Spiral Knights - Kind of overwhelmed

Kind of overwhelmed

15 replies [Last post]

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 10:47

Dartharion

Hello fellas,

My name is Dartharion, I just started playing. I started looking into spiral knights because it was advertised as f2p on steam, and because i was bored, but really, this game is a lot of fun and really got me drawn into it xD
But in the last few days i started to get into trouble. I kind of steamrolled through the first missions (Which most people do, I do read other posts before actually planting one myself xD) but now suddenly find myself kind of.. getting my butt whiped a lot more often, I'm at the 5-2 missions now.
Now, i see a lot of discussions about what weapons and armors to get, and what not to get, and what I should craft them into and the list just goes on and on, But for me it's all a bit overwhelming. If some kind soul would be willing to help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

My personal info: I like using a sword and gun combo, mainly use sword 9/10 times but do like that extra range when those nasty turrets spawn. Or simply when too many baddies spawn at the same time. Right now i do not feel like getting more weapon slots, but might do that in the future, I'd first like to see all this game has to offer before i start spending money on it :P
And uhm.. I mainly pve. I like doing a few runs with my girlfriend and another mate of mine, might get into PvP later, but right now I want to focus on the PvE/clockwork clearing part of Spiral Knights.

I saw something about getting a shadow or piercing sword, and an elemental gun. I'm okay with doing a few runs just to get crowns and stuff, as long as i know what i`m getting from the auction house, or crafting myself, is actually worth the efford. But right now, to get back on the shadow or piercing sword, I have no clue what to build, an Archon or Grand Faust, what differences are between the two, etcetera.
I know the basics and stuff, different armors and swords for different monsters, but for a newbie like me, I guess getting one "primary" sword and gun, and one "primary" armor set would be really attractive. You know, something I keep using till my 5*'s ^^

And uhm, another question, is it possible to craft 3-4 star equipment without buying CE? I don't mean to sound like this jerk who never wants to spend money on anything, the creation of a game is expensive and they deserve something in return, but I'd like to get a full view of the game before i start buying stuff. ^^

So I guess if someone could give me a few tips on what stuff to get, I'd really appreciate it. ^^

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 12:07

Zuluknight

The most useful gear to start

The most useful gear to start of with would be.

ARMOR
Wolver Set which later can be turned into skolver/Vog cub/Snarby all 3 set are pretty much the staple swordsman's armor and have there uses in different situations vog for Boss farming, skolver for Lockdown, and snarby is good for both but not great.

SWORDS
You need 1 of each type pierce/shadow/elemental for shadow go Granfaust for elemental go brandish and pierce is down to personal preference but ilike flourish line over snarble barb line.

SHEILDS
Best starter sheild is the bristling buckler line gives a nice damage bonus for swordies and great for Jelly runs.

GUNS
pulsar/polaris is the best multi purpose weapon great damage and knockback with a shock effect that causes interupts.

Sorry for grammer i hated english at school...

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 12:32

Aureate

Processing Thoughts of You Always

In the end, you're going to want at least one weapon of each specialised damage type. This will help you kill things quickly.
You are probably going to want an elemental gun, since you're using it to deal with turrets and want it to deal effective damage as a result (two out of three turret types are weak to elemental, and the third is neutral to it).

Polaris makes a good anti-turret gun, but regrettably people have an unfortunate tendency to use it for purposes it was not meant for - whilst it does a good job at suppressing fire, it also flings enemies around (potentially towards allies), has an obnoxious flash that can obscure melee-fighters, and its bullets are extremely slow. It is also a boss reward upgrade, which makes its recipes exceptionally expensive, and requires 5 boss runs in order to get enough tokens for the 2* weapon.
Getting a Voltech or Prismatech Alchemer will be a cheaper and efficient alternative. Both are also good at dealing with large mobs due to their ricochet abilities - the charge attack of the 5* versions, the Storm Driver and Nova Driver, is superb, and can OHKO turrets with a single well-placed charge, something that the Polaris can't do. It takes more skill to use than the Polaris, but is well worth the extra effort.
Argent Peacemaker is vaguely worth a mention; it doesn't do as much damage per shot as the other two guns, but has a large clip of 6 bullets, and is more mobile.
There are other alternative guns, but given you're a sword-user you probably only want something for turrets.

