Spiral Knights - Choice of sidearm for a novice not-gunner

Choice of sidearm for a novice not-gunner

9 replies [Last post]

Fri, 09/30/2011 - 19:01

Littlemissdarknut

All right, so I've been playing for close to a week now, just shy of access to Tier 2, and I've got a question for those of you with more experience. I've been playing mostly swordsman, using Calibur because it's all around reliable, working on a Wolver set. I like having a gun in my second slot because it lets me back off and use range in situations or against enemies that call for it. I've been using a Prismatech Alchemer, which I like because it's good for nailing Gun Puppies and their ilk from a distance, as well as Retrodes, Lumbers, Zombies, and other things I don't always want to deal with in melee, and frankly fighting beasts at range isn't a winning proposition anyway.

My question is, how well does this hold true further down? That is, do the energy weak enemies, as a rule, continue to be the ones that a melee focused guy will have reason to fight from range (Gun Puppies across chasms and behind obstacles, etc.), or are there other wrinkles introduced that I'm not seeing yet, or both?

Fri, 09/30/2011 - 19:31

The-Rawrcake

Yes indeed youve got a great

Yes indeed youve got a great look at things

Since the things you want to not be in melee for - constructs and all gun puppy / polyp / howlitzers alike as well as undead - are weak to elemental (polyp take elemental damage normally), its a no brainer (purely my opinion) to take an elemental gun. I am, like you, doing the prismatech alchemer line since its all about damage and no worry about using status effects that would alter certain mobs' defenses and ridiculousness etc. Elemental gun is a nice choice for someone who doesnt yet want to buy the third weapon slot and maintain it for their 2 wep combo. Versatile due to gremlins and beasts resisting elemental, well guess what you dont want to gun those down anyway.

Then your second choice, calibur, is also great for 2-wep combos. Normal damage so no issue there, the charge attack is amazing i would get used to using it a lot while solo and in a group utilize its ridiculous knockback to save your buddies instead of knock mobs into them. Otherwise, 3 hit combo which is great for getting used to and staying used to all around.

For what happens in tier 3, from the little i have seen and all of what i hear and all of what i have learned is different, it is what applies in tier 1 and 2 as far as what wep to use on who.

Basically if I was to go down into tier 2 or 3 with a leviathan blade and nova driver (what your 5* versions would be) and didn't have a third wep id be confident not to run into something that either wep would be bad against.

Fri, 09/30/2011 - 19:36

Icee

Fire and Ice

I have a hail driver (cryotech alchemer 5* version) and firo driver (firotech alchemer 4*). I like to switch between them, depending on the level. The cryotech is "safer" because it doesn't really cause any negatives (refreezing ice cubes isn't particularly devastating) and my freezing puppies and retrudes, you stop them from aiming at you. Firotech is less safe - turrets keep aiming and oilers might burn if you shoot them - but it does the job more quickly because the fire does a whole lot of extra damage.

Honestly, I like them both. If you can afford it, I recommend owning both firotech and cryotech rather than the vanilla prismatech. If you can only afford one, though, prismatech is the way to go.

Fri, 09/30/2011 - 22:57

Littlemissdarknut

All right, thanks. Good to

All right, thanks. Good to hear I'll have use for this gear (well, the upgraded stuff) down the line. I definitely do like the look of the other Alchemers; Prismatech seems to work nicely all around, but once I get myself a proper shield (only 2* item I lack), I'll seriously consider picking those up.

Thought I'd add, picked up a Flourish to see how it played, and while it'll definitely have to depend on the stratum whether I equip it or my Calibur, I can't see myself ever fighting Devilites with anything else ever again*. I mean, wow. I tend not to fight Constructs in melee anyway (except Scuttlebots), so barring slime heavy strata, not much drawback. Lacks the Calibur's crowd control, but w/e.

Anyway, yeah, that pretty much clears things up for me. Again, thanks for the prompt responses. Always glad for insight from folks with more experience.

*Well, the Snarble Barb looks pretty neat, but I've yet to use it, so withholding judgment there.

