Fire and Thunder

[Manijure]

In an attempt to bring myself back into the forums more before Iron Marines comes out, I pose a question to you all, which main ability do you prefer (and you think is more effective) in the KR saga: Rain of Fire or Thunderbolt?

[Minuet]

RoF is stronger in damage output, however one of the key functions of spells and reinforcements is to catch leaks, which RoF is usually terrible at, and in that area Thunderbolt shines almost enough to make up for the damage difference.

Plus the level 5 upgrade for Thunderbolt actually targets enemies instead of randomly across the map, making it far superior in that aspect.

[Ninja]

I think that RoF is superior because it just destroys everything. Fully upgraded RoF kind of unbalances KR1, actually.

[Big Bad Bug]

Thunderbolt is far more satisfying to use in my opinion. The fearsome crackle of each bold as the rain-drenched screen flashes has so much more flair and an epic feeling to it than Rain of Fire, despite the less cool name.

[tmn loveblue]

Thunderbolt is an awesome-looking, strong and balanced main spell. Like Ninja said, RoF, when fully upgraded, kind of tip the balance for KR and most KRF stages because when things get tough, you throw some meteors and break everything. The lasting flaming field is so powerful that it singlehandedly block the lane for several seconds. I remember throwing a KR challenge in which a player must survive the first wave of The Dark Tower, on Normal difficulty, without using RoF. I find that (almost) impossible, even with Oni.

[RaZoR LeAf]

Thunder looks more powerful, darkening the screen, the howling wind, flashes striking all over. But Raun of Fire leaves that red hot floor that continues to deal damage after it's initial hit. That tips the balance over for me. Drop the fire on a strong enemy or boss, then stall with reinforcements or a Hero. It only needs to be a few seconds, just to drain that extra bit of HP. And you've got pretty good chances of one of the random drops to be over the path too, giving extra damage to other groups if enemies too. Yep. Defo Rain of Fire.

I remember throwing a KR challenge in which a player must survive the first wave of The Dark Tower, on Normal difficulty, without using RoF. I find that (almost) impossible, even with Oni.

Is that a joke? I've just tested it. Dark Tower, Normal, entire level and no use of Rain of Fire. Wasn't very hard. I lost one life when a Rocket Rider slipped through because my dog distracted me barking at the postman.

[The Kingmaker]

I mainly agree with razor leaf, fully upgraded run of fire essentially creates a death pit that deals with most enemies full stop. Entire waves are destroyed by it. Part of the seeking point of why a Dark Slayer is so destructive on the wiki is that it survives a rain of fire. It's basically the only enemy to do this and with no real way to benefit from this.

Thunderbolt is great and I prefer it aesthetically, the scorched earth really edges RoF above imo

[nova_n]

rain of fire! combonation of aoe burst, with sustained aoe damage! awesome

[PitNata]

Well, it's pretty hard to decide which is better, because they are very different from each other.

I would pick RoF than Thunderbolts, as the Fully Upgraded RoF wreck havoc everywhere. Blazing Earth gives it a very good advantage, as targeting on a choke point allow you to hold lots of enemies if you have barracks nearby, dealing massive damage to enemies. Cataclysm gives even more advantage, as having extra meteors who also affected by Tech Tree is giving an edge.

[tmn loveblue]

Is that a joke? I've just tested it. Dark Tower, Normal, entire level and no use of Rain of Fire. Wasn't very hard. I lost one life when a Rocket Rider slipped through because my dog distracted me barking at the postman.

How did you survive the 1st wave? There aren't a lot of gold and the hero is too weak to solo anything. I fall to the skeletons summoned by Necromancers from the right path, they stack up until there are too many of them.

[Oof_Shunt]

Thunderbolt!!!!!

[RaZoR LeAf]

Is that a joke? I've just tested it. Dark Tower, Normal, entire level and no use of Rain of Fire. Wasn't very hard. I lost one life when a Rocket Rider slipped through because my dog distracted me barking at the postman.

How did you survive the 1st wave? There aren't a lot of gold and the hero is too weak to solo anything. I fall to the skeletons summoned by Necromancers from the right path, they stack up until there are too many of them.

Two lv2 archers on the left, a lv1 and lv2 magic on the right, two lv1 artillery on the long stretch where the paths meet. That spends almost all the gold you start with. Oni by the graveyard fighting skeletons, he was lv3 by the time the Necromancer came out. He engaged the NM and killed it, the artillery took out the skeletons, Reinforcements to catch any other enemies that slipped past. I didn't need to buy anything else.

Edit: Just tested it with other heroes. Bolin works fine too. So either I'm amazing or you're terrible.

[The Kingmaker]

I can't remember if its viable in that first wave but if you're having trouble with necromancers and skeletons rangers are a godsend.

One poison upgrade is a bit tricky, because it means the rangers target units that can be poisoned over those that cant (skeletons, spiders), which means they focus down and kill necromancers very quickly, but wont target any skeletons, no matter how close they are to the exit, while there is something that can be poisoned to attack.

Fortunately, Wrath of the Forest by a graveyard and in strategic positions completely neuters skeletons on Easy and Normal, and it works almost as good on veteran too.