How do I not die as Volt in high-leveled content?

[(NSW)FlameDivinity]

I'm speaking of level 100+ and with big, bad, tough enemies such as Nox and Corrupted Heavy Gunner. I've tested in Simulacrum with 20 level 80 Nox's, and while it's easier to dodge and survive in actual missions, I get hit once at those levels and go down, while with Nezha and Wukong, of course I can go as long as I don't get bored. Volt's just so squishy. Any tips on builds, techniques, etc., that don't compromise range, duration, and power strength and don't bring efficiency below 100%? Would Arcanes be the trick? Would they be that effective? I've been avoiding Eidolon hunting like the plague and it isn't in my plans until I get to Surah and craft my plague Zaw, then start and finish Fortuna and build a powerful Kitgun. I'm also planning on probably building an actual amp rather than the basic one before Eidolon hunting, so it's definitely going to be months, unless arcanes are really that powerful. Any tips? Are Arcanes the trick (and I don't mean worth it, I mean would they actually mitigate Volt's squishiness without sacrificing a proper build for his 2 and 4)? Thanks in advance.

[Ascarith]

Some ideas (ignoring Arcanes and Operator, since you've indicated those are for the future):

• Shock is a one-handed ability with 100% status chance, so you can fire it off while you reload (plus it's cheap to cast). It can give you a bit of breathing room (assuming there aren't more enemies around shooting you, and nobody animation cancels their way out of the stun). Keep in mind you can't re-stun an enemy that's already stunned, you need the status proc to wear off first (i.e. you cannot permanently lock down enemies by spamming 1).
• Play around Electric Shield, especially if you have modded for duration. The Electric Shield can't be destroyed by enemy fire (watch out for AOE though, as it can hit you if you're standing close enough) and it boosts your damage and crit multiplier. 
• Quick Thinking can give you more eHP at the cost of eating into your energy. If I recall correctly, Volt Prime has the highest energy pool (tied with some others) among all frames (vanilla Volt...less so), though, so he can probably take the hit. If you'd be one-shot through Quick Thinking, the game will just down you instead of draining all your energy for no benefit.
• Rolling Guard might be worth a try as well. You can't keep it up all the time, but it can give you time to find cover and/or set up some Electric Shields. 
• Even if you don't run Rolling Guard, roll anyways for 75% damage reduction. (I don't mean that you should go all Legend of Zelda and roll everywhere, but if you're in a bad spot, rolling might be good idea). 
• Adaptation can be nice, but this ramps over time and won't help if you're getting one-shot (it probably will help against the Heavy Gunner though). 
• If you really need re-asses the situation, pop into your Operator and hide in void mode for a bit. Volt will be invulnerable (unless Speed is active, in which case I think you'll take 10% damage) while you hide. You can use the time to figure out a game plan and/or Void Dash to reposition. 
• Don't run all of the mods above at the same time, as that's a lot of mod slots. Try them out and probably pick one that works for you.

To address your other question - Arcanes can make you a decent bit tankier, as they can buff your armor, replenish health, and refresh your (WF's) shields (but lol...shields), among other things. I don't think you need to change your plans and chase them down at this very moment though, you can probably manage without them. 

[Lutesque]

If you're playing Solo... you don't... Volt just naturally dies....

If you're in a squad.... let them get Shot at it while you do the objective. 

2 hours ago, (NSW)FlameDivinity said:

Would Arcanes be the trick?

Nope....  shockingly enough even Arcanes don't really help him...

2 hours ago, (NSW)FlameDivinity said:

I've been avoiding Eidolon hunting like the plague and it isn't in my plans until I get to Surah and craft my plague Zaw, then start and finish Fortuna and build a powerful Kitgun.

You don't need anything from The ostrons to hunt.... and while a kitgun would be helpful.... you can just build a lanka and jump right in....

2 hours ago, (NSW)FlameDivinity said:

I'm also planning on probably building an actual amp rather than the basic one before Eidolon hunting

Sadly thats not how it works.... you have to hunt eidolons to build a decent Amp.... which means yor first few hunts will be awful.

