Question Regarding Valkyr And Melee 2.0

[Kealani]

returning player here I haven't played since before the release of Nova. After trying the new melee system I'm now interested in getting valkyr or nova. Is Valkyr any good at the higher levels and is the new melee for that matter or should I make nova? I can currenly make either one right now.

[Omega224]

valkyr is viable at higher levels of gameplay but she is similar to ash in the regard that her powers work for herself not the team so your gonna need to bring some decent weapons she is very much not a press 4 to win frame like nova is and that's why I enjoy playing her more

[Darzk]

Valkyr is quite fun to use with Melee 2.0, especially with the new Life Strike mod, which lets you regain health when making channeled attacks, removing the need to use Hysteria to heal.

 

However, Hysteria was nerfed pretty hard, although its not in the patch notes so it's likely a bug. It's been persistent for a few patches now without DE saying anything about it.

 

I'm having fun with a Warcry/PS/Duration build with Vital and SF, some good 7k ehp after armor and Life Strike being a viable way to keep health up.

 

Agreed with ^, its an effective frame for personal survival and damage output, but doesn't help out teammates as much. Although the melee attack speed buff can be very useful to other teammates using melee attacks.

[Omega224]

actually it isn't a bug with hysteria it is acting like it always has just in the new system of melee its lackluster the melee weapons gain damage with successive blows and since hysteria draws its attack strength based on your equipped melee it should rise in power as well but hysteria counts as quick melee strikes and thusly does not gain a hit multiplier like all other equipped melee attacks

[Darzk]

I was told (have not tested myself) that it is no longer affected by power strength or +melee damage% mods.

[izzatuw]

valkyr is viable at higher levels of gameplay but she is similar to ash in the regard that her powers work for herself not the team so your gonna need to bring some decent weapons she is very much not a press 4 to win frame like nova is and that's why I enjoy playing her more

Warcry.

[Darzk]

Warcry.

Which only helps teammates who are

a) using melee attacks

b) using melee as mobility

c) health tanking

 

all of which is more rare than not.

 

It may also help Frost's Snowglobe, havent tested that, If it does it'd add ~2285 health to the globe, so a significant contribution.

[izzatuw]

Which only helps teammates who are

a) using melee attacks

b) using melee as mobility

c) health tanking

 

all of which is more rare than not.

 

It may also help Frost's Snowglobe, havent tested that, If it does it'd add ~2285 health to the globe, so a significant contribution.

Still a team ability. One more than Ash has.

[Kealani]

So then if I go with Valkyr, I basically should ignore Hysteria?

 

What about Nova? Can she fare well in melee or is she better used as a ranged caster?

 

Also unrelated question, just learned we can sell mods now, which mods to people generally buy and for how much?

Edited May 12, 2014 by Kealani

[Darzk]

Nova's too squishy to effectively melee, although I could see a Flow/Rage/Vital+Vigor+Quick Thinking build being semi-viable, but its using so many mods it sorta defeats the purpose as other abilities would be crappy in comparison to other builds.

 

For mods, I would look through the trading post (https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/forum/180-trading-post/) to get an idea on prices, but generally rare mods like rare thrown mods, sanctuary/guardian for sentinels, contagious spread for shotguns, some of the rarer stances, etc, sell well, but are hard to farm. Corrupted mods from Derilect Vaults are easier to farm, and generally sell well as most people require multiple copies and its just enough of a pain to farm that they prefer buying them.

[(NSW)The_Madrigal]

Usually people are after Corrupted mods, Fleeting Expertise and Narrow Minded being the most sought after. Stance are also in high demand, particularly Stalking Fan, Crimson Dervish and Gleaming Talon. Those are very rare stances for scythes, swords and glaives respectively

[Kealani]

All right, so if I want melee then Valkyr is the way to go then? Thank you.

 

Thanks for the info everyone.

[ExplodingStars]

All right, so if I want melee then Valkyr is the way to go then? Thank you.

