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The Gentleman's Guide To The Rift (U18.2.1)


raptorpatrolcontinuum
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First, a little something to whet your appetite for the Rift:



After falling in love with his looks and the unique kit Limbo brings to the team I was determined to figure out a how to master the Rift. Corpus technology and Rift wizardry were associated with each other ever since Limbo was released with Opticor, but few, if any, players ever looked at the Quanta for the answer that Limbo needs.

This generalist build aims to reduce your time out of the Rift but also tries to maximize killing efficacy out of the Rift.

By taking advantage of Rift mechanics and Rift Surge/Rift Torrent, you can kill high level groups from inside the Rift instantly using Quanta cubes and quickly casting Cataclysm on and off. If you want to stay outside of the Rift for low levels, you can use the Quanta as a rifle or as an AoE killing machine with Rift Walk as an escape from death.

Frame Build
http://i.imgur.com/AGUirOY.jpg

Efficiency is optional if you are really good at energy management, but this build requires Cataclysm to detonate Quanta cubes at higher levels so efficiency helps. Natural Talent is a good out when you need instant Rift Walk and to help with the long cast time of Cataclysm. Optionally, you can use a Rank 3 Fleeting Expertise and a Rank 5 Streamline for 170% efficiency and 196% duration.

Note on Augments:

Haven

Effect:25% heal on Banish

More strength means more heal percentage for a single Banish. It's not worth a slot compared to being a pickup artist when equipped with Vazarin>New Moon from the Second Dream Quest.

Rift Torrent

Effect:damage multiplier +20% per enemy in the Rift

Only effectively usable with Cataclysm. Having a large Cataclysm will boost damage from Rift Torrent greatly but at the cost of ammo drops, so Cataclysm must be deactivated to pick up items then reactivated to get the bonus in the Rift.

Cataclysmic Continuum

Effect:+1 second duration for every enemy killed in the Cataclysm area

No idea how to use this effectively yet, or at all. Is there any way to reverse Cataclysm collapse with this mod? Wiki says it isn't so. Limbo can't melee effectively due to low armor and a lack of survival skills in the Rift so a melee build (optionally channel build with life strike + channeling mods) using tons of power strength, a max range Cataclysm, Cataclysmic Continuum, and Rift Torrent can certainly do damage at later levels but Limbo can only do 0 damage when dead.

Quanta Build
http://i.imgur.com/ScGYPwE.jpg

I tried a straight damage Quanta cube build for a long time and felt it was lacking compared to obvious choices like Tonkor/S. Simulor. However the crit damage and multiplier make the Quanta amazing paired with Cataclysm mechanics: http://i.imgur.com/zHw1TDu.png.

Notes on mechanics:

Opening and closing Cataclysm manually detonates Quanta cubes. However cubes detonated this way can only deal damage to enemies inside the Rift. Also be aware of the small (~3m) range for a cube explosion. Plan accordingly! Aim slightly above heads for headshots when detonating with Cataclysm and remember to know your distance to the target. Pulling off this combo requires ~5 seconds so enemies may have moved away from where you plan on detonating. If you plan on a detonating a Quanta cube with a Cataclysm closure make sure to Banish your target first.

I have checked the following for Quanta cubes:

*It does double damage when detonated by Cataclysm

*Explosion damage is affected by Rift Surge AND Rift Torrent.

*Quanta cubes can be hit by other enemies, banished allies, enemy corpses in the material plane or detonated mysteriously while firing from Rift. Also hits Snow Globe and Arctic Eximus Globe (but it's not a warframe power!) from Rift as well.
   
This interaction is also not a bug. (Please don't nerf DE.) On the wiki page for the Quanta it says that a manual detonation of the cube with make it deal double of its base damage (from 200>400). When you use Cataclysm it counts as a manual detonation, and since both the cubes + enemies around the cubes are inside Cataclysm when the cube explodes then the Quanta deals damage as normal — double the base damage plus the multiplier from Rift Surge.    

Good second choice guns:

 Any syndicate gun or gun with a syndicate mod. Syndicate procs go through Rift so if you want to play the standard knockdown build with Rift Walk>Rift Surge>Banish>Ground Finisher just keep your syndicate gun equipped and let it go off on its own from allied affinity.

 S. Simulor gets a special note for AoE burst damage and energy regen when using high power strength and Blind Rage.

 Tonkor(Please don't nerf DE)

 Amprex with max range Cataclysm and Rift Torrent. To make this work Amprex really, really needs an ammo mutation mod and Carrier so time isn't wasted looking for ammo. Use Atomos for similar reasons.