2 hours ago, (NSW)FlameDivinity said:

unless arcanes are really that powerful.

Arcanes are a Game Changer.... don't let anyone tell you other wise..... they just won't stop Volt from dying....

2 hours ago, (NSW)FlameDivinity said:

Are Arcanes the trick (and I don't mean worth it, I mean would they actually mitigate Volt's squishiness without sacrificing a proper build for his 2 and 4)? Thanks in advance.

To some degree...  yes.... but first I would try :

1 hour ago, Ascarith said:

Quick Thinking can give you more eHP at the cost of eating into your energy. If I recall correctly, Volt Prime has the highest energy pool (tied with some others) among all frames (vanilla Volt...less so), though, so he can probably take the hit. If you'd be one-shot through Quick Thinking, the game will just down you instead of draining all your energy for no benefit.

Its actually Loki Prime.... atleast I think its loki prime....

In any case at Level 100 that mod does nothing.... waste of a precious slot.

 

[NinjaZeku]

4 hours ago, (NSW)FlameDivinity said:

Any tips on builds, techniques, etc.

FWIW, this is what I'm using (on Volt Prime because yay more Energy / Armor) most of the time:

Corrosive Projection, Vigilante Pursuit
Umbral Vitality & Intensify (R9 both)
Stretch, Overextended
Streamline, Primed Continuity
Augur Secrets, Capacitance
[plus Arcane Grace & Energize, Magus Repair & Lockdown]

High-Range Capacitance just makes everything stop for a bit if not die outright,
all the while protecting the Squad via constantly regen-ing Overshields, neato.
Speed buff is useful but not terribly high so less gripes from other players lol,
Electric Shield lasts a decent while, Shock chaining range is quite delicious.

Energize (also Zenurik Focus and Dethcube with Energy Generator, because yay overkill)
helps spam abilities all over the place, Grace + Vitality gives a nifty safety net when Overshields + CC fails,
Magus Repair is my Operator Arcane of choice to heal anything that got through, including on allies, woo.
(And Lockdown is just so dang good, free CC that affects a lot of stuff, plus scaling damage, yes please.)

For Eidolons, you can toss out Range / Strength / Capacitance and focus more on survival (also maybe Duration / Efficiency),
though good E. Shield placement and well-timed Void Mode usage should keep your damage intake pretty low regardless.

[Ascarith]

8 hours ago, Lutesque said:

Its actually Loki Prime.... atleast I think its loki prime....

Loki Prime has a pool of 175, Volt Prime has a pool of 200. Since then, power creep has seen Saryn Prime, Chroma Prime, Baruuk and Wisp tie Volt Prime for largest base pool. 

[Autongnosis]

Uh? Volt is immortal if placed in the right position. Just bunker down behind your shield. If you need to relocate, use spoiler mode. 

[Xzorn]

As Autongnosis said. Volt cannot die unless you make a mistake however he is very campy in high level situations.

Nox is a slight counter to Volt as if you let Nox charge you cannot stop him. The key is to lock him down or knock him away so he can't charge. Operator Dash is great for this well as Volt's 4th ability if you have at least base Range in your build.  Nox will only charge from short range but he will charge no matter what, even if you knock him down. It's very silly to watch him to butt slide at you in fact. Volt's 1st ability and most CC base status effects are unreliable. Nox can be a handful for Volt.

Volt is about locking down the area, moving to a location then setting up camp again before moving again. Technically this can actually be done with just your Operator and Void Dash while Volt himself doesn't need to move hence in a lot of situations Volt doesn't need Power Range at all, esp Solo.

If you want true scaling potential out of Volt you have to invest heavily in his Electric Shield. The augment Transistor Shield is amazing for many different weapons allowing him to do some beastly damage output. Capacitance doesn't scale. It's a wasted slot later in levels. Shock Trooper can be useful for Groups by adding damage and Corrosive proc weight. Shocking Speed is mostly for speed running low level stuff. Outside that your weapon choices can also make it easier to keep enemies at bay.

