Spiral Knights - Help Dibsville find a shadow lair loadout so she can level up her gear!

Help Dibsville find a shadow lair loadout so she can level up her gear!

28 replies [Last post]

Sun, 12/15/2013 - 22:29

Fehzor

Upon locating a knight in need of help from Bopp and Krakob and a few others, I immediatly took their post and reposted it here, so that we'll have something to post about.

From http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/94480#comment-845755

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I'm kind of tired of people saying just do a SL (although I myself say it). I personally probably couldn't run uFSC if I tried with three 45k+ Vanguards. Thing is, when you can't heat ANYTHING, you have no weapons or armours to even use in uFSC. Right now if I went into uFSC my choices stand as:

Armours:
Level 5 Chaos Cowl and Cloak
Level 1 Divine Veil and Mantle
Level 10 Mask of Seerus
Level 10 Vog Cub Coat
Level 5 Vog Cub Cap
Level 1 Snarbolax

Obviously, my best choice for survival would be to use my Vog Coat + Seerus Mask. I'm going to assume this is nowhere near good enough for uFSC, but even if it were, I still have to choose my weapons and shields.

Shield choices:
Level 10 Grey Owlite Shield
Level 5 Crest of Almire
Level 2 Volcanic Plate Shield

I'd go with Grey Owlite as it's basically the only one of my shields that can even survive regular FSC, although I normally use my Crest of Almire which gets broken in one hit by a Trojan/Vana.

My weapons:
Level 7 Blitz Needle
Level 6 Polaris
Level 7 Volt Driver (NOT Storm Driver)
Level 3 Silversix (NOT AP)
Level 10 Voltedge
Level 10 Warmaster Rocket Hammer
Level 4 Divine Avenger

I don't even know what to pick from this. I'd probably grab Voltedge, Polaris, Blitz, and then put Warmaster at the end (where I'd normally have my Shiv as I usually run FSC with Chaos) just to kill things like Crusaders without having to worry about getting destroyed trying to charge my Blitz.

After having gone through a couple of Shadow Lairs, I honestly don't think I could tackle this whatsoever. Funny thing is, if I just had some RADIANTS to actually heat my stuff, I'd probably be fine and dandy to go to uFSC. Instead, I'm stuck running the Arcade getting Orbs and Sparks, making new weapons I'll never use because I won't be able to heat them.

Shadow Lairs ARE NOT the answer to this problem.

/endnoobyrant

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Alright, I think that she's on the spot with this- blitz+voltedge would serve him well, though I'd rather she bring her silversix after heating it all the way over her polaris. What do you guys think?

Sun, 12/15/2013 - 22:44

Bopp

seems good

Perfect Mask of Seerus, Vog Cub Coat, and Grey Owlite Shield would be fine armor. Voltedge and Blitz Needle will work well, although the latter is only level 7. I don't remember any particular use for Polaris or Argent, but then I haven't done SFSC in a while.

Really, it comes down to how skilled/unlaggy/experienced the player and his party are. A solid party equipped like this can beat SFSC. A newbish party equipped like this cannot beat SFSC.

Tue, 12/17/2013 - 06:16

Shadowstarkirby

Okay

What Bopp said, Perfect Mask of Seerus, Vog Cub Coat, and Grey Owlite for the very solid defense. Voltedge and Blitz Needle are staples of any FSC loadout for the incredible charges. For a gun, I'd strongly recommend Polaris because it gives one much needed breathing room and the ability to shut down turrets, it helps a bunch in the last room of D26 where slags are coming down towards you in a very narrow pathway guarded by two Howlitzers placed on each side.

Didn't Dibsville say she'd normally bring Shivermist when she wore Chaos? I'd recommend pulling that out as the panic button. Assuming there's no CTR, you'd need to be smart putting one down.

If Dibsville had radiants, I'd recommend using CoA over Grey Owlite cause in U/S/SL/FSC (whatever one calls it), the enemies are far more threatening and overwhelming than shadow fire and Vana's fireballs.

I think that there's a lot of underestimation with the use of this gear, it's all pretty great actually. If one is skilled with the ways of FSC, you could clear it easy with great teammates by your side.

