Rhino mid-game build

[ThunderBobo]

Hi all,

My wife and I have been playing Warframe together for a couple of months and we're having a lot of fun with it.  So far, we've gone through about half the quests; we're working our way through Uranus (just about long enough now that we don't *immediately* giggle when we run missions there).  But the missions are getting tougher.

And, on the rare occasion we (or I) venture into public missions, I'm always left with the impression that I'm holding the group back.

The only two frames I have are Rhino and Volt, and I definitely prefer Rhino.  Durability is pretty good... I don't die much... but I'm not sure I'm doing it efficiently, and I definitely don't do as much damage as I probably could.  And, of course, I'm slow... on public missions I can sprint/bullet-jump the whole way and people will still complete the mission objective and be at extraction before I ever show up to the fight.  I literally pulled a 0% damage on a run today. :-/

So I went around looking for some Rhino builds to get some ideas of how to improve.  However, in most of the builds I've found -- which sound great -- generally at least half of the mods are ones I don't have and can't readily get.  The Steel Meridian mods are way out of reach still, Primed mods are a ways off... I've got a few nightmare mods, but not largely the ones people seem to recommend.

The mods I usually run when it's just my wife and I and we can take our time and smash every crate are: Enemy Radar, Thief's Wit, Redirection, Vitality, Flow, Streamline, Steel Fiber, Armored Agility, Intensify, and Retribution.  (Weapons: Paris, Kulstar, Orthos.)

Seems like in public groups, Enemy Radar & Thief's Wit aren't super useful, and none of the builds I've seen use Redirection, so I'm going to try something like this: Corrosive Projection, Rush, Vitality, Armored Agility, Constitution, Intensify, Steel Fiber, Stretch, Streamline, and Flow. (Weapons: Hek, Kulstar, Orthos.)

That'll probably be an improvement, but are there other mods (that I have, see below) that I should be considering instead?  The Rhino frame has three Vazarin slots.

Here's the list of mods I've managed to obtain so far: 

• Antitoxin (Toxin Resist)
• Armored Agility (Sprint Speed + Armor)
• Consitution (Faster Knockdown Recovery + Power Duration)
• Corrosive Projection (Aura, Enemy Armor Reduced)
• Diamond Skin (Radiation Resist)
• Enemy Radar (Aura, Enemies on Minimap)
• Energy Siphon (Aura, Warframe Energy Regenerates)
• Fast Deflection (Faster Shield Recharge)
• Flame Repellent (Heat Resist)
• Flow (Power Max)
• Fortitude (Resist Knockdown + Shield Recharge)
• Heavy Impact (Dup of Rhino Passive)
• Insulation (Cold Resist)
• Intensify (Power Strength)
• Intruder (Hacking Time)
• Lightning Rod (Electricity Resist)
• Loot Detector (Aura, Loot on Minimap)
• Mobilize (Bullet Jump + Aim Glide & Wall Latch)
• Patagium (Aim Glide & Wall Latch)
• Physique (Aura - wrong polarity, Max Health Increased)
• Rapid Resilience (Decrease Status Duration on Self)
• Redirection (Shield Capacity)
• Reflection (Damage Reflected while Blocking While Channeling)
• Retribution (Chance to deal electrical damage when shield struck)
• Rush (Sprint Speed)
• Shock Absorbers (Damage Resist on Knockdown)
• Speed Holster (Aura, Weapon Draw & Holster Speed)
• Steel Fiber (Armor)
• Streamline (Power Efficiency)
• Stretch (Power Range)
• Thief's Wit (Loot on Minimap)
• Vitality (Health)
• Warm Coat (Shield Resistant to Ice Levels)

(You guys probably have all those memorized but I don't yet, so I included what they do.)

If there are other low-hanging fruit mods I could get from stuff I've already unlocked that would make a big difference, that would also be great to know.  (Although my prayers to RNGesus are focused on trying to get the stance mod for Orthos, which apparently has a 1-in-Infinity drop rate. :-/ )

Thanks for any suggestions or build recommendations!

 

[Regenerating_Degenerate]

Ironclad charge, iron shrapnel, blind rage Rank 9-10, flow(primed?), steel fiber, intensify, stretch, continuity (primed). Rush or cunning drift if you are doing something that doesn't require running, and any aura that you think will help.

For efficiency substitute fleeting for flow and stretch with streamline if you do energy reduction sorties

 

 

This is my build I never die in and its good for end game, also only use iron skin when you have 500-1500% ironclad

Edited March 9, 2017 by Regenerating_Degenerate

[Rakosta_Kai]

6 minutes ago, ThunderBobo said:

so I'm going to try something like this: Corrosive Projection, Rush, Vitality, Armored Agility, Constitution, Intensify, Steel Fiber, Stretch, Streamline, and Flow. (Weapons: Hek, Kulstar, Orthos.)

This looks OK.

I am not nuts about the idea of using rush, armored agility and steel fiber though but given your options this might have to do for a bit.

I am not crazy about the Kulstar, but if you dig it.... Do it.

