Katrina Dual Wielding Stance

[SilentBob420BMFJ]

Anybody notice that Ability DPS isn't really used in this stance? Every other character uses it in both stances (I'm assuming), except for her.

 

Caress Of Suffering, if it uses Ability DPS, it's over 13 seconds.

Warding Ritual, if it does, you have to max out Painful Rebuke, else it does no damage.

Black Hound Familiar, does that use Ability DPS?

 

See what I'm saying though? There is nothing like Heartseeking Shot in this stance, which flat out just adds Ability DPS to Attack DPS and boom you do lots of damage. They're all effects. This is why I'm choosing Attack over Will on my gear, and on the dual guns, I'd choose even 5 Attack over 20 Will, since I see no use for it on the dual guns.

Edited October 10, 2011 by SilentBob420BMFJ

[Doctor.Strange]

Anybody notice that Ability DPS isn't really used in this stance? Every other character uses it in both stances (I'm assuming), except for her.

 

Caress Of Suffering, if it uses Ability DPS, it's over 13 seconds.

Warding Ritual, if it does, you have to max out Painful Rebuke, else it does no damage.

Black Hound Familiar, does that use Ability DPS?

 

See what I'm saying though? There is nothing like Heartseeking Shot in this stance, which flat out just adds Ability DPS to Attack DPS and boom you do lots of damage. They're all effects.

 

I do see what your saying. Caress of Suffering uses Ability DPS and so does Warding Ritual with Painful Rebuke proficiency. Katrina was apparently intended for agility builds only. You mainly use Dual Wield Stance to gain focus and use the abilities before switching to Rifle stance for greater damage. Interesting point however

[FireMist]

Katarina has just one quick AoE spell and that

[FireMist]

Flintlock Fury also deals good damage but I think it

[Seagloom]

Not upgrading heartseeking shot at all is an interesting idea. I do believe I will try that next time I play Kat.

 

I treat her dual gun stance as crowd control over damage, so I am inclined to agree attack has more benefit than will when it comes to that stance. Thing is, I would still choose agility and will on Kat's equipment due to heartseeking shot and flintlock fury.

 

I use warding ritual to create bottlenecks, or a small zone of safety Kat can hide in without worrying about being mobbed by speedier enemies like those annoying Azunite ninja wannabes. I tried speccing it toward damage once, and found it superfluous once Kat's rifle began outpacing her shotgun and pistol. Caress of suffering is handy for lock down heartier enemies, or as a panic button. Since dual gun damage loses so much of its bite as the game progresses, I rather rely on the rifle for damage.

[FireMist]

I think Katarina is the only character that deals waaaaay more damage in one stance than in another...(rifle does much , much more damage than dual guns). The other legionnaires can do roughly the same damage both in single-target and crowd-control stances. Investing more in Ability DPS in the Rifle stance and in Attack DPS in the dual-wielding stance does make sense, since her ability dps in the dual guns is quite limited.

Despite having lower output damage she can score criticals more often, which counterbalances it. I had lots of fun with Painful Rebuke on Kat.

[SilentBob420BMFJ]

I think Katarina is the only character that deals waaaaay more damage in one stance than in another...(rifle does much , much more damage than dual guns). The other legionnaires can do roughly the same damage both in single-target and crowd-control stances. Investing more in Ability DPS in the Rifle stance and in Attack DPS in the dual-wielding stance does make sense, since her ability dps in the dual guns is quite limited.

Despite having lower output damage she can score criticals more often, which counterbalances it. I had lots of fun with Painful Rebuke on Kat.

 

Although I've only played Anjali and am now mostly through the game with Kat, I notice the opposite. Her rifle and dual wielding have been side by side the entire game. But then again, I choose Attack and Agility over Will, unlike most people (who think the game is lying/broken about just exactly how lesser Will is compared to Attack, with any character.), so maybe that's why.

[Seagloom]

What is your average damage with her dual guns and shotgun like, SilentBob? I wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of damage on her rifle if it meant the other stance remained relevant. As it stands her damage is terrible past mid game. After having finished DS3 with all four characters, Kat was the only one that left me feeling like I really screwed up her build. Too many skills that seem like a good idea, such as magic bullet, weren't. And the damage imbalance made me regret investing in dual gun abilities as much as I did.

[SilentBob420BMFJ]

What is your average damage with her dual guns and shotgun like, SilentBob? I wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of damage on her rifle if it meant the other stance remained relevant. As it stands her damage is terrible past mid game. After having finished DS3 with all four characters, Kat was the only one that left me feeling like I really screwed up her build. Too many skills that seem like a good idea, such as magic bullet, weren't. And the damage imbalance made me regret investing in dual gun abilities as much as I did.

