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Grey Owlite Shield vs Volcanic Plate Shield? (In general

8 replies [Last post]
Fri, 02/15/2013 - 14:34
Samahria

Ok, so I already have an Owlite shield (because I heard that GO was good), but I have recently found (through searching) about the Volcanic Plate Shield. I find comparisons of these two when using in Firestorm Citadel, but I was just wondering about which one is better in general.

My (planned) gear:
Divine Veil
Skolver Coat
Barbarous Thorn Blade OR Acheron (depends on what stratum I'm on)
Storm Driver

I just really want to know whether it's worth spending my time on building VPS rather than GOS. And I would preferably only want 1 shield (just saying).

Sun, 02/17/2013 - 22:46
#1
Thinslayer's picture
Thinslayer
Analysis.

Threats in FSC:
*Zombies (normal/shadow, fire)
*Trojans (normal [elemental & shock when buffing])
*Vanaduke's mace (normal, fire)
*Red Rovers (elemental, fire)
*Rocket Puppies (normal, fire)
*Shadow fire (elemental, fire)
*Fire grates (elemental, fire)
*Spike wheels (normal)
*Spike traps (piercing)
*Oilers, uncommon (normal/piercing, fire)
*Wolvers, uncommon (normal/piercing)

VPS will be optimal against Trojans, Vanaduke, spike wheels, and rocket puppies.
GOS will be optimal against Red Rovers, Vanaduke, shadow fire, and elemental grates.
CoA will be optimal against Zombies.

VPS will be mediocre against zombies and Red Rovers.
VPS will be terrible against shadow fire and elemental grates.
GOS will be mediocre against zombies, Oilers, Wolvers, and Trojans.
GOS is not terrible against anything.
CoA will be mediocre against Vanaduke, Trojans, Red Rovers, Rocket Puppies, Oilers, and Wolvers.
CoA will be terrible against shadow fire and fire grates.

Mind that this is all relative to one another. They are all great shields, and as long as you're paying attention, they'll all protect you even against threats I've said they're terrible for. I know, I've used a CoA to hold off shadow fire and elemental grates; it holds up. Protect your shield, and it will protect you.

Fri, 02/15/2013 - 16:08
#2
Zeddy's picture
Zeddy
@Thinslayer

Volcanic Plate has lots of normal defence and fire defence. Grey Owlite has less normal defence than melee-focused shields, why do you state it's better against rockets than Volcanic? Rockets are purely normal/fire.

Fri, 02/15/2013 - 19:09
#3
Thinslayer's picture
Thinslayer
The wiki did it! It's the wiki's fault!

The wiki says that rocket puppies deal normal, elemental, and fire. Unless testing shows otherwise, it is reasonable to assume that all non-turret enemies deal evenly split damage beyond T2. Now, I personally believe that this is not the case, and I think that heavy enemies (and your rocket puppies) might actually deal unevenly split damage (if not outright pure normal), but I can't prove it yet. I am simply working with what the community has recorded on the wiki and forums.

Still, I have edited my response to include your objections. I think there is some merit to them.

Fri, 02/15/2013 - 19:38
#4
Bopp's picture
Bopp
optimizing in the wrong place

Grey Owlite Shield is great in general, and quite adequate in FSC. Volcanic Plate Shield sometimes performs better in depth 28 of FSC (the boss fight), due to the profusion of normal damage there. But you're talking about spending a lot of resources for a slight improvement in performance. I say "a lot of resources" because in the rest of your equipment you seem totally unspecialized.

So no I don't think that switching shields is worth it. You won't notice a whole lot of difference. Instead, get more weapons. Weapons strongly influence your play style, while armor usually doesn't. Weapons are fun, while armor usually isn't.

Sat, 02/16/2013 - 00:37
#5
Thinslayer's picture
Thinslayer
Well-said.

I agree. Grey Owlite's defenses are among the most important in a shield, so it will carry value no matter where you take it. The only other shield I would speak just as highly of would be the Crest of Almire, which not only defends against the two most important statuses, but against the deadliest damage type, as well (if not the most common and annoying type, elemental, which Owlite is great for). But the Crest takes a lot of farming and patience to acquire, so you might as well get GOS in the meantime.

Looking at your loadout again, I'm tempted to think that an Argent Peacemaker would suit your arsenal better. Your gear seems to be swordsman-oriented, and the AP is the perfect sidearm for one.

Sat, 02/16/2013 - 05:28
#6
Bopp's picture
Bopp
I'd stick with an alchemer

Argent isn't a bad sidearm for sworders, but I'd stick with Storm Driver (or Nova Driver). Alchemers do higher damage in the hands of an expert, which you will eventually be. And Storm Driver's status is almost always really useful.

Sat, 02/16/2013 - 15:23
#7
Samahria
Thanks people XD

Hey guys! XD Thanks for the replies. I think I'll stick with Owlite and look into weapons instead (such as argent).

Sun, 02/17/2013 - 05:04
#8
Sir-Pandabear's picture
Sir-Pandabear
@Thinslayer

I just got in a depth 25 arena with 8 rocket puppies spawning. After blocking several rockets in succession, my shield was still blue.

Prettyyyy sure they're just normal/fire and the wiki is wrong about it.

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