Spiral knights is blessed with a wealth swords, guns, bombs, helms, armors, shields and trinkets for us to play with. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them are pretty bad! I am interested in figuring out a definitive list of equipment that is the Best In The Game, and am interested in what you guys think.

I understand that our definitions of what is "best" can vary wildly. the best definition I can come up with is as follows:

"The best equipment is powerful, versatile, and useful throughout the game, can stand on its own without support, and gets better with support." under this definition, situational role-players like the argent peacemaker (firestorm citadel), the vile striker (jelly king), and the swiftstrike buckler (blitzing through t1), though useful, cannot be considered "the best."

Here's my take:

Swords

Swords are actually pretty bad against a lot of enemies, especially when factoring in lag. Swordies always die first, and require deep knowledge of enemy attack patters and lighting-fast shielding to be used at maximum effectiveness. That said, when used correctly and conservatively, they can be devastating, and certain swords have great effects.

Leviathan Blade: an all-around great damage dealer with a fast, massively useful AoE charge attack. As long as you work together with your teammates and don't throw enemies into them, the knockback is very helpful, and with some good positioning you can easily hit enemies two or three times with the charge. It's also fast enough that shield-cancelling will generally keep you safe, with the exception of devilites, who through the use of temporal mastery (lag) actually threw that chair a half-second ago, silly.

Divine Avenger: slow swords need to be used conservatively, but make up for it with their huge damage and useful knockback. Couple that with the DA's incredibly useful charge attack, and you have the most popular elemental sword in the game.

Glacius: depending on your play style, Glacius might be a better elemental sword than the Divine Avenger. Freeze is easily the best common status effect, and faster swords leave you less vulnerable, so it comes down to a matter of preference and what other gear and trinkets you use.

Acheron: others might swear by Gran Faust, but Acheron's speed is very useful against gremlins, which are the reason to have a shadow sword in the first place, and its explosive charge attack is WAY faster and doesn't require curse resist gear to be good.

Barbarous Thorn Blade: some say it lacks the Final Flourish's sniping ability, but its incredible AoE charge attack can hit the same enemy with multiple spines. With good positioning I routinely one-shot devilites with my Dark Thorn Blade, so the Barbarous Thorn Blade can only be better.

Honorable mentions:

Vile Striker: note that I said Vile Striker, not Dread Venom Striker. The only reason to have a Vile Striker is for soloing Jelly King runs, which become quite easy with a competent group of 4* players anyway. The difference in power between a Vile Striker and a Dread Venom Striker after getting nerfed down to 4th strata levels is small, while the difference between paying for a 4* and 5* weapon is considerable.

Gran Faust: those who prefer the damage and knockback of the slower swords like Gran Faust more than the Acheron line, and the chance to inflict curse, the best UNcommon status effect, is very tempting. Like the Divine Avenger, Gran Faust gets much better with the Vog Cub set's ASI Very High increase. Unlike the Acheron, Gran Faust does not play well with Elite Sword Focus Modules, which gives Acheron the edge in my book.

Fang of Vog: the downside is that to use it at maximum efficacy you have to run full Vog Cub gear; the upside is that its charge attack does obscene damage, and Vog Cub gear is good anyway. At 40 almirian seals it's a bit of a vanity item, but it is not to be overlooked.

Best trinket: Elite Sword Focus Module. Note that all the swords mentioned above have great charge attacks that deal good damage and give you some personal space. A pair of Elite Sword Focus Modules turn every level 10 sword into CTR Maximum powerhouse--without ANY UVs--ready to unleash a swath of destruction at a moment's notice, and let you shift your playstyle from a melee brawler into a short-ranged spellcaster. While the Divine Avenger gets noticeably better with ASI Very High, you can get that bonus from the full Vog Cub set, which is one of the best armor sets in the game anyway.

Guns

For the best advice on guns, please check out timanth's thread (http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/22206) which also contains links to previous master gunslinger threads.