Mon, 12/16/2013 - 06:01

Exerpa

If I were invited to a random

If I were invited to a random free UFSC trip before the existance of sparks:

Seerus
Deadshot
CoA

Hammer
Argent
Blitz
EV

+2 gun asi trinket
+2 gun asi trinket
+2 gun dmg perk (Collect ctr med guns, otherwise +2 gun ctr perk would be used)

But now with sparks you can have a bit more freedom in your loadout without worrying about your deaths draining the teams collective health+revive pool. So then probably just my standard FSC loadout (Seerus+Shadowsun+Swiftstrike)

Mon, 12/16/2013 - 09:01

Bopp

the point

The point of this thread is not to talk (yet again) about great SFSC loadouts. The point of this thread is to make a loadout using only the items that Dibsville has, at their current heat levels, because Dibsville cannot heat anything. In particular, Electron Vortex and Argent Peacemaker are not available here.

Mon, 12/16/2013 - 11:11

Krakob

I'm gonna have to suggest full Divine or Divine+Chaos. Why? First of all, heat doesn't have a big effect on defence. So, level doesn't matter. I'm assuming this would be an elite run, in which case there's mostly specialised damage. The Divine set has better than average Shadow defence and comes with Elemental. As for the Chaos, it would be very useful to gain some much useful CTR on the Blitz and Voltedge, which I suggest simply because they're so OP. Bringing one piece Divine would keep resistances above 0 which is very useful, especially for curse. Do note that getting cursed with at least +5 resistance only disables one weapon, which is insanely helpful.

More on the weapons: Voltedge and Blitz are your most overpowered ones and the Blitz is heated enough to deal sufficient damage. Chaos give these two an immense lift. If you're running with three others with Blitz, you could always grab some other gun to save yourself some sparks and keep safe. I do not recommend Silversix due to its poor damage due to the lack of heatl. Volt Driver has its shock which can be considered some crowd control but Polaris will do it even better, although your teammates will be angry if you can't use it well.
As for the swords, the DA is too weak to be useful as it looks now. The Hammer is good but only if you can use it well. Voltedge is safer and silly overpowered.

Pardon if this posts contains any errors, written while rather sick.

Mon, 12/16/2013 - 15:05

Dibsville

Well.

As a side note, my Volt Driver is now a Level 1 Storm Driver, so.....

And I only use Polaris for pushing back to save teammates, not myself. I feel safer charging my Voltedge than relying on my Polaris.

Mon, 12/16/2013 - 16:23

Leekcoco

I was going to suggest almost the same thing as Krakob. Use Divine+Chaos. This would make it viable to take Voltedge and Blitz, both very useful for UFSC. I would also add Shivermist Buster in, though you don't have it as an option. Very good for keeping the Dreadnaughts and Trojans at bay for the party.

The Silversix and Hammer would be the next best options. Polaris isn't as flexible in its utility as Silversix IMO. You can always use trinkets to make up for the damage.

Mon, 12/16/2013 - 22:50

Fehzor

There are a handful of situations where polaris would be awesome in UFSC- like the end of D26, with the two respawning turrets and the several dozen waves of slags... it can be nice to spam there.

Tue, 12/17/2013 - 08:22

Shadowstarkirby

I really have to disagree on the usage of Silversix

It just doesn't do enough in UFSC to be used over Polaris. Silver's main use is to pick off a weak target you've been damaging and you just don't have time for that cause you're usually stuffed in a room with over 20 slags where you could be Voltedge spamming instead. It really doesn't matter how much damage you have packed into it cause Antigua line isn't the strongest in group situations, especially if the place is Elite SL x4; enemies are like tanks.

Polaris can just do more here, whether it's quick status, group damage, clumping, knockback, and turret staggering. Silversix falls extremely short with it's damage and lack of other utilities besides DPS at....Alchemer range?

Tue, 12/17/2013 - 20:37

#10

Dibsville

well.

As is, my current idea for a loadout is:

Divine Veil
Chaos Cloak
Penta x2 (+6 HP Sprite Perk)
Crest of Almire (??)
Voltedge
Polaris
Blitz Needle
Shivermist Buster

My Sprite choice being my Maskeraith.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 07:51

#11

Bopp

Shivermist Buster isn't in your original list of weapons, although you do mention it in the post. Strange.

In case you don't know, Shivermist Buster doesn't work on shadow Vanaduke, last I checked. But it might be useful elsewhere in SFSC.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 09:27

#12

Shadowstarkirby

Nice loadout

That's a great loadout to use.

With all that I think you'd have:

+Decent amount of normal, elemental, and shadow defense.
+Low fire, shock, and curse resistance.
+Strong shield vs. the majority of the enemies and statuses (I think it should be all right despite being Lv 5).
+53 health (Armor set gives you 14, x2 pentas gives 12, perk gives 6, vitapod gives 21 = 53 health).
+VH DMG vs Fiends.
+VH CTR Voltedge, High CTR Blitz, and Med CTR (?) Shivermist; All deal Medium DMG to anything that isn't a Trojan.

