So currently the extent of my 4* arsenal is as follows.
Rock Jelly Helm
Rock Jelly Mail
Rock Jelly Shield
Sinister Skelly Mask
Sinister Skelly Suit
Sinister Skelly Shield
Miracle Hood
Miracle Cloak
Wise Owlite Shield
Grand Flourish
Cryo Driver
Also I have a Shadowtech Alchemer MK2 waiting to be upgraded to a Shadow Driver
As I prepare to make the move to 5* Gear I was hoping to get some feedback on the order in which I should make the transition, as well as how I should branch of my Miracle set. As a side note I was considering holding off on the rock jelly to get Ice Queen for the slightly better stats especially since my rock helm has UV Elemental Max and it would seem a waste not to utilize a Max UV to the fullest.
All advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
As you are now learning, all equipment ends up at the 5-star level (except RSS and SSB). I always advise people to select the 5-star items they want, and THEN figure out which lower-star items lead to them.
First, the good news: In weapons you're looking at
* Final Flourish (excellent piercing sword)
* Hail Driver (my least favorite elemental gun, due to it unfreezing itself)
* Umbra Driver (excellent shadow gun)
This is a solid weapon set-up. I'd recommend a different elemental gun, such as Nova or Storm, but there are some people who like Hail.
Now, the bad news. In armors you're looking at
* Royal Jelly Crown/Mail/Shield (okay normal+piercing defense, no offensive bonus)
* Ice Queen Crown/Mail/Shield (good normal+piercing defense, no offensive bonus)
* Dread Skelly Mask/Suit/Shield (good normal+shadow defense, no offensive bonus)
* Divine Veil/Mantle (you don't want to wear both, and the Veil has the fiend bonus, so forget about the Mantle)
* Grey Feather Cowl/Mantle (good normal+elemental defense, no offensive bonus)
* Chaos Cowl/Cloak (bad defense, but good offensive bonuses)
Some of this stuff is good, but none of it is great. The conventional wisdom about Spiral Knights armor is this: In Tier 3, even the strongest armor lets through tons of damage. So you can't count on armor for defense; you have to dodge and shield. And once you're dodging and shielding, you might as well be using armor that gives you offensive bonuses. This is why you see everyone walking around in Wolver, Gunslinger, and Demo gear (and Chaos/Fallen). For shields, consider Barbarous Thorn Shield (for your one sword) or Swiftstrike Buckler (unless you find it too dangerous). Dread Skelly is a good shadow shield. For an elemental shield, consider the ever-popular Grey Owlite.