Ok, I was going to get full azure a leviathan and aegis or barbarous thorn shield, but then a friend pointed me towards full vog and a DA or faust
So I was hoping to get some advice on what would work the best for me. I am not really specialized for one thing more of an all around. I was going to go leviathan and azure n aegis or barbarous thorn shield because they seem good for all round but I hear good things about vog and the DA and faust. Any advice is appreciated thanks!
Which setup should I get?
Thu, 10/27/2011 - 01:00
Thu, 10/27/2011 - 06:06
#2
Cobalt armor is not general purpose
There is a widespread misconception that Azure Guardian armor (5-star Cobalt) is general-purpose armor. It is not.
Azure Guardian protects against normal and piercing damage. It offers no elemental or shadow protection, and no status protection at all. The same thing goes for the shield, Aegis. This is especially disappointing, as elemental armor is disproportionately important and piercing armor is disproportionately unimportant (slimes are slow, chromalisks are slow, and wolvers chew through piercing armor anyway).
For a really general-purpose set, get Skolver Coat and Divine Veil. Or, if Divine Veil isn't "swordy" enough for you, consider getting one piece of Vog Cub and one piece of Skolver, to form a mildly general-purpose set. Then get the other Vog Cub and Skolver pieces, to form more specialized sets. Grey Owlite Shield and Barbarous Thorn Shield are both good. Sorry, but there's a reason why this stuff is popular.
Another widespread "misconception" is that Divine Avenger and Gran Faust are somehow "god swords" that are unequivocally and dramatically superior to all others. Yes, they are good. But I greatly prefer Acheron to Gran Faust (see the many threads comparing them). Divine Avenger is nice, and I use it regularly, but the elemental Brandishes are too.
Consider also getting a piercing sword (either Final Flourish or Barbarous Thorn Blade) to use against fiends and beasts; you will not be disappointed.
Thu, 10/27/2011 - 11:36
#3
@Cleverpun The Levi and
@Cleverpun The Levi and Nitronome are both viable endgame kozma weapons, depending on the rest of your loadout. (eg Levi as a side-sword for a gunner or bomber, and the Nitronome is the bread-and-butter DPS for a pure bomber)
Thu, 10/27/2011 - 18:07
#4
So what I think so far.
I think I'm going vog unless any one suggests other wise towards azure. I think ill go barbarous thorn shield unless again some one suggests aegis would be better for me. And ill go DA because that seems to be the weapon every one suggests is a must have for a first 5* sword. My other choice on sword would be the levi, I'm still open for advice any is appreciated :).
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 04:08
#5
"unless any one suggests
"unless any one suggests other wise towered azure"
Trust me, no one will. Azure stinks (but looks cool). Same with aegis.
For a swordsman, I'm not sure if you should get a leviathan because you'd usually specialize in each damage type, but I guess that's up to you.
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 06:49
#6
Hyperonn is right
As Hyperonn pointed out, true swordsmen often don't use Leviathan. Instead, they own a piercing sword, an elemental sword, and a shadow sword. If they don't have enough weapon slots to equip all three, then they equip the two that seem most relevant to the stratum. Even with just two non-normal damage types, you can inflict huge damage on 4/6 of monsters and moderate damage on the other 2/6. In contrast, normal weapons such as Leviathan inflict moderate damage on everything. The same advice goes for guns. This advice does not quite apply to bombs, which are idiosyncratic. Read the wiki page on "Damage" to learn more about this crucial aspect of the rules of Spiral Knights.
Counterpoint: The Leviathan (and CIV and Fov) charge attack is great. Against a stationary enemy such as a gun puppy, a Leviathan charge can hit three times, dealing truly awesome damage. But in other situations there are better swords to use.
Sat, 10/29/2011 - 15:45
#7
Why?
Why do people always suggest divine avenger anyway? Brandishes have higher DPS and swing speed. Piercing swords have the wide slash. Caliburs have a 360° charge attack, strikers do great damage if you can avoid getting hurt (but it's understandable that they're not recommended, it's not easy to avoid the damage) . So why is DA so special?
