I got a Brandish,and i wonder which 3-star to go.
Fireburst or Shockburst?
and,uh..is Iceburst good?
thnx
Which Brandish to go?
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 03:40
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 06:00
#2
Correction on Acheron
First, acheron is shadow damage, so it does bonus damage on gremlins and slimes, not on undeads.
Second, Acheron is not weaker, on contrary it should have (not tested here, it's a general statement) better damage due to no status effect. And status effect on Brandish, as far as I know, only occur when you use the charge attack (which is not that great compared to Levi or sealed sword charges, in my opinion).
As for your choice, I would dismiss Voltedge, because of the almighty Polaris which already apply Shock more reliably. Then, Iceburst for safety or Fireburst for more damage, pick one.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 08:27
#3
"Acheron is not weaker, on
"Acheron is not weaker, on contrary it should have (not tested here, it's a general statement) better damage due to no status effect."
Sadly, the Acheron does NOT inflict more damage than any other 5* Brandish ; the power of the blade itself IS the same.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 10:02
#4
Get the one you like!
Go with the Brandish version that SUITS you. Say to yourself, "What kind of player am I, and when others see me offend with this sword, what will they see me as?" Choose your sword based on that. That's how I do things. ^^
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 10:40
#5
"Acheron: Currently one of
"Acheron: Currently one of the only weapons that can do bonus damage to gremlins and undead."
Its actually bonus against gremlins and jellys.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 11:04
#6
ohohoh...thx guys..
i guess
ohohoh...thx guys..
i guess i'm going to get a Combuster and maybe an Acheron 2.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 11:10
#7
The acheron line is a great
The acheron line is a great weapon for doing RJ runs, being one of the few shadow damage swords in the game, so you'll probably want to craft one of them at some point. I'm also working up to a Voltedge because the recipes are very easy to get, though somewhat tediously at the moment, with PVP tokens; there's no need to roll the dice with Basil or pay higher prices on the AH for the recipes. You can save yourself a little bit of grinding by buying a shockburst pre-crafted in the AH and just getting the boltbrand and voltedge recipes.
I've got a fireburst that I'm still planning to upgrade as well, so that I won't have conflicts between stratum themes and the status effects. That said, I've been using my boltbrand for IMF which is basically all shock themed and I haven't really felt let down by it. I just have to make sure to switch to my silent nightblade when I'm taking out the quicksilvers (which is advisable anyway, since they're weak to shadow).
I personally find freeze a bit tricky to use, since the status effect only really does damage when it breaks naturally, and it can change the dynamic of large groups if you're trying to kite them in a circle. Like, some will get frozen, some will keep following, and it can end up spreading them out awkwardly.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 18:34
#8
I've made all the brandish
I've made all the brandish line into 5*, and of course I strongly advocate Acheron due to reasons mentioned here.
Amongst the 3 elemental brandishes, I prefer the best general use one as Fireburst just due to the damage you can deal with fire, though Shockburst is better only if you like doing FSC a lot. I don't advocate Iceburst as the freezing effect tends to interrupt any potential explosion-chains, inadvertently making it a weaker charge attack.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 21:55
#9
Voltedge
Personally, given my play style, I avoid the voltedge. Being a swordsman, and generally being the damage sponge and dealer of a group means that I get into the fray much more than other playing styles. Shock is communicable, like herpes and I seriously don't need to spread that to my team.
That being said. If you always run solo, or your party always play like pro's -- ask yourself if they do 110% of the time, then go ahead, the Voltedge has a great benefit and can give you and your team the precious time necessary to kick butt.
Sun, 09/11/2011 - 22:14
#10
Boltbrand Use
You have gotten some pretty good feedback above, but I thought I would include my opinion as a Boltbrand user. Some advice I read on the forums was trying out the 3 star versions of the swords to compare. I did that and found the iceburst brandish very frustrating to use in a group. Soloing I am sure it would be very useful, but most damage is done when a unit unfreezes and most of the time your allies will break the freeze almost as soon as it happens making the bonus of a charge attack pretty useless. This may get better as you get into later tiers and users are more knowledgable. Fireburst brandish I didn't give as much time to try out, but for some reason the status effect didn't seem to happen as reliably to nearby units as with the shockbust brandish and I was thinking down the road to FSC. I like the Boltbrand because it is sort of a hybrid of the two other swords not quite as good at damage over time or impairing movement, but does both fairly well, the spreading shock is also pretty cool. I have also read if you attack an enemy that is receiving a residual shock from your attack they receive greater damage, so maybe there is a little bit of the status of poison mixed in there too.
I try to use the charge attack as much as possible, especially in an arena with a large group chasing you and the secondary explosion I have shocked most of the group without getting hit (although I am sure the same could be said of the other options).
Another consideration is whether you want to put in the time (and money lost) playing Blast Network to get the coins.
Every brandish is fantastic in their own right.
I am a triple-swordsman and two of them are brandishes.
So, in order:
Combuster: Highest DPS sword. However, can ignite oilers, and it's DoT damage has zero effect on the current endgame content (FSC).
Glacius: Best control and great for overall team safety. Decent damage if you can plan your attacks. However, most parties focus fire rooted mobs, which negates all frost-effect damage, and severely nerfs the weapon. Also, constantly changing targets to let your frozen enemies shatter backfires when there are healers involved, so it's limited use.
Voltedge: A very smooth cross between the two. Decent damage DoT and will interrupt attacks and apply a very short movement stutter which is great for safety. Against large groups of enemies, due to chain-shocking, it can absolutely devastate. However, it can electrify quicksilvers.
Acheron: Currently one of the only weapons that can do bonus damage to gremlins and undead. Fantastic in it's own right just on those grounds. And it looks excellent. However, it applies no status effect, so it's damage is weaker than the others.
That said, I use an Acheron and a Voltedge, which I find to offer the best utility, not to mention being effecting in FSC, but everyone has their own preference.