Which is the better Armor Shatter Champ

Marvel2289

Comments

SuperiorSymbiote

Pretty much stays forever if you’re by the opponent

shadow_lurker22

If you cycle l3s after you don't even have to be by them

Rockypantherx

I’m pretty sure Medusa can keep it up 100% of the time while Aarkus has a short downtime in between his and the duration on his isn’t consistent. I haven’t played him a ton though so someone can correct me if I’m wrong

shadow_lurker22

If you cycle l2s which gets easier because he starts to power gain you can keep it there a while but yes there is a short down time but it isn't really a problem also Aarkus can do way more things than Medusa and it is easier to do with Aarkus because you just have to be close to stack armour breaks and the more you stack the longer the shatter will last. But additionaly the coldsnap is pretty useful to stop evades and such cycling specials with him is way easier because his power gain and with his sig you can shrug non dot debuffs which is useful at times so overall Aarkus is better.

shadow_lurker22

I kind of figured Medusa was going to win though because for some reason everyone overrates her

Skillful_star

I've played both and I'd say yes medusa is better,for lower level content vision is great but for endgame level content medusa is far better with the poison immunity and the autoblock that triggers if you mess up plus if you run suicides like I do medusa is already poison immune plus the fact that you have to spam sp2 to keep the shatter up on vision is far worse than just 1 sp1 and then sp3 spam for medusa.

FF10

Medusa for sure. Aarkus is a wet noodle

shadow_lurker22

No it really isn't Vision starts gaining power so fast that Medusa's head will spin his l2 cycling becomes way faster plus he can shut down evade with coldsnap his damage increases because of how easy it is to stack armour breaks and armour shatters plus his l3 makes effects reach across the whole map. Oh and the biggest advantage is he doesn't need his sig unlike Medusa. And I have no problems using him in this months Uncollected difficulty.

lowlevelplayer

medusa might be better overall though

shadow_lurker22

No his damage is just fine

Savage

Vision is only above Medusa with the OG Vision synergy and since that isn't easily acquirable I'd have to go with Medusa on this one. She just hits harder with stronger DoT than Aarkus as well as more easily applicable, potent armor breaks and she also has Poison Immunity while he lacks any. If you mess up she always has an autoblock to keep you from being knocked out after 2 hits of the opponent.

shadow_lurker22

How exactly is her armour breaks easier to apply it is hitting with mediums vs just staying close

Aleor

Vision is better overall imo. Power gain is always fun, he counters evades and, most importantly, doesn't need any synergies

SwarmOfRavens

It's amazing how far under the radar aarkus has gone.
He's a champ that ramps up during the fight, once you got all your power gain buffs specials get thrown left and right, coldsnap is pretty much constant and cycling sp2s isn't a problem. He easily outdamages medusa in longer fights but no content creator really covers him so only few are aware.
He does have some downtime on his shatter but it can be played around. He does have the advantage of a synergy that allows him to armour shatter metal champs but accessing it requires an og vision

Savage

You can't always stay close to the opponent. That is one of the issues with omega red but he can prevent that by using a heavy attack while Aarkus has to use an sp3 to do that. His large power gain actually hurts him more than helps him because it can drag fights on and prevent him from converting 10 armor breaks into an armor shatter. Medusa can Medium twice and sp1 and she will already have a strong armor shatter on them. Plus she can even get to an sp3 and stack the armor shatters.

shadow_lurker22

I've never had any problems keeping Armour shatter with Aarkus in fact I have found him easier than Medusa since her armour breaks run off and somtime the AI is super defensive. Aarkus armour breaks do run off but you can pause the timer on them. yes he takes time to build up but I don't mind each to their own I guess.

H3t3r

Medusa all the way

Savage

You can't pause the timer on armor shatters. What I'm trying to say is that you have to constantly keep an eye on your own power to get maximum damage output with Aarkus otherwise you will have a weaker armor shatter. If you have to use an sp3 just to stack to maximum armor breaks then that just makes Medusa seem even easier.

