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Apologies

This guide may be useless but it was fun while me and Markdudea wrote this. AND WHAT ARE THOSE PATCHES?!

The Guide to Basic Sword Mastery and Techniques and other guides such as Gunslinging and Bombing.

BY: SPECTREUS, MARKDUDEA AND NEOFLIX OF DARK COLLECTIONS

Before Getting Started

Refer to the Swordmaster’s guide for most techniques and other bits, the whole point of being a swordsman is to deliver the final blow or output as much damage as you can without taking much damage the hit and run technique is suited to swordsmen as if your enemy it stronger you can strike and redeploy without taking too much damage as most enemies are slow to react and strike back. Gunners and bombers will support you, with long ranged support and status effects you can kill your enemies a lot easier. Being a good swordsman you will need to get into the thick of it to play the role of an effective swordsman, to be a good swordsman you should protect your squad members without swords so they can play their role effectively in supporting you, this works both ways without support from fellow squad members you are much more vulnerable to attack. Don’t always have to rely on other teammates to help you out you can support yourself you can gun and sword at the same time having a balanced loadout means that you don’t have to be so reliant on other people to help you out in situations that are not suited to pure swordsmen. As you aren’t much use dead are you? Using the techniques in the Swordmaster’s guide you will be a very effective swordsman. We recommend you study the Shieldbearers and Swordmaster’s guide so you can familiarize yourself with some of the terms used later on.

General Techniques

A good Swordsman should put avoiding damage while dealing damage as his/her top priority during battle; remember you can reposition yourself to be a better squad member. You can let other people cut the enemy down, being a swordsman isn’t about glory hunting. Health is important, especially when going up against a large amount of enemies what good are you to your squad dead on the floor?, it is absolutely vital always keep an eye on your healthbar. Defense always comes first, except in a few specific situations (such as killing healing or other dangerous enemies such as Menders and Trojans) but still take care. When facing a huge crowd of enemies, a good attack pattern would be to: (If you have a ranged weapon) Shoot multiple times until within range or alternatively use a support bomb to weaken the enemy (freeze,shock,fire or poison) -> strike use techniques mentioned later to increase your effectiveness -> pull back (shields are useful but not vital here) -> repeat Slow two-hit swords have a wide swing; so, before attacking try to position and angle yourself to hit as many enemies as possible. These swords have a downside of if you miss you are vulnerable to attack make sure you have team members watching your flanks in case you’re swarmed. Cutters, Spurs, Flourishes and Thorn Blades and other fast moving weapons make you move a lot while attacking, which can be both a good or bad. This allows you to evade hits by the enemy while attacking, but in some cases can put you in danger for example push you into range of gun puppies or make you run into spikes. Auto targeting is quite useful while using them (especially for Flourishes/Snarble Barbs), as it makes it easier to follow enemies with consecutive attacks, but can make it difficult to target small enemies (Devilites), it can also endanger you if you auto target onto a nearby enemy while you were canceling another enemy’s attack.

Advanced Techniques

There are several subtleties in the mechanics and controls for swordplay in Spiral Knights that can be exploited to your advantage with a little practice.

Lunging

If you hold down your attack button after making any sword attack, you will begin charging for a charge attack. If you release the button while you are charging but before charging is completed, you will perform a normal attack instead. If you release at just the right time, the release attack will continue your previous combo instead of starting a new one. This technique is difficult to master and is recommended that you practice often.

Kiting

This is a genius way to kill. This involves running around as the enemy follows you shoot your gun; blast your bomb or hit the with your charge attack using your trusty sword!

Shield Cancelling

Shield canceling is a general technique usable with all weapons, but sword users gain the greatest benefits, because they can use it to change which attacks are included in a combo. Cancelling If you can deal enough damage to an enemy you can cancel its attack therefore giving you more time to deal more damage the third or last strike of any decent sword for example a Divine Avenger’s last strike will cancel the enemy’s attack in all tiers. However a proto sword will not cancel a tier 3 wolver’s attack.

