Revision as of 04:28, 14 June 2012

This is a guild we started out of mutual respect and a vision for having an elite group of players dedicated to a number of goals. The name, High Knights, reflects our desire to be Honorable, have Integrity, be Generous to others, and above all be Humble about our guild and ourselves.

I, AJ, actually am the founder of this guild, but those listed below had just as much to do with the ideas and goals as I and, perhaps, actually disearve more of the credit.

In any case, I beleive the four virtues listed above make for a better playing experince for all players and for better people in general.

I picked "Honor" because it sums up the overall goal of the guild. To be Honorable is to be the type of person others admire and trust.

I selected "Integrity" becuase being both yourself and honest with yourself and others reveals the true heard of the warrior. We don't hide our strengths or our weaknesses.

I choose "Generosity" because a spirit of generosity almost always leads to a better experience for all. Generosity is the spirit of seeing what others need and providing it even if it means you have less. We give resources to each other certainly, but our time is the thing we give the most and which costs us more.

And finally, I selected "Humility" because all of us should remember what it was to be killed every ten seconds, have little to offer the better players, and how hard it was to learn all the ends and outs of the game.

So HIGH Knights is our name. Someday, we hope, you will know us by our reputation.

Guildies

Advanced Gameplay

This section is designed to help T1ers understand the more complicated aspects of the game, and help them move into T2 without too much trouble. T2ers who are still unclear on some things should skim through this, but I've also put in some data on fighting bosses that you might find helpful. Feel free to post this on your own page.

Damage

The damage system in Spiral Knights is based off 4 types of damage: Normal, Elemental, Piercing and Shadow. Both monsters and knights use the same damage system. Normal hits all monsters equally, and elemental, piercing, and shadow each have 2 monster types they get a bonus on, 2 they hit for no bonus or loss, and one type that they can barely hurt. Each monster type will generally deal it's own damage type, mixed with normal damage. In some cases they stray from this. Your own attack damage type is determined by your weapons; each has it's own damage type(s). Your own weaknesses/resistances are determined by your armors. Further info on this topic at http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Damage.

Monster Type	Damage Type	Weak To	Neutral To	Strongly Resistant To
Slime Family	Piercing	Shadow	Elemental	Piercing
Beast Family	Piercing	Piercing	Shadow	Elemental
Gremlin Family	Elemental	Shadow	Piercing	Elemental
Construct Family	Elemental	Elemental	Shadow	Piercing
Fiend Family	Shadow	Piercing	Elemental	Shadow
Undead Family	Shadow	Elemental	Piercing	Shadow

Predicting Monsters

Going to the gate map (gear menu) shows you the monster and special condition themes of the level, as well as the level type. Use this to pick the right equips for the situation. Bear in mind that there are many exceptions to these simple rules; they only really apply to those level-styles that are flexible in monster types and status conditions. You will learn as you progress what to expect from each specific level, and the locals can often be predicted by the level name. If you don't have a clue, ask your teammates!

Technique

Simple methods for maximizing your damage given/damage taken.

Swords

General

As a swordsman, I can offer some effective advice on this topic. Coming out of t1, players tend to expect to be able to spam-click through everything. This DOES NOT WORK for the majority of t2 and t3. Keep moving around, don't feel obligated to finish your combo, and if running won't get you away from the impending swing, use a shield bump to clear the air. When using a charge attack, hold down shield as you do so to end the attack sooner.

Kite and Spam

This tactic involves running near to your teammates while charging, then releasing and knocking back your enemies. This works well against clouds of monsters too numerous to fight with regular attacks.

Finishing Combos is Meh

As a general rule, finishing your combo isn't nescessary. Hit once, shield cancel (this entails tapping the shield button quickly after attacking to reduce the time spent attacking, and is espescially useful when using flourishes, their first hit is by far the most effective), run, etc. Generally, play it safe; you can always get another hit in later.

Handguns

General Advice

KEEP MOVING. One of the key differences between swords and guns is that with a gun you can run as you shoot without any directional obligation. Do not waste this ability.

Emptying Clips is Meh

It is usually a bad idea to use your full clip. Rather, use all but one bullet, pause, then start shooting again. This way you don't have to reload, and are hence able to move faster or shield between attacks. Another option is switching between two guns repeatedly, as this is slightly faster than actually pausing. Also, there is an advanced technique that involves switching between guns to avoid reloading, on top of shield cancelling your hits to end them faster.

