Spiral Knights - How hard would it be to run all Danger Missions with a single loadout?

How hard would it be to run all Danger Missions with a single loadout?

24 replies [Last post]

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 08:09

Fauxhownd

I'm almost finished with my first 5* loadout, which is entirely for FSC.

Divine Avenger
Argent Peacemaker
Vog Cub Coat
Vog Cub Cap
Barbarous Thorn Shield
Elite Slash Module x2

Assuming I used this same loadout for all four of the available Danger Missions (saving my future orbs for very specific things, namely a Gunslinger loadout), how hard would they be to run solo? My experience with them in T2 was pretty grim, and I'm not sure if it's because I need to improve, or if they really are intended to be done with a full party and not solo.

I at least want to get good enough to be able to run them without having to burn a jackpot of Life Sparks to get through them.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 08:15

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

The answer is...It really depends!

Anyway, you cannot do them with those weapons. Pure elemental is baa-aad news. (When did I turn sheep?)

Do you have any UVs? Are you bringing a Sprite?

I would personally have wanted some Shadow resist, since Elemental monsters aren't nearly as deadly as the Shadow ones. (Also, Shadow shows up in 3 of the Danger Missions, while Piercing is in 2 of them and Elemental is in another 2.)

Finally, yes, some of them are much better in a party. I find the Freeze-themed one to be impossible without a party, due to how freeze works. C42, though, is easier solo since that mission is already so chaotic. (And you have a better chance of causing flinch when you're alone.) The other two are more up to preference, but most like to go in parties.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 08:26

Fauxhownd

So I should just make it to

So I should just make it to Vanguard, and then check them occasionally for parties?

Eventually, WHEN THE GUNNER UPDATE COMES OUT, I plan to work on a pure Gunslinger build, to incorporate:

Three different damage types: Gilded Griffin, Argent Peacemaker, Sentenza (with Max ASI and DI)
Balanced defenses against all damage types (likely sacrificing Normal defense in favor of a mix of Shadow/Piercing/Elemental)
Balanced resistances against Fire/Ice/Shock status effects.

I can't actually plan for this until the Gunner update comes out and I actually see Gilded Griffin and the new armors for myself. But that's my intention.

Until then, I'm sticking with my FSC loadout to earn money and orbs.

Edit: My gun has UV CTR Med. And I have a level 50 Seraphynx with max Heart Attack and max Angelic Aura.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 09:23

Krakob

The thing about danger missions is that they're based around only one damage type being effective. Therefore, you can get one damage type and then focus on crowd control weapons.
Legion of Almire: Elemental
Compound 42: Shadow
Heart of Ice: Piercing
Ghosts in the Machine: Elemental

If you're gonna run all missions with one loadout, you probably want either two damage types on two damage-centered weapons, or a normal damage weapon. Still, I really recommend trying to build a bigger arsenal so that you can bring effective damage types to any level.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 09:38

Klipik-Forum

If I were to try this (and I had all the gear) my loadout would probably be:

Snarbolax Coat+Cap (Fire/poison/freeze/shock UVs if possible)
Omega Shell
Barbarous Thorn Blade
Valiance
Acheron (+Undead MAX? lol)
Warmaster Rocket Hammer
Seraphynx
-HP +6 perk
-Elite Iron Harness
-Defense Down Laser
-Defense Orbs Heart Attack
-Shield Regen Shield

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 09:40

Fangel

It is possible.

However the loadout you have would likely not be sufficient. With only elemental defense and elemental weapons, you are instantly disadvantaged one way or another once anything except constructs show up, and they only really show up in the shock themed danger mission anyways.

Danger missions, for the most part, have gear that seems almost precisely designed for that level. Ghosts in the Machine benefits greatly from the divine magic set, Compound 42 benefits from the Dragon Scale set, Legion of Almire benefits from just about any FSC loadout but preferably with shadow defense, and Heart of Ice is the weird one out having no set to directly counter it. However, just about every offensive shadow gear has freeze resistance, so that's something to look into.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 11:03

Holy-Nightmare

It would be extremely

It would be extremely difficult to solo them (on the edge of impossible)

Wed, 08/06/2014 - 07:25

Me-Luv-Ulongtime

It's not possible to go all four with one armour set!!

You need mostly shock resist for "Ghosts in the Machine". It's the status that really kills players because they're forced to drop defenses. Elemental of course is major help, but it's shock resist/immunity you really want.

For "Compound 42", it's pierce that's your biggest enemy next to the amount of fire you negate. Slimes throw out thorns rapidly and from afar. Most players die without knowing where they got shot from.

