow resistant enemies, you can use your calibur.

As for shields, right now, all you needed is a 3* defender for RJP and a 3* owlite shield for IMF, so if you are still at RJP, get defender first, if you are near IMF get owlite first.

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:28

Bopp

obligatory

You save a little bit of money by going with the Calibur/Blaster/Blast Bomb and Cobalt/Defender lines. I mean, you save the recipe costs, but you don't save the orb costs, fire crystal costs, material costs, or crafting costs. So, depending on how much of this stuff you have lying around, you might not be saving a very big fraction of the total cost.

Calibur-Leviathan, Blaster-Valiance, and Blast-Nitronome are all decent weapons. They're not the best, and I'd definitely recommend other options, but they're not bad. So it's not unreasonable that you would save a little bit of money and get these just-okay weapons.

In contrast, Cobalt-Azure and Defender-Aegis are some of the worst armor/shields in the game. Do not go cheap in this department. You're saving a little bit of money, to get really poor armor.

I have a detailed sword guide that is written for players in your situation. It covers concepts, sword options, sidearm guns and bombs, and armor. I hope it helps.

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:30

Extra-Salty

Salt tastes gr8

If you're not going to go with the Leviathan Blade, then I'd recommend Acheron and one of the Elemental brandishes (Combuster/Glacius). Both aren't too expensive since you can get their recipes straight from Hall of Heros. Both swords have great charge attacks and the same 3-hit combo as Leviathan Blade. Despite being a shadow weapon, Acheron actually does considerable damage to Beasts as well.

I'd go for Owlite first, since Defender is really only helpful for Slimes. Beasts are extremely easy to just dodge. However, you may also want to consider the Skelly Shield. I find myself needing to block very often against Devilites, Greavers, Spookats, and Howlitzers. (Which all inflict Shadow damage.) The recipes are also available from Hall of Heros.

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:39

Guthixtreme

Is this good?

Guys,

i have read bopp's guide...roughly, i'd say, 1000 times? Obsessing over his sword guide is what got me to think about changing from cobalt in the first place. So, tell me if what i now plan to do for five star (without extra slots) is good:

Armor: Skolver
Helm: Skolver
Shield:Grey Owlite Shield
Weapon 1: Acheron/Combuster/Leviathan (Have not decided)
Weapon 2: Polaris (i've read that it is the best sidearm for swordsmen)

What do you think?

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 19:10

Extra-Salty

Salt tastes gr8

If you're going to be using Polaris as a second weapon, then I would either get Acheron or Leviathan. Polaris is a good crowd-control weapon, but you could also use the Acheron/Combuster charges to do that too. Do you think you'd be able to fight well with 2 swords and no gun?

Thu, 06/05/2014 - 19:14

Bopp

great, but

I'm glad that you've enjoyed my guide. Your armor choices are fine.

Some people do say that Polaris is the best sidearm for sworders. They also recommend Argent Peacemaker. Either of those works, but you should understand one thing. People recommend those guns not because they are powerful, but rather because they are easy, and it is assumed that sworders are too lazy to learn how to use a tricky gun.

So get Polaris (or Argent) if you want something easy, but get Nova Driver or Storm Driver if you're willing to put in more work for a greater reward. Also, a big update for gunners is supposedly coming soon. So be ready to change plans if something better comes along.

Your sword choices are fine, except that you do not want to pair Combuster with an elemental sword. You want two different damage types (in almost all situations).

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 01:39

Drischa

All you need is Acheron.

All you need is Acheron. Acheron paired with Levaithan blade is utterly pointless as acheron almost does as much damage to shadow-resistant enemies anyway, and the charge attack is much safer for teammates. Combuster/Acheron/Blitz needle/Polaris is effectively an untoppable force, if you brind the right ones to each level and know how to use them.

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 05:32

#10

Guthixtreme

I've changed my mind

@Drachronos Yeah, i just realized that.
@Bopp Oh yeah! I forgot argent peacemaker was still an option for swordsmen. Argent is really fun!
@Extra-Salty I'm not getting polaris anymore.

Armor: Skolver coat
Helm: Divine veil
Shield: Grey Owlite Shield
Weapon 1:Acheron
Weapon 2:Argent Peacemaker

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 05:55

#11

Midnight-Dj

acheron, acheron everywhere

hmm, have you done FSC yet? It is like the pit stop to your journey to cradle, have you ever considered that? Maybe you can trade that skolver off for something like vog cub, combine with divine viel, you can get some good fire resistance as well as elemental defence, Acheron is still pretty horrible for shadow enemies despite what others might have exaggerated, combuster should stilll be your go to sword if you are ever planning on finishing your missions, Acheron/combuster/argent peacemaker/blitz needle is a pretty weapon combo too if you are not stingy onegetting extra weapon slots, with the four weapons I mentioned, you pretty much never have to craft any weapons ever again.

I'm not getting polaris anymore.

Are you sure? Polaris is at the end of the day a superior gun over AP in terms of both damage out put as well as crowd control, if used well, polaris can even make the mighty combuster and acheron obsolete.

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 07:03

#12

Bopp

Skolver/Acheron/Argent

Like Midnight-Dj, I would actually recommend Polaris over Argent. My goal certainly wasn't to get you off Polaris and onto Argent. My goal was to get you off Polaris and Argent, and onto Nova/Storm. But in the end they all work.

Midnight-Dj is right, that your Skolver/Acheron/Argent setup isn't great for FSC. Most of the game isn't FSC of course, but FSC is disproportionately important for many players.