Which stance mod do you need for the Orthos ?

 

[Varacal]

from the mods you have, you can go for 

if you can get one for your aura, rifle amp or steel charge, if you cant farm it, its fairly cheap

intensify, streamline, stretch, vitality, steel fiber, flow, constitution[if you can get a continuity, replace this one], armored agility

[Rakosta_Kai]

Also, some low hanging fruit...

As it's you and the Mrs running missions, craft some dragon keys and keys for the derelicts and run derelict ( I suggest capture) missions for corrupt mods.

Also running the Moon missions for the challenge mods is another easy pickup if you are high enough to go there.

 

Both require a bit of luck and practice. 

Worst case scenario, you can trade the mods you don't need/want for plat.

[ThunderBobo]

46 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

This looks OK.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to give it a shot later tonight!

46 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

 

I am not crazy about the Kulstar, but if you dig it.... Do it.

I do dig the Kulstar.  It kills things pretty well, the rag doll effects make me giggle, and Iron Skin usually keeps me alive when I kulstar myself in the face.  Usually.

46 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

Which stance mod do you need for the Orthos ?

Bleeding Willow.  It supposedly can be found inside Corrupted MOA's, but I've opened up thousands of them (with my Kulstar-brand can opener) looking for it, and so far they've all been empty.  Factory defect, I assume.

 

 

 

[ThunderBobo]

24 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

As it's you and the Mrs running missions, craft some dragon keys and keys for the derelicts and run derelict ( I suggest capture) missions for corrupt mods.

I've seen these; we tried an exterminate.  Now my wife says she has the keys, so we'll give it a shot.

24 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

Also running the Moon missions for the challenge mods is another easy pickup if you are high enough to go there.

I think we are not?  The wiki says it's open after the Second Dream, which I think is the quest we get after clearing Uranus.  So, hopefully soon.

24 minutes ago, Padre_Akais said:

Both require a bit of luck and practice. 

Practice I can do.  Luck...?  

"Do you feel lucky, punk?  Well, do yah?"

No.  No I do not.

;-)

Thanks a lot for the suggestions!

[Rakosta_Kai]

1 hour ago, ThunderBobo said:

Luck...?  

With the derelicts and just the two of you... You have a solid 50% chance to get something provided you find the vault.

With the Moon missions (Lua) when you get there it will be a practice and Youtube thing.

Sargas Ruk (I think) drops Continuity which is a better option as opposed to Constitution as it's cheaper and has greater duration.

I'd honestly give you one if I had any extras but I have given all my extras away to new players.

1 hour ago, ThunderBobo said:

Bleeding Willow.

Try for Shimmering Blight... It will give you some points to spend in the Orthos even though it doesn't share it's polarity.

...It also flows a bit better to me.

Some stray thoughts....

Hek is always a good choice if you can outfit it properly but it's about what you dig. If you like bows, stick with bows there's more than just the Paris on offer.

In regard to the Kulstar... Many Blessings upon you my friend. I don't mess with the self damage weapons, if I can help it, nowadays.

[shut]

5 hours ago, ThunderBobo said:

Seems like in public groups, Enemy Radar & Thief's Wit aren't super useful, and none of the builds I've seen use Redirection, so I'm going to try something like this: Corrosive Projection, Rush, Vitality, Armored Agility, Constitution, Intensify, Steel Fiber, Stretch, Streamline, and Flow. (Weapons: Hek, Kulstar, Orthos.)

Like what Padre_Akais said, I'm not too keen on having Rush + SteelFiber + Armored Agility on all at once. I'd personally remove Armored Agility (since it gives by far the least bang for your buck) and replace it with another mod.

 

Sorry for the incoming wall of text, but here are a bunch of things I wanna mention--

 

• Building for HP+armor lets Rhino eat up way more burst damage than with a Redirection build... but without a reliable way to recover health, you might find your HP slowly dwindling to zero throughout a mission.
  Rhino works great with either Redirection or Vitality (especially since Iron Skin gives you plenty of time to recover your shields/health if needed), but if you don't have a reliable HP source, Redirection might be the better choice for now.
   
• Corrosive Projection is typically used in very high levels once enemy armor starts getting absolutely ridiculous (and CP stacking has much more significant effects), but enemy armor shouldn't be too much of an issue at lower levels. I'd personally recommend swapping it out for Energy Siphon, although plenty of other utility mods like Enemy Sense are great as well.
   
• Rhino's painfully slow, but all frames have the same base bullet-jumping speed (except Mirage and Titania, who are better at it thanks to their passives). Putting on Mobilize somewhere could help quite a lot, especially once you really start getting a feel for what bullet jumps are capable of.
  The bullet jump mods aren't too popular in late game, but I personally have one on every single one of my frames because of how helpful that extra mobility is.
   
