Good Nightmare Builds

[Mateodon]

What do you recommend for Nightmare Mode and why?

 

What I think works well:

 

Rhino, Iron Skin to counter no-shields, Streamline to make it easier to cast Iron Skin even with energy drain, Focus to increase the strength of Iron Skin, Steel Fiber and Vitality to mitigate health loss when Iron Skin cannot be cast, Rush to get to cover faster.

 

Shade, Ghost to temporarily stop aggro.

 

A good ranged weapon, close combat in Nightmare mode can be especially deadly.

 

A heavy melee weapon with a large knockdown radius on jump attack, to use for crowd control when energy drain prevents use of abilities.

 

Teamwork.

 

I've been thinking about swapping Rifle Amp for Rejuvenation (and formaing the Aura slot if it works), seems like even slow health regen would make a difference in survivability.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Mateodon

[xveganrox]

Or just skip all the work and planning and play a Trinity :)

[Mateodon]

Or just skip all the work and planning and play a Trinity :)

And what's the plan when the mode is no-shields + energy drain?

[ChaoticVice777]

And what's the plan when the mode is no-shields + energy drain?

 

High Vitality, Armor, and Rage combined with Energy Vampire, Link, and Blessing, and you still won't die.

[Mateodon]

High Vitality, Armor, and Rage combined with Energy Vampire, Link, and Blessing, and you still won't die.

I didn't consider Rage, even still it seems like a risky way to play (trading life for energy, while energy is continuously being sapped).  Is this testimonial or theory?  I don't have Rage or Trinity yet, otherwise I'd try it myself.

[ChaoticVice777]

I didn't consider Rage, even still it seems like a risky way to play (trading life for energy, while energy is continuously being sapped).  Is this testimonial or theory?  I don't have Rage or Trinity yet, otherwise I'd try it myself.

 

Testimonial, not theory. It's incredibly useful when the Vampire mutator kicks in.

[truci4]

I dont play much nightmare mode but trinity is weak (with no link) so if your life is beeing drain it mostly means that you are about to die, even casting an ability (slow animations). That's why I dont see rage as an option...

[Dasmir]

Or just skip all the work and planning and play a Trinity :)

 

Yup.

[Mateodon]

Testimonial, not theory. It's incredibly useful when the Vampire mutator kicks in.

Vampire is already a cakewalk since kills = health.  Trinity looks like she would be terribly fragile without shields or energy, where she needs to be continuously taking damage and casting to become temporarily invincible, Rhino only needs to collect 2 energy orbs and cast once.

 

A Trinity build actually seems like more work and planning, and more of a gamble than Rhino.

[ChaoticVice777]

Vampire is already a cakewalk since kills = health.  Trinity looks like she would be terribly fragile without shields or energy, where she needs to be continuously taking damage and casting to become temporarily invincible, Rhino only needs to collect 2 energy orbs and cast once.

 

A Trinity build actually seems like more work and planning, and more of a gamble than Rhino.

 

Trinity is actually less fragile than Rhino with her abilities. Link means any and all damage she's takes is being transferred to the enemies around her. Energy Vampire and Rage provide a near infinite source of energy, and Blessing's there as a safety net. You do realize that Rhino's Iron Skin doesn't mean too much at the higher levels, right? You're basically forced to continually cast it to avoid damage, just like Trinity.

 

A Trinity build has more work and planning, but she's much less of a gamble than Rhino. The downside is her lack of offensive or crowd control abilities.

Edited July 30, 2013 by ChaoticVice777

[Mateodon]

Trinity is actually less fragile than Rhino with her abilities. Link means any and all damage she's takes is being transferred to the enemies around her. Energy Vampire and Rage provide a near infinite source of energy, and Blessing's there as a safety net. You do realize that Rhino's Iron Skin doesn't mean too much at the higher levels, right? You're basically forced to continually cast it to avoid damage, just like Trinity.

 

A Trinity build has more work and planning, but she's much less of a gamble than Rhino. The downside is her lack of offensive or crowd control abilities.

With max Focus Iron Skin negates 1560 damage.  With max Vitality and Steel Fiber Trinity has 740 health and 21 armor.  You're telling me there's a point where Iron Skin wears off faster than I can get to cover, yet Trinity can sponge enough damage to cast Link and Energy Vampire before she dies?

 

If anything you've convinced me to farm Rage for Rhino, so I can keep up Iron Skin without hunting down orbs.  But eventually I'll build Trinity and take her into Nightmare mode, all skepticism aside I'd like to test this out.

[ChaoticVice777]

With max Focus Iron Skin negates 1560 damage.  With max Vitality and Steel Fiber Trinity has 740 health and 21 armor.  You're telling me there's a point where Iron Skin wears off faster than I can get to cover, yet Trinity can sponge enough damage to cast Link and Energy Vampire before she dies?

 

If anything you've convinced me to farm Rage for Rhino, so I can keep up Iron Skin without hunting down orbs.  But eventually I'll build Trinity and take her into Nightmare mode, all skepticism aside I'd like to test this out.

 

Well, okay, not Steel Fiber, as that doesn't do much given how Trinity barely has armor.

 

But with Trinity, I seriously don't see why she can't tank enough damage to cast Link and Energy Vampire before she's "screwed", especially with Continuity, Constitution, and the Aura Trinity helm attached. The vitality acts as an infinite/extra energy reservoir and a safety net, because it's known the Trinity's a better tank than Rhino. Seriously, it's difficult to beat practical immortality to an ability that only negates 1560 damage...

