As a gunner/bomber who only has 2 weapon slots and no trinkets, I think Blitz is fine as is.

It's really a situational gun. Yeah, it destroys Lizards, but it takes a little skill and patience to take out Wolvers. It's good for softening up Devilites or Gremlins. But at close range where it does the most damage, it's not as easy to pull off (unless it's a Pit Boss). And if you're facing a group of them, they'll probably hit you back. It's okay against Constructs because they're slow and you can keep your distance, while Slimes will get in your face. Slags are easy pickings while Kats will be your bane.

In other words, there are pros and there are cons.

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The thing is, not everyone is a skilled Blitzer. Heck, not everyone knows how to use a sword, much less something like the Blitz which requires you to be vulnerable for a crazy long time. Unless you got good CTR, those wolvers will be ready to teleport again by the time you're ready to shoot at 'em. Similarly, in the 4 or 5 seconds it takes you to charge, you're highly vulnerable to fast and aggressive Devilites. And if you've only got 3* or 4* gear? You're going to get maimed.

Those who've been playing for awhile, know how to survive in most situations. But a newer knight is going to get crushed. Giving them a little extra edge wouldn't hurt. Especially since that "edge" doesn't really come into play until FSC anyway. A new knight with a Needle Shot isn't going to benefit from it too much (except for Fiend missions, which to a new knight, is devilishly difficult and they need all the help they can get).

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I typically bring my Blitz for Devilite levels, sometimes Beast levels and of course, definitely for FSC and Graveyards.

So to me, the main issue is whether or not an unmodified Blitz is able to OHKO a Trojan or not.

I typically play FSC on Elite, usually with a party of 3 or 4. Despite using Blitz, I don't use gunner gear, so despite spawn camping Trojans, I can't kill Trojans even at point blank range. When it's only 1 Trojan, I'll have to circle around for a second hit to finish them off. If 2 Trojans spawn, I'm pretty much screwed, as they'll counter with a stunning slash and the follow up will kill me. For quite some time, I've allowed myself to tank/die because I got an ER. Although recently I've either not spawn camped or I use the Kitty Shield (which only activates half the time).

Now, granted I've probably got the worst possible setup for a Blitz to take on a Trojan, but hey, it's Elite, I think it's fair I can't kill everything in one shot. Heck, on Elite, I can't even kill a flippin' Slag in one hit at point blank range. Nowadays, I have to either tank a hit or soften them up from a distance.

To me, it seems about right. An unmodified Blitz is juuuuuust short of being able to kill anything in one barrage.

Now, I'm sure on Normal, Advance or a solo/duo Elite run, the Blitz is able to do what it used to do. But then, those are "easier" levels supposedly meant for newer players. I tell ya, when I was new, I was highly reluctant to get right up in the face of the enemy, because they could literally kill me in just one hit. It took a lot of dying and being revived for me to learn the timing down.

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As it is however, I don't think it'd make too much difference whether it gets nerfed or not, not on Elite. Personally, I'd still have to soften the enemy up before being able to come in for the kill. Those who CAN OHKO are those who bought trinkets or got the right armor pieces, ala Chaos. But considering they're geared toward damage, they deserve to be able to OHKO.

On easier levels such as Normal and Advance, the game should be easier.

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TL;DR, Blitz is a situational weapon. It has a steep-ish learning curve. For the risk it entails, it should have visible rewards. Especially for a newer knight.

For a long time user, nerfing it or keeping it the same has no big difference. But I'm in favor of keeping it as is to give the inexperienced knight that extra edge.

all of these blitz talks... just reminds me of this post
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/65007

Gonna save E and Cr's now, and eternal orbs <3

"Do any of the new handguns inflict curse? because we need a curse-inflicting handgun, and a bomb too."

There is a reason Fausts have Curse. It's a very powerful status, if not the most powerful. The trade off being able to deal it to enemies is the risk of doing it to yourself.