The last endurance video I made was actually Volt. You can see how I mostly use the Operator to move and to pull Life Support. Void Dash to knock enemies away from his Shield and a weapon with a lil CC + Zenistar to further prevent enemies from getting too close. This is actually a pre-beam weapon buff Amprex. He's even more ridiculous with beam weapons now thanks to Transistor Shield.

 

[Lutesque]

4 hours ago, Ascarith said:

Loki Prime has a pool of 175, Volt Prime has a pool of 200. Since then, power creep has seen Saryn Prime, Chroma Prime, Baruuk and Wisp tie Volt Prime for largest base pool. 

You're right.... although theres nothing particularly powerful about having More energy....

[(XBOX)zThulsaDoomz]

6 hours ago, Autongnosis said:

Uh? Volt is immortal if placed in the right position. Just bunker down behind your shield. If you need to relocate, use spoiler mode. 

Exactly.  It's quite disturbing how many people forget he has an everything-proof shield.  

[Lutesque]

4 hours ago, (XB1)Thy Divinity said:

Exactly.  It's quite disturbing how many people forget he has an everything-proof shield.  

Except its not a everything proof shield.... and more importantly nobody wants to squat in a Corner somewhere and shoot from behind it.... thats the most boring way to play volt....

Nobody forgot.... they just don't lile doing that. ...

[(XBOX)zThulsaDoomz]

1 minute ago, Lutesque said:

Except its not a everything proof shield.... and more importantly nobody wants to squat in a Corner somewhere and shoot from behind it.... thats the most boring way to play volt....

Nobody forgot.... they just don't lile doing that. ...

Well, then it comes down to choices:

Do I want to die?

Or do I want to live?

Edited July 21, 2019 by (XB1)Thy Divinity

[taiiat]

it seems like Ascarith already said pretty much everything i was going to say, so i can only mention agreement.

6 hours ago, Lutesque said:

You're right.... although theres nothing particularly powerful about having More energy....

sometimes i wonder why you even post in Threads where people are asking for help.

[Lutesque]

2 minutes ago, (XB1)Thy Divinity said:

Well, then it comes down to choices:

Do I want to die?

Or do I want to live?

Change Frames.... its that simple.....

1 minute ago, taiiat said:

sometimes i wonder why you even post in Threads where people are asking for help.

I never said having more energy was a bad thing but its the absolute furthest thing from Power creep.... fact is you can Sacrifice Flow on many Builds to make them alot more lethal.... 

Energy Regen/Effeciency is power creep.... Energy Capacity is just nice to have.... theres a reason why they Cap your max efficiency at 175 and why Parasite Exumus Enemies exist but why even regular Flow gives you a lot of Capacity. Because it means nothing if you can't restore it. And you can apply the same Concept to Health....

[Ascarith]

6 minutes ago, Lutesque said:

Change Frames.... its that simple.....

Ignoring the basic premise of the request generally does not help the person making the request. Try to work with the OP here.

6 minutes ago, Lutesque said:

Energy Regen/Effeciency is power creep.... Energy Capacity is just nice to have.... theres a reason why they Cap your max efficiency at 175 and why Parasite Exumus Enemies exist but why even regular Flow gives you a lot of Capacity. Because it means nothing if you can't restore it. And you can apply the same Concept to Health....

I think what you meant to say is that Energy Regen/Efficient is powerful. Outside of outliers like Hildryn, every frame has the same base Regen (i.e. none) and the same base Efficiency (100%). Hard to say there's really and power creep going on here, in terms of the Warframes themselves. 

A bigger pool is almost always better than a smaller pool, even if you don't think the pool itself is important. Nowadays, even non-Prime frames have 200 base energy pool. You might not view it as significant power creep, but it's still power creep. 

 

As a final note - Please try to be cognizant of when you're being loose with your terminology, particularly when you're posting in Players helping Players. This is a place for players to learn about the game, so using terms/names accurately will help people follow along and not get lost. Not everyone is going to know that "Parasite Exumus Enemies" means "Energy Leech Eximus," particularly because even if someone gets "Parasite = Leech," Leech Eximus are also a thing. 

