Excalibur Good Or Not Good ?

[Henji]

I`ve been hearing alot of ppl saying that excalibur is bad and it doesnt have any good powers or w/e ppl think that makes him unreliable in a fight.

So i was hoping to get the communities opinion about this iconic warframe and know what they like and dont like it about ! 

Please keep in mind this is a point of view topic so I dont need to say this isn`t a boxing ring for who knows best...

 

Keep it simple and constructive. 

Thank You.

[Darzk]

I may be biased for Excalibur, but I think he's better than what quite a few people think...

 

1) Well, that depends on whether or not you have the time to jump.

2) He's a mobility frame, not a stealth frame.

3) How does that even pertain to Excalibur?

4) You mean enemies that aren't using melee weapons.

5) That, and Slash Dash; both abilities have invincibility frames during the animtion, which are not the same as knockback resistance.

 

1) better to jump then hit 2 so you blind while in midair and still moving

2) its so enemies under the effect of Rad. Blind wont run to you (if melee) or spray in your general direction (if ranged)

3) 'cause blinded enemies can still throw nades

4) yes

5) Rad Blind does NOT have invincibility during cast, just knockdown immunity

[TC-Guardian]

Radial Javalin with Max Intensify, and max Blind Rage:
763.3IMPACT

763.3PUNCTURE

763.3SLASH

2290.0UNDEFINED

25.0mRADIUS

34TARGET(S)

Rhino Stomp with the same mods:

1832.0BLAST

25.0mRADIUS

8sPOWER DURATION

2.5%ENEMY SPEED

So radial javalin is actually extremely powerful if done right. But when all else fails, Radial Blind. Also Radial Blind allows for you to get all crits with your melee

[mcKentucky]

1) better to jump then hit 2 so you blind while in midair and still moving

2) its so enemies under the effect of Rad. Blind wont run to you (if melee) or spray in your general direction (if ranged)

3) 'cause blinded enemies can still throw nades

4) yes

5) Rad Blind does NOT have invincibility during cast, just knockdown immunity

 

You reminded me of him,

 

 

when you said 'spray in your general direction'.

[ZeroPhobic]

Sev7n brings up a lot of great points about excal. I am hoping he gets a boost to his melee in the up coming melee 2.0 to give him an edge he does need in a universe of frames that seem to be over shadowing my favorite guy Excal. I asked for a speed boost a while back to really make him a mobile powerhouse that he could be. If he had an edge over the other frames in the melee stuff he would see more play time again.

[DraikoHunter]

You are aware that Vauban exists, right?

 

EDIT: And for all of the people ITT that are saying Radial Javelin is good, why would you ever think that? Almost every other ult in the game does more damage and isn't limited to a certain number of targets.

Instead of being a first rate #$&(%, get out your head out of your elitist &#! and offer either constructive criticism, or explain why he sucks. And saying he's squishy isn't explaining anything other than that he doesn't have 200 armor like Rhino or Frost.

 

Plus, in your argument about Vauban and Bastille: You realize, bastille is limited to 15 enemies per Bastille right? You realize that Radial Blind ISN'T hindered by such limits AND is affected by duration and range mods? You also realize that it's SPAMMABLE? Effectively keeping your enemies in one place, in case you can't kill them before the blind wears off. Vauban may have Bastille, but the 15 enemy limit limits it's effectiveness compared to Radial Blind.

 

So please, come up with a better argument other than "Vauban exists" or "He's squishy" Because you aren't helping him decide whether to believe the idiots who say he's bad, or to believe the people who actually know how to USE him that say he's good. As a former Excalibur user (i had to sell him to make room for other frames, seeing how i didn't have enough plat to buy Slots for Warframes), i can attest to the fact that Excalibur is awesome if used correctly, the people that are saying he sucks, are basing their opinion on the fact that he can be chosen as a starter frame, and that he is most likely the only balanced Warframe in the game, with a nice balance in stats and in power and mobility, yet they ignore this and go for that overated piece of crap called "Rhino".

 

I have said enough, now think carefully before responding, if you choose to respond. Because i have just destroyed your entire argument in one post.

