Spiral Knights - Introductory Guide to Weapons!

Introductory Guide to Weapons!

14 replies [Last post]

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 06:52

Guhnom

Hello, people of Earth, knights of Cradle. Because I have nothing to do at work
today, I've decided to concoct an elementary gun guide for the newbies in the
vicinity who crafted Thwack Hammers or bought Frost Guns in the Bazaar.

Here is a somewhat comprehensive guide of the better weapons in the game, and
my analysis of them. Don't expect anything grand, but I'll keep it rather Spartan
because there are so many weapons out there. I certainly won't cover ALL the
weapons, but perhaps I'll finish with some more advice.

Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you to NEVER buy a weapon from any of the Strangers,
since, more often than not, the weapon will suck and it will be outrageously
priced, something you could have gotten in the Auction House (your best friend)
for less than half what you paid the Stranger.

**********

Swords:
Calibur- 3 swings, deals normal damage.
Brandish- 3 swing, elemental or shadow damage (depending on upgrade path)
Flourish- 3 swing, piercing damage.
Troika- 2 swing, good damage and great knockback, but hard to adjust to.
Cutter- 5 swing, super fast and no knockback, and you lunge all over the place

The former two are going to be almost identical to the Proto Sword you brought
in from boot camp, and so will be the easiest to use. Coincidentally, they are also
the most popular.
Flourish isn't a good starter weapon, but you'll come to rely on it more against
enemies weak to piercing (which are coincidentally some of the most annoying).
Troika is a good sword to use, although it doesn't upgrade to 5*. Largely I'd
recommend it as an excellent sword to prepare you for your future when you no
doubt are using a similar Sealed Sword (everyone and their mother has one now),
and instead of struggling to adjust to it then, you'll already know how to use
it correctly, unlike myself and others.
Cutter is a popular and fun weapon to use, and it'll take you where you're going.
This sword will carry you through the Jelly Palace, and it's also super fun to use.

**********

Guns:
Blaster- 3 shots. the Calibur of guns.
Alchemer- 2 shots. the Brandish of guns.
Magnus- 2 shots. fast bullets, piercing damage.
Autogun- 2 clips, each clip fires ~6 bullets rapidly, but no moving while firing.

Guns never shined too brightly in the game after the massive nerf, but with the
recent (partial) un-nerf, we can go back to using them again.
Blaster is a standard gun, whose 5* form shoots 5 faster bullets. Recommended,
since it's a nifty gun to have, good in all situations, but not exceptional.
The alchemers (namely Firo and Cryo) are great if you use them right. The
shots have ricochets that can do excellent damage or crowd control.
Magnus is slow to use, but shoots very fast bullets that deal stun/knockback. It's
a good gun for interrupting enemies, despite vulnerability from the heavy recoil.

**********

Bombs:
Haze Bomb- very popular. upgrades deal status effects, depending on upgrade path.
Blast Bomb- does raw damage in a blast radius, pretty diverse upgrade paths.
Crystal Bomb- the flourish of bombs. sends out 8 piercing spikes that interrupt.

I've never seriously used bombs, but I've seen others use them, and they're certainly
good when used right. Despite their role of being a support weapon, nobody complains
when you save their lives with a well-placed bomb.
Haze is super popular for players of other specialties who need to step in with a freeze
or fire status every now and again, but also a necessity for a true bomber.
Blast Bomb makes big explosions that send enemies flying, which keeps you alive but
may fling them out of your teammates' reach.
Crystal Bomb doesn't knockback enemies, but the 8 radial spikes will interrupt enemies'
attacks and hit out-of-reach switches.

**********

Boss weapons
You can buy a lot of weapons with boss tokens, the most popular of which are
Sealed Sword- 2 hit sword, elemental or shadow upgrade path. most popular of swords.
Antigua- 6 shot revolver. Not the best gun, but sexy and desirable.
Pulsar- 3 shot gun. upgrades to normal or elemental damage. Eclipses Voltech alchemer.
Catalyzer- essentially a gun that shoots bombs. Fun to use, and nifty if done right.
Spine Cone- Like the Crystal bomb.
Snarbe Barb- Like a Flourish, but with a ranged charge attack that shoots spikes.
Static Capacitor- Like haze bomb, but deals the shock status effect.

