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The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel

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Post  Zenki Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:27 pm

"What are the best weapons for the Firestorm Citadel? How do I use them?"

You may be asking yourself this or have been asked by someone else. In my time on Spiral Knights I have figured there to be a number of weapons that can be used efficiently in the Firestorm Citadel. I've noticed many Guild members asking each other and debating over this topic trying to find the best weapon.

The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel Gate-Throne_Room
Firestorm Citadel
This is one of the areas in the game that I am asked about more frequently. As there are many possible ways to get through the Firestorm Citadel, there are many possible ways to die. (mostly by fire) There are a few key weapons that will make this trip a lot easier. In my experience I can tell you where a weapon will be at its peak performance, as well as well as some tips and tricks. Note that the type and level of your equipment as well as the skill of the person using it should be taken into consideration. Though I'm sure some of you have your preferences, I am only telling you this out of my experience and should not be a reason you should throw your favorite weapon away. (I love my Sudaruska)




-Swords-

The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Avenger_iconThe Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Divine_Avenger_icon
Avenger Series
The Divine Avenger is usually the first option for most players when going into the Firestorm Citadel due to its heavy damage and even larger knock-back. Though while having the power to throw an enemy halfway across the map, you must be aware that this weapon is very slow. You should watch your back for a Slag Walker that wants to grab you and bite your face off or that Trojan that wants to throw you into a fire pit! This weapon's Charge Attack is very powerful and can deal heavy damage to a number of enemies in a radius. This attack takes quite a while to charge and you are vulnerable to attack while charging. When using the Divine Avenger's Charge Attack when your back is touching the wall the projectiles will stay where they are, explode, and do nothing. So take a step forward and unleash your might!


The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Combuster_iconThe Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Glacius_iconThe Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Voltedge_icon
Elemental Brandish Series
The Elemental Brandish line of weapons are for the player that deals quick strikes, status effects, or explosions from afar. Due to its moderate damage the Elemental Brandish line of swords are good weapons to carry with you into the Firestorm Citadel. What makes these weapons great to me is that the Charge Attack can be used to attack enemies from fair distance. The charge time for this weapon is quite a bit faster than the one on the Avenger series. The Charge Attack consists of 3-5 (depending on the level of your weapon) explosions in a line in front of you. The 3 different type of Elemental Brandishes you can choose from have different advantages. The Glacius can Freeze enemies to stop thier movement, put out Oilers fires, and even Freeze Trojans in place! The Voltedge can Shock enemies and deal a fair amount of shock damage while interrupting enemies when the Shock spasms through thier bodies. The Combuster, however, deals fire damage. Fire damage doesn't work on fire-based enemies but is still a good weapon because it has Elemental damage and a good Charge Attack range.




-Handguns-

The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Blitz_Needle_iconThe Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Plague_Needle_icon
Needle Series
The Needle series of weapons can be a great asset to you in the Firestorm Citadel if used correctly. Needle guns deal a fair amount of Piercing damage over a wide area. The Charge time for this weapon isn't the greatest in the game, nor is it the worst. When you attack with this weapon you will not be able to move until the attack is finished. The Charge Attack for the Needle series is one of the best things you can use in the Firestorm Citadel. These Charge Attacks, if placed directly at its back, will kill a Trojan with one attack! You can also stand behind a point where a Trojan is going to spawn and take him out from the beginning! These charges can also be used on Slag Walkers and will not knock them back into a Grim Totem radius (the statue that revives them) or into your comrades. The Charge Attack is a favorable weapon to use against Vanaduke, the Boss of the Firestorm Citadel, because of its Piercing damage and sheer firepower.

The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Polaris_icon
Pulsar Series
The Pulsar series can also be a great handgun to use but it could also be the one that can enrage or even kill your teammates. I find the Pulsar series to be a good weapon that deals a moderate amount of Elemental damage to enemies. This weapon can also push enemies back from a distance and have a chance to Shock them as well. The Charge Attack for this weapon is just a larger bullet and doesn't really help that much.(I don't think I've ever seen anyone use it) This weapon is good in the Firestorm Citadel for reaching behind and destroying those big wooden wheel throwers. It can also be used on Depth 25 to avoid the Rocket Puppy in the "Puppy Room" by shocking the Slag Walkers and having them walk into the Ghost Block while shocked and opening a path for you. This weapon also has it downsides. This weapon can push enemies around and even into, or away from, your enemies.