Gunners WILL NOT survive "Heart of Ice". You will absolutely get mobbed and shield bumping won't work. In fact, the only shield i've had that successfully went thru it without ever breaking for me, is Dread Skelly shield with Pierce max/Normal High. Heart of Ice's final arena before the boss is the hardest arena i can think of in the game. You will need a sword to cut thru as the final wave mob is no joke.

You're good for "Legion of Almire". It basically uses any Fire Storm Citadel/Lord Vanaduke loadout, since it's the same undead enemies.

I assume all these missions are on T3 Elite. "Heart of Ice" will be your biggest challenge no matter what you've faced before and no matter what gear you really put on, even a Dread Skelly set. Legend of Almire could quite possibly be the easiest (unless you have good shock resist/immunity for Ghosts in the Machine).

Best of luck :)

Edit: A little more fore-thought has given me a nudging idea, if i was wealthy with UV's that is. Post below.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:08

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

@Nightmare

I've solod C42 on Elite, no deaths.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:41

Megawatt-King

Autofire

Big deal. Tell us when you manage to solo Heart of Ice without dying once.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 16:17

#10

Krakob

@Megawatt King

That's about as easy/hard, depending on how you view it.

In fact, I just did HoI with no deaths. In a group, but still without deaths (at least for me).

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 16:41

#11

Holy-Nightmare

@ autofire

And? I can Solo Ghosts in the machine elite without dying. (Those who have seen me know I do indeed have a mercurial mail set so immunity isn't a problem)

Lets not turn this into a bragging thread anyway.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 19:17

#12

Red-Galaxy

@Holy-Knight

I was able to solo Ghosts in the machine on elite with no problem at all. You got to really focus on the two rooms before the big iron. For the left room bring a gun for the puppies and do not continue going up until after you did everything. With the right room just watch you're step. Finally for the big iron just blitz it to death.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:00

#13

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

@Megawatt-King

True true. I cannot solo HoI because I do not have any ice-resistant gear. Sorry!

But that's how danger missions work, right?

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 23:44

#14

Holy-Nightmare

The Hardest part of Soloing

The Hardest part of Soloing Ghosts in the Machine is just starting out, cramped areas, static souls, and several traps make it terribly punishing even if you are shock immune. The rest of the mission is easy by comparison.

Legion of Almire is much easier starting out but gets much harder as you go.

Heart of Ice starts and ends easy but the middle is the hard part.

C42 is all about keeping those statuses off you, if you can do that the mission is fairly easy (I'm working on a dragon scale set ATM for this)

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 07:09

#15

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

@Holy-Nightmare

I only have the Dragon Scale Mail. My helmet is Salmander and I just set my sprite to...the fire perk? Or was it the poison perk? I don't remember.

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 19:42

#16

Iapnez

I usually bring Vog Cub to

I usually bring Vog Cub to Compound 42 and just don't worry about the poison. The fire is what's mostly deadly. I usually bring my dragon scale shield along for the ride, though the swiftstrike buckler gets the job done, too, because with a bunch of fire resist the shielding isn't as needed as long as you pay attention to when the slimes are telegraphing their spikes.

Tue, 08/05/2014 - 18:25

#17

Lodesamoney

Well, I attempted Legion of

Well, I attempted Legion of Almire today with Vog Cub and an AP/SS Buckler. First floor was no trouble, made it with my auto revive intact.

Second floor, hoo boy. Two extremely tough rooms here: The first battle room on the left with multiple Dreadnaughts, burned about three sparks here because those freaking Bomber Skeletons would not LEAVE ME ALONE.
After that it was relatively easy getting to the final battle room, and HOLY JESUS, HOW IS THE GAME BEING FAIR HERE, expecting you to survive against MULTIPLE Dreadnaughts and Almirian Crusaders, being supported by Howlitzers, Bomber Skeletons, and THREE Silkwings.

7 more sparks burned here, but at least I did complete it, and I got a number of Radiants for my reward. I was lulled into a very false sense of security after the first level, because holy crap is the second one tough. Granted, I was playing on Elite, but still...

Tue, 08/05/2014 - 21:21

#18

Me-Luv-Ulongtime

Best of luck to all

Ghosts in the Machine is generally considered the easiest among them, just have some shock resist and breeze it. There are a few "tricks" to help along the way.

Legion of Almire isn't so bad and the arenas are fairly open, until you get the the chaos of final arena, which i consider almost as hard as Heart of Ice arenas.

C42 is mostly about status reduction, but them slimes throwing out spikes left and right are the real killers. Most players will never see it coming cause they shoot unpredictable. Just get a Dragon Scale Shield. Pretty much all you'll need for that mission. It will make a huge difference as it never breaks in there.

