Spire Master pt. III - Oh, right, I'm supposed to be posting about this. [SPOILERS]

[OnePotWonder]

So, I kind of finished the rest of the Spire Master challenge all in one go.
Previous installations:

Spire Master Pt. I - The Challenge Begins [MINOR SPOILERS]

Hello everybody. I have been enjoying Side Order. Thoroughly. In fact, I've not only managed to clear with every weapon, but I've also maxed out the color chip collection. True 1000% completion. So, I asked myself, "now what?" So, I'm challenging myself to beat the spire with every weapon, low...

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Spire Master Pt. II - Rise of the Machines [MINOR SPOILERS]

Hello everybody. I have decided that I'm not going to be a masochist. Previous installations: https://squidboards.com/threads/spire-master-pt-i-the-challenge-begins-minor-spoilers.43962/ I am challenging myself to beat the spire with every weapon, low hacks, and all the same color chip tone. I...

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I challenged myself to beat the spire with every weapon, low hacks, and all the same color chip tone.
I intended to come to the definitive answer for which palettes are the strongest in Side Order.

And now I'm wondering, did I?
I realize now, looking back, that this hasn't really been that challenging. I feel like I've been too generous with my player hacks.
So, I'm going to cover all of the remaining palettes here, then explain my plan for what comes next.

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Pearl's Palette
Order Dualies | Curling Bomb | Reefslider | Lucky Color Chips
​

Pearl's palette is a lot more interesting once you get to know it better. I've seen a lot of people claim that Curling bomb and Reefslider are on the weaker end of the respective sub and special weapon lists for Side Order, but in reality the opposite is true. Charged Curling Bombs are invaluable for clearing swarms of Andantes, and Reefslider's explosion knockback makes it more valuable for survival than even a Crab Tank. Neither is the best, of course, but once you get a feel for them, they're both really useful.

While I might not have been lucky with my vending machines, I was lucky enough to never get a Danger: No Item Drops.

The best chip for this palette is Lucky Bomb Drop, though not by as much as some of the other palettes' best chips. Everything in the Lucky arsenal is useful (except Drone Battery Drop, of course).

Conclusion: A fun palette that will truly test your skill.

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Murch's Palette
Order Blaster | Curling Bomb | Wave Breaker | Range Color Chips​

Murch's seems to be the most forgettable palette, and for good reason. The Curling Bomb is effectively outclassed by the Order Blaster itself, and Wave Breaker is one of the few special's that is actually bad in terms of power level. At least for the sake of an all-range run. It took me but a single run to clear with this palette, and the only highlight was beating Asynchronous Rondo by only destroying the critical layers.

There's really nothing that can stop this weapon once it gains enough buffs. No particular Danger is devastating.

The best chip for this palette is undoubtedly Main Piercing, even over Hindrance Damage. Blasters aren't known for their paint, and Main Ink Coverage isn't even an option for the Order Blaster. (Splash Radius increases its paint instead.) Being able to do maximum damage to multiple enemies is extremely important.

Conclusion: Bland but effective, switch out the kit when you can.

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Sheldon's Palette
Orderbrush | Ink Mine | Ultra Stamp | Mobility Color Chips
​

Sheldon's palette isn't particularly memorable either, but it's certainly loads of fun. As one piles on the upgrades, the main weapon's flicks see less and less use as running around with the brush charges up the Ultra Stamp, which then lays into all of the enemies with its buffed rush attack. This is the only palette where the Mobility chip bias makes sense.
Oh, right, Ink Mine exists. Frankly, the sub doesn't matter in any case. It would only be marginally better even with a Sprinkler.

The best chip for this palette (and any mobility-only run) is Mobile Special Charge. Even a single chip goes a long way.

Conclusion: The fastest steamroller you'll ever find; exclusively fun.

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Shiver's Palette
Order Stringer | Toxic Mist | Killer Wail 5.1 | Mobility Range Color Chips
​

Shiver's Palette is where things get interesting. Going into the challenge, I knew that the only real challenge would come from trying to complete this palette with all mobility chips. A palette with literally no rush attacks, a main weapon that's notoriously bad at inking turf, and a kit that doesn't help it with that whatsoever. I still underestimated how garbage this palette was.

Why they gave this thing Mobility as its favored chip tone instead of, say, Roller (which actually has a rush attack) or Dualies (which has two exclusive mobility chips) is completely beyond me. After a few failed runs I decided that I actually wanted to have fun, and I switched to its secondary chip tone.

Shiver's palette with all range chips is actually really good. Hindrance Damage synergizes with Toxic Mist, and it doesn't need a bomb to make use of Splash Radius color chips. I will never know why it doesn't favor range first, but it's a matter for another thread.

