Learning swords, not sure which one to get
Dom, 05/24/2015 - 01:14
Currently, I've got an iron slug, mega tundrus, prismatech alchemer mkii, freezing atomizer, chaos cowl, chaos cloak, grey owlite shield, and an iceburst brandish.
I'm trying to "get into" swords and learn how to use them basically, but I don't know which one I should get. Currently I'm thinking either glacius(since I already have iceburst), barbarous thorn blade, acheron, and final flourish, but I can't decide on which one. Help?
Dom, 05/24/2015 - 04:57
#2
It is generally good to have your own experience with them first then ask. That way, there will be more to talk about. One of the questions a person have is "How would you cope with x in this situation?"
Dom, 05/24/2015 - 05:22
#3
Try them all
I would get one of each base blade and try them out in various low tier situations.
One thing you have to look for is comboing your weaponry.
Vortex bombs and Brandishes
Stagger Storm (and VT and Shiv) with Flourishes
Magnus and Troika/Sealed sword lines
Cutters are fun and give you a lot of movement while comboing see how you can use this ability to dance about safely in the fight or use it as a lead into another sword.
Even the Spur line can be fun to play even it it's line only reaches to 4 star and make for a good blade to carry as backup should you need a fast normal weapon.
Calibur lines are great at making space and dealing high damage to immobile targets (great with shock and freeze)
Dom, 05/24/2015 - 06:06
#4
obligatory
I have a detailed sword guide for players in your situation. For example, it directly compares Barbarous Thorn Blade and Final Flourish.
Don't upgrade an item just because you already have a low-star version. Most of the resources in making a complete 5-star item come at the 5-star level: the fire crystals are dramatically more precious then, the recipe costs much more, etc. So don't upgrade Iceburst Brandish unless you really want Glacius. And as my guide explains, other brandishes are better.
To give you better advice, we'd have to know more context. For example, are you going to pair the sword with a gun? Then you want to mix damage types carefully. See the Mixing Weapon Types section of my guide. But you don't need to mix damage types in Firestorm Citadel or danger missions. So your best advice depends somewhat on your goals.
Mar, 05/26/2015 - 12:27
#5
SooS JooJ
I've always had more of a thing for big, beefy swords, so I have become a Sudaruska-Smashing Seismic Senpai.
...but if you actually want to speedrun, be good at lockdown, fight bosses or generally do anything other than look
really hypermasculine and make big explosions, I'd suggest steering clear of the Troika line and going with the
Flourish or one of its spinoffs since they don't suck at doing everything that isn't killing a whole bunch of really small things
at once.
Mié, 05/27/2015 - 12:27
#6
One advise, no need to get
One advise, no need to get final flourish, its charge is useless, get a barbarous thorn blade, looks awesome and is awesome.
Mié, 05/27/2015 - 12:35
#7
@ Grimm
The Flourish charge is terribly powerful and is build more for single target elimination as well as busting up groups. You have to take into account a few things before unleashing the charge though. You have to make sure your aren't right up against the enemy (or the first 2 swings may miss) and you have to predict where it will take you (avoid spikes and traps as well as bad situations).
The BTB has a much simpler but lower damage charge (total potential damage is the same but it is harder to reach that potential). It has a wide AOE but it is relatively short range and that combined with the fact that you take a step back when you use the charge means that it is only better when against huge amounts of enemies who are all in a tight knit group.
Mié, 05/27/2015 - 13:04
#8
FF vs. BTB charge
The BTB charge is certainly easier to use than the FF charge. And it has a shorter cooldown period, so that you can spam it more frequently. But I like them about equally.
As Holy-Nightmare explained, the FF charge is better suited to a single enemy and the BTB charge is better suited to a crowd. But the BTB charge can do a lot of single-target damage if you're very close to the target, and the FF charge can hit multiple targets if they're close to each other. On one memorable occasion, I one-shot-killed two gremlin menders and three wolvers with a single FF charge. (Yes, I say this every time the issue comes up, because the issue is always the same.)
Mié, 05/27/2015 - 14:57
#9
I don't really like either's charge that much to be honest. The normal hits are excellent though- they let you choose an enemy in a crowd (gremlin mender), and knock it out of the way. It also comes with a wide swing arc that hits quickly, allowing you to slap away grievers etc. that are approaching you.
And don't get me wrong, the charges work, they're just not the selling point of the sword. If you want to do big damage use blitz needle. If you want to deal big crowd control, use sun shards or dark briar barrage. The charges are going to help you if you don't have either of those better options and just need one real quick to take out that only trojan, or deal with a bunch of fiends when the moment arises. The big fuss over the charge attack is really not that huge of a deal.
Mié, 05/27/2015 - 15:08
#10
well said
Well said. To put it another way, my favorite weapon against beasts and fiends is Dark Briar Barrage. (However, if your timing against greavers is bad, then FF/BTB first strokes are easier than DBB.)
Mié, 05/27/2015 - 20:43
#11
@ Above
I find that the Final Flourish charges make an excellent start to most battles allowing you to cover much distance rather quickly and as with other 3 swing swords you will use the 3 strike of a combo after using a charge. This allows you to dash about and take down a single target very easily.
The BTB has a nice charge that works well in tight battles where you have numerous enemies like Zombies, Chromas, or Scorchers. It is also the safer choice for taking out those pesky Gorgos that can trouble close range fighters.
I would also like to point out that T3 mender shields aren't broken by damage but by the number of hits the shield takes meaning that the BTB charge is superior at breaking the shield while the Flourish is superior at taking out the mender (possibly before it can shield).
Jue, 05/28/2015 - 01:01
#12
"I would also like to point out that T3 mender shields aren't broken by damage but by the number of hits the shield takes."
I have doubts about this statement. How many hits is it?
Jue, 05/28/2015 - 05:03
#13
@ Panda
It's always seemed that way to me, a pair of shots from a Fiery Pepperbox 4* lvl 10 breaks their shield faster than I can with a Gran Faust 5* lvl 7(neither using charge). Even the Disintegration Ray from a Seraphynx with a Crystal Harness works well. Perhaps it's just me....
Brandish is easy and powerful. Flourish is fast and reachy, but will not deal as much damage to beasts as Acheron. Flourish is mostly for Lockdown and fiends.