I already have the Blizzbrand and I've been thinking whether I should upgrade my Sealed Sword or make the 5 star of my Blizzbrand. The brandish series are great because of their speed and elemental damage. Sealed sword series are great too because they're strong and all. I could still upgrade my sealed sword if I want to but maybe I will regret it. So I want your opinion about this. Should I pick fast weapons or slow weapons?
Also... I'm using the 4 star of Wolver. Ash Tail Coat and Cap
slow weps always high dmg but fast sword weak dmg but super fast like striker cutter
I find slow swords easier/safer to use, especially against groups of enemies. At least until you have enough CTR to efficiently charge spam your brandish.
Ultimately though, Brandishes will deal more damage, with or without CTR. So the only time I'll consider using a heavy sword anymore is against Mech Knights. And then only if I don't feel like bringing EV.
Use whichever you like using though, as sealed swords are still very good weapons. Just not as ludicrously over-powered as brandishes.
Theoretical DPS is well and dandy, but sealed swords kill things in one combo in a full party. Moreover, sealeds have a larger coverage than brandishes so they can do so to an entire group of enemies.
Hmm. That doesn't seem right. I know that you've measured the damage numbers recently, but I can remember having to do multiple combos (like, 1.5 or 2 combos) with a DA against a gun puppy, before it dies. And similarly for Gran Faust.
Edit: For example, a DA combo does 311 + 404 = 715 (depth 24, damage+0, vs. undead). But a zombie at depth 24 has somewhere between 1,025 and 1,032 health when you're solo, right? So a DA takes 1.5 or 2 combos. It may take even more combos in a larger party?
I don't suppose one is better than the other, however I swear by my sudaruska + electron vortex combo. Also Gran Faust is awesome, do NOT listen to the people who whine about self-curse. It only happens on the charge, only about 25% of the time (or less), and even if you get cursed, a single weapon slot upgrade or divine veil is enough to prevent you from being totally useless in the meantime.
After weilding a Triglav till two days ago (I finally crafted a faust), there is no such thing as a slow weapon besides the Trokia line.
Stack some damage bonus onto there. At max damage, easily reachable and indeed typically reached by your average skolver, you get a combo damage of 985. It kills most enemies in one combo solo and duo, at least. But it's true that at that depth and below, you'll need a bit more than just one combo for a full party.
You should be calculating some DPS numbers at max damage, by the way. Neutral and split-damage weapons gain a lot more from damage bonus than specialized damage does, so you might find, say, Cutter's DPS to be a lot more worthwhile at that level.
Well, lots of people play at damage bonus less than +6, but for the sake of argument let's say you have damage+6. Then DA does 437 + 548 = 985 damage per combo at depth 24. Unless I've messed up my zombie health measurement of at least 1,025 (which is possible), that's still not enough damage to take down a zombie in one combo, even if you're solo. You're right that zombies have pretty big health, and many other enemies would die, but some other enemies (lumbers, many levels of lichen) would not. I think that post #5 raised a good point, but significantly overstated that point.
Zombie health is actually exactly 1100. Doesn't really help my case, but I just wanted to set the facts straight.
Zeddy, your point alludes me.
The argument seems to be between brandishes and sealed swords.
A Brandish full combo does more than a Sealed Sword full combo. So anything a Sealed Sword combo will kill, a Brandish combo will also.
How is this an argument for Sealed Swords?
The argument is in post #5. When Brandishes and Sealed Swords take the same amount of time (as measured in seconds, combos, whatever) to kill a monster, then the Sealed Swords have an advantage, in that they can hit more monsters at once.
Now that we have guild training halls and monster health bars, Zeddy has been doing a lot of research on monster health and weapon damage, and we're getting a much better understanding of statistics like strokes per kill. So we should listen to what he has to say --- with the appropriate skepticism, of course.
meh, I've always used medium-speed or fast swords. Slows swords just don't work for me. Then again, some people say the same about brandishes.
Solution: try them both and see which you like better (though you should probably use DA over GF unless you desperately need a shadow sword)
I've worked with Zeddy 4 siancs and I find his data perfectly reliable. We once did this funny thing where he put me on D0 and then I had to work my way through 19 stages with only the Zapper and the Super Stun Gun. When I got to D20, we went to LD and I fought him by tricking his own bombers to hurt him while he tried to kill me with VV. Fun times...