If there's anything I'd recommend giving up, I'd suggest exchanging one of your +6 health bonuses for +2 DMG on either your Voltedge for greater mob clearing ability or Blitz + Polaris for Trojan, Dreadnaut, and Howlitzer shutdowns as well as a faster Vana fight.

But as Bopp said, Shivermist doesn't work on Vana here. It is however, useful everywhere else as long as you don't trap anyone or use it unecessarily in an open area.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 14:50

#13

Dibsville

hmm.

Apologies for not mentioning it in my original list, but I have a Level 7 Shivermist Buster (With a CTR Low UV, making it CTR Med or Max with Chaos on). I realise Darkfire Vanaduke is immune to Freeze, which is why I initially chose to bring my Warmaster Rocket Hammer over it (this would be used on Dreadnauts, as I assume the dash would tear through them just as easily as it does in Legion of Almire or the original Vanaduke fight. This, in turn, would be slightly safer than trying to Blitz them).

As is, I unfortunately don't have any Trinkets for weapon CTR, ASI, or damage increase (save for my Level 101 Maskeraith). Would a Gun CTR Med be more useful over the +6 Health for use with Blitz Needle? Or is Blitz not used excessively enough that it would be worth it?

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 16:15

#14

Bopp

hmm

Would a Gun CTR Med be more useful over the +6 Health for use with Blitz Needle?

It's a good question. I don't use Blitz much until the Vanaduke fight, where CTR obviously helps a lot. But +6 health may not be very useful, because you'll have some huge vitapod (+21? +24?), and +6 will be a tiny fraction of that. On the other hand, I don't have detailed damage numbers for SFSC, so I don't know whether that extra +6 lets you absorb another hit before dying. Someone else might know that...

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 17:45

#15

Shadowstarkirby

Well...

I would think so, to be honest, with all that health it's really hard to imagine losing 6 of it being significant over the large CTR gain. It'll definitely help keep up constant DPS on Vana instead of running around for a couple extra of seconds and it'll work great chemistry with Shivermist if you happen to get an opening to destroy Trojans and Dreadnauts.

Considering that you have a Maskeraith, you could get a teammate to take aggro of the brutes and you can pop up and Blitz from behind, you have a large cushion of health still to be able to perform this a couple times if you're willing to take a slag swipe if they happen to notice you in the process.

Blitz is absolutely useful everywhere except in D28 where it's easily to be overwhelmed in both party button rooms, but you still have the safety nets of a large health pool, shadow cloak, and Shivermist. I don't remember using Blitz in my UFSC run a week ago, but I did notice all my partners using them and destroying brutes easy if that means much. I don't recall any use of sparks.

I'd go for it; like I said in the first paragraph, it'll help incredibly in the Vana fight itself in any case. 6 health vanishes pretty fast in Shadow Lairs.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 17:58

#16

Dibsville

So, reconsidered loadout as

So, reconsidered loadout as of now;

Level 1 Divine Veil
Level 5 Chaos Cloak
Level 10 Grey Owlite Shield/Level 5 Crest of Almire
Level 10 Voltedge
Level 6 Polaris
Level 7 Blitz Needle
Level 7 Shivermist Buster (Has CTR Low UV)
Penta Heart Pendant x2
CTR Med Gun Sprite Perk
Maskeraith

So, some Normal defense, some Shadow defense, great Elemental defense, 0 Fire resistance, 0 Curse resistance, CTR VH Voltedge, CTR Ultimate Blitz, CTR VH Shivermist, a decent shield for tanking (still can't decide between GOS and CoA), Damage Bonus vs Fiend VH, and a universal damage bonus vs everything Med. ~47 Health pips, and the ever-so-useful Deadly Shadow Cloak and Vengeful Quills to boot.

Okay enough?

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 18:21

#17

Halandin

That sounds pretty good. FYI,

That sounds pretty good. FYI, Chaos gives -2 bars of curse and fire while Divine Veil gives +3 of them, so you still have a bit of protection. Having 4 weapons will help with still being able to attack while being cursed will help too.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 18:24

#18

Shadowstarkirby

Righteousness

+1 Fire, Shock, and Curse Resistance actually, so even better!*

Sounds great. Personally think you're set to go. :)

Wish I could give more insight on the shields, though maybe someone else can help you out!

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 18:57

#19

Dibsville

Well, thank you to Fehzor for

Well, thank you to Fehzor for making the thread, and to everyone who helped.

