The new FSC gate has the worst possible Stratum 5: 2x Candlestick Keep + 2x Dark City. I'm already preparing a Scary Skelly Shield to upgrade, but I also need some shadow defense. My two options are the Skelly and Angelic sets. Protection-wise, which one of these sets are better?
I need shadow protection
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 21:16
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 21:47
#2
It's honestly not that hard
It's honestly not that hard if you go solo. I brought my dts, volt driver, ashtail set, and owlite shield. Just take awhile to kill the dodgey overtimers.
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 00:25
#3
Divine Veil
Protects against Elemental, Shadow damage and resists fire, shock and curse.
This set would be BEAST with Skolver coat. The overall protection from this set would be ALL damage types and would resist shock, fire, curse and freeze. The Divine Veil also offers a Damage Bonus vs Fiend Medium, ad the Skolver coat offers Damage Bonus Sword Medium. Caution only the Divine Veil offers the fiend bonus.
This would be the best set to use in FSC
Also who wouldn't want a halo??
But if you DON'T want this amazing set then you should go Dread Skelly suit if you don't have a Faust. But you will also need a Vog Cub coat to counter the fire weakness in te Skelly helm. Although this is a pretty silly set to side and my set suggestion would work a thousand times better and I state again, who doesn't want a halo??
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 07:09
#4
not the best in FSC, but okay in FSC
Divine Veil with Skolver Coat is not the best set to use in FSC. But it is adequate to use in FSC, and adequate for just about everything else in the game. (I've never tried any Shadow Lairs in it. That seems tough.)
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 08:17
#5
~
I believe it's more important to have a shadow shield than shadow defense for dark city/candlestick (if you dont have one already)
The reason is because everything there has ranged attacks and tend to swarm you.
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 08:39
#6
Neither
Strictly speaking, Angelic would be better as it provides a DMG bonus vs Fiends.
IMO, though, neither is worth crafting in the first place. Both Angelic and Skelly armors are terrible in FSC due to the negative fire resist and lack of relevant offensive bonuses (Angelic would give a boost vs the Trojans, but that's it). Additionally, specialized defensive armors prove a flagrant waste of energy once you learn how to protect yourself with just your shield and weaponry.
Get a 5* Flourish, finish that Skelly Shield, and spend a little time getting a feel for Fiend movement/attack patterns. Practice makes perfect, no pain no gain, etc.
Also,
Divine Veil + Skolver Coat is overrated. On paper, you have defense vs almost everything. In practice, your effective defense vs anything is roughly on par with a 3* armor set. That's bad. You're better off maximizing your offensive bonuses with something like full Skolver.
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 09:42
#7
I believe it's more important
I believe it's more important to have a shadow shield than shadow defense for dark city/candlestick (if you dont have one already)
The reason is because everything there has ranged attacks and tend to swarm you.
This. Elemental monsters tend to be kiteable if your shield breaks. As long as you have space in which to run away, you can take time to reposition yourself and heal. Shadow monsters, on the other hand, will eat you alive if your shield breaks. If you have no shield and you're facing Devilites, Kats, or Greavers, you're in trouble, especially if they come with Shock (oh god) or Freeze. Shadow armor is less important since it'll only cut a little bit of damage and it won't save you from those dire situations where you're being swarmed. Just get better at managing mobs and you won't need it.
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 14:37
#8
Shadow Armors
OK, shadow armor choices:
Dread Skelly has good shadow defense and resistance to two major status effects. Fire weakness makes it unacceptable for FSC, though, and probably not great for any fire-themed level.
Valkyrie has a bit lower overall defense than most armors, for no dang reason. And it STILL has a fire weakness. It does have a damage bonus vs. fiends, though.
Fallen branches off from Valkyrie at the 5* level. It gets fire resistance and curse weakness instead of the other way around, plus it has ASI: low on each piece, making it a very respectable choice for FSC and any undead levels. However, it has a medium damage penalty vs. fiends on each piece, so it's really not very good for fiend levels.
Deadshot is a 5* branch from the Gunslinger line. It's got normal/shadow defense, no special weaknesses, a damage bonus vs. undead (with all weapons, not just guns). I wouldn't bring it to FSC, because I think you really want fire resistance there, but it wouldn't be wildly inappropriate, and it should serve just fine in all regular undead/fiend levels. This may be the best all-around choice outside of shadow lair armors, but the 4* precursor is a normal/piercing armor, so it won't help you at all with shadow until you upgrade it to 5*.
Snarbolax is a 5* branch from the Wolver line. It has good normal/shadow defense, partial resistance to poison and freeze, no status weaknesses, and a medium sword damage bonus on each piece. But you need to beat a shadow lair before you can craft it, so if you're having problems on stratum 5, this is not a viable option (unless you're willing to pay >10kCE for someone else to craft and unbind it for you).
Almirian Crusader really has nothing to recommend it. At all.
Divine and Radiant Silvermail both have shadow defense, decent-to-awesome resistances and abilities, and no status weaknesses. However, they have no normal defense. And you really want normal defense pretty much everywhere, even in tier 3. So they're probably not your best option.
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 18:17
#9
Deadshot is an often
Deadshot is an often overlooked shadow option - the general undead bonus makes it great for undead stratums. But yeah it needs a fire UV to be perfect for FSC.
If you are using it just to go through said Stratas, I would pick Angelic for the damage bonus against Fiends. Neither are a good choice to wear into FSC due to the weakness against fire. Skelly has higher def though if you only want it for def.