Spiral Knights - Seeking opinions on which shield to use with my (FSC) Hybrid Loadout~

Seeking opinions on which shield to use with my (FSC) Hybrid Loadout~

14 replies [Last post]

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 07:04

Forum-Brady

This set is designed to be "the" FSC loadout for me, as it contains everything I need to either solo FSC or support, dps or generally work in parties or do whatever I want really. It has been designed for FSC but I can (and will) use it elsewhere within the CWs.

The set is:

Chaos Set (ele:med on both parts)
CiV (asi:med)
Blitz (ctr:med)
Electron
Shiver (ctr:med)
2x Trueshot Mods

Overview:
Civ: Damage: Med Undead Damage: Ultra CTR: VH ASI: Med
Blitz: Damage: Max CTR: Max
Electron: Damage: Med CTR: VH
Shiver: CTR: Max

Now, the problem here is what shield to use. As far as I see it, I have three options:

BTS: Give my CiV a base +2 on slimes, wolvers, turrets, mask, but only a +1 on undead. No useful defence. Looks cool.
Swifty: Increase my CiV asi to ultra and give high ASI to my bombs and Blitz. This will help my Blitz clear charges faster; especially helpful for Vana. Useless defensively, however I am experienced with using the Swifty safely
Owlite: Forgo offensive bonuses in favour of giving myself some defence to counteract my abysmal defences and neg.statuses. Looks rad with my current costume set

A classic RPG dilemna between power, speed and defence. None of the three seem to give especially high or impressive bonuses, but each of them giving me just enough for me to want them all...equally. I'm genuinely at a loss which I prefer. I'm seeking opinions on which you think would be best suited to this set, and/or if you think there are any alternatives I've not considered.

A few notes about me and how I play:

I'm experienced both with the game and FSC and have played with many loadouts in the past, mostly gunners and bombers. This is my attempt to combine my favourite tactics and weapons into a fully hybrid loadout that completes every section of FSC for me, as well as opening a template loadout for hybrid builds for any other area of the CW.
Normally I'd agree that shield choice is dependant on playstyle and player preference, however due to the inherent versatile nature of this build, I can see equal use and have equal want for each of these shields in different situations, which is causing my indecision.
My playstyle with this build is very mix and match.
I can swing aroud wildly with my sword, I kill puppies by unleashing CiV charges on them, I quite often drop an EV then switch to Blitz to clear, but also use the CiV to do so, since EV holds mobs in place for all three swings to land. I also drop shivers to let me CiV charge freely and sometimes just spam EVs for my team.
The fact that it's a very heavy hybrid mix of dps and support allows me to change my playstyle on the fly without losing any bonuses or handicapping myself; this hasn't helped me decide upon a shield.

If there are any details you think are relevant to know to help me make this decision, just let me know and I'll do what I can; I'm eager to finish this set off and just can't get past this brick wall :(

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 09:09

Wolfe-Knight

The bonus from the BTS is

The bonus from the BTS is useful for people who favour swords over other weapons, and from your loadout you would probably need something of higher defence as you have a decent mix of weapons. The Swifty is a nice shield for those who do not really care about defence and are good at kiting, I would not really recommend it though just out of the idea of some rooms in FSC get pretty tiny and you will get hit once or twice. I would recommend the Owlite from the three you picked as it is the only one with decent status protection and because you have the Chaos set you are in dire need of some good protection.
If you would let me recommend some shields I would say try for the Volcanic Plate Shield, as it has massive defence and fire resist, the stun resist is also quite nice if you can't get away from the Trojans in time. After you have do quite a bit of FSC I would highly recommend you spend your tokens on the Blackened Crest, it is not the best shield at 4* around but once you get it to the Crest of Almire the shield will become amazing. As the Crest of Almire has both fire and shadow defence it is the most ideal shield for FSC and is also not that bad on Shado Lairs if you ever plan on going there.
I hope my information will help you make a decision, but please wait for someone else's post so you can be 100% sure in your choice.