 Tested in the Simalcrum:

 Penta deals damage in the same dimension it was shot at.

 Very safe shooting into Cataclysm but stuff in Cataclysm shoots back :P

 Penta+Adhesive blast in the material plane then Rift Walk means your damage still goes through to enemies while you reload.

 Ogris + adhesive blast has a weird interaction, a minor amount of damage (50-200) is dealt through Rift somehow when directly colliding with enemies. Normal Ogris works normally with Rift.

 Rift Walk with Torid > Banish an enemy > Apply Torid to an enemy> Unbanish means that the enemy still gets damaged in the material plane by Torid. Rift Surge also works to increase damage after installing Torid on enemy faces. This is because status effect damage applied in the Rift is still applied when the target leaves Rift. Also tested with a gas proc from Ignis so it's not Torid specific (Please don't nerf DE).



Playstyle:

This is a very generalist build that I use for sorties since I don't like premade groups which make it too easy (except for interception when I bring blind Mirage (Please don't nerf DE) but you can bring Limbo if you really really want to. Just know you can't carry the mission solo.)

Tips:

 You can cast Rift Walk in the air  
It's good for escaping damage with the enemy accuracy decrease and entering the Rift is always nice.

You won't do the most damage, and if you do it will be with low level or poorly equipped players. This build only gets Limbo extreme survivability and damage but only to specific targets. You may stay alive but at the end of the day Warframe is currently a horde game and if you don't kill you don't win but you can still have fun.

By mission type

Limbo is good at picking his own engagements in these missions:

 Survival (reviving, damage at later levels, can active the life support pod in the Rift)

 Defense (can protect the pod and team)

 Spy (Limbo walks through lasers)

 Assassination (make use of Cataclysm and Rift Surge on the target)

 Interception (just single target kill the guy at the console)
    
 Rift Walk and hive missions. You don't get mauled by Infested but be very careful when you 1v1 the Juggernaut.

Limbo is kinda bad at:

 Survival (can't pick up life support easily without a Carrier)

 Defense (can't use the Quanta combo if you're using the Rift as a makeshift globe)  
    If you're not using warframe powers to kill enemies Cataclysm can only protect the pod and not your teammates as they have to leave the Rift to do damage. Enemies can also enter Cataclysm to do damage to teammates. Your Cataclysm has to run out or be manually canceled before you can recast, and at high levels of T4D or sorties one/two bombards and randoms firing is enough to destroy the defense objective within the two seconds it takes to recast Cataclysm without Natural Talent. Also, no ammo or resource pickups again :(  
    In PUG Sortie Defense, if you have no defensive frame you have to dually play as a Valkyr and Frost. To play as Frost with this build's amount of duration and range it is moderately safe to use Cataclysm as a makeshift Snowglobe. Just make sure to keep an eye on the objective at all times. To play as Valkyr, play the standard Banish knockdown>ground finisher combo as Limbo. If you want you can even channel to make sure things die (helpful if you have a life strike to not always rely on QT to save the day). Remember not to Banish enemies in the middle of an animation because Banish does not override enemy animations. Banishing a level 100 Napalm in the middle of shooting at you is a one way trip to the ground. With Vazarin>New Moon remember to charge your revive token and revive when it's not safe for others to. Combas/Scambus can also cancel your Cataclysm/Rift Walk so be very alert for their presence.
   
 any mission that requires a datamass.  
    Mobile defense and excavation almost require you to leave the Rift periodically and take potentially take damage. He's very squishy without the safety of the Rift so you might want a different loadout for these missions. With a small enough Cataclysm or casting Cataclysm off to the side, you can get the power cell close enough to the excavator to power it without going into the Rift. This build doesn't have the required range (~40% range) but it is useful to note.
   
 Rift Walk and hive missions. Limbo currently is completely vulnerable to magnetic procs and toxin clouds so once you walk inside you lose your hp AND your energy so the Rift magic fades and you instantly die.

Limbo evaluation in casual/PUG play/Sortie play:

Pros:

 You're an invincible magician with amazing damage potential

 At low levels instantly casting and detonating Limbo's Cataclysm is an ok nuke

Cons:

 Limbo hate, people think you are trolling more often than not

 Randoms most likely don't know how to use the Rift

 No pickups (aka no resource farm) in the Rift

 Harder to play with others since you play on your own terms in the Rift.

