Banshee Builds/Playstyles?

[-Kryptyk-]

Ok, so in the quest to master all of the frames, next on the list is Banshee.  She's been sitting in my arsenal for God knows how long (and we all know I can only remember 3 seconds back, so...), but it's about time to get the rust off her and see what exactly she's capable of.  

So, to anyone who does main her, what recommendations would you give in how to use her in a squad?  What kinds of builds do you all use (screenshots, please)?  I'm looking for as many ideas as possible, not just one or two generic builds.  If it involves multiple forma, that's cool, too.  

And.... feel free to show off your banshee.  She looks damn awesome.  :D 

[bloodystainednikes]

mine is a resonance build, pre gud duration plus a bit of power strength for crits.

you dont really need to worry much about range since the augment will make sure it spreads around anyways.

http://imgur.com/XQ0PozG

 

this is more built around survival for instance, but if you want i can give you a soundquake build aswell

 

 

EDIT: My current build, which is why not all of them are fully levelled up.

Edited March 14, 2016 by drewfishking

[Anuian]

Sorry, don't have any screenshots, can't take any because of the DDOS attacks.

I run her Resonance build, the augment. Mine has six forma, running CP if the squad is going full CP if not just the usual ES.

Her sonar, imo is the ability she shines the most with since it can give you up too 14x more damage

Here's my build on Warframe-builder you can get away with 5 forma for my build if you replace Quick Thinking with Vitality. But she is an amazing frame but she requires a lot of love (forma).

She is very squishy even with  Vitality or Quick Thinking I don't have a max Fleeting or Overextended on her because I didn't want to much of a penalty on my power and duration.

I also run Zenurik normally for the power regen to compensate for the Blind Rage.

If I have an EV Trin I run Naramon for shadow step, melee crits give me invisibility so I have a bit more survival-ability. 

Banshee Swag:

Spoiler

 

Edited March 14, 2016 by Anuian
Added picture of my Banshee ;)

[Rook_Prime]

Generic builds are Sonar Banshee (the one true banshee) and savage silence banshee (the meh why are you not doing sonar banshee). If they fix the new HP orbs giving you armour on hit mod that does have a lot of potential for Banshee given the way Banshee shouldnt be shot (silence staggers) and tends to die when she is shot (that armour value).

[Airwolfen]

Want to do a propper build some day when I have forma to spare. but untill that day there is the build that turns sortie interseptions into a nice time to bond with your squad in chat.

the MIGHTY. the POWERFUL. the -stop doing this because you make the game boring- build...

Its really nothing special... :| you stock up on energy and go wub wub wub till 100% and re-do it 2 more times ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is my banshee btw.

[taiiat]

what i usually go with on Banshee:

inb4 confusion - specifically have negative Duration to make Silence not last quite as long so that i can cast it more often.
Sonar has a ridiculous Duration by default, so it's fine.

6 minutes ago, Rook_Prime said:

If they fix the new HP orbs giving you armour on hit mod that does have a lot of potential for Banshee given the way Banshee shouldnt be shot (silence staggers) and tends to die when she is shot (that armour value).

and... where exactly will Banshee get the Health Orbs from?

[MillbrookWest]

My main build is centred around Damage+Sonar (this is an older screenshot) missing +1 Forma and higher ranked Primed continuity and Primed Flow (additionally, those things are expensive to rank up. Prolly get them maxed by years end :/). 

I run Rifle Amp because the loadout above (now my 'A' loadout) is the one i usually run with - Resonance, i feel, makes missions a little bit more fun having to shoot the pretty blue lights :p. So it works across the board regardless of enemy type, with the exception of damage modifier missions, where damage dealt is reduced..... usually go CP/ES like everybody else for those ones... how dull -_-

I don't mind the negative Continuity since it helps with Silence. Mine is not so low that i can't use the occasional covering SQ when someone needs rezzing however.... 

also, not one to miss showing off my banshee, so since it was asked, i shall indulge xD

Spoiler

Unlike most other Banshee players however, i go for a vitality build, in lieu of the Redirection build. What i found was my health was so damn low i kept getting killed by direct to health procs. So i don't run that way any more. I don't get hit much (generally lowest in team), so i can last a mission where health drops, or no trinity, are present.... It is actually funny the number of Rhino's i've had to pick up xD

As for gameplay style. Just avoid standing directly in front of enemies. Bullet-jump is great when you're in a group. Use it to jump around a mob, drop a sonar, followed by silence, then bullet jump straight up and glide gently out of the action, if you are good with your aim, you can pick off a few enemies while your doing this. By the time you land, your team would have cleared whatever was there. I think i have a ~10.8x damage multiplier. So the team benefit greatly for it.

