How to become a Pro as quickly as possible

38 replies [Last post]
Mayaura's picture
Mayaura

1) Buy some Crystal Energy with cash, preferably during a promotional event. Then create a second account. Both your free account and your paid accounts will receive 100 mist every 22 hours (1 ME every 13 minutes). That’s an extra 6,000 - 9,000 crowns worth of energy every day for free (depending on the market rate). This will also give you the energy you need for crafting gear early on in the game.

2) Do the Rank missions. You get valuable rewards, practice, and knowledge of the game.

3) Acquire the proper long-term gear. You’ll have 5* gear eventually, so get the best 2* gear that can be crafted up to 5*. (No 1* gear can be crafted up, so don't waste your money on it.) For a helmet and armor, you’ll want wolver to craft up to Skolver and Vog. Later get an angelic gear for shadow defense. Get and owlite shield and the pierce shield bought with tokens earned from beating the Snarbolax Tier 1 Boss. For your first 2* weapons, get a brandish sword and an autogun. Later get the Antigua gun from Jelly King tokens and the Pulsar from Roarmulous Twins tokens. You'll eventually want to diversify your arsenal with bombs and swords and guns, but get these first.

4) Join a guild. Be respectful and appreciative of whatever help they give you.

Batabii's picture
Batabii
faster is not always better

faster is not always better though. You're gonna spend a lot of money...pay2win

Traevelliath's picture
Traevelliath

...

How to be Pro Quickly:

In short: You don't

You become pro via experience and practice. Whether you throw yourself into tier 3 within the first few days via buying CE, or you spend months learning every twitch and turn of the Ironclaw Munitions Factory, you dont become pro via doing anything other than just playing the game.

Myqpalzm's picture
Myqpalzm
What about a F2P'ers?

What about a F2P'ers?

Oatmonster's picture
Oatmonster
Lick Number 58425

Traevelliath, Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. You can spend as much time as you want "practicing" dodging t1 puppies and still get wrecked by t3 puppies. Mawa's strategy also allows you to quickly get desirable gear and into the more challenging tiers.

Traevelliath's picture
Traevelliath

@Oatmonster: I don't think you understand what I'm saying...

You don't become pro overnight. You can get the best gear overnight, true. But that doesn't make you a good player. You get good at the game via PLAYING the game.

Also, when did I imply that practicing against t1 enemies prepares you for t3? If anything, I implied that if you throw yourself into the absolute hell that is T3 before you've fully mastered T1, you'll just get better at the game via many painful deaths and loads of energy wasted on revives.

Luguiru's picture
Luguiru

Every time a clone is born I vomit onto the face of an infant no older than three months.

I hope it was worth it to you.

Agentz's picture
Agentz
I agree with Traevilliath

When i got my first 5*, i still had a proto gun and helm. When i got all my 5*, my freind, who was 3*, could outlast me in the Firestorm Citedel. I just didnt play as much as him. Now i must admit he made poor finacial choices (sold a polaris cause he was bored o3o), he played a lot more then ma, and typically survives more, even though all he has is a Divine Avenger, and a proto gun. He just has more exsperiance dodging puppy's bullets then me. It's really just about learning methods to survive. Like Traevelliath says, you are not going to get pro SKILLS overnight. It just doesnt happen! So find a good "mentor" and drag every single dirty technique out of him. I didnt do it that way. My freind did. That, is why i can be outlasted by my freind with less gear. (derp.)

Z

Fehzor's picture
Fehzor

So "Pro" apparently means average P2P player then?

Traevelliath's picture
Traevelliath

@Luguiru Why do your hipster feelings override common decency...

Severage's picture
Severage
...

No offense to the self-proclaimed Dragon Queen, but becoming Endgame and becoming Pro are two entirely different things.

Sure, you can spend $50 during a promotion, like this one, and make ~1.5M Crowns and reach endgame status in two days, but that certainly doesn't mean you play well. I've seen T3 players who still use the Arrow Keys to move, and probably take 4 hours to complete a FSC run.