If I were a new player, didn't have a lot of skill yet, wanted a sword-with-sidearm-gun setup, and didn't want to spend any money, I would aim for
* Vog Cub Cap
* Skolver Coat
* Grey Owlite Shield (or BTS)
* Combuster
* Acheron
* Blitz Needle
* Nova/Storm Driver
Yes, that's four 5-star weapons instead of just two, but you actually don't need all four. Pick any three of them. But it's hard to complete the whole game without picking up a third weapon somewhere along the way.

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 08:07

#13

Smalltownguy

Same boat

I too am following Bopp's guide pretty closely, although my character is mostly *4. He seems to give good advice. Here's my gear, so you can compare.

Armor: *4 Wolver
Helm: *4 Wolver
Shield: *4 Thorn or *3 Swifty
Weapon 1: *4 Shadow Brandish or *4 Thorn
Weapon 2: *4 Fire Brandish or *4 Volt Driver

These have been excellent for most of the game so far, but I do have a couple weaknesses. (1) I usually die in Candlestick because I have no shadow defense, and (2) I have yet to survive the Roarmulus Twins because I have no shock defense.

The obvious way to address weakness (1) is to build a Skelly set. I'm reluctant to do that because it will just sit unused once I get my hands on a Snarby or Shadowsun set. But I won't get either of those until much later in the game. Tough decision.

The obvious way to address weakness (2) is to build a Grey Feather set. (Well, at *4 it would be a Miracle set.) That seems a reasonable thing to do, since the Grey Owlite shield would continue to be useful and I'd have a good choice of upgrades for the armor later.

Or should I stick with Wolver, and pay the crowns to equip trinkets for shadow/shock defense? Do I even have any decent trinkets available to me at this stage of the game?

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 09:08

#14

Bopp

suggestion

I'm glad that you've found my guide useful too. By the way, Candlestick Keep gets easier with experience. Really the key is for the whole party to stick together. If you're running behind the party, then the grimalkins spawned by your teammates will munch you. So that problem will go away. On the other hand, other shadow threats will still be dangerous, and shock will always be a big problem.

You could get the 4-star Miracle Hood, then
* Divine Veil (not Divine Mantle!) if you want to cover shadow and shock.
* Grey Feather Cowl if you want other solid defense (because you got shadow defense elsewhere).
* Chaos Cowl if you are no longer are so interested in defense.

If you don't want to wait for Divine Veil to get shadow protection, then how about Kat Claw Cowl? Or even Shadowsun? If you have access to Operation Crimson Hammer, then consider Perfect Mask of Seerus. It's similar to Grey Feather Cowl, but with big gun bonuses.

I know I've recommended some gunner armors here, even though you're a sworder. My point is that if you're not going to get sword bonuses on your armor, you might as well get gun bonuses.

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 10:20

#15

Kalistes

"That seems a reasonable

"That seems a reasonable thing to do, since the Grey Owlite shield would continue to be useful"

Just to clarify, but your choice of armor has little to do with choice of shield. The defensive stats on a shield ONLY PROTECT THE SHIELD ITSELF. Grey Feather and Owlite go together in the sense that they both give good protection from fire/shock/elemental, but they don't interact with each other at all. If you wear Grey Feather, or Chaos, or Snarbolax, or Spiral Brigandine, the shield performs the same, and vise versa.

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 11:32

#16

Smalltownguy

teammates?

[Teammates? This game has teammates? :-) I've done some crew runs, but by far most of my runs have been solo, partly because I play slowly: exploring, looking for secrets, and coaxing enemies away from groups. I don't want people to get annoyed waiting for me. And partly because I tend to get called away from the computer in the middle of runs.]

Miracle Hood it is, then. The other options you mention are *5, so they'll have to wait.

The Mask of Seerus looks interesting for when I try gunning, which I probably will sometime.

The Kat Claw series requires 50 Ancient Pages plus upgrade costs. I only managed to find 29 Ancient Pages in the recent Kat event. (I died a lot running through Candlestick that week, with little to show for my efforts.)

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 14:02

#17

Guthixtreme

Research = Done

@Bopp Valiance. I researched and i also figured that it would be better for my playstyle.
@Midnight-Dj No. No more weapon slots, unless i am blessed with a gift code somehow.

I have done a lot of research, and this is 99% likely to be my set.

This is my planned setup:
Helm : Divine Veil (Not mantle, because fiend bonus)
Coat: Skolver
Shield : GOS
Weapon 1: Acheron/Combuster (i will have both, but i will use them situationally-and get acheron first so i can run JK easier)
Weapon 2: Valiance

Primarily i will use the combuster. the Valiance is because i want a simple, all-around gun.

These setups mean that i will be strong against 4/6 of the types if using acheron and 5/6 types using combuster (because of the Fiend bonus from divine veil)

Thoughts?

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 14:41

#18

Bopp

yep

Yep, that will work well. Valiance is a very nice, easy, party-friendly gun, with decent damage and pleasant knockback. And Combuster and Acheron are two of the most powerful swords in the game (with other contenders being WRH and Voltedge). Enjoy!

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 14:53

#19

Guthixtreme

Phew.

Thank lord. I was hesitating...a lot, with the valiance because i know that there are better options which are harder to handle. After some MORE research, i've found that in my opinion the Vailiance is the best swordsman sidearm. It even contests the Polaris. I also was hesitating about whether i should go full skolver, skolver and vog cub, or skolver and divine veil. So, this is my final set.

Fri, 06/06/2014 - 16:15

#20

Drischa

Just remember that this will not be your only opprtunity to craft things. Don't worry about crafting the 'wrong' item - you can always just make something else. It's one of the more unique features of spiral knights, I think. No restriction to being a single 'class'.

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Help! Equipment advice needed