Talk:Excalibur Prime/@comment-72.73.79.69-20130403202256

If this is fully accurate, then I'd actually have to argue the Prime is a WORSE frame than the standard Excalibur.

Before the flame-carts start, let me explain. The standard Excalibur has one V slot and one D slot, and the basic 4 = slots, plus 4 blank slots. The Prime gets one of the blanks "upgraded" to a V. The thing is, there are only 2 Frame mods that have a V polarity - Continuity and Focus. While I can see using Focus to boost the damage of the Slash Dash or Radial Javelins, Continuity can ONLY affect Radial Blind - and if you rank it up twice, which is not hard to do, it already lasts quite a long time.

Further, one of the strengths of the Excalibur frame is as a "mini" tank - not as tough as a Rhino or Frost, but still tougher than the "caster" frames, and Slash Dash can get you right into the middle of a mob to deploy either Radial talent immediately afterward. Of course, this means using Flow for extra energy capacity, Vitality for extra HP, Redirection for extra shields, Steel Fiber for extra armor, and Fast Deflection for faster shield recharge - those are all D or - polarities. In an Excalibur Prime, one of those mods will have to be put into a V slot....which adds 33% to the slotting consumption. Assuming maxed mods, Fast Deflection and Flow would be the lowest-hit, jumping from a 9 level to a 12. Steel Fiber and Redirection would be the high end, going from 14 to a whopping 19 (since everything rounds up). And yes, I know, capping-out EVERY mod is neither the wisest nor most efficient method - but it does give an illustration of the basic problem: you're not gonna slot Continuity just to make Radial Blind last 3 seconds longer, so the Prime effectively has anywhere from 1 to 5 power less than a "standard" Excalibur.