Brandishes are cheap and easy-to-acquire options for elemental and shadow swords (Combuster, Glacius, Acheron are the most readily available). They have easy-to-use and high survivability charges, and the elemental versions have a status tacked on to boot.
Gran Faust and Divine Avenger are the big cousins of the Brandish lines. They are heavy swords, with two swings and a lot more knockback, which may take some time to get used to. They also happen to be boss reward upgrades, which again makes their recipes expensive. I would consider a Gran Faust to be a somewhat poorer choice for a starting player, since its charge is slow and has a risk of cursing your weapons and vials, causing you to take damage when you use them.
The Flourishes are all fast piercing swords, which are good choices. The Barbarous Thorn Blade is a boss version, and its recipes are more expensive. The status versions get lower damage in return for a status, which is not really considered as good as the pure-damage version.

Wolver set gives damage bonus to swords, making it a reasonable choice since you mention you like swords. You might also wish to consider the Magic line, which gets no offensive bonuses until its 5* versions, but protects against elemental damage and fire and shock statuses, which is dangerous.
Bristling Buckler also gives damage bonus to swords, although as a boss reward its recipes are, again, expensive. You may wish to go for the Owlite Shield, which is a better (and cheaper) defensive option.

tl;dr: If I were you, I would get a Swift Flourish, a Nightblade, and a Prismatech or Voltech to start out with. You can switch out weapons as necessary for the level, so you don't need an extra weapon slot. That loadout of weapons should do you well for a while. Also consider as armours Wolver, Magic, Bristling Buckler and Owlite.

I could wax lyrical about other options, but I won't...

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 15:01

Bopp

obligatory

Dartharion, I'm glad that you're enjoying the game. It makes sense to stay F2P until you're sure that you really like it. But being F2P just makes it even more important that you not waste your resources on "bad" gear. In other words, it limits your ability to try out a wide variety of gear quickly and see what you like. You have to be patient.

I have a detailed sword guide written for people in your position. It suggests a piercing sword (or shadow sword) and elemental gun, yes. In later sections, it compares the piercing swords (and shadow swords) in detail. So check out those comparisons.

As far as elemental guns go, you can search the forums for many threads on this topic. The short version is:
* Polaris: High knockback. A real crowd-control weapon. Can disrupt teammates.
* Argent Peacemaker: Easy to use. Bad charge. Not as much damage as the drivers, in the hands of an expert.
* Nova Driver: Harder to use, but high potential damage.
* Magma Driver, Storm Driver, Hail Driver: Like Nova, but trade a little raw damage for status effects.

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 15:45

Dartharion

Thanks :3

Thanks a lot guys for the feedback, really appreciate it. I guess i`ll go look into the Acheron, and the alchemers. Probably will get a piece of wolver armor, too. Although i like the idea of the Gran Faust, it might be an upgrade once I become a bit more experienced.
Will decide what to do about either the bristling buckler or the owlite one, depending on the amount of cash I have.

@ Zuluknight, English is not my native language either, if we make spelling mistakes, sew us :P
@ Aureate, I don't "do" TL:DR, larger posts are often interesting, yours was
@ Bopp, I actually got a lot of my info from your guide, thanks a lot.

Thanks again ^^ and maybe see you in-game

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 17:15

Dartharion

O.o

O.o I just found myself logging into the game, and having mail, so i rushed back to the forums xD Thanks guys for helping a new player out, REALLY appreciate it, will make good use of the items ^^ I promise :3

Perhaps i`ll see you in-game :3

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 17:17

Traevelliath

Your last point/question about crafting to 3* and 4* without spending real money:

Yes you can purchase Crystal Energy (CE) with crowns in game. Click the (-) sign in the bottom right corner of the screen. A window should pop up. Click the table labeled "trade." It should be obvious from there how to buy CE with in-game crowns.

If you want a gun for utility, I'd say the best is the Blaster Line (the missions give you the recipes). Its great at everything except damage, which, while not the greatest, is still respectable. Pulsars are used for mass crowd control (Don't use them for damage against anything except Gun Puppies and other stationary turrets). Alchemers are more for damage against large groups of enemies, while the Antiguas are better at finishing off single enemies.

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 17:48

Cao-Mau

Hmm...

