u/SadCommon2820

You might already know what my number one is based on my prior posts but if you don't you might be in for a shock. There are some good, and some BAD needle strikes that I'll be discussing here. If anyone has any arguments as for why certain ones are better/worse than I think let me know.

7: Beast: The Beast crest is my second favorite crest in the game however its needle strike is severely lacking on a fundamental level. Its big issue is just HOW much the crest is reliant on getting in as many hits as possible for silk which leads into binds. That is on top of you havkng access to ONE blue tool meaning the move is either even worse or you use up your one slot for pin badge. It doesn't matter how strong the move is when your dps with the needle is not only more damaging, but less risky to use. Even in terms of range it's good but so is the crest itself with Fury and/or Long Claw.

6: Wanderer: This was close between 5 and 6 but I've decided it is 6th. First of all it's somewhat good against aerial enemies and has okay range while having the potential to multicrit. That makes it sound good but similar to the beast, to a lesser extent it's just more effective to attack normally due to the naturally high attack speed. In 90% of scenarios you're better off just attacking with the highest dps.

5: Reaper: The only reasons why it isn't 6 is because it's attached to a naturally slower crest, and it's aoe range is better against aerial enemies. It's still pretty bad for the most part and generally not worth using imo. It also has a worse sideways arc which is partly made up for by the rest of the range but that can still make it awkward against enemies in from of you.

4: Architect: Oh how the mighty have fallen. Before I played this game this was the most broken because if its base damage and how multihits interacted with the prenerfed Flint Slate. It's still the second strongest in terms of sheer damage and has decent range so it's the first one I can argue that it's decent in its current state. It's also the last as I move onto the good ones. I might test this one out more since it's the one I think could be better than I think it is.

3: Hunter: This one heavily carried by it being a 2 hit move. It gives 2 silk, and 2 stacks of focus. Speaking of focus, it also can get boosted by focus and flint slate meaning that it has the potential to dish out some solid damage while giving 2 silk. The only issue is that it isn't AS strong as 2 others and the second hit can be hard to land against some.

2: Witch: this Needle Strike excels in damage as long as you get in all the hits. It deals the most out of all crests, and can stack with flint slate which due to the multihitting nature also leads to the most burns. The biggest flaws are its reli⁰ance on weighted belt, and its skill to use. Sometimes using it is risky and if you think thay makes then Architect better then that's the reason why I'll give it another chance.

1: Shaman: For anyone who doesn't know me you might be wondering why I'm ranking the weakest Needle Strike higher than the rest. You see there's a REASON why they had to make it weak and that REASON is something that makes the move surpass the very rules of the game itself. That REASON is RANGE. The base range of the move is disgustingly long and the hitbox is disgustingly tall. The range can also(unlike every other needle strike) be enhanced further with Long Claw making it into a borderline projectile with NEGATIVE cost. Tools as powerful have range but cost shards and have a limited capacity outside of Architect which makes them cost even more shards and silk to refuel. Silk Skills cost silk, Wispfire costs silk. The Shaman Crest Needle Strike say NUH UH to the rules of combat by letting you both deal damage, and gain silk from a long distance and that is HUGE considering the fact that this move is tied to the crest that has access to 3 boosted silk skills. You can even run Volt Filament along with Long Claw and Pin Badge for double boosted silk skills. It doesn't even need weighted belt since its range is high and recoil is low.

There are 6 skills and I'll be ranking them from most rune rage to favorite, I mean least rune rage to least favorite I mean-

6: Rune Rage: This is probably an obvious pick for least effective and that's why it's also my least favorite. It takes the longest to activate and while having the highest damage potential and mob clearing potential, that is entirely determined by rng. The placements of the attacks are completely random which is just not worth it since all the others are consistently reliable.

(From here on out these opinions are mostly even with each other and my opinions can change in the future. Also I like using Shaman Crest meaning that some of these will be taking that into account)

5: Sharp Dart: This one is probably my most controversial pick, but I have a few reasons for this other than a certain other silk skill woth a similar purpose. Keep in mind I still like Sharp Dart but not as much as others. The start up while certainly able to be worked around as well as the weird placement of hornet at the end due to how it's a dash makes it weirdly difficult to use defensively since you have to time it properly and think about where you end up. Still a great skill.

4: Silk Spear: This one is particularly biased around my use of the Shaman Crest since I use a Long Claw Pin Badge build which allows the needle strike to serve a very similar purpose as a forward projectile even if it lacks the piercing and damage. Silk Spears biggest benefit is probably its piercing and range as a projectile since the other projectile silk skill is only obtainable in act 3. It's honestly quite fun to use despite being on the more commital side in terms of lag but it's still a solid projectile option for 90% of the game and even that last 10% it has its boons over its counterpart.

3: Thread Storm: I'd argue that Silk Spear feels more fun to use but in combination with Shaman Crest, and Volt Filament I can't say not to the highest(mostly) consistent damage silk skill in the game. Yeah sure it's the most commital but it destroys projectiles and when timed right can shred health bars and multiple enemies.

2: Cross Stitch: This one is genuinely close and can swap in another day. It does solid damage and is a great way to prevent damage which is especially important for the Shaman Crest since that one has difficulties with healing due to the focus on silk skills and bind. It can be aimed left or right for disgusting range on the hitbox so long as it activates allowing you to damage foes who use projectiles making it surprisingly versatile for a parry(also even if it is a parry it's more functionally a counter). The only think that keeps it from 1st place is that it's conditional on the opponent's attack.

1: Pale Nails: Yes sometimes the tracking kinda sucks against fast opponents, yes it's partially lacking in a gauntlet contect due to its lack of piercing affects, yes it can sometimes prioritize regular enemies over bosses for better or worse. That being said those issues are nothing compared to what it brings. It's absurdly easy to use and unlike any other skill(other than cross stitch for obvious reasons) getting hit after using it doesn't end the move. Also because of the amount of time between cast and automatically firing, you can pale nails a boss at the start of a fight so long as you don't time it TOO early which is kinda disgusting. Speaking of disgusting, its range is disgusting. Its autoaim targets those above below or beside you and since you can move while it's activated even its potential sideways range is better than Silk Spear despite the latter having a technically higher range.

0: Shaman Crest Needle Stri-

By this I mean purely in a gameplay sense. I know there are definitely people with preferences based on factors other than viability such as liking a certain character more or finding a moveset personally fun but I mean which one is the least balanced. I think it's between Magolor and The Mage Sisters, mostly Zan Partizanne but I'm kinda conflicted as for which one is better. Probably Zan for her range and mobility but I'm not fully sure.