So, im a swordman moving to tier 3 and I've been wondering which shield should I get. Obviously the BTB line is a no brainer, but I would kinda want something more protective (aka owlite or plate). I've heard everyone say that in tier 3 offence is more important than defence, but still I see many swordmen use especially owlite shield pretty often. Also the elemental defence from owlite and fire protect from volcanic plate shield seem to fit FSC pretty well... So, what should I aim for at first?
Best swordman shield?
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 10:30
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 10:52
#2
It depends on what you are
It depends on what you are facing.
In FSC, it is mainly normal, shadow, and fire damage you have to protect yourself from. If your shield covers 2 of the 3, then it'll probably last long enough in most circumstances. There are a few wolvers, red rovers, a rocket puppy, and floor spikes. Those do piercing and elemental, but they are so few that for shield purposes it hardly matters. For every other area it depends on the stratum theme.
The best shield for FSC is the Crest of Almire but you can't get that until after you beat the FSC enough times. After that, it is probably the Volcanic Plate Shield. The Volcanic Plate Shield has extremely high health and normal defense, and also covers fire. After that comes the Owlite, and Dread Skelly shields.
In terms of general clockworks the Owlite sheild is probably your best bet since it has high health, normal, elemental, fire, and shock. Elemental is a common attack type and fire and shock are the two statuses that most people dislike the most. There are other capable shields like the Dread Skelly Shield, which would be better on Fiend/Undead stages because it has shadow instead of elemental defense.
In summary - you really can't go wrong with an Owlite shield as your shield for T3 use. I'm currently using the 4* version with a lot of success in FSC.
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 14:34
#3
Ok thanks, I think I'll go
Ok thanks, I think I'll go owlite then.
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 15:31
#4
I assume you mean BTS
I assume you mean BTS (shield) and not BTB (blade) then.
If FSC is your immediate concern then yeah work on a Grey Owlite Shield first. Ultimately I would suggest you get one each of Grey Owlite Shield, BTS, and Dread Skelly Shield so that you can cover all damage types. This is really helpful especially when just starting out in T3. I actually made my Skelly shield first, but this was because I was getting my butt handed to me by devilites when I first entered T3.
I started out running FSC with a Wise Owlite Shield then upgraded to Grey Owlite Shield. After many runs I have become pretty comfortable with FSC and switched to my BTS. Many of my guildmates run SS (Swiftstrike Bucklers) though, so I will probably switch to my SS after getting comfortable with running it with the BTS. Most people that I see running the SS in FSC are heavily using Blitz Needles though rather then swords. I mostly use my Voltedge or Shivermist in FSC.
*edit* Defensively I feel like the Grey Owlite Shield is the best all around FSC shield because zombies were easy & just got easier I never really felt like I needed shadow protection in FSC. The VPS is a great FSC shield too, it is better then the Owlite at taking hits from Trojans, Slag guards, and the duke's mac.
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 15:41
#5
hold out for CoA?
Bluescreenofdeath's comments are reasonable. However, Crest of Almire is probably a more widely useful shadow shield than Dread Skelly; it's essentially the shadow version of Grey Owlite. So consider just not having a shadow shield, until you get Crest of Almire. On the other hand, Dread Skelly Shield is quite good for Shadow Gloaming Wildwoods.
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 17:32
#6
I think it's worth crafting
I think it's worth crafting up to at least a Sinister Skelly shield (4*) before switching over to the Crust of Almire. Trying to run T3 fiend levels without a shadow shield is a lot harder than it needs to be, and you won't end up using any more CE than you would just crafting right through to a Dread Skelly Shield.
One might think that it makes more sense to only craft the skelly to 3* and then jump into the CoA line at 4*, but the Blackened Crust is a complete rubbish shield and really shouldn't be used any longer than it takes to heat it to level 10.
Fri, 01/06/2012 - 18:02
#7
Skelly vs. Almire
One thing that may be worth considering is that Owlite + Skelly will give you a shield for each status theme, whereas Owlite + Almire will not.
Of course, that would have mattered more back when you had to use one shield for the entire stratum. With arsenal stations, if you decide that matching a level's damage type is more important than matching its status, you'll equip Owlite against elemental + freeze even if you have Skelly available, so the status coverage might not matter...then again, I'm honestly not sure whether defending against the right damage type is more or less important than defending against the right status (for a shield).
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 15:33
#8
My reasoning was along
My reasoning was along Antisone's lines, to cover a wider range of status (& it is just quicker to get if you need shadow defense). Call me crazy, but I would not trade my Dread Skelly Shield for a Crest. The only time I would want one would be for running Stratum 6 Undead/Fiend + Fire/Shock arenas. By the time you run FSC enough to earn a Crest you probably don't need much of a shield for FSC. I've started using my BTS instead of my Grey Owlite for this & I bet I'll be switching to my SS in FSC before to long. Maybe the Crest would really shine for UFSC? Don't get me wrong I will pick up a Crest eventually, but it is a pretty low priority.
