Spiral Knights - Which elemental gun should I get?

Which elemental gun should I get?

16 replies [Last post]

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 01:48

Bananaphonehaha

I'm a Vanguard, and I currently have two guns for every damage type except for elemental.

Shadow: Blackhawk and Mega Tundrus

Piercing: Strike Needle and Breach Blaster

Elemental: Volt Driver

All 4* because Radiants are still a pain in the butt to farm, and Elite Orbs cost a lot!

Looking at the new elemental guns from the gunner update, we have-

Arcana

Wildfire

Neither of those options really seem great in any particular way, however.

I'm considering getting another driver (Cryo or Prisma) so I can use it alongside my Volt Driver and alchemer switch, which seems really fun and looks like something I could try in FSC (that means I'd have to give up my Strike Needle though).

Made the same post on reddit, in case any of you are also on reddit :p

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 02:18

Ayelzr

Another Alchemer will do.

Another Alchemer will do. Magma, Hail, Prisma, or you can try Arcana or a Pulsar if you want a little variety in your arsenal.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 02:48

Exerpa

If you like the hard hitting

If you like the hard hitting charges of Strike and Tundrus, get Nova.
If you like the fire and forget (your teammates) nature of Blackhawk and Breach, get Wildfire.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 06:34

Keepscaite

Shock and fire work well

Shock and fire work well together. So if you're getting a driver, get Firo. If not, Prisma. Cryo does not work well for switch shooting.

Wildfire works pretty great too. Especially against huge hordes of retrodes/scuttlebots/zombies. Can also lockdown puppies.

Arcana is... meh. It's nothing special, but it's not bad either.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 07:49

Bopp

agree

I don't know the new guns well yet, but here are two points to consider:

1. Alchemers are very powerful, and they reward skillful play (as opposed to just clicking buttons quickly). My favorites are Storm and Nova (and Umbra). Hail Driver disappoints me. The charge shot freezes well, but the regular shots rarely freeze. When they do, the next shot will often unfreeze anyway. Hail Driver is definitely not spammable. And freeze also hinders knockback, kiting, shield bumping, etc.

2. Once you know how to beat the monsters, most of the fun of this game is trying out different weapon styles. So make sure to sample Pulsars, tortofists, Catalyzers, etc. To me this is more important than getting a second alchemer.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 08:31

Holy-Nightmare

Get an Omega Tortofist, only

Get an Omega Tortofist, only the most boss players can own and use them.

If you don't feel like fighting some of the most powerful monsters in SK for one weapon you can always get the Wildfire, its status should pair up well with your alchemer.

You also never mentioned getting a normal weapon.
If you have to get some go for the Iron Slug or the Volcanic Pepperbox, both are excellent weapons for a burst of damage in any situation.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 10:46

Traevelliath

As someone who usually goes a sword/gun hybrid loadout, the elemental guns I use the most are the Argent Peacemaker, Nova Driver, and Polaris.

AP is just the perfect weapon for skirmishing with Zombies. It's damage is respectable, you don't need to be incredibly precise with your shots, and you can easily switch between it and a sword without hesitation. From my brief experience with the Arcana, it has comparable damage to the AP, with a bit more utility knockback and a smaller clip. Get either the Arcana or the AP, but getting both is a bit redundant.

Most of the Alchemers are relatively similar, so I wont go into too much detail. I tend to use the Nova Driver when I want to focus more on shooting than slashing. Mainly it's because I have to get into a definite rhythm to get good shots off with my Alchemer, and it's harder for me to constantly switch to a sword between shots.

Polaris and pulsars in general are the best guns to deal with Gun Puppies and/or Polyps and/or Howitzers. Outside of certain parts of certain Shadow Lairs, I rarely will use a pulsar for anything other than gun puppy equivalents.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 10:52

Turn-Me-On

AP = arthritis I would go for

AP = arthritis

I would go for Arcana first, then storm.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 10:57

Bopp

turrets

Polaris and pulsars in general are the best guns to deal with Gun Puppies and/or Polyps and/or Howitzers.

I agree that Pulsars are good against turrets. But let me just emphasize that a Nova Driver charge often just kills a turret in one shot.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 11:24

Holy-Nightmare

AP is good for chasing down

AP is good for chasing down Kats or having spare bullets to deal with Mechaknights after they drop shield.