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 09:02

Forum-Brady

I should probably also point

I should probably also point out that I've spent most of my time in FSC as a bomber or gunner, so can safely use Swifty there (and at Vana) without much danger. Not to say that I'm perfect with it or anything, but that I'm not looking at it as a huge disadvantage; I'm more concerned with trying to optimise stats.
Not to argue your point, you just made me realise that I wasn't clear about that, and it's probably a factor, as I'm not a long-time swordy who's suddenly decided to try out Swifty; I have spent most of my time using Swifty

Thank-you for the feedback and your opinions, regardless :)

Have had a few opinions now and am still weighing up the options, as well as testing them out in FSC. Hard choice D:

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 09:09

Wolfe-Knight

In that case it is fine, I

In that case it is fine, I thought the question was more for someone who was just heading down and has not had a lot of experience in FSC. I have seen people use the swifty to a high degree and come out fine, it is more for those who know what they are doing. If you are fine using it then I would say don't take it off yet, the decrease in speed might be odd and will put you in more danger then you were before.
Picking a shield is more based on a person play style Then most think, some people think you can just pick up a shield and go, though it is not always that simple.
Do not fear arguing my point, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am perfectly fine with that.

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 09:52

Forum-Brady

Normally I'd agree that

Normally I'd agree that shield choice is dependant on playstyle and player preference, however due to the inherent versatile nature of this build, I can see equal use and have equal want for each of these shields in different situations, which is causing my indecision.
For instance, using Swifty at Vana would be preferable to clear my charges quicker, but having the BTS in several of the rooms would be easier for killing puppies faster. There are also some occasions when I can't do much but get nailed in the face and would rather something more sturdy to prevent the 9sec 4dmg/tick fire that can very easily chew through all of my hp.

Obviously I'm not asking people for a direct answer "what should I use?" as it just wouldn't work for me as easily, but I'm just wonderin' what others' opinons are, and/or what shield they would use if they were using my build.
It gives me some different perspectives or lets me hear reasons I didn't think of and helps me to weigh up the decision.

There will be occasions when I can pick and choose the shield that suits the situation the best, but then there are sometimes (such as FSC) where I can't chop and change and would find a use for all of them, so I'm trying to pick out a "standard/perm" shield to just use all the time and save in my loadout, and then change it, should a more specific situation arise.

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 10:25

Wolfe-Knight

Completely understandable, it

Completely understandable, it is always a good thing to hear other peoples say on items. Your build is very much hybrid so picking a shield would be a little bit more difficult so hearing different opinions is a very wise choice.
For me I normally just go CoA due to my nature of normally being set on fire. I normally stay away for bonus shields like Swift and BTS as I don't find their bonuses useful to me when I am on fire. As you can see I am more of a defensive/support player, so picking a shield is not that hard for me.
Well I hope you are able to choose the right one for your build.

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 10:35

Forum-Brady

I don't find their bonuses

I don't find their bonuses useful to me when I am on fire

Oh god, I love the wording of that~

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 10:39

Alice-In-Pyroland

Swfitstrike, there's really

Swfitstrike, there's really no reason not to use it in FSC unless you're really, really bad at Vanaduke's mask phase. Or if you're using bombs and would rather take a prettier shield (Dragon Scale looks too cool to suck so bad ;_;).

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 10:42

Forum-Brady

I understand if you think the

I understand if you think the defence isn't worth it in FSC, but you don't think the extra sword damage compares to the Swifty at all?

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 12:59

Alice-In-Pyroland

If you have a choice between

If you have a choice between damage OR asi on swords, you always want asi. Higher attack speed means more hits per second, which means you end up doing more damage in the long run and it makes you safer since you can shield cancel and weapon switch faster. The only exception I can really think of is choosing between Max Dmg / VH ASI and Max ASI / VH Dmg in which case the former can be better with faster swords since you get diminsihing returns with ASI after a certain point on some weapons (Most notably on Cutters).

Really though putting aside more generalized views and just looking at your loadout specifically, you're going to be getting a lot more dps out of Blitz most of the time and you want to be in those drawn out charge animations for as little a time as possible. Granted Shiver does allieviate some of the pressure, but on the whole you're going to benefit more from ASI for Blitz and CIV than you will for some extra dmg on CIV which honestly I don't see you getting that much mileage out of.

The only thing I would potentially consider if I was making this choice myself was how good you are at dispatching Oilers and Turrets with CIV, but Shiver basically makes that a no-brainer.

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 13:58

#10

Pherro

+2 cents

By and large, I agree with (echo) Echoez: the ASI High from the Swifty trumps the Low-Med damage from the BTS, especially since it seems that your major damage source is your blitz (in most cases). If you're anything like me, you probably use that EV as much as you use your sword (in parties, at least).

However, you seem to be looking for situational advice, so here's mine: Swifty for a group, BTS for a poor group, GoS for a really poor group or when solo. Having a solid shield to fall back on is very nice when no one's got your back, but otherwise, you sound competent enough not to need the extra defense. Also, GoS for those days when your connection is being unkind.

