I've run FSC in full Nameless with an Owlite plenty of times. Concerns:

- Fire destroys you for way more bars of HP than you want it to deal
- Zombies destroy you by dealing shadow damage and then setting you on fire

But if you play carefully you won't be getting hit by those too often. Owlite is a very good shield, capable of taking a few zombie hits, a couple trojan hits, and Vanaduke's mace, as well as plenty of pain from fire.

Shadow defense is nice, but Fire defense is much more important. If you were to drop the ASI from Nameless in favor of a different armor, I'd go for something with a Fire resist (lol gunner wearing Vog). Piercing defense is next to worthless in FSC, as a side note.

Fire resist UVs on your Gunslinger set are very nice, too, if you can find them.

---

Shadowsun is never worth considering unless you're wearing two Elite Trueshot modules and want more damage. And even then, you'd probably need to equip a Swiftstrike Buckler. And even then, you probably wouldn't want to equip Shadowsun because you could pick a more defensive armor. Also note that if your guns have a medium damage bonus vs something and you're wearing two Trueshots, they're already maxed out on damage vs those types anyway.

---

Equipment notes

Alchemers aren't that great until you get to 5*. The power of an alchemer is in using its charge shot to get a lot of bouncing going on, and 5* both ups the damage and the number of bounces. So if you're at 4* and you're not feeling the alchemer, you should probably upgrade that one. Also for the alchemer, note that you have to try to shoot into the middle of a group of enemies with the charge shot to really deal damage properly.

Polaris is only slightly better than the 4* version. It's a great gun, but may not be a priority upgrade.

Other than that, just upgrade what suits your fancy. 4* stuff is plenty serviceable until you can get it upgraded. Armor is low priority to upgrade relative to weapons, although the 5* upgrade of those gives you that extra ASI which you may feel you need. Even then, might want to go weapons first. Weapons are a big deal.

And for trinkets I'm not a big fan of the health for PvE. The extra damage from the Trueshots was very noticeable for me as a gunner. I'd feel very weak without them.

*So Nameless set will suffice for FSC? If not, what do you think is the best FSC gunslinger armor combination? And what about using Shadowsun for non-poison Wolver or Jelly levels like RJP or for LD (I kind of play LD a lot although)? Or is Shadowsun's medium damage bonus not worth it compared to Justifier's VH ASI?*

Both Shadowsun pieces have only +low damage fully heated, thats why everyone has ranked them out so far. Yes it looks kool, Harry uses his for a costume and I eventually vendored mine to help make Justifier jacket.

Edit- I see you meant +med as in the whole set. So my bad, but still any way you cut the cards, there are better ways to gear than using a piece of Shadowsun, let alone two.

~Luke

If you don't want to bother reading the whole thing: I'm looking for a beginner load out, what are my best options?
But plz, read ^__^

I'm currently with the Wolver set and a Tempered Calibur, but I want to change my character to handgun based, so I was hopping to get some tips on what weapons/equipment I should get.
This is what I have in mind at the moment:

Armor:
-Gunslinger Sash (upgrading to Nameless Poncho)
-Gunslinger Hat (upgrading to Nameless Hat)

Weapons:
-Magnus (upgrading to Callahan)
-Cryotech Alchemer OR Freezing Vaporizer (haven't decided yet)
-Antigua Series (*)
-Pulsar Series (*)

Shield:
I currently have a Horned Owlite, should I keep upgrading this or should I get another shield?

After searching the items at the wiki and reading a couple of threads I though this would be a nice set, but I want an opinion from some one who knows what his talking about, any comments/fixes to this set are welcome and appreciated.
I'm just starting off, and for now only want some directions on where to start off, but If you want (and I would appreciate it) leave some equips/weaps I should get in the future.

Thanks for you time

(*) not sure about this, as I don't know much about this weapon(s), and I'm only looking a good one to start off, then I'll explore the rest of the options. If you can plz leave a comment if it would be good to get in the future or not, or maybe right now.