**********

Now, you may be wondering "Hey.. where's MY weapon on that list?" Well, as I told you
already, not all weapons are on here, and it's probably because they suck. Apologies for
the bias and dismissal of what may be your favorite weapon of course. You're entitled to
love and swear by your Prismatech or Cautery Sword, but I'm just letting others know that
it's probably not the best choice of weapon. Weapons that don't get to 5* generally suck,
and it doesn't make sense to spend all that energy on something you'll never fully
upgrade. This may be contradicting what I said earlier about Troikas, but the 2-swing
experience is a valuable one if you're going to be using a Sealed Sword.

All in all, you'll learn a lot more about different weapons just by experiencing the
game, but I hope this guide helped you decide against that weapon you'd probably
end up regretting once you realized it's useless compared to others out there.

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 08:11

Merethif

That's a bit biased guide

That's a bit biased guide that we have here :-D

Magnus- 2 shots. the Flourish of guns. (also somewhat unpopular)

What? I mean have you ever talked with any gunslinger? Most will tell you it's a must have handgun.
Magnus is popular not so for its piercing damage but for its ability to knock down & interrupt attack. Sometimes I use it even on Retrodes just to interrupt their beam attack. Magnus is great to keep a mender pinned down while your friends hack and slash his comrades.

None of these guns are particularly outstanding anymore, but the ones you can buy
with Bark Modules (tokens from the new T2 construct boss) are pretty good.

These are still new weapons and needs more testing before you can say they are pretty good. Personally I enjoy Catalyzer so far but there are lots of negative opinions on forum as well so these are not "everyone's best friend" handguns for sure. They're pretty popular at the moment because most MMO players have a soft spot for new content, but we shall see if they stay popular when novelty wears off (I'm not saying they won't, just wondering).

This may be contradicting what I said earlier about Troikas, but the 2-swing
experience is a valuable one if you're going to be using a Sealed Sword.

I'm not sure but I suppose Hatchet is a 2-swing too - if I'm right, it would be a way cheaper to train 2-swings with Hatchet then with Troika.

Sealed Sword (everyone and their mother has one now)

I don't. Have to ask my mother though ;-)

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 08:42

Guhnom

Heheh well

Well, a hatchet only goes to 1*, but you won't get a sealed sword until you have a 3* or 4* weapons, which I think is where a Troika comes in handy. Sure you could run around T1 or the training hall with a hatchet, but it's not the same as if you used a Troika for the full ride until Sealed Sword.
As for Magnus, I'm a gunslinger to some extent, but I personally find it a less-than-desirable weapon, largely because of the long animation times. You raise some valid points though, so I'll go back and edit a couple things. Thanks for the feedback. :P

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 08:43

antipodes

Legacy Username

It is fair to say, however,

It is fair to say, however, that the OP does reflect the views that many players take, though I agree that that doesn't mean the majority view is correct. I think the important thing to note is that while some may troll you for possession of such "situational" weapons, lines such as Magnus and Flourish are very effective at what they do--it's just that what they do is specialized. I am a very happy Magnus-line user in particular, but have also experienced the feeling of dread when waiting on the elevator to start a JK run, and someone appears sporting a newly-minted Flourish.

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 13:33

Tipiak

Ok, if you never see anyone

Ok, if you never see anyone with a piercing sword, you probably never go to any Fiend or Beast strata on T3...
I basically don't see anyone with no piercing weapon (sword or other) there...

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 15:02

Merethif

Well, a hatchet only goes to

Well, a hatchet only goes to 1*, but you won't get a sealed sword until you have a 3* or 4* weapons, which I think is where a Troika comes in handy.

Well, there's Heavy Hatchet and Twack Hammer :-D (I'm such a nitpicker)...

