I have some swords and was wondering whether to bring a strike needle or
Freezing atomizer to FSC.
I would like to bring 2 swords (Blizzbrand, Silent Nightblade. Or dark thorn blade)
And either the bomb or the gun.
Would it be better to take one sword and both gun and bomb or which one to bring?
Notes: I dont gun unless its a trojan. And i have some elemental guns if that matters
To run FSC, you really only need 3 weapon : an elemental sword to take care of almost everything, a freezing bomb for its well known useful crowd control, and a Blitz Needle to kill Trojans/Vanaduke (note : it can be done using other methods, but that's not the point of this thread, apparently).
Both shadow and piercing swords are not required down there : there are so few oilers/wolvers that you can deal with them using your elemental weapon, even if you are going to have weak damage. And Trojans are way better dealt with a Blitz Needle. And let's not forget about the principal guest, Vanaduke, who is hard to deal with a sword anyway.
But, as you are going in a team, in fact, the optimal setup for Vanaduke is (for me at least) : 1 shiver, 2 Blitz Needle, 1 utility (meaning no shiver/needle required, as this guy is going to agro slags and take care of fire). That means 3 person needs to have 2 specific weapons (elemental sword + either shiver or Blitz), and the last only need 1 specific weapon (elemental sword).
The rest of weapons are bonus. For example, Leviathans to deal with the mask faster, Polaris to do the rocket room, Voltaic Tempest for utility and damage, and whatever else you feel like (weapons to heat work too).
If you are not sure what your party will have, your best bet is to bring both Shiver and Blitz, and then be able to cover every role.
Should bring giggawatt along as well then?
or a levi blade ( I do have one)
I vote for Leviathan over Polaris, because Polaris is annoying to teamates most of the time (unless you bring it specifically to do rocket room and only use it on puppies or when you are not going to annoy mates). I decided to drop Polaris a while ago, and after getting well used to my elemental sword, I don't regret it. Except that rocket room, there is really no reason to use it at all.
Do note tho that if you are going to take Levi, it's only for the mask phase (and eventually P1 of Vana), kill oilers/wolvers and perhaps charge on puppies. Otherwise the charge attack have the same annoying potential than Polaris.
It should be noted that while the Shivermist Buster is highly useful for FSC, the Freezing Atomizer will be worthless in Vana phase 5 as the freeze radius will be smaller than vana's firebelt radius. You'd be better off taking the strike needle with you and letting someone else do the shiver.
I personally run with my Voltedge, DTB, Polaris and a misc slot. I mostly use the polaris for the rocket puppy room, various red rovers, DPSing vana in "crazy disco party" runs, and for interrupting fire-breath zombies. The DTB comes out when I need to take down a trolljan and for vana phase 1 (and of course the wolver room). The Voltedge is my bread and butter sword, I spam that charge like it's going out of style.
As others have said, the shadow weapon is going to be completely useless.
Most of the threads talking about FSC loadouts ive read talk mostly about the weapons, or mention only Vog Cub for armor. I was wondering why everyone takes vog cub if most of the monsters deal shadow dmg? What type of dmg does Vanaduke deal? I have a full vog suit, but i was thinking about changing it up for a radiant silvermail and divine veil. Anyone have experience with those?
Also, if I do use those 2, do you guys think CoA, or Volcanic plate shield would go with them better?
My information may be a little out of date, but I believe that Vanaduke deals huge amounts of normal. This is why people like Volcanic Plate Shield. Trojans also deal a lot of normal. You definitely do not want to go in with Radiant Silvermail and Divine Veil. There's no normal, and the piercing on the former is nearly useless.
Some sworders prefer Snarbolax to Vog Cub in FSC, but I find the shadow damage easier to dodge than the fire. I've also used stuff like Fallen. Now that Skelly no longer has a fire penalty, it is also viable.
If you have a 4* troika or better, its charge can hit in every single stage. Including the last one.
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Thanks for the advice. I think i'm gonna go for divine veil+vog coat+volcanic plate shield untill i can farm a blackened crest. My miracle hood already has UV normal- maximum too =). I've got DA, strike needle, and cryo driver for weaps (need more heat for 5* guns), thinking about switching alchemer for polaris line, haven't used polaris yet.
You will be using swords, or mostly swords, right? A gigawatt, 4* polaris, will suffice for all you're sidearm needs. Provided that you only use it on turrets while in a party, it is a great weapon.
Also, you don't need an elemental gun at all, although it does give you flexibility in dealing with zombies. Consider instead carrying a Shivermist Buster, so that you have more versatility in how you fit into parties to kill Vanaduke. If you're just learning FSC, Shivermist Buster can also help by letting you freeze zombies while you kill trojans, and vice-versa, etc.
Most of the enemies are zombies and constructs, so elemental weapons are great. Both sword and gun would be useful. A shadow weapon (Nightblade) is nearly useless; don't bring one.
Blitz Needle and Shivermist Buster are both great in FSC, especially against trojans and Vanaduke. Basically, try to get into a party, where one person has one and you contribute the other. In the case of a tie, bring the freeze bomb, because it is very helpful to a new FSC player, everywhere in FSC, until you learn the place.