A Good Dragon Nikana Build?

[Pearlkryer]

Hello there, I recently got into warframe again (about 3 weeks ago or so) and got hyped for U13.

Now that the damage system is different from when I played, I don't really know which mods are the best.

 

Do you have a good Dragon Nikana build? (btw I got 2 V polarities)

[CadenFall]

You got the Dragon Nikana in 3 weeks of starting the game? Nice

[Sedant]

Slashing damage + channeling damage + channeling efficiency plus an elemental combo involving Focus Energy + Life Strike. I use this on my immortal Zephyr build and nothing can touch me! NOTHING!

[taiiat]

it's a Weapon. Damage is a good starting point.

 

change your Elementals (or Bane/Expel/Smite Mods if you are okay with swapping them depending on faction you're fighting) to suit the Enemies your fighting for extra Damage if you feel you need it.

 

but adding a bunch of Damage Mods will pretty much suffice just like any Weapon.

[Angius]

For no-channeling build I'm using this: http://goo.gl/iGMCYw

[Bryy]

You got the Dragon Nikana in 3 weeks of starting the game? Nice

-Clearly you didn't read his post correctly.

-"I recently got into warframe again (about 3 weeks ago or so)"

[Pearlkryer]

You got the Dragon Nikana in 3 weeks of starting the game? Nice

 

Um...what? I started playing about 1 Year ago. I just stopped playing for a while when U9 came out or so and came back at U12.

[Shreiko]

You got the Dragon Nikana in 3 weeks of starting the game? Nice

It is possible but thats not what happened. Aside from the fact that he implied he used to play before stopped and picked up again recently he is a founder. Theregore he was clearly playing before the program ended which was over 3 weeks ago.

[Jordio99]

Void/infested build: http://goo.gl/AmRvVf

Grineer: http://goo.gl/Pmphqs

Corpus: http://goo.gl/xMtqqr

I have channeling damage on all these builds, but I heard that it's better to have 3 elements + channeling. Haven't updated these builds since my Dragon Nikana isn't level 30 yet so I don't know how well this performs. I'm taking my time leveling it :P

[CadenFall]

-Clearly you didn't read his post correctly.

-"I recently got into warframe again (about 3 weeks ago or so)"

Oops, that's what I get for playing warfram and reading the forums at the same time.

[Pearlkryer]

This is my build:

 

 

(I didnt know there was a online builder. I will use that next time)

Edited April 16, 2014 by Pearlkryer

[GhostUnitVII]

i have -40% channeling due to the warriors grip mod, which works really really good. I still manage to do about 5-9k damage to mobs with radiation damage (extremely effective against Grineer)

[Pearlkryer]

 

Void/infested build: http://goo.gl/AmRvVf

Grineer: http://goo.gl/Pmphqs

Corpus: http://goo.gl/xMtqqr

I have channeling damage on all these builds, but I heard that it's better to have 3 elements + channeling. Haven't updated these builds since my Dragon Nikana isn't level 30 yet so I don't know how well this performs. I'm taking my time leveling it :P

 

 

Are those cicero mods? Never got them. So that build isnt going to work for me, but thanks anyway. :)

Maybe I'll get a hand on those someday.

[Jordio99]

Are those cicero mods? Never got them. So that build isnt going to work for me, but thanks anyway. :)

Maybe I'll get a hand on those someday.

Oh yeah I used a few event mods :P You can edit that build from that website and see if you can get a better DPS without the event mods, I would like to see it f you did :3

 

Edit: I also compared your build you posted before (http://goo.gl/wXivjZ) with my one (http://goo.gl/AmRvVf). I have a greater DPS by 515.04. Even though you can't use the event mods, I'm sure you can get a better build. For example, replacing true steel (since it still won't even have a 1/4 chance to crit) with a maxed shocking touch would increase it a lot. That would make mine only a little better than yours.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Jordio99

[The3doM]

my current dps build for grineer/void:

http://warframe-builder.com/Melee_Weapons/Builder/Dragon_nikana/t_30_240000002_226-7-5-234-6-3-240-4-3-241-3-5-243-5-3-245-2-5-247-0-5-254-1-5-306-8-3_247-5-254-6-245-11-241-11-240-7-243-9-234-9-226-9-306-10/en/4-0-53/2757/0

[Pearlkryer]

Oh yeah I used a few event mods :P You can edit that build from that website and see if you can get a better DPS without the event mods, I would like to see it f you did :3

 

http://goo.gl/D1ocND Here it is.

 

Well it's quite similiar, difference is just when I land a critical hit I get a little higher att. speed (+0.1) and yea thats when I do more DPS than your build. I got less corrosive damage and channel efficiency though.