-Bombs-

The Best Weapons For Firestorm Citadel 40px-Equipment-Shivermist_Buster_icon
Freezing Vaporizer Series
The Freezing Vaporizer series of bombs is a great thing to have while you're inside a burning city! This bomb has a good charge time as well as all other mist bombs. It can also be charged and used again even before the mist from your first bomb goes away. A good way to use this bomb is to Freeze a large group of enemies and pick them off from far away with Charge Attacks or Handguns. This bomb can also be used with the Needle series to Freeze a Trojan, charge your Needle Gun, and take him out in one shot! Freeze Bombs are very good to use against Vanaduke as they can stop him from moving and give other players a chance to strike at him without a fear of being hit themselves. The Shivermist Buster has a larger radius and can reach Vanaduke from outside his fire orbs even on his last phase.
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Post  Shinigami Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:14 pm

Personal preference:
Swords:
DA CTR VH + Levi CTR H (couldn't get CTR VH anywhere) for zombies and trojans, respectively.
DA charge is good for pushing zombies away (remember to hold down SHIFT when releasing charge, this allows precision striking, as SHIFT disables auto-aim).
Levi is perfect for chopping down trojans with charged triple backstabs (you'll need 1-2 extra swings to finish them, though, in case you're soloing).

Guns:
Nova driver. Simply awesome, as long as you know how to use it. Good alternatives: shock and freeze variants.
Polaris. Simply awesome, as long as you don't shoot at point-blank. Leads to somewhat unpredictable result when pushing enemies away, outside of blast radius for next bullets.
Blitz needle. With enough damage bonus can destroy Trojans with one charged attack (solo). Is used to defeat Lord Vanaduke.

Bombs:
I've seen vortex-type do miracles in FSC, when combined with DA charges. Nearly useless by itself.
Shivermist - must have for Vanaduke party fights. Also helps in Vana-Solo, depending on how awesome your bomb is (CTR UV grade).

Shield:
FSC shield - Crest of Almire. VS Zombies.
Perfect shield - Volcanic Plate Mail. Good health, fire protection.
Favorite shield for a gunner - swiftstrike buckler. Weak but gives a speed boost to all weapons.
Swordsman's shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield, gives damage bonus to swords. Stronger than swiftstrike buckler, too.

Extras:
4 weapon slots (2 extra), 2 trinket slots (2 extra).
They're not absolutely required but do make your life significantly easier. I always use them.

These are my personal preferences.
Currently I run FSC solo in Skolver armor set with Barb shield, DA, Levi, Nova and one extra weapon I rarely use. When I get my CTR VH blitz, I'll use it to fight Vana in my solo runs.

Small update:
I changed my equip recently to:
Divine Avenger + Voltedge + Blitz needle + Shivermist buster, swiftstrike buckler, Snarbolax armor set (fire high + fire max), trinkets: damage bonus to swords and damage bonus to guns. Works great, especially voltedge charges, though I'm sure any brandish line would be great (except for nightblade).


Hooray to ultimate super-overpriced UVs!


Last edited by Shinigami on Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:17 am; edited 2 times in total

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Post  Zenje Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:18 am

Although, it doesn't come close to comparison when learning from you first-hand in the game.
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Post  Mech-Unit-One Mon Dec 31, 2012 6:52 am

Thanks Zenki Very Happy
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Post  Fehzor Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:09 am

If you're actually serious about FSC I would consider going with something like-

Blitz needle @ ctr low/med
Acheron
Seerus's mask
Chaos/shadowsun, pending on what UV your blitz has
Swiftstrike
Gun damage/speed trinkets

Maxing out a blitz needle is by far the fastest way to do anything FSC related... though its all rather trivial; having a party that knows what its doing and isn't into taking 20 minute restroom breaks is what REALLY gets through FSC quickly, way more so than having any one set of gear.
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Post  Shinigami Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:44 am

I have to say this: I do not understand players who bring shadow weapon (acheron) to shadow-resistant area (90% of monsters have shadow resistance). Why not bring another brandish line with Elemental damage? Yes, those 3 wolvers you'll encounter on depth 27 are resistant to elemental damage, but for that you have Blitz Needle (its extremely efficient if you know how to use it). And fighting zombies using Elemental damage sword is MUCH easier, even if its flamius, and not shockius or glacius (actual names: Combuster, Voltedge, Glacius).

Another good alternative to Brandish weapon line is Leviathan Blade. Its an all-around sword, does same damage to every monster family and even Vanaduke. Add that to blitz needle and you have a proper "minimum". Having a freeze bomb helps significantly.

