Spiral Knights - Need help choosing a 4th weapon in my loadout.

Need help choosing a 4th weapon in my loadout.

16 replies [Last post]

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 00:16

Zekrypteox

I've been going over this for the past few days, and its driving me nuts. So, I've decided to ask you guys for some help.

I need to decide what to use for my 4th weapon in my master loadout (meaning, one that I can use just about anywhere).

Here's my other equipment:

Helm: Divine Veil
Armor: Justifier Jacket (to help Polaris)
Shield: Dragon Scale Shield
Trinket 1: Elite Quick Draw Module (also for Polaris)
Trinket 2: ??? (depends on 4th weapon)

Weapon 1: Winmillion (I love it)
Weapon 2: Polaris (for Elemental)
Weapon 3: Barbarous Thorn Blade (for Piercing and charge)
Weapon 4: ??? (yet to be decided) (for Shadow)

So, these are my options:
Biohazard - I like the whole "charge spamming" part, not so much the "slow projectile" part.
Sentenza - I like the high DPS and fast projectile speed, don't like the ineffectiveness on Slimes.
Gran Faust - I like the Curse & knock-back parts, not so much the "slow swinging" part.
Acheron - I like the charge attack & faster swinging, not so much the "less damage than Gran Faust" part.

And my Trinket options:
Biohazard - Either another Quick Draw, or a Handgun Focus.
Sentenza - Either a Handgun Focus, or a Sword Focus.
Gran Faust - Either a Quick Strike, a Sword Focus, or Saintly Silver Amulet.
Acheron - Either a Sword Focus, or a Slash Module.

Last words:
~Don't opt-out the Sentenza purely because of its general uselessness, I'm aware of that. I'll mainly be using it on Gremlins and Polyps, because my other weapons can take of the other Slimes.
~Also, don't opt-out the Acheron because of its weaker stats than the Gran Faust, I'm aware of that too. I'm considering it for its charge attack, being as it won't Curse me, but still has range.

I need to know soon, because I'm ready to start on my 4th weapon. Thanks in advance for any help!

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 00:43

Metagenic

Hmm

Sentenza is useful if you can hit gremlins, beasts, and polyps (gremlins and beasts will dodge about 90% of your shots unless you're really good); note that it might become pure shadow so it'll be effective against gremlins and slimes instead of gremlins and beasts

Gran Faust is great for slimes because your large swings can easily hit multiple targets

Acheron is great for gremlins because your charge attack and fast swings can easily nullify their dodge

Biohazard excels in Royal Jelly Palace, especially on the boss fight, but Umbra Driver beats it everywhere else

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 02:46

Irokwe

few things

1) u forgot umbra (ty meta)

2) acheron does less damage per SWING, but more per COMBO.

GF has more Damage per SWING vs. lots of enemies

Acheron has more dpSWING vs. single targets.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 02:55

Cherubrock

out of your options ... gran

out of your options ... gran faust.

but really.. get a shivermist or ash of agni..

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 07:16

Bopp

my two cents

It's a great idea to put a shadow weapon in there. I'll just respond to your "last words":

I know that you don't want people dissing Sentenza, so I won't. I'll just point out that polyps resist half of its damage, so it does less damage against them than the Polaris that you already have. On the other hand, Polaris is not good against gremlins. But you might do better with Valiance, and you'd certainly do better with Umbra Driver.

You don't need to defend Acheron relative to GF. Anyone who disparages Acheron's damage relative to Gran Faust is ignorant. The only situation where GF out-damages Acheron is against crowds, and this is hard to pull off, because any monster that you miss will bite you. And the Acheron charge is very strong now.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 07:38

Krysophylax

tbh honest i dont use my

tbh honest i dont use my biohazard much. although quirky and fun to use (and extremely satisfying loading up charges on a giant lichen colony :P) i find it difficult to use, especially in a party where ur team mates usually kill the thing before u can load up charges. i find Acheron is just way more efficient in almost every situation that i would want to bring a shadow weapon. i havnt used GF yet but i do intend to make one eventually. from what i can gather, Acheron is better for gremlins and GF is slightly better for slimes.

on a side note, if u haven't already, seriously consider getting a vortex bomb (either kind is good, i prefer electron personally). it makes life so much easier ;)

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 13:32

Zekrypteox

Thanks so far!

Well, it seems that between you 5, I've gotten a bit better idea of what I'll use, but there is one problem:

Between you all, you've basically repeated what I said, with some extra pros and cons.

So far, there appears to be 1 vote for Acheron and 1 vote for Gran Faust, with the Biohazard at -1 votes, and the Sentenza at 0 votes. So I still have yet to come to a decision.

P.S. I know I left out the Umbra Driver, but for me, having only 2 shots per clip isn't really appealing, even with the splitting shots.

So far though, I'm starting to lean toward either Acheron or Sentenza.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 14:12

Bopp

one more thing

Well, if you've already decided on either Acheron or Sentenza, then I strongly recommend Acheron, because Acheron is great and Sentenza is poor. However, the game developers are actively considering changing Argent Peacemaker to pure elemental and Sentenza to pure shadow. If that happens, then we will have to re-evaluate these guns.

