Any Suggestions for Equipment?
Di, 03/03/2015 - 15:54
So I've managed to get through 3* certification and RJP with mostly cobalt, and as I've beaten the Twins and I'm going for 4* certification, I'm starting to look for a good set of gear for all occasions. This is what I've come up with so far, having looked at a good portion of the internet related to Spiral Knights (including Bopps sword guide, all the guides on the wiki, etc). I want someone elses opinion (before I sink a huge amount of crowns/time into this) on whether I'm missing something, if some things work better than others, or stuff that just won't together.
>>Swords
Acheron
Fireburst Brandish
Final Flourish
>>Handguns
Dark Chaingun
Wildfire
Gilded Griffin
(and eventually a Blitz)
I'm also trying to figure out if Callahan/Iron Slug/Winter Grave would be worth pursuing.
>>Armor
Divine Veil, to pair with:
Skolver Coat, for all around
Armor of the Fallen, for shadow def
Chaos Cloak, for elemental def and overall damage
and Vog Cub Cap, for FSC and to pair with Skolver for all-around swordiness.
>>Shields
Barbarous Thorn Shield
Grey Owlite Shield
Crest of Almire (eventually)
I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't need a filler shadow shield, and I don't really want to invest in one.
I'm also wondering if the Plate line would be worth pursuing and which 5* I'd go for.
It should be pretty apparent I'm a hybrid type, generally with a sword and a gun of different damage types (which means they both need to be able to hold their own if necessary). I do tend to list toward guns and may expand my arsenal of firearms to include alchemers and others but at the moment the tend to be more sidearms.
Any input would be great! Thanks!
Di, 03/03/2015 - 17:51
#2
response
Your swords are great.
In guns I recommend Nova/Storm Driver over Wildfire and Callahan over Gilded Griffin. But I play a charge-heavy playstyle. But you will too, once you're wearing Chaos Cloak.
Your armor choices are fine, but I don't recommend Armor of the Fallen. Damage defense has a smaller effect than you might think. Also you have too many armors planned. You should be sampling weapon styles more broadly than armor styles. Fallen is the natural one to leave out. If you tend toward guns, then you might want to replace Vog Cub with Seerus, as Fehzor almost said.
Your shield choices are fine. I agree that you don't need a filler shadow shield.
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Enjoy!
Di, 03/03/2015 - 21:04
#3
Yep.
Vog is unnecessary.
Could get callahan over riftlocker/gilded griffin.
That would be OK, it trades mobility for that wonderful charge.
Try it first.
But I like slug nicerlier.
Di, 03/03/2015 - 22:04
#4
Stuff
Don't be mistaken, I use swords heavily. While I like guns, I do use swords a lot . I'm kinda a striker-hybrid; I use swords for quick damage but don't usually stay in the fray. I hop in with a charge, whallop a group, finish off a mender or near-dead enemy, and pummel the rest into submission with a gun.
I understand that offense is much more important than defense but I do feel that having some sort of shadow defense will be useful amd I figure Fallen is the best cut out, used with Divine Veil. It wouldn't be my top priority, but I'd eventually get it and it'd be there if I need it. Or is anything but Chaos effectively expendable?
I hate to admit it, but I want Skolver partially for the costume. It seems pretty good overall and for those nasty freeze levels, and I think overall I'd like to have though not necessarily top priority.
I think I'm probably going to have two guns for each damage type: one sidearm and one "primary". The ones I have now are mainly sidearms but I'll expand to include alchemers and a Callahan eventually. At the moment, Blitz isn't a priority mainly because I don't think I'll find it usefull for anything but Vana and since I can't even play that mission yet it's a lot for something that'll have one use. I say Griffin instead [of riftlocker] because pierce-vulnerable creatures dodge, and antigua bullets are fast and have a high clip size to excuse misses. Anyway, most stuff I'll stab if I get the chance so it won't be used too much on it's own.
In addition I think a Voltaic Tempest would be a nice addition to the arsenal just for those times when you just want everything shocked.
This is a lot of text to read; thank you for doing just that and still providing helpful hints. If there's anything I appreciate, it is the educated conversation on equipment. I do take everything you say seriously even if it appears I brush it off; you all have more experience with this gear than I do.
