Noob is me. Hello!
If I have the recipe for something that needs an earlier version to make, like the Searing Edge which needs the Hot Edge, is there any benefit to leveling up the Hot Edge before I recraft it into the Searing edge? Or should I just hurry up and make the Searing Edge?
::whistles innocently::
I thought the fire effect part was kind of cool, yes. ::hangs head:: Though, something did occur to me that made me think this wouldn't be a good idea, after looking again at the effects. I think one of the loading screen hints said that fire spreads, and if I put the fire effect on a mob, then I may well get it back on myself or my party, right?
Or if it's another reason, please tell me! I know nothing. My total experience is having played for some hours yesterday, and starting to look up guides and whatnot.
And thanks for the info about level requirements, that makes sense, I just haven't had enough time to look closely at a lot of recipes. I wish the auction house would sort recipes by what slot they make items for :/
Here's the problem with the searing edge: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Searing_Edge
Notice the crafting line at the bottom, it only goes up to 2 stars.
Fire is a completely awesome status to be inflicting on enemies, and it won't be spreading to you or your teammates (outside of a certain, rare fire sword called the Fang of Vog). To best spread this plaque to the enemies I recommend my favorite weapon, the Brandish:
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Brandish
The Brandish can become your choice of 4 awesome 5 star weapons! You want to make sure that every piece of equipment that you pour your valuable money into can eventually be used at the highest level of play. This is because items that can't get to 5* or at least 4* quickly wind up with neither use nor value.
This is the awesome final fire Brandish: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Combuster I love it.
(P.S. If you're serious about this game, you'll be putting about 1400 energy and upwards of 10,000 crowns (including mats) into this weapon, not counting the obscene recipe costs. I recommend going to the Auction House and trying to find a nice UV [medium or better damage vs. construct or undead would be optimal] for a good price. If you don't know what they are, look up UVs on the wiki: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Unique_Variant)
Sorry.. this is kindof a lot to take in all at once. But if you spend the time it'll take to read this it'll be worth your time.
IGN: Moriano
Oh, thank you, I appreciate that, you have no idea. So the Searing Edge is serviceable on its own limited merits, it's just a dead end--and that's enough for me to avoid it, lol, and shoot for one that I can improve over time. Plus there's something cooler to me about always having the "same" sword over time.
(This is my sword... there are many like it, but this one is mine.)
And also I'm glad that I can pan-fry enemies without cooking myself too.
Damn, from that link, I may have to get two so I can have the fire and shock variants both. I covet my neighbor's Combuster, though. Oh yes I do. Now I have a path to go along, and this makes me quite happy! Thanks for taking the time to write all that out.
So, note to self, always look up a weapon in the Wiki to see how much it will grow for me. Alrighty, thus armed and informed, it is time to go shopping...
IGN: Ascari
Just another bit of advice:
Please note that the Combuster (and all the other status inflicting Brandish derivatives) deal mixed Elemental/Normal damage. This makes them very good for destroying Undead and Construct typed enemies, but Gremlins and Beasts will resist the Elemental portion of the damage.
Basically, before you go and start two elemental Brandish lines, I'd recommend finding some weapons that deal Shadow and Piercing damage to round out your arsenal first.
And look, there's a Shadow damage Brandish line too, isn't that convenient? :)
Well I'm a huge fan of guns, too. I was looking in the Expert Gunslinger thread from the newbie links post, and it seems the Callahan might be a good balance :D though if mixing high-end guns and swords is bad (I imagine the armour sets favour one or the other) then yeah the shadow Brandish or the Flourish one looks rather nice. I mean, aesthetically too. Pretty rapier!
I have to thank everyone who's answered so far, by the way. You're all awesome.
Regardless of your build, just about any Tier 3 player will have a gun. Most either go for an Alchemer line to deal with Gun Puppies from range, or for Argent Peacemaker for the Firestorm Citadel. It's not unusual to see pure Gunslingers or Bombers with a backup Sword, either.
The flamberge line also goes up to 5* and inflicts fire. Unlike the fireburst brandish line, the flamberges don't need to be charged to inflict fire, but they will only burn things on about 10% of hits. Also unlike the brandishes, the flamberges deal piercing damage. So they are strong against beasts and fiends and weak against constructs and slimes.
I have a fierce flamberge (the 4* version) and I've enjoyed it a lot. I use my bombs against slimes and my alchemer against constructs, so a beast-killing sword is very useful for me.
If it doesn't have a level requirement for its prerequisite, go ahead craft it whenever you want. The heat is reset to level 1, regardless of the level of the prerequisite.
PS: I hope the Hot Edge is an example and you're not really planning on making a Searing Edge. >_>