 You need to ask consent for everything if you don't want annoyed comments in chat

Limbo evaluation in focused team play:

Pros:

 free energy and invulnerability

 safe reviving if there's no nullifiers, but sadly usually sentinels will die when reviving

Cons:

 Team comps have to be built around Limbo

 Other players aren't used to the Rift, don't know roll to get out of Rift

 Requires slightly more coordination to pull off

 Cataclysm is a two way street

 You need to ask consent for everything if you don't want annoyed comments in chat
    
Example (novelty) Team composition for defense:

 Max duration, ~70% range Limbo

 Max range disarm Loki

 Puddle Hydroid

 Speed Nova

Get Loki to disarm everything, Nova to make things faster and Hydroid to trap everything. Then let Hydroid release enemies. Kill everything inside Cataclysm with Tonkor/Quanta/S. Simulor/Torid/Penta/Ogris, etc. Might cause severe lag from everything dying at once.

A good Limbo also knows what the Rift does for his allies. A lot of interactions are undocumented, or uncharted in the case with newer frames. Experience and experimentation is key.  

General rules inside Rift:

 *no item pickups

 *warframe powers work on both planes

A cursory check of the wiki but doesn't have these interactions (or reemphasized for completeness):

Banish

Sometimes Banish doesn't knock down the Banish target — especially bombards or minigunners doing a groundslam animation.

You can also do a normal stealth finisher in the Rift by banishing and pressing E during the knockdown animation. The enemy has to be unaware of you though.

In Rescue, you can banish the Rescue target and leave them to run away safely to extraction.

Focus

If you want to banish a player while they are using Focus banish the Operator and not the warframe.

Void Traps

Currently Limbo is unaffected by void lasers and cryo floors while in the Rift in tower missions.

Nullifiers

Banished allies can walk into a nullifier bubble unaffected. Walking inside a nullification sphere kills Rift Walk but does not turn off Banishment for allies. If you can, bring the Twin Grakata, Aksomati or any rapid fire secondary to kill nullifier bubbles and knock off Scrambus/Comba helmets in the material plane. This is super important in Corpus Sortie defense where Cataclysm gets absolutely destroyed by a nullifying sphere waltzing up to the cryopod.  

Ash

Smokescreen Augment works through Rift. Bladestorm, Teleport and the associated stun, and Shuriken work through Rift just fine.

Atlas

All powers work through the Rift. Even Rumblers can do damage, but only while not individually Banished.

Banshee

Soundquake energy regens in the Rift.

Chroma

You can gain energy through Effigy by banishing Chroma, but it doesn't fully negate the drain of a max efficiency normal duration build. You can also banish the Effigy. It won't do damage through the Rift (but it's a warframe power!) but it can still CC.

Equinox

Equinox regens energy with both forms of her Maim and Mend and Pacify and Provoke. Powers work normally across planes.

Excalibur

Excal Exalted Blade waves can go through Rift. Not sure about energy regen.

Ivara

Ivara's Artemis Bow doesn't work across planes. Effect abilities like sleep/invisibility arrows work through Rift but damage abilities like Navigator and Artemis Bow do not go through planes. Ivara regens energy while in Prowl and Rift and can loot enemies but cannot pick up loot as usual. Limbo cannot unbanish himself while on a zip line.

Mirage

Banishing a Mirage with a Synoid Simulor can deal damage to enemies inside and outside the Rift plane because while Mirage is in the Rift, her clones are not. To clarify: You can banish each clone if you really want to. If you just Banish Mirage her clones still do combination damage from Simulor. Vortex damage from Simulor by the main Mirage is unhampered by Rift status. If you cast Cataclysm and Mirage combines Simulor shots outside the Rift she will deal damage to enemies outside.

Nova

Nova AMD works through Rift, and so do her other powers.

Nyx

Absorb can attract fire but will not stack damage. At first I thought warframe powers would work in both planes and Nyx could charge damage and get energy regen. It makes sense that she can't stack damage since enemies aren't in Rift to damage Nyx in the first place.

Valkyr

Powers 1-3 work through Rift except for Hysteria. Hysteria does not do damage across planes and furthermore Valkyr does not regen energy.

Mesa

Balistic Battery does not work, and no enery regen while in Peacemaker.

Rift Walk

In Corpus Hijack Sorties, shield drain goes through Rift.

Being in the Rift and using a Rampart means you still do no damage. (Why DE? :( )  

Limbo can walk through spy lasers uninhibited but NOT unseen. You can use your Banish on cameras to kill them before they see you as you walk through lasers.

Grineer ciphers are 100% no go.

Can hack Corpus ciphers that are not mission related.

Mission related Corpus ciphers you can NOT hack in Rift:

 *data vault cipher in spy

 *prisoner room vault ciphers in rescue
       
Frost's Snow Globe and Arctic Eximii Globes block shots across planes. I have no idea why but Eximus globes shouldn't because they aren't warframe powers (please fix DE).

