Spiral Knights - I need help with figuring out what path to go down.

I need help with figuring out what path to go down.

7 replies [Last post]

Tue, 11/11/2014 - 09:26

Rothni-Halias

I've been stuck at the Hall of Heroes four star mission for half a year now. I have no idea what equipment or weapon path to go down. Here's what I have:

50k crowns
15 Flawed Orbs of Alchemy
3 Simple Orbs of Alchemy
9 Advanced Orbs of Alchemy
8 Elite Orbs of Alchemy
2 Eternal Orbs of Alchemy

I've been using the Heavy Plate Shield because it has the most defensive power.
I also have the Swiftstrike Buckler.
I wear the Dusker Cap and the Gunslinger Sash.
I use the Super Blaster and the Tempered Calibur.

I am well aware that the Normal damage weapons are some of the weakest in the game. That's why I haven't just crafted further up my current path. I think I want to get into bombs but I'm really very undecided. I've recently been recommended the Shivermist Buster and it seems like a good one to go after. If anyone could offer me clear advice I'd really appreciate it.

Tue, 11/11/2014 - 10:13

Dead-Bard

Get a better sword first,

Get a better sword first, possibly a Brandish-line with elemental damage (Out of the 3 choices I'd suggest Combuster), that will help you steamroll pretty much everything past 4*.

As for your secondary weapon you can go for Shiver/Blitz if you're already planning on a set to use at Vana, that will be your main source of income at 5* and once you're there you can easily get up every other equipment you feel like upgrading, else you can take up another gun you fancy, possibly something that deals either shadow or piercing so you won't have a hard time dealing with enemies that resist elemental damage, if you want to follow the bomber path then Dark Briar Barrage is a wonderful option too, it's a great bomb for damage dealing and since it has very low knockback it's also partyfriendly.

Another thing to keep in mind to save money at the beginning is that you just need 1 weapon to be 5* to unlock all missions so you should keep your secondary weapon at lvl 10 4* seeing as any 4* lvl 10 deals more damage than it's 5* counterpart until it reaches lvl 7.

TL;DR

If you wanna Vana Shiv:
4* Fire brandish lvl 10
5* Shivermist Buster, possibly lvl 5 at least

If you wanna Vana blitz:
5* Combuster possibly lvl 7 or higher
4* lvl 10 Strike needle

If you wanna do a good-in-every-situation set that focus on bombs:
4* Fire/Ice brandish lvl 10
5* lvl 7 or higher Dark Briar Barrage

As for the shield, either upgrade your cobalt to 5* to unlock all missions (Cheapest option since you won't have to waste money on recipes) then ditch it in favour of a Swiftstrike buckler or get something that has shadow defense as I can assure you it'll be your worst enemy.

Armor depends on your set of choice.

Tue, 11/11/2014 - 10:29

Holy-Nightmare

The shivermist is only really

The shivermist is only really great for Vana and it's at its best as a 5 star item. Considering your items you would need some sort of CTR UV on it for it to be more feasible.

A better choice would be the Divine avenger, it is very useful, and has a great charge attack (it works great on large zombie hordes and the roarmulus twins)

The Acheron is considered the best shadow sword in the game and provides nice coverage with the DA.

You may also want to get a flourish or snarble barb to deal with fiends.

For guns you can get the Storm Driver, the Umbra Driver, and the Blitz needle.

____________________________

For you armor you can work on getting a Vog cub cap and a Shadowsun slicker.
One of the best armor sets in the game (defensively) is the Grey Owlite set.
You could also get the Perfect Mask of Seerus and the Vog cub coat but this would require you to get the expansion mission and start a new line.

____________________________

As for shields the most recommended ones are:
Grew owlite
Dread Skelly
Ironmight
and the Crest of Almire (obtainable from Brinks as vana token reward)

Tue, 11/11/2014 - 10:32

Bopp

Bombing Guide

The key decision you have to make for yourself is: Do you want to be a sworder, gunner, bomber, or some kind of hybrid? All of your equipment plans follow from this decision. That may sound stressful, but actually it shouldn't be, because you can change your mind at any time.

Bombing is great fun, although it's sometimes hard for new players because it requires good dodging skills, knowing the enemy AI, knowing the enemy spawn points, etc. If you want to pursue bombing, then read the Bombing Guide on the wiki. It's pretty good. If you play in parties a lot, then consider both damage bombs (Dark Briar Barrage, Dark Retribution, Nitronome, etc.) and support bombs (Voltaic Tempest, Electron Vortex, etc.). If you play solo a lot, then focus more on damage bombs.

I will say, based on my own experience, that Shivermist Buster is much more attractive to new players than to veteran players. New players like it because it lets them control the room, obviously. But veterans also value stuff like kiting, shield-bumping, and knockback, which freeze hinders. Also, veterans prefer to do some damage, and Shivermist Buster does very little damage.

If you want to stay as a hybrid sworder/gunner, then consider reading my detailed sword guide. For example, it can help you choose one or two swords (Combuster, Acheron, Final Flourish, etc.) and one or two guns to use as sidearms (Storm Driver, Blitz Needle, etc.).

Fri, 11/14/2014 - 07:13

Keepscaite

If you're getting a

If you're getting a shivermist buster, then I actually recommend you to keep your Calibur. Using the Calibur's charge on a frozen opponent does a lot of damage.

If you're planning on becoming a dedicated bomber, Dark Retribution and Dark Briar Barrage. I'd also recommend Ash of Agni, because it really helps any non-fire themed stage, althought it's not of much use in conjunction with Shivermist though...

I'm going to assume you're a free player, so Dark Retribution is out of the question.

If you want a gun that works well with bombs, then I'd recommend either the Antigua series of guns because the shots won't knock kited enemies out of a bomb's radius. Although I should mention, that Antigua guns don't do very much damage at all.

If you don't plan on changing your armor, then you're probably gonna stick as a sword + gun hybrid. In which case, I recommend Brandishes + Alchemers. Though Alchemers are pretty underwhelming until you get them to 4*.

Fri, 11/14/2014 - 07:43

Bopp

to clarify

I'm going to assume you're a free player, so Dark Retribution is out of the question.

Just to clarify, Dark Retribution comes from Operation Crimson Hammer, which you can buy with energy. So it is possible for a completely free-to-play player to get Dark Retribution. It does require a lot of saving, though.

Like Antiguas, alchemers don't do any knockback. So you might as well use alchemers instead. But it is true that they're underwhelming at low star levels.

Fri, 11/14/2014 - 17:34

Keepscaite

@Bopp

I know that, I'm just saying that it costs 3200 energy. The guy hasn't even reached 5* yet, so I don't think he's gonna get it anytime soon.

Mon, 11/24/2014 - 01:37

Holy-Nightmare

...

Actually I got my OCH the F2P way before I obtained access to FSC so it isn't totally impossible (I still can't believe how I wrecked that place with a SSB)

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I need help with figuring out what path to go down.