Fri, 09/30/2011 - 23:28

Mohandar

Your backup gun should be an

Your backup gun should be an elemental Pulsar or the plain Blaster line.
Pulsar: The Polaris (5* version) is the ultimate ranged anti-turret weapon: solo, a single 3-shot salvo usually takes down any turret. Even when multiple players are present, it will often do enough damage to interrupt the turret's attack, allowing you to finish it off with another salvo. Also effective on other constructs and undead, and for the crowd control properties of the explosion. The main disadvantage is you won't be able to effectively shoot gremlins, and that it costs Bark Modules (which must be gotten from defeating the Roarmulus Twins).
Blaster: The Valiance has no strengths or weaknesses- in terms of damage output, it will always be mediocre relative to a more specialized weapon. It is a good fallback for any sticky situation, but the low damage output means you will be playing it quite slow if you have to pull it out. If you are only going to build one gun to start off, this isn't a bad choice- versatile at the cost of power, and easy to obtain (recipe at Kozma in Haven Bazaar).
A prismatech (Nova Driver) might be usable, but I would pick Polaris over it any day simply because the latter is so good at taking down turrets at range.

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 00:11

Fradow

Pulsar

My side-arm of choice as a swordsman is Pulsar (Polaris line). It has more damage than alchemers on stationary target, even more damage per expanded shot, along with some knockback for mobile target, and big explosions.

You'll have to be careful in party to not knockback mobs at your teamates, but overall i find it a better choice than alchemer. In particular, the 3 shot clip helps a lot.

As for Flourish vs Snarble Barb, they are exactly the same, except for the charge attack. Snarble Barb charge is considered safer and overall more useful.

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 00:55

Littlemissdarknut

I hadn't really considered

I hadn't really considered Polaris yet because it'll be a while before I can fight the Roarmulus Twins. Looking at its stats now, though, it does look straight up better than the Prismatech, if a little more finicky. When I get the tokens I'll have to grab one. I dunno about the Blaster, honestly. Guns do very little damage as is, and I'm geared for swordfighting to boot; unless there are gremlins or beasts that are worth trying to fight at range (I haven't found any, though a proper gunner would beg to differ, I'm sure), the boost from elemental against constructs is well worth it.

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 01:54

Fradow

No, you really want to fight

No, you really want to fight gremlins and beast with swords. With guns you have 3 options :
- take a Magnus and stunlock them. This gun dps is low.
- take a Needle, charge, and hope they will not bite/hit you in the butt. It's the highest dps gun, but very hard to use.
- take a shadowgun, and make them dodge until they are cornered. It's a pain (that's for gremlins only, beast are only the 2 options above).

None of those options are really good for a swordsman, as those are easier dealt with a dedicated piercing sword (shadow works too for gremlins, but you may prefer a piercing sword even for gremlins).

As for the Twins, just one advice : try to have a 3* owlite shield. It helps a lot. An alchemer will still help you too.

I don't recommend a Blaster either, there is really no reason to grab one. You don't use a blaster against gremlins and beasts anyway.

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 13:57

Redfevrier

Shadowtech Alchemer/Cutter combo

What do you think of the above combo? good or not good? I've been loving the cutter & my shadowtech is ok, though I haven't had much xp with other guns. What would you suggest?

Sat, 10/01/2011 - 15:26

Littlemissdarknut

I've never used either

I've never used either weapon, myself. The Cutter, I know nothing about, so won't comment. The only difference on the Alchemer is the damage, though, so I'll offer my thoughts. Shadow is good for taking out slimes and gremlins, bad vs fiends and undead. You don't want to be fighting fiends at range anyway, though having to fight Howlitzers in melee might be a bit frustrating, what with their whole exploding when you kill 'em thing. You're doing normal damage to constructs, which is enough to sway me to elemental, but honestly it won't kill you, I don't think. It seems to me, based on what I've seen and what folks are saying in this thread, is that what you don't want as your (only) gun is a piercing one.

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Choice of sidearm for a novice not-gunner