[Lutesque]

2 minutes ago, Ascarith said:

Ignoring the basic premise of the request generally does not help the person making the request. Try to work with the OP here.

I get that.... Volt is one of my Favourite Frames.... but Its just not fun getting killed over and over again... 

And DE isn't going to fix this anytime soon it seems....

5 minutes ago, Ascarith said:

I think what you meant to say is that Energy Regen/Efficient is powerful. Outside of outliers like Hildryn, every frame has the same base Regen (i.e. none) and the same base Efficiency (100%). Hard to say there's really and power creep going on here, in terms of the Warframes themselves. 

Im pretty sure thats what I said....

6 minutes ago, Ascarith said:

 

A bigger pool is almost always better than a smaller pool, even if you don't think the pool itself is important. Nowadays, even non-Prime frames have 200 base energy pool. You might not view it as significant power creep, but it's still power creep. 

Thats why I grinded hard for Volt Prime.... but even my Regular Volt didn't use Flow.... there's just not enough Slots, even after 6 Polarities and an Exilus Adapter. 

Its not Power creep even in the slightest... if it was Primed Flow wouldn't exist.... 

Thats just something I use for Energy reduction Sorties..... beyond that theres always a better mod out there... theres just not enough Slots. Except for frames like ivara.... have to have Flow On Her...

[CephalonDizzy]

58 minutes ago, taiiat said:

sometimes i wonder why you even post in Threads where people are asking for help.

Predatory motives, specifically targets these types of threads in hopes of sabotaging new players.

Simple as that.

[Ascarith]

16 minutes ago, Lutesque said:

I get that....

Your posts don't exactly back that up. If you "got it," you wouldn't have told the OP to use a different frame in the first place...

21 minutes ago, Lutesque said:

Im pretty sure thats what I said....

It is literally not what you explicitly typed. This seems to be a recurring issue with a lot of your posts: What you think you said is generally not what you actually wrote. 

You literally said "Energy Regen/Effeciency is power creep," which is a very different statement from what I think you meant, which is "Energy Regen/Efficiency is powerful."

Since "power creep" and "powerful" are not different names for the same thing, you need to actually explain how they are synonymous in this context. They can overlap, but you need to explain how you are using those terms. Moreover, if you're going to alter the context of what you're replying to (as I suspect you have in this case), you need to point that out as well. Otherwise, the reader isn't going to understand what you wrote to mean what you intended.

 

[(XBOX)D00M INCARNATE]

Capacitance augment is a good way to get fast shields+overshields, with some stun lock to boot.

Use health mods, not shield mods.

Your 3rd ability is indestructible and doesn't cost a lot to upkeep. As long as you're sitting still it makes for a nice safe zone. Fun tactic against big enemies, fill a room with cross hatched shields and even enemies like wolf and stalker can't touch you.

If you're not sitting still, speed is your best defense (2nd ability) as with any squishy frame.

If you want to invest in some relatively cheap arcanes, grab 2x r3 arcane guardian for 1200 armor (at least I think they stack).

Also, if you have max quill (or buy them off another player), get 2x r3 magus elevate for easy healing. Good synergy with health mods.

Edited July 21, 2019 by (XB1)D00M INCARNATE

[(XBOX)D00M INCARNATE]

8 hours ago, Lutesque said:

You're right.... although theres nothing particularly powerful about having More energy....

I don't know why you're getting *laugh reactions...you're 100% right.

Quick thinking is a nice low level crutch. But at higher levels, when you get hit hard enough to eat into your energy, you're going to die anyways. Not to mention you get staggered for every hit you take to your energy.

As long as your build is well made, you shouldn't run out of energy anyways, which is not due to a high energy pool it's due to good efficiency and energy restoration mods/arcanes/focus/auras.

[hendrix923]

You seem to have a grasp at what ur doing with Volt. But I can say it helps to invest and get used to going into operator mode. Their void dash will throw/toss/push/kill enemies pretty far distances and will save ur frame from taking damage and open lanes for ur escape. Maybe work on some focus trees. I use Zenurik and Madurai mostly and I find them really powerful. When u hear ur shield go down it’s time to roll immediately or go into operator and get out of danger. The focus trees are also really useful for Eidolons too as u can unbind some skills. Good luck. 

