Butterfly Swing?

• 23237 wrote on 2011-07-06 14:23
  I've been playing a hammer Fiona for a while now (ineffectively) and was wondering something. For trash mobs and bosses, which is better: Butterfly Swing with extra hits (LLLR(R)(R)) (recently buffed apparently) or 0charge Stigma Hammer? I've been wondering this for a while since I always abuse the extra hits, but I was wondering how I should go about this. Also, any tips on soloing The Fleeing Gnoll King would be appreciated.
• Invertex wrote on 2011-07-06 14:31
  I'm not a Hammer Fiona, but I do think Butterfly repeated would work better (mainly due to the AoE). It has been buffed with the Karok patch so that repeated swings do near the original damage, making spin2win very viable. Also it's very easy to trigger r9 Guard's effect to let you quickly launch a Butterfly (PG -> L R, R ad naseum).
  
  Also, Fleeing Gnoll King. Oh boy.
  His smash moves are every move that involve THROWING the axe, and the ender on his charge (after he roars). Keeping this in mind.
  
  2 hit combo -> Backflip Throw
  You should block the two hits, counter, then HS as soon as possible. If you do it fast enough, it'll block the whole combo.
  
  Axe throw
  He only does this when you're too far. Luckily he doesn't spam this most of the time, and will come to you himself. I'd roll dodge it to save stamina.
  
  2 hit combo
  It's similar to Rampage's 2 hit combo, and he rarely mixes this in with his 2 hit + throw combo. You'll be using that strategy for every melee combo, so you'll still hit with counter and you just won't need to HS as he won't do the flip.
  
  Swing towards back
  He does this when you're behind/to the side. It's a single hit normal, so just block and counter.
  
  Roar + Charge
  He'll roar, obvious sign. Just hold block to conserve stamina until about 5 (?) hits on your shield, then hit W to enter HS to block his smash ender. I forget the timing, but a few tries should be enough to get the timing down yourself.
• 23237 wrote on 2011-07-06 14:36
  Thanks so much, I keep getting owned by him and the trash mobs are OBNOXIOUS. The little wannabe chieftains drive me insane because I counter one of Black Scar's attacks only to get whacked by a hammer smash, which lets him do his spammy smash combo move. Which kills me before I have a chance to trans. Also, if you're on east server, could you add Aerobat? I need some tactical help with just about everything Fiona.
• Invertex wrote on 2011-07-06 14:39

  Quote from 23237;502455:

  Thanks so much, I keep getting owned by him and the trash mobs are OBNOXIOUS. The little wannabe chieftains drive me insane because I counter one of Black Scar's attacks only to get whacked by a hammer smash, which lets him do his spammy smash combo move. Which kills me before I have a chance to trans. Also, if you're on east server, could you add Aerobat? I need some tactical help with just about everything Fiona.

  
  
  Sure, I'll add you. I could get on now and demonstrate how I usually would go around beating him.
  Main problem is that I'm on vacation for a month starting tomorrow, so I'll be unable to go online at all after today.
• Chucklehead wrote on 2011-07-06 14:55
  During his roar combo I found it really easy to dodge all of that combo's attacks by actually run towards him while he roars then quickly rolling to the side as he thunders towards you.
  
  But I've been told that was a dumb thing to do... :gloom2: [SIZE="1"]that lvl70 Lann was a jerk anyway...[/SIZE]
  
  but it's worked for me in all my runs; it's his axe that always gets me off guard.
• 23237 wrote on 2011-07-06 18:01

  Quote from Invertex;502457:

  Sure, I'll add you. I could get on now and demonstrate how I usually would go around beating him.
  Main problem is that I'm on vacation for a month starting tomorrow, so I'll be unable to go online at all after today.

  
  
  Yeah sure I literally just got back from a summer course, so if you're still around that'd be great.
• Andy-Buddy wrote on 2011-07-06 21:19
  Here's a video of my soloing attempt, when he was new.
  
  There was no buff on Butterfly, and I was using the right equips for my level.
  
  [video=youtube;8nVTTfAzSiQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nVTTfAzSiQ[/video]
  
  And you can use Butterfly to test if Stigma is better, but in general, against mobs, Butterfly is a better choice unless Stigma happens to OHKO the mob while Butterfly doesn't. (You'll have to test this yourself)
• 23237 wrote on 2011-07-07 03:48
  What about with bosses? That's another major factor. I know it got buffed, but I was wondering to what point stigma is better than butterfly or vice-versa. P.S. Nice video.
• ThatNerd wrote on 2011-07-07 08:33
  When monsters are running towards you, you can charge up a stigma until they're close enough. Great opening move
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-07 08:42
  I tend to just butterfly once and go into one hit smash instead of a stigma.
  
  Extra butterfly swings now seem pointless with paladin no longer giving max stamina.
• Arendel wrote on 2011-07-07 09:41

  Quote from 23237;503031:

  What about with bosses? That's another major factor. I know it got buffed, but I was wondering to what point stigma is better than butterfly or vice-versa. P.S. Nice video.

  
  Stigma is more stamina-efficient and has slightly more range, which allows you to start it up from farther away and kill trash gathered near the boss. The ability to charge it also makes it good for moving targets or enemies that are charging their own attacks (e.g., Thor). Butterfly does more damage when swung at least two times but consumes a lot more stamina. Uncharged Stigma takes about the same amount of time to use as Butterfly x2, so if a window is large enough to accommodate either one, you can choose depending on whether you prefer to conserve stamina or do more damage. You can also guard/HS cancel the delay on Butterfly, making it safer for situations in which you're up close.
  
  With rank 9 Guard, you can increase your DPS by performing a perfect guard and then following it up with Butterfly or Stigma. Unless you have incredibly high attack speed, PG -> Butterfly (one swing) is the only safe option against bosses that allow you such an opportunity (e.g., Giant Spider, Klaus). For that matter, some enemies have such small windows that you'll only have time for one Butterfly even when they're knocked down, in which case there's no debate.
  
  For very large windows, Slashing High + multiple Butterfly Swings is uncontested in damage and can even surpass Magic Arrow-spamming Evies in DPS. One example that comes to mind is Titan; when the ballistas render him unable to move, you can get off about ten or more swings by using this combo. And thanks to the buff, Butterfly helps you regain SP very quickly, so you can keep spamming it several times in the same run.
  
  Both are very useful in different situations, but Butterfly has a lot more utility in general.
  
  

  Quote from Cucurbita;503263:

  I tend to just butterfly once and go into one hit smash instead of a stigma.
  
  Extra butterfly swings now seem pointless with paladin no longer giving max stamina.

  
  That's what Slashing High is for.
• BizarreJuju wrote on 2011-07-07 14:31
  Butterfly due to it's faster combo and radius. Repeat swing to damage more or kill mobs. Also like launching stuff with butterfly :3
  But even before the Hammer update, I spammed Butterfly more than stigma.
• TA wrote on 2011-07-07 15:48
  Yeah, for the Fleeing Gnoll King, I just perfect guard all of his hits until the last one, then stander that one. It's quite fun!