Gladius
One of the ships that looks like a fighter.
The type of sword that was used by ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the 3rd century BC and until the 3rd century AD.
Basic Info
- No: 48
- Ship: Gladius
- Affinity: Shield Breaking
- Type: Psuedo-FO
- Main Weapon: Plasma Missiles
- Aura: Vorpal Lance
- Zen: Kappa Drive
- Rarity: Common
- Price: 500
- Main Description: 8 rather slow moving and slightly homing projectiles fired in a general forward direction with an initial slight spread on both sides.
- Upgrade Info:
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Ult |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPS | 20.00 | 21.00 | 22.00 | 23.00 | 24.00 | 25.00 |
- Test Results:
| Main | Aura | Zen | Survival | Survival Tier | Speedrun | Speedrun Tier | Fun | Fun Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64.09 | 110.18 | 45.82 | 29.45 | C+ | 24.00 | B- | 25.09 | C |
| APEX1 | APEX2 | Base Score | Base Rank | Low Score | Hi Score | Apex Rank | Final Score | FinalRank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66.91 | 8.73 | 220.09 | 76 | 228.82 | 287.00 | 70 | 365.55 | 71 |
- Main Weapon Illustration:
Survival
- Gladius' main is unimpressive. However, even though its aiming is Average, it hits invaders reliably enough. The wide spread of the main means that smaller invaders will still get hit. The main is nothing more than a support.
- The main is also good at taking out Sparrows due to the spread and sufficient homing capability, if the Sparrows were not taken out by VLs.
- Sadly, the spread of the main as well as the sub-par damage mean that turret popping ability is poor. In order to pop turrets, you will need to be right in front of it, which isn't practical.
- The constant VL spam from the VL + Kappa is both offensive and defensive. The offensive aspect is obvious, and this means that Gladius can take out Ravens extremely fast without them even standing a chance to flood the field with bullets.
- In daily missions, it is free reign of VLs. Simply sweep the field with all your VLs at hand, and then use Kappa to get all the particles quickly in reload for the next wave.
- However, focus on eliminating Eagles first. 2 Eagles side-by-side can be instantly vaporized by 3 VLs thrown at it. If they align, make sure your 3 VLs hit these Eagles first, then use Kappa to get their particles and then sweep the remaining field of Ravens. Eagles often contain deadly turrets which will quickly overwhelm you if you are not careful. The sub-par main will also deal insufficient damage to eliminate them quickly.
- If the Eagles do not align, then throw 2 VLs at one of them, aligning these VLs with Ravens that are in line (whether in front or behind). If the Eagles later align, throw a last VL to finish off the first Eagle and then throw another one at the other Eagle to align with Ravens.
- Herons are less of a concern and there is no need to use 2 VLs to get rid of them instantly.
- As VL comes with Vorpal Wake, it becomes a very important defence for Gladius to escape dire situations. Because the influx of VL is fast, you can afford to spam VLs almost purely for defence (of course don't spam more than 1 at a go for the sake of defence). Just try to hit something with it, although it's not important. Use VL to cut you a hole through unescapable barrier of bullets. This is especially useful when cornered after exploding a cluster of MIRVs.
- While this can be done with shuriken walls, you may need to be careful since it's difficult to predict where the shuriken will go in the left and right of the drilled through hole. It may be justifiable to fire 2 VLs to get you out of the shuriken wall completely, using the slowed time from Kappa to constantly inch your way out of the hole in the wall. Just be beware that even though you get a lot of VLs, there's still a limit on the number of VLs you can reasonably get, so abuse Kappa to slow down and figure out a better way out rather than simply cutting through a shuriken wall.
- Because VLs are so abundant, they are important turret sniping tools. Use it to snipe down dangerous Vulture turrets, such as MIRV Bloomers and Spreads. You can also try to aim for the central Eagle turret in community and specialist missions, although it's usually quite difficult to pop it off.
- Gladius has no defence against lasers, so be sure to take out Ravens that might contain dangerous tracking lasers or laser spreads. Other laser turrets on bigger invaders are generally less of a problem as they move around less quickly. Beware of fast tracking lasers from Herons or larger though. You will likely have to snipe down their turrets using VLs (provided they do not have other dangerous turrets, like those on Condors or Rocs).
- In a Roc battle, VLs becomes your defence, be sure to use them carefully since particles are sparse. Unfortunately, fast tracking lasers on a Roc are its demise, since to its lackluster DPS is unable to take down the shield fast enough.
Speedrun
- The constant VL spam means that when aimed right, Gladius will wreck through crowds. This is particularly so in the dense waves of daily missions.
Fun
- As if VL wasn't satisfying enough, you are getting a near unlimited supply of them, now how's that for lots of satisfying piercing sounds?
Trivia
- No trivia, don't stare at me!
APEX 1
- Name: Twin Lance
- Type: Aura
- Description: Split Vorpal Lance into two projectiles for a larger surface area.
- Interpretation: The surface area is doubled.
- Form: Epsilon
- Price: 25000
- Score: 4.18 / 5
The Twin Lances have always been a very effective reinforcement for Vorpal Lances. One of the major shortcomings of the Gladius is that the only defensive method is the Vorpal Lance, which is used to clear bullets, and the Kappa Drive is only used to allow you to see the bullets clearly. The twin lances can clear a wider space, which is a very effective improvement for the survivability of this ship.
APEX 2
- Name: Antigrav
- Type: Zen
- Description: Ignore energy particle weight and increase passive attraction power.
- Interpretation: All the particles will be attracted on the same speed and you can absorb energy more easily.
- Form: Gamma
- Price: 15000
- Score: 0.55 / 5
A very powerful apex, especially in dense and/or heavy waves where invaders die very quickly from VL, making particles scatter around the screen very quickly. Particles from heavier invaders such as Eagles also get absorbed very fast, allowing VL spamming to kept up and simply keep obliterating wave after wave.