I'm nowhere near the endgame, and I've been playing this game for a long time on different accounts. I've recently gotten back into the game, so I've been wondering, what weapon(s) should I aim to obtain in the future? I'm already on the path to getting a Combuster, but I'm unsure if that'd really be the best possible option for me. I'm not aiming to develop a play style, I simply need an objective, since grinding in this game is agonizing for me...
Long-term / "best" setup goal
Mon, 09/05/2016 - 09:18
Mon, 09/05/2016 - 09:57
#2
Clarification
Sorry. I'm just a bit confused on where to go in general, but to narrow it down, I should probably search for a setup or loadout rather than a specific weapon. Thank you for providing those guides, though.
What I'm looking for is a generally all-around setup, something that can defend against most incoming attack and retaliate with relative ease. No particular specialty, simply a jack-of-all-trades. It's likely however that this doesn't exist in this game, but if it does, or if there is something similar, how is it set up? What kinds of swords would I need? Since I have an idea of how I want to play the game (since I'm terrible at top-down and 2D aim) I'd need a setup to support it, but I just don't know what pieces I need.
Mon, 09/05/2016 - 10:18
#3
an idea
What kinds of swords would I need?
So are you looking for a sword loadout specifically? Going swords-only is possible, but maybe not the easiest path for a novice (if that's what you are). You can read my sword guide about that. Here, I'm going to give you a more general recommendation...
* Dark Briar Barrage: This bomb is the safest way to deal with fiends and the fastest way to deal with beasts. It's also decent against gremlins and undead. This seems to be the most under-appreciated weapon in Spiral Knights.
* Combuster: The Brandish-style swords are pretty powerful and very easy to use. Combuster (or Voltedge) is really useful in Firestorm Citadel, which is where end-game players often spend a lot of time. Consider also Acheron for other parts of the game.
* Iron Slug: The Magnus-style guns have very powerful charge attacks. Even though this gun is normal damage, its charge attack is powerful enough to kill entire crowds of monsters.
Get these three weapons, even if you use just two of them at a time. For example, bring Combuster and Iron Slug to Firestorm Citadel. Bring Combuster and DBB to fiend levels. Bring Iron Slug and either other one to deconstruction zones. And so forth.
For armor, start working toward Chaos. When you are ready to make the final upgrade from 4-star to 5-star, you can choose whether to go for strong offense (Chaos) or strong defense (Divine/Grey Feather) or a mix. For shield, get Swiftstrike Buckler and later Barbarous Thorn Shield.
Mon, 09/05/2016 - 10:25
#4
Possibility
Thank you for the suggestions! If playing a sword-only loadout is difficult, I'll likely use a gun. Though bombs are slow, and usually in the heat of battle I'm looking for fast attacks that can knock enemies back to allow me to kill or at least deal enough damage before they attack. I'll look into this subject more on my own, and I'll probably use your guide for it as well as the wiki.
Mon, 09/05/2016 - 11:03
#5
I think that the best long term set up is one that farms dreams and nightmares swiftly and efficiently, as this is the only way to get radiant fire crystals in a reasonable amount of time. Here's my suggested loadouts for farming this-
Heavy Crowd Damage Specialist (Elite)
Celestial/Electron Vortex
Iron Slug
(+Winmillion/valiance/supernova for cleanup)
Heavy Cleanup Specialist (Less Elite)
Ash of Agni/Dark Retribution/Dark Briar Barrage/Normal or Shadow Tortofist/Nitronome
Winmillion/valiance/supernova
(+Winmillion/Leviathan/Combuster/Acheron/Sudaruska/DA/GF for additional normal hits)
How this works
You pair one with the other. Someone uses slug+vortex to kill just about everything.. and that leaves a bunch of stragglers. The other person's job is to destroy stragglers as quickly as possible OR to deal crowd damage.
Mon, 09/05/2016 - 11:24
#6
it's a good point
It's a good point, that insofar as end-game loadouts should pay special attention to any mission, maybe it should be Dreams and Nightmares.
But I think that Iron Slug and Combuster would be fine for that mission. Not as fast as having someone else drop vortex bombs, but I don't assume that I have anyone else along.
Tue, 09/06/2016 - 15:42
#7
I don't like someone else vortexing for me because it creates a sort of prisoner's dilemma.
If we both vortex/slug it works out but each of us takes a risk
If I slug and they just dodge.. I get hurt and get nothing done, but they're safe
If I just dodge.. they get hurt and nothing gets done, but I'm safe
If we both just dodge... neither of us gets hurt, but nothing gets done.
Ergo it's best to separate the roles such that everyone has both strategies and reacts to the enemies as they're already trained to do. Oh, and the bubbles work out better. If they dodge wrong while vortexing I can either explode myself or not get hits in.
Sun, 09/11/2016 - 05:13
#8
Blitz
Another good loadout for Vana would just be Combuster and Blitz.
The first 5* loadout i ever had was Vog Cub armour and helm, Barbarous Thorn Shield, Combuster and Blitz
Sun, 09/11/2016 - 05:46
#9
not really about Vanaduke
I agree, but the thread is not really about that. It's more about general-purpose loadouts. And then No-More-Starlight opined that it should be about Dreams and Nightmares loadouts.
Sun, 09/11/2016 - 16:32
#10
DaN
Oh for DaN, i just run around in circles releasing Combuster and Archeron charges xD
Sun, 09/11/2016 - 17:22
#11
yep
Yep, that'll work. I find running around releasing bombs to be even safer, but whatever floats your boat.
Are you talking about weapons only? There are many good weapons. You have to narrow it down some more. For example, do you want to use swords, guns, bombs, or a mixture? Consider reading the Bombing Guide, my sword guide, etc. Then come back here and ask more specific weapon questions?
If you're also talking about armor, then the ultimate best answer is Black Kat armor with UVs, although Chaos armor with UVs comes close and is much easier to get. You might also read my armor guide.