But key is to just stay moving. Use rolls as much as possible, dispatch enemies quickly, keep your energy up, and try not to get stuck inbetween enemies. You will be remorselessly reminded how biscuit Banshee is if you get caught by a scorpion in a mob.

In addition to my damage loadout with 'A', my 'B' loadout leans toward range + negative continuity. That is my Silence build. Basically the same as the build above but with mods that affect range and continuity, and the relevant augment (negative continuity, the idea is to cast Silence as often as possible). 

My 'C' loudout gets the least usage and it's built for max continuity and Efficiency..... better ways, and better frames, to CC with than this build (My 'C' build). Might try moving it to a second Banshee and alter the mod polarities to fit it exclusively.  

[-Kryptyk-]

all these beautiful banshees *-*

I think I found my build and playstyle, and just one of many to come I'm sure!  Thanks guys!  :D

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

 

 

[MegatronG1]

This is my default normal resonance build that I take for whatever.

 

Spoiler

http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/495766099603613105/818CA2D6C4852F037B27E566BB5AFB44E1C1E3E5/

As you can see she has no survivability what-so-ever (except for silence for that short stun), so be careful if you attempt to use my build.

Edited March 14, 2016 by MegatronG1

[(PSN)TheYetiMan22]

Find it hard that nobody has mentioned the use of Sonic Fracture and  Savage silence augment mods to create a fully armour stripping, 70k melee damage dealing void terror! Savage silence to stun, get in a couple of kills through stagger, CC with Sonic Boom taking out all the armour of mobs getting out of initial silence stance, chop away at them with minimal effort, relocate!

She is fragile but if you keep moving, spot those bombards ASAP and have yourself a Huras kubrow for invisibility you will enjoy Banshee even more. Check out Quiette Shallow's Savage Silence video on youtube.

[-Kryptyk-]

1 hour ago, (PS4)TheYetiMan22 said:

Find it hard that nobody has mentioned the use of Sonic Fracture and  Savage silence augment mods to create a fully armour stripping, 70k melee damage dealing void terror! Savage silence to stun, get in a couple of kills through stagger, CC with Sonic Boom taking out all the armour of mobs getting out of initial silence stance, chop away at them with minimal effort, relocate!

She is fragile but if you keep moving, spot those bombards ASAP and have yourself a Huras kubrow for invisibility you will enjoy Banshee even more. Check out Quiette Shallow's Savage Silence video on youtube.

Intriguing.  However, I'm not quite the melee pilot unless I need to be.  

[(PSN)TheYetiMan22]

1 hour ago, Firefly0037 said:

Intriguing.  However, I'm not quite the melee pilot unless I need to be.  

Neither am I so it makes it a fun way to use a frame which is primarily set up for long range action. You'll need Lifestike on melee weapon and parry when needed (use a weapon which as a good damage reduction - http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Blocking#Parrying ) and go have fun.  If you have low health, channel when going for a finisher kill and you're topped up. I'll post my build later if you want but it is I think the same as Quiette Shallow's. Just have Silence on at all times. ALL.TIMES.

I also have a Resonance/Sonic Fracture build which doesn't make much sense due to each of the abilities but it works.

Banshee is probably one of the most underrated frames and is one of a few frames that requires skill and forward thinking to be used correctly IMO, maybe one of the main reasons why the many of the community think she's trash.

Edited March 14, 2016 by (PS4)TheYetiMan22

[Khormalys]

If you do void or grineer long runs without 4 cp you may want to consider sonic fracture augment with 45% power strength (intensify+power drift) you can strip enemy of their armor which will greatly increase your damage

[ThorienKELL]

I will play her more once the skin arrives. You already got few build recommendations. In meantime, this is my playstyle; 

Banshee is very frail so you need to dart around map like crazy fly, never stopping. Forget her ult, keep her 2 and 3 always on and clear groups with her 1, tonkoring them while they are on floor. Build for high efficiency and range. 

[Acebaur]

8 hours ago, Firefly0037 said:

all these beautiful banshees *-*

I think I found my build and playstyle, and just one of many to come I'm sure!  Thanks guys!  :D

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I'm surprised to see so many suggestions with things like max range and primed flow. These mods are bad and/or a crutch. Here is a breakdown of what mods you need and what ones you don't. 

 

Aura - Change it to a dash, because of CP but in non high level content Energy siphon is going to be useful as well. 

Vit/Redirection - Pick your preference here, so far I've been using Redirection because shields regen and there aren't many slash procs in the void. 