In-Between

Proper aiming results in two monsters being hit at once. Just aim at where the two monsters touch, and you hit both!

Bombs

Feel free to actually create this section, if you are knowledgeable about the topic. As of now this section does not exist, so head on over to the bombing guide for information on bombs. http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Bombing_Guide

Shields

When you first raise your shield nearby monsters are pushed away. This technique is called shield bumping and is incredibly useful, whether you're herding monsters together for a bomb or pushing a mob of monsters away. Be aware that you cannot shield bump when your shield is broken, and that momentum does not carry from one monster to another, preventing you from shield bumping formations of monsters two layers thick.

Using the AI

Aggro

All AI in the game stems from one simple principle: find aggro target, attack aggro target. Aggro of monsters is usually based off of who has been dealing the most damage to that monster, but when damage has yet to be dealt, aggro goes to whoever is closest.

Equipment

This section is designed to help you find what type of equipment you want to use. This is because at this point in the game equipment stops being so cheap; you can't just buy anything and try it out. It is worthy of note that the 3-star to 4-star upgrade is by far the biggest increase in power, and that most equips have a certain stratum at which they preform best, with their performance dropping as they venture away from that stratum. This is why there is little noticeable difference between any new equip you have acquired and it's predecessor; you have to venture deeper for you new equip to really show it's stuff.

Swords

General Use

Elemental:

Divine Avenger (DA): This sword has a nice, wide-swiping two-hit combo that deals some nice knockback. It has a slow attack speed, though. The charge shoots out three swords (that push and pass through monsters) and swipes, making it useful for groups.

Elemental Brandishes (ice, fire and shock): This does a three-hit combo. The charge is a swipe followed by a retrode beam-style series of explosions that also cause statuses. It lacks the wide sweep of the DA, but offers better attack speed and DPS to compensate.

Shadow:

Gran Faust (GF): It's a DA that can (rarely) cause curse with every blow. However, the charge attack only releases one sword and has a chance to curse the user.

Acheron: Like the elemental brandishes, but doesn't cause any statuses.

Piercing:

For piercing damage, your only option is a fencing coil (commonly referred to as flourishes or toothpicks). However, these come in two viable lines: the Barbarous Thorn Blade (BTB) and the Final Flourish (FF). The only difference is the charge attack. The barbarous thorn blade slashes and shoots out spikes in a short range (oh, and it also pushes the user backwards), while the final flourish executes a quick, high damage combo. The final flourish charge is usually better for individual monsters, while the barbarous thorn blade works better for groups (it also provides a potential strategy for fighting Lord Vanaduke). However, the barbarous thorn blade's recipies cannot be obtained from the hall of heroes as it is a token item (snarbolax), so the final flourish is cheaper, overall.

Specialty Swords

Dread Vile Striker: This sword dishes out the absolute highest DPS of any sword. However, it's rather hard to use due to it's forward movement and long combo. It also dishes out poison, which increases the damage of attacks. It has a good application against Vanaduke's mask phases, and is an okay option for the budgeted gunner or bomber to use as a side-arm.

Caliburs: These swords dish out some decent damage and are okay as a side-arm. The spinning charge attack hits three times on stationary targets, and dishes out knockback. While the Leviathan Blade offers higher overall damage, the Cold Iron Vanquisher gives a damage bonus on undead monsters, making it an okay option as a side arm for the FSC-oriented gunner or bomber. The leviathan blade can do the same, and though it will be less effective against about half of the populace of the FSC, it is a better option for the vast majority of the game outside of the FSC.

Fang of Vog: You will probably have learned about this guy by the time you're able to get him. It has a crazy strong charge attack (but it hurts the user), but is terrible for normal use. It has application against a select few monsters - Trojans and Slag Guards, though it also has application against the Roarmulous Twins and Jelly King. You get it with 40 almirian seals (vanaduke tokens).

Further Advice: While it is considerable to carry a normal damage sword as a side-arm, I would recommend against it. They lose almost all application in the end-game, as their damage is outclassed by a typed sword in all cases. Rather, I would suggest that, if you plan on having a side-arm sword, that you take an elemental sword instead. They work fine in the FSC, IMF, and JK, and will do more damage against most monsters in these cases.

General Advice

At first, I would recommend that swordsmen get a shadow sword and an elemental sword, hence allowing you to carry your full arsenal at once. Once t3, you should probably add on a flourish (talking 4* here), after getting an elemental gun of some sort (a 4* one). Renting a third weapon slot is a reasonable option once you've got three or four weapons, but a fourth tends to be extraneous.

