I have a prismatech alchemer and an Antigua Currently.
Before you all go "Polaris", please understand I hate that weapon's mechanics with a passion.
I am a bomber, but we are semi-lacking in the "elemental" department. AoA, VT, EV, and RSS only go so far.
In the past I was considering Nova Driver, as I like the Prismatech's mechanics.
But with the new AP out, should I consider that instead?
just did some dps calculations
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/44630#comment-289196
I would get AP, Imperial, for its fast firing rate which will help in utility.
Fast firing rate because you can clear things like blocks and crystals faster and take out stuff like flying howlitzer heads which can help your party. It looks like, based on the maths people are doing so far, that their single target damage (Nova and AP) are close and not one will extremely jump ahead of the other in damage.
Depends on what you want it for. I find that AP does better than Nova for single-targeting fast enemies (yes, I am talking about kats), not because of DPS but rather because misses hurt less and because you spend less time on the reload which makes you more mobile (and if you're doing shoot-stop on Kats with a Nova then you have more patience than I can imagine). Also med vs undead is nice there if you weren't capping out damage already.
For crowds of slow movers (zombies), you're going to want a Nova for the ricochets, and the charge shot is nice there too if you want to go that route.
For turrets, Polaris is the only elemental gun that can shut them up and make them stop firing, which is why so many people like it as a utility gun. If you don't want to use a Polaris, I'd probably go AP for the same reasons I mentioned before: more mobility, ricochets don't really help on turrets, and the med undead is nice on howlitzers.
Mechas, retrodes, scuttles, lumbers, it's a bit of a wash.
Either way, Nova was a fine gun before and still is, but AP feels more mobile and now that its damage output isn't god-awful it's pretty good. It really boils down to the bounces. If you can alchemer well, then Nova's your pick; also, alchemers are fun and fun generally matters more than optimization. If you aren't loving the alchemers, go AP.
For Lockdown, no clue.
I agree with most of that, but for the turret thing. Polaris does have more utility in interrupting, but any alchemer users will tell you that a stationary target is the easiest to clip. You don't have worry about a target turning to face you, or walking past your bullets.
Well Polaris expanded damage = Nova damage, so three easy Polaris bullets that you don't really have to aim at all is generally preferable to me to two Nova bullets that you have to aim pretty carefully to get the bounces working well enough to beat Polaris damage output. And for turrets I pretty much always prefer defense to offense anyway except in turret swarms (arena 8-turret rush and gun puppy danger rooms, and in those cases Polaris is nice anyway because its damage output is plenty high). So Polaris is the total winner to me for turrets, and between AP and Nova I'd prefer AP for most turret situations but would go with Nova for the swarms.
It seems like the 6 shots before reload from the AP give you much more flexibility to shield as well. That is one feature that is really attractive to me of the AP over something like Nova Driver.
The Antigua line is kind of nice as a sidearm since it doesn't require you to make a big commitment when pulling it out and firing a shot. It's also one of the best weapons for clearing obstacles quickly. Breaking blocks, prize boxes, minerals, etc.
I think the new AP should prove to be a very strong competitor compared with the prisma and even the polaris.