On a side note, might I ask why do you prefer the CIV over something elemental (say a brandish or DA)?
I ask cause i run with the "i'm a giant chicken" version of your loadout: Volc demo+snarby armor, Voltedge(ctr med), Blitz(ctr med), shiver and EV. I switch off between BTS and GoS depending on the strength of my party/connection (the source of my advice).

I'd also note that switching the normal damage sword for elemental would probably help damagewise as least as much as the BTS would (wolvers excluded, of course).

Tue, 11/20/2012 - 14:09

#11

Trapzter

swift :)

it makes CIV and blitz attacks faster.
or go with BTB for CIV dmg.

if you wanna take a walk on the safer side:
owlite shield
volcanic plate shield or
crest of almire will do their job

Wed, 11/21/2012 - 01:30

#12

Forum-Brady

Thank-you all for your

Thank-you all for your comments; good reasoning in them and nice to see a general consensus :)

@Echoez:
faster swords since you get diminsihing returns with ASI after a certain point on some weapons

I'm not a heavy sword player so was not aware of that, actually. I've been having a similar pondering with my guns for LD, actually and have been having trouble deciding which of the two as well; I'd never even considered it with swords...just never occurred to me, I guess; possibly because in most situations where I use swords heavily I tend to use my Vog and Slash Mods.

Oilers and Turrets with CIV

CiV Charge>Puppies :D Oh, it's so pretty! Such a shame that a charge isn't enough to onehit them in 3/4 man parties :(

@Pherro:
On a side note, might I ask why do you prefer the CIV over something elemental (say a brandish or DA)?

I'm a total hipster and like normal swords!
Nosrsly though, in some situations I will use special swords in the build, but for FSC I quite like the CiV. The undead:hi keeps my damage against them higher than just using a Levi, while at the same time keeping my damage normal so I can easily deal with oilers, blast jellies, wolvers and the mask phase. I like knowing that I have a weapon that just works no matter where I use it. Suda is another option but I wanted this build to feel fast and nippy (and also don't have undead UVs on my Suda).
And the charge rocks. I approve of the charge; unleashing that bad boy in a vortex easily lets me get all three swings in, and even with only dmg:med that still amounts to well over 1k damage per target which is comparable to brandish charges.

it seems that your major damage source is your blitz

Not disagreeing, but you made me wonder which of the two it actually is. I switch between the two weapons very regularly out of sheer fickleness so amn't actually sure which it is; in the room at the end of D26 (with the 6/7 waves of 5x zombies at spikes) I just drop an EV for each wave, but I also tend to switch between the two weapons every wave or two as well. Even just running around the dungeon in general I'll flick between the two, often taking a swing or two at zombies then stepping back to shoot...or vice versa.
This is one of the main reasons why BTS was such a strong consideration, as it happens; I don't just have it on my loadout as a "clean-up tool"; I very much enjoy using the sword (damage aside) and make a point to do so regularly.

Wed, 11/21/2012 - 16:44

#13

Integraa

I skimmed most of this. I

I skimmed most of this.

I would recommend the swift strike. The asi high applies to swords and guns making it more suited than the other shields for your hybrid loadout since you use both swords and guns. You can use swiftstrike to max potential. Also asi high is more of a bonus than sword dmaage medium (3 >2). You don't need to worry so much about getting hit by zombies since good ev usage will provide monster control.

If it was me I would also change the civ for brandish line (preferably voltedge). Mainly because I consider brandish charge + ev my staple for fsc speed. Considering you are running chaos set you have ctr vh bonus on both bombs and sword charges which make it ideal for sword charge spamming into ev. The fact that your damage bonus being medium isn't such a big deal as the brandish charge will be hitting alot of mobs at once within the ev and the fact your ctr vh will allow you to follow up with a second charge relatively quickly or even a second ev + sword charge if desired.

I use a similar loadout (volt ev blitz shiv 2 trueshot modules) but instead of chaos I use shadow sun and snarb cap. I also have ctr uvs.

Thu, 11/22/2012 - 12:44

#14

Corefinder

Swiftstrike

Asi>Dmg bonus
But the main reason why you should use swifty is because you're more of a bomber/gunslinger than a swordie and BTS is mainly aimed towards swordies :3 this is my personal opinion but I prefer ASI over Damage ^.^

Search

Seeking opinions on which shield to use with my (FSC) Hybrid Loadout~