With the release of Excalibur 2.0 in Waframe, I thought it'd be a good time to start my reviews on them. Also, because I didn't want to review Excalibur 1.0 and then 2.0. I'm lazy.
First of all, the design is really cool. It's minimalistic and iconic, and I like the simpler looks. You know those MMOs where high level players look like a fashion show late term abortion? Hard to do that with Excalibur. Not really much to say about it. He's plastered on everything Warframe, so you can judge yourself, but I give him a 9/10 on looks.
Next up are his abilities. They've been improved, which they needed. His first ability, Slash Dash, targets a cone in front of him and zips to any enemies in that target area, cutting them. It's not the most powerful, but it interrupts any action you're doing to move and attack, so it can potentially save your ass. It can also be used as an extra jump, if you aim upwards. Radial Blind, his second power, blinds enemies in an area, stunning them for a time. Also works on cameras. This opens enemies up for finishing attacks, which can take down heavy units quickly and safely. It can now be used while moving, which is neat. Radial Javelin is now Excalibur's third power. Basically shoots blades outward from Excalibur, pinning enemies to the walls. It's a fairly powerful attack, and any enemies struck by a javelin will be stunned for a short time. Excalibur's final ability is Exalted Blade. He puts away whatever weapon he's using and draws an ethereal blade of light, using a unique set of custom combos and parrying everything attacking from the front, even when you run out of stamina. Every swing of his sword sends out a wave of energy that can pass through enemies and the terrain itself. Exalted Blade benefits from any mods that are on your Melee weapon, so it's best to bring along a Melee weapon. Also, doing a spin attack causes a small Radial Blind for no energy cost. Excalibur's other abilities benefit from Exalted Blade. Pretty much all his abilities can be used, even at endgame. Except maybe Slash Dash, if you know how to move around effectively. I give his abilities a 10/10, mainly for the seamless way they can be used together.
My overall thoughts for Excalibur are that he is an excellent frame... in the right hands. I see a low ranking Excalibur, I just assume they're new players, and will likely have no idea what they are doing. A high ranking Excalibur, on the other hand, could easily destroy large groups of enemies with minimal effort, and will likely steal all the kills in a defense mission. The only negative thing I can think about Excalibur would be that you can only get the parts to him on Pluto, which is nearing endgame, so if you don't pick him as your starting frame and don't have any friends, you won't be using him for a while. I personally like to play as Excalibur, and if I'm not ranking another frame up to max again, I'll usually play as him. I give him an overall 10/10.
Fool!