Di, 03/03/2015 - 23:17
#5
Well lets start with the easiest part of this- armor of the fallen. The fire+shadow gunner armor has the same defenses and works against fiends. It also grants you more offensive potential overall. It lacks poison resistance, but that isn't as important as not being permanently debuffed against fiends. Using it with divine veil would cancel the gains from divine veil, but sacrifices a lot of offensive potential for no real reason-- asi for swords and guns sounds nice, but buffs are buffs and using sprite perk, variants and trinkets to balance out your stats is going to be far more effective than trying to be cute with armor of the fallen.
Mi, 03/04/2015 - 04:29
#6
I'm vohtarak, call me by that name
I would say get callahan over gilded griffin
Its better
Mi, 03/04/2015 - 07:39
#7
response
I agree with the other posters here. If you want shadow protection, get something better than Fallen, such as Shade or Shadowsun (or Snarbolax or Black Kat).
Skolver is good armor. Freeze resistance is important in freeze levels, and blanket damage bonus is great. So that part of your plan is good.
There's something you should understand about sidearm guns. Players will advise you to use antiguas and pulsars as sidearms, not because they are powerful, but just because they are easy. Players assume that sworders don't want to spend time mastering a gun. But you can learn how to land alchemer ricochets in under an hour. You can learn how to arrange magnus charges in under an hour. You can learn how not to use autogun charges in under an hour. So don't worry about ease of use. Just use powerful guns. They are more fun anyway.
That said, you should certainly sample from every weapon type, because sampling is fun. And pulsars definitely have a tactical use: crowd control.
Yes, Voltaic Tempest is a great bomb --- nice crowd control and nice damage.
Mi, 03/04/2015 - 13:48
#8
Shadow Armor?
Shadowsun and Snarby would be great, except that their precusors don't actually have shadow resist and I can't really wait. Devilites are nasty, and there'll be a few missions coming up that involve quite a few devilites. The gunner armor do have nasty status weaknesses, so I might choose the freeze-strong and poison-weak one. But I don't really wanna limit myself to guns. Would Silvermail be worthwhile despite giving normal up for piercing?
Here's my opinion on the broad category of "sidearms": they need to be able to hold their own with normal attacks, simply because I might not have time to charge and line up the shot before firing. If I'm going all-out gunner, yes, I would prefer Magnus/Alchemers over Griffin/Polaris. I'm not excluding them simply because they aren't easy.
I am thinking that a Pulsar + Autogun combo could be devastating for an area-denial/defensive-focused playstyle, though Pulsar/Magnus could do well too.
This leads to the old Callahan vs. Iron Slug question. I'm thinking Callahan; any input?
Mi, 03/04/2015 - 15:39
#9
You won't need specific gear for a few lone missions. Always plan for 5* gear and never get gear just to beat a single mission and nothing else (unless we're talking about something like Blitz Needle for Firestorm Citadel).
Mi, 03/04/2015 - 18:18
#10
response
No, I wouldn't get Radiant Silvermail, for the reasons Krakob listed.
Whether to get Iron Slug or Callahan depends on what you'll be equipping with it. I'd go with Callahan, because there are plenty of other great guns to handle constructs and slimes. But if you're thinking of pairing Callahan with Winter Grave to optimize damage types, don't: Winter Grave's freeze greatly hinders its charge attack.
Mi, 03/04/2015 - 21:04
#11
Callahan sounds pretty great
Callahan sounds pretty great although I'm strapped for cash and 3* orbs at the moment.
I understand that I shouldn't rush or get any armor solely for a mission, but I'm not. I'd just like some shadow armor that I don't need to wait until it's 5* to use because at the moment I only have one 4* weapon and just enough orbs for a second (I managed to find 3 elites in one day so that'll save me some crowns for the moment). At the same time, I want something that will do well when I'm running T3 and Vana. Eventual goal: full Snarby. Practical goal: SOMETHING. I also dislike Skelly with a passion despite that I have the full 2* set at lvl10. Not that that does anything helpful, of course. Since I already have the recipes for Angelic Raiment, I'm also looking at Valkyrie Mail, which is same as Fallen but with a Fiend Bonus: Med instead. However, it has a nasty vulnerability to the already crippling fire status.
