I've been browsing lots of Battle Sprite threads ever since the little critters were released, but I refused to pick one until I was 100% sure it was what I wanted. Now that we can buy more Sprites, I don't have to worry about commitment. Horray!
But which sprite should I start with, and what Ultimate should I ultimately (ha!) decide on? I have some ideas, but ideas are not the same as application. If you're a bomber, a high-level Sprite owner, or both, could you toss some advice my way?
Here's what I think are the two good choices:
Maskeraith: Quills sound like a beautiful thing, especially since bombers can burn and shock enemies like it ain't no thang. Having quilled enemies get hit even harder by their status sounds keen. In addition, a bomber running solo can take a long time to clear a room of enemies (since the damage is split between lots of targets), so Hexing Haze would get the chance to do its damage in this situation.
Drakon: Lots of things to like about Drakon as a bomber. Firebolt allows for speedy targeted damage, Flame Barrier sounds like a great way to add a bit to damage output (since bombers can run around and "graze" enemies while charging), and Firestorm is... well, not really necessary (we have Ash), but it's a nice bonus.
And here's the Ultimates that sounded good to me:
Maskeraith with Deadly Shadow Cloak:
Deadly Shadow Cloak increases damage by 50% (from what I've heard). All bombs have fuses (naturally!), but shard bombs and vortexes have particularly extended "fuses" (and thus can be placed multiple times before their real damage hits), and Dark Retribution does continual damage. So if bombs are about to detonate and you see they've got a lot of targets they're gonna hit, you'd pop the skill, and the bombs would get their damage boosted. I love the idea, but I dunno how well it works in practice. For right now, though, it's my #1 pick.
Maskeraith with Vengeful Quills:
This seems like the better of the two buffs for Quills (since bombers can already drop poison like crazy with a Venom Veiler), but damage numbers are a mystery to me, as are the specifics of the ultimate (do re-fired quills stick to other enemies, for instance?). This is kind of a Plan B if the Cloak ultimate doesn't work the way I've heard it does.
Drakon with Meteoric Firebolt
With the increased blast radius of Meteoric Firebolt, this seems like an effective combo to use with vortexes. It appears to be the obvious Drakon ultimate for bombers.
Seraphynx with Valkyrian Aura
This would, without a doubt, be the God-Tier skill for bombers... if it allowed you to exceed Maximum CTR. I'm pretty sure it doesn't, though.
So, where am I right, and where am I hideously wrong? Considering I have absolutely no hands-on experience with Sprites, this is all speculation. Any folks who have some advice to give, by all means, post! I'd really, really appreciate it. :3
I have a Maskeraith at Level 100. I used to be a pure gunner but I've been switching to Status Bombing since coming back to SK.
Maskeraith's Chaotic Haze is excellent for Status Bombing. Imagine this, Ash of Agni + Voltaic Tempest + Chaotic Haze + maybe a Shield Bash for good measure. You're pretty much hitting enemies for every status.
In practice though, I'm surprised how groups of enemies just disappear when I start bombing + Chaotic Hazing them.
Virulent Quills or even Caustic Quills are nice if you combine with a status bomb like Ash or Voltaic. The poisonous explosions of Virulent are fun.
Deadly Cloak... honestly, it's not that great for bombing unless you've got CTR Max. Simply because the bonuses would wear off before you can get your explosion in. You'd just get 1 good hit in at best. The stealth factor is what makes Deadly Cloak awesome. Deadly Cloak is great for gunners and presumable sworders though, since that couple seconds of near double damage can let you assassinate just about anything.
Go for Vengeful Shadow Cloak if you're a bomber, since you can stun enemies when you de-cloak.