Spiral Knights - Best shield for FSC: CoA, GOS, or VPS?

Best shield for FSC: CoA, GOS, or VPS?

12 replies [Last post]

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 09:45

Thinslayer

I've done some theoretical research on the three primary FSC shields, and figured out what they're ideal for.

Crest of Almire:

zombie swipe
zombie lunge
Trojan sword slam
Trojan charge
Trojan attack buff

Grey Owlite Shield:

Red Rovers
Rocket Puppies
elemental grates
shadow fire
Vanaduke's mask bullets
falling ceilings

Volcanic Plate Shield:

Vanaduke's mace
slag guards
spiked wheels

All take reduced damage from zombie breath.

Which shield to take through FSC depends on your circumstances. If you're getting slammed by FSC's numerous enemies, then take a CoA. If you're lagging a lot and/or tend to run into things, then take the GOS. If you don't quit at the end of the Smouldering Steps and decide to go for the boss fight, you'll probably want to take the VPS. Note that the CoA resists moving targets, the GOS stationary ones, and the VPS boss attacks.

Any opinions?

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 10:09

Fradow

Barbarous Thorn Shield for

Barbarous Thorn Shield for the sword damage bonus if you are a swordsman, swiftstrike if you are a gunner. If you are a bomber, well cry to OOO for not having any offensive bomber shield.

Once you are experienced enough, you simply don't need that much your shield. For a swordsman, the one or two hits the BTS can take is enough. A gunner should totally kite and not use his shield for anything else than shield cancel and shield bump.

On another note : Crest requires Almirian seals, which requires you to be farm FSC quite a bit. By the time you have enough tokens, you'll probably already have a good enough shield or even be able to do it with whatever shield you feel like.

If I had to take one of the 3 you said, it would be Owlite, because the mask bullets are a little troublesome, and because the VPS doesn't last much longer against anything than Owlite, although Owlite clearly withstand much more elemental. I tested a while ago, both will break one the second mace hit, and you'll have the status. The only difference is you are going to take less damage with VPS on that second hit (perhaps no damage at all ? I don't remember, you definitely will have the status).

But in the end, the offensive bonus of BTS is more valuable to me than a shield that last a little longer. Because I don't let my BTS breaks at all (and if it does, I deserve it, and it's not the end of the day).

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 10:15

Addisond

That's subjective.

Owlite is a decent option, but I would probably take the CoA, as traps are kind of hard to shield. Volcanic plate seems like an okay option for a player soloing it who knows enough not to let zombies smash on his shield.

But a swiftstrike or BTS are the best options for play in an effective group, and even when soloing, I still take BTS, as the only time my shield breaks is when I accidentally take a bash from a trojan and am not far enough from the center to absorb the whole thing (and a CoA doesn't help there).

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 10:23

Sypsy

+1 to swiftstrike

+1 to swiftstrike buckler.

Yay for ASI high on all swords and guns.

But really. If you're learning fsc, any of of the three you mentioned is fine. I have all three and have used them all. Your goal is really never to try to take a direct hit with them. They can all take a swipe or a leap from a slag. But, if you get hit by trojans, slag guards or vana a lot, I'd lean towards VPS and try to learn to dodge the hits.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 10:20

Thinslayer

Thanks!

That's a pretty good analysis. I bought my Blackened Crest off the Auction House, since I've never fought Vanaduke enough times to get it with tokens. The BTS isn't completely useless for piercing defense because jellies and wolvers do appear in FSC, so it's not too bad that way. And since almost everything in FSC deals at least partial normal damage, the BTS should be able to take a hit or two, like you said. If I were a good bomber, I'd probably take the Scarlet Shield for the +2 extra health.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 10:25

Sypsy

Thinslayer, please note that

Thinslayer, please note that people who take BTS and swiftstrike are comfortable enough doing it with fsc. If you're not comfortable doing it, don't. At least not yet.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 11:43

