How to play Power skulls?

[Legostyle03]

Even with good power skulls like Predator i just can't kill anything wihout also taking damage. Their attacks are just so slow and the dodge is awful, and their dps doesn't seem high enough to compensate for it. Can someone tell me how to play these skulls?

[ZexxCrine]

in general your probably gonna get hit using power skulls and items that increase your health or have spring on them become more valuable. in general the usefulness of power skulls stops when you fight bosses. they generally have crazy good room clear but not much else. due to the in-built damage reduction they can be fairly safe with the right build.

for instance shield skull with necromancer armor, priest staff and carleon armor is actually literally unkillable by the first hero, but the damage isnt super high. that same set of items on any power skull has a similar effect. predator and berserker are the only real stand out power skulls that can deal crazy damage. grave digger is another crazy good power skull but its a summoner so your gonna play it differently.

in general im hoping that the upcoming skull rebalance patch will take a look at power skulls and other underperforming skulls and give them a major touch-up. all power skulls are viable but most of them are definitely like playing skul on hard mode.

[WillSP]

Originally posted by ZexxCrine:

in general your probably gonna get hit using power skulls and items that increase your health or have spring on them become more valuable. in general the usefulness of power skulls stops when you fight bosses. they generally have crazy good room clear but not much else. due to the in-built damage reduction they can be fairly safe with the right build.

for instance shield skull with necromancer armor, priest staff and carleon armor is actually literally unkillable by the first hero, but the damage isnt super high. that same set of items on any power skull has a similar effect. predator and berserker are the only real stand out power skulls that can deal crazy damage. grave digger is another crazy good power skull but its a summoner so your gonna play it differently.

in general im hoping that the upcoming skull rebalance patch will take a look at power skulls and other underperforming skulls and give them a major touch-up. all power skulls are viable but most of them are definitely like playing skul on hard mode.

Power skulls can deal LOTS of damage damage if used right

Depends on the skull. If it does damage in large chunks (as opposed to lots of small hits) focus your build on the demolition inscription, otherwise they are generally at their most powerful when you are using two of them (Power skulls generally have the best swap-ins in the game) good items to go for in that case are the offensive wheel, giants axe, sages time (using skills from both skulls doubles its effect), inner malice, and rear blast (which will activate off of giants axe). Don't waste inventory room on cooldown items since using 2 skulls means something is always off cooldown.

as for defence: swapping grants a temporary shield and power skulls naturally take 20% less damage as a passive. don't worry too much about defensive items or getting hit, just kill them before they have the chance to damage you.

I have over 500 hours on this game and I tend to enjoy using the less popular skulls so If you need any help with any particular skull (or anything to do with the game in general) send me a friend request and I'll give you some tips!

[Runic Tunic]

There are a couple ways to play them well, though you aren't the only one who struggles using them. There's a reason a lot of people have been requesting a rework for Power skulls since the game came out. I'm no expert but I can at least tell you what has worked for me in the past.

I mainly use them in a swapping build, especially Berzerker due to his Bone Scream ability being able to carry over after swapping. You essentially use the Power skull as a way to continuously push out damage while your other skull's abilities are on cool down. Because of their default high damage, getting items that further boost speed and dps upon swapping can make Power skulls really effective at bursting down tougher foes.

As Willsp said, using two power skulls in a swap build can be great. Especially if you get the items that naturally boost your attacks/health for every Power skull you have. Just keep in mind that, unless you build around it, you're doubling your mobility issues as well. If that's not your thing or not possible for a run, a Balance or Speed skull can work just as well.

If you're looking more for a way to main a power skull and solo with it, it can be difficult. I personally found the best results with Grave Digger, simply because he's a minion spawner. But for Power skulls overall, I've heard that gathering more health and defensive items than you normally would works well, as it counters their poor mobility. I've never really used them this way though.

IMO, knowing when to grab what type of item before you start lagging behind works best. For example, earlier in the run (before the first boss and maybe a little bit after) I'd be sure to grab an attack speed item or two, as their damage is usually decent still and that extra speed will help later in the run. After that point, I usually alternate between 1-2 defensive/health items, then 1-2 raw dps, and repeat. Making sure to sell any early game items for higher tier options as I go.

Obviously this varies from run to run though. Sorry if this isn't super specific. If you need more specific info or even wanna brainstorm a specific build, let us know!