Napalms currently do not damage you while in the Rift, at least not in the Simalcrum.

Juggernaut's tar damage and toxin clouds go through Rift Walk.

Rift Surge

"Surge the void energy through the Rift plane, increasing the damage inflicted on enemies that have been banished there. "

For a LONG time I thought that Rift Surge boosted all damage to enemies in the Rift, so I would cast Rift Surge>Cataclysm as a nuke. It was only later when I found that Rift Surge only works on Limbo's guns specifically :(

Cataclysm

From personal experience hosting:

If you have a small enough Cataclysm (I know using a Rank 8 Narrow Minded works) you can walk close enough or bullet jump above the excavator in excavation to deliver power capsules. Worst case scenario if you fail it will say +0% power or you drop the power capsule inside the Rift. Just make sure the excavator can grab the power capsule while you are outside of the Rift/Cataclysm area.

Special Notes:

Volt Shield: No longer lets players damage enemies between planes.

Other build ideas:

Reflex Guard Used to be my go-to instead of Narrow Minded, back when it had a ~50% chance to block 100% of damage and prevent QT stagger. It's useless now since blocking is weapon based and 85% damage reduction isn't enough when Reflex Guard only works for enemies you are facing. Now if I get QT staggered I roll but if I get staggered at a high level I would have been dead anyways due to bad positioning.

Rift Arena Build with high range, high power strength, Rift Torrent and Cataclysmic Continuum. Used with Amprex, Atomos and other AoE guns. It sucks because you deny ammo pickups and resources to your teammates. You also continuously expose yourself to damage if everything is in the Rift.

TL;DR:  
Use this build
http://i.imgur.com/AGUirOY.jpg
Use this gun
http://i.imgur.com/ScGYPwE.jpg
Use Rift Torrent  
Use Cataclysm to detonate cubes and kill things inside Rift (See first video for example)
Only leave Rift for ammo.  

Thanks to dyrak55d, Get_Vexed, Subdemic, and TheSpenceeee for answering my previous post on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Warframe/comments/3y15lw/limbo_enthusiasts_is_there_a_list_of_weird_limbo/ with new information.
Thanks to AlexOfSpades for helping me test frame interactions!
Link to the original and updated version of the Guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Warframe/comments/3yckim/the_gentlemans_guide_to_the_rift_u1814/

 
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Judging by the length of the post, I can assure that OP is truly an enthusiast of playing Limbo.

 

Sadly the majority has already abandoned him in the deepest "rift" ever, I myself have also played him far less than before.

 

OP you get my +1 for such detailed information & suggestion.

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Nice, comprehensive list. The frame interactions and tips are definitely really nice things to have recorded. I appreciate the work and time that went into your findings.

 

I expected the topic to be only about the Quanta/Cataclysm interaction (which I didn't know about beforehand, it's pretty neat), but then I noticed there was way way more info here.

 

Anyway, kudos.

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+1 from me as well. Very nice and well detailed guide. I enjoy limbo and his play style, but he needs SERIOUS help from DE to be viable at the higher level stuff again (he's amazing in rescue missions, banish hostage-run to extraction) other then that he just is missing tons of things that would make him better, maybe making rift walk a form of invis where I alerted enemies can't see/detect you (this would make him viable for stealth missions while still not changing his entire kit) just an idea mostly.

But anyways ignore my rant, and good work on the guide!

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Personally I use Cataclysm as a kill zone and fill it with Torid projectiles (safer, more reliable due to CC status effects) or blast it with Secura Penta (more difficult but has Sequence radial confusion effect).

 

Also, with some Power Strength, Rift Surge, and a Fist weapon or Redeemer, Limbo can deal some pretty brutal Ground Finisher damage. With the Redeemer, he can OHK a Lv80 Corrupted Heavy Gunner.

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What's your Redeemer build? I have one for stealth kill Ivara and Loki but I'm not sure you have spoiled strike.

 

Pressure Point, Spoiled Strike, Fury, Lifestrike R0, Finishing Touch, Focus Energy, Fever Strike, North Wind.

 

Limbo had +185% Power Strength (TF + Intensify).

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Excalibur

Excal Exalted Blade waves can go through Rift. Not sure about energy regen.

All forms of passive energy regen is negated while Exalted Blade is active. This is a good guide.

 

EDIT: Didn't realize some still benefited from passive energy regen while using toggle abilities. That is good to know.

Edited by UndeadLichKing
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