Two annoying weapons

[frdnwsm]

First is the Gyrojet pistol. It seems as though there is no way to get this weapon unless you yourself have the requisite Intelligence or Pistol skill. I brought Is0bel with me on one Wuxung run specifically to have her grab the pistol, but there was no option to have her get it from its mount, despite the fact that she was at her level 6 at the time. This means she had both the Int and Pistol skill levels needed, but I had no dialogue saying anything like "Hey Iz, can you get the pistol out of this contraption?". Most annoying.

Then we have the Emperor's Sword. I usually help the mummy out, but I did fight him once just to see what the fuss was about. It's actually a pretty mediocre weapon; hits about as well as the hand-forged katana, but with a long range attack option thrown in every so often. Now, if you are a close combat adept, you have better weapons available (I kitted mine out with Distant Storms, the Vampiric dagger and the shock glove). Of the other crew members, only Duncan and Geishu can use it. But Duncan already HAS a ranged attack; if I want him to have a close combat attack, he has the shock baton option, or I can give him the shock glove. Meanwhile, if you give Geishu his ghoul spit, he has a much better hit % with that than using the sword's bolt, while his upgraded Thirsty Katana hits as well or better in melee.

The real problem comes if you try to sell it. I don't know if it's a bug or what, but when I'm at a merchant, the darned thing doesn't show up in my stash inventory. Apparently no one wants to buy it. Do they think it's cursed or something? At least if you get the mummy's spirit token, you can sell it later on; it sells for 400 NuYen, if I recall correctly. So I usually end up letting Geishu keep the sword, simply for lack of any better options.

[di eshor ribly]

First, slight correction. You're thinking of The Bloody End slivergun at Wuxing. The Gyrojet pistol is the 14mm rocket one from the extended campaign. Edit: you *should* be able to have Is0bel or Racter get the pistol, but really, at that point it's not the greatest pistol. It's an early game upgrade, at level 6 teammates their default weapons are better.

Usually my two loadouts for Gaichu and Duncan are: Duncan gets the shock glove, his baton, and a better rifle. Gaichu gets his Bloodthirsty Katana, the Emperor's Sword (an extra ranged attack comes in handy every now and then, and it's not a one-use item like the token), and the Serrated Machete from Gobbet's mission.

Really, the Emperor's Sword isn't half bad if you use it on a leyline. The lightning is still considered magic, with all the benefits that entails. Might be a bug though.

[frdnwsm]

Ah, ok; memory sometimes plays tricks on me. But, Gyrojet pistol or slivergun, I would sell it in either case for extra cash. Isobel, with her ability to laser paint a target and decent ranged attack skill gets mean in combat when given something like a smartlink Ares Alpha since it extends her effective range. But gear like that is expensive, so I am annoyed when I miss an opportunity to get some extra cash by selling acquired items. I have had both Racter and Is0bel along on the Wuxung run, and neither of them have been able to grab the pistol from it's mounting.

As for the sword, yeah, I give it to Gaichu. But only because I have nothing better to do with it. His hit probability with the bolt isn't great, although I have to confess I haven't tried having him use the bolt attack while on a ley line, since his forte is being hasted and running from enemy to enemy and knocking them out of cover. Off a ley line, his bolt attack hit % isn't great. And why can't I sell it? It totally never appears in my stash inventory when I'm talking to a merchant.

[di eshor ribly]

Heh, Is0bel gets mean when you give her the Gyrojet rocket pistol too. Big crits with a decent hit chance.

Usually my character is a pistoleer too, so it's not a problem to get The Bloody End. You're not missing much either, though the bleed damage on it can be intense. 11 damage per shot, with a chance to cause up to 10 bleed damage a round (highest I've seen anyway). I usually give it to Racter just for the laughs.

[Aeshi]

Originally posted by frdnwsm:

First is the Gyrojet pistol. It seems as though there is no way to get this weapon unless you yourself have the requisite Intelligence or Pistol skill. I brought Is0bel with me on one Wuxung run specifically to have her grab the pistol, but there was no option to have her get it from its mount, despite the fact that she was at her level 6 at the time. This means she had both the Int and Pistol skill levels needed, but I had no dialogue saying anything like "Hey Iz, can you get the pistol out of this contraption?". Most annoying.

I don't remember the details of getting the Gyrojet pistol off the top of my head, but it sounds to me like you're getting the Gyrojet Pistol and "The Bloody End" mixed up.

Meanwhile, if you give Geishu his ghoul spit, he has a much better hit % with that than using the sword's bolt, while his upgraded Thirsty Katana hits as well or better in melee.

For me the upside of giving Gaichu the Emperor's Sword is less raw damage and more that it lets you go Metal Stance without any of the regular damage penalties, since it doesn't use his Katana combos..