Strength Mods - Transient Fortitude and Intensify are your go to mods here. Blind rage makes stuff cost to much and you don't need max strength. Around 900-1000% sonar damage will be more than enough for pretty much anything. 

Range mods - The only range mod you need it Stretch. Anything more than that and you are hurting Silence because you will hit enemies with it that are outside of your ability to kill them. This is bad if you are trying to escape an area or go find life support because by the time you get to those enemies the stun will be over. Remember that Silence is centered on you and moves with you.  Also you should be running Resonance which compensate for any lack of range that Sonar might have. 

Efficiency/Energy mods - Streamline is enough, because Banshee has a large pool of energy to begin with. Also using Fleeting will destroy your duration for Sonar and Silence. Mods like Flow and P. Flow are unnecessary and are a crutch. You don't need them. I've never run out of energy with Banshee using just Streamline. 

Duration mods - Since you have P. Continuity then you should only need it at max rank(or near max). Otherwise I suggest both Continuity and Constitution to compensate for Transient and add a bit more. 

That leaves 1 slot plus the Exilus slot. Here I prefer Rush. Yes Banshee is above average in speed but she is very fragile and being able to get out of harms way quickly will save your life. You have play smart with Banshee, use cover, hang on walls, use Silence or Sonic boom to CC enemies so you can get away or kill them. For the last slot I prefer Power Drift for that bit of extra strength(making it an even 1000% on sonar :) ) and the resist to knockdown. Handpsring is also a viable choice for Banshee as being on the ground = death. 

Here is the build I've just described in Warframe Builder http://goo.gl/9D8ILO

[-Kryptyk-]

3 hours ago, Acebaur said:

 

I'm surprised to see so many suggestions with things like max range and primed flow. These mods are bad and/or a crutch. Here is a breakdown of what mods you need and what ones you don't. 

 

Aura - Change it to a dash, because of CP but in non high level content Energy siphon is going to be useful as well. 

Vit/Redirection - Pick your preference here, so far I've been using Redirection because shields regen and there aren't many slash procs in the void. 

Strength Mods - Transient Fortitude and Intensify are your go to mods here. Blind rage makes stuff cost to much and you don't need max strength. Around 900-1000% sonar damage will be more than enough for pretty much anything. 

Range mods - The only range mod you need it Stretch. Anything more than that and you are hurting Silence because you will hit enemies with it that are outside of your ability to kill them. This is bad if you are trying to escape an area or go find life support because by the time you get to those enemies the stun will be over. Remember that Silence is centered on you and moves with you.  Also you should be running Resonance which compensate for any lack of range that Sonar might have. 

Efficiency/Energy mods - Streamline is enough, because Banshee has a large pool of energy to begin with. Also using Fleeting will destroy your duration for Sonar and Silence. Mods like Flow and P. Flow are unnecessary and are a crutch. You don't need them. I've never run out of energy with Banshee using just Streamline. 

Duration mods - Since you have P. Continuity then you should only need it at max rank(or near max). Otherwise I suggest both Continuity and Constitution to compensate for Transient and add a bit more. 

That leaves 1 slot plus the Exilus slot. Here I prefer Rush. Yes Banshee is above average in speed but she is very fragile and being able to get out of harms way quickly will save your life. You have play smart with Banshee, use cover, hang on walls, use Silence or Sonic boom to CC enemies so you can get away or kill them. For the last slot I prefer Power Drift for that bit of extra strength(making it an even 1000% on sonar :) ) and the resist to knockdown. Handpsring is also a viable choice for Banshee as being on the ground = death. 

Here is the build I've just described in Warframe Builder http://goo.gl/9D8ILO

It seems as if people either went with a CC durability build or one that focuses on buffing damage and removing armor.  I ended up going with the former - the rest of my weaponry is built around dealing with higher level content where enemies have a S#&$ ton of armor, so I'm not as concerned with that.

[Acebaur]

1 hour ago, Firefly0037 said:

It seems as if people either went with a CC durability build or one that focuses on buffing damage and removing armor.  I ended up going with the former - the rest of my weaponry is built around dealing with higher level content where enemies have a S#&$ ton of armor, so I'm not as concerned with that.

 

Well there are several problems with the way you've set up your build. For one thing you have too much efficiency, which sounds counter intuitive but really isn't. It's capped at 75% and you have 90% so Fleeting is causing extra duration loss that's unneeded and both it and streamline are taking up extra mod space. As I said, Flow and Primed flow are a waste on her because she doesn't need them and there are way better mods to use in it's place. Silence isn't nearly as useful as it could be because the range is too big. Sonar has great range, but terrible damage boost.  If you want to CC with Banshee you'll need Savage Silence. It doesn't matter what your gear is, at some point the enemies are going to have enough armor that without stripping it or having a huge multiplier(like from sonar or savage silence) you are going to take way to long to kill them. 