Is the Plate Shield line worth looking into? Owlite and BB should be more than enough to get me through. It does have a boatload of health (as I hear) although this is somewhat nerfed by the lack of special resistances (it's good in all stratums though). I'd be leaning towards Volcanic as the 5* form. This would probably a thing I'll go back and get once I have my bare necessities at five stars.
Do, 03/05/2015 - 06:23
#12
Shade then
So maybe Shade armor (which I mentioned in post #7) is your best bet for shadow armor before 5 stars. It's also good at 5 stars.
The Plate shield line has the same health as other shield lines. I think that you were thinking of Omega Shell. But don't get any more shields right now.
Do, 03/05/2015 - 10:20
#13
Radiant silvermail is super hit or miss. If you're up against something like Margrel that does pure shadow + poison + curse, then it's like THE defensive armor for you to have and it will likely be the best option for you. If you're not then it's a bit worse than having any other armor.
Crafting the shock + shadow gunner armor is going to be your best option. Yes, it comes with a status penalty, but that's fine because the status penalty will be against ice, which isn't really much of a concern on most normal levels anyway and you will at some point be getting a black kat set, even if that black kat set is 3*. The black kat set is flat out broken when it comes to fighting ice levels- it's having your cake and eating it too. Status resist to ice, and huge offensive stats. Black kat set should be your #1 goal for the end game, even if you have to pay several million crowns for it. And once you have the set, your shock+shadow armor will go nicely for you. This gunner armor is almost certainly applicable as the SOMETHING that you're looking for. I think we've got this bit done with...
I do have things to say about the handgun situation, but would like to finish this train of thought prior to worrying about that.
Do, 03/05/2015 - 10:42
#14
Sacred Grizzly Shade armor
Sacred Falcon Shade armor sounds pretty good to me then. If I'm frozen by Fiends I'm either shielding/dead anyway. I'd still like your opinion on Valkyrie Mail but I'm pretty sure the fire vulnerability is too much to make it useful. Shade + Kat would be great; just need to get a book then XD
Alchemer-wise, I already have a 2* firotech from a LONG time ago and the 3* recipe. It sounds that, if anything, the preferred elemental alchemers are Storm and Nova. Considering all my elemental damage is fire-inflicting, would it be a better idea to invest in something that can inflict status (or deal more damage) in FSC when I get there? With the fairly high chance of status it seems the Storm driver to be the better route.
What gear do you use to solo FSC? I'm not really familiar with aside from there are a lot of slags, a rocket puppy room, and you NEED a Blitz for the boss.
Do, 03/05/2015 - 10:57
#15
response
I wouldn't get Valkyrie. It's not bad armor. But if I were going to get armor specifically for defense, I wouldn't get it with a big fire penalty. So we agree there.
The choice between Nova Driver and Storm Driver is difficult. Arguably Storm is more useful and even does more damage. But Nova has a better chance of simply killing its target instantly, with one charge shot. I don't have a strong opinion.
For FSC I recommend an elemental sword (such as Combuster) and Blitz Needle. If you have extra slots, you could carry a piercing sword for trojans and wolvers, or Warmaster Rocket Hammer for gun puppies, or an elemental gun for almost everything. If you're in a party, you could bring a vortex bomb or a haze bomb such as Shivermist Buster.
Blitz is popular for Vanaduke, but not essential. It's popular mainly because many players control him using Shivermist Buster. In that case, you don't want to break the freeze with frequent small attacks. You want infrequent, powerful attacks --- hence Blitz Needle charges.
At some point, players get good enough at Vanaduke that they don't use Shivermist Buster anymore. They just lay damage into him. And then you can use any gun you want (although Blitz is still a great choice).
I've soloed Vanaduke using Valiance, Blitz, Callahan, Hail Driver, Nova Driver, Storm Driver, Argent Peacemaker, and Polaris --- all before the recent gunner update. (And I'm not especially good at most of those weapons.)
Do, 03/05/2015 - 17:34
#16
For alchemers, I used to prefer hail driver when solo, in a party the freeze isn't worth as much since other people will just break it, but it's good for keeping some enemies out of the way while you focus on others (or just giving you enough time to maneuver around them).
if you're using blitz on Vanaduke solo you will probably want some CTR or ASI bonuses so that you can begin your shot (or end it) and get out of the way before he has time to hit you. Not so important in a party since you can shoot him if he has aggro on someone else or you can just bait him if he's going after you.