 

Thanks for the info everyone.

Valkyr isn't bad but personally I would pick a Loki over her. 

[Sloan441]

Valkyr is a lot of fun even with the present lame hoverpunch hysteria.

 

She doesn't bring many buffs to the table for teammates, but her presence alone is enough to help out quite a bit on more difficult game modes like defense and survival.

 

She's essentially a melee character. Built correctly (as she now stands), you'll be spending a lot of time in melee. Consequently, she's optimal when facing infested, but does well against anyone (aside from chasing ospreys like a cat batting at a suspended string).

 

She needs a corrupted build. Without it, she's going to underperform and be distinctly unfun to deal with. You need to get efficiency high, hopefully without losing too much range (assuming you want a functional ripline). Duration is secondary, but you'll want a significant uptime with hysteria. Lastly, you'll want to be using fast, high crit melee weapons (ichors, zorens, cleavers) to leverage warcry, berserker (yeah, you want this), and for their buffs to hysteria.

 

She's high maintenance and has a carpal tunnel inducing playstyle, but she can be a lot of fun and definitely can take care of business.

[Darzk]

I would actually almost totally disagree with those requirements. Yeah you need corrupted mods, but duration and strength are critical for Warcry, range is only good for Ripline and Paralysis which I frequently drop. 

 

For weapons I would prefer something slow-mid speed, and Berzerker and Fury don't even need to be modded on. Warcry gives +114.5% attack speed, its better than a fully stacked zerker and Fury all on its own, so imo I'd focus on damage/swing over attack speed. More damage also means more health return per energy when you channel attacks with Life Strike.

[Sloan441]

I use neither life strike nor paralysis. One is unnecessary, the other is...an answer in search of a question.

 

The corrupted mods are to ensure low energy costs for hysteria and warcry so they can be spammed or they are there when REALLY needed with the low energy pool Valkyr has (I ran into energy issues nonstop when I first got her--it left an impression).

 

Range is a matter of playstyle. I use different builds for indoor and outdoors and the main difference is the range on ripline. I couldn't care less about warcry's range; it's for Valkyr. Anyone else that happened to benefit from it is gravy. Count yourself lucky if you got it.

 

Duration is a judgement call. Again I have two builds, one is high duration/short range, one is middling duration/long range. Both work fine. The choice between them depends on what I want from ripline. Indoors, I can deal with a relatively short range on ripline. Outdoors I want a long range for mobility and setting up death-from-above attacks.

 

I use dual weapons on Valkyr--namely ichors. The only reason I made the things was Valkyr. Mostly made them for the crit aspect, but they are absolutely vicious with stacking attack speed, and attack speed they get in spades with fury, berserker, and warcry.  

[Kealani]

Hmm.....decided I might just make both after I get another warframe slot since I have the BPs anyways and enough mats (save a few hundred plastids) for all the BPs. Thanks again everyone

 

Though I confess Zephyr looks interesting, maybe get her 3rd.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Kealani

[Suarez123]

I would actually almost totally disagree with those requirements. Yeah you need corrupted mods, but duration and strength are critical for Warcry, range is only good for Ripline and Paralysis which I frequently drop. 

 

For weapons I would prefer something slow-mid speed, and Berzerker and Fury don't even need to be modded on. Warcry gives +114.5% attack speed, its better than a fully stacked zerker and Fury all on its own, so imo I'd focus on damage/swing over attack speed. More damage also means more health return per energy when you channel attacks with Life Strike.

 

With that in mind I can make my dakra prime deal damage faster than a soma with crit. delay?

[(PSN)Count_Dante]

Valkyr + Ichors here as well in a Warcry heavy build. My opinions below, I am like a 3 forma build at the moment.

 

I only disagree that Efficiency is needed. While you cant really let it go, it doesnt need to be buffed for her either. Since Life draining is not available PS4, i use a Rejuve for Aura and Rage. If your Hysteria stays around 100 energy, you will still be just fine. 

