Switchglaive Flux: how to?

[Mander]

Hello gentleshiftlings, I’ve a question for all who have mastered the Switchglaive: how do you best use its peculiar Flux mechanics?
Simple question, but I’m having some trouble mastering it: by itself, the Flux Unleash you perform after achieving the 5 stacks is hardly a game changer, imo. The damage is good, but not “great” (a cyclone combo is almost as good and faster in my experience) and because the stacks are so short lived, you need to engage at least 2/3 enemies at the same time to reach the cap to use it.
Against bosses is almost as challenging, because searching for the perfect switch while you’re dealing with OHKO seems… a really bad idea (I’m in the Abyss). XD
As far as I’ve understood, the Flux stacks are only useful to upgrade your overall damage with the Switchglaive, but it’s hardly worth it to actively include the unleash in your combos. So, I would try to reach 3 or 4 stacks at most, and after that stick to the most advantageous combos…
Have I misunderstood something?
Ty for any insight on the matter.

[Yanxi]

I'm sure other commentors will provide good tips on how to utilize the Switchglaive's Flux attacks, so I will add my own personal input about not using them.

There's nothing wrong with not using the Flux attacks, in my opinion. I personally never use them myself. In fact, somebody much more experienced than me once said this about the Switchglaive's Flux attacks:

Originally posted by Brilliant Suns Gaming:

I'd like to point out, that with dyad, both of the Mystic Arts occur at the same time. Their associated attack consumes both buffs.

I've also done testing, imo it is better to maintain the buffs rather than consume them with the flux attack. Unless that attack guarantees a kill.

And I can agree with him. The Wildfire Flux buff is a 30.0% non-conflicting Active Damage Buff that you can earn solely for playing normally with the Switchglaive. 30.0% non-conflicting is very significant, and is akin to having a Corrupted weapon in the awakened state at all times.

Furthermore, since it is refreshable, the buff can reach near 100.0% uptime as long as you remember to weave the Stance Switching attacks into your gameplay.

Finally, the bonus of not using the Flux attack is that you don't have to halt your combat flow to use it. This relieves the pressure of having to find the perfect opportunity to unleash it.

Of course, the Flux Attacks can be fun to unleash in some cases, such as if you enjoy their animations, if you want to stylishly execute the enemy, or if you want to see really high damage numbers. But you're not missing out on too much by not using them.

[Mander]

Originally posted by Yanxi:

I'm sure other commentors will provide good tips on how to utilize the Switchglaive's Flux attacks, so I will add my own personal input about not using them.

There's nothing wrong with not using the Flux attacks, in my opinion. I personally never use them myself. In fact, somebody much more experienced than me once said this about the Switchglaive's Flux attacks:

Originally posted by Brilliant Suns Gaming:

I'd like to point out, that with dyad, both of the Mystic Arts occur at the same time. Their associated attack consumes both buffs.

I've also done testing, imo it is better to maintain the buffs rather than consume them with the flux attack. Unless that attack guarantees a kill.

And I can agree with him. The Wildfire Flux buff is a 30.0% non-conflicting Active Damage Buff that you can earn solely for playing normally with the Switchglaive. 30.0% non-conflicting is very significant, and is akin to having a Corrupted weapon in the awakened state at all times.

Furthermore, since it is refreshable, the buff can reach near 100.0% uptime as long as you remember to weave the Stance Switching attacks into your gameplay.

Finally, the bonus of not using the Flux attack is that you don't have to halt your combat flow to use it. This relieves the pressure of having to find the perfect opportunity to unleash it.

Of course, the Flux Attacks can be fun to unleash in some cases, such as if you enjoy their animations, if you want to stylishly execute the enemy, or if you want to see really high damage numbers. But you're not missing out on too much by not using them.

Ty for your insight, Yanxi: if I understood correctly, the Switchglaive Dyad basically double the damage dealt from the Unleash Attack, because of the 2 different buffs?
This could be worth to include in a combo… because the standard Unleash Attacks isn’t even able to oneshot a standard skeleton warrior in the Underworld :I. Ofc, even in that case, it would be best to use it only when the 5 stacks are about to expire, but it could be a nice little “oomph” to add to my combos, even if a little impractical.
Which begs ofc the further question: can the Switchglaive Dyad be an inheritable or tempered?
If the former, I’m putting together a purity-based build anyway (the 12% more damage vs corruption was too tempting), so a little further farming wouldn’t be a problem…
Ty!

[Mander]

Originally posted by Yanxi:

Having Mystic Dyad doesn't double the damage dealt by the Unleash Attack! The quote was trying to say that if you have Mystic Dyad, each Stance Switching attack will build both buffs, and the Unleash Attack will end both buffs.

Sorry I misinterpreted your post: my hopes for the switchglaive overwrought my common-sense XD.
At least I’ve the consolation of having understood that the Unleash Attacks isn’t really worth it.
Ty again!

[Yanxi]

Having Mystic Dyad doesn't double the damage dealt by the Unleash Attack! The quote was trying to say that if you have Mystic Dyad, each Stance Switching attack will build both buffs, and the Unleash Attack will end both buffs.

I meant to emphasize the second part of his quote, where he states that it is generally better to maintain the buffs rather than consume them.

[Yanxi]

Originally posted by Mander:

Sorry I misinterpreted your post: my hopes for the switchglaive overwrought my common-sense XD.
At least I’ve the consolation of having understood that the Unleash Attacks isn’t really worth it.

No worries! I too am hoping that other commentors can provide some interesting uses of the Unleash Attack. It's a nice way to spice up the gameplay of the Switchglaive, and it definitely makes for some stylish executions.

One use for the Unleash Attack that I can think of is against the back of a Yokai in the Grapple State, right before going for the Grapple. Since the Unleash Attack does not have too long of an animation, you won't waste much time of the Grapple window, and probably will be able to perform the Grapple right after.

Yokai attacked from behind in the Grapple state are generally vulnerable to massive damage because of the Out-of-ki Bonus and the Weak Spot Bonus working in tandem with each other. Add Saturation and Confusion to this, and that will yield some of the largest damage numbers you will ever see! I reckon that an Unleash Attack against a Yokai in this scenario can break some of your personal damage records.

[Mander]

Originally posted by Yanxi:

Originally posted by Mander:

Sorry I misinterpreted your post: my hopes for the switchglaive overwrought my common-sense XD.
At least I’ve the consolation of having understood that the Unleash Attacks isn’t really worth it.

No worries! I too am hoping that other commentors can provide some interesting uses of the Unleash Attack. It's a nice way to spice up the gameplay of the Switchglaive, and it definitely makes for some stylish executions.

One use for the Unleash Attack that I can think of is against the back of a Yokai in the Grapple State, right before going for the Grapple. Since the Unleash Attack does not have too long of an animation, you won't waste much time of the Grapple window, and probably will be able to perform the Grapple right after.

Yokai attacked from behind in the Grapple state are generally vulnerable to massive damage because of the Out-of-ki Bonus and the Weak Spot Bonus working in tandem with each other. Add Saturation and Confusion to this, and that will yield some of the largest damage numbers you will ever see! I reckon that an Unleash Attack against a Yokai in this scenario can break some of your personal damage records.

Now I'm motivated.
-I'm the storm that is approaching-