At what point (from a rank/mission standpoint) should new players stop trying to match armor to incoming damage and start working on dodging attacksand getting armor with useful bonuses. I know that the tier 1 and 2 semi-tanky playstyle stops being advisable in tier 3, but should we stop spend crowns and energy on new and more resistant armor before that point?
Armor Matching vs dodging
Tue, 07/09/2013 - 23:54
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 01:09
#2
?
You say it as if both things were mutually exclusive.
The "useful bonuses" that aren't defensive will just help you clear an area faster, so use them when you have no problems clearing an area and just want to speed up the process.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 03:16
#3
/reply
You should never build defensive gear, especially if you are new and F2P.
I and my Volcanic Plate mail both give that a great big middle digit and a "screw that".
OP: considering that getting all the gear necessary to match all incoming damage types is tedious and impractical, players probably shouldn't really bother about it too much and just grab what they prefer anyway. Just my two crowns.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 03:27
#4
I would recommend building
I would recommend building offensive gear until you want to go to the shadow lairs. Honestly, in SL's defensive gear will help you survive much more easily. Namely Ice Queen set helping in Ice Queen (Skolver is good, too), Grey Feather helping in Red Roarmulus (Vog Cub and Mercurial Demo are good, too), and Deadshot helping in Darkfire Vana. Yes, Deadshot is both offensive and defensive for there.
The best piece of defensive gear is not the armor. It's heart pendants, really.
A heart pendant will always guarantee that you can take one more hit in PVE. Some more defense on the armor won't. I use the defensive sets in SL's because I find that the extra defense is noticeable. Play style also comes into account. Do you like to be all gung ho guns a blazing? Go offensive. Not confident in your ability to stay alive? Defensive.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 07:43
#5
My two crowns
Having matching defensive armor seems to take off 2-3 pips out of 7 from enemy attacks. When I wear Volcanic Plate to FSC, zombies deal about 6-7 pips of damage. When I wear Fallen, they deal about 4-5 pips damage. Their leaps deal only 3 (6 if I'm wearing non-shadow armor). Wearing Volcanic Plate, Trojan smashes deal about 4 pips of damage, while wearing Fallen, they just about drain my entire health bar. Volcanic Plate also works wonders in the boss fight, not by reducing damage, but by minimizing the impact of stun and fire. It also tanks fireballs like a boss.
I think players underestimate the usefulness of defensive armor. But don't overestimate it, either - when the rubber meets the road, your skill and damage will be a stronger contribution to success than the damage you absorbed. I regularly beat FSC and Vana in Ash Tail (which I'm just leveling; I have better gear), and can conquer just about anything in full Azure Guardian.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 08:59
#6
._.
@Battlegrinder
Greetings, I play almost like that:
- Chaos set
- Dmg trinket
- Dmg trinket
- Sword or Bomb
- Gun
- Swiftstrike buckler
- Profit!?
ps. death in solo mostly of lags or slowpokeness.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 09:02
#7
Despite everything you all said, there's a defining factor: party size and weapons.
You don't need full skolver and a BTS to solo with a DA... zombies are smashed in 2 hits already.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 09:05
#8
as a general rule
A knight should actually avoid being tanky when possible. As stated before, once you become proficient in dodging, you can replace armor and shields with more offensive alternatives.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 10:34
#9
-
I started playing this game before anything was nerfed. now I just play in chaos set and swiftstrike, whatever trinkets (usually not heart pendants) and its fine. not like any monster in the game is challenging anymore.... just get offensive gear and remember to use your remedy pills if you're in chaos.
Thu, 07/11/2013 - 05:02
#10
@Heavy-Dragon
I disagree. Once you've mastered the Last Stand ability you can literally walk though intense combat without the need for dodging. I've learnt that this skill is crucial in high-latency scenarios. Also if you're using high knockback weapons like Sealed Sword or Troika, parrying enemy attacks (knocking telegraphing enemies out of range, or deflecting mid-air zombies) is also a handy technique. It's a must when it comes to Gremlins and Mecha Knights, who are quick on their feet and with their hands.
Thu, 07/11/2013 - 07:36
#11
@CAKE
One reason why armors are made is because when you can't dodge (or just too laggy to dodge), you can at least endure these attacks and carry on with your life.
Fri, 07/12/2013 - 08:49
#12
learn to dodge right from the
learn to dodge right from the getgo
you can match armor if you want (i started with matching armor and now still am to lazy to dodge sometimes just to rush through haha)
Sat, 07/13/2013 - 13:24
#13
Offensive armor is better
Offensive armor is better than defensive armor. Learn how to evade right from the get-go, even if you are sporting a defensive build. Back to my first statement though;
With defensive armor, your enemy chooses whether your armor is effective or not based on what attack they use. Not all enemies in a certain monster gate deal the same type of damage. Either way, the choice is in their hands to some extent.
With offensive armor, you get to choose whether your armor is effective or not based on what weapon you use. So the choice is in your hands. You play the lead, not your enemy. That's why moderately offensive armor is better, this can be seen much more easily in PvP, where enemies can switch between all types of damage. Combine a high damage build with the ability to always work around an enemy knight or monsters defense, and you can't really get it any better.
Of course, things like heart trinkets are effective regardless of the enemy and can be more useful than offense trinkets since you can get UV's instead, but defense-matching is allot of work for little reward.
You should never build defensive gear, especially if you are new and F2P.