[Hyunsai]

Excalibur is one the best defensive / crowd control frame of this game, Top 3 for sure.

 

A Radial Blind build with Fleeting Expertise and Overextended can blind and stunlock an entire room with far better energy management than any other ultimate.

 

He is just not the bling bling type, so people don't give him the chance. But he is one the best end game material of this game.

[ChaoticVice777]

Pay attention to 'tips on Radial Blind'

 

1. Depends on your preference.

 

2. When you use Radial Blind, if you use non-silent weapon, the blinded Crewman in void will shoot at the direction of the sound. And more annoying if you shoot MOA, I don't know if it is a bug, but that things will try to shoot at your sentinel, instead of you.

 

3. If you use Radial Blind, you can see how enemies AI work. In Void Defense, the first group will rush towards the pod and will attack you if they see you, while second group will hide behind covers and occasionally throw grenade. When you use Radial Blind, technically they can't see you so you don't have to worry about the first group, however the second group will still throw grenades even if they were blinded, making them something to worry about as the grenade can still hurt the pod. This is also related to No 2, if they can hear you, they will throw grenade at you, not the pod, making you getting that annoying knockdown.

 

4. All enemies that are not Radial Disarm'ed, including Light Infested, Scorpion, Butcher, etc. They will just head bum the pod. I still need to test for Radial Disarm'ed enemies because it is rare to find Loki in Defense mission. Only one time I saw a MOA kicking pod even when it was blinded, and I'm not sure if it was because of the sound of our weapon or what.

 

5. Oh, it is an iFrame? That's better.

 

1) Like I'm going to continue the chain.

 

2) Yes, I'm aware that blinded enemies still can shoot towards the sound of gunfire. Still doesn't mean you are limited to using stealthy weapons. Radial Blind is crowd control or an emergency "get out" ability, not something necessarily promoting stealth. Also, how can you guarantee that your teammates are going to use silent weapons? Or are they like meatshields?

 

3) Grenades knock Warframes down? I just thought they dealt high amounts of damage. In regards to enemy AI, you're understanding blinded enemy AI, which is...still different to normal enemy AI. This prioritization is something I've never really considered, mainly because I focus more on the crowd control/invincibility aspect. Any other examples besides the Void...?

 

4) Yes, I'm aware that melee enemies are less effected, such as the Infested. Fun times(?).

 

5) Well, you're not taking damage, and you can't be knocked down. Fits the bill, IMO.

 

1) better to jump then hit 2 so you blind while in midair and still moving

2) its so enemies under the effect of Rad. Blind wont run to you (if melee) or spray in your general direction (if ranged)

3) 'cause blinded enemies can still throw nades

4) yes

5) Rad Blind does NOT have invincibility during cast, just knockdown immunity

 

1) Once again, maybe you won't have time to jump. For example, if a Heavy Gunner is on the other side of the door, I think it's faster to rush in and use Radial Blind.

 

2) Refer to the previous Point #2.

 

3) This is a general Warframe tactic, not a tactic specifically for Excalibur. Read what's on the tin.

 

4) Yeah...

 

5) You sure aren't taking the damage when you're in the casting animation.

[StanicEnemy]

Useless frame.

[mcKentucky]

1) Like I'm going to continue the chain.

 

2) Yes, I'm aware that blinded enemies still can shoot towards the sound of gunfire. Still doesn't mean you are limited to using stealthy weapons. Radial Blind is crowd control or an emergency "get out" ability, not something necessarily promoting stealth. Also, how can you guarantee that your teammates are going to use silent weapons? Or are they like meatshields?

 

3) Grenades knock Warframes down? I just thought they dealt high amounts of damage. In regards to enemy AI, you're understanding blinded enemy AI, which is...still different to normal enemy AI. This prioritization is something I've never really considered, mainly because I focus more on the crowd control/invincibility aspect. Any other examples besides the Void...?

 

4) Yes, I'm aware that melee enemies are less effected, such as the Infested. Fun times(?).

 

5) Well, you're not taking damage, and you can't be knocked down. Fits the bill, IMO.