The best color chip for this palette is a tough call, as both Main Piercing and Hindrance Damage are invaluable. Ultimately, I'm going to have to say Main Ink Coverage because after three or four runs of being physically incapable of putting more ink on the ground than a swarm of Andantes, I'm not about to suffer through that again, ever.

Conclusion: DO NOT RUN WITH PURE MOBILITY.

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DJ Octavio's Palette Redux
Drone Chips just aren't viable.
​

Savvy readers will notice that I left out Marina's palette from earlier. What does this have to do with DJ Octavio's palette? Both favor drone chips. After completing my run with Shiver's palette I decided that I could probably get higher scores with the Drone-chip palettes by not using drone chips. That brings us to my re-run of Octavio's palette with pure, unprocessed Support. It was not as easy as Marie's palette.

Despite not being vulnerable to Danger anymore, this run was quite difficult and took a few attempts. Splatlings are not wieldly. I will say, this run will give you a real appreciation of Splash Wall, since on some later floors and during the final boss, you really need it in order to have enough time to fully charge the weapon. A surprisingly good fit despite the sub's inherent low power.

The real best color chip for DJ Octavio's palette turns out to be Midfire Charge, which is on its own worth a few Quick Charge chips. Nintendo kind of overlooked the fact that the Order Splatling charges like a Heavy Splatling and not a Nautilus, which means the second ring of charge is faster despite providing the same number of bullets. Keep recharging the second ring and you can charge and fire quickly as long as you have ink.

Conclusion: A test of skill that's completely non-viable for high score runs.

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Marina's Palette
Order Brella | Sprinkler | Ink Storm | Power Color Chips
​

Uhh, Marina's Palette, technically Redux. I honestly don't remember this run (or the invalid all-drone run) that well, which means it was probably quite easy all things considered. Power palettes aren't prone to any Danger, and the Order Brella in particular is able to shield itself against strong threats like Homing Arpeggios and Towering Nobilmentes. (Also a candidate for Mobility since the shield is a rush attack.)

The best chip for this palette is probably Ink Damage. Interestingly, despite both the main and special weapon being AoE attacks, the scatter nature of both means Splash Damage will only affect explosive enemies.

Conclusion: Effective, fun, and not practical.

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Frye's Palette
Order Splatana | Fizzy Bomb | Crab Tank | Lucky Color Chips
​

The run with Frye's palette was very similar to Pearl's, but distinct enough to be seperately interesting. Being the only weapon able to splat an Andante in a single hit, damage was a lot less of a worry. Crab Tank also helps in the regard. This was fortunate, because it has Fizzy Bomb, which is pretty bad.

I was again able to luckily avoid any Danger: No Item Drops in my run with this palette.

As for the best chip for this palette, I would have to say Disk Piece Drop. While it's not as necessary as it is for some other palettes, the Step-Off Song makes the entire run a lot easier, and as far as item drops go it's the most valuable. Again, all chips are useful here.

Conclusion: If you really hate chargers, this is an option.

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SPOILERS AHEAD!
If you have not unlocked the secret final palette, do not unspoiler the following.

Eight's Palette
Octo Shot | Splat Bomb | Triple Splashdown | Power Color Chips
​

When I said I completed every palette, I meant every palette.
Of course, Eight's palette had to be treated a bit differently than the others. The only hack I used for my Eight's Palette run was Color Chip Bias, leaving me with 24 slots to fill with Power chips, and the only method for avoiding bad floors being the Floor Skip. This was actually really fun. I recommend trying this run for yourself if you want a good challenge.

I have made myself all too familiar with all of the power chips, so here are some tips for each:

• Ink Damage requires a solid investment to be a good upgrade. Try to get it on the earlier floors.​
• Splash Damage is incredibly valuable for your sub and special, can't go wrong with it.​
• Sound-Wave damage isn't useless, as is boosts the damage of the Step-Off Song. Don't feel too bad if you have to pick it.​
• Main Fire Rate is, of course, the most valuable chip you can pick up. Remember: Damage equals ink efficiency.​
• Main Damage Close/Distant are both decent upgrades, but they work best when paired together.​
• Poison Ink is a strong upgrade, but you have to work with it; target Languendos and Capricciosos so it can do its thing.​

Conclusion: A challenge for a true master of the spire.

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​

I may have completed every palette, but I'm not done yet.
I plan to start a new challenge soon, with a little tweak to the completion requirements that will hopefully make the challenge last a bit longer this time around: I'm going to fill every single palette.

Look forward to it!

That's enough of my rambling. Thank you for reading all of this if you did, and have a splendid day.
I'm going to get a glass of water.

 

[youre_a_squib_now]

You have inspired me to do an all-mobility shiver's palette run