 

245/137 with dual guns and 248/114 with the dual guns. I use Warding Ritual a lot, and dodge out and use rifle. Standing there in their face with dual guns is a bad idea later in the game, so I use rifle just for surviving.

[FireMist]

I felt that Katarina was a more 'restricted' type of of character, i.e, heavy damage-dealer at a very long range and with just so-so attacks at short range plus just one (small)AoE spell. That's why I upgraded her Warding Ritual, to protect her against rushers in mid- to late game (those annoying ninjas come to mind), while causing damage on the go. In fact, I found it to be a lifesaver. And dodged A LOT so I could get away from the crowd of enemies and use my deadly rifle.

Maybe that's just me but I think the other legionnaires had wider and more powerful AoE moves to vanquish enemies at mid- to short range. Anjali had Pillar of Fire, Aura of Immolation and Fall from the Heavens - nuff said. Reinhart had Geometry of Annihilation (hands down the widest and the most powerful AoE spell). Lucas had Blade Dash, Wind Shear and Earthquake (slightly smaller AoE but hard-hitters). And Kat...just Warding Ritual. So if there's one 2-gun stance ability you should upgrade, that's it.

Edited October 15, 2011 by FireMist

[leeloodallas]

I'm actually playing a dual-wield game for the heck of it. Kat may not do a lot of direct damage, but she takes down crowds really quickly and she's shockingly durable. I'm curious to see how she holds up in all of the Spire battles. I'm pretty much maxing stamina, agility and armor with her.

 

Am I in the minority in loving "Magic Bullet?" On previous playthroughs, with Heartseeking Shot maxed with it, she's been able to take out multiple enemies with a ricochet without having to use her empowered abilities. Then again, using empowered abilities with keyboard and mouse isn't exactly easy.

[Seagloom]

Magic bullet helps most in the early game when power orbs are scarce, and empowered abilities aren't an option yet. Later on Kat builds power so quickly she can almost spam the empowered AoE normal rifle shot, and to a lesser extent, empowered heartseeking shot. Usually focus becomes the limiting factor by then. I would say you're in the majority, though. Most Kat builds floating around out there suggest magic bullet, and I've never met a player online that gave it a pass.

[leeloodallas]

Magic bullet helps most in the early game when power orbs are scarce, and empowered abilities aren't an option yet. Later on Kat builds power so quickly she can almost spam the empowered AoE normal rifle shot, and to a lesser extent, empowered heartseeking shot. Usually focus becomes the limiting factor by then. I would say you're in the majority, though. Most Kat builds floating around out there suggest magic bullet, and I've never met a player online that gave it a pass.

 

I wonder if this is a KB/M thing, and most of the advocates are PC players. Shift + Numkey isn't easy. By game's end, Kat has always had more than enough available orbs, but trying to hit those keys in succession while rotating the camera with A&D and spamming Space is a real pain. Magic Bullet's kind of a savior then, as is Surprise Attack for building focus (and power).

[Seagloom]

Thrill of the Hunt is enough for building power once her crit rating skyrockets. I haven't tried surprise attack yet, but I plan to next time since there's not much else worth taking. In any case, I'm a PC player and use the ol' mouse and keyboard. I still find magic bullet underwhelming. Hitting shift and 1 is cumbersome, but I can usually pull it off quickly when needed. Using defensive abilities is a pain, though. I wish there was a way to bind empowered abilities to one button, though.

[FireMist]

I

[FireMist]

Thrill of the Hunt is enough for building power once her crit rating skyrockets. I haven't tried surprise attack yet, but I plan to next time since there's not much else worth taking. In any case, I'm a PC player and use the ol' mouse and keyboard. I still find magic bullet underwhelming. Hitting shift and 1 is cumbersome, but I can usually pull it off quickly when needed. Using defensive abilities is a pain, though. I wish there was a way to bind empowered abilities to one button, though.

 

Shift + 1 is still bearable, though. Fortunately, Heartseeking Shot is under this category, as is Lucas's shieldbash. Actually, those two offensive abilities in their empowered versions were the ones I used the most. Although I mastered Reinhart

[Seagloom]

I have long fingers so hitting shift and 2 or 3 isn't any more problematic than 1. Not that it's convenient even then. Empowered defensive abilities are definitely worse. I can't move while activating them which makes it chancy at best. I gotta say, this is the only console holdover I really dislike. With so many keys on the board, it should be easier to activate those abilities.

[leeloodallas]

I have short, stubby fingers, so the key combo's a challenge for me

[funcroc]

EDIT: nvm

Edited October 25, 2011 by funcroc