Okay so here’s the thing. I got absolutely bodied in the top-tier PvP arena yesterday. Like, seriously wrecked. This one dude kept spamming Shock buildup skills, and my usual parry-and-poke routine just wasn’t cutting it. My health bar evaporated faster than soda in the sun. Got me thinking: Is Shock actually slept on? Or was it just me?
Figured I needed hard facts, not just salt. My usual setup was pure physical – Legion Arm focusing on damage, skills boosting Guard Parry and Charge attacks. Solid, reliable, worked against most. But Shock? Barely used it beyond the basic Grindstone coating. Time for a science project, right?
Step one: Gather the gear. Swapped out my heavy physical Legion Arm for the Falcon Eyes one modded to boost Shock buildup on explosive shots. Pulled out the Shock Grindstones I’d ignored for ages. Rummaged through my Amulets – found one increasing Electric Blitz damage. And for the real test, I swapped my trusty Motivity skill build for… Advanced Tech. Yup, full Shock-centric.
Step two: The testing ground. Headed back into those brutal endgame areas where basic enemies hit like trucks. Needed real pressure. My plan was brutal: Apply Shock buildup FAST.
- Tried just the Shock Grindstone on my weapon. Slap, slap, zap! Okay, buildup was decent, but triggering the Shock burst still took way too many hits against tanky foes. Felt sluggish.
- Added the Electric Blitz Amulet. Zap felt stronger when it hit, but buildup speed? Still felt slow. Enemy would smack me down before Shock popped. Not efficient.
- Time to bring in the Legion Arm. Ran in, dodged a swing, point-blank Falcon Eyes shot. WHAM! The Shock gauge chunked up noticeably. Another shot? Boom! Shock trigger! The enemy froze, lightning zapped around them, health plummeted. Whoa. Okay, that was fast. Seriously. Two point-blank blasts and zap, huge damage.
Got cocky though. Tried it on a mini-boss. Charged in, got greedy going for the second shot… ate a giant flaming hammer to the face. Dead. Classic. Lesson learned: You need the setup window. It ain’t safe.
So, pure Shock grindstone? Too slow. Just Shock amulet? Meh. Falcon Eyes blasts combined with some shock weapon coating? That was the spicy combo.
Back to the PvP arena, sweating buckets. Faced another top-tier duelist. Saw them winding up for their usual Charge Attack opener. Instead of trying to parry, I just aimed my Falcon Eyes. They ran headlong into the blast. Shock gauge spiked! They hesitated, probably confused. Blasted again! ZAP! Shock triggered! Massive chunk of health gone, plus a stun! Stunned! I closed in while they were locked down and landed a full charged R2. Won the round before they could recover.
Holy scrap, it worked! Played several more matches. Against aggressive players, the Shock setup requires patience and finding that split-second opening to blast. If you panic and try to trade? You die. Fast. Against defensive players? Constant pressure with Shock buildup forced them to make mistakes. When Shock popped, it often created the opening to finish them.
Final Verdict? Pure Shock isn’t top-tier solo. Needs setup. But hybridizing Shock buildup? Using tools like the Falcon Eyes Legion Arm specifically built for it? Damn right it can compete.
Against pure max-damage Charge Attack builds? It depends. If I land the Shock early, the stun guarantees I win the trade. If I whiff the shot? I’m probably toast. Parry kings are still tricky – Shock buildup doesn’t help if I get perfect-guarded into oblivion. But forcing a playstyle shift onto your opponent? That’s powerful.
Shock requires a different rhythm. More calculated aggression. But the payoff? Explosive damage and fight-changing stuns. It ain’t easy mode, but dismissing Shock? Big mistake after testing this. My hands were shaking after that win streak. Drank way too much soda celebrating.