 

Is the Rejuve redundant? Sure, but there have been times where i couldnt get the Hysteria off or kill enough guys to get my health back. It occurred often enough that I like having it there. Otherwise, I would vote for Steel Charge (even if not realized by Hysteria, but I rarely use it). The Rejuv helps and helps the team a bit as well since few people run health builds so no Rejuv. It also lets me keep Hysteria as an emergency power as well with Rejuv helping the tanking. 

 

I am also built for max melee time and Warcry more than Hysteria. The Hysteria does last WAY too long when building for Warcry, but it is also used as an emergency or for rezzing. I also use the Swirling Tiger mod which also helps act as a fast means to dispatch groups faster without a traditional #4-Nuke-The-Room. I carry a Marelok/Detron as well,  in case I have to shoot. 

 

Maxxed Armor and Health makes her a tank that can take more punishment than any other Frame in the game. I think I calculated my effective health to like 3500 or the like. 

 

Good News is the Valkyr will basically never die. It is damn hard to get killed. Bad News is, you dont bring anything to the group short of a buff that helps yourself with a bit of slow (and will have range reduced anyway as a part of a Corrupt build). The best thing you bring to the table is a tank (if your group will work with you instead of A.D.D. mindless running) and that no one needs to worry about you. You can dish out some MAD dps as well, but that will be limited to melee-ish range as compared to an AoE #4. Swirling Tiger combos are pretty important (and a very easy Stance to get. I think I got 5 day one). 

[Darzk]

PS4 Has U13 but no Life Strike? Oh, just no Dark Sectors yet I guess. Soon then.

 

Maxxed Armor and Health makes her a tank that can take more punishment than any other Frame in the game. I think I calculated my effective health to like 3500 or the like.

 

This is what I really like about Valkyr. With just Vital, SF, and keeping a full str warcry up, shes got something like 7500 effective health (only around 4k without WC up tho), so health taking is a breeze, and rage provides constant incoming energy to use channeled attacks when warranted.

 

Unfortunately I *really* hate Hysteria, getting locked in 'punch people with awkward animations for less damage than usual for a full minute' mode &!$$es me off but was necessary as the only 'free' way to restore health pre-U13. The inclusion of the Life Strike mod, meaning I don't *have* to use Hysteria anymore is what made Valkyr fun to play again, for me.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Darzk

[Kealani]

So can I assume then, with the right mods, Hysteria can be ignored entirely?

[Bluemacaroni]

I think if you can make either right now to go with nova first and then craft valkyr next but if you don't have room for another warframe with nova then just keep nova because she can take on hordes of enemies thabks to her high damage abilities.

[izzatuw]

So can I assume then, with the right mods, Hysteria can be ignored entirely?

Yeah. Hysteria isn't much atm but we were told Hysteria will be tweaked here and there

[Kealani]

All right, thanks again everyone. Currently have both Nova crafting and the final piece of Valkyr crafting so yeah, just need to get an extra warframe slot.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Kealani

[(PSN)Count_Dante]

Yeah. Hysteria isn't much atm but we were told Hysteria will be tweaked here and there

I personally use Hysteria VERY infrequently. I dont think though it should be skipped, but I certainly dont build specifically for it. I build around Ripline and Warcry. This does make Hysteria last WAY TOO LONG, but since it is only a "WE ARE GOING TO DIE" power, it is ok. 

 

I should also mention that this is already with a max Steel fiber and vitality, Rejuv, Rage and a couple corrupteds along with 4 forma frame. I also use Ichors that are like 2 or 3 forma. In the beginning days of Valkyr, I needed to use Hysteria a LOT more. Now, there is no frame that can tank more damage than Valkyr. Even Rhino maxed out to do so. 

 

When i levelled, it was a Hysteria with no duration based build.

With levelled, it is a Warcry Ripline build.