Spiral Knights - Crown of the Fallen or Valkyrie Helm?

Crown of the Fallen or Valkyrie Helm?

19 replies [Last post]

Sat, 07/09/2011 - 23:01

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

Hey, I've been playing Spiral Knights for a little while, and I currently have all 4-star gear. I've done a lot of research on what I want my final gear to be, but I'm at a bit of a crossroads, and was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on what I should go with, given my current set.

So far, I've planned to obtain the following:

Skolver Coat (Currently an Ash Tail Coat)
Volcanic Plate Shield (Currently a Boosted Plate Shield)
Glacius (Currently a BlizzBrand)
Barbarous Thorn Blade (Currently a Dark Thorn Blade)
Acheron (Currently a Silent Nightblade)
Valiance (Currently a Master Blaster)

Given this current plan, I've been trying to decide between The Crown of the Fallen, Valkyrie Helm, or the Nameless Hat. So far, it seems like the CotF is the smartest choice, given the attack speed boost and Shadow defense. The fiend damage penalty and Curse weakness don't seem to be of major concern, given that you barely ever run into Curse, and that I already have a piercing weapon that is effective against fiends. However, I am attempting to weigh whether Shadow or Elemental defense is more useful in the long run. Any suggestions, or am I safe with the CotF, given my current gear?

Also, any other suggestions for my current gear would be greatly appreciated, such as a different shield or gun. For example, I've been considering the new Pulsar line, but it seems that not many people currently have enough useful data on it. Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

Sun, 07/10/2011 - 05:29

IceMilkTea

Legacy Username

What is the aim of your

What is the aim of your gear?

You wanna go FSC? might as well turn that ash tail to a vog.
You wanna do JK? sure turn it into a skolver.

Volcanic plate shield is good, lots of normal def and huge health also got fire res for FSC.
Altho Grey owlite shield is a better general purpose shield with decent health, elemental/normal def and fire/shock res.

As for weapon choices, i guess u got all 3 dmg types covered.

Sun, 07/10/2011 - 11:22

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

Gear Goal

I'm really trying to focus on overall versatility for my gear, so I'd be safe going into either RJH or FSC. But at the same time, I wasnt gear that I'm happy with the appearance of. I understand that the Vog Cub Coat is a bit superior, but I'm just really fond of the way the Skolver Coat looks.

I've also been looking at the Divine Veil, as it covers both Elemental and Shadow defense quite well.

Sun, 07/10/2011 - 17:46

IceMilkTea

Legacy Username

We got costume slot

Well for your appearance problem, thats why we got the costume slot :P

Sure Divine Veils got elem and shadow covered, but it has no normal def. Thats why people are divided about it.
And we all know everything does either pure normal dmg, or normal+sumthing dmg.

imo though, I think a versatile armor in this game would be the ones with a normal + elemental def stat with a bit of extra variation on the side.
e.g. Vog(fire/asi) , Grey feather(fire/shock), Volcanic Demo(fire/CTR), etc.
Since a lot of the damages that usually hit you are elemental i.e. gun puppies, volt tick dmg, fire, etc.

While others are avoidable i.e. Ground spikes(piercing), zombie atks(shadow), wolver bites(piercing), etc.

So i would go for something with normal+elem def, and if i know what im up against i would mix and match with other armors depending on the need.

my 2 crowns~

Tue, 07/12/2011 - 17:41

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

I understand the wonderful

I understand the wonderful costume slot is available, but saving up for another Skolver Coat will take some time. My main question is of those three helms, what would best compliment my armor.

Tue, 07/12/2011 - 19:19

IceMilkTea

Legacy Username

Hmmm

Well, if im in your shoes....

I would go for a vog cub helm since usually the damages that im having difficulty dodging are elemental dmg coming from gun puppies, fire traps, construct beams, construct swords, kat projectiles, shock traps, gremlin bombs, grem healer projectiles, IMF rocket traps etc.
While shadow dmgs i can avoid/shield easily, zombie atks, trojans, shadow projectiles.

But if ure the opposite of me, and having trouble with shadow dmg sources then, sure go for the crown.

I wont even consider the nameless cuz the ASI bonus is useless for me and you since ure using swords for all your slots. If you want it for the elemental def might as well go for vog, you get elem def, ASI for swords and fire resist to boot.