Guns represent a trade-off of DPS for mobility and a lower chance of taking damage. Thus, the best guns will let you keep moving, and will keep as much distance as possible between the enemy and you. For this reason, guns with larger clips, guns that don't keep you in place, and guns that can keep the enemy away are best. Note that there is a place for certain guns that are not "the best"--the Argent Peacemaker and Blitz Needle aren't very good for most of the game, but are very useful in the firestorm citadel.

Polaris: as a current wielder of a Gigawatt Pulsar, I can at least vouch for this line's firepower. Don't be fooled by the "slow bullet speed" complaints--the Polaris line boasts huge elemental damage, a crucial three-shot clip, sword-calibur knockback (see what I did there) on the expanded shots, and a reasonably useful status effect in shock. While not as good at crowd control as freeze or as good at pure DPS as fire, shock is a fine middle-ground status that can interrupt attacking enemies at a crucial time. You won't use the expanded shots most of the time, but when you do, you will be grateful you have them.

Biohazard: possibly the most unique gun in the game, Biohazard's comparatively steep learning curve rewards those who put in the time to master it with a devastating shadow weapon that boasts considerable advantages over the Umbra Driver line. Its three-shot clip gives you more DPS and mobility, and its unique charge attack, when used correctly, can wipe huge groups off the face of the earth.

Callahan: unlike the Needle variety of piercing guns, Callahan can actually hit the enemies you use it on--namely beasts and fiends that would dodge most of a Needle's spray. Although the Callahan requires you to stop for a fraction of a second at a time, it still offers more mobility than the needle, which keeps you stationary for over a second. Its lighting-quick bullets hit faster than its targets can dodge, and it can knock down and stun most enemies.

Honorable Mentions:

Argent Peacemaker/Blitz Needle: both of them are quite useful against the shambling hordes of the firestorm citadel, and especially if you can get someone to shiverlock vanaduke in place, Blitz Needle's charge attack can do an ungodly amount of damage.

Umbra Driver: the only other shadow gun in the game, its selling points are its relative ease of use, faster bullet speed, and totally awesome sound it makes when you fire. If you already have one it's probably not worth getting a Biohazard with money that could be spent on other gear, but if you haven't chosen yet, Biohazard is the superior option.

Best Trinket: Undecided, between Elite Trueshot Module and Elite Quick Draw Module.

Bombs

Compared to swordsmen and gunners, the bomber is perhaps the most versatile member of any squad. While swordsmen tend to inhabit the front lines and gunners are a reliable source of ranged DPS, bombers can do good damage or support their team with a number of status effects, all within a single loadout. As bombs can only be placed with a full charge, the best bombs have short charge times first, and do good damage and status effects second. Pure bombers can have a hard time with gun puppies, but usually even the heaviest bombers keep a Leviathan on them, or run with a mixed team.

Nitronome: the Leviathan of bombs (or is the Leviathan the Nitronome of swords? (no, it isn't)). The Nitronome has a good charge time, does high normal damage to a huge radius, and offers insane knockback. great for solo bombers, but be careful in groups as a constantly shaking screen full of blue explosions might annoy your teammates, and as with the Leviathan, incorrectly using its knockback will throw attacking enemies onto unsuspecting knights. A Nitronome user that can work with their teammates, instead of against them, is a valuable addition to any team. Ignore the other normal damage bombs in the Blast Bomb line--their increased attack power is nullified by their longer charge times, leading to lower DPS.

Shivermist Buster: the best crowd control weapon in the game, end of story. As the blast damage of all the haze line bombs is quite low, their primary use is for their "secondary" status effects. The Shivermist Buster can lock down entire groups with its powerful freeze, clustering enemies into convenient collections for swordsmen to swat silly. The thawing damage is surprisingly high, but considering that most enemies will be hit out of freeze by your teammates, it's not going to occur very often. Every support bomber should have this weapon. Actually, every bomber should have this weapon. Actually, everyone should have this weapon.

Graviton Vortex: something of an acquired taste, but devastating in tandem with a good sword attack. It does minimal shadow damage, and is primarily used for its ability to herd a large number of enemies into a very Leviathan-friendly configuration. Fewer players run the Graviton Vortex than the Shivermist Buster, but those who use it well are devastating. The Electron Vortex, with its additional shock effect, is technically the better bomb, but I wouldn't wish 300 Krogmo Coins worth of Blast Network on anyone, even my worst enemy, except for perhaps the people who made Blast Network and rightfully deserve such a fate.