As for Magnus, I'm a gunslinger to some extent, but I personally find it a less-than-desirable weapon, largely because of the long animation times. You raise some valid points though, so I'll go back and edit a couple things. Thanks for the feedback. :P

Thanks :-)
Actually I don't mind a bit biased guides (after all they are all biased one way or the other). My opinion on Magnus is probably personal one too. Maybe I just like big guns to compensate my tiny... er nvm.

I (...) have also experienced the feeling of dread when waiting on the elevator to start a JK run, and someone appears sporting a newly-minted Flourish.

I can feel your pain ;-)

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 00:10

bushwhacker

Legacy Username

Merethif: "Magnus is popular

Merethif: "Magnus is popular not so for its piercing damage but for its ability to knock down & interrupt attack."

I actually was completely unaware of this, I thought it was used for it's piercing damage :D Thanks for telling me, I'll check this out.

I'm a little surprised piercing swords were downplayed here, even with the dodging toned down I often find it too inconvenient to face wolvers/devilites with my gun (admittedly I lack the aforementioned magnum though) and snarby's trademark blade is quite useful against them for me thus far.

I agree with Merethif in that I don't dislike biased guides completely, it's important to actually hear opinions otherwise you aren't really getting personal advice :D

I think this is probably a good topic, I hope people keep posting their experiences.

---

I am by no means a powerful experienced player, but I have found the Cryotech line to be somewhat underwhelming overall. It isn't awful, but the blaster line seems to outdamage it even to enemies that are weak to elemental damage. I recognize that some of it's charm comes from freezing enemies, but I actually don't have much luck with freeze, it doesn't activate often, I often accidentally break it, and my allies so often simply don't pay attention to it.

---

What are people's opinions of the Shadowtech line? Is the shadow damage good enough to justify it? If it's anything like the damage from the Cryotech line then it doesn't seem like it'd be as useful as the Blaster.

For the magnum line, I've heard the Callahan is much more useful than the Iron Slug. Does the Iron Slug do anything better than the Callahan?

I realize the guns are still quite new, but how do the Polaris and Biohazard guns shape up?

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 02:21

Repair

Excuse me, but the spine cone

Excuse me, but the spine cone ( or more specifically its upgraded version, the Dark Briar Barrage ) does not suck. It's like the king of destroying wolvers.

Other than that, nice guide. :)

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 11:22

antipodes

Legacy Username

@bushwhacker: Speaking to

@bushwhacker: Speaking to Iron Slug/Callahan, the answer, sadly, is no. It does high normal dmg, so it can do more dmg to more enemy types than the Callahan, but otherwise the Callahan is more useful by far. Also, the lower attack speed/2-shot reload means that the DPS is much lower than the Valiance at the same *level. I will say, however, that if you can craft an Iron Slug with a decent ASI UV, it can make a very good support weapon. I have an Iron Slug with ASI: medium, and it is still a good choice against enemies that dodge, but it's not the dramatic Wolver/Devilite/Gremlin slayer that the Callahan can be.

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 12:30

greekjr14

Legacy Username

Do not forget to add that

Do not forget to add that even though the cutter line is a 5 swing sword, each swing deals 2 hits a piece.

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 13:24

#10

Prisega

This is a really poor guide.

This is a really poor guide. Everyone is pointing out the bias in the guide and overlooking it but remember, it a guide it shouldn't be biased. Oppinion and suggestion are for bias, not guides. Guides should lead you in the right direction and point out everything good and bad about the weapons. This guide just calls some items crap without justification (someone explain the Pine Cone sucking to me especially with its similarity to the Crystal Bomb). I also don't see all that much potential for crowd control on the Hail Driver. Plus I've seen plenty of the weapons that, according to this guide, aren't popular and suck.

