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The Kraken side booster.


zeroreaper

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It was pretty much a staple of a side booster for pretty much all the regulations in AC4. Its booster duration to drain ratio was off the charts, leading almost everybody to use it.

 

Until 1.5/1.6 where it drains more than ALIYA/S. I much prefer ALIYA and ORTEGA in 1.6. SCHEDAR was the only viable booster in 1.5.

 

It is a very good booster in 1.4, though I prefer SCHEDAR. For the side booster, I want acceleration more than anything. KRAKEN and SCHEDAR have very similar thrust, but SCHEDAR drains less. I also like that you move less per one QB with SCHEDAR. It gives you a bit more control, and on light AC's, it makes missile dodging a bit easier since you don't go wide and allow the missiles to make gentle turns. If I want to cover large distances, I chain. On HW's I can see more use for KRAKEN's 12 duration.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Uh, how is this even a debate? KRAKEN/HOLOFERNES has never NOT been amazing. It was easily the best booster up til 1.5, and while it got scaled down quite a bit with the booster rebalancing, it's still a solid part. It produces more than the ORTEGA, but drains less than the AALIYAH, and while either booster is more efficient, efficiency isn't absolute. I personally find any excuse to use the AALIYAH/S, but I found I still used HOLOFERNES on just about every other design that didn't have it (and a select few lighter ACs that used the SCHEDAR). The appeal is that while the AALIYAH and ORTEGA are technically better boosters on paper, the KRAKEN is a comfortable medium between the two and still performs admirably in execution. If the AALIYAH drains too much but the ORTEGA isn't quick enough, the KRAKEN is a nice middleground that's still functional and reliable. In fact, I'd say choosing a sidebooster in post-1.5 AC4 comes down to AALIYAH wherever you can afford it -> HOLOFERNES if AALIYAH is too costly -> ORTEGA if HOLOFERNES is still pushing it -> SCHEDAR if absolutely nothing else will work; I'll probably call you a baby-back bitch for using the SCHEDAR in pretty much every case, but I digress.

 

Oh, and to the TC: Stop trying to use profile comments to flirt with someone I brought here or I'm going to have to fight you to the death for her affection. Just FYI, you'd lose.

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1.6 KRAKEN is the drainiest booster. ALIYA is more EN friendly. The normal boost drain just slightly favors KRAKEN, but ALIYA's QB drain (per QB) is a bit less if I remember. Even if it was not and ALIYA was drainier, the difference was not very notable and ALIYA had much better acceleration anyway. ORTEGA is the efficient one of the three and the slowest yes, I agree with your thoughts on it, but I find it pretty hard to go for KRAKEN over ALIYA/S. I do really prefer acceleration to distance covered per QB or speed though. I think even SCHEDAR out accelerates ORTEGA, that makes it too good to pass up out of that pair.

 

While I'd love to slap ALIYA/S on everything, it's just too drainy for that. Main boosters were where I needed speed. With side boosters, drain dominates for me. Chaining will let me move fast when I need to, and it's usually a forward chain anyway. Mid range to long range dodging, high QB duration hardly matters, and up close, I'll prefer to chain, use vertical maneuvering, or overshoot with main QB.

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The AALIYAH/S looks much better on paper, but the problem is that using AALIYAH/S with the VIRTUE or AALIYAH/M makes for the most taxing booster setups imaginable. The KRAKEN may have less bang for your buck, but ultimately, it'll get the job done with less energy expended. ORTEGA is a nice substitute in either case as well, but as you said, the accel is pretty meager, and I value that above all else. I don't mind ORTEGA so much on mid-range builds, but I'd never use it in close quarters.

 

Really, it does just come down to the fact that using AALIYAH/S with VIRTUE or AALIYAH/M is just slightly too much to handle for most conventional builds, whereas KRAKEN keeps you under the line.

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