As a newbie myself, if I could go back to my first week of playing (which wasn't very long ago, but I have 4* armor now at least), if I had to give myself an advise, is that you should do something that has protection against everything, and if you like the sword/gun combo, you should do either a sword that deals only "normal" damage, or a gun. I recommend a sword, which would mean continueing the calibur until the end or another sword, which was what I did, the "wild hunting blade", which I then found out it's good against beasts, which is great considering that most of the guns you'll be needing later on aren't really beast-damage related (like faust, or divine avenger, or "elemental swords" which deal damage to a specific kind of species).
But anyway, finish the level 3 armor, and when you want to start the level 4, check the spiral knights wiki, and you can find a full list of all the helms/armor/shields you can get, and then you should scroll down to the 5 stars ones, note down the ones you like, and see if you have a combo which goes good against everything. For example, I got an elemental/shadow hood on the making, a piercing defence shield, and a shadow-based coat. That kind of balances things out, and considering Vanaduke is the highest level monster you're going to fight, and the floors are pretty much 90% ghost-related, it helps.
Anyway, sorry for the long reply, but I hope it helps.
Oh, also, if you plan on slaying the highest level boss sometimes to make money when you finally manage to reach it, I suggest building something with some fire defence as well ;).
Cheers mate!

EDIT: About the "normal" damaging gun/sword, you should only do this NOW because you're going to need something that hits well on everything to continue to pass levels. For example, if you're on 5-2, if I'm not mistaken, you're still going to go through shadow-based floors, elemental-based floors or beast-based floors. But you will go through all of them, and to do a weapon, say, the Faust which is only good against Jellies/Gremlins, would be a stupid idea considering you would struggle on other floors that weren't jelly/gremlin based. Personally, I did the sword to be a "normal", but as soon as I got to an impass in the hall of heroes, to which you need to build full something stars armor, you'll need to go back and do some missions for money. And as I proggressed I found that even though pretty much all the floors are based one a specific kind of monsters, inbetween them there were a lot of "constructs", so I built myself a gun that did elemental damage, to clear these easier, and since I find these a lot during floors, it comes in handy. But in the end it all comes down to what you're struggling the most with, having gremlin problems? Do a Faust, having construct problems? Build an Argent Peacemaker. Trouble with wolves/froggs? Build piercing! It is that easy, and for more info on all of the guns/swords check the Spirak Knights Wiki. If you seach for a specific gun, say, the "Divine Avenger", you can open a chart with each damage that it does to different types of monsters. Since this one is Elemental based, you'll see that it's better for constructs.
Hope I helped :D

Wed, 01/16/2013 - 19:14

Bopp

not sure where to begin

I'm not sure where to begin with that post. Cao-Mau seems to be confusing damage types with monster families. Divine Avenger is a sword, not a gun. Beasts are probably the easiest monster family (since they were weakened over a year ago) and hence not worth planning your loadout around. I could go on...

I do agree with Cao-Mau that you should look at the wiki, select which 5-star items you might want, and then look back in their alchemy paths, to figure out how to get them. Don't do it the other way: "I have this 3-star gun --- how should I upgrade it?" That can lead to dead ends and other wasted resources.

Thu, 01/17/2013 - 08:19

Sykura

My Experiences

Maybe I'll just post my experiences, and hopefully that'll give an idea (even though most of it was before Missions being implemented.)

When I started (and after a few Arcade Runs) I looked at the Spiral Knights Wiki to find the build that I wanted. What I found was the Vog set with Leviathan and the Argent Peacemaker, along with the Owlite Shield line. I worked toward that and acquired all of it. By the time I did that Shadow Lairs were released, and I was obviously curious. Did that, acquired the Snarbolax set, and took a break. Came back when missions were introduced and proceeded to make a Combuster (Brandish line, Fire.)

"Sykura, why are you saying all of this," you might be wondering. This had to be said because what I chose determined my strengths and weaknesses. Since I was going through the Wolver line I was great against Beasts and Slimes (then eventually Gremlins/Constructs on Vog). Knowing this I stuck with fighting mobs that I was strong against, and using a Leviathan, which is pure Normal damage, damage wasn't a big issue. Once I finished the Leviathan and Vog set I worked on more armor, so I would be comfortable fighting other mobs.

Of course, missions are a bit more mixed with what you fight, and I hear 5-2 is a big troublemaker for newcomers. Really tests the limits of your abilities when it comes to the Shield Bump, Shield Cancelling, and decision making. If you ever need assistance don't be afraid to give me a shout (Sykura in-game.)

tl;dr: I got armor that suit my preference and killing habits. Then I made the other armors. If you need help, send me a message! Sykura.

