I'm wondering about what people's opinions are (and why) on the best designed gear, functionally speaking. That is, not necessarily the most powerful gear, but the gear where all its elements (i.e. charge attack, speed, knockback, etc.) work well together. For example, I'd rate the BTB as a well designed weapon as it's fast for fiends and its charge attack is great for packs of wolvers and shotgunning silkwings. I've even used it (well, DTB as I don't have a BTB yet) for Vana and trojans. Sure, it's not as powerful as a blitz, but it still performs solidly. How about the rest of you?
best designed gear?
Wed, 08/14/2013 - 10:31
Wed, 08/14/2013 - 12:25
#2
Catalyzers.
Thu, 08/15/2013 - 21:53
#3
Winmillion would be, but it failed....
Probably volcanic pepperbox, actually. I love that thing.
Sat, 08/17/2013 - 03:49
#4
well
I think pepperbox/thunder bomb/voltedge
Sat, 08/17/2013 - 07:52
#5
Pretend I wrote something clever here
I'd put the Antigua and its derivatives on the list. They're easy to use, moderately easy to obtain, don't really on glitches to get the most performance, have a useful (albeit not incredibly so) charge attack. They might be the best weapon for a dedicated gunner, but they are great sidearms for sword and bomb users.
Sat, 08/17/2013 - 16:23
#6
Merc. demo suit
Best designed bomber gear evar.
Catalyzer would be in first, but you gotta plan parties for that wonderous weapon.
Sun, 08/18/2013 - 00:20
#7
Does Maskeraith count as "gear?"
Sun, 08/18/2013 - 00:39
#8
Cold Snap.
Sun, 08/18/2013 - 00:42
#9
Subject:
Kamarin
Sun, 08/18/2013 - 01:35
#10
...well, sprites are equipped in the arsenal. Since I consider Poison essential, having it always available regardless of what I equip in my weapon slots give me a bit more freedom, but that's more of a personal preference thing than a design thing. OTOH, the sneaky ability is great for speedrunning for rarities and/or ore, and the haze looks to be just the ticket for gobs and gobs of Gremlins if you want or need to fight them rather than bypassing them. Does any one here have OCH and know how well it works for cloaked Gremlins? If sprites don't count, I guess it's a toss-up between several weapons which are so designed that they benefit greatly from both ASI boosts and CTR boosts, that both their normal and charge attacks are very useful, that they reward learning how to use them rather than being "brainless" weapons, and that they encourage habits that are good for party health.
Catalysers, esp. the Poison one, are just great. Catalyser use requires mindfulness of the consequences of the knockback you're inflicting, or you'll kill YOURSELF with it. If you bother getting to know how to use a catalyser, you're rewarded with a brilliant clockworks weapon; maybe not the highest DPS, (I honestly don't know what's at the very top, I don't enjoy splitting hairs) but still great DPS, much more versatile than the Brandishes, the highest instantaneous burst damage available, and a perfect anti-Gremlin combo of Shadow damage and Poison status infliction. Before the Battle Sprites update, I very rarely ventured into the clockworks without one of my trusty Catalysers.
Since that update, my Autoguns have become essential for me due to how they let me get the most out of quills, and I also greatly appreciate how they too encourage users to develop essential party skills; this time, being mindful of openings and timing, including use of shield-bumping, but also other things for the Pepperbox line in particular: bracing monsters against backdrops for pushy attacks and switching targets to get the most DPS out of status effects. Aesthetically, I also adore how the Pierce ones look at T3 star levels when combined with a Catalyser, and how the Normal one first ejects brass as if it were a gatling-style autogun and then ejects again as if it were a pepperbox-style repeater.
I also adore the Shock Alchemer; the submunition mechanics and the status effect are a perfect thematic match, resulting in a very coherent "chaos gun" character, on top of meshing well in a functional sense. For all Alchs in general, the chaotic mechanics help teach mindfulness. Alchemers reward practice and attention with better damage results, both for carefully picking at monsters and for dumping ludicrous damage. (monster herding, hit placement, hugging walls and using other terrain features) Alchs are also tied with Blasters for my favourite close-up weapons for where most players would probably rather have a sword, but Blasters don't meet the CTR/charge or educational criteria which I arbitrarily chose as my standard for "well-designed." I mention Blaster anyway because it satisfies other standards for "well-designed" that I can see as sane.
Sun, 08/18/2013 - 01:39
#11
Old Shard Bombs.
They had reflection, shine, and you can just imagine knocking the crystal and hearing an hollow sound. The old crystal bomb/sun shard/rock salt bombs were the best bombs. Now, they're just bombs with one base color.
Warmaster Rocket Hammer would have to be on the list. It has an entirely different attack pattern from every other weapon in the game. It's very fun. It is not easy to master, but it is very powerful once you master it.
Similarly, alchemers are not easy to use well. But once you master them, you can do massive damage, and take pride in setting up good shots.