Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Expert Guide on Maximizing Your Power for new through expert players, written by yours truly, Lord-Patches. Below I will explain how bonus stats work, what types of weapons there are, as well as what different damage types do. This guide will explain exactly what items that you should build to become the most powerful knight possible, and best of all, not break your budget!

If you find my guide helpful, please click Thumbs-Up and Favorite at top of the guide. Thanks!

In the case that you are already familiar with the below information, feel free to skip ahead to the Recommended Sword Set, Gun Set, or Bomb Set sections.

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My name is Lord-Patches and I have been playing Spiral Knights for over 5 years and have over 2200 hours of playtime logged on my main account alone. I am Guild Master of <Is A Vampire>. I have built a majority of the items in game and am here to share my knowledge with you. If Spiral Knights videos interest you and you would like to see me in action, feel free to check out my guild's Youtube Channel.

AoE = Area of Effect
ASI = Attack Speed Increase
CC = Crowd Control
CTR = Charge Time Reduction
UV = Unique Variant

In Spiral Knights there are 3 different offensive bonus stats. Charge Time Reduction (CTR), Attack Speed Increase (ASI), and Damage. When you are planning which items you want to build for your knight, it is important to get each of these bonus stats as close to maximum as you can. This will allow you to deal the most damage possible.

Abilities and Unique Variants (UVs) are the two ways that you can obtain bonus stats in the game. It is important to understand the basic concept of both UVs and Abilities. Below I will give you the basic information that you need to know, as well as a link to the wiki in case you would like a more detailed explanation.

Abilities are bonus stats that are built into certain pieces of equipment in the game as well as on Battle Sprite (also known as Perks). For example, Barbarous Thorn Shield has a built in Ability that gives you a medium increase in sword damage. When any weapon gets to heat level 10, the weapon will gain the Ability that gives it a medium charge time reduction.

Abilities on the wiki - http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Abilities

Unique Variants are the second way to get bonus stats. UVs are extra stats that you have a chance to get randomly when crafting your items from one tier to the next. You may also purchase random UVs for your items from the npc named Punch for a fee. If you are looking for a specific UV and are not feeling lucky, you may look for an item with the specific UV on the auction house or forums.

Unique Variants on the wiki - http://wiki.spiralknights.com/UV


Since the highest level of an offensive bonus stat that you can have as an Ability or UV is Very High (+4) you will need to use some combination of bonus stats to add up to +6 in order to have maximum. For Example, the following situations will all result in reaching maximum.

• Weapon with UV(CTR=Very High) that has been heated to heat level 10 (CTR=Medium) = Maximum CTR
  
• Three items that each have Ability(Damage=Medium) = Maximum Damage
  
• One item with UV(ASI=Very High) and one item with UV(ASI=High) = Maximum ASI. Note: although this reaches +7, +6 (maximum) is the highest you can go

Each class of monster in the game is weak to Elemental, Shadow, or Piercing damage. For this reason it is best to have at least one weapon of each damage type in your arsenal, so that you can always hit monsters for critical damage.

In Spiral Knights there are three types of weapons: Swords, Guns, and Bombs.

Swords are known for doing massive damage and are favored by players who prefer an up close and personal approach.



Guns typically do less damage than swords and in return allow the knight to stay at a distance and avoid damage.



Bombs can inflict AoE damage and crowd control, are deadly when used against a group of monsters, yet are less powerful than swords when facing monsters 1 on 1.

All of the items in the recommended sets below are written as their 5* evolution. If you are not familiar which items you need to start with in order to create the recommended items, you can search the item on the wiki below and you will see its alchemy pathway.

http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Main_Page

There are many items in Spiral Knights that are unfortunately just not as strong as others. I have only included powerful items in my guide because I know that a majority of players do not want to waste time and money building something that is just sub-par. While there are certainly other armor sets in the game that can be used, my recommendation for hitting Maximum in all offensive stats without having to blow a ton of money on UVs is to go with the Chaos Set.

The Chaos Set is extremely powerful as well as cost efficient. The only downside is the negative status effects that come with the Chaos Set, however, these can be somewhat counteracted by getting the UVs (Shock=Medium or Fire=Medium) which are fairly inexpensive. Another added perk of the Chaos Set is that it can be used with Swords, Guns, and Bombs, making it the perfect set for Hybrid players.

