Spiral Knights - Buff Drakon's Firebolt?

Buff Drakon's Firebolt?

7 replies [Last post]

Mon, 07/14/2014 - 17:31

Eddiemeduza

Not sure if this has been brought up before, and I am to lazy too look it up. So please don't judge me for that.

Everyone knows that Drakon's 'Firebolt' attack has a very low damage. Mine is level 100 and does a whopping 254 damage with meteoric firebolt against zombies with crystal harness. And then it takes another 12 seconds for it to recharge.

One sword swings with Combuster does around 320 damage for me. Talking about depth 26-28 or something like that.

Which makes the firebolt kind of useless if the enemy doesn't have around >3% Hp left.

I think around 400-500 damage would be more acceptable. Because now it barely takes away 15% of the enemies health. (Using zombie as an example)

Any thoughts?

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 04:09

Thunder-The-Bright

gods ain't gonna help you, son.

you are comparing to combuster, which is a brandish, which have a very, very high power, and it's a sword.
a more fitting comparison would be polaris, and the numbers are pretty near (264 pure damage). also, comparing firebolt to other sprites' first abilities, firebolt has the shortest cooldown, making it very spammable. it's balanced with other sprites IMO.

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 05:46

Sandwich-Potato

@Thunder-The-Bright

Would you rather have a Firebolt or a Maskeraith Quill attack?

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 09:23

Thunder-The-Bright

gods ain't gonna help you, son.

quills because I can use them. firebolt is a direct damage skill that does nothing but damage, and as such is the most straightforward skill. quills requires some setup and doesn't do direct damage, only support damage. they do more damage than firebolt because they are more difficult to use.

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 12:27

Holy-Nightmare

For any attack you have to

For any attack you have to take penalties based on certain things... (though this isn't perfect in SK)

Flinch rate? Penalty
Status? Penalty
Range? Penalty

The Drakon does allow pure swordsmen to have a ranged move for pure utility though, I.E. you can have two swords no weapon slots and still reach that switch way over there.

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 20:23

Fe-Tarkus

Of the 3 sprites, Drakon is the only one that can hit switches. Light Ray only breaks blocks. Light Ray does not break props or hit switches.
One slight perk for the Firebolt (for utility), is that it's the only ranged attack that does not slow the player down when using it.

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 21:35

Fangel

Err...

Light Ray does not break props or hit switches.

I beg to differ. The ray of light isn't all that helpful when used on switches as it will constantly switch between the two states and usually end in the same position it started it, and it sure does break minerals. I'm fairly certain it will also break buckets and chairs, and I think grass.

Wed, 07/16/2014 - 12:04

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

Firebolt is a strategic skill. It is unique in a few ways:

It doesn't slow you down to use.
It is long ranged.
It doesn't require any followup attacks.
It will usually cause flinching.
Ultimate can either make it become an AoE or Stunning.
It can have 13-15 cooldown, which is the lowest in the game.
It is delayed.

The last one may see weird, but it is very useful, as you can cast it in something while you're running up to it. The thing will (probably) flinch and be helpless by the time you're within sword's reach. You aren't slowed down by firing a gun at it, and you aren't limited by Polaris's long-range approach.

It also gives another option. I do not like Brandishes as they are stale and limiting.

@Ray of Light
It does indeed break grass, but isn't useful on switches.

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Buff Drakon's Firebolt?