Based on a total of 4 hours of playing the new update, and crafting a set of Helicons, here is my updated relic tier list.
Yesterday, I opined the following tier list:
S: Helicon
A: Scorpion, Typhoon, Firebug Flash
B: Nothing
C: Porcupine, Breaker, Jormungandr
D: Mastodon
After playing, I have changed my mind.
S: Helicon
A: Punisher Firebug Flash Mastodon
B: Scorpion, Porcupine
C: Breaker, Jormungandr, Typhoon
In this case, the hover nerf and wheel buff is extremely noticeable. This comes at the expense of range, that is Scorpions and Typhoons. Hovers cannot evade firedogs, and they are low enough that they cannot shake firedogs when they latch on. In addition, Scorps hit less hard than they used to, and Phoons don’t hit hard enough to become relevant.
Punishers are as rotten as ever but cannot evade firedogs like they used to be able to.
Porcs feel great, and my opinion of their demise was premature. They benefit greatly from the lowering of hover height. Mastodons hit like a truck these days. So do Helicons.
Helicons are S tier because of the wide variety of builds they check. They break down big spiders better than any other weapon except quad Porcs, or triple Bugs. They smack dogs hard and they have fast enough bullet speed to have fighting chances against hovers. Flash can’t stop them and they don’t require much for support so you can use them on a wide variety of builds. I used them on a Beholder hover with a Barrier this morning and they killed. You appear, start fighting a spider, drop a barrier, and smack the spider for 3 volleys of 1200+ damage before the barrier lifts. This is crushing.
Helicon isn’t invincible. It doesn’t love Scorpions, punishers and shotguns but it has fighting chances against everything and its hits land for ridiculous amounts of damage.
Edited to add: Ripper: S Tier Levi wars, C Tier Regular clan wars.