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Post  Fehzor Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:47 pm

The only things that you would be fighting in FSC with anything but blitz needle are turrets and oilers. Oilers are strong against piercing/elemental, so logically someone should bring a shadow weapon. Given that your team is more likely to be using elemental weapons, and thus slowing you down, you should bring acheron. Glacius is a close second, especially for parties that are colluding.
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Post  Shinigami Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:40 am

The only things I fight with blitz needle are Trojans and Vanaduke. Sometimes zombies, but its very rare. I have max damage bonus with swords thanks to snarbolax set and sword damage trinket.
Oilers don't have ele resistance, burning oliers have small resistance, but you still kill them just as easily as any other zombie. And there are just a few oilers on 24 and 25, zero at 26-27 (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Elemental sword: good vs most enemies, normal vs like 6 monsters total, bad vs those 6 when they're on fire + 3 wolvers at depth 27.
Shadow sword: bad vs most enemies, normal vs few, good vs like 6 monsters total.
If you bring a shadow sword, and a blitz that doesn't have MAX ctr and at least High ASI, you'll just be slowing the team down. Blitz does good damage vs vana, trojans, but not nearly enough to kill zombies without charged attacks. Electron Vortex (bomb that pulls everyone in) is more useful than blitz when you have a good sword on the team.

Blitz Needle - charged attack can kill a zombie with 1 charge. It can also kill a trojan with a charged attack.
Pros: can kill a zombie with 1 charged attack, interrputing their attack; doesn't move you when you attack.
Cons: can only kill 1 zombie with a charge, slow attack, slow reload, can't move/shield while shooting or reloading.

Divine Avenger - charged attack can kill 3-4 zombies with 1 charge.
Pros: kills multiple enemies with 1 charged attack - huge damage, good pushback in wide area.
Cons: hard to control (step back, if you hit a wall, charge is cancelled), takes a second for the charge to start pushing/damaging monsters.

Voltedge/Glacius - charged attack can kill 1-3 zombies with 1 charge.
Pros: kills multiple enemies with 1 charged attack - good damage, status effect (shock/freeze), no pause before starts pushing/damaging.
Cons: charge can stop if hits an obstacle (wall/statue/Trojan shield), forces you to take a small step ahead, has narrow damage line (compared to DA).

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Post  Fehzor Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:58 pm

The trick is to wedge 2-3 zombies together via subtle manipulation of your movement+shield. Then move in for a OHKO. Rinse and repeat and you'll be done in no time... and I'm fairly certain that it takes multiple sword charges to kill zombies. Or at least its always taken me multiple sword charges to do so. What level of damage and precisely which parts of the DA/brandish line charge does it take to kill them in such a fashion? You also left out the largest benefit to using blitz- that it doesn't have any knockback. This makes the levels far more deterministic, and therefore faster and more monotonous for easier grinding.
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Post  Shinigami Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:29 pm

To me having no knockback is a huge disadvantage. If you can't stop zombies and can't kill them immediately, you'll have to face them while reloading, which forces you to take damage. DA charge simply pushes everything far, far away (if there is space), and doesn't force you to stand still for a while after the charge (but it takes longer to release charge).

Sure, pushing zombies together with shield bump and moving all over the place allows you to kill one or more with a single charged attack. But it also takes time. I simply charge DA/Voltedge and they're out of my way immediately. Much faster.

I have:
Snarbolax set, Sword damage trinket, total damage bonus Maximum.
I also have swiftstrike shield and maxed CTR on both blitz and DA, brandish only has VH ctr (med bonus for heat 10 + med bonus from UV).

I usually play solo, or duo, and most of the time zombie that I hit with my initial charge release swing (DA) is killed by arrows. Most of the time that same zombie dies with 1st charge even in full parties, but I often spam with DA charges to push enemies into corners and kill them with 2 charges (two charges kill 4-5 zombies in my case, but its even faster with a good team, we did entire FSC in under 15 minutes).

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Post  Fehzor Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:16 pm

Perhaps we should deux FSC together and see?
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Post  Shinigami Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:44 pm

Fehzor wrote:Perhaps we should deux FSC together and see?
I'm sure it'd be fun. But I don't play SK at the moment. GYM + work + looking for a gf = no time to finish some other paid projects affraid
But I'd love to, as soon as I have 30-60 minutes free.

PS: I prefer using sword, you prefer using a gun, both are valid options, both are effective. The rest is personal preference. I also love nova driver for a gun - best damage among alchemers, great charged attacks (kills zombie with 1 charge if shot correctly), but its not as good as Blitz (blitz has HUGE damage).

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Post  Fehzor Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:09 pm

I don't really prefer to use anything; I just find blitz needle to be the most efficient... and its a shame that you're too busy to play. I know how that is.
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Post  Shinigami Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:50 pm

Fehzor wrote:I don't really prefer to use anything; I just find blitz needle to be the most efficient... and its a shame that you're too busy to play. I know how that is.
Nah, I'm pretty happy how things are Razz I know I can't do all the things I want at the same time, and this is my decision - I wanna be big, strong and sexy afro
PS: don't get me wrong - I love SK and I love being part of Lionheart, just not enough time for everything. Feel free to remove me from the guild if you hit the limit of players.

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