Newb Seeks Specific Gear Advice
Tue, 08/23/2011 - 13:31
Hola!
I'm kinda new to this game and looking for advice on general-purpose armor/helm/shield combo that should serve me well all the way to the core.
I have already developed weapon preferences; I got into the game by playing a little bit on some one else' account and have become very attached to the Pulsar. I now have my heart set on the Polaris and Biohazard lines, and the Snarble Barb line to complement them. I intend to also have a bomb eventually, leaning toward Spine Cone line, and for all weapons to be pure damage if possible. I hope this is a sane approach.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Tue, 08/23/2011 - 18:56
#2
Your loadout should be pretty
Your loadout should be pretty good here:
1. Polaris - Elemental Damage
2. Biohazard - Shadow Damage
3. Snarble Barb OR Spine Cone - Piercing
It's good that you chose the piercing sword or bomb as it is often recommended to use the piercing damage on Tier 3 beasts and fiends rather than piercing guns. Your fourth weapon can be a status bomb like Ash of Agni or Shivermist... or even the tried and tested Calibur swords.
For your low levels, get a magic hood and owlite for your first 2* equips so you can head over to Ironclaw to farm tokens. As for initial ICMF-running choice, I'd go with Calibur or Blazebrand for a sword, + your choice of non-shock bomb or elemental alchemer of your choice that is not voltech.
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 00:30
#3
Thank you both!
I only played with the Pulsar in solo and won't be taking mine, when I get it, into a team game until I feel confident I can knock mobs around responsibly; that's why I was leaning toward DBB rather than Nitronome. As such I can't speak for teamplay, but at least for solo it seems a good fit for my playstyle going by how well I do with other weapons. I hadn't thought about visibility, though, but as Quizzical said it's situational. I'm mostly smitten with the Pulsar because of the fun minimum range mechanic and multi-grenade launcher feel, not just because it's performed dramatically better for me than any other weapon I've borrowed. I just couldn't get enough of that thing, and it worked wonders for me against everything I faced but Wolvers. Gremlins took weak damage, but I had a blast kicking them around. Mind you, this is only Tier 2 I'm talking about, but I'd probably rather face a great challenge with something I find addictively fun to use than steamroll with a gun or sword that I just don't find as amusing.
Some day, long from now, I'm sure I'll have many loadouts- maybe as many as nine weapons in the end for a sword, gun, and bomb in each non-normal damage type plus any redundant yet irresistibly unique toys that get introduced. For now I'm just focusing on getting up to 3-star armor and shield that works well all the way through 5-star and works with the specific weapons I like most, and of course getting my own copies of those weapons. That's why I'm asking specifically about armor and shields, and providing info on my weapon preferences so you know what I'm trying to do with it. I don't know that I find any of the armor or shields more or less fun to use, since armor is passive and shields are all used the same way to my knowledge, so I think I can choose based mostly on what seasoned players find most effective for _not_ specialising in sword, gun or bomb. The wiki includes much advice for dedicated sword/gun/bomb users, but not the eclectic approach.
Rereading my OP, I noticed that "pure damage" is ambiguous. I meant damage type that's not split, and should have also specified that I want everything other than normal damage. My reasoning is that based on the stats on the wiki and my very limited experience, damage numbers vs. targets neither especially vulnerable nor resistant is similar or identical to the most comparable normal damage weapons, so if I equip two different specialised types I'll get awesome bonuses against four enemy types and no penalty against the other two if the other mechanics of the weapons don't make them poorly suited to the role. (For example, I've been warned about the Tier 3 Alpha Wolver response to projectiles.) I think right now I'll be equipping the sword with one of the guns for most runs, based on stratum info and whom, if any one, I'm diving with.
I also think I will invest in an elemental path of the Brandish specifically for Roarmulus runs, now I've done a bit of research and found that the only pure non-normal swords are piercing. Another player told me that would be wise given my short-term and long-term goals. I have the enemy type resistances and weaknesses memorised now, but still not the types they dish out.
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 12:06
#4
Here are the popular swords
My opinions only.
I know that this is extremely long but read it pls.
Here are the popular swords listed in order of preference for each group of damage type (Elemental, Shadow or Piercing).
Sword
Normal Damage
Levi is the most common and the most powerful. Other Normal damage blades like Wild Hunting Blade (aka WHB) (damage bonus vs Beasts High), Sudaruska (fair chance of causing moderate Stun) and Triglav (slight chance of causing strong Freeze) are rarely seen. Winmillion is also quite rare and it does not have a full line, the projectiles it shoots makes dodging enemies dodge so it is not good for higher tiers where enemies dodge like crazy.