• It might be a good idea to start looking into the syndicate Augment mods-- namely, Iron Shrapnel (which lets you deactivate Iron Skin at will) and Ironclad Charge (which, with a bit of setup, makes your Iron Skin waaaay tankier than usual).
  Ironclad relies mostly on Armor + Strength mods (since you'll want to give Iron Skin the biggest number in a single cast), and Shrapnel relies mostly on Efficiency mods (since you'll want to constantly recast Iron Skin to keep it topped off). Both are amazing against higher-leveled enemies.
   
• This isn't too important until way later, but Rhino has invincibility frames during Rhino Charge and Iron Skin. While you're Charging, your Health and your Iron Skin will be 100% invulnerable to damage, making it a bloody fantastic panic button. (Your Shields are still vulnerable to damage, though.
  Also, casting Iron Skin will completely absorb all damage for the next 3 seconds (so if you press 2 and then take 99999 damage in the next 3 seconds, your Iron Skin will have 99999 more health than usual and you'll be completely unscathed). This leads to hilarious results if you have Iron Shrapnel equipped, since you can simply recast your 2 every time you jump into a crowd of enemies-- no matter how high-leveled they are.

 

 

tl;dr
- Drop Armored Agility. Replace with Mobilize if you're struggling with moving fast.
- If you cannot easily recover HP, replacing Vitality with Redirection may be helpful.
- Corrosive Projection isn't too helpful yet. I recommend Energy Siphon instead.
- Try and get either Iron Shrapnel or Ironclad Charge into your build (whichever you prefer). Note that Shrapnel works perfectly fine even if it's unranked.
- Take advantage of your invincibility frames in a pinch. Your 1 is one of the best "panic button" moves in the game.

Edited March 9, 2017 by SortaRandom

[ThunderBobo]

Thanks guys!

Yup, I've run Sargas Ruk a few times looking for Continuity, but it seems like he drops Pressure Point every time.  I'll keep at it.  I've also spent some quality time on mars popping Arid Seekers and checking for Shimmering Blight in the confetti.  Not yet, but both of those will show up sooner or later I'm sure.

We tried a couple of Orokin Derelict missions last night, an exterminate and a capture.  No vault/key matches yet, but we'll give it some more shots when we can.  Padre, did you have a specific reason for recommending capture?   We found it a lot more time-consuming than the exterminate because the mob density is so much higher.  (And it seems like there's considerable random variation in the map size, which we may have got unlucky with.)  She's into the derelict missions too because she wants Kavat DNA. :)

One of the things both my wife and I really enjoy about Warframe is that there are always plenty of different things to do. :)

I will definitely try Energy Siphon over Corrosive Projection, and I'll play around with Redirection vs. Vitality.  Recovering shield capacity is certainly easier than recovering health.  (Thanks, Taxon!)

Having three Vazarin slots (because I ran with Steel Fiber + Redirection + Vitality for so long) makes removing Armored Agility tricky; there's nothing suitable to replace it with.  I could try swapping Rush for Mobilize on the public build; I'll give that a go and see if it helps.

On the weapons, I really enjoy both Paris and the Hek, even though they're quite different.  And Kulstar.  And Spira when Kulstar isn't appropriate.  And Orthos all the time because Orthos is a suitable accessory for any outfit. :)  Another strength of the game is that it seems like (with a few exceptions) you can pick weapons you enjoy and get the job done.

Eventually I'll get those cool Steel Meridian mods, but it'll be quite awhile.  I'm 750,000 credits and 130,000 rep away.  At some point I guess credits become less of an issue?  It seems like most longtime players are like "Oh, yeah, 1,000,000 credits?  No problem, where's my loose change?" but I'm constantly completely broke. :)

(Admittedly there's a some very small chance that's due to lack of focus/discipline on my part, because Warframe offers shinies in so many different directions at any given time...)

 

[shut]

5 hours ago, ThunderBobo said:

Recovering shield capacity is certainly easier than recovering health.  (Thanks, Taxon!)

Oh, Taxon is great for Rhino. Iron Skin makes it so that Taxon's shield boost doesn't get scraped away by stray bullets, so the shield bonus will slowly-but-surely build up throughout the mission. Having a large pile of Shields to occasionally fall back on if things get hairy is always nice.
(Although I'm pretty sure Vitality + Steel Fiber will still be able to tank more damage at once than Redirection + Taxon. I just stick with the Shield builds instead since I don't run with any health-recovering weapons.)

5 hours ago, ThunderBobo said:

Eventually I'll get those cool Steel Meridian mods, but it'll be quite awhile.  I'm 750,000 credits and 130,000 rep away.  At some point I guess credits become less of an issue?  It seems like most longtime players are like "Oh, yeah, 1,000,000 credits?  No problem, where's my loose change?" but I'm constantly completely broke. :)

If you don't mind doing a couple of Relic runs, you could probably gather a small collection of Prime parts and sell them to other players (using http://warframe.market/ as a guide). Even if your parts are so cheap and common that nobody bothers buying them individually, there will always be people who are willing to spend around ~10 plat for 5 assorted Prime junk parts (aka "Ducat fodder").

Once you get enough plat, you can easily buy an Augment mod from someone else for 15-20 plat.