Hi folks,
I hope this is going in the right forum section. I've been working to build an armor set that consists of the drake armors (and as time progresses, their wyvern and dragon upgrades). I have one niggling doubt, though: None of them defend against 'normal' damage, only piercing and elemental. Is this going to screw me over in the long run?
Your replies are appreciated, as is your mercy towards a complete neophyte in the world of online gaming.
Normal is the most common damage type in the game.
Piercing is the least common damage type in the game.
You'll be brutally destroyed by anything that's not a Gun Puppy.
In the long run, i'm sure the game will evolve into having enough diversity of enemies and attack types that they'll be useful some day. From the overly optimistic view that the devs pay attention to suggestions and complaints, and people are endlessly (and rightfully) complaining that the game forces us into but only a couple endgame armor sets.
Some day. Good luck surviving until tier 3 in drake armor. I know I can't.
...Until that point, though, go with something that gives Normal defense plus either Elemental defense or a bonus with your favorite weapon type. The game will be extraordinarily hard without any Normal defense.
Magic Cloak + Hood give Normal and Elemental defenses.
Spiral Demo Suit + Helm give Normal, Elemental, and a bonus to Bomb charge speed.
Wolver Coat + Cap give Normal, Piercing (whatever), and a damage bonus with Swords.
Gunslinger Sash + Hat give Normal, Piercing (meh) and a speed bonus with Guns. This series starts at 3-stars though.
Try combining the Angelic helm with the Drake Scale armor. You get a nearly even bonus in all stats. Doesn't look half bad, either.
All armors should have at least a modiocum of all defenses, so you don't die horribly just because your armor doesn't fit the stage. A stage fitting armor would still be better, of course, but this would make armors with sub-par distribution not useless.
I hate gun puppies, they absolutely DESTROY my current setup because of my lack of elemental defense.
Oh, and piercing damage is pretty useless because...
Lichen colony spin attacks are randomly aimed.
Giant colony thorn root attacks will not hurt you when you are close enough to said giant colony.
Spikes are DERP
I've been playing using this set since the game started and I haven't had many issues. I get criticized a LOT for using it - even had one guy boot me from a party because of it. Yeah, you are right, it has no normal defense. Pretty big turn off. I didn't know that when I started playing, I kinda thought attack types would be more spread out - I was wrong. Yeah, things like Alpha Wolvers hurt like crazy, but I figured out how to deal with them. I use a very simple set up - Dread Venom, Valiance, and a bomb - and I do alright. I guess it taught me how to dodge. I can tell you when there's fire I don't have many issues xD
So, my advice, pick an armor set, learn how to deal with its strengths and weakness, and stick to it. Pick a sword and a gun (ALWAYS keep a gun - if you come across a huge mass of mobs learning how to kite them down will save you some headaches. It also makes those pesky wolvers and gremlins back the heck up.) and learn them. I've all kinds of weapons and armor to pick from and for some reason I always return to my base set. I think in the this game that simpler is indeed better.
Good luck in your adventures!
It will be really bad at keeping you alive. It will be really good at teaching you to be a skilled player. I suggest also practicing with bombs since you can not shield and are forced to learn to dodge a lot. If you are playing on a mac or have choppy gameplay I would not recommend because you will get chewed up during the spikes.
Calibur series sword is good combined with the freezing bomb for strategic play. The three large-swing swords (khorovod= normal dmg; avenger=elemental; faust=shadow) are excellent defensive swords for not getting hit if you like dodging around and pushing stuff away from you. Charge attack on Divine avenger is really useful for kiting arenas, but a gun can do as well.
The only pro Dragon Scale has over Vog is significantly better Elemental defense, (Piercing defense too, if that can be counted as a pro).
Vog's attack speed increase for swords is noticeable useful, since it affects response times (faster swing, faster block).
Unless Firestorm Citadel employs more Piercing monsters, or if there's ANOTHER Fire strata that has a Piercing theme, I feel Dragon Scale will be overshadowed by Vog.
EDIT: Wait, Medium damage against Beasts...perhaps this will be the armor to hunt down the legendary Vog?
These are all really good points. I'm torn between sticking with it, going for the Vog Cub set for the speed bonus (I like using my flourish) or just following pkninja's suggestion of nabbing an angelic helm and working with that (the penalty towards fire seems like it would be pretty neatly offset by the armor's bonus, and it'd be really really /really/ nice not to get my hindparts gnawed on by Alpha Wolvers all the time).
Thanks all! I didn't expect this much help. :)
Switch back to your proto set after unlocking T3! You will become amazing or dead, very quickly.
Yeah. Normal defense is essential.
That's why the drake armors are almost never seen.