"As well as that, we actually desperately need a flamethrower."

I politely disagree.

"Also, how do you access the test server?"

Here you go, comrade: http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/24087

"The trade off being able to deal it to enemies is the risk of doing it to yourself."

Why are people always saying this? The second hit of gran faust can curse just fine, and there is zero risk in using it. A gun that inflicts slight chance of curse wouldn't be overpowered at all.

Hell, if Flamberge inflicted curse instead of fire, it would still be underpowered.

@Scorcheir

I think it's a fair bet that "Winter Grave" will inflict freeze.

You need like 10-20 hits to inflict with Flamberge, though. You'll basically have to kill your target several times over to curse them.

@Khamsin since fiends don't really suffer from curse Devilites and Greavers (Silkwings too) are affected by curse. Trojans are not.

I am curious what kind of reworks the guns are gonna get.

Grim Repeater sounds like some kind of rapid shadow gun. Shadow damage blitz? :o We have sentenza...

The self-infliction on the charge attack? Prolly lore fluff. I mean, the charge attack already only has one astral blade compared to DA's three. In addition, the charge time is painfully long. Even if the self-curse wasn't there, there's just no reason to use the charge attack for GF at all.

Maybe taking away the charge attack's ability to be remotely usable is a way to balance there being curse on the combo.

Not sure why so many people think curse is so good. It's extremely varied depending on the mobs attack speed. Using a flourish with max damage and asi will out dps any status a flamberge might apply. On the other hand fire on a weapon like brandish where a charge attack can apply fire to a plathora of enemies make the status actually worth having.

A curses place imo is mainly in pvp because of players quick attack speed and its ability to shut down players by forcing them to run to the hearts.

Yeah, whenever I use charge with GF I think, Oh crap I messed up, even if I don't get cursed.

Like I said before, I only wanted to see it happen because the design of the bombs animation and model would match the idea of the status in my opinion, that being said, it is not and should never be implied as acceptable to grounds for the suggestion. It is simply wishful thinking. It would be like me wanting to see Triglav deal elemental because of the concept of Ice being an element and it deals freeze.

And you /pokes Arkate with a stick. You're supposed to back me up here.

Jokes and opinions aside, if you both really want to go at the thought of it I wouldn't say it would be useless at all. If anything, adding curse would be a very condensed Ash of Agni in the sense of damage support, not crowd control. It would certainly add to the current concept of crowd control it has now in the sense of making mobs more manageable through damaging multiple foes at once and manipulating mob movement.

Lets say Graviton does have chance to inflict curse, any percentage. Now, think about how that effect helps the player after using it. Also for the sake of argument, the bomb hypothetically can inflict this curse at the time of the first detonation (The vortex is summoned) or the second (The vortex explodes), or better yet both.

Assuming you've seen one go off or set one off yourself you need to remember that monsters can still attack in side the vortex just like how you and mobs can still attack when frozen. They're especially liable to attack when you get close to beat up the condensed mobs or just lay another bomb down. They just can't move forward or change direction (much). If the curse is inflicted at the first one, then any attacks made by monsters in the vortex are self damaging, and therefore are helpful.

For the second detonation, lets also say these mobs are at full health. Obviously the blast alone won't kill them, and once the second blast goes off the enemies are cursed, then scattered by the blast. (Which conflicts with concept of crowd control in terms of manipulating or impeding mob movement) The curse is beneficial because any attack they launch from there runs the risk of killing them, or making them so weak other players can finish them with greater ease than the blast without curse. This is good for when you fail to lay another down and they go flying into another player's range. So there are very obvious benefits from both, though not exponential, still obvious. This should not push forward the idea it should be added, just the fact that the idea has applications and isn't an entire waste of time.

This is really off topic from the OP now that I see it.