Well, almost everyone will agree that "Heart of Ice" is the toughest.

@Holy-Nightmare
Heart of Ice do have "less difficult" parts in earlier areas, but none of them are easy per se. One or 2 mistakes in there, while solo, no matter what arena, can be very costly. And no matter what gear.

@Munnymunnymunny
All the congrats in the world for sticking to the task to beat it (claps furiously).

Wed, 08/06/2014 - 03:52

#19

Euclidean-Space

This would do:

Assuming you have all slots and at least one sprite at level 105 (Technically 100)

Armour:
Generic Chaos Cloak+BKC

Shield:
SSB

Weapons:
Combuster
Valiance
Blitz Needle
Gran Faust

Trinkets:
Whatever you like

Sprite Perk:
Whatever you like

However with your loadout it would be hard to solo all DMs, specifically c42 and HoI. Invest in a GF/Acheron and a piercing weapon such as a Blitz.

Wed, 08/06/2014 - 05:24

#20

Neometal

Challange accepted!

If I'd have to use ONLY ONE loadout for all 4 dms (which I like always solo ^^), I'd use this setup:

Snarby cap (curse/poison low, fire max)
Snarby coat (freeze/poison med, fire max)

BTS (normal/ele max)

Glacius (ctr vh, asi low)
Valiance (asi med)
Blitz (ctr vh, asi low)
DBB (ctr vh)

Soaking Wetstone Pendant
Elite Quick Draw Module

Maskeraith, w/ normal harness
gun asi med perk

GitM would be a bit harder than usual (I wouldn't have my beloved immunity vs wisps), but at least I'd still have the dual immunity for C42. Other than that, imo eye wouldn't have too much problems.

To be continued.

Wed, 08/06/2014 - 07:23

#21

Me-Luv-Ulongtime

In an ideal case of wealth and UV's, probably this set...

Hmm...

Divine Veil w/ Pierce Max, Shock High, Fire High (if max the better)
Divine Veil naturally comes with very good resists + Fiend Damage Medium. Possibly, the best defensive piece in the game with those UV's (changing one for Stun max).

Skolver Coat w/ Fire Max, Poison Max, Shadow Max

Voltedge CTR VH/H, ASI VH/H, Fiend Dmg VH/H
(Tho not the Final Flourish most would use for Heart of Ice, it's very possible w/ the amount of Fiend damage available + it covers Ghosts in the Machine and Legion of Almire, no problems)

Acheron CTR VH/H, ASI VH/H, Slime VH/H
(I'd rather have this than anything else for Compound 42, because all the fire, spike shots and poison globs on the ground will force a lot of shielding, which brings me to my next problem...)

Polaris ASI VH, whatever damage extras you want
(Nuff said!! The crowd controller gun for all enemy swarms)

I never planned for a 4th weapon. Most players are ideally 3.

Crest of Almire w/ Pierce Max, Elemental Max, Normal or Shadow High
(Wow, shielding is such a bigger deal on C42 and Heart of Ice than the other 2 missions. Most shields will break in them fast, 2 - 3 hits. With the above armour pieces, Compound 42 and Ghosts in the Machine are mostly covered. So the focus of shadow resist for the other 2, Heart of Ice and Legion of Almire, is necessary. I'd have to go with that.)

Seraphynx
(Obvious choice when you need health and back-up shielding)

Trinkets
(To use at your preference. Extra health probably for me, maybe a little help for immunities)

Lol...this loadout just might cover every mission in the entire game. One loadout to cover all, only changing for Lockdown. xD

Wed, 08/06/2014 - 07:58

#22

Skepticraven

↓

During dangerous times last year, I ended up soloing all 4 danger missions on elite without using a spark (but did use ERs) using the same gear one after another in the same day.

I used my "I don't care" clockwork loadout:
Full chaos, Combuster, Acheron (now OE), Nova Driver, Dark Briar Barrage, Seraphynx +2MSI, 2x penta heart pend.

Lets just say C42 was the most fun because of the dual status that brings chaos to its knees. GitM and HoI don't really get more difficult (due to the exploding souls) because the lower monster HP allows interrupting with the weapons much easier.

Thu, 08/07/2014 - 03:08

#23

Theirillusion

Almost always the best all around set:

bkc
chaos cloak
ssb
acheron
hammer
vali

Thu, 08/07/2014 - 10:49

#24

Lady-Of-War

It all depends on the gear and skill.

If you don't have a balanced loadout and/or no experience at the missions, you're going to have a rough time.

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How hard would it be to run all Danger Missions with a single loadout?