Hello, again. What's the best shield for the Wolver Line? Because, right now, I have 2-Star "Defender," I was looking forward in the plate shield also. Any suggestions?
Shield: Choice for the Wolver Line
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 10:14
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 11:06
#2
think about which 5-star items you want
First, even though you're only 2- or 3-star right now, you should think entirely in terms of 5-star items, because that's where everything ends up. You don't want to select an alchemy path that ends up somewhere dumb. So figure out which 5-star items you want, and then look back in their alchemy paths, to figure out how to get them.
You're asking about shields for sworders. Barbarous Thorn Shield completely outclasses the other piercing shields, due to its offensive bonus. Swiftstrike Buckler has a nice offensive bonus but terrible protection compared to 5-star shields. Other popular shields for sworders are Grey Owlite Shield, Crest of Almire, and sometimes Volcanic Plate Shield.
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 11:21
#3
Even if you ultimately chose swiftstrike, you still need a 4*-5* shield for mission purposes. So there's no reason to avoid Barbarous.
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 11:27
#4
Recipes
About the Barbarous Thorn Shield and its predecessors, their recipes can only be found in the Clockworks, from Basil. This makes them rather hard to upgrade, not impossible, just hard. Consider availability of recipes when choosing your gear. :)
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 12:01
#5
disagree
Consider availability of recipes when choosing your gear.
This seems like a reasonable statement, but actually I disagree. The difficulty we're talking about here is not insurmountable; it just gives you a reason to play a little more. While you're doing the recipe runs, you may be able to buy and sell other lucrative recipes. Or, if you're impatient, buy the recipe that you want off the Auction House. You'll be paying a premium, but you'll end up with exactly the item you want, instead of some second-best item.
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 12:26
#6
Dam
That reminded me of the times when we had to go to basil for recipes... Failing to find miracle hood recipe for a few days... Having to to some clockwork runs until we could go to FSC... Waiting for arenas to show up... Good times.
On Topic:
BTS is good. Mecha knight's spin attack will break it in 1 hit and do some damage to you though (At least on GitM without UVs).
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 13:30
#7
indeed
That reminded me of the times when we had to go to basil for recipes... Failing to find miracle hood recipe for a few days... Having to to some clockwork runs until we could go to FSC... Waiting for arenas to show up... Good times.
I agree with you that missions have lost us some of the old magic. Do you remember when you could join a party at depth 23 and still shop? So people used to camp at depth 23, and their friends would go around Haven selling invitations to depth 23?
Mecha knight's spin attack will break it in 1 hit and do some damage to you though (At least on GitM without UVs).
Yeah, Grey Owlite is better there, due to the elemental and shock protection.
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 14:09
#8
If you really are ultimately choosing swiftstrike, you may consider getting a crest of almire with your almire coins; or if you really really like it, ancient plate shield. Similarly, that is the cheapest armor set; ancient. Unrealistically speaking, you *could* go for that instead of other things by venturing into the clockworks and soloing everything. Will it happen? No. Could it happen and would you be a boss? Ya.
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 15:09
#9
Apparently APlate shield has greater shield bumping force than some other shields.
Weird.
Lun, 09/24/2012 - 21:12
#10
I was told months and months
I was told months and months ago that shield hp affects bump distance/strength.
Mar, 09/25/2012 - 00:28
#11
That reminded me of the times
That reminded me of the times when we had to go to basil for recipes... Failing to find miracle hood recipe for a few days... Having to to some clockwork runs until we could go to FSC... Waiting for arenas to show up... Good times.
I feel that. When I came back and realised that HoH had all the basic recipes, I was actually a bit disappointed. It seems to have robbed most of the fun and point of Basil, and a lot of the reason for doing random runs has been taken away. Many runs were done in the past purely to farm Basil for good recipes, and it gave you a good reason to do a run...now, you just nip into HoH and get what you want, and have less reason than ever to go to the CW.
@OP:
If you only ever want one shield ever, then either get a pure defensive one, or an offensive one, so it'll always be useful wherever you go. But other than that, it is completely worth making several shields for different occasions, as shielding can make teh difference between a successful mission and a party wipe. Swifty is a great shield imo, but definitely risky; you have to be ready to move around and dodge a lot and rely on shielding as little as possible, which is somewhat of a paradigm shift if you're used to using tough shields.
@Demo:
I've heard that before myself, but never confirmed it one way or the other. Really should test it out, but I can tell you right now that my Swifty still has decent KB, so if there is a difference, it's pretty small/unimportant.
This depends , but I have several suggestions:
1. Do you prefer offencive capability over defencive? If so, get the Twisted Targe (3* Snarby shield).
2. Are you 'rich', ie. willing to split your money over different shields? If so, get three shields: Defender/Twisted Targe/Jelly, plus Skelly and Owlite. If not get the Plate Shield. I can make you one, gratis, if you send me a message in-game.
3. Are you really, REALLY good at dodging? If so, I'd get a Swifty.
Out of these, the best general-purpose shield is the Plate Shield, so yes, try that out first.