Shield Wall

(TEST IN PROGRESS)

Note more techniques are available. (Please refer to the Spiral Knights wiki)

Shield Bumping

In conclusion sword fighting is about striking fast and hard without giving the enemy a chance to strike back a successful swordsman will be able to cut apart a large group of enemies without taking a single hit. Going barbarian and charging the enemy with recklessness will end badly, be a scalpel precise, sharp and fast don’t be a broadsword brute and slow.

Recommended Swords (Fast moving)

Fast moving swords offer a quick solution to enemies dealing high amounts of damage and blindingly fast speeds to cut apart the foe before it has time to retaliate,

Flourish

For its speed and damage. However, beware that its moving attacks can drive you onto spikes or enemies (especially lumbers and trojans) This sword is useless against the construct and slime family, as it has no normal damage.

Snarble Barb

For its adaptability. The charged attack can deal damage at a range to soften them up for the final blow. However, missing with the charge attack can mean a loss of vital time. This sword is useless against the construct and slime family, as it has no normal damage.

Cutter

The normal damage of the sword means that it can take on any monster in the clockworks with speed and precision. However, the damage is moderately low meaning that it is recommended that you craft a venom striker for increased bonuses. Also, the charge can potentially miss, meaning that you are exposed to enemies. Not a vital sword. However, it is quite useful....sometimes.

Recommended Swords (Average speed)

These swords are the staple swords used by most spiral knights they offer a balance between slow and fast moving swords dealing moderate damage in a medium amount of time.

Calibur

Arguably [for beginners] the best sword series in the game, they deal normal damage at a reasonably fast rate which can tear through enemies slower than flourishes but sacrifices speed for more damage. The Calibur charge attack knocks back all enemies in a 360 degrees swing attack.

Brandish

This series can be made into swords of fire, ice, shock and shadow. These swords deal a large amount of status conditions, which can offer breathing room during a fight. The downside is that oilers can be set alight and quicksilvers be shocked giving the enemy some bonuses. The cautery sword is not very useful.

Fang of Vog

This sword is incredibly powerful. It deals out massive amounts of damage which can make enemies seem like nothing more than a nuisance. When used, it can set fire to the user making it hazardous to use.

Cold Iron Carver

has the same speed and damage (maybe) of a ascended calibur but provides a very high bonus against undead giving this sword great effectiveness against multiple enemies.

Recommended Swords (Slow moving)

Divine Avenger

one of the most popular slow moving swords in the game it offers a ridiculously powerful charge attack which is in fact ranged

Gran Faust

a shadow version of the avenger it can inflict strong curse both on the enemy and the user, if the player wants a good shadow sword series the nightblade line is more recommended for 

its average speed but high shadow damage.

Leviathan Blade

a huge Calibur it hits faster than most of the heavy swords it deals large amounts of normal damage which makes it very reliable you can count on this to get you out of a tight spot. The charge attack 360 degrees which can deal massive amounts of damage can also hit stationary enemies up to three times.

Cold iron Vanquisher

the five* version of the cold iron carver it is almost exactly the same as the leviathan blade but it has a high damage bonus against undead, however according to testing this sword deals out less damage 

and has a less knockback this can be useful in some situations.

Specific Views of Swords and Comparison of each line.

Gran Faust and Divine Avenger

Divine Avenger is obviously better than the GF in many ways. Divine Avenger is very powerful and does not have a down-side on its charge attack. It fires 3 ‘beams’ which can deal tons of damage in T3 against the undead and Construct. In contrast, the Gran Faust shoots one beam as well as cursing the ENEMY! (not to mention it can also cure you!) I short: The Gran Faust has its uses, but the Acheron seems to be the better choice for shadow so Divine Avenger is better than its counter-part.

Dread Venom Striker or Wild Hunting Blade?