~Sev

Kimahsonite's picture
Kimahsonite
Probably the worst newbie's/

Probably the worst newbie's/ how-to-be-pro guide I've ever read. For some reason you expect every new player out there to spend money on the game and reach end-game in a few days (probably what you did). Not only that, but you're advising them to craft a skolver/ vog set when they first start. You do realise that there are people who would be much more interested in gunslinging/bombing, right? And then you're telling them to get a brandish/ trollaris/ antigua/ blitz for endgame. There are also other options instead of these, such as a BOMB. And how does joining a guild help you become a pro? Unless you're talking about people who will teach you the ropes of the game.

Zaffy-Laffy's picture
Zaffy-Laffy
Define:Pro

No seriously

Pro =/= Rich or Good Loadout

Pro is essentially the short form of professional, which means you are actually quite experienced in doing something, and this game actually requires some skill.

Irokwe's picture
Irokwe
Sigh.

I used to respect you more, but this... :/
Why do you encourage clones? Why are you implying the game is pay2win? What about all the people that can't/aren't willing to pay for this game? Why are you implying swords are the best?

Steps 2 and 4 are the only ones I agree with, with 2 being rather forced and obvious anyways.

Sorry if this sounds like flame and rage, but c'mon, seriously?

Mayaura's picture
Mayaura
To the newer players who might be reading this:

You don't have to pay to achieve the same results, it just takes a whoooooole lot longer. Buit it's mainly that extra 100 ce a day. It just adds immensely to your wealth and allows you to play twice as much, and so improve twice as fast. Plus the little CE you bought helps craft that early 2* and 3* gear. Don't buy 4* or 5* with CE directly; work your way up to it in order to avoid the disastrous "5* noob" scenario others in this thread have warned about. Finally, SK deserves a little compensation for the product and service they are providing to you.

Disregard anyone accusing you of being a clone. We're not talking about your appearance, which you can decide later; we're talking about the best standard gear and developing into an all-around skilled player as efficiently as possible. Later you can specialize if you wish, but it's better not to start out that way.

And as a timeframe for progress, if you follow my guidelines daily, you'll have a nice all-around 5* loadout in somewhere between 2-3 months.

۞ The Dragon Princess ۞ welcomes you to Spiral Knights ~ ♥

Severage's picture
Severage
...

Disregard anyone accusing you of being a clone. We're not talking about your appearance, which you can decide later; we're talking about the best standard gear and developing into an all-around skilled player as efficiently as possible. Later you can specialize if you wish, but it's better not to start out that way.

Just throwing this out there, I'm F2P and my first 5* set was Deadshot, which was likely the worst gunslinger set you could craft. They modified it with ASI: Low per piece now, and it's really useful for FSC gunning, but at the time it was probably the worst game decision you could make.

In all honesty, there's no reason *not* to be a clone (When starting out), since using swords in clone gear is simply the fastest and most effective way to play solo. If you're a support player though...whole different story...and if you prefer not to get hit, use gunning gear. I wouldn't necessarily encourage everyone to be clones, but then again, it's fairly obvious that's the easiest way to go.

~Sev

Eclaium's picture
Eclaium
No...

1)Pro isnt someone who gets full 5* fast.
Pro isnt someone who buys CE to get gears.
You wouldn't die in missions below champion ranks if you bought full 5* with cash, but doesn't mean you are skilled or pro.

I know some guys who bought CE with cash and got to Vanguard fast. They have Blitz, brandish 5*, shiver, AP, BTS etc. Bought Snarbolax coat with crowns, without going to Shadow Lairs. Actually they look decent for FSC runs but they aren't. They are still newbies, not much experience. Never have been bothered of grinding JKs.
I am sure more F2Pers gain more skills and knowledge until they get what my acquaintances have, the "decent" gears and loadouts.

Yes, I know MANY pros who have paid cash into the game (but most of them have longer playing time than my newbie P2P acquaintances). I am not saying P2Pers are noobs or defining what pro is, am just saying "CHANGE THE TITLE, P2P=/=pro"

2) agree with 2. You can run through with a brandish and cobalt set until JK mission. Grind JK with the set then start getting rid of the cobalt set using the money you earned in JK runs. Also there are pretty much plenty of missions for every type of monsters, map and theme. Good practice.

3) The more mistakes you make, the better you learn.

4) Agree. As you meet more people, you get more ideas about good gears, good loadouts, tricks or you may learn from bad players too. What no to do.
After getting the ideas by joining guilds and meeting people, you may play as a guildless "solo" player if you want.