 

2) Sorry, I forgot to mention, I mostly play solo. That means I can only get 1 Energy Siphon on field, so I had to use Radial Blind's full duration, not just the stun, to maximize efficiency. If there is another Energy Siphon, I would just spam the crap out of it. When I play with teammates, usually they just follow along melee'ing everything, and bow is popular now too. And, like you said, if things really go wrong, I'll just use it as an emergency ability.

 

3) Yes, the grenade will sometimes proc blast.

 

Other than void, Crewman in Corpus Defense act the same way as in the void, plus Shockwave MOA will always do the shockwave when it reach the pod, even if it is blinded.

 

For Grineer, I have to watch out for roller, I really hate the stagger, and that's why I have to be mobile, hence the leap before Radial Blind. The roller will stop moving when blinded after it 'attacks' you once.

 

For Infested, everything works, and when everything 'works', that's the problem... Toxic Ancient. You get the idea.

[Fleecemo]

Nyx's Chaos is easily one of the best CC skills in the game, and Radial Blind is really really similar. They both have the same range, they're both usually built for around the same duration (Chaos can be made longer, but then you run into recastability issues), and both prevent large groups of enemies from killing you. The downside of Chaos is that it has a base cost of 25 more energy and can't be recast while it's in effect, but it has the benefit of having the enemies shoot each other. The only downside I can think of for Blind is that enemies can still shoot you while you're blinded, but I've found that that can be easily circumvented by moving sideways.

 

Nyx has an 'Oh S#&$' button in Absorb while Excal has mobility in Slash Dash so I think Nyx is slightly better suited for Defense while Excal is slightly better suited for Survival and general mission running. I also think Excal's the best for preventing core damage in Hijack since Blind can be cast every few seconds and literally stops every enemy in their tracks.

[OldGodKing]

Whether Excalibur is good or not depends on how you use him. When I use him, Excalibur fits more towards the utility side with Radial Blind as his best skill against higher lvls since it ignores enemy levels/scaling. His other skills don't really do so well at higher levels so most people just tend to build Excalibur around his RB skill.

 

In truth, he's not the best but still one of the most fun and fulfilling frames to play as.

[Sev7n]

Except that chaos does not cause enemies to stop attacking you all it does it make them attack everything including their faction which yes is once of the best cc skills but again it completely differs from radial blind

[ChaoticVice777]

2) Sorry, I forgot to mention, I mostly play solo. That means I can only get 1 Energy Siphon on field, so I had to use Radial Blind's full duration, not just the stun, to maximize efficiency. If there is another Energy Siphon, I would just spam the crap out of it. When I play with teammates, usually they just follow along melee'ing everything, and bow is popular now too. And, like you said, if things really go wrong, I'll just use it as an emergency ability.

 

3) Yes, the grenade will sometimes proc blast.

 

Other than void, Crewman in Corpus Defense act the same way as in the void, plus Shockwave MOA will always do the shockwave when it reach the pod, even if it is blinded.

 

For Grineer, I have to watch out for roller, I really hate the stagger, and that's why I have to be mobile, hence the leap before Radial Blind. The roller will stop moving when blinded after it 'attacks' you once.

 

For Infested, everything works, and when everything 'works', that's the problem... Toxic Ancient. You get the idea.

 

2) Makes sense.

 

3) I've never experienced this, but I also don't really want to test it. Maybe I'll just fight against low level Grineer or something.

 

Unless you're at the super-high levels, the shockwaves from even multiple Shockwave MOAs aren't going to break the pod.

 

I think Rollers still knock you down if you are airborne, which wastes valuable time for casting Radial Blind.

 

4) More fun times.

[Gurzil]

I love Excalibur, he's my favorite frame, and i'm MR15.

 

I actually have 2 Excaliburs I built a second to specialize it another way. Both have 4 stars (forma) in them.

 

He's a beast if you actually know how to play this game, and don't rely on AOE. Admittedly his dmg doesn't keep up with the rest. But super jump maxed out, and radial blind, are wonderful powers to tweak.

 

;)

 

Ciao for now.

