My brother and I have been holding on to the 4-star Silent Nightblade for what seems like forever, waiting for a Shroud of Apocrea event so we could turn them into Obsidian edges. Well I jumped on the wiki hoping for some kind of estimate for the next one would appear. And lo and behold, We missed one over the fourth of July.(We were working at a fireworks tent.) It will probably be at least 6-8 months before another pops up, So should we just craft the Acheron and make another 4-star shadow sword to wait? or do you think we should hold for the event to come back?
Wait for the Obsidian Edge?
Sat, 08/12/2017 - 11:06
Sat, 08/12/2017 - 16:27
#2
obligatory
My sword guide does a comparison here:
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/User:Jdavis/Swords#Shadow_Swords
Even if Apocrea were currently running, I would recommend that you go for Acheron. But they're both good, if you're really into waiting for things.
Sat, 08/12/2017 - 21:03
#3
Bopp
Thanks, I dont think I've ever read through your sword guide. The armor chart at the end was useful. The Obsidian Edge seems to fit my play style more, kiting around monsters and charge killing them. XD thanks for the help, but i guess im waiting.
Sun, 08/13/2017 - 03:36
#4
Obsidian edge is better when there are healers, but acheron can also just kill said healers. Since there's no situation where healers (gremlin menders, butterflies are too weak to matter) respawn constantly around a shadow weak variant of vanaduke (or other truly big mob), you're just deciding to be different (and better for that imaginary scenario) for no real reason other than future proofing.
If you have the resources, just get acheron. Since you don't (radiant fire crystals) you can wait if you'd like for said future proofing. It's something to consider, but acheron is perfectly fine because development is mostly focused on boxes anyway.
Sun, 08/13/2017 - 05:09
#5
confusion
I'm glad that you found my guide useful. But this statement of yours doesn't make sense to me:
The Obsidian Edge seems to fit my play style more, kiting around monsters and charge killing them. XD thanks for the help, but i guess im waiting.
All Brandish-style swords are about that, including Acheron. There is no difference in play style. Suppose that you charge your sword into a crowd of gremlins, hitting 5 of them. Would you rather have...
* 2 gremlins dead, and 3 wounded and poisoned (Obsidian Edge), or
* 4 gremlins dead, and 1 wounded (Acheron)?
I would rather have the latter. I can see how some players would slightly prefer the former, but I don't see why they would wait months for the former. Of course, it's up to you. Cheers.
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 13:49
#6
When Is Obsidian Better Than Acheron
I have found 3 places where my Obsidian outperforms my Acherons.
1. Against the Sovereign Slime. Even with VH damage v Slimes on my Acheron, the Obsidian is better because Mr Jelly King can't heal by soaking up all those little jellies.
2. Tier 3 Deconstruction Zones when there are a mob of Gremlins and a couple of healers. (I have a VH v Gremlins Acheron,too, but if the much greater damage I'm doing just gets reversed by a healer, it doesn't mean much.
3. Arenas, where an ability to poison is at its most valuable.
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 14:19
#7
response
1. Without having precise numbers either way, I can believe that Obsidian Edge out-performs Acheron against the Royal Jelly. Of course, we're talking about 5-star weapons against a Stratum-4 monster, so they're both overpowered, but your point remains valid.
2. In deconstruction zones I am less convinced that Obsidian Edge out-performs Acheron. With Acheron I simply destroy whole crowds of monsters. The menders cannot resurrect quickly enough to keep up. But yes, Obsidian Edge's poison prevents wounded gremlins at the back of the crowd from being healed.
3. Arenas are about the same for me as deconstruction zones. Acheron kills whole crowds instantly. Obsidian kills fewer monsters, but leaves the wounded ones poisoned.
That's why I feel that they're pretty balanced in general. But the Royal Jelly is a good example to keep in mind.
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 19:16
#8
So.. you're having trouble with jelly king and decon zone to the point where you want to min-max it, but you can farm the Apocrean event? These are the type of levels I suggest just bringing whatever you want to-- they're fun and casual. Arena's 3rd area is vaguely hard and the poison would help there... but generally I don't know that it's worth waiting to craft for that-- the menders don't respawn and there's only 2 of them. It's just as easy to acheron them.
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 03:06
#9
I have an Obsidian Edge and an Acheron, and I use the Acheron all the time. The Acheron hits as hard as the Gran Faust. Most of the time I don't even bother charging it, I just swing away.
Perhaps start building towards a second Silent Nightblade now, and when it hits level 10, craft it into an Acheron? That way you are ready if Apocrea reappears before you finish (unlikely).
I have it totally wait for it with 3 charges I can kill the jk with heat 9