And, you said which would be better in the long run? Vog for swordsman.

Wed, 07/13/2011 - 13:50

Tornone

Legacy Username

The Valiance is a great all

The Valiance is a great all around ranged weapon, but depending on what you want to do you may want to change it up. The Argent Peacemaker is the best for FSC runs, and I have found that the Polaris is excellent to take on RJ runs. The Catalyzer is also another good all around weapon, especially if you are looking for shadow damage.

Wed, 07/13/2011 - 13:53

Sillty

Is Skolver really better than

Is Skolver really better than Vog for Jelly King? Even after the jellies got buffed, I still think the most dangerous monsters do elemental damage. And the final fight is mostly normal damage anyways.

Wed, 07/13/2011 - 17:24

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

I've actually been

I've actually been considering changing to the Polaris/Supernova, as I use my gun the most on things that are weak to Elemental damage for keep-away, mostly Constructs.

Wed, 07/13/2011 - 19:41

Lazypinoy

My Gear: Divine Veil (UV Stun

My Gear:

Divine Veil (UV Stun Med)
Skolver Coat (UV Pierce Low)
Omega Shell
Cold Iron Vanquisher (UV Slime Low)
Neutralizer

I also have my Divine Mantle as my costume. I love my gear cause I'm hitting very high against fiend and slime with my CIV and ultra against undead. I have medium protection against shadow, elemental, normal, and piercing and lots of status resists. The Omega Shell I use more for shield bouncing and it hasn't failed me before and the Netralizer's DPS is just amazing regardless of the slow travel time!

Use different armor to balance out what your helm lacks. If you don't like the look then you can always use a costume slot! :] Always remember though that Skills > Equipment!

BTW I'd love to see somebody try this set (I thought about doing it once I make a new account and getting the party pack):

Full Vog (UV Pierce Med) + Mad Bomber Mask as a costume.
Swiftstrike Buckler
Fearless Rigadoon (UV Undead Med)
Divine Avenger
Shivermist (UV Charge Time Low)
Nitronome (UV Charge Time Low)

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 11:38

#10

Guhnom

Divine Veil is complemented

Divine Veil is complemented well by the Skolver. CotF is a big no, you never want to accept a penalty to anything when you don't need it. Also, with your current loadout you have no elemental defense (which is what T3 is all about), so you may as well get a Divine Veil. Also the halo is shiny and glowy.

As far as weapons go, I'd suggest you get another 5* gun. Pulsar is great all-around, Catalyzer (shadow path) is excellent in RJP, and Blitz beats Argent by far in FSC (since you're going to use the gun on Vanaduke only, an autogun is better. Most of the zombie killing will be with a pure elemental weapon, so argent is unnecessary). Argent is still good ofc, but only second-best for FSC.
A bomb would also be helpful, where Shivermist is excellent in FSC, Agni is excellent everywhere but, and Graviton is great when partying with others.

Everything else is fine and dandy--ultimately just get gear you're happy with, not just because some random guy tells you it's better. This goes for my recommendations as well, ofc. :P

Sat, 08/06/2011 - 11:40

#11

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

Valkyrie or Crown of the Fallen?

So, I'm still a bit stuck on this helm debate. I currently have a Seraphic Helm, and I'm trying to figure out which of the two I should go with for the 5-star variant. I forgot to mention that I currently have Low elemental defense on my Ash Tail Coat, and I'm constantly rolling for new UVs on the helm that I have. I'm hoping to nab some elemental defense on that as well, and then cover whatever I can with trinkets. It really depends, thoguh. That ASI and fire resistance just seems a bit more appealing on the CotF.

Sat, 08/06/2011 - 15:26

#12

Tenkii

If you really wanna think end-game...

Think about the offensive bonuses and whether or not you really want them:

Valkyrie gives you increased damage vs Fiends and curse resist.
Fallen gives you decreased damage vs Fiends but increased attack speed.

If you want to be everybody's hero in fiend strata, or want to use Faust/Gran Faust's charge attack, you get Valkyrie.
If you want a little bit of attack speed (with guns AND swords), get Fallen.

As far as FSC goes, I actually wear a valkyrie set so I can kill trojans in 1 charge with blitz needle (when I'm with just 1 person or solo), but if I'm with a large party that I can trust, then I'll wear Fallen.