Sat, 10/29/2011 - 16:13
#8
not sure who you're responding to
Katanapkvx, I'm not sure who you're responding to, but your comment is substantially correct. A swordsman wants a piercing sword (Final Flourish or Barbarous Thorn Blade), a shadow sword (Acheron, or maybe Gran Faust), and an elemental sword. The elemental swords (DA, Glacius, Combuster, Voltedge, Fang of Vog) are pretty well balanced, in that none of them is unambiguously better than the others.
So why is DA so much more popular than the elemental Brandishes? I see two reasons: (A) Newbies assume that boss swords are better than non-boss swords. (B) When Spiral Knights launched, Brandish didn't go beyond 2-star, and there is some lingering inertia from this era, for example in people reading old forum posts.
Sat, 10/29/2011 - 16:58
#9
I think some of the bias
I think some of the bias towards the DA also comes from previous jelly farming days, where the RJP paid out huge amounts of crowns. Eventually your pockets would be overflowing with Jelly Gems, even if you only occasionally did the boss stage, so you'd basically get Sealed Swords for free.
Given you can only make the sealed into a GF and a DA, most of those players ended up with one of each.
I just got my second sealed sword yesterday, which I'll be crafting into a DA (already got a faust). I might collect a third to make a GF (I want to keep a 4* Faust around since it has a better charge, and the damage difference is minimal in T2), or maybe I'll get a few antiguas to make an Argent Peacemaker and a Sentenza. Not because they're remarkably good guns, but just because the 3* versions are "free". (The Sentenza is fairly useless all around, and the AP has been eclipsed by the Blitz Needle and Polaris)
Sat, 10/29/2011 - 18:20
#10
Nicoya-Kitty
Nicoya-Kitty: You're right, as usual. But in case you haven't realized it, let me just point out that most of the cost of making a 5-star item is in crafting the 4-star and 5-star versions. So even if you get the 3-star version for free, don't get the 5-star version unless you want it. :)
Sat, 10/29/2011 - 20:13
#11
@Bopp I haven't really
@Bopp I haven't really decided yet whether it's worth crafting them up or just unbinding and selling sealed swords and antiguas on the AH (or just selling rock salt). They're definitely not high on my priority list; my immediate goal is to craft up a nice FSC set. (I'm most of the way there right now, just gotta bump some stuff to 5*) Whether I craft them or not is likely going to depend on timing with regards to other gear and of course the Basil inventory lotto.
I'm definitely going to craft a DA just for some variety on my elemental sword choices, though.
Sat, 11/05/2011 - 23:35
#12
The DA is popular because of
The DA is popular because of its charge.
It gives pure swordsknights a ranged option thats great at thinning mobs. And using it up close deals substantial damage.
I'll have to respectfully disagree with you Bopp that the "free" 3* contributes to the popularity, since before the nerf JK was a very difficult boss for newbies like me, and the sealed sword and antigua are underwhelming unless upgraded (an expensive process as usual). I have a shock brandish, but the DA is always a more attractive option since I dont mind (even prefer) the two swing combo
Sun, 11/06/2011 - 06:08
#13
you are not disagreeing with me
Cleverpun, I did not say that 'the "free" 3* contributes to the popularity' of DA. I gave two other possible explanations for the popularity of DA, but not that one.
The only statement I made about the "free 3*" aspect was to convince Nicoya-Kutty that having a "free" 3* sword was not awesome, because so much of the crafting cost is in making the 4* and 5* versions.
So if anything you are agreeing with me, not disagreeing with me. :)
DA is awesome. Only use Faust if you have three weapon slots.
the kozma items aren't very useful in later tiers because their lack of specialization actually means theyre below average in every area. Vog Cub has lower defense values, but the ASI it grants lets you fight more defensively and efficiently.
If swords are your main damage dealer, then Vog Cub is a very popular compliment.