Here are a the central pieces in my sets and the bonus stats they possess:

• Chaos Cowl: Damage=Medium and CTR=Medium
  
• Chaos Cloak: Damage=Medium and CTR=Medium
  
• Barbarous Thorn Shield: Sword Damage=Medium
  
• Swiftstrike Buckler: Attack Speed=High

Below are my Personal Recommended Sets which are the sets that I personally use and I have found that these sets not only are amazingly powerful, but are also fairly inexpensive to obtain, as well as alternative sets for those who do not wish to use Chaos Set.

~~ My Personal Recommended Set ~~

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Armor:
Helm: Chaos Cowl
Chest: Chaos Cloak
Shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield
Trinket 1: Elite Quick Strike Module
Trinket 2: Elite Quick Strike Module
Battle Sprite Perk: (Sword ASI=Medium) or (+6 Health if you are able to get that UV on your swords)

Swords:
Elemental: Glacius, Voltedge, or Combuster
Shadow: Acheron
Piercing: Final Flourish

Other Useful Weapons:
Gun: Blitz Needle and Polaris
Bomb: Shivermist Buster

Stats with the above set and level 10 weapons:
Swords: CTR=Maximum, ASI=Maximum, Damage=Maximum
Guns: CTR=Maximum, ASI=None, Damage=Very High
Bombs: CTR=Maximum, Damage=Very High


Notes:

• Combuster, Glacius and Voltedge all deal the same damage per swing, the only difference comes with their charge attacks. The Combuster charge attack applies fire, the Glacius charge attack applies freeze, and the Voltedge charge attack applies shock.
  
  
• Obsidian Edge has the same attack pattern as Acheron and does poison damage via the charge attack. Due to its lower damage, Obsidian Edge is only recommended for party use or situations where poison is needed.

~~ Non-Chaos Alternative Set ~~

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Armor:
Helm: Skolver Cap
Chest: Skolver Coat
Shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield
Trinket 1: Elite Sword Focus Module
Trinket 2: Elite Sword Focus Module
Battle Sprite Perk: (Sword ASI=Medium)

Use same weapons as above set

Stats with the above set and level 10 weapons:
Swords: CTR=Maximum, ASI=Medium, Damage=Maximum
Guns: None
Bombs: None


Notes:

• Vog Cub set provides elemental and fire resistance and ASI=Medium on both pieces; It can be used in place of Skolver Set and is especially useful for farming. Snarbolax set provides shadow, poison, and freeze resistance and Damage=Medium on both pieces; It can be used in place of Skolver Set, however requires completion of a Shadow Lair in order to craft.
  
  
• Skolver Set can also be used as a dual-purpose set as it is also very good for PvP. The pierce resistance of Skolver provides good damage reduction against the Flourish line which is very popular in Lock Down. The freeze resistance on the set will provide total immunity to Shivermist, allowing you to walk through the bomb's haze with zero chance of being frozen.

~~ My Personal Recommended Set ~~

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Armor:
Helm: Chaos Cowl
Chest: Chaos Cloak
Shield: Swiftstrike Buckler
Trinket 1: Quick Draw Module
Trinket 2: Elite Trueshot Module
Battle Sprite Perk: (Gun ASI=Medium) or (+6 Health if you are able to get that UV on your guns)

Guns:
Elemental: Polaris or Argent Peacemaker or Storm Driver
Shadow: Sentenza, Obsidian Carbine, or Umbra Driver
Piercing: Blitz Needle

Other Useful Weapons:
Sword: Final Flourish
Bomb: Shivermist Buster

Stats with the above set and level 10 weapons:
Guns: CTR=Maximum, ASI=Maximum, Damage=Maximum
Swords: CTR=Maximum, ASI=High, Damage=Very High
Bombs: CTR=Maximum, Damage=Very High


Notes:

• When choosing an elemental type gun you want to decide what attack pattern you like best. Polaris has a 3 shot clip with high damage AoE bullets that inflict shock status. Storm Driver has a 2 shot clip with high damage and the bullets ricochet when they hit a target and inflict shock status. Argent Peacemaker has a 6 shot clip, however, the damage per shot is lower than the other guns and does not inflict any status. Of the 3 choices, an expert gunslinger will get the most DPS from the Driver, but it takes a large amount of skill to execute propperly. See Advanced Tips and Tricks section of this guide for more details.[wiki.spiralknights.com]
  
  
• If you like the attack pattern of the Storm Driver best, there are other Driver type guns that behave the same but inflict different status effect. Storm=shock, Hail=freeze, Magma=fire, Nova=no status but higher elemental damage.
  