Oh by the way, trinket status/actual defense is terrible - don't rely on those at all. So far, there hasn't been any proof that status defense trinkets change the duration of fire/curse, and for elemental/normal defense, you'd need 2 100-token trinkets to save like, half a pip of damage. They're terrible and/or broken.

[edit]
the main reason I emphasize offense for "endgame" is because when you get good enough, getting hit becomes the least of your concerns ;)

Sat, 08/06/2011 - 14:32

#13

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

Okay, thanks for the heads up

Okay, thanks for the heads up on trinkets. If it helps at all, I tend to solo a lot. I mean, I wouldn't dare solo Vanaduke, but I still like to go in alone a lot for raids.

I'm not terribly worried about offensive capabilities, as I have one weapon of each damage type. Defense is my main concern, if you look at my current list of gear.

Sat, 08/06/2011 - 23:39

#14

Lepreal

Hmm I own a Valk set and a

Hmm

I own a Valk set and a Fallen set.

The fiend bonus isnt that much noticeable. The penalty is that much noticeable either. The Valk set looks awesome as a costume while the Fallen set just owns. :) The ASI also applies to guns and bombs so yuh (yeah bombs with asi ftw) its quite useful. If you are just choosing to between the two id say get both. :)

Sun, 08/07/2011 - 00:08

#15

Tenkii

Damage

Eh, not sure about that.

The difference between the two generally boils down to having to do 1 less round of attacks vs having to attack 2-3 more times. (though, if that's miniscule to you, then I guess you can say it's not a big difference).

Also, wat @ ASI+bombs. Attack speed would only affect the animation length of like, dropping the bombs llol.

Wed, 09/07/2011 - 17:50

#16

FrozenInd

Legacy Username

Crossroads

Okay, I'm still a bit stuck on this one. I'm very worried about the Fire penalty on the Valkyrie, but from what I hear, that fiend damage is very useful. Right now, I have:

Seraphic Helm
Skolver Coat
Heavy Plate Shield (Soon to Be Volcanic Plate Shield)
Glacius
Dark Thorn Blade
Silent Nightblade
Gigawatt Pulsar

Which of the two would best compliment me?

Wed, 09/07/2011 - 18:31

#17

NicoyaKitty

Legacy Username

You probably want a Valkyrie

You probably want a Valkyrie set for running the fiend stratums that have been popping up on the FSC gates lately, and then a Vog set for running the palace itself.

Wed, 09/07/2011 - 18:37

#18

Sunless

I actually wear a valkyrie

I actually wear a valkyrie set so I can kill trojans in 1 charge with blitz needle (when I'm with just 1 person or solo), but if I'm with a large party that I can trust, then I'll wear Fallen.

Even when wearing the Fallen, you can still one-hit-kill Trojans while having a party of 1-3 members.

Thu, 09/08/2011 - 08:15

#19

DarkNeedle

Legacy Username

What Valkyrie?

I actually have most of what you currently have in your gear, and I also partner with a Valkyrie + DA user, here's what I got to offer:

Mixing Fallen and Skolver
Barbarous Thorn Blade and a Gigawatt Pulsar.
2 Sword Attack Speed Trinkets

The Skolver will take effect on the fiend penalty and your BTB (or any other blade) will be at normal potential.

Here's the fun part though, One neat advantage of using the Skolver + sword attack bonus trinkets is that all swords you equip will over stack the fiend penalty, resulting in swords doing more to fiends than normal. (Or to any other monster type if you got the correct UV). However, I opted to get sword attack speed trinkets, and compared to my Valkyrie + DA partner, she may have more power against fiends, but speed works wonders for the BTB or any other sword if you love to shield cancel. Also note of landing a full charge attack on a foe with the BTB.

So with Skolver + Fallen you get all around defense with normal+shadow+piercing and 3 resistances (fire+poison+ice). The only problem now here is elemental damage, but your gigawatt pulsar's got ya covered here against constructs (and really, you'll never use the pulsar against fiends, so never mind that penalty). While they may not be the best of the best defenses. This is as all around as you can get.

Nutshell: Fallen will compliment your Skolver nicely if all around defense is what you would like, it's not the best, you got at least most of the defenses covered to a certain point. While I may not know how well a Valkyrie would compliment a Skolver, fallen looks badass anyways~

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Crown of the Fallen or Valkyrie Helm?