[Mateodon]

Ok so I've done the maths and with max Rage Trinity needs to take 219 damage for her 2 abilities (assuming max Streamline) plus a little extra to account for energy drain, leaving her with less than 521 health (with max Vitality).  Depending on how many of what are attacking her It is possible to cast Link before dying, but timing is going to be crucial at high levels.  Like I said I'll give this one a shot before committing to Rhino.

 

For the record I'm not disputing Trinity's ability to tank, just doubting her ability to do so in a mode where shields are nonexistent and energy is constantly being leeched.  Rhino on the other hand can sponge a considerable amount of damage without either, and has his own temporary immortality when energy is available (yes it's damage based, rather than timed, which isn't as good in a room full of angry Grineer, but with cover and cloaking I can keep a single cast up for several minutes even on higher difficulties).

[litlit]

I take Frost. Rush, Streamline, the armor helm, vitality, steel fiber, and shade with ghost (of course). After that, whatever. Often I take Rage.

 

I never play public nightmare mode; other players are usually too slow. Never do any missions except spy, sabotage, or raid. Infested only, if possible. Run straight to the objective, complete it, run to the exit. I almost never fire a shot, and I never stop moving if I do shoot. Jump kick is my best friend unless it's low grav. There are 4 cases where I am not running: interacting with the objective, stealthing (waiting for enemies to get closer to each other so I can remain cloaked while moving), carefully avoiding runners/other AoE while cloaked with ghost if I ever make a mistake and start taking damage, or if I'm dead.

 

I've run nightmare mode a lot of times trying to get the Hammer Shot mod. This is the fastest method I've found to farm completion rewards. Lost count how many missions I've run over the weekend.

Edited July 30, 2013 by litlir

[ChaoticVice777]

Ok so I've done the maths and with max Rage Trinity needs to take 219 damage for her 2 abilities (assuming max Streamline) plus a little extra to account for energy drain, leaving her with less than 521 health (with max Vitality).  Depending on how many of what are attacking her It is possible to cast Link before dying, but timing is going to be crucial at high levels.  Like I said I'll give this one a shot before committing to Rhino.

 

For the record I'm not disputing Trinity's ability to tank, just doubting her ability to do so in a mode where shields are nonexistent and energy is constantly being leeched.  Rhino on the other hand can sponge a considerable amount of damage without either, and has his own temporary immortality when energy is available (yes it's damage based, rather than timed, which isn't as good in a room full of angry Grineer, but with cover and cloaking I can keep a single cast up for several minutes even on higher difficulties).

 

A maxed Link (base time = 10 seconds, cast time = about 1 second) with all the duration extension gear and mods lasts 17.3 seconds. A maxed Blessing (base invincibility time = 10 seconds, cast time = 2 seconds) with the same item equipped allows Trinity to become invincible for another 17.3 seconds. Although Energy Vampire is negatively affected by duration mods, it still gives you more than enough energy (100 energy with 50% damage to the enemy converted to energy, can be affected by Focus) to recharge for Link and/or Blessing. If a player can't find cover or find energy in 30 or so seconds, either you're in Nightmare defense, or your weapons aren't doing the job...

 

Yes, Iron Skin can be re-applied and can last infinitely, but as the levels go up, the more Iron Skin becomes fragile.

 

Nevertheless, good luck!

Edited July 30, 2013 by ChaoticVice777

[Definitegj]

Use loki invisibility build. Remember to open container for energy orb.  

[Phoenix86]

Rhino, Vandaltron, Kunai, Zoren.

 

That's the way i go, never had problem against anything below lvl 55-60...

 

after that lvl if there's the combo no_shields//no_energy is a pain for anyone...

 

paradox Vampire mode would help in this situation.

[Mateodon]

A maxed Link (base time = 10 seconds, cast time = about 1 second) with all the duration extension gear and mods lasts 17.3 seconds. A maxed Blessing (base invincibility time = 10 seconds, cast time = 2 seconds) with the same item equipped allows Trinity to become invincible for another 17.3 seconds. Although Energy Vampire is negatively affected by duration mods, it still gives you more than enough energy (100 energy with 50% damage to the enemy converted to energy, can be affected by Focus) to recharge for Link and/or Blessing. If a player can't find cover or find energy in 30 or so seconds, either you're in Nightmare defense, or your weapons aren't doing the job...

 

Yes, Iron Skin can be re-applied and can last infinitely, but as the levels go up, the more Iron Skin becomes fragile.

 

Nevertheless, good luck!

As an endgame tanking tactic Iron Skin is indeed fragile, but when used strategically it's a reliable safety net when shields aren't an option.  Thanks for the input though.

 

I take Frost. Rush, Streamline, the armor helm, vitality, steel fiber, and shade with ghost (of course). After that, whatever. Often I take Rage.

 

I never play public nightmare mode; other players are usually too slow. Never do any missions except spy, sabotage, or raid. Infested only, if possible. Run straight to the objective, complete it, run to the exit. I almost never fire a shot, and I never stop moving if I do shoot. Jump kick is my best friend unless it's low grav. There are 4 cases where I am not running: interacting with the objective, stealthing (waiting for enemies to get closer to each other so I can remain cloaked while moving), carefully avoiding runners/other AoE while cloaked with ghost if I ever make a mistake and start taking damage, or if I'm dead.

 

I've run nightmare mode a lot of times trying to get the Hammer Shot mod. This is the fastest method I've found to farm completion rewards. Lost count how many missions I've run over the weekend.

Finally a suggestion based on survivability even without energy.  But I was looking more for smart builds from people who enjoy the challenge of Nightmare mode. not an easy way to farm rewards.

Edited July 30, 2013 by Mateodon