Spiral Knights - Best Gear for Generalist

Best Gear for Generalist

10 replies [Last post]

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 13:46

div3

Legacy Username

I have all of my 5* gear maxed out and am now beginning to experiment with alchemy paths. I have various goals, but one of them is to find the most versatile armor and weapon combination. What do you think this looks like given the game as it is today?

Lets make a few assumptions:

- The player has every trinket and weapon slot open (4 weapons makes it a bit easier to be versatile, no?)
- Crown/Mats/Energy costs are not an issue, you have access to everything
- You are disregarding the fact that players *should* customize their gear for each strata.
- The player must be able to solo as well as contribute to a team and hold their own in both scenarios

Here's what I came up with so far:

Vog Cub Coat (fire, speed)
Skolver Cap (piercing, attack - not as useful now, but we need to be well rounded)
Grey Owlite Shield (good normal and elemental, plus stat protection)

Cold Iron Vanquisher (good general sword, fiend damage which balances out G Faust)
G Faust (helps clear areas, curse helps a lot)
Argent Peacemaker (speed, movement, in case you need to be careful.. not sure on this one)
Shivermist Buster (buys you time, helps in a party)

I'm not sure about trinkets, but I'm leaning toward elemental and HP+ protection, though you could argue for more status protection.

I am assuming you can be more effective as a swordsman than as a bomber or gunner. I fully respect those roles, but I think they struggle in various scenarios.

Well, what do you guys think? What am I missing?

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:02

Icee

Flexible swordsman

You're equipped for swords with a gun and bomb as accessories. That's not a bad getup, but I wouldn't call it "generalist," I would call it "flexible swordsman."

Honestly, what's good depends on your playstyle. Vog/Skolver will enhance your swordsmanship nicely and give you useful status resists. The Shivermist buster is a favorite bomb of sword users, so it's a good complement. Argent Peacemaker I have no experience with, but I would say to try out the magma driver (or something earlier in that line) as another possible alternative. Burning baddies is always satisfying.

If you're intending to use all of your weapons more equally, you could trade the Vog Cub for Volcanic Demo. Keep the fire resist and elemental defense, but enhance your bomb charge instead of your sword speed. I'd imagine that getting the shivermist down quickly when it's really needed is more helpful than slashing a sword faster, because crowd control is often the most pressing need.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:10

culture

Legacy Username

If you are going to use a

If you are going to use a Volcanic Demo piece, be sure it is the Helm since it has CTR Medium whereas the Armor has CTR Low.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:16

requiemaeter

Legacy Username

What would you do with the

What would you do with the extra time the freeze gives you in a big mob when using a Shivermist?
I think Shivermist doesn't really help in solo at all.
I would recommend Ash of Agni instead.
It's still good for pure DoT party support.

I don't know about Argent Peacemaker either.
I think that the damage it does is way too low to be of use on anything other than undead and fiends.
In the cases of those, fiends, Devilites dodge the shots and Greavers approach you way too fast for you to be using a gun.
As for undead, Kats move too fast for you to get some good shots on them.
So it's only really effective on a limited selection of monsters.

If you really must have a gun, I would say go with one of the Alchemer series.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:26

Icee

Blast it all solo.

Playing solo I prefer the blast bomb series to any of the haze series. The knock down effect gives you space in a crowd that neither Shivermist nor Ash of Agni can provide. Shivermist at least stops the mob for a while and lets you pick on one or two with your sword until you have to refreeze the lot of them.

In a team, haze bombs cause less confusion and can better compliment the weapons your teammates are using.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:27

div3

Legacy Username

"If you really must have a gun.."

@requiemaeter - I'm not saying someone does have to have a gun. Do you think another weapon would be more useful?

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:29

King-Tinkinzar

I HATE anything Wolver. So

I HATE anything Wolver. So overused @_@
But anyways, if you are leaning towards elemental protection, try and start all over and get a unique variant.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 14:31

Icee

4 weapons to rule them all, not just one.

I think having a gun is quite useful. As requiemaeter pointed out, no particular gun (except maybe the blaster series) will be similarly useful against all creatures, but that's why you carry two swords and a bomb! Between the 4 weapons you listed, you can take on anything reasonably well. Obviously you'll want to tweak stuff for specific strata if you have the means to do so (swapping Shivermist for Ash if you know you're going to ice levels, for instance), but otherwise who cares if your gun does poorly against devilites when you can bomb or slash them instead? Just make sure that at least one weapon is good against any given enemy type, and you're all set for a run through a diverse tier.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 16:27

Merethif

Here's what I came up with:

set 1 (all 4 defenses; good status resistance; hanguns ASI)
Divine Mantle
Justifier Hat
or
set 2 (shadow and piercing defense missing, but you can usually easly dodge shadow damage and avoid piercing damage; slighly worse status resistance (no shock and curse); hanguns ASI + bomb CTR)
Volcanic Demo Suit
Nameless Hat
+
Grey Owlite Shield
+
1. Storm Driver (cause very useful status, good against pretty much everything, except Gremlins and Beasts, but see below)
2. Sentenza (great against Gremlins, used against Gremlins only)
3. Callahan (great against Beasts, used against Beasts only) or Furious Flamberge* (it may be more suitable for those who can't hit teleporting wolvers with gun)
4. Shivermist Buster (overall usefulness) or Venom Veiler (if there are too many menders around)
+
1. True Love Locket
2. Another True Love Locket or Dread Skelly Charm (to compliment set 2 with Shadow defense)

*In that case replace Justifier Hat with Skolver Cap in set 1

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 20:35

div3

Legacy Username

@merethif - Awesome response.

@merethif - Awesome response. Thank you.

Fri, 05/06/2011 - 22:28

#10

Shani

Legacy Username

Weapons: Gran Faust - Shadow

Weapons:
Gran Faust - Shadow damage, curse [Alt: Acheron]
Glacius - Elemental damage, freezing [Alt: Divine Avenger]
Furious Flamberge - Piercing, burning [Alt: Final Flourish]

Slot 4 is a utility slot that depends on playstyle:
Dread Venom Striker - Normal damage for mixed battles, poisons; makes a pure-swordplay outfit optimal
Any Haze Bomb, by preference.
Any Alchemer, by preference.

Swords seem to be the preferred weapon for most players and thus operates within those constraints.
The recommended setup avoids triggering any mob-specific effects [Oilers, etc] and covers all three types. Faust has the perk of using an element jellies
are weak against and can curse the king. Glacius is used over DA or the Combuster for Vanaduke's stratum as it's slightly faster, and thus easier to block with, and it can still be used to freeze if necessary. The Flamberge allows fire to be put up on things if desired [freezing jellies, for one] and is a piercing weapon. The things weak to piercing tend to dodge quite well, so a sword was preferred over a gun. The fourth weapon slot depends strongly on individual preference. The DVS allows for poisoning and a lack of type makes it ideal for mixed groups. Haze bombs are useful for quickly inflicting status ailments, starting battles, escaping, or dividing up forces. Alchemers have ranged elemental damage to inflict ailments at a distance [say, while kiting] and counteract some of the more annoying ranged mobs: retrodes and gunpuppies.

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Best Gear for Generalist