Mostly people agree that in T3, the cutter lines are USELESS. But some disagree. So if you are one of the cutter fans, many people would like to get the venomous cutter. I disagree in some ways as both swords deal nearly the same damage but with a damage bonus to beast for the Wild Hunting Blade. In contrast, the Dread Venom gives the enemy a SLIGHT chance poison so it is not so recommended. However, if you want to compare both the cutters, people often say “The Dread Venom is more useful than Wild Hunting Blade because it has poison!” Without noting the fact that it has a SLIGHT chance or very unlikely. Overall, it is good to get any of them even though for FSC it is more ideal the get the Dread Venom. Another way to actually overpower the Wild Hunting is to get a Unique Variant, which has high damage bonus against beasts or even maximum this will make the Dread Venom more versatile. The easiest is if you want a good anti-beast sword, get the TOOTHPICKS! So, simply get the toothpicks if you hate beasts instead of the Wild Hunting Blade and if you want a Dread Venom, this guide recommends that you get a gun or bomb that gives poison as a status effect as it is more useful than lashing out at monsters which is not guaranteed to be hit. But if you are a cutter fan or like the properties, both are good so get both or any. (Preferably DVS)

Leviathan Blade vs Cold Iron Vanquisher

Many people ignore these swords as it is better getting piercing, shadow and elemental swords as it deals more damage than these swords does, but many love these swords because if you can only afford a single sword because of your budget or your expertise is not swording or other things, you can get a all-round sword that is perfect for any type of monster. Many people say that it is bad becuase of it’s damage-lacking normal swings but it ‘shines’ in its charge attack, which hits a single target 3 times if all the hits land and can deal an immense amount of damage. This ,unfortunately, is similar to the Fang of Vog which can inflict fire. However, the downside of the Fang of Vog is that it can inflict damage on the player itself like the Gran Faust. (Go see Fang of Vog vs Combuster). Cold iron Vanquisher, I consider is not really a normal sword it is pretty much and elemental sword that gives normal damage to everything else most people would think that the Cold Iron Vanquisher would be a better sword because it has a UV but tests show that the Leviathan blade offers more damage than its Cold iron counterpart. Overall Leviathan or Cold Iron Vanquisher it’s your choice really.

Combuster vs Fang of Vog

This is a common question made by both novice and veteran players and the most players often end up using the Combuster. There are many reasons: the Combuster does not damage you when you use the charge attack, it is ‘easier’ to get, it has higher damage and dps. But to be honest, I Disagree, You can shield cancel with the FoV, and using it with your vog gear or swiftstrike would increase the dps. So I feel like using the FoV is quite useful and we all love fire.

Techniques for Specific Monsters

Trojans

The most annoying monsters in undead/fiend levels, the real party crasher. You are gonna want to take out this bad boys out first. However if you are surrounded by enemies take these ones out first as they may hinder you (especially if they are menders). First find a open spot not too close to spikes or traps charge your weapon, the trojan will then charge now you release your charge onto his exposed back, this technique works for soloing or if your allies are tied up. In a group you can use a freeze bomb to immobilize the trojan before releasing your charges or attacking or you can alternatively bait the trojan and then use the other player to deal out massive damage.

Gremlin Thwackers (Tier 2 and above)

Gremlin thwackers appear to be easy to anticipate but the first strike will be quickly followed with a wickedly fast second strike to the side which can catch you with your guard down. The solution is to wait for the gremlin to strike and then place yourself in what appears to be the location of the second strike but shield just before the gremlin strikes then counter-attack. (note this technique focuses mainly on tier 2 gremlins and this method is not very effective in tier 3)

Kats

Personally I think Kats are just infuriating with their flying around biting me in the butt and their blasted bullets! A person from Guild told me how to fighting Kats, the Guild member told me to shield bump the Kats and reply with a fast gun (silversix etc.) you can also very dangerously charge up a sword that used the 360 degree charge and wait for the Kat(s) to fly towards you and release the charge if it works you deal tons of damage and get the satisfaction of hitting them right in the face! It is more safe however to shield bump the Kats into a corner and hit them over and over. Freeze and stun are the best statuses against them as stun will slow them down so much you can walk after them and freeze stops tthem dead. now you can cut them down with ease.