Marvel2289

Imo they both have their certain uses but Aarkus is better overall. Aarkus is great even without his sig while Medusa is only decenct without the sig and needs her sig to be God tier. You don't get the fury and autoblock on Medusa without the sig.

shadow_lurker22

I never said you could pause the armour shatter and with his power gain specials are not a problem to throw

SwarmOfRavens

Medusa is objectively the better armour shatter champ as she can access it quicker and more consistently ala sp1 with sp3 refreshes so she's the safer option.
But aarkus is the better overall champ

Savage

Well if you're using suicides then you wouldn't want to spam sp1s to keep stacking the armor breaks. Even without using them I feel like the sp1 isn't really effective at what it's intended to do. This means that you either have to slowly combo the opponent or just stand near them to stack armors to 10 unless you use an sp3 which makes the fight drag like I said. I know what Aarkus is capable of as I intend to rank him to r5 because he is fun to play and I love his character as a whole but unless you have the Vision synergy, Medusa has more utility. That small synergy allows him to shut down the entire tech class which is awesome. I respect the opinion that you guys share of Aarkus but in my personal opinion Medusa is better unless he has said synergy.

shadow_lurker22

I don't typically run suicides but I feel Aarkus is better if you don't feel the same way that is your opinion

shadow_lurker22

Also his synergy works with both Visions. Thought I guess act 6 it would be difficult to obtain the synergy since og vision is exclusive and Vision (aou) isn't available above 4*

SwarmOfRavens

Suicides are upto personal preference, even champs like Hyperion suffer when used with suicides.
You don't want to use special 1 with aarkus after the first armour shatter.sp3 all the way, yes fights are longer because of the sp3 animation but it gives you the fury and keeps both the armour stacking and coldsnap constant.
I don't see how medusa is better utility wise.
She's got armour shatter, poison immunity and bleed
Aarkus has armour shatter, coldsnap for countering evade, a ton of power gain buffs for buffed up without needing dupe, 80% resistance for power drain and access to fury on sp3

shadow_lurker22

Not to mention he can shrug off non damaging debuffs when awakened

Skillful_star

You completely missed the point,and I'm not strictly talking about uncollected that is pretty easy,I'm talking act 6,variants etc...
He is too squishy for endgame content,and a you have a long ramp up to get to the good power gain plus medusa doesn't need her sig ability,the higher the sig the better for defense. It's much easier with medusa since you can just do double medium sp1 and then easy game until you get to an sp3.

Savage

You can't really judge a champ for needing a dupe. That's like judging cmm or hyperion for their reliance on the dupe. Awakenings come eventually so I don't really see the problem. Medusa's ease of use, stated utilities, and stronger damage output is why I rank her over Aarkus. Aarkus has slower ramp up and less damage. No immunities is a huge factor of my opinion of him as well.

KeepinItReal

Wait @shadow_lurker22 she's "overrated",...why? Here's my case: she can easily get to a.shatter from SP1 (26 secs), then to SP3 (35 secs) for continuous a.shatter. Or just spam SP1s or SP1, then SP2s for crazy # of bleeds (that can reverse Regen w.3/3 Despair, done it vs ROL Wolvie).
For Aarkus to a.shatter 1st gotta get to his S2 (5 secs per armor break, potentially nice). Also gotta be next to them for 2.3secs per a.break during his p.gain), then cycle S1s to refresh,..not simple, even to describe it. Ha Also, if u don't want to bleed (Omega, Elsa) don't shatter & just destroy w/S2 (which guarantees stun for 3.5secs) + poison immune.
If ur talking about who's better when getting hit, then maybe AArkus bc alot of anti-power control. Oh wait, her Auto Block can save ur a** on attack. His proximity armor break/coldsnap anti evade & p.gain are good. Shrugging debuffs is good, but also more to nullify. Lots of better evade counters. If u need p.gain, Hyperion is King.
If ur fighting a p.control, non-coldsnap immune, close nearby evader that u can stay next too...then Aarkus is better.

*Not saying she's the best champ or even cosmic, more of a "specialist". Yet, when asking who's the better a.shatter champ like OP @Marvel2289 is,...she is by far in my pov. Couldn't tell u how many allies we're pumped to get her for Act 5.4.6 Ultron, plus option vs 6.2.2 Mr.Sin Boss if don't have 5/6* Heimdall. I have both, don't use AArkus. She gets called in to relief pitch for a.shatter strike out every time. She simply has so much more in her kit they had to "break" her for a month+ so AArkus felt like the "interim champion" when 1st released.

lol Case closed, Medusa is Thee Armor Shatter Queen in my POV. Any rebuttals or counter arguments?

Savage

Well to be fair they are both pretty squishy but Medusa has the safeguard autoblock if you mess up. They have about the same HP but Aarkus has slightly a bit more block proficiency.