Edit: Sorry, I forgot that we weren't supposed to disparage Sentenza.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 15:40

Zekrypteox

Thanks Bopp, I think I know

Thanks Bopp, I think I know what I'll use now, but I'm still not sure.

Also, I did hear that they were considering making the Sentenza pure shadow, but not about the Argent Peacemaker. Although I suppose it makes sense, changing both instead of just one. And if they do go through with it, do you think the Antigua will still deal piercing? Or will it be changed too? I do agree, though, that if they do change them, then the Sentenza will become far more useful, possibly even surpassing the Umbra Driver because of its higher DPS.

P.S. That's ok, Bopp, I do agree that in terms of damage Acheron beats Sentenza. My main concern is, that if I chose Acheron, my only gun will be Polaris.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 16:01

Bopp

the threads

This thread is where the developers discuss changing the damage types. This more recent thread suggests that they are going ahead with the change. But there is no promise that it will happen, or when. It's easy to imagine that they will adjust the damage numbers on these weapons. So who knows how it will all shake out.

"My main concern is, that if I chose Acheron, my only gun will be Polaris."

Your mix of weapon types (sword, gun, bomb) is a highly personal choice, so no one can tell you what the right answer is. But I will say that many people, including me usually, play with no guns at all. So playing with just one gun should be quite a viable strategy.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 19:12

#10

Zekrypteox

Well, I've decided!

Well, although it goes against most players opinions and recommendations, I've decided on the Sentenza!
I've made this choice for two reasons:

~1: Although Polaris is a good gun (especially with my total very high ASI), its projectiles just aren't fast enough for some enemies. The knock-back from the expanded shots can also make it harder for teammates to hit the same target. Plus, I also want a good gun for hitting Gremlins and switches.

~2: There is very real possibility that Sentenza my become pure shadow in the future, making it so much better. Even if it doesn't, I've also got plans for a pure shadow loadout, which I will start next.

So anyway, thanks for all your help! I do still have one question though: Should I use an Elite Handgun Focus Module, or an Elite Sword Focus Module for my 2nd trinket?

Thanks again for your help!

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 19:43

#11

Otaia

Handgun Focus is pretty much

Handgun Focus is pretty much useless for you since neither Polaris nor Sentenza have a very good charge attack. Polaris's charge attack is pretty much useless and Sentenza's charge attack is pretty situational (and your swords will cover most of those situations). Of the two, Sword Focus is significantly more useful, but honestly you're much better off getting Trueshot or Strike trinkets.

Also, a bit of critique regarding your setup: it's fine if you want to use a Winmillion and I'm glad you've found a spot for it, but since it is a lot weaker than your BTB and kind of similar in its overall attack pattern with its forward lunges, you may not find yourself actually using it that much. Just make sure you don't completely overlap its coverage with your other weapons.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 20:24

#12

Zekrypteox

Well, I do agree now that a

Well, I do agree now that a Trueshot would be helpful for Sentenza. But what are you referring to by "Strike", Quick Strike or Slash. I think both would be useful, Quick Strike for damage per second, Slash for damage per swing.

Also, regarding the Winmillion: originally, it was a Combuster, but I realized I needed a non-specialized weapon for mixed groups of enemies. I realized this most when I brought both of them to a couple levels (Winmillion being a stand-in for my 4th weapon), and found I was using the Winmillion over the Combuster. Plus, some slimes are better dealt with using a sword, and Combuster is a bit slow for slimes. And quite obviously, BTB will not cut it.

Thanks anyway, though!

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 20:39

#13

Otaia

Er, I meant Slash Module.

Er, I meant Slash Module. Sorry, I'm a gunner and I'm not super on top of all the names. Both would be good, though.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 20:51

#14

Bopp

wait, what?

"Also, regarding the Winmillion: originally, it was a Combuster, but I realized I needed a non-specialized weapon for mixed groups of enemies."

That's why you're using Winmillion? I was ignoring it, because I figured that you were just one of those people who love it and don't mind that it stinks. But if you're actually trying to get decent damage out of it, then you should just get an elemental Brandish. Then you can do huge damage against constructs and undead; with your piercing sword you can do huge damage against beasts and fiends; the piercing sword is also amazingly good against gremlins; and a status-inducing Brandish is plenty good against slimes. So these two swords are far better than the Winmillion and either of these two swords. Really.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 20:52

#15

Zekrypteox

Yeah, I'll use the Slash

Yeah, I'll use the Slash Module, since I've got very high ASI on Sentenza & Polaris, and Winmillion & BTB are fast swords.

And so, I've finally made my decision, thanks to all you helpful people. Thanks again, and I hope to see you in the Clockworks! Bye!

P.S. If anyone has suggestions for better armor and what-not, go right ahead and tell me, I'm always looking for the best way to go about my business.

Sun, 02/05/2012 - 20:58

#16

Zekrypteox

@Bopp: Well, I do appreciate

@Bopp: Well, I do appreciate your opinion, and I do agree with you. However, I am one of those weird people who likes using the Winmillion, and besides, I also intend on creating other loadouts that will be better at taking out specific enemies.

Plus, who wouldn't want a gun-sword? (Although those pesky Devilites will be a bit difficult to hit... hm...)

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Need help choosing a 4th weapon in my loadout.