Lumbers

Charge up your sword wait for them to strike, dodge and release. Repeat this simple pattern and you can slice through lumbers like they’re made of paper.

Gun Puppies and Turrets

Now gun puppies and turrets are devastating in close quarters while you’re being swarmed by enemies these should be one of your priority targets especially if they are rocket puppies.There are multiple ways to take them out: You can hide behind a block and pop up and return fire between the turrets firing intervals this can take a long time but it is extremely safe unless you mis-time it. You can also attack the puppy while it is in “sleep mode” this mode is when the puppy first spawns it is at it’s most vulnerable the puppy will take a much longer time to charge up its attack giving you those vital seconds to cancel its attack and take it out. Stun and freeze are the most useful statuses to inflict on turrets or gun puppies this will slow their spin rate allowing you to attack at leisure. Perhaps you want spring from a bush and release a charge in its face? Well that works too :D. Moreover, you can walk around the gun puppy and it will not ‘focus’ and you can kill it! >:D

Guide to Gunslinging

If you do not use the shield very much, use the weak but useful swift-strike buckler!

The whole point of gunslinging is to provide long ranged damage for your swordsmen to slice through enemy with extreme ease. The alchemer and antigua lines are extremely useful for all however guns which enable fast movement are more suited to swordsmen. However gunning can be mixed with other roles for a balanced support class. Shielding is vital to gunning as shields provide protection and the ability bump enemies so that your gun can be used effectively and not in a place without space. (It it is almost vital to auto-targeting on).

Well, in gunslinger, there is only one armour that is actually useful- the gunslinger stash lines. Also, the perfect mask of seerus is perfect for a gunner’s dream and the last option- the chaos set.

Recommended Gun Lines

Antigua Line

This line is mainly for swordsmen or other squad roles that need to move fast. The antigua can be made into the Argent Peacemaker or Sentenza. These guns allow you to deal high damage at a fast rate while still being able to move quickly as well. This gun is almost a must-have for knight.

Alchemer Line

This gun makes up for its low ammo capacity by its ricochet. This means that you can target enemies behind other enemies to prioritize killing. This gun allows you to stay mobile and inflict status to allow some breathing room. Moreover, 3* star and above of this line can also be used for crowd control.

Pulsar Line

Recommended for soloing as large knock back, explosion and screen shake is a potential deathtrap ; large blast radius also means it can act as a buffer between players and mobs allowing some breathing room.

Autogun Line

This gun is a beast- (if it is used to make the Blitz Needle). It is favoured for it’s use in FSC and Vanaduke. Although the user stops to fire, it makes up for it’s fast fire rate and damage output which means you can deal a ridiculous amount of damage if you can shoot accurately.

The Ultimate Guide for Bombers

Derp Guide

Ryan’s Derpy accessories tips.

Well personally for me, I love decking out my character/knight, I think I might have decked it out slightly to much, but I love it! As I have an alternate account it just completely pimped (Oppa Ryan style! Heyyyy sexy knight!!!) and honestly [Does not make sense!-Spec] when someone inspects me and see i’m only on knight (rank). But to me wings and auras are just my weakness and still I love all of it, as in ALL THE ACCESSORIES! As things like crests not only ‘make you look badass’(Quote:Markdudea) but also can a slight increase of somethings [??? They do not, those are pendants or modules. Maybe say like “Makes Markdudea proud that he has accessories”- Spec] , and overall that does help. And if you are not like me you probably don’t care as much about looks - auras and things like that, but just love the look! As well as this, When you become rich (4000 CE REV, DONE THAT!) you can start to spend money on things like summer crests and just things that make you look badass. As the concept of attaching the accessories, I DON’T LIKE IT, the way is once you attach an accessory and then try removing it it will NOT come off [It actually will!- Spec]. This ruins quite a bit seeing as if you want to have multiple accessories for one armour set (Cobalt, Vog cub, Snarbolax Etc.) then you end up having to craft/buy/become rewarded with lots of armour and then have to attach different accessories and you really can’t have that just because of the amount that can annoy people.