  
• When choosing a shadow type gun you want to again decide what attack pattern you like best. Sentenza and Obsidian Carbine have the same attack pattern as Argent Peacemaker. Obsidian Carbine is weaker but has a chance to poison enemies. Umbra Driver has the same attack pattern as Storm Driver but without the shock.

~~ Non-Chaos Alternative Set ~~

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Armor:
Helm: Shadowsun Stetson
Chest: Shadowsun Slicker
Shield: Swiftstrike Buckler
Trinket 1: Elite Quick Draw Module
Trinket 2: Elite Trueshot Module
Battle Sprite Perk: (+6 Health)

Use same weapons as above set

Stats with the above set and level 10 weapons:
Guns: CTR=Medium, ASI=Ultra, Damage=Maximum
Swords: ASI=High
Bombs: None

Notes:

• Nameless Set and Justifier Set are viable alternatives to Shadowsun Set.
  
  
• Perfect Mask of Seerus is a viable helmet option if you have access to the expansion.

~~ My Personal Recommended Set ~~

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Armor:
Helm: Chaos Cowl
Chest: Chaos Cloak
Shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield or Swiftstrike Buckler or Grey Owlite Shield
Trinket 1: Elite Boom Module
Trinket 2: Elite Quick Strike Module or Quick Draw Module or Penta-Heart Pendant
Battle Sprite Perk: (+6 Health) or (Move Speed Increase=Medium)

Bombs:
Normal: Nitronome
Elemental: Deadly Crystal Bomb and Shivermist Buster (for control)
Shadow: Dark Retribution or Obsidian Crusher
Piercing: Dark Briar Barrage or Deadly Splinter Bomb

Other Useful Weapons:
Gun: Blitz Needle and Polaris
Sword: Glacius, Final Flourish, Acheron

Stats with the above set and level 10 weapons:
Bombs: CTR=Maximum, Damage=Maximum


Notes:

• Bombs are not affected by attack speed and thus open up more options for gear choice. Because of this, bombers who use the Chaos Set can specialize in either Guns or Swords in addition if they so choose.
  
  
• Bombers who want to make an extremely cheap bomb set can get away with just having one bomb, the Nitronome! It does good AoE normal damage, charges fast, and does not hinder movespeed much while charging. Be weary though, the graphical effects take up a lot of the screen and can be distracting to party members. Recommended only for solo play.
  
  
• If you chose to specialize in guns in addition to bombs, choose Quick Draw Module and Swiftstrike Buckler. If you chose to specialize in swords then chose Barbarous Thorn Shield and Elite Quick Strike Module. If you chose to be only bombs, choose Penta-Heart Pendant and Grey Owlite Shield to counteract some negative resistances of the Chaos Set.

~~ Non-Chaos Alternative Set ~~

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Armor:
Helm: Volcanic Demo Helm
Chest: Volcanic Demo Suit
Shield: Grey Owlite Shield or Crest of Almire
Trinket 1: Elite Boom Module
Trinket 2: Elite Boom Module
Battle Sprite Perk: (Bomb Damage Increase=Medium)

Use same weapons as above set

Stats with the above set and level 10 weapons:
Bombs: CTR=Maximum, Damage=Maximum


Notes:

• Bombastic Demo Set can be used instead of Volcanic Demo Set. This would require you to use 2x Elite Bomb Focus Modules in order to keep CTR=Maximum.
  
  
• If you have CTR UVs on your bombs you can use Mercurial Demo Set to gain some Move Speed Increase.
  
  
• I do not recommend that you use Mad Bomber Set. It is inferior to Chaos Set (same resistances and only Bomb specifc bonuses) and is not worth building.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my guide. If you enjoyed it, please give it a Thumbs-Up and Favorite!

I hope that I have provided you with enough information to help you make smart, informed decisions when choosing which items you will spend your hard earned materials to craft. While there are many items that you can make, the above equipment sets are extremely powerful and with the UVs that I suggested above can be quite inexpensive to obtain.

Lastly, I want to thank you as a community for your continued enthusiasm and support. Without you I would not be where I am now. It is a privalege and honor to share my knowledge with you and I hope that you find it helpful. Best of luck in the Spiral to all of you!