[Pearlkryer]

my current dps build for grineer/void:

http://warframe-builder.com/Melee_Weapons/Builder/Dragon_nikana/t_30_240000002_226-7-5-234-6-3-240-4-3-241-3-5-243-5-3-245-2-5-247-0-5-254-1-5-306-8-3_247-5-254-6-245-11-241-11-240-7-243-9-234-9-226-9-306-10/en/4-0-53/2757/0

 

Seems like elemental mods are boosting spin, leap and wall attacks extremely.

 

Edit: Sorry for double post. c:

Edited April 16, 2014 by Pearlkryer

[Tulzscha]

Moved to the proper section.

[UncaIroh]

Yeah, someone posted that stacking pressure point + elemental mods is still much better than stacking damage channel mods.

Edited April 17, 2014 by TonyWong

[Dragazer]

Here's mine for grineer. http://goo.gl/RRYGh3 only channelling mod worth using is Killing Blow for damage.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Dragazer

[Sir_Alex_Traffo]

Yeah, someone posted that stacking pressure point + elemental mods is still much better than stacking damage channel mods.

Do you remember why? I'm using a channeling focused build and I find it quite good, so I'd like to know if a different but still channeling build can do higher damage.

 

This is my current one: http://warframe-builder.com/Melee_Weapons/Builder/Dragon_nikana/t_30_240000002_227-6-5-228-4-5-230-2-3-234-3-3-236-0-5-243-5-3-247-7-5-254-1-5-306-8-3_236-6-254-6-230-7-234-9-228-7-243-9-227-7-247-9-306-10/en/4-0-53/0

[Chamundi]

i would say best mix speed and high damage. so berzerker and fury are a must. as well as using rending strike. rest is a mix of pressure point and any elementals you want to mix up for each faction. personally the speed helps make up for a loss in elemental damage. whats the point in making someting swing slow and heavy when it was originally designed even in real life a katana is made to be swung fast.the faster the better plus range. 

 

grineer build now you can swap out spoiled strike for smite grineer just so you can chop faster but must be maxed out. all these mods must be maxed out

 

http://goo.gl/hIFjow

 

corpus build same as above swap out spoiled strike for smite corpus. personally i love spoiled strike so i dont use the smite a faction mods 

 

http://goo.gl/Cm876N

 

infested/void same rule as above.although some prefer using Focused Energy and Virulent Scourge this is my build.no formas just rank 30 nothing special.

 

http://goo.gl/9Xfuqb

[Darzk]

i would say best mix speed and high damage. so berzerker and fury are a must. as well as using rending strike.

 

I love using both Zerker and Fury on this weapon, but I'm pretty sure Rending Strike is terrible. Even Jagged edge is kinda meh, because while it may add more % damage than other options, it adds slash damage, which is highly mitigated by armor.

[RS = +80% of 10%, +60% of 85%, = +59% dmg]

[JE = +90% of 85% = 76.5% dmg]

 

True Steel can be dropped in if you have the space, to keep Zerker stacks up.

 

Do you remember why? I'm using a channeling focused build and I find it quite good, so I'd like to know if a different but still channeling build can do higher damage.

 

First off, Corrupt Charge should never be used. It adds 2 energy cost to every enemy hit, and only increases damage by 23.8%. 

 

Next, a Channel Build gains a TINY bit of damage when channeling, but has DRASTICALLY less damage when not. As a result, you have to constantly channel attacks, or you'd be much better off with a non-channel build. With the exception of a few synergetic frames/team compositions, generally this requires the use of either Reflex Coil or Life Strike (/w Rage on the Frame and little-no shields) which takes up another slot, reducing damage by as much as 32%.

 

A Channeling Build using RC or LS will actually deal less average damage per strike (while channeling) than a build that doesn't build for channeling. The difference is the energy sustainability.

 

IIRC, a non-channel build (no rc/ls) generally deals ~70% more damage when not channeling and 21.5% more damage when channeling. The difference is that a channel build is able to sustain channeling, and it deals 23.5% more damage as compared to a non-channel build not channeling.

 

You need to channel at least 4 of 5 strikes to see any damage increase (~10%) over simply not channeling attacks, and it would cost you up to 20 energy to gain that 10% damage. To me, thats utterly not worth it.

 

Whew. Still following? Moving on.

 

The next issues are more related to the mechanic than the actual damage numbers.

 

First, the channel modifier is ADDED to the combo modifier. This means that +channel damage mods become less and less powerful as you get to a higher combo multiplier. We already ditched Corrupt Charge, so lets take a look at Killing Blow.

 

KB adds 120% to channel damage. This changes it from a +50% dmg to a +110% dmg modifier. This is a damage increase of (210%/150%=140%)= 40%. So with no combo modifier, KB is worth 40% damage increase over an empty slot, or 7.7% damage increase over Smite XXX (140%/130%). 

 

Now we look at the situation with 1.5x combo multiplier. While channeling, we're now doing (100%+50%+110%) 260% damage, as opposed to a build without KB doing only (100%+50%+50%) 200%. This is a damage increase of only 30%, compared to the 40% we had previously. So now Killing Blow is worth exactly as much as a Smite Mod.