Elpeo-Kasshu

I use BTS almost all the time over my GOS

Mostly for the sword bonus on the one sword I bring down there, I need it for the offensive capabilities because I don't bring damage bombs down there unless you count VT, sometimes RSS. It really shouldn't be used unless you're a swordsmen (or in my case a Demo-Knight), even so it's nearly useless in the Vana Fight unless you're dealing with Slags. . Honestly I think GOS is more versatile because you're up against more elemental hazards even though most people wear elemental armor in FSC.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 12:43

Quasirandom

Volcanic plate shield,

Volcanic plate shield, because that's the one that protects you against the undodgeable "surprise, you just got hit by something that wasn't even on your screen" attacks that are the result of the Vanaduke level's awful game design.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 13:05

Thinslayer

Cool beans.

@Sypsy: I agree, I'm not sure I'm comfortable enough with FSC to take the BTS or SSB. Given my occasional lag spikes, skill with evading zombies and trojans, and total incompetence in the boss fight, I think that the GOS is my best option.

@Elpeo-Kasshu: That's an interesting spin on the issue. I did realize that there are more elemental threats to deal with in FSC than I'd first suspected, so I agree that the GOS is quite versatile. Most of the threats it counters can be found in abundance in nearly all the levels of FSC. I happen to be a swordsman at heart, so maybe at some point I'll switch over to the BTS (like when I get my Dark Thorn Shield levelled enough to even get there :P ).

It's nice to get a bomber's point of view on the matter. :)

@Quasirandom: That's pretty much what I had in mind for the VPS. It's defenses are less-than-ideal everywhere else in FSC, and really only shine in the boss fight. Even then, it's almost useless against the mask phase bullets, as I've found out (the hard way).

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 13:53

Aquajag

Crest of Almire so greatly

Crest of Almire so greatly reduced the amount of fire damage I take, that I can actually get out of the way of a zombie breathing on me before I light up like a torch. Since I'm wearing full Mad Bomber, this is very important to me! i did the runs to get the shield, using Rock Jelly shield. yes, horrible choice, i know, but it's what I had. Crest of Almire made a world of difference.

I don't shield much since I'm a bomber. Mostly to get out of fire, or because I made a goof and don't want to get torn up by two trojans and a dozen zombies at once. So, while having a few extra hits on my shield is nice, what I'm mostly concerned about is the fire resistance. To that end, any of those shields will work. The big advantage to Crest of Almire over Grey Owlite is that I only needed to buy one recipe and make one shield, since I farm FSC anyways.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 15:38

#10

Tsubasa-No-Me

Note this:

Playing with boosts are for those who don't get hit.

If you have trouble dodging, or lag, use a Sturdy shield that saves you from what you get hurt the most from.

CoA: trouble with Zombies and Trojans

GOS: Puppys in general, those fire plates, and sudden Shadow fire in front of you... :c

VPS is mostly for Vana, but does help when getting mobbed and with those trojans. Almost a must if you randomly get mauled by slag guards.

____

Hopefully this will be easier to read then most.

Not only am I famous, but I inspire Hipster...ness... Yeah.
~Tsu

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 21:09

#11

Irishespeon

VPS is good overall if you

VPS is good overall if you have troubles dodging since its the best for the actual boss fight.
However once you get good enough at dodging, go swiftstrike buckler.

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 22:18

#12

Nubskills

Nyan nyan nyan nyan....

For a laggy FSCer, I'd suggest CoA the most, from personal experience. Lag usually forces you to shield more often against enemies, with the consequences of late shielding if you try shielding less often. My reasoning is that if fire grates and shadow fire would be a problem, assuming that you teleport into them with lag, it can be just as bad with slags in FSC. I'd say that GoS is mainly good for mask phases and random spawning S. fire, or being knocked into traps, which can break shields eventually with their damage-tug effect. VPS seems like a good choice for laggers, with random slag guard and vana charges, but that mainly helps for the boss, while CoA helps you with most of FSC. Plus, it's also harder to shield quickly when teleporting into traps, while it's easier to shield beforehand.

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Best shield for FSC: CoA, GOS, or VPS?