Guns

Elemental

Elemental Alchemers: These babies do good DPS if used well, due to their ricochets. While I would recommend a shock alchmer (voltech), ice and non-status are okay options as well. Shock will generally offer more DPS, but freezes are often useful, and for those inept at shocking monsters together, the prismatech is probably the right choice. The Magma Driver's status does not work in the FSC, so it is not recommended for early game players, but late-game specializers often use it.

Polaris: This gun is nicknamed the "trollaris", and that is for a very good reason. It's the most annoying gun in the game. It does big knockback, and is accompanied by a bright flash, so players may "support" others by spamming on top of them, blinding them in the process. DO NOT MISUSE THIS GUN! That said, it offers excellent DPS and a shock status, and the knockback can be used for crowd control. The bullets expand and get bigger toward the end of the shot (before this point they don't cause the bright explosion and knockback), so you need to distance yourself from the enemy properly to use it to it's full effect. However, the smaller shot is favored in some situations, where the knockback is undesireable. Oh, and the shots are slow-moving

Argent Peacemaker (AP): This offers decent DPS and not much else. It lacks the area damage explosion of the polaris, and the ricochets of the alchemers. It fires very fast and has a big clip, though, so it has application in lockdown and non-combat PvE scenarios (it opens boxes and destroys rubble quickly).

Shadow

Umbra Driver: A shadow alchemer, a shadow version of the prisma driver.

Sentenza: A shadow AP.

Biohazard: This weapon is weird, and I don't own one and have rarely seen one in use, so I will make no judgements.

Piercing

Piercing guns are hard to apply to anything. On the whole they suck, and though the blitz/plauge needles have an applican vs. Lord Vanaduke, there is no piercing gun right now that can be used safely and easily against devilites or greavers.

Needles: The Plague Needle and Blitz Needle are almost entirely exclusive to fighting vanaduke. I'll have a guide to killing him later, but for now, just know that you will have to get one eventually, and that the blitz needle is usually better for vanaduke newbs like yourself.

Callahan: Right now this gun is very hard to use. Not very good damage, and it stops you from moving. For the absolute gunning purist, however, this is often used to kill devilites and wolvers. Basically, it's the only general use piercing gun. But it's pretty bad.

General Advice

A good gunner can probably manage without a sword. Get a shadow gun and an elemental one at first, piercing can probably come later on. I don't recommend the polaris as a main elemental gun for gunners. Please don't buy any normal damage guns. It's stupid. Unless you're in lockdown.

Bombs

Damage

Nitronome: It hurts stuff. It pushes them away from the center. It makes a bright explosion. What else did you expect from a bomb? Oh, and on another note, it's really annoying if misused. Because we can't see when you drop it on us, dang it!

Dark Briar Barrage (DBB): Like a nitronome, but with a longer fuse, no knockback, piercing damage, and a less-bright explosion. It is often used by those who find it hard to keep nitronomes in places their teammates won't mind.

Radiant Sun Shards (RSS): Though this bomb only goes to 4*, it still works great. The explosion sends out eight projectiles, each with a long range and decent damage. It has a pretty short fuse, too. It's piercing/elemental, so it works it's best in the FSC.

Ash of Agni: This bomb sends out fire mist, an effect that sets monsters that walk through the bomb on fire (the mist stays for 5 secs after the bomb is laid). It works well in the IQ SL (burning ice cubes is crippling to them), and does some decent damage without the bothersome knockback and flash of the nitronome. However, it DOES NOT WORK for the FSC because almost everything there is either immune to fire or benifits from it.

Dark Retribution (DR): This is a shadow bomb that has a small damaging explosion, followed by the release of four orbs that rotate around the bomb source for a few seconds. They do damage on any monster they hit. This bomb does good damage and is less disruptive than a nitronome would be, though it is less effective vs. monsters that are fast enough to escape the orbs.

Support

Vortex: This pulls monsters together. There are two varieties, one shocks and does elemental damage, one does shadow damage. The elemental one is the better choice

Shivermist Buster: This freezes monsters, creating a "safe-zone" for teammates. It is a haze bomb, so it's mechanics are the same as the Ash of Agni. It also has an application in fighting lord vanaduke.

Voltaic Tempest: This has an application in lockdown and a variety of other situations. It shocks stuff. This can be either pretty helpful or mostly pointless. It is a haze bomb, so it's mechanics are the same as the Ash of Agni.