Reliable data doesn't prevent one from being biased.
And the two of them are good.
With Fast Ones,you can push back enemies,deal some medium damage and defend back fast.
With Slow Ones,you can push back enemies real far,deal heavy damage,but defend late.
it's all about of what you prefer.if you're not sure,I would suggest you to play some Clockwork Arcade/Missions and see with which ones you go better.
If you can't figure out,you can keep all of them.Choose any of them when you have more chances of winning with them or just for FUN.
I find that playing solo the slow swords suit me better, and in a party the faster brandish types.
When you have multiple players attacking the same mob, using a slow sword is tricky since the monsters get pushed around.
I stopped using GF in JK runs, for the simple reason that. When I hit a bunch of jellies, you have to move back a block or 2, because they usually strike just after you hit them. Playing with a party, that creates alot of damage to the other players, since you move the jelly back with your knockback, other players move in to strike, the jelly moves forward and strikes whle they are moving forward to attack. Health bars all over the floor...
I can predict the movement of the jelly because I am the one hitting it, but no so much for other players, or payers new to slow swords. Even while I am lagging I know exactly where the jelly will end up, but other players with lag.. not so much.
So for the sake of party member health I switched to Acheron during JK runs.
It really is a question of personal taste.
Personally, I have both, and just use whichever I feel like for the day. I find that my Sealed lines are more defensive in focus than the Brandish lines, but then that might just be the way I use the swords.
/le shrug
If you're asking "Brandish versus Sealed" then-
Brandishes in my opinion. Sealed line's charge attack gets stuck on stuff behind you, making them weaker, whereas brandishes charge attack is entirely reliable. Other than that it's personal preference. There really isn't much difference between dealing 3 hits or dealing 2 hits for your damage. Each has some benefits with their attacks, but brandishes are better when it comes to taking out stuff in tight areas with a charge though, which is when they can save you.
The turret issue for the Divine Avenger that I wrote about is certainly a thing, where brandishes can take out turrets better on normal hits, but DA can OHKO most turrets with well placed charges... though it's still better to brandish it, simply because both your shots can get stuck with DA and because brandishes don't make you stand still to do normal hits, which are what you'd use instead of the DA charge.
I use medium swords usually.
You wont get stuck attacking if an enemy is at your back.
And you deal a fair bit of damage without having to swarm the enemy up close.
The Brand Weapons I use due to the Lovely Elemental charge, and knockback caused from that.
...Plus Elemental damage is awesome for my specialist style.
I prefer the slow ones. I've been using the DA and GF for quite some time as my primary weapons and I just feel safer with them and I feel like I have total control. Cutter line had me constantly dying back in the day and I've never used those brandish weapons, however the calibur line isn't so bad. CIV is great.
First off: In Spiral Knights, slow sword =/= higher dps or even damage overall. The benefit to slow swords is that they have a much wider strike. You can hit a lot of things with one strike from a GF. However, medium swords (the only real fast swords are the Cutter line, and they're terrible) can put out a much higher dps, but they have a very narrow strike. Much better for taking on baddies one by one.
Now, as it's been stated before, your primary concern should be damage type. It won't matter how it swings if it can't even scratch what you're fighting. Since you already have an elemental sword, I would upgrade your Sealed Sword to a Faust (or Gran Faust if you've already done that) so that you have something that covers both shadow and elemental damage types. HOWEVER, if you're talking about which sword type you want for your elemental sword, that's your call. In a nutshell, do you want crowd control or straight dps?
EDIT: This is based purely on experience and logic (what I know of Spiral Knights and what I can logically gather about these higher level weapons that I haven't owned ever), so it might not be 100% accurate.
It depends on if you're more of a damage guy, or if you use speed qualities more.
If you like dealing heavy damage, I suggest slow weapons, but if you want to use speed to attack things quicker, then I suggest fast weapons.
Medium speed swords are there also!
Minor point: I would call Brandishes medium-speed swords. The really fast swords are the Cutters.
In general, the slow swords have wide sweeps (good for hitting multiple enemies) and lots of knockback (good for keeping monsters at bay in tight rooms). The medium swords hit fewer monsters with less knockback, but produce significantly more damage per second. Also, I think that speed and size are secondary considerations in choosing a sword; your primary consideration should be damage type.
For direct comparisons using data, consult my detailed sword guide.