Fr, 03/06/2015 - 16:20
#17
UVs
So I've acquired 2 UVs so far: a Gremlin:Med on my Dark Chaingun and a Freeze:Med on my Horned Owlite Shield. As I'm about to upgrade the shield to 4*, I want to ask: are these worth keeping or should I re-roll? Considering anything but status UVs are near-useless on a shield, should I keep the freeze, or [attempt to] get a different/more potent status? And same for the Chaingun, would it be worth attempting to get an ASI or CTR? At the moment I'm thinking of keeping both.
Thanks!
Fr, 03/06/2015 - 16:48
#18
Grem Med on a Dark Chaingun is great. Freeze Med on Owlite is ehh. You can re-roll it, but it's very unlikely you'll get another random UV when crafting with it. Something is always better than nothing.
I don't find ASI *too* useful for autoguns, but CTR is highly valued. However, unless you have large amounts of money to spend, it isn't worthwhile to get a good CTR UV.
Fr, 03/06/2015 - 17:35
#19
disagree
Freeze+2 on a good shield that doesn't already resist freeze? That's wonderful. Keep that UV.
I disagree about the gremlin+2. In my opinion damage UVs are nearly worthless (except maybe double +4 UVs that match the damage type). The chance of getting CTR or ASI is worth more, even though that chance is quite remote --- about 1/10 * 2/8 = 2.5%. I find both ASI and CTR to be highly valuable on autoguns.
Fr, 03/06/2015 - 20:06
#20
Stuff
I kept the freeze on the shield, and I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep the gremlin bonus. However, I think I might just because the chance of getting another "free" one is slim and this one already goes fairly well with it. It makes Twins pretty easy, too. Maybe when I'm at endgame and and Punch-rolling UVs I'll go for something better.
I've got mixed feelings about the 3* Magnus. It really doesn't do a whole lot of damage, even when critting, and the charge shot can be a bit tricky to pull off right. That'll get better, of course. And the high knockback plus stun chance on charge is pretty great. I think overall that once my CTR is up a bit it will start doing a bit better.
Oh and what about Vog? I don't really remember finishing talking about that. Would it be a good idea to go for Vog Cub Cap or not at all?
Fr, 03/06/2015 - 21:00
#21
Vog Cub
Vog Cub is good armor. In post #2 I suggested that Perfect Mask of Seerus might be even better for you. Really either is fine.
Do, 03/12/2015 - 16:22
#22
Alchemers
I already have a 2* firotech and shadowtech alchemer, plus their 3* recipes, from an abandoned plan a while ago. Since I've decided to go for the Storm Driver (or Nova), I might scrap these. But what's the best way to get rid of them? They're both bound, so all I can fetch is 750 cr each, or I could wait until the appropriate prestige mission rolls around. But maybe it would just be worth while to keep them so late game I have them both? Might keep the shadowtech and dump the firotech. Opinions please.
Do, 03/12/2015 - 17:05
#23
just keep items by default
In general my strategy is: Just keep your items. Maybe there will be a nice upgrade someday. Or maybe a new mission will come out, for which those items are perfect.
That said, you will soon be dealing with quantities of crowns that make these look tiny. So you will be able to get them quickly again (assuming you don't have rare UVs). In that sense there's no big advantage to keeping them around.
Here's a "compromise". Keep them around by default. If someday you need money quickly (because the item you've always wanted just appeared on the Auction House, or your best friends are doing a Shadow Lair run and they need you to pay your share immediately), then you'll be pleased to discover that you have a bunch of inessential stuff to sell.
Mo, 03/16/2015 - 12:34
#24
On an Unrelated Note
Sounds cool, I'll keep 'em.
I will admit, after some initial skepticism my Magnus really has been doing some work (especially with so many Beast stratums lately). I guess it just needed a little heat. However, I still prefer my Antigua on full-Devilite levels, mainly because they're such dodgy creatures.
I also got a Freeze:Low UV on my Miracle cloak. I really have no idea what UVs are valued on armors. I assume status' late game, but I don't think this is really powerful enough to consider keeping.
