Hello. I've been playing for a few days, soloing mostly, and I'm able to reach the barrier for Tier 1 players. Over the next day or so I should be able to craft everything I need to get to Tier 2 and start playing with everyone, but I have a few questions.
1) What are the ideal damage types people seem to look for beyond normal (ie Piercing, Elemental, Shadow)? I've got my hands on a Shadow Alchemizer recipe, and sounds like a cool weapon (and it can upgrade through the rest of the tiers, which I assume is something to look for in weapons), but it only does Shadow damage; is that fine? I notice the two bosses are part of families that are weak to Shadow Damage.
2) My Tier 2 weapon right now is a Spur; it's fun to use, but I've heard that it and its upgrades aren't worth using in Tier 3 and up. Should I just go get a Calibur? I was a little discouraged because I hadn't found any swordstone but now I see I can get it for Tokens besides those you get from the bosses, so I should be able to make one right away.
3) I haven't bought any Crystal energy at the moment; obviously I'll need to get some when I start crafting the higher level equipment, but when I start partying with other people, will I need to start buying energy just to keep up in the dungeon?
Thanks in advance.
1) Using guns on the Jelly King will probably make that fight far, far harder than it needs to be. You will be able to do every tier and every floor just fine with normal damage. Damage advantages can't make up for knowing enemies or fights, or just sheer playstyle knowledge.
Personally (again, this is just me), guns are usually used in certain situations. You can use them on enemies that naturally dodge (wolvers, for example), to easily shove them away, or into a corner. I also tend to use mine in certain levels where Cannon-family Pups are accessible... once I traverse a sea of spikes. By going over all those spikes you usually spawn about 8-10 of those pups, overwhelming your screen with attacks (especially in tier 2 and 3). So a gun helps me take them out one by one, at a distance that gives me enough time to react. In other situations I'd rather use a sword or a bomb.
2) People tend to vote against Spur-family swords in Tier 3, yes. Calibur is nice because it can go into Leviathan Blade (which is basically a super power Calibur, nothing bad with it), or Cold Iron Vanquisher-- which is a Calibur with extra boost to Undead (which are some of the trickier enemies, let's say-- especially in hordes). Cutter-family and Khorovod are also popular (Keep in mind that Cutter charge attack is kind of unforgiving, and Khorovod is only 4*), and so are the Sealed Sword series. I'd rather any of those over a Spur.
3) If you party with other people, your energy costs should actually be LESS, because you should NEVER, EVER pay energy for a revive if someone is still alive, and has at least 1 bar of health left. If you go for extended, full dungeon runs you may need to buy CE (for example, starting at floor 8, aiming for floor 28) just to pay elevator costs, but technically you can do a full run of any tier on mist energy alone (provided you start at a full mist bar, don't pay for energy doors / rezzes).