At any rate if the OP wants to run FSC I think he is starting in the right place by working on a Grey Owlite Shield first.
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 15:58
#9
A tossup.
After BTS, it's your call between a Volcanic Plate Shield, or Grey Owlite. This shield can be used to run FSC, from which you can eventually get a CoA, which is undeniably the best all-around shadow defense shield (blocking both fire and shock as well).
In the days of yore, BTS didn't exist and Grey Owlite was the no-brainer, because the only common ranged attacks were elemental in nature. This is no longer the case, but your BTS will generally defend adequately against one or two turrets regardless of type. There are a lot of hard-hitting elemental attackers, like Mechaknights and Rocket Puppies, which makes Grey Owl still a very viable choice. The other candidate, VPS, boasts very high Normal defense, making it slightly more effective on everything- an excellent all-rounder. As an added bonus, you can get Stun and Fire resist, both useful for FSC.
Grey Owl or Plate shield, it's a tossup. Personally, I think zombies were very easy to dodge (even before this patch), so I never bothered having any shadow defense for FSC, shield or otherwise (and still don't). The deciding factor for me was the final fight- I usually have a little more trouble with the mask phase, where elemental is abundant- hence my pick is Grey Owl. Of course, nowadays I have gotten good enough at dodging bullets to just run all the way with BTS. Unless you have high latency, you too will probably attain this at some point. Your initial pick, though, should be influenced (after running a few times using BTS) on whether you keep dying in the mask phases, or getting maced. And if BTS seems to work just fine, then run with it and worry about other stuff like armor and weapons.
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 16:20
#10
good point
Bluescreenofdeath and Antistone make a very good point, in arguing for Dread Skelly Shield over Crest of Almire. I always appreciate having things pointed out, that I hadn't noticed. Thanks, you two.
Sat, 01/07/2012 - 17:56
#11
"One might think that it
"One might think that it makes more sense to only craft the skelly to 3* and then jump into the CoA line at 4*, but the Blackened Crust is a complete rubbish shield and really shouldn't be used any longer than it takes to heat it to level 10."
I think it's rubbish to get a shield all the way up to 4* only to ditch it afterward. I got the Crest of Almire without ever having a single item with shadow resistance, and I'm glad I didn't waste all that time on the skelly shield, though I do somewhat regret not having a divine veil.
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:15
#12
but CoA depletes fast with
but CoA depletes fast with fire and in some cases normal. i have the CoA but choose to use volc plate as in my opinion it doesnt give the "oh look at me im so 1337 i have the crest of almire" but it is more effective. and yes i know alot of people who do not ise DoA in clockworks but wear it in haven for the "street credit" as it is.
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:20
#13
Well I guess it depends if
Well I guess it depends if you'd rather resist fire or shadow.
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:34
#14
CoA resists fire
Crest of Almire is a shadow shield that resists fire. Contrary to what Scottish-Archer said, I do not find that it is weak against fire. I find that it works well against fire. So yes, you can have both shadow and fire.
Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the comments here.
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:36
#15
oh. I didn't really remember
oh. I didn't really remember that part.
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 16:12
#16
@Bopp I suspect that the CoA
@Bopp I suspect that the CoA would break faster than a GOS or VPS when shielding against shadow fire or a fire trap, since those deal elemental/normal damage on top of the fire status, and GOS has elemental protection and VPS has far more normal protection.
For FSC, the CoA should take many more slag swipes (shadow/normal+fire) than the GOS or VPS, while the VPS will tank more trolljan hits (normal+stun) and slag guard charges (pure normal, despite the shadow telegraph), and the VPS and GOS would probably be roughly tied for mace hits and debris (normal/elemental+fire/stun).
However, it's not really useful to compare "fire shields" since your first priority should be protecting against the damage type, and secondarily against statuses. IE if you're going into a fire-themed fiend level, you'll be much better off with a Dread Skelly than a Grey Owlite.
Sun, 01/08/2012 - 16:28
#17
good point
Nicoya-Kitty raises good points. Fire protection on helmet/suit is very different from fire protection on a shield. I find the former to be really important in FSC, but maybe I have overestimated the importance of the latter.
At first I thouht you were talking about sword specific shields. But since you said fsc.
Shields should always help defend against the stratum being faced. I'm not sure what you meant by being offensive. Play more offensive? The monsters are stronger? Either way, a shield is almost purely for defensive purposes. Tanking hits, having enough health to last to bump enemies away.
Unless you are dodging/bumping every hit away, a owlite or volcanic plate would serve well in fsc.