Hi there! I'm a bit new to this game(just a little under 2 weeks) but has been lucky enough to reach 4 star for most of my equipment pieces as a Gunslinger. That being the case, I was hoping to get some good ideas on what a good 5 star set would look like. Is going for a complete Justifier, Nameless or deadshot set a must? Or can mixing them up a bit (i.e. Deadshot hat with nameless clothes) work as well? What do gunslingers-on-a-budget do?

I understand the benefits of achieving and optimizing the defense benefits with complete sets and UV's probably, but I was hoping to come up with a cost effective solution instead and decided o turn to my gun-totting seniors for advise.

Thanks!

I have a cryo driver uv low vs construct as my main weapon its epic agenst lumbers and turets but I and am frustrated by its tendency to cancel its own ice, how do i use it efectivley? also, how should i configure/adapt my arsenal to wotk better overall? (love soloing snarby, but feel kike a hiderance in parts of t2-t3)

loadout:
helm: sunset seston
armor: 4* cobalt
shiled: wise owilite uv normal defence low
weapon1: cryo driver uv low construct
w2 ???*
w3 ???*
trinket: dual heart pendant

*other weapons:
needelshot uv low beast, medium construct
frezing vaporiser mkII
pulsar (I have kilowat recipe)
antigua
haze bomb uv low undead
spine cone
spur
calibur (have had acended recipe for a month but never useed it)
snarbal barb

also, i have 18 jelly gems and do jk a lot but just end up runing around with my ice bomb frezing tiny jelys while my party dose all the real work.

"have a cryo driver uv low vs construct as my main weapon its epic agenst lumbers and turets but I and am frustrated by its tendency to cancel its own ice, how do i use it efectivley?"

Hail driver is my "main" weap too, so...

The short answer is in party pug play you cant, there will always be someone whacking your freezes (People love to tee off on frozen stuff cause it cant change directions and attack) or you will run out of things to shoot at while everyone is killing stuff and you have 2-3 crowd controlled mobs and nothing to shoot at.

In solo play or with guild/experienced knights, you can "fish" for your status effect by shooting each clip of 2 shots at two different targets and if you happen to freeze one or both move along to shooting at others while your thaw does its damage.

The frustrating part of it all is that I would estimate at least 85% of the players are unaware of the high amount of damage a thaw will cause and the other 15% are in too much of a hurry to care.

As far as the other choices go

cryo driver
Kilowatt

*Slot 1, I use cryo here because Kilo gets you kicked from groups alot, especially if you use it as a primary weapon. also when everyone but you has fallen its quite possible to solo last stage of T2 arena with 3* Cryo, though it *will* take some time and patience.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Snarblebarb
Needleshot
Spinecone

*Slot 2 Given the choices I have to reccomend Snarblebarb. Its a strong source of piercing damage, Needleshot isnt user friendly for beginners, and the spinecone doesnt really get good untill 4-5 star form.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Get some shadow damage ^_^

*Slot 3

~Luke

If youre good with the needle, run with it! I use one too and its pretty amazing. Once you learn to straife while you shield charge and "bait" an attack so you can unload the gun is deadly, party or solo. The only time I swap out a different source of piercing damage is for T3 wolver, I use a 5* Snarby bomb (DBB), even then I usually keep the needle equiped and just swap my shivermist out for it.

Shivermist Buster in my humble opinion is more of a control device then a source of damage, I usually have mine equipped at all times in case things get out of control, but I always pack an elemental gun too because I wouldnt want to have to be reliant on the bomb to whittle down large groups.

Bio and Shadowtech are both quite viable for royal jelly palace. I use Bio because I use a Cryo in slot #1 and enjoy variety. I also might mention alot of people prefer Shadowtech for gremlins because the charge absolutely wrecks them, but the bio can hold its own against them too, utilizing it effectivly is just a bit more risky depending on how much of a hurry you are in.

Though from a pvp perspective Bio and needle both preform lackluster. Needle triggers temp immunity after the first shot or so, and Shadowtech trumps Bio with its superior projectile speed.