Dark Briar Barrage: the premier piercing bomb. Unlike guns and swords, it cannot be dodged, no matter how wily the wolver, no matter how dashing the devilite. Its knockdown is also quite useful.

Honorable Mentions:

Radiant Sun Shards: this line is comparatively hard to use and currently lacks a 5* version, but when used correctly...the damage, the beautiful, beautiful damage. If you're an experienced bomber looking for a mix-up in your game, give it a try.

Ash of Agni: your teammates will love you. The Ash of Agni generally deals almost as much damage as a Nitronome (and possibly more), but doesn't disrupt your team like a Nitronome would in the wrong hands. However, the fact that it is basically useless in firestorm citadel, while the Shivermist Buster is useful there and throughout the rest of the game, keeps it firmly in the honorable mentions.

Best Trinket: Elite Bomb Focus Module. considering that bombs require a full charge to use, this one is a bit of a no-brainer. however, since all weapons acquire CTR Medium at level 10, you will only need
-one 4* Bomb Focus Module to achieve CTR Maximum wearing the full Volcanic Demo set
-one 5* Elite Bomb Focus Module to achieve CTR Maximum with just a Volcanic Demo Helm
-nothing to achieve CTR Maximum with the full Mad Bomber set
so in any case at least one of your trinket slots can be used for the Elite Boom Module.

Shields

And now we get into the defensive categories! The most important properties of any shield are its damage types, its health, and its status resists. The two most dangerous types of damage in the game are elemental and shadow, so shields with good resistances to those damage types are valuable. Piercing damage is not as much of an issue, as it either comes from sources that are easily dodged (jellies) or sources that will beat you to within an inch of your life even if you do shield (alpha wolvers). Don't be tempted by the offensive bonuses of the Barbarous Thorn Shield and the Swiftstrike Buckler, since they're bad at what you really need a shield for: keeping your foolish behind safe.

Grey Owlite Shield: the most popular shield in the game, and for good reason. The Grey Owlite Shield offers the best elemental defense in the game and maximum resistance to shock and fire, which as luck would have it, are the two status effects most likely to get you killed. Considering the huge number of enemies that do elemental damage throughout the game (specifically gun puppies, which you need to be able to block in this laggy environment), and the fact that it's an MVP in the firestorm citadel, you can see why the Grey Owlite Shield is so popular.

Crest of Almire: the Grey Owlite Shield of shadow damage. While its shadow defense is slightly less than that of the Dread Skelly Shield, maximum fire and shock resistance give it a leg up over the competition.

Dragon Scale Shield: if you reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally need piercing defense (you don't), the Dragon Scale Shield's dual elemental/piercing defense and maximum fire resistance make it the best option. Also, it looks completely awesome.

Honorable Mentions:

Dread Skelly Shield: while not as good overall as the Crest of Almire, its boosted shadow defense makes it a better choice for fiend strata, where its lack of fire resistance coincidentally doesn't matter. A fine choice for anyone who doesn't feel like running vanaduke over and over just to get shadow protection.

Armor

Armor and helms do the very important, rarely glamorous job of keeping you alive. As with shields, the main properties to consider are damage type and status resist, but unlike most shields, there is also the matter of secondary buffs.
WARNING: some people focus on getting full coverage with their weapons, and figure they'll be fine with one shield and one armor set. This is wrong! At the very least, I recommend that you work on a shadow shield, an elemental shield, and at least one shadow article of clothing to supplement an elemental set, which will be your bread and butter. Which do i recommend, in particular? Read on!

Divine Mantle: although it only has the second highest shadow defense in the game (next to the Dread Skelly Suit), its elemental defense and a trio of excellent status resists make it the clear winner and all-around best shadow armor in the game.

Vog Cub Coat: you knew this was coming. Elemental damage is prevalent throughout the game? Elemental defense check. Being able to attack quickly helps your survival more than damage bonuses? ASI Medium check. Fire stands with shock as the most lethal status effect in the game? Fire resistance, check. If you plan on using two or more swords, go Vog (and wear another costume item if you don't want to look like everyone else).