Thu, 01/17/2013 - 09:52

#10

Dartharion

Hmm

Alrighty.. Right now I got the 2 star wolver set, going to upgrade it today, will probably turn it into the fire looking one, because the end-game dungeon is fire-themed, as i've been told :P
I right now also have the 3 star sword, the one you build into Archon, and a 3 star piercing sword, and the thunder alchemer, i really don't know the names yet xD
Right now I just switch between those 2 swords, and change shields accordingly.
I guess that once I get a bit more experienced, i`ll know what sword set I want, etc, but right now it's nice to atleast have something to stick with for now. I'm not going to stick to more than 2 armor sets right now, I do appreciate the tips, but I consider it a trial-by-fire as well. Not getting hit is better than getting hit and surviving, right? ^^
And I did the jelly king yesterday with a few people, he made me laugh. A giant pink pudding with a crown xD
And something else, I do check this forum page quite often, and I appreciate all help, but if i do not respond quickly enough it's probably because steam and spiral knights have some validation thing problem something. It can tell me my account info is incorrect for an hour, then simply say it's alright. I tried adding this wall of text 3 times, too, before it accepted it without an error :P

Dartharion

Thu, 01/17/2013 - 11:05

#11

Bopp

so you're working on

So you're working on Acheron, Final Flourish (or some other piercing sword), and Storm Driver? Great. You're also working on Vog Cub, although you have the option to go for Skolver instead. Great. I don't see what your shield is. Grey Owlite Shield and Barbarous Thorn Shield are the obvious choices, generally depending on whether you favor defense or offense. The simple fact is that all of this is very popular sworder stuff. But it's popular because it's good. Enjoy.

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 13:48

#12

Dartharion

Right now I have skelly

Right now I have skelly shield, owlite shield, and that defender you get from quests lying around.
First I was not sure about what would be better, going for owlite or for the bristling buckler line, but they're just different shields fit for different situations, i think. Also, i think the owlite line is easier, for a newbie, that is.
I think I get most of the game now, but I have one final question..
How the hell do you guys know what monsters you`ll face? xD
Last run, for instance, I saw a grassy land, so i thought, i`ll grab my final flourish and start stabbing beasties. But I ended up facing constructs and gremlins, mainly constructs, and not hitting anything xD
Thanks for all the help!

Dartharion

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 14:04

#13

Fradow

Owlite is indeed a good

Owlite is indeed a good shield to start with. Generally, the most difficult monsters will be more elemental than piercing (the worst being fiends, who deal shadow), and Owlite have excellent status resistance : fire and shock, who are the deadliest status.

To know what monsters you'll face, have a look at wiki : http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Gate#Level_Icons

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 03:19

#14

Batabii

If all else fails, read the

If all else fails, read the instructions

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 03:41

#15

Aureate

Contemplating Cursory Comments

If you go to the terminal and click on the option 'Gate Map', it should give you a map of all the possible levels you can get on a gate. If you mouse over them, it'll also give you the name of the level, which will give you a rough idea of what kind of enemies will be turning up. In addition, as Fradow says, you can get even more specific, since most level types can be easily differentiated by their icons.

The icon colour indicates the primary monster type (although there will almost certainly be monsters of other types; fiends and undead can often be found together, as can constructs and gremlins, or beasts and slimes). The background colour indicates the status theme, too. Say if you saw a gate icon with a dark blue shield on a blue-green background, that would indicate the level was a Fiend Arena with a Shock theme - Thunder Fist Arena (Fiendish Fray). So you might wear shadow-defence armour with shock resistance if you had it, and bring in piercing and elemental weapons to deal with fiends and undead.

There are some special non-distinct icons, as well, for set levels (such as Jade Tangle, Scarlet Fortress or Sky Islands), but generally these can be distinguished by mousing over them, and each level always has the same layout and monsters inhabiting them (although there may be different variants on these levels, which can also be distinguished by mousing over).

Other than that, the only levels that can't be distinguished from their icon alone are the Construct variant of Clockwork Tunnels and the Deconstruction Zones. I have no idea why this is the case, though.

Oh, and one more thing you probably already knew; you can't have all levels at once. The various depths will rotate, which means if you wait long enough at an elevator, the icon will change and you can enter a different (possibly more favourable) level. This is only the case if the next depth has more than one level available as an option, though, and it might take some time to get the level you want.

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Kind of overwhelmed