Alchemers are great for sniping slow/immobile singular enemies or for dealing status to a crowd while not interfering with teammates as much as pulsars. Good in tight spaces where the bouncing bullets get more hits or in places that let you snipe. There are also some levels and areas that let you skip parts if you can aim the charge.

Pulsars are simple easy and good for ranged continuous damage, status, and knockback. Best in open areas where you can control movement.

The Arcana is nice to have since it works as an easy to use gun for any situation.

The tortogun is good for area denial and creating safe zones, you can also fire a charge and use the regular attack to position the enemy in the impact zone.

The mixmaster is much like the AP with good continuous damage output but has the ability to mess with the order to go through levels like the Alchemers.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 16:58

#10

Fehzor

If you can find one, I would recommend getting a mixmaster. Mixmaster does a pretty amazing amount of damage, is great for fighting trojans, doesn't trigger enemies that dodge and allows you to hit switches and cheese the game. These things make it the best elemental damage gun for most areas, flat out.

If you can't, I would recommend getting arcana if it outdamages nova driver in the correct situations, and I have no idea if it can do this or if nova driver is better or what have you. I will be testing this after my handguns are heated.

Mon, 12/15/2014 - 21:03

#11

Bananaphonehaha

Thanks for all the replies

Thanks for all the replies guys! You all have been very helpful.

I can't seem to use the Omega Tortofist(or its equivalents) without taking damage because of the lunge component of the attack (and maybe my 1 bar Asian connection :/). Maybe I need to learn how to time my attacks better.

After your suggestions I'm looking at the Wildfire again, and it seems like a pretty cool gun. However, I have the Kilowatt Pulsar and using it isn't particularly fun, as I'm basically just shooting 24/7 and trying to get as many shots out as possible.

The Mixmaster is definitely out of my purchasing capabilities, although it does look like a very fun (and effective) gun to use!

I was thinking of getting a Normal weapon, namely a Iron Slug, but that would require that I upgrade it to 5* to get the Normal Damage, and that means that I will have to do without the CTR Medium bonus, which really sucks, unless I feel like grinding FSC over and over again (I don't think anyone would want someone with half 4* gear and a 1 bar connection on their Shadow Lair team).

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 08:41

#12

Holy-Nightmare

@ Banana

You aren't supposed to use the regular tortofist attack for damage.

How to use a Tortofist:

1. Fire a charge attack.
2. allow enemy to move into the incoming attack or use the regular tortofist attack to push them into it.

____________________________

The Pepperbox line is also a good option for a normal weapon, I use mine all the time and I love it.

Fire lets you hit and run, the charge provides damage and knockback (an underated feature of this line). And the best part is you can get the signature Autogun high DPS on anything with just one gun.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 09:26

#13

Traevelliath

Please don't spam a pulsar 24/7. Things may feel alright on your end, but it's REALLY hard on swordsmen and even alchemer gunners. You use Pulsars for AOE crowd control or for killing Gun Puppy equivalents. If you want a gun for damage, almost any other gun type will do better.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 22:07

#14

Bananaphonehaha

@Holy-Nightmare Oh, I see. I

@Holy-Nightmare

Oh, I see. I heard that the charge attack can rack up quite a bit of damage. I'll look at it once the event comes around again.

@Travelliath

As a Gunner with only 2 slots, I usually have to carry two different damage types. So if I come across something that resists my other damage type, I either have to spam my pulsar and annoy my teammates, or not do much damage at all(which renders me useless). Trust me, I know what it feels like to have a pulsar spammer on my party ( I used to be a swordie ).

Fri, 12/19/2014 - 02:20

#15

Bananaphonehaha

So I tried to alchemer switch

So I tried to alchemer switch for a bit (I already had some 2* ones lying around) and I can't seem to get it down consistently. I have ASI VH, and what I'm doing is:

1. Shoot
2. Shield
3. Switch
4. Repeat 1-3

All in time to a metronome to help me keep my beat. But it seems that even though my clicking timing is consistent, I end up screwing up sometimes and shoot twice in a row, or buggy stuff happens, such as me shooting twice in a row, not having to reload, and then switching. What am I doing wrong? Am I not hitting the keys at the right time? I think I might be pressing switch too early sometimes. Or maybe I could blame it on my ping as usual :p

Fri, 12/19/2014 - 03:08

#16

Krakob

Lag might cause some issues with the technique. In general, it's about timing, though. If it's not working out and you're confident that your technique is correct and you're not hitting keys in the wrong order or anything, you're probably just doing it too fast.

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Which elemental gun should I get?