Nameless Poncho: the Vog Cub Coat of guns, it packs the all-important elemental defense, and its ASI Medium will have you covering the battlefield with hot lead while staying nimble when combined with another piece of the Nameless/Justifier set and/or an Elite Quick Draw Module. The only reason it's better than the Justifier Jacket? Say it with me: e-le-men-tal.

Volcanic Demo Suit/Mad Bomber Suit: the Volcanic Demo Suit is a safe pick for any bomber, and offers crucial elemental defense and CTR Low for bombs. For those who are dead set on making things dead as quickly as possible, the Mad Bomber Suit's CTR Medium is preferable, but beware the status vulnerabilities! A hybrid Mad Bomber Suit/Volcanic Demo Helm setup is a good compromise, as it keeps the important combined CTR Very High of the full Mad Bomber set, and trades off a Medium Bomb Damage Bonus for fewer status vulnerabilities. If you go hybrid, make sure you choose the Mad Bomber SUIT and the Volcanic Demo HELM, as the Volcanic Demo SUIT only offers CTR Low.

Dragon Scale Mail: the best ranged defense in the game. Its combination of elemental and piercing defense means that it can eat up a considerable number of gun puppy and polyp shots, and fire resistance is always welcome. A good choice for gunners, who avoid most melee attacks anyway.

Honorable Mentions:

Skolver Coat: the Skolver Coat comes second to the Vog Cub Coat for four reasons: elemental defense is much more important than piercing defense, fire resistance is much more important than freeze resistance, sword ASI Medium keeps you alive better than sword Damage Bonus Medium and works better with the Divine Avenger, and the Vog Cub Coat is on fire all the time I mean how sweet is that. Still, the skolver coat has its uses--some people prefer a play style that maximizes the damage bonus, and when combined with a Divine Mantle, you have moderate coverage of all the damage types.

Deadly Virulisk Suit/Deadshot Mantle/Valkyrie Mail/Volcanic Salamander Suit: some people consider these damage bonus articles to be the "real" gunner gear, and while they have their uses, the price-conscious gunner would do best to get a Nameless set before worrying about situational additions to their arsenal.

Helms

Seeing as all of the 5* helms are part of the same sets as the 5* armor, you can just reread that section, substituting the helms for their respective armors. The only important things to note:
-The Volcanic Demo Helm has a better CTR than the Volcanic Demo Suit.
-The Divine Veil has the same stats at the Divine Mantle, but also has Fiend Damage Bonus Medium. For this reason, players looking to throw some shadow defense into the mix would do better with the Divine Veil.

Loadouts

so, now that we've gone over all the best equipment, what is...The Best Loadout In The Game?! again, opinions will vary, but here are some ideas:

The Swordsman

Divine Avenger
Acheron
Barbarous Thorn Blade
Polaris/Shivermist Buster
Grey Owlite Shield
Divine Veil
Vog Cub Coat
2x Elite Sword Focus Module

The Gunner

Polaris
Biohazard
Callahan
Shivermist Buster
Grey Owlite Shield
Nameless Hat
Nameless Poncho
Elite Quick Draw Module
Elite Trueshot Module

The Bomber
Shivermist Buster
Dark Briar Barrage
Graviton Vortex
Nitronome
Volcanic Demo Helm
Mad Bomber Suit
2x Elite Boom Module

General Advice

Even though i've helped you narrow down the pool of equipment from which to choose, there's still a lot of stuff to buy! It gets expensive! However, you don't actually have to own 5* gear to do well in t3. I know, crazy. While certain gear gets a lot better at 5* (Divine Avenger, Vog Cub set), most gear isn't that much better at 5* than 4*, and you're better off building up a decent bankroll and a good variety of 4* gear than you are blowing it on 2 or 3 articles of 5* gear. Basically, you shouldn't even think of getting a single piece of 5* gear until you have a balanced set of weapons, and good type coverage with your armor and shields.

looking forward to your discussions!