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 13:34

#11

Squishat

Legacy Username

Spine Cone

Have to disagree with the Spine Cone Comment. The Spine Cone is very useful xD Some of these also apply for the Flourish / Snarby sword

The /only/ piercing bomb to date is good for a variety of situations:

- Devilites
Devilites who can now also deal Shadow Damage in T2 and up, are very annoying as they are fast and morph. Use a Spine Cone (or their upgrades) to take them out ;o

- Kats
If you've ever done a Spiral Court map, you'll also know that Kats can be very annoying.
While a Blast bomb can be all fine and dandy, it does knockback, which is sure to annoy any people that are in your party.
On the other hand, Spine Cone series doesn't do knockback (i.e. send everything flying into your teammates) but rather knockdown (interrupt their attacks and/or land them on their butts). This way your teammates won't miss their attacks or anything :D

- Deconstruction zones
Ever wondered, "what in the world is up with all the gremlins that my elemental sword is super weak to?"
Well, Spine Cone to the rescue :D Just place them down and herd the group into the Area of Effect (or AoE) and watch them take damage and not run everywhere :D

- Greavers (aka "bats")
While they might be kind of easy to handle in T1, they get really annoying starting T2. These are actually more controllable with a piercing sword, but a bomb works well too :)

- Silverwings (aka "healing butterflies") (ps, I think I wrote their name wrong)
With their fast small amount HP heal... it just is there to /annoy/ you. Guess what they're weak to? Piercing damage! Sometimes you can take them out with a piercing sword, but what if (and they like to do this a lot) hide between two lumbers or other hard-to-reach places? Spam that Spine Cone

- Wolver / Gremlin heavy Arena / Danger Rooms / Mini-arenas (aka "everyone stand on the party pad and waves of monsters spawn" areas)
Well, it /is/ a bomb, and all bombs are loved in closed areas :D

- Jigsaw Valley Levels
Have you ever been to a level where there are bushes all around and all the monsters are wolvers and chromalisks? (Save for a few constructs, of course, they're everywhere)
Well.. here is where the Spine Cone will shine! Put them down and watch the wolvers fly! (in packs)
Also an added bonus! It can help you cut bushes without you having to slash! Slash! Slash! Just one boom and takes care of it :D

Last but not least...
- Snarbolax Levels!
Of course right.. it came from Snarby haha xD I do suggest it for the pre-Snarbolax levels... the boss itself you'll need the piercing sword xD

After reading all this you may wonder...

But the Spine Cone is only 2 Star... is it any use?

Well here's the thing! In my opinion in the earlier T1, maybe even early T2, it is just as useful! Why?
The Spine Cone series has a peculiar characteristic --- the higher you upgrade, the longer the fuse (i.e. how long it takes to explode after you place it)
For new bombers, it'd be far easier to charge / detonate to hit something, and also much faster for things that don't have a lot of HP xD

So next time you hit a Wolver Stratum, remember to bring a Spine Cone :D

Fri, 07/15/2011 - 14:00

#12

dantemirror

Legacy Username

Every guide is bias, it's

Every guide is bias, it's based on the writers personal opinion on which weapon is the most useful.

Of course there is VERY biased guides and slightly biased guides.

I, for one, am very partial for the Wild hunting blade, its my favorite sword since it goes along with my play style.

As for guns, my favorite is the Autogun (Pepperbox series) even though every gunner I have read thinks it's inferior, I dunno but I feel very pro with it for support and distance attacking (maybe also because of my play style, but I do very good with them and never get hit if there is enough space to run of course this is T2 maybe in T3 I will just hate it).

I'm on my way to check the pulsar guns, since the charged blast for the 5* gun calls my attention a lot.

In the end one should try all the weapons to see for himself if he likes or not the gun, a "biased" guide telling you whats more less what should be your first choice isn't bad since atl east you get to know a bit of other players preferences

Sat, 07/16/2011 - 07:22

#13

Guhnom

Derp

Thanks for the criticism. I've modified the guide. Much of my bias probably came from the fact that I rarely run with bombers, and avoid fiend/beast levels like the plague. Maybe I need a Crystal Bomb or a Flourish. :P

Sat, 07/16/2011 - 12:29

#14

bushwhacker

Legacy Username

@Yoshipatrol

Well, technically if it isn't at least at a certain level of biasedness, it can't be taken seriously.

Because it isn't biased in that "oh, that gun looks dumb so i'll just make up crap about it", it's biased as in "this is my opinion, formed from my own experiences." Feel free to post your own opinions, some people just won't have a good time with certain weapons, I figure.

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Introductory Guide to Weapons!