Stagger Storm: This has ion in lockdown, and is also often useful in PvE, as, let's face it, we all want the monsters to move slower (it stuns stuff). However, freeze is usually more helpful than stun, so this bomb is relativan applicately unpopular. It is a haze bomb, so it's mechanics are the same as the Ash of Agni.

Venom Veiler: The poison status bomb. It's mostly pointless (It does have some application though. Ask someone who knows something about bombs). It is a haze bomb, so it's mechanics are the same as the Ash of Agni.

Not a bomber. I can't offer much advice here :/

Armor/Helmets

Unless a bomber in need of some typed defense, take a bonus armor that suits your playing style. Bonus armors of a particular weapon type all derive from the same line, with one applicable exception. Bonuses increase on the 5* upgrade, which is accompanied by the divergence of the lines (allowing you to pick a defense type) so it is recommended that you upgrade armor to 5* before weapons. Just stick with one set of armor at first, you can branch out later.

Swords

Skolver Set: Piercing, normal and freeze defense. Damage bonus med.

Vog Cub Set: Elemental, normal, and fire defense. ASI (attack speed increase) med.

Snarbolax Set: Shadow, normal, and partial freeze and poison defense. Damage bonus med.

I would recommend crafting your first set into vog armor, it'll serve you well in the firestorm citadel. When crafting snarbolax armor, look for fire UVs (The more, the merrier. If you have enough, it's good for regular FSC, and the more you have, the easier UFSC becomes). Skolver isn't much for bosses outside IQ and when you feel like a nostalgic JK run, but it's commonly preferred in PvP.

Guns

Justifier Set: Normal, piercing defense. ASI med.

Nameless Set: Normal, elemental defense. ASI med.

Shadowsun Set: Normal, shadow, poison defense. Damage bonus med.

Deadshot Set: Normal, shadow, curse defense. ASI low, damage vs. undead med.

Perfect Mask of Seerus: Normal, elemental, fire, shock defense, partial weakness to freeze and poison. CTR (charge time reduction) med, ASI low. This guy is weird. He only comes in helmet form, and is a reward for doing lots of OCH (operation crimson hammer) runs.

Personally, I think it's probably best to take shadowsun first, preferably with fire UVs. After that, it's really up to you what you want next, depending on what you do most.

Bombs

Volcanic Set: Normal, elemental, fire defense. CTR med.

Mad Bomber Set: Normal, elemental defense. Partial weakness to all statuses. CTR med, damage med.

Mercurial Demo Set: Normal, elemental, shock defense. Movement speed low, damage low.

I only own two bombs. Don't look at me for advice.

Bomber Stuff

If you're a bomber who is in desperate need of some alternative defense (I don't actually have a clue if the extra defense is worth the loss of bonuses), I would recommend:

Ice Queen Set: Good piercing protection, ice and stun. Probably the best piercing armor.

Dread Skelly Suit: Good shadow protection, ice and poison. Probably the best shadow armor.

Shields

For shields, there aren't a lot of great choices. If a swordsman, I recommend getting a barbarous thorn shield to start you off. For gunners and bombers, an owlite. Eventually you will have a piercing shield (BTS/Ironmight), shadow shield (Crest of Almire), and elemental shield (Grey Owlite Shield) but for now you will want to start off with just one.

Piercing: Use a Barbarous Thorn Shield (BTS) if a swordsman, as it offers a damage bonus med to them. The 2* precursor is obtained with 10 snarbolax tokens. If not, an Ironmight Plate Shield is probably the way to go.

Shadow: Use a Crest of Almire (CoA). The 4* precursor is obtained with 30 vanaduke tokens.

Elemental: Use a Grey Owlite Shield.

Swiftstrike Buckler: This is not really a shield, more of an ASI bonus to compensate for the fact that you have no shield. It's a 3* shield that is relatively weak in t2 (making it massively weak in t3), and gives ASI high to all weapons. I don't recommend this to anyone who isn't totally comfortable with the area they're dealing with.

Trinkets

Defense:

These are virtually free and provide some decent extra protection. Yadda.

Status:

Poooiiiiinnnttttllllleeeesssss.

Health:

Good in lockdown, less applicable in PvE. Expensive.

Bonus:

Good in PvE, appear to be roughly on par with defense trinkets, further testing needed. Expensive.

I don't recommend getting trinket slots until you've got 5* weps or are looking into lockdown.