[taiiat]

3 hours ago, Lutesque said:

fact is you can Sacrifice Flow on many Builds to make them alot more lethal

actually that's generally the exact opposite.

Primed Flow is some sweet powercreep in that it can be used to replace Efficiency Mods to get more Mod Slots. with the endurance Veteran favorite of Primed Flow + Energize, you can throw Efficiency away and get free Stats and get free Mod Slots too.

THAT is definitely making your Loadouts more lethal. by getting more of everything for free.

[Aldain]

Generally what everyone here is saying.

Also one more thing.

DODGE! DODGE LIKE CRAZY! DODGE TILL THE COWS COME HOME!

[taiiat]

46 minutes ago, Lutesque said:

So not only Are you now hemoraging Energy like Crazy but you're build counts on luck to function.... 

Energize triggers plenty often enough. Energy Orbs are in no real shortage. and your Energy Pool is XL sized so that if a few don't trigger here and there that it won't matter.

[LascarCapable]

My main way of survival back when I was playing Volt was abusing electric shield and running a Quick Thinking build (use Volt Prime, not regular Volt. Regular Volt has too few energy). It wasn't that effective but if I was playing smart and not solo it could do the trick. Today, surviving is easier thanks to arcanes. A Quick Thinking build is still involved.

Equip the following mods as a base :

• Quick Thinking
• Primed Flow
• Pain Treshold (necessary to not suffer too much from stuns once QT kicks in.

Then you can go with two routes. 100% Electric Shield carry uptime or basic double Guardian.

• 100% Shield carry mode :
  • double arcane energize.
• Double Guardian mode :
  • double arcane guardian.
  • Capacitance.

You may also want a way to heal yourself, as well as a way to get your energy back. I heard Sahasa Kubrow can do that very well.

Credits to @Sreza for the info.

[(PSN)lil_op_18]

In survivals for example, volt is able to sustain itself pretty well imo. Its pretty much Strats and good equipment.

Try this: 

·     Run a build with range (for his 4 or 1), duration (for his 3) and incorporate mods like capacitance, adaptation, quick thinking, primed flow. Arcanes like arcane energize, or guardian can be helpful.

·     In mission, find a choke point, cover all vulnerable/open sides with his 3 and try your best to maintain electric shield.

·     When you see enemies that rush you (eg. Nox, ospreys, moa etc) be quick to stop them with his 1 or 4. (Better with his 4 as capacitance can provide shields.) If his 4 is too slow for you, use his 1 or sacrifice a mod slot for natural talent.

·     Use a powerful beam weapon (amprex is bae imo) to stop nully bois and run a build according to the enemy type you're fighting.

I guess that's it. Hope it helps 

[(PSN)Sreza]

This is my general all-purpose volt for high levels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8OX0FXDvfk
build is: 
hidden mods are prime continuity and augur message
streamline is optional, but nice insurance for early mission before energize starts stacking up energy
if lacking arcanes, replace augur message with rage/adrenaline and play melee for the blocking until energy builds up
diggy doggo is quite nice for generating extra energy orbs
you'll want some method of regenerating hp: winds of purity, life strike, healing return, etc.
you could replace vitality and cunning drift with quick thinking and pain threshold to take advantage of the QT pseudo-damage reduction
if you have energize, you could run the QT build and ignore health entirely

the key to surviving as high end volt is to take advantage of the strong crowd control potential of volt 4, note 4's listed radius of 32m on that build is the initial field that captures enemies, then the 12.8m "effect radius" is how far captured enemies will shock cripple other enemies, extending the full range of the power to around 40m-ish

volt 3 is also extremely useful, both for protection against ranged attacks, and for its massive bonus to crit damage

use volt 3 to protect yourself when casting volt 4, and volt 4 to protect yourself when recasting volt 3

Edited July 21, 2019 by (PS4)Sreza