Gunner update? According to Nick, up to 24 guns ["two dozens"] and a new sets of armors covering a 'full range' of damage types and status resistances. It sounds like a tall order. Makes me speculate that maybe OOOs has devised a new type of gun, maybe two? I believe there will be new designs in regards to the gun armors. I am not very certain what kind of guns are going to be released on November. Although I can speculate, and one this is certain: there is probably a new type of gun coming out with 2 dozens of them rolling in. A new type with several re-skins and variations of the same type as we currently have the following types: Alchemers, Blasters, Antiguas, Catalyzers, and Pulsars—5 types. The Alchemers for instance, are a type of gun with bouncing bullets with 2-shot clips with 5 different variations: Nova, Umbra, Storm, Magma, and Hail. There may develop new types of guns along with adding new alchemy lines to some of the existing ones.

I have a hunch the Blaster may get new alchemy lines. It is the only gun in the game with one alchemy line, so it is likely to get new lines of alchemy but the question is: What kind of varieties? It could get a gun-version of the Cold Iron Vanquisher which we all know is outclassed by the Leviathan Blade and it would be the same scenario. Perhaps a Shadow Blaster or Elemental Blaster? Considering the fact that the Blaster is just an Alchemer with a 3-shot clip with no bounce [ricocheting] and poses an high-knockback charged shot in exchange. So a high-knockback charged shot of Shadow/Elemental would be possible, perhaps? It may have an interesting twist if statuses were added for both; Elemental Blaster may have a Shock and Fire alchemy line while the Shadow Blaster could have an alchemy line of Freeze and Poison—a total of 4 new alchemy lines hypothetically. Concerning balance, added that it is a Shadow/Elemental Blaster with a status, but the only way to inflict its status without toning down its damage is through charge attack. I don't think there is anyway to make a Piercing-Blaster but I have a hunch it is plausible for a new type to be made.

Hypothetically speaking I would say they may develop a sniper-oriented weapon. Based on the Mecha Turrets we can find in certain levels of the game, like The Jelly Farm II or in Operation Crimson Hammer. Considering its piercing properties then it would likely be a pure-piercing weapon. Question is how many alchemy lines will this type of gun have, because of its piercing qualities—to be able to go through multiple enemies within the line of fire—and if it based of the Mecha Turret the it is possible it may have an elemental variety and its possible for it to have status-based lines to add a variety of piercing+status sniper rifles. So with all that, how would this type be balanced? As its strengths based on the Mecha Turret must be piercing multiple foes with long range, the only balancing factor I could theorize is that it can only be fired via charged attack to remove any balance problems and potentially being hard to aim because its long range—like a sniper rifle—would likely go off-screen. That's my hunch on OOOs making a new type of gun: a long-ranged sniper laser [or bullet] rifle.

Another type of gun that I am having thoughts on that are feasible is a minigun or full-auto assault rifle. This one I am thinking it to be a normal-type gun like the Autogun, hell it is an Autogun: but rather than spraying and covering a wide-area it would be significantly longer ranged than the Autogun—no movement and no charge attack when firing it, in exchange for no reloading with endless shooting and the ability to turn around—unless you stop shooting which will cause a reload animation that leaves you open. Playing a sentry turret in essence with this would be pretty useful in Lockdown. As for varieties, I don't think there will be many damage varieties besides normal, piercing, and shadow—assuming Spiral HQ figured out how to load shards or needles of dark matter into an Autogun during development of this weapon. In that cause it could be a boss-killer [using this on JK and Vana] with its relentless shooting.

This gun type I am having thoughts on is kind of gimmicky because its a crossbow. A crossbow-type with mechanics similar to Maskeraith's quill attack; you shoot a bolt/arrow and it sticks onto the enemy for more damage yet I believe relying on this exclusively may not be the best idea. Unless those bolts have a detonation-time to be useful to begin with. However this type would have to have a 2-burst round clip—in other words, shoot 3-4 bolts per round. Similar play to the Autogun but shooting bolts that stick to targets.