Elemental Damage
DA is the most common Elemental Sword, it is slow but powerful and it is an end-game sword that nearly everyone will get. Note that FoV can only be obtained as a token reward and it can set you on fire if you use the charged attack. Because of its rarity and its dangerous charge, most people prefer Combuster over it. Another thing, Voltedge, Glacius and Combuster all originate from Brandish and all can only cause a status effect when charged.
Shadow Damage
There are currently only two Shadow Swords in the game and both have their ups and downs. Acheron is easier to obtain and is way faster. However, GF is powerful and can cause curse which is a very powerful status effect. I personally like GF more (just from the looks of it and from what other people said) and I don't see as much Acheron users (myself being one but still doesn't like it too much) as GF users. The other downs side of GF is that you have to wait a long time for it to charge (this could easily be change with CTR) and it can inflict Curse on yourself if you use the charge attack (only the charged attack can curse). What compensates for the slow speed and chance of cursing your self is that the charged attack have immense power (from what I heard).
Piercing Damage
BTB (another token reward) is normally prefered over Final Flourish (both do the same damage by the way) because its charged attack is safer and way cooler (hologram of Snarbolax). I prefer these two blades of the status Piercing swords because you are likely to have already finished the monster before inflicting it with the status effect. Note that ALL Piercing Blade deal pure Piercing damage unlike Elemental and Shadow blades which are split Normal/Elemental and Normal/Shadow.
Here are the fundamental laws of using status swords: Never use Combuster's charge, FoV and Furious Flamberge on an Oiler, never use Glacius's charge on a melted Ice Jelly and never use a Voltedge's charge on Quicksilvers.
Here is the wiki if you want more info: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Swordmaster_Guide
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 12:05
#5
Now here are the most popular guns!
My opinions only.
In order of preference for each group of damage type (Normal, Elemental, Shadow or Piercing).
Note that all guns can deal only one damage type (except for Argent Peacemaker and Sentenza), either Normal, Elemental, Shadow or Piercing.
Gun
Normal
Supernova's shots expand halfway and will explode when expanded if it hits an enemy or it reached the maximum range, because of this, Supernova is good for solo situations but not that good when you are in a group as the knock back from this gun's exploding bullets can make your friends attacks miss. Although Volcanic Pepperbox cause Fire, it is no Elemental gun. Iron Slug (also Callahan from the Piercing category) is good for dodging enemies so a pure gunner must have one of them. Neutralizer's charge shots stick to enemies (many can be stuck) and when the normal bullets hit the charged shots, the charged shots explode.
Elemental
Polaris has the exact same property as Supernova plus the ability to cause Shock and it deals Elemental instead of Normal, the exploding bullets cause Shock more often than the normal bullets. Nova Driver is the least common because it lacks status effects. Storm and Hail Driver is prefered of Magma Driver because they have the ability to crowd control. AP is a split Piercing/Elemental gun so it only works well Fiends or Undeads. AP is also another end-game weapon because it is just excellent for FSC (which is by the way is occupied by loads of Fiends and Undeads).
Shadow
Only three shadow guns (and Sentenza is split Piercing/Shadow) and Umbra Driver is like Nova Driver except it deals Shadow instead of Elemental. Biohazard has the exact same properties as Neutralizer except it deals Shadow and has a chance to inflict poison. Sentenza isn't a good gun because all the enemies it is strong against dodge its shots. The only place where Sentenza should be used is in PvP, otherwise you should just get it for bragging.
Piercing
Plague Needle is prefered over Blitz Needle because although Blitz Needle does more direct damage, Plague Needle can cause Poison which will increase the DPS (damage per second) of every player. Callahan is great for dodging enemies and all nearly all enemies that dodge gun shots are weak to Callahan's piercing bullet (Gremlins excluded).
Caution when using status guns: never use Magma Driver or Volcanic Pepperbox on an Oiler, never use Hail Driver on a melted Ice Jelly and never use Polaris and Storm Driver on Quicksilvers.
If you want more info then visit this website: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Gunslinger_Guide
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 12:09
#6
Bombs now (so tired...)
I am just too lazy to write another essay about Bombs. Look it up yourself: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Bombing_Guide
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 23:04
#7
So...
Damage Bombs:
Nitronome (Normal)
Dark Briar Barrage (Piercing)
Radiant Sun Shards (Pierce/Elem)
These are about the only bombs worth using to deal plain damage. Nitronome has significant knockback, DBB and RSS have practically no knockback. When you are rich you will want at least a CTR Med Nitro. When you are very rich you will want many different Nitros with different damage UV's.
