I'm a nooby guy who has been playing Spiral Knights for at least a week now, but this is my question: is the wiki's hybrid guide reliable? It's the build that most appeals to me, but I'm not sure if I should follow it. thx if you answer me.
question about wiki
im pretty sure i want to be a hybrid sworder/gunner. and i will check your guide out. Also, if I do go hybrid, which shield should I pick?The hybrid guide says to pick aegis, but im not sure.
any time i go to the wiki no images or stats show up WTH
If you are looking to do a Hybrid build, here are some things to consider...
Although you will not be the strongest in anything, you shouldn't be the weakest in anything either.
Most bonuses are on Helmets and Armors, but there are on occasion a bonus on a shield. These shields are: Barbarous Thorn Shield line (Sword DMG, bought by Tokens from Snarbolax), Swiftstrike Buckler (All Attack Speed High, only goes up to 3*).
A hybrid build revolves around one piece sword, another piece gun, and the shield either being one that was mentioned or a defense that is useful to the run.
Sets that would be used in a Sword/Gun Hybrid are Half Wolver/Half Gunslinger, or full Chaos (dangerously low defense).
Too make a very strong Hybrid character, consider getting trinkets to assist on DMG, Atk Speed, or Charge Time Reduction. Also consider variants that assist on these factors. Can be costly, but normally is a good investment at End-Game.
Hopefully something in this mess of text helps. I'm no hybrid, but I understand the concept.
Shadow-Excalibur, the wiki seems to be having a temporary problem with showing images. The problem is new as of today, as far as I know.
Tutella, there is no reason to go with Aegis. Some people think that Azure Guardian and Aegis are general-purpose armor. They may be the "default" armor, but they are not general-purpose. They defend against normal and piercing, but no statuses. There's nothing general-purpose about that. And they offer no offensive bonuses. As others have said (and my sword guide says), think about Barbarous Thorn Shield, Grey Owlite Shield, Swiftstrike Buckler, Dread Skelly/Crest of Almire, etc.
I consider myself a hybrid. I am not particular to one kind of wep. It depends what is best for the depth/mission I am in. I use swords, guns, bombs. Doesn't matter, whatever is works.
When I started I got the "default 5* gear", Aegis shield, Azure Guardian armor set, Valiance gun, Leviathan Blade, Nirtonome bomb. I even finished the Dauntless Delver Achievement in this (Running from depth 1 to the core without dying once). But.. its real hard. The game is much easier if you have different shields and armor sets, that have the right defense for the area you are in.
There is no "the one and only best set" that can be used in all areas/depths/missions. If you are really pro in this game I guess the gear do not matter as much. I have different gear loadouts for different areas.
I now have all the 5 star shields, but I would say what I use most is
1] Barbarous Thorn Shield
2] Grey Owlite Shield
3] Crest of Almire
4] and on occasion Dread Skelly Shield.
The other shields are gathering dust in my arsenal.
Tell me if this is ok. I'm not sure what gun to use, but I'll use the calibur line, mystic veil and skolver cap, and barbarous thorn shield. I'm not sure, but I like to be flexible, and be ready for every occasion with one loadout.
Tutella, you might want to think about the blaster line as your gun. Valiance is a great all around gun, it was my first 5* weapon and it has served me well!
Also, my recommended build:
Divine Veil- Hurray for quality elemental and shadow defense!
Skolver Coat- Freeze and pierce buff. Lovely, right? Also, it gives swords a buff (extra damage!)
Grey Owlite Shield- Having normal and elemental defense is always great.
Brandish line- Combuster is most powerful, useful even in fire situations.
Blaster line- Valiance is a handy, multipurpose gun.
DV and Skolv should make an excellent defense set against most monsters of the clockworks.
There are some typos in Tutella's post, but I think that he's going for Divine Veil and Skolver Coat. So you don't have to recommend them to him.
Tutella, Barbarous Thorn Shield is good for sword offense, but Mahatma-Gandhi is right that Grey Owlite would be better for defense; there's a tradeoff there.
Tutella, I wouldn't choose Calibur/Leviathan for my sword, but you can; it's not crazy or anything. It's okay. As I explain in my sword guide, you should seriously consider an elemental gun.
I think I'll stick to levi blade. But, for the elemental gun, should I go with a Prismatech(pure elemental) or a Firotech(elemental with chance of fire) alchemer? I prefer fire over shock and i don't like freeze( i have a high chance to break the ice because i like firing rapidly into a dense crowd[not sure if good strategy]). Or maybe should I have a pulsar?
I am personally not a great fan of the Firotech line; the damage over time provided by the fire seems a bit of a mixed blessing, and I seem to recall the figures working out so that the status version came to somewhat less damage than the non-status version. In addition, because of the nature of fire, it'll take longer to do that damage, meaning the turret you could've killed in one shot with a Nova is now swivelling round to fire on you because it's still burning to death.
Pulsar is designed for killing turrets. It is a utility gun. If you start using the expanded bullets on Lumbers in parties I will personally take your gun and shove it where the sun does not shine. Yes, that place in Russia. You will never find it again.
Please use it carefully.
There are six choices for elemental gun. Search Google for "spiral knights elemental gun" to see many, many threads about them. The short version is:
* Argent: Easy to use, decent damage, bad charge attack.
* Polaris: Easy to use, decent damage, shock, extreme knockback.
* Nova: Harder to use, higher potential damage.
* Magma, Hail, Storm: Like Nova, but trade some damage for status.
My personal recommendation is Nova or Storm. I've never used Magma, and I believe Aureate's advice, but if you really like fire then go for it.
I guess then ill go with storm driver. Thx for everyone's help!
You will love Storm Driver!
Fantastic weapon, fun to use. Once you get it, I'll show you ways sometime if you want. ^^
~Shadowknifer.
As you can see, the Hybrid Guide is not very developed. Only a few people have worked on it, during 2012 May and 2013 January. In my judgment, it's not very useful right now, and I don't see it progressing rapidly either.
Maybe we can help? Do you want to be a hybrid sworder/gunner, gunner/bomber, bomber/sworder, or sworder/gunner/bomber?
Most people favor armor with offensive bonuses. So consider a mixture of sworder (Wolver), gunner (Gunslinger), and bomber (Demo) armor. Consider also Chaos armor, if you want outstanding offense at the risk of terrible defense.
For detailed advice on the sworder part of your loadout, and how it interacts with guns, consider my detailed sword guide.