[SteelBlade17x]

He is good most ppl just don't know how to use him, even I don't know how to use but im figuring it out :P

 

What ive found so far is radial blind is probably his best skill, u build for it with range and duration and u have best cc skill in the game

 

Also he is able to combine his skills for effective combos such as super jump + radial javelin while ur in the air. This lets ur javelins hit everything around u without having to worry about barriers blocking the javelins. And with maxed heavy impact equipped and having super jump maxed you will knock down all enemies ur javelins ddn hit below u when u land keeping u from getting mobbed on

Radial blind is as unappreciated Radial disarm for some ppl.   Very creative!

[(PSN)witch3rDC52]

To the Op,

 

Don't know if you made a decision on him or not but for me Excalibur is one of my favorite frames.   I view him as a jack of all trades frames.

 

First he comes with a non-polarized aura slot. It might seem bad at first but radial blind depends on the blind rage mod to be really useful and radial blind depends more on narrow minded.  So I have been developing two main builds for him.  Defense and General Support.  As such, I only use three of his abilities at a time though with the defense one, I currently include slash dash for now to have four abilities until I get the mods I need.

 

Instead of putting forma on the aura slot, I took an ability slot and forma'd to a bar to add Constitition at full rank of 13 energy points to get duration and some resistance to knockdown.  That allows me to use the Aura slot as I see fit.

 

Excalibur comes with two useful helmits.  One for shields and one for strength.  He has the highest strength capability of all the frames with the helmit. 

 

For the Defense build, I use the Energy Syphoon aura with Radial Blind/Javelin and Super Jump.   Also plan to use full ranked Fleeting Expertise,Blind Rage and Heavy Impact mods. When modded properly, radial javelin will generate 36 javelin at around 3600-3650 damage per javelin at a cost of duration.  Radial blind stuns for 5 secs and blinds for maybe 10-15 secs with 4x melee damage like Loki and you can spam due to the Energy Syphoon and Fleeting Expertise.    Using Orthos and Phage Shotgun as both are 'silent',  So using super jump and heavy impact mod, you super jump high (due to strength built) so you are above cover.  Use radial javelin to take out those behind cover, land with heavy impact to do a mini Rhino stomp and knock remaining enemies on their butt, use radial blind to stun and blind and get 4x melee damage.  If you use a silent weapon, they can't hear you to shoot/throw grenades at you so you clean up with your Orthos and/or Phage.  How late in the game you can go with that I don't know. He's not a nuker like Nova but I necessarily don't like one button solutions for 'fun'.  Excalibur makes it challenging/fun to play for me.

 

Second build is my General Support or Jack of all Trades build using Slash Dash, Super Jump and Radial Blind along with Rejuvenation Aura, Fleeting Expertise, Narrow Minded, Master Thief mods and Shield helmit.  Can't remember if I have the Rush mod in it but I think I do.  This setup will help continually heal the squad (Rejuvenation) I am playing with on a mission and great for capture with Slash Dash and Rush, CC support with Radial Blind using duration mods and red storage locker thief with Master Thief.  As this frame has lots of maneuverability and moves around quickly, I just take Orthos as the silent weapon and use any primary/secondary I feel like.  While I will be getting kills with weapons like Soma or Phage, my main role is offense/support for the group and I can go for things like reezing down players or finding and trigger canister for survivor missions.  I don't need to kill everything to help out.  Just blind and bypass quickly to get where you need to go.  Slash Dash lets me run through a group of enemies dealing some damage for the others and still get to where I need to go.

 

So that is my take on good old Excalibur.

Edited March 11, 2014 by (PS4)witch3rDC52

[chaos_shaper]

Excalibur is gd when used correctly like radial blind is very useful when surrounded by mobs

[(PSN)PJZERO2]

Excalibur is great most of the time when i play i never die first the other players do. People just use to playing with overpower Warframes and flying pass the level ain't nothing wrong with that but every body not that type of player Excalibur is a equal Warframe nothing more nothing less. 

