Buddy Rush: Skully's Skills (Update 1.2)

(This article is obsolete. An updated version for Update 1.3 can be found here.)

So I am finally writing up on Skully's skills.

Skully is a new character available with Update 1.2. She is a range character who attacks twice in her regular attacks. However, each attack is at half her Att. The target can be switched if the first target goes down before the second shot is fired. It is somewhat like a regular half-Att attack, followed by another one immediately, before the delay for the first attack to happen again.

All of Skully's active skills have her immobile for a significant amount of time. So be careful using the skills when she is in danger of being attacked, especially by Oblins who can stun.

Spiral Shots

With Spiral Shots, Skully spins around and spreads bullets everywhere. Bullets are aimed randomly and they individually do not do much damage. This skill is best used when surrounded by Oblins, or right on top of one to maximize the number of bullets that hit.

With higher skill level, more bullets are fired with more powerful effect. I have yet to see if the former makes Skully immobile (so to speak) for a longer period of time.

A good use of Spiral Shot is for inflicting Bleed and Stun. Each individual bullet has a chance to inflict. Thus, when used in the middle of a group of Oblins, Skully may inflict Bleed on many of them.

Don't move!

With Don't move!, Skully tosses a net. Oblins in the area of the net at impact (not after) will be caught. Caught Oblins cannot move. They also attack slower. This reduces the Oblins' ability to deal damage.

The area of effect increases with skill level, as do the duration the net lasts.

Don't move! is a defensive skill, suitable to reduce damage done by Oblins. This can be used to reduce the risk of running into a group of Oblins to deal more damage with Spiral Shots or Hand Bomb.

This skill can seal Betty and YA 86's charge attack by preventing the boss from moving.

However, it takes Skully some time to take out the net and toss it, and for the net to land. The delay is enough for melee Oblins to march next to Skully before the skill takes effect.

Also, not all enemies are affected by the Don't move! skill. I have not seen an inanimate object affected.

If this skill is used untargeted, Skully will aim for a spot in front of her. This is useful to start the skill early (because of the delay), if only there is someone to lure the Oblins into the area of effect while the net is flying. If the untargeted use is done badly, Skully could potentially throw the net behind charging melee Oblins.

To target an Oblin simply click on it. To use this (or any) skill untargeted, click on the ground and drag in the direction you wish to attack. Then, as Skully faces that direction, activate the skill.

Update 8 June 2011:
If a boss is caught in the net, the net disappears faster. i.e. bosses and any Oblins caught with him/her/it are released sooner than normal.

Hand Bomb

When using this skill, Skully will pull out a cannon (presumably from Hammerspace) and fire at the target. A bomb will fly out and land on the target, creating Skully's signature skull-explosion (which has been plagiarized by the Pelicano brothers). More bombs, up to three, are launched at higher skill levels.

Hand Bomb deals lots of damage at launch and at impact. At launch, each bomb will damage any Oblin standing directly in front of the cannon. At impact, each bomb does damage in a tiny area of effect. These makes the skill a lot like a shotgun - more effective at point-blank range.

The second projectile (obtained at skill level 6) always lands to the left of the first.

If Hand Bomb is used untargeted, Skully will aim for a spot in front of her. This is a highly inaccurate use of the skill with the tiny area of effect and not recommended without lots of practice.

Bleeding

Skully's passive skill, Bleeding gives her a chance to inflict Bleed on Oblins with every attack. This includes each shot of Spiral Shots. Oblins inflicted by Bleed has red droplets flying off them. They lose HP continuously until Bleed wears off.

The duration and chance of Bleeding increases with skill level. This is a good skill for Skully since her regular double attack each has a chance, giving her more opportunities to inflict Bleed.

Not all enemies are affected by Bleeding. I have never seen an inanimate object bleed.

There are two builds I can think of for Skully. First is the Skirmisher build for close combat. Spiral Shots and Hand Bomb does the best damage when Skully is right next to her target. Thus, this build focuses on Att and Skill Pow to increase damage while having decent Def, Evade, HP and HP Regen to stay alive since Skully will be in potential danger. Unless the target(s) are Stunned.

The other build is the Inflicter build (because Defiler sounds more suitable for a poison-user). Skully attacks twice. This gives her more chances to inflict status effects, specifically, Stun and Bleeding. Thus, this build focuses on Hit Speed, Stun and Bleeding to inflict status effects on Oblins. Spiral Shots is good as it spreads lots of bullets, each with the chance to Stun or Bleed. The Don't move! skill adds to the theme of this build with its ability to reduce Oblins offensive capabilities.

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