Traevelliath's picture
Traevelliath

I would like to point out that P2P is a rather broad term that encompass many people.

Honestly, I highly ENCOURAGE spending about $10 or $20 when going from 3* to 4* and/or 4* to 5*. That part of the game is REALLY slow, especially when you don't have access to Firestorm Citadel. Because of the heat required to upgrade your gear, you don't loose out on too much experience when doing so. I highly DISCOURAGE spending $50 the first week, and using it to buy some 5* Set. That backfires.

Nergee's picture
Nergee
where does this money = pro correlation come from?

to be "pro" fast: learn to be a consistent and fast at shield cancel! know when to attack and when to evade - there arent that many types of monsters so just observe them all and learn some tricks for each type and you'll get it in no time. money/gear is irrelevant to true pro-ness. if you have the skills down you can beat anything with almost any gear (might take much longer but doable!), whereas vice versa, a lack of skills means death. nothing is worse than watching 5* players die in RJP and be saved by 2* players.

im a f2p, u dont need to drop a dime in this game to learn how to play it if u don't want to. buying CE will mainly save time in exploration, such as exploring all the shadow lairs (but its possible to slowly grind there too) and like #17 said, the gap between 3* and 4* also takes a lot of grinding. heck, some people will even offer you free shadow lair rides if you have those maneuvering skills/knowledge and shield canceling habits!

Apophis-Set's picture
Apophis-Set
-_-

Respect for mawashimono<0

Before I was hacked, I had never spent a single penny on the game (except for OCH, which a friend gifted to me). I had to go through months of grinding to achieve full 5*. I turned out with all Vog with med-high elemental/shadow defense, skolver pierce/shadow med-high defense, shadowsun set, 4 5* shields, all with medium uvs good for the shield's intended use, about 12 5* weapons all with good uvs corresponding to the weapons (medium-high), and about 5 million crowns worth of accessories. In total, my inventory was worth maybe 8 million crowns, all earned by myself without paying a single penny. I had gathered enough experience to solo vanaduke in proto armor with only a gran Faust (ASI high) and no trinkets. You're post implies that someone can achieve all this just by paying money? So you're saying, by dropping $400 u can easily achieve pro AND endgame status? Nhuuuuuuuu, I don't think so...
(Sorry if it seems like I'm bragging, i was just trying to prove a point :3)

Mayaura's picture
Mayaura
I guess I need to clarify

I bought $9.95 worth of Crystal Energy about 2 weeks after I started playing mainly for two reasons. (Well, actually, I myself didn't buy it since I had no credit card or other online way to do so, but someone bought it for me.) The crafting rquires a lot of CE, and for the added 100 mist everyday. I have not purchased any CE since that day. (Sorry, SK!)

So I think you jumped to a wrong conclusion about me.

And, btw, I have given away about 20 millions crowns worth of stuff to friends and to help other players and my own arsenal is worth far more than that. (Sorry if it seems like I'm bragging, i was just trying to prove a point :3)

Hawxindanite's picture
Hawxindanite
Nap you all got it wrong.

Just to clarify. Pro would mean that you are certified and qualified for that task. You have taken a course to learn about it and you are knowledgeable about the topic.

Really guys no one can acall themselves a pro in gamin (unless there's a school about games)

Also F2P players tend to learn tactics better since they need to be smart with their CE and CR. also they need to do missions iver and over again and therefore they get better at it. I out damaged a team of duskers and hammers and heart trinks 6+ when I only have 7 health. Y u ask? They never really played a rank mission. They were inly up to snarby in that gear?! Also they only realy did OCH with a 5*

To finish of use the term experienced and people who are F2P get more experience normally.

Gigawattx's picture
Gigawattx
The real meaning of Pro...

@Hawxindanite

Definition of professional*: Adjective- Of, relating to, or connected with a professional Noun- A person engaged or qualified in a profession

Definition of profession*: Noun-A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.
A body of people engaged in a particular profession.

So, even though certification may be a part of it, it's the "a paid occupation" component that's the most important. Technically, if they aren't getting paid to play Spiral Knights, they aren't a "pro." Though, according to its colloquial meaning, pro can loosely be defined as: showing extreme competence.

*Definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster

Feline-Grenadier's picture
Feline-Grenadier
Just saying...

