The Hardest Characters To Master

Summary

• FragPunk gained attention for its unique blend of mechanics, with players gravitating towards Shard Clash.
• Players need to familiarize themselves with the Lancers, as not all are easy to use or equally powerful.
• Difficult-to-master Lancers like Hollowpoint, Spider, Kismet, Axon, and Serket require patience and practice.

FragPunk has quickly managed to gain a following due to its unique blend of familiar mechanics with some new ideas. The game is a 5v5 hero shooter at its core, and despite having a number of modes, many players are gravitating towards Shard Clash for its interesting take on competitive gameplay.

Whether players want to get into the objective-based 5v5s, team deathmatches, or any of the arcade modes, they’ll need to get to know the Lancers that are available to them. Lancers are unlocked with currency either through gameplay or microtransactions, and not all of them are equally powerful, or equally easy to use. Some characters are worth using but difficult to get used to without practice.

7

Hollowpoint

Railgun Sniper

Skills:

• (Q) Meteora – Single-shot Railgun, reveals enemies while charging
• (E) Smokescreen – Moving smokscreen that reveals enemies
• (T) Paparazzi – Attachable trap that reveals the enemy it sticks to

Hollowpoint is a useful Lancer when used correctly, as a support for helping the team locate enemies and gain a positional advantage. She’s not easy for new players to figure out and use effectively though. Getting kills with the Meteora can be difficult, as the charge time means players will need patience, a steady aim, and a good line of sight.

While perching and using Hollowpoint as a sniper can be tempting, sitting back away from the team works against her scouting support skills, so players need to get used to when to move with the team and when to hang back. As long as players get used to her playstyle, Hollowpoint isn’t the most difficult Lancer to master. She does have a learning curve, though.

6

Spider

Teleportation And Disruption

Skills:

• (Q) Teleporter – Two placeable teleporters, can be recalled remotely
• (E) Spirited Away – Teleportation trap, moves enemies to casting location
• (T) Spider Web – Placeable trap, blinds and slows enemies

Spider’s mobility-based teleportation skills can be tough to get used to. Players will need map knowledge and experience to really start using this character effectively. Being able to place two teleporters and recall one remotely is a handy trick though. The second quirk to get used to with Spider is how his Spirited Away and Spider Web abilities interact.

Spirited Away will teleport enemies it hits to the user’s location after a short delay. Spider Web is placed on the ground and can trap enemies in place. That means that one can be used to pull enemies into the other. Once players learn this useful trick, the rest of mastering this character comes down to using the teleporters for effective movement.

5

Kismet

Scanning And Flanking

Skills:

• (Q) Hello, Goodbye – Scans enemies in front and reveals their locations
• (E) Misery Angel – Explosive that can damage enemies through cover
• (T) Walk On The Wild Side – Become invisible and invulnerable, cannot see enemies while active

Many players will gravitate towards Kismet as, on the face of it, her abilities sound overpowered. Being able to damage enemies through cover after revealing is very useful, but only if players can coordinate with their team to take advantage. The invisibility and invulnerability are balanced by the inability to track the location of other players for the duration.

That means that while these abilities are definitely powerful, they take some getting used to in order to use Kismet effectively. Players will need to use Walk on the Wild Side tactically, otherwise enemy players will take advantage of the potential disorientation to use it against them. Kismet is worth getting comfortable with though, as she’s a great addition to any team.

4

Axon

Explosive Guitarist

Skills:

• (Q) Electric Guitar – High-power shotgun-guitar, recharges grenades on kill
• (E) Sticky Fingers – Sticky grenade that bounces, can be thrown repeatedly by holding the button
• (T) Super Freak – Immunity to blind, short duration

For players who want some flashy ways to deal damage to opponents, Axon is an obvious pick. His Electric Guitar skill gives him a shotgun-guitar and the ability to slide around while blasting enemies. Backed up with rechargeable grenades, this can be a potent damage-dealing skill.

Players can’t just one-shot enemies with the Electric Guitar though, so making use of Axon’s maneuverability is also a key factor. Axon is a good choice for a damage dealer, but players will need to make sure they’re getting backup from their team to stay alive, as Axon lacks any support abilities of his own to get him out of danger.

3

Serket

Tornado Teleporter

Skills:

• (Q) Station To Station – Become concealed, then teleport to target location, highlights enemies
• (E) Gold Dust Woman – Moving tornado that slows and damages enemies
• (T) Dilemma – Throwable trap that pulls enemies towards it

Serket can be difficult to play effectively, partly because her teleportation ability isn’t quite as useful as players might like. The concealment doesn’t really stop other players from seeing Serket, so the teleportation location, or at least the rough location, can be easy for opponents to predict. With that said, her other abilities provide some adequate disruption and can give enemies something else to focus on if used correctly.

Gold Dust Woman creates a large dust tornado that moves forward and slows opponents who get hit by it. It can also be used to obscure enemy vision, if players are strategic about its use. This combos well with Serket’s other move, Dilemma, as this trap will pull nearby enemies towards it, potentially putting them in the tornado’s path. All of Serket’s moves require proper execution and timing to be effective, making her difficult to master.

2

Corona

Fiery Disruptor

Skills:

• (Q) Fast Lane – Dash forwards a short distance
• (E) Ashes To Ashes – Creates a fiery zone that damages enemies inside, gives damage reduction and movement speed while active
• (T) Hothead – Blinds nearby enemies, activates with a short delay

Corona seems like a straightforward character to play on the surface, but to be used effectively he has to get up close to opponents, which means putting himself in danger a lot. The combination of all three of his moves can be potent, dashing forward, blinding enemies, and dropping Ashes to Ashes, to help mitigate damage and finish them off.

Timing all of those moves and getting into the midst of enemies without taking too much damage can be difficult in practice. Players who get ahead of their team and jump into enemies unprepared will find even their damage reduction won’t stop them from getting shredded. Corona is definitely a strong character, but takes coordination and timing to master.

1

Zephyr

Invisible Assassin

Skills:

• (Q) Midnight Rambler – Become cloaked, shooting breaks cloak, melee attacks don’t
• (E) Fade Away – Creates an area where Midnight Rambler can be used indefinitely, can be disrupted if attacked
• (T) Get Back – Deployable beacon that can be used to teleport out of danger

Zephyr is a strong disruptor and distraction character. She can cloak and slip behind enemy lines, using Midnight Rambler and Fade Away to harass enemy teams with melee attacks from the shadows. If the enemy’s attention turns to Zephyr, she can teleport out of danger and back to her placed beacon with her Get Back ability.

Executing this strategy in a round isn’t easy though. If the enemy team is coordinating and knows where Zephyr is coming from, she can be easily countered. Players who can be patient and use Zephyr to tip fights in their team’s favor can do well with this character, but they might be the most difficult Lancer to fully master.