Fr, 03/13/2015 - 05:42
#25
agree
A freeze+1 UV is not at all a bad thing, but you want something better. When upgrading, try for a better UV.
Yes, status UVs are far more valuable than damage UVs on armor. And the most dangerous statuses are shock, fire, and freeze. So you want shock+4, fire+4, or freeze+4. Or as close to those as you can get.
Mo, 03/16/2015 - 12:33
#26
Pairing with Shiver?
After watching a guy completely shut down a danger room with a 4* Shivermist, I've been thinking: what pairs well with it? Sudaruska could do well; dropping the Buster, unleashing a Suda charge and then repeating. Sudaruska deals normal so I'm set with just two weapon slots. The idea is for something with very high damage to a single target or low area, and of course on a charge so as not to break the freeze too often. The classic Blitz (or Repeater) combo might work on smaller targets provided stray shots don't unfreeze things. However, it'd be nice to not carry specialized damage so as not to get stuck with one effective damage type. So what would other potentially good pairings from your experience or speculation?
Mo, 03/16/2015 - 13:32
#27
use vortex instead
First I'll tell you something that you might not like. Freeze seems nice at first, because it shuts down the room, as you say. But it also hinders a lot of other tactics: kiting, knockback, shield-bumping, etc. I find that really experienced players rarely use freeze.
Whether or not you care about what I just said, the monsters usually don't freeze in a tight clump. So your follow-up charge attack will hit only a few of the monsters.
If you're trying this tactic solo, then you might not have time to get the charge off, before the freeze breaks. Or, if you do, then nearby monsters might munch you while you are cooling down from your charge.
In conclusion, I recommend two things. Try this tactic in a party, where one knight is charging Sudaruska/Triglav/whatever and the other is controlling the crowd. And for crowd control use a vortex bomb, not a freeze bomb. It will make the monsters clump tightly, so that you can hit a bunch of them.
Someday, when you have enough CTR, try the vortex-charge tactic solo too.
Mo, 03/16/2015 - 14:07
#28
Freeze is either going to be incredible or awful, depending on what your party and you have brought to go with it. If you're all planning on using charge attacks that hit directly for the bulk of your attacks, then shivermist buster is going to be HUGE for your party. Shut down the room + charge attack it to death. Charge attacks should then have freeze status, so that you can repeatedly use them.
The bulk of parties are set up more like how Bopp described, however. A few people charging, people strafing, trying to use tortofists, brandishes, no real strategy. So yes, you should at some point craft a shivermist buster because using the ice strategy is effective and fun, but no, you shouldn't just bring it everywhere you go because that's going to make people not abusing ice themed charge attacks salty with you. It is especially good for enemies like trojans, devilites, deadnauts.. things that dodge or block your attacks and can't really be clumped with a vortex. You don't need to use it, but it makes life a lot easier and expands what you're capable of.
I would also suggest not playing the game, because it's extremely repetitive, has slow content updates and forces you to gamble as well as put up with constant cash grabs. Instead, playing a game that rewards you for putting in work without trying to rob you of your cash at every opportunity will be a much nicer experience.
Mo, 03/16/2015 - 20:04
#29
LOL any other game
LOL any other game suggestions then?
EDIT: In regards to the game, it does have some things about it that keep me in. For one, I can abandon the game for months (which I have done) and come back and all I have to do is buy a slot or two and I'm back to where I was, I don't lose anything by not playing.
Especially after the orbs update, I can (eventually) get all the gear I need for most of the game (barrings difficulty with rads), and ignore the sales without becoming less equipped compared to other players. Since it's mostly not PVP oriented, it's easier to get back into, and since sales are mostly costumes, not buying doesn't mean my gear is worse. I like games I can play when I like, drop without feeling obligated to play by either "commitments" to other players or to keep progress from regressing.
Get operation crimson hammer for the perfect mask of Seerus+rocket hammer and craft chaos cowl instead of divine veil.
Consider getting nova driver over wildfire and riftlocker over gilded griffin.
See if you like the magnus lines and then craft iron slug if you do.
Don't craft armor of the fallen or skolver. Roll unique variants (shock/fire) onto your chaos cloak instead.
Just use craft barb thorn shield and disregard the others for now.