Lukshad wrote on 2015-03-24 07:56
Who else uses these as their primary weapon? Which other skill set do you use in conjunction? How do you personally tie in Fighter and Mage?
I'm always trying out new combos while I fight, and I have yet to make up my mind about what to have in my aux setup. I've seen someone do Ninja + Merlin, I've seen someone do Alch + Merlin, but to be honest that's about it.
Please post your opinions below!
Kapra wrote on 2015-03-25 01:42
I use Merlin Knuckles (not Shylliens) as my primary weapon because of the versatility, and they're kind of fun. When using Merlins, as a secondary weapon I usually use a pair of R upgraded Dowras or a fullfledged magic weapon. I feel like Lightning Rod and Thunder in particular mesh well with Fighter if you use it at the right time. You can use Lightning Bolt with other knuckles and not have the durability drained, but with Magic Weapon Mastery in particular, Merlins being considered a magic weapon comes in handy. Blaze is also sometimes useful though I don't use it that often. But by far the most important benefit of Merlins is access to Shockwave. At r1, when equipped with Knuckles, windmill range is lower than rF without knuckles. But shockwave makes up for the lack of windmill range that stunts Fighter crowd control.
In terms of downsides, Merlins makes Respite more useless than it already is. . . Stat wise it is on par with a Champion Knuckle, but with a lower R upgrade bonus so that is of concern. If you want raw Fighter/Melee damage there are better knuckles out there but they tend to get expensive in repair fees.