~Luke

Hi master gunslinger!
I'm a fellow gunman (but with a Divine Avenger, because... you never know XD), and I'm looking for some advice on the gear to use for the first shadow lair. I made a Radiant Silvermail because it seems perfect with its piercing+shadow defense, my shield will be a Crest of Almire (normal+shadow), and I plan to use Polaris and DA as elemental weapons.

so:

Radiant Silvermail
Crest of Almire
Polaris
Divine Avenger

but...

Helmet?
I know i have to replace my Nameless Hat, 'cause elemental defense is useless down there, what would you suggest?
I was thinking to go Justifier, because I though that having a shadow shield it would be better to have more resistance to piercing dmg, to which the shield is vulnerable. Does it sound right? Or would Deadshot be a better choice?

Piercing weapon?
The piercing weapon also troubles me. I have a Blitz Needle, that I regularly use on Vana, but would't it be too dangerous to use in such a crowd of enemies and projectiles, due to the "must-charge" nature of the gun? Should I craft a Callahan?

@ Trying

Ooops, yep I know Crest of Almire is normal+shadow, it was a distraction... ;P
And I also know that the shield resistances come into play only when the shield is up, that's pretty obvious.
I was saying that because a shadow shield is vulnerable to piercing, it will collapse more easily under piercing attacks,
and therefore there is a higher chance to be actually hit by those, other than by shadow ones, against which the shield is stronger.

For the rest, I think you misunderstood me, I'm asking advice regarding the Snarbolax Shadow Lair, not general T3,
so elemental damage is represented only by lumbers (that is better to avoid altogether instead of shielding from their attacks),
and fire and shock are a non issue.

I renew my request for help!

@Kalaina-Elderfall

Thank you very much!
Yep, I was thinking about taking a shivermist too, perfect!
I'll better go stock up un CE now! ;P

bye!

We don't have BTS tying us down (positive spin right there), so we're free to consider Aegis, Royal Jelly, and Ironmight Plate for pierce defense, and those are superior options to BTS. Also choosing from the three is based on how much normal and pierce you want, so you do get a lot of customization there. Slimes and spikes do pure pierce and beasts don't, so I'd pick from Royal Jelly and Ironmight accordingly, as Ironmight will be generally more useful against non-pierce attacks.

A gunner can consider Swiftstrike Buckler to get some shield offense instead. In an ideal world, a gunner will be able to dodge everything and you won't need a shield for anything but the occasional bump, so Swiftstrike is a great pick. But it's not really an ideal world; if you use your shield at all, you definitely don't want to switch to one made out of wet paper.

As for what shield to use, if you play in traditional gunner style, i.e. staying far away from the enemies and kiting all day long while delving solo, you'll really want to focus on a shield that can stop ranged attacks rather than melee. If you group and like to weave in and out of enemies a lot, then you're going to want a shield that can take the melee hits.

For the most part, shield selection is the same as swordie selection, and you really won't go wrong with picking just based on type of defense. I recommend starting with an elemental shield (Owlite is standard for good reason) and later picking up shadow (Crest is standard for good reason; Dread Skelly is also good) and then pierce last.

[coming from a swordsman-bomber hybrid]

I like my Silversix since Undead and Fiends are easy meat, and I'm considering getting another Antigua since it's practically free. However, the Sentenza's meant to kill gremlins and beasts, which are both insane dodgers - but I noticed that the recent nerf made gremlins and beasts slightly easier to kill with my swords and bombs. However, did the patch make Sentenza noticeably easier to use against these enemies as well?

Freezing isn't for everyone. It doesn't have direct benefits like Fire or Shock so most people don't use it. Freeze makes up for this by allowing you to pull off a lot of different tricks during both solo and group play. For example, you have plenty of time to prepare a charged shot while a monster is frozen. Damage from a frozen monster thawing out can be helpful when dealing with large groups of monsters. You have to decide whether or not you can get over the idea that attacks from you/allies will unfreeze them.

If I'm trying to use the freeze effect to CC a mob I will stagger my shots a slight bit so I have time to react and pull the seccond punch before break a freeze, or more efficient even shoot at 2 different mobs = chance to freeze 2 rather then one, win+win. However in a pickup group all bets are off on freeze actually doing any damage 90% of the time.