This last gun type that I would expect but not likely to be made in the near future in spite the upcoming patch is a short-ranged shockwave gun. Its a little abstract but the mechanics and play-work are like this: it is a Polaris-Pulsar that fires arc or crescent-shaped shockwaves of energy that hit anything multiple times as it goes through them and become wider with distance—the idea is to shoot wide projectiles to repel enemies. The shots are short-ranged and would behave similar to the Divine Avenger's charged attack, the gun would compensate this with a 3-shot clip to further spam close-ranged attackers—spamming would not be a problem because that is what its meant for. Good for those narrow corridors and the charge attack would probably be a larger shockwave. I am not so certain what alchemy lines would be made for it, assuming that its a legit gun, but it would probably be pretty useful regardless. This is the gun-type I would least expect.

These are all possible guns that I do think they can be developed in this game. Not saying they should, or they are. I would say they are badass if they made them in some way with the style of gameplay in mind: sniping, sentry turret, crossbows, and shotguns. My point is some of these new guns that are coming may have a similar playstyle to the ones I wrote down here.

As for the armors... Well, I hope they give us something different in aesthetics—we all get sick of looking like cowboys. Hence why I like the fact we can wear armors and helms as custome-wear. I could say maybe a gun-armor based on the Spartan Armor from Halo; or the Security Suit from the second and third Dead Space games; look like a Star Wars Clone/Stormtrooper or armor based of WWII troops—now that's being a vintage soldier. I don't really know what they are gonna bring in a month but it better be good. I do believe they are going to try to cover stats, and maybe armor that boosts other stats specialized for guns [Attack Power]. Hope they make some for the other weapon types.

Anyway, that's all I got to say about this patch.

I'm 140% sure shield cancelling is intended. Switch shooting/swinging is an indirect result of swords and guns using the same base mechanics.

Brilliant, now I'll never sleep. I'll be awake every night, feverishly thinking about the new guns and what they could be. And entirely new gunner armor lines! THAT'S AMAZING.

As others have said, there needs to be a Bomber Update after this.

Not much better.

wait for the mechanics rehaul before speaking. it could be another shardastrophe after all.

"I hope you gunslingers love repackaged weapons!"

I actually don't mind getting reskins. Having a consistent visual look is nice, especially since all the new guns look cool. And making a brand new weapon or model is much harder than you people think it is (I've actually done quite a bit of CAD modeling. Trust me, it only looks easy to do). And anyway, the point is that we're getting functionally new weapons, no matter what they look like (and [A number] of the new guns does have a new model, so you can't say OOO is just dumping a bunch of reskins on us). Plus, we haven't yet seen what the new armor looks like, and from what I've heard that stuff does have a new model.

Really? That's pretty cool!

You wouldn't happen to know how well does maya stack up against programs like Blender or SFM, would you? I've been thinking about getting into animation, but I'm having a little trouble figuring out what program I should use.

I can't wait for the new weapons and gun re-balance. I hope they fix the Iron Slug and nerf the alchemers, too.

Did someone seriously claim that Blitz Needle was under powered? Also, Curse is highly overrated in anything but PvP. Seems like people like to parrot whatever the wiki says, which is highly opinionated.

Guys, I think we need a dark damage, curse-inflicting pulsar.

Also a curse brandish.

Did someone seriously claim that Blitz Needle was under powered? Also, Curse is highly overrated in anything but PvP. Seems like people like to parrot whatever the wiki says, which is highly opinionated.

That's a pretty silly statement. Curse will kill whatever it's thrown on, regardless of whether it has full health or not. You can't say the same for fire or shock, the supposedly high damage statuses.

Saw the "new" guns... one got love that deserves it... liked that.... then i clicked on a CERTAIN folder that deserves to be buried...

.... 3 rings... you are better than this. Can we talk about your ideas over some tea? maybe rip the mechanics of the gun in question to shreds before carrying this out? No? That is just too bad...

... i liked alchemers.

Did Iron Slug get love?