The Cleave skill can also come in handy if you didn't take either of his AoE talents (which I usually don't.)

[frdnwsm]

For Gaichu, I find that Cleave is inferior to his Cloud AOE attack, which can hit a bunch of foes who have unwisely grouped together. I've had him hit 4-5 enemies at once with it. Turns him into a living grenade. The bit about metal stance and the Emperor's sword is an interesting point. I usually have him assume Heaven stance if he's on a sword attack run. I'll have to look at Metal Stance more closely now, since he ends up with the Sword by default in any event. I still want to know why no merchant is able to purchase the Sword. Once it goes into my stash, it becomes invisible to them.

And yes, I mixed up Gyrojet and Bloody End ... understandable, since I have never actually gotten the damned thing out of it's mount to see what it is. Still doesn't change the fact that my crewmates who do have the right skills can't acquire it. It's possibly the only weapon that is obtainable on a run that I haven't been able to try out. That's the annoyance factor. But I'm not about to toss a whole bunch of karma into pistol skill just to get that one weapon.

Sure, Is0bel is good with a pistol; she specializes in that skill. But pistols are close range weapons, and I can give her a weapon with a longer range attack once her ranged skill maxxes out. I gave her the Ares HVAR on one Tai Po run and she was an absolute beast with it.

[frdnwsm]

Well, I did some experimenting, and it looks like the Emperor's Sword is worth keeping after all. I specifically gave Geichu his AOE Cloud, regeneration and ghoul spit abilities when he leveled up instead of upgrading his sword skills, but it looks as though the Emperor's sword conveys certain sword manevers (like cleave) upon him. He can use thrust, cleave and ... I forget what else ... pommel strike was it? ... when wielding the ES, which he can't do when using his own Katana. Also, at closer ranges (5 squares or less) his hit probability with the sword's bolt attack is as good as his spit hit %.

Most enlightening. Apparently I need to investigate some things a bit more thoroughly before coming to conclusions.

[di eshor ribly]

Yep, you've stumbled on my secret Gaichu build. All you need now is the Machete for the armor stripping and Gaichu becomes a beast.

[frdnwsm]

Originally posted by di eshor ribly:

Yep, you've stumbled on my secret Gaichu build. All you need now is the Machete for the armor stripping and Gaichu becomes a beast.

Machete? Machete? We don't need no stinking Machete!

Actually, I have rnough money, so I was thinking of giving him Distant Storms for his third weapon. AP stripping, not armor, is the goal there.

[steelcoresoviet]

I'm not sure I've ever found that machete. What do you have to do to get it?

[Aeshi]

Originally posted by steelcoresoviet:

I'm not sure I've ever found that machete. What do you have to do to get it?

You get it in Gobbet's mission on the Sinking Ship I believe. One guy you can talk to will gift it to you if you prove your worth by completing a Melee 5 skill check.

Which is why it seems like an odd weapon to give to Gaichu, because surely if your character has enough melee skill to get it, then would you really be taking Gaichu that often?

[di eshor ribly]

Originally posted by steelcoresoviet:

I'm not sure I've ever found that machete. What do you have to do to get it?

In Gobbet's mission (Sinking Ship) you have to find the guy whose eye is messed up. Have 6+ Melee Weapon/Close Combat, and he'll tell you that you can have it, find it on a corpse on the bottom level. It does 5 damage, strips 1 armor per hit, has a chance to cause AP damage on crit, and lets you use standard sword moves. My character is usually a cybermage with a cyberweapon, so I let Gaichu take the sword.

Originally posted by frdnwsm:

Originally posted by di eshor ribly:

Yep, you've stumbled on my secret Gaichu build. All you need now is the Machete for the armor stripping and Gaichu becomes a beast.

Machete? Machete? We don't need no stinking Machete!

Actually, I have rnough money, so I was thinking of giving him Distant Storms for his third weapon. AP stripping, not armor, is the goal there.

AP damage isn't so great in the extended campaign where practically every enemy has a Jolt Alert arm. I prefer to make them squishy and kill them.

[frdnwsm]

"AP damage isn't so great in the extended campaign where practically every enemy has a Jolt Alert arm. I prefer to make them squishy and kill them."

Indeed; at that point, I usually have two crew members (generally Gobbet and my own character) equipped with blind and strip armor spells for that very purpose. But the shock glove and Distant Storms are still potent weapons; even if the foe gets 1 AP back via jolt alert ... which I haven't found to be all that common, btw ... you have significantly reduced their ability to respond on their next turn.

On the other hand, I'll agree that AP stripping the enemy via flashbang grenades is seriously unreliable in the extended campaign, since enemy grenadiers all seem to have magnet arm devices and toss them right back at you.