***Warning*** Incoming opinion based on opinion.

The Hail Driver charged shot seems to explode stuff for me like no other. I have used Umbra so I have experience with one of the max damage alchemers. My theory is that the freeze effects (wether they break themselves or not) often hold groups of mobs just a little bit tighter by rooting them allowing for ricochets to benefit more than they would have against mobile targets, spookats would be a prime example.

As a price, I would give a very rough guestimate (strictlly going by what I see on the AH) of something like 400-500kCr.

The UV may be worth more to a swordsman if you can find one that wants to buy it, but the harsh truth of it is gunslinger gear is just already swimming in ASI making anything more then medium often unnecessary, also coupled with the fact that +CTR is most often the highest sought after UV in terms of alchemers in general.

In FSC i carry with me: Blitz, Hail driver, Polaris, and VT (CTR low) My armor is the shadowson stetson, same with my helmet. I also have a Elite true shot module giving me max damage against everything with guns. I was wondering if that was a good load out and if I should try the magnus line. Thanks!

SSB is great for general use. Most gunners I know have a SSB and something heavier for T3-Vana-Shadowlair. The Owlite line is popular amongst gunners.

~Luke

"Gunners just use whatever shield is appropriate for the stratum, nothing special about owlite."

+1 informative and insightful

Deadshot: damage vs undead med, asi low (damage bonus does not affect vanaduke_)

Shadowsun: damage vs everything med (including vanaduke)

The winner is Shadowsun, clearly.

-

Biohazard worth every crown you spent on it in PVE it's kind of useless in pvp unless crowded maps where you can spam the turd out of people with it. (despite having 3 shot clip it kicks quiet a punch)

Is Polaris a good secondary weapon for sword users?

"Is Polaris a good secondary weapon for sword users?"

I smell trollage but in case not...

Yes, it is arguably the best sidearm for swordsmen.

Also @ Rawrcake, HOLY DELAYED RESPONSE BATMAN!

~Luke

I'm not sure whether you are going to be using trinkets or not, but both are very viable sets, even after the Shadowsun patch. If you are using trinkets, then the bonuses from both sets pretty much don't matter as long as you have the corresponding trinkets to compliment the set. For example, getting a Shadowsun with 2 ASI trinkets is essentially the same as getting 2 DMG trinkets with a Nameless set in terms of bonuses. So in the end it comes down to whatever defense you'd want more. Personally I have the most trouble with Fiends, so I would choose Shadowsun (which is also a very good set for FSC if you see your self doing it in the future), which has the shadow defense. Though if you find yourself getting hit by Gun/Rocket Pups more often than not, you may want to look into getting the Nameless set.

Without trinkets, they are both viable sets that fit their own purpose in a way that you can't really compare in the end. Though I'd want to add that generally speaking, all guns benefit from a damage bonus, while some guns definitely benefit from ASI more than others. Also, elemental damage is the most common damage type other than normal, so unless you're doing only FSC runs or doing missions that are undead/fiend, the elemental defense comes into play. It's also been tested that Damage bonuses > ASI bonuses in terms of actual DPS, but ASI will help you survive by allowing you to shield cancel faster.

Also you were talking to me earlier about using a mixed Nameless/Shadowsun set which is not as bad as most people would think, you're splitting up your defenses but you can max out either Damage or ASI with trinkets with whatever you personally want more. There are a lot of variables on the deciding factors for armor and sets, so if you want more specific answers just ask.

Sounds like a solid loadout to me, though keep in mind not to get 2 gun damage trinkets, unless you don't mind wasting the natural bonuses the Antigua lines get (AP to Undead, Sent. to Gremlin). But other than that you've got weapons for any type of monster you come across and a supporting bomb.

Like I said earlier, you can do a lot of variations to fit you gear. If you can manage to find and afford ASI UVs on all your guns, then by all means go for full Shadowsun. All you have to make sure is that you aren't wasting any trinkets or UVs that clash with your gear. (Ex: don't get 2 elite damage trinkets when wearing full Shadowsun)

In the end, gear is less important than skill and ability. So the perfect gear may not always make the perfect player. Just keep that in mind.