This is only the fast way to reach end-game.

I'm not sure about pro, but if that's what a crapload of the guys ^ are saying, then this thread should've been titled: "Fastest way to clear game."

Spold's picture
Spold
Pro means professional which

Pro means professional which means you do something for a living. It can also mean first which means earliest.

Rpg-Knight

Traevelliath said:
"You become pro via experience and practice."

Making mistakes and finding solutions to them with low gear is not half bad either.

Even if you have a paid account, getting all five star gear just means you can defeat enemies quicker.

Good job though!

Entrosync's picture
Entrosync
Being pro means having

Being pro means having skill,not gears,nuff said.

Clwnbaby's picture
Clwnbaby
I didn't bother reading any

I didn't bother reading any of the other responses but i got the answer for ya
Pay attention and listen to the actual pros

Shion-Sinx's picture
Shion-Sinx
lol guys

Mawashimono post is perfect. you guys are just ignoring the actual content of his guide.

(s)hes giving simple advices that are DIRECT to the point that makes you really progressing the game. when i first started i bough a bunch of recipes and used all my money in dozens of different equips.

but you cant see that the person will actually have to WORK HARD to accomplish every step (s)he said, the person will have to READ and understand the game and the why behind these tips.

(s)he never said "buy 100 bucks worth of CE and buy the best 3* equip you can see and upgrade it to 5* by selling the remaining CE", theres a LOT of stuff happening in between it.

Mayaura's picture
Mayaura
@ Shion-Sinx

Thankyou, Shion. Yes, my post is intentionally concise with a lot left unsaid about time and work/play. I hope it continues to be a helpful guide to new players. I've edited it slightly at the time of this post.

And once any new players reading this have reached all 2* or better gear and at least a Soldier in prestige rank, send me in-game mail and my guild, Lionheart, will be happy to help you out.

Halandin's picture
Halandin
@Severage: Is it considered

@Severage: Is it considered "nooby" to use the arrow keys to move? I've always used arrow keys with north/south/east/west, is it better to use the mouse for moving or something?

Batabii's picture
Batabii
of course arrow keys are for

of course arrow keys are for noobs unless you changed binds, you cant strafe with the arrow keys, and mouse lets you aim in 360 degrees

Zaffy-Laffy's picture
Zaffy-Laffy
Zaffy is Laffy

Arrow keys are more challenging to handle in contrast to the free range of movement, somewhat simliar to Legend of Zeld...Link, Link to the Past, Minish cap. Enemies are always quite free in movement, so it is not something noobs would consider using. It is still possible to use -- Ahem, Z, X, <^>V and AT, 1234, q. Beginning to look like Legend of Ze...Link, doesn't it. If you use arrow keys, and win, not noob. If you use and you keep dying, then yes.

Generally using a mouse is more or less Easy mode. Try arrow keys if you want.

Batabii's picture
Batabii
I don't care how good you

I don't care how good you are, arrow keys are to wasd as black and white is to color

Why would you use arrow keys when wasd+mouse is basically better in every way? Mouse is not "easy mode", it's "better mode".

Halandin's picture
Halandin
LOL, I thought people were

LOL, I thought people were talking about using mouse only or a joystick/gamepad of some sort. Yeah, I use a mouse with WASD or arrow keys.
Though, do people generally use WASD set for north/south/east/west or forward/back/left/right? Using compass directions seems easier to learn, but using directions related to how you are facing looks like it might allow more precise and complex movement.

Patsmat's picture
Patsmat
I've been following

I think youre right Batabii i do the same thing Myself

Krakob's picture
Krakob
pro·fes·sion·al

One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation.
The only people who make a living out of Spiral Knights are the developers. In other words, you've got a better shot at becoming a Spiral Pro here than in-game.

Fehzor's picture
Fehzor

Yeah, there always is one wank out there that has to point the whole "PRO = EARNS MONEY" thing out. ^

Feline-Grenadier's picture
Feline-Grenadier
@batatard

*insert disappointed sigh here*

Even though it is better in default settings, it doesn't mean that you should dictate how we play. Some left-handed guys change their key bindings to use the arrow keys instead, so WASD isn't necesarrily better than <^>V keys. It's just suited for people used to that layout.