Also thanks to those three people who PM'd me in-game saying you would help.

Guess the last thing to check up on is the shield... do I sacrifice resistance to lava (of which there seems to be a lot of) for shadow resistance, or do I stick to my one and only first shield, which has carried me thus far (though I unfortunately rarely use it nowadays. Might be a good idea to break her out for the runs).

EDIT: Just editing out the weird sympathy.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 22:41

#20

Halandin

I'd personally go with

I'd personally go with whichever blocks best the majority of the projectiles, in this case probably howlitzers. I guess it depends on what types of sources of damage you get hurt by usually, your play style (close in melee or charge attacks/guns), and latency.

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 22:59

#21

Glacies

Pure Defensive wise, Crest of Almire would work better than Grey Owlite Shield.

The only enemies that actually inflict Elemental Damage are the Gun Puppy-family and they only appear maybe once or twice a depth.

Volcanic Plate Shield is honestly in my opinion the best shield for UFSC. It'll be the best shield for Darkfire Vanaduke hands down, aside from the added Curse Status, Volcanic Plate Shield provides immunity to both Fire and Stun. Crest of Almire is the better choice leading up to the Throne Room, it has Fire Immunity like Volcanic Plate Shield does but with the added benefit of +15 Shadow Resistance.

So if you're wanting to play it safe, most likely go with Crest of Almire. Should allow you to endure two-four extra hits (based on difficulty) at maximum from Slag Walkers as long as their Attacks aren't Cursed.

Thu, 12/19/2013 - 15:39

#22

Dibsville

Yeah... about that Gun CTR

Yeah... about that Gun CTR Med.
My Masker only has CTR Low.
So CTR VH Blitz vs 6 Health Pips.
/cry

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 12:37

#23

Shadowstarkirby

Go with it still

Glacies cue worked!

CTR is extremely noticable, even if it's only a low bonus; continue to go with this build.

Tue, 12/24/2013 - 23:04

#24

Red-Galaxy

I'll get her energy to forge

I'll get her energy to forge her gear PROBLEM SOLVED

Wed, 12/25/2013 - 15:32

#25

Sirius-Voltbreaker

I use Divine+Chaos, and it does me WONDERS. I can get good damage boosts and a little bit of CTR from chaos and some status defense from divine. Volcanic Plate shield is great for fire resist and stun resist. However I think Crest of Almire wins this one. The shadow damage resist is very helpful and always is. Also, you will not run into dangerous stun that much anyways. However, elemental defense is not very useful AT ALL. And good choice on denying the health perk. 6 pips would save you a little bit. I do prefer the ctr and all, however, from personal experience, Fire is still extreemly deadly. It still has a 7 second effect, and it does A LOT of damage. So you might want to tweak something. And Voltedge AND Shivermist with ctr will work you wonders. Trust me.
EDIT: Yeah so apparently only gun-puppies inflict elemental so.....

Wed, 12/25/2013 - 16:10

#26

Rezzler

Believe me, shivermist is

Believe me, shivermist is amazing there. The levels before it are harder than the actual fight.

For comparison, I ran it with Vog Coat, Ash tail cap, DA lvl 4, Blitz lvl 1, and a radiant pulsar. But ky party was amazing, so it was fast.

All I can say is, lag is your worst enemy. And shivermist wiol save you a LOT. Lastly, get rid of Trojans and Slag Gurads ASAP. Triple spawn at D27 in addition to howlitzers will ruin your day.

Fri, 12/27/2013 - 19:01

#27

Dibsville

All I can say is, lag is your

All I can say is, lag is your worst enemy.

This isn't too much of a problem for me as I get 4 Bars in High Quality Lockdown, to give something to relate to (although I still get insane frame drops).

I'd be playing on Low Quality anyway.

Yeah so apparently only gun-puppies inflict elemental so.....

Yeah but Divine doesn't have CTR. c:

Fri, 12/27/2013 - 21:11

#28

Rezzler

Ah, works well tyen. And

Ah, works well tyen.

And defense MUCH > Offense if u is nub to UFSC. Though watching a playthru of it will prepare you. There are some tricks using the totems that can render howlitzers useless, and such. But Ii would take something with normal and shadow defense (or normal defense and fire resist), as fire, and normal most likepy will do the most damage. And CC definitely beats damage, but dont bring a proto bomb.

As long as you have a strong sword with a spammable charge, a strong elemental gun, and blitz, you should be fine.

Good luck dude!

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Help Dibsville find a shadow lair loadout so she can level up her gear!