[Stuifiee]

I like him, because:

 

 - accessable for everyone

 - has a CC ability

 - has mobility abilities

 - has nice damaging abilities

 - looks great with and without immortal skin

 - "mascot" of Warframe (just look to the left and to the right of this post)

[Henji]

Whether Excalibur is good or not depends on how you use him. When I use him, Excalibur fits more towards the utility side with Radial Blind as his best skill against higher lvls since it ignores enemy levels/scaling. His other skills don't really do so well at higher levels so most people just tend to build Excalibur around his RB skill.

 

In truth, he's not the best but still one of the most fun and fulfilling frames to play as.

I can agree with most that Radial Blind is by far the best ability when it comes to high lvl missions but one thing that i would like to add that i find most usefull in excalibur is that he needs way less energy then most frames to use his abilities.

Therefore Excalibur using Rage/Flow/Intensity combination makes it capable of spamming most of his abilities just enough for him to take down the high lvl mobs. 

Of course that this wont make you invencible but it is IMO by far the most efficient and deadly combination for excalibur in for high lvl mission areas, the other mods i ultilize for combo are Rush/Vitality and SF since Rage mod will convert ur Life (and only Life) damage into energy but thats only my set there is other options for more survivalbility but im pretty good with mobility so i have a good time with my set (and its amazing compared to any other frame i have and i have most of em already). 

EDIT: frogot to mention that despite all that the equipment u use also makes a huge difference specialy the types of mods u use, its necessary to keep in mind that excalibur isn`t a elemental or mystic (or w/e for the sake of letters economy), so that should be noted in what kind of mods you will use in them so you can make the most damage possible in each kind of foe you face.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Henji

[Vernoc]

I`ve been hearing alot of ppl saying that excalibur is bad and it doesnt have any good powers or w/e ppl think that makes him unreliable in a fight.

So i was hoping to get the communities opinion about this iconic warframe and know what they like and dont like it about ! 

Please keep in mind this is a point of view topic so I dont need to say this isn`t a boxing ring for who knows best...

 

Keep it simple and constructive. 

Thank You.

exe is a rly strong frame if u mod him right, try max power str and superjump with jewlins, then he´s a beast

[(PSN)goodvibes9508]

I think one of the main reasons people say Excalibur isn't so good is becuse his played by new players( no dame mods, no health/ Shield mods, don't know how to play) I feel like if he was modded right he could be...ok?

He's a fun frame I guess

[Henji]

exe is a rly strong frame if u mod him right, try max power str and superjump with jewlins, then he´s a beast

 

I can agree with most that Radial Blind is by far the best ability when it comes to high lvl missions but one thing that i would like to add that i find most usefull in excalibur is that he needs way less energy then most frames to use his abilities.

Therefore Excalibur using Rage/Flow/Intensity combination makes it capable of spamming most of his abilities just enough for him to take down the high lvl mobs. 

Of course that this wont make you invencible but it is IMO by far the most efficient and deadly combination for excalibur in for high lvl mission areas, the other mods i ultilize for combo are Rush/Vitality and SF since Rage mod will convert ur Life (and only Life) damage into energy but thats only my set there is other options for more survivalbility but im pretty good with mobility so i have a good time with my set (and its amazing compared to any other frame i have and i have most of em already). 

EDIT: frogot to mention that despite all that the equipment u use also makes a huge difference specialy the types of mods u use, its necessary to keep in mind that excalibur isn`t a elemental or mystic (or w/e for the sake of letters economy), so that should be noted in what kind of mods you will use in them so you can make the most damage possible in each kind of foe you face.

 

Thats is part of what i use in my excalibur if u interested.

I do belive that a key mod for excalibur (at the current update anyway) is Rage its a perfect to restore energy and makes great for all kinds of excalibur modding (except shield since Rage only turns Health damage into Power damage). 

Edited March 14, 2014 by Henji

[(PSN)The_Moustache]

I love Excalibro. I run two builds: usual Radial Blind and a power strength build to shoot a bunch of javelins everywhere and to kill a bunch of enemies with Slash Dash. Excal, Loki, and Rhino are easily my favorite three and I can't wait till Rhino and Loki Prime hit the PS4.

[(PSN)PJZERO2]

I love Excalibur to radial blind is one of the best moves to me in the game.