 

By the time we get to a 2x combo multiplier, KB is worse than a Smite Mod. Now we're doing (100+100+110%)= 310% instead of (100+100+50%)=250%, an increase of only 24%, far less than the damage gained by Smite, and even less than most elemental increases.

 

The second mechanic to consider is that not all melee attacks are equal. Selectively choosing to channel for heavy strikes in a combo (or slide attacks, executes etc) is a FAR more efficient way to manage energy:damage gained by channeling. Remember, that non-channel build actually has higher channel attack damage! It's just less efficient. So if we channel only heavy attacks (only an option when using a non-channel build) we can more than gain back that 10% less damage and still spend less energy.

 

The final mechanic issue is control. A Channel build REQUIRES EVERY ATTACK BE CHANNELED or it does less DPS than non-channel builds. Maybe 1/10, as much as 1/5 strikes can not be channeled, but its essentially every single strike. This means that you have no control over how much energy you have to spend; its determined by your enemies. If you swing into a group of 5 stacked up enemies, you could suffer a drastic reduction of energy without planning it and potentially limiting your options for what you do next, in terms of ability use. If you run out of energy, you're dealing a LOT (70%) less DPS than if you didn't bring a channel built weapon.

 

 

Okay, that turned into a massive wall of text. Obligitory TLDR:

 

TLDR

Never use Corrupt Charge. It adds 23.8% damage, about the same as a 60% elemental (far less than Smite or a 90%), but increases channel cost by 2 energy.

Channeling modifier stacks with combo multiplier, by 2.0 Killing Blow is less damage than Smite or elementals. Thus, don't channel with fast weapons.

A Channel build generally requires Reflex Coil or Life Strike to maintain energy generation. This extra slot lost means it does less damage than a non-channel build.

A Channel Build is viable only if you can maintain energy generation to channel every strike without the use of RC or LS (or if you're planning on using LS on the comparative non-channel build). Thus, a Channel Build can work under that specific situation (but again only on a slow weapon due to combo multiplier stacking)

[Darzk]

This is my current one: http://warframe-builder.com/Melee_Weapons/Builder/Dragon_nikana/t_30_240000002_227-6-5-228-4-5-230-2-3-234-3-3-236-0-5-243-5-3-247-7-5-254-1-5-306-8-3_236-6-254-6-230-7-234-9-228-7-243-9-227-7-247-9-306-10/en/4-0-53/0

 

For example, compare your build to something like http://goo.gl/AE5bvw

While channeling, you average 1990 damage per swing. This build above averages 1573.5, but doesn't cost any energy (-20% dmg but free). It also attacks a little faster, so its actually only 13% less DPS. When channeling (for a large hit for example) the build above deals 2360 damage, 18.6% more than yours (30% more DPS b.c of faster swings).

 

In addition, the elemental spread is much better. For example, against a Tech, your build hits for (25.4+50.3+1486.225+1175.545) =2737.47 damage, while mine hits for (18.5+20.3+821.475+854.945+549.6) =2264.82. Now you're only getting 9% more DPS for your 2 energy cost per swing, and when I channel I'm getting 36.5% more DPS!

 

 

 

If you did want to channel every attack, I would build like this: http://goo.gl/vGfRJ3

Gives you ~13% more DPS and half the energy cost and now you're much more competitive with a non-channel build.

 

Channeling every strike, you have 29.5% increased DPS, for a single energy cost per strike. I can get behind that. The non-channel build still has the better damage on a channeled attack, but only by 16% now.

 

This build still wouldn't compete on a faster weapon, but it's pretty good on the DNikana as you wont often get above the 2x combo modifier. Pretty sure a non-channel build using Zerker instead of Jagged Edge will come out on top, but it'll attack much weaker but faster and it's nearly impossible to compare.

 

 

 

Finally, if you are willing to ignore energy cost, the best combo is KB without Reflex Coil. http://goo.gl/drpD1M will hit for 2650 on channeled attacks, but costs 5 energy per strike. If you can maintain that (etc with energy regen from abilities/frame mods/consumables) you'll do considerably more DPS. Still does 20% less damage when not Channeling so it's important to be able to keep up with the energy costs.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Darzk

[MegpoidBeetle]

Here's mine

 

Stance; Tranquil Cleave (+10)

V slot: Killing Blow (6)

D slot: Northern Wind (6)

Virulent Scourge (7) (or Fever Strike [11])

Focus Energy (9)

Molten Impact (11)

Pressure Point (9)

Fury (9)

Spoiled Strike (7)

 

Even without channeling you'd easily kill mid-tier to high-tier enemies with the slide attack.

[Arenzo4]

http://goo.gl/MK3EIo
for corpus


switch bane/elemental based on faction