Warning: Nitronome explosion and knockback are very distracting. Worse than Polaris. :D
EDIT: Thanks, removed the thing about DBB shooting projectiles.
Status Bombs:
Shivermist Buster
Ash of Agni
Static Vaporizer Series
Venom Veiler
Haze Bomb series
These are hardly used for the damage. Bomb damage UV's only affect the initial explosion, and in the case of these you will hardly hit with it, so best to stick with CTR UV's for these. These bombs leave a ring of gas that causes status. Most popular ar the Shivermist and Ash which cause freeze and fire respectively. The electric bomb causes shock but isn't as popular.
Venom Veiler and Haze Bomb cause poison and stun, but generally don't last long enough to be useful. VV is most often seen (by me, haha) to make a party battle against the Royal Jelly very very trivial. Though you can also use the Vile or Dread Venom Striker for this.
Vortex Bombs:
Electron Vortex
Graviton Vortex
These things charge slowly, but they can clump enemies before they explode at the end. Electron is considered better because of the chance to cause shock.
Wed, 08/24/2011 - 22:58
#8
Actually DBB doesn't shoot
Actually DBB doesn't shoot projectiles. DBB creates an explosion that looks like it is shooting projectiles.
And also, I crafted a Electron Charge yesterday and the walk speed while charging this bomb is abysmal, you can even walk faster charging a gun then charging Electron, because of this, you will want to have CTR on Vortex bombs.
Wed, 08/31/2011 - 05:16
#9
eqips
i´d say that the best you can do is look at the elevator´s path and then choose some armor with suitable resistance and weapons, changing at every clockwork terminal when necessary. a normal-dealing weapon is a good idea because even though there are no weaknesses to normal, there are no resistances either. And for boss levels: gleaming wildwoods: piercing resist armor,piercing weapon and/or elemental because of a few constucts. Jelly palace : piercing resist armor, shadow dealing weapons(poison weapons are a good idea too, since royal jelly isnt weak to shadow and heals fast) Ironclaw munitions factory: Elemental resist armor, elemental dealing weapons and/or shadow because of gremlins. Firestorm citadel: fire resist armor, elemental dealing weapons for zombies, maybe normal for vanaduke cos hes slightly weak to it. anyways, u should try to find the equipments that matches you the most and with which you work best, the most important is the swordsman(bombsman, gunman?), then the sword(bomb, gun?). (rly hope nobody hates this) ;D
In order for your gear to be viable, you need to always have a sword available that you can use against any mobs where swords are useful. A normal damage sword such as leviathan blade lets you do this with a single sword. Alternatively, you could get two swords of different types, such as getting the barbarous thorn blade that you're planning on, and also getting a glacius. That way, if you're fighting mobs where one sword doesn't work well, then you can switch to the other.
You need the same for guns, and for bombs. You need all three weapon types in order for your build to be viable. For what it's worth, I'm not impressed by the spine cone line. The mobs that you most commonly need to use bombs against are slimes and constructs, and both are highly resistance to piercing damage. You can get a dark briar barrage and also some other bomb, but you'll have to use the other bomb most of the time.
You should also note that, even in situations where you need a gun and elemental damage is viable, sometimes a pulsar isn't. The large graphical explosions cover up mobs, so that you can't see if they're attacking or not. More to the point, your teammates who might be trying to melee those mobs can't see if they're attacking. That means that to attack the mob is suicidal for them. If they're forced to back off, then that means that your pulsar does negative net damage, once you subtract off what your teammates would have done if you had let them attack. Alternatively, if they attack anyway, then that means that you're killing your teammates, and thus doing more harm than good.
Now, that only applies in some situations, of course. If every pulsar attack interrupts the mob, as with gun puppies, then you can spam away and the explosions ensure that the mob is not attacking. If you're attacking something that no one else on your team should be attacking, such as if you're solo, then you can likewise spam pulsar. But it's a tricky gun to use properly, and most people who use it manage to do more harm than good with it.
You also need armors. You need something to defend against each of piercing damage, elemental damage, shadow damage, shock condition, fire condition, and freeze condition. The same armor set can sometimes work for two or three of those, so you don't need six separate armor sets. But you'll need at least two or three.
You need all of that for shields, too, as well as something to defend against the poison condition. Getting poisoned isn't so bad, but having poison attacks break your shield and leave you vulnerable to other attacks is a problem.
Note that four star gear is viable all the way to the core. A good variety of four star gear is more effective than one set of five star gear that you're forced to use everywhere. You do want to eventually upgrade to five star gear, but it's more important to get a good variety of four star gear first.