[Kryshok]

I run two different set-ups I don't have a screenshot but they go like this.

Group play I use a Resonance and a Sonic Fracture combo and the reason for it is simple, Resonance to multiply damage and Sonic Fracture to strip armor specially at later levels in Def/Surv missions.

Solo I use a Resonance and Savage Silence mix and th reason is multiplier damage and add in finisher damage.

One thing I'm toying with is the combo of Sonic Fracture and Corosive Projection in theory the 70% armor strip with the -25% from aura should make enemies easy prey but haven't tested it yet will probably later on today.

Main thing is with her is run and gun, keep moving and maintain Silence to stun close enemies as well as mute noises. Sonar is her major buff and can lead to major kill ranking up. 

Edited March 14, 2016 by Kryshok
Wrong augment mentioned :P

[-Kryptyk-]

1 hour ago, Acebaur said:

 

Well there are several problems with the way you've set up your build. For one thing you have too much efficiency, which sounds counter intuitive but really isn't. It's capped at 75% and you have 90% so Fleeting is causing extra duration loss that's unneeded and both it and streamline are taking up extra mod space. As I said, Flow and Primed flow are a waste on her because she doesn't need them and there are way better mods to use in it's place. Silence isn't nearly as useful as it could be because the range is too big. Sonar has great range, but terrible damage boost.  If you want to CC with Banshee you'll need Savage Silence. It doesn't matter what your gear is, at some point the enemies are going to have enough armor that without stripping it or having a huge multiplier(like from sonar or savage silence) you are going to take way to long to kill them. 

Yeah I noticed that and am considering leaving it at 60% while throwing in savage silence.  I still want to maintain the efficiency and primed flow for her four for any team setting that requires CC in endurance survivals.  I tend to take my guys as far as possible, which means the possibility of getting swamped with enemies, and her 4 makes it easier for them to clear out the area.  Teamwork (y) I'm starting to see the possible synergy in her abilities, and she's starting to click :)

[Acebaur]

It works like this, cp takes off 25% of let's say 100 armor. Now that enemy has 75 armor. Sonic Fracture at 100% power strength takes 70% of 75 which is 52 leaving them with 23 armor. 

[-Kryptyk-]

4 hours ago, Acebaur said:

It works like this, cp takes off 25% of let's say 100 armor. Now that enemy has 75 armor. Sonic Fracture at 100% power strength takes 70% of 75 which is 52 leaving them with 23 armor. 

got a screenshot of a solid build I can take a look at?  need to run numbers in my head :D 

[Acebaur]

3 hours ago, Firefly0037 said:

got a screenshot of a solid build I can take a look at?  need to run numbers in my head :D 

 

Well if you are looking to strip their armor in one go, you need +40% power strength. When it comes to range you have to decide how close you want to be when you cast it. Personally I'd go for both Overextended and Stretch. You'll pretty much screw Silence because of the reasons I've stated above but Sonar will have insane range and decent damage multiplier.  Sonic Boom will reach to 35m which is can be room clearing lol. 

It could look something like this. http://goo.gl/K087Ku It does use the chorus helmet so if you don't have that, it will be a little less efficient though you could always use a max rank Fleeting. Keep in mind that the duration they lose that armor for is affected by Duration so don't go too negative or it won't be long enough for you to kill them. 

[Ojimaru]

CP and Sonic Fracture is really redundant next to Sonar's massive damage boost. Assuming Energy isn't an issue, multiple Sonar (and Resonance procs) will either start stacking on each other (thus further increasing damage multipliers) or cover the enemy in weak spots such that even a shotgun blast will trigger across all its pellets. When you can do a 140k crit against level 80 Grineer with Augmented Armour, going through all these fiery hoops just to strip armour seems pointless.

[steamrick]

This is my preferred Banshee Build:

At 200% power strength this gives me a 10x damage multiplier and at 128% duration and 160% range, spreading sonar around with resonance is really easy. I'd normally have 130% efficiency, but I've got the arcane helmet so 140% helps deal with the power requirements. I don't think that Flow is a good alternative to Efficiency, but I never run into energy problems with this build even without an EV trin.

Also, Redirection for that extra survivability. Others prefer Quick Thinking, but I'd rather be revived with mostly full energy than be revived with no energy at all... and if a highlevel Bombard targets Banshee, she's definitely getting revived no matter what.

 

I also have a 175% efficiency build, but I find myself preferring a bit of extra duration and range/strength over maximum efficiency.

Edited March 15, 2016 by steamrick