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Skylanders: Swap Force - Horn Blast Whirlwind
Score: 95%
Developer: Activision
Device Type: Accessory
Compatible With:


Stats:

Horn Blast Whirlwind
Element:Air
Health:270
Speed:50
Armor:18
Critical Hit:10
Elemental Power:25

Attacks:

Much like Prism Break, Horn Blast Whirlwind requires a certain level of tactics to fully appreciate the true strength of the character. The Tempest Cloud attack may seem a bit wimpy, at first, and is a bit difficult to properly place, since it moves a bit before settling to a stop, but this attack serves as a duration-based area of effect attack, making it an especially powerful attack to use against enemies that don't move around a whole lot, but have a shield that protects them during certain times. Slide one of these clouds over to them, and it will hurt them when their shield lets up. I've used a cloud to attack an enemy in this fashion before their shield deactivates and had it last long enough to hurt them (and finish them off) the second time the shield lowered again. Pretty nice.

The Tempest Cloud attack can be made more effective by keeping Horn Blast Whirlwind moving in a circular path, such that you keep the Tempest Clouds in between you and your enemies. As your enemies run toward you, they won't even attempt to avoid the clouds and will take damage as they pass through them.

Again, like Prism Break, you can pair two of your attacks together to greater effect, but unlike when using Prism Break, you won't have to play around with geometry. Horn Blast Whirlwind's Rainbow Chain upgrade and Duel Rainbows upgrade increase the number of rainbows attacking your enemies, but without the careful geometric lining up that Prism Break requires; just kinda aim in the right direction and the rainbows assist your aim a bit to hit targets.


Soul Gem Ability:

Quite possibly the most unique aspect of Horn Blast Whirlwind is her Soul Gem Ability: Rainbows of Healing. Food items in the game will replace your health and there is the Healing Elixir magic item, but as far as I know, no other character even has the option of getting the ability to heal others. Since this is not the first appearance of Whirlwind, her Soul Gem Ability is available for purchase without searching for the Soul Gem. It costs 4000g to unlock. Without this ability, Horn Blast Whirlwind would probably get a score closer to 85 or so, but Whirlwind is the only Skylander with this ability, so anyone who might play a two player co-op game should have a Whirlwind in their arsenal, and Horn Blast is pretty cute...


Upgrade Paths:

The upgrade path decision for Horn Blast Whirlwind may be the easiest one you ever make. By the time you get to the point of making this decision, you probably know whether you're a fan of combining the Rainbow of Doom attack with the Tempest Cloud attack or not. If you enjoy tactically combining these two attacks, then you'll want to choose the Tempest Dragon upgrade path, as this further increases the effectiveness of the synergy of these two attacks. If you don't like having to try to place tempest clouds and then shoot into them just right to chain your rainbow attacks, the Ultimate Rainbower simply powers up your Rainbow attacks, allowing for a lot of destructive power without all the fuss. I'm not personally saying either path is better, but it should be easy for any given player to choose their favorite one. However, while you do have to choose a path and you can only use one at any given time, you can change your mind and switch to the other path in the upgrade chamber as often as you like. Any abilities that you've unlocked on the other path will not be available until you switch back, but they'll wait there for you, in case you change your mind again.

Features:
  • Series 3
  • Compatible with:
    • Skylanders: Swap Force
    • Skylanders: Giants
    • Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

Comments:

Horn Blast Whirlwind is a cute character: a young Air dragon of Unicorn ancestry. This character is likely to appeal to the younger set - especially those who like rainbows and unicorns. However, her base speed feels a bit sluggish and her big wings flap around a bit, making her feel more than a little awkward. Because of this, I would suggest picking up her Dragon Flight upgrade (900g) first, to allow her to move around a bit quicker. Also, consider hats or other modifiers to up her speed - and equip those as soon as possible. Horn Blast Whirlwind's flight ability is faster than when she's just flopping around, but her turning radius is ridiculous and you can't quickly reverse direction when flying, so it doesn't work very well in close quarters.

As mentioned above, Horn Blast Whirlwind can appeal to those who like a bit more complexity / sophistication in their attacks, via the ability to chain Rainbows via the Tempest Clouds, but also can appeal to those who just want to button spam their way through. Take your pick - there's an upgrade path for that.

There are more forgiving characters for noobs and small children, but if you increase Horn Blast Whirlwind's speed a bit, she's reasonably easy to work with. Best advice for a small child (or really anyone) playing Horn Blast Whirlwind is to keep moving. Since she's not very fast, you want to keep on the move so your enemies can't surround you. If you can keep them bumbling along behind you, you can quickly turn toward them, fire off a Tempest Cloud or three and then keep running away, letting them run smack into your Tempest Clouds and, effectively, take themselves out.


-Geck0, GameVortex Communications
AKA Robert Perkins

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