Need gear advice for Dreams and Nightmares.
Mié, 04/27/2016 - 09:30
Different mission, (somewhat) unchanged arsenal. All Sprites, (most) boss rewards, Apocrea weapons, and Crimson Hammer gear are available for use. Naturally, the following restrictions (still) apply:
- No "glass cannon" items
- No Tortodrone gear
- No Trinkets
- No weapon slot expansions
- No "status penalty"/"weakness to ___" gear
- No UVs
- No PVP reward items
- No "gunner update" items
As with last time, any assistance would be much appreciated.
Mié, 04/27/2016 - 11:17
#2
Meh.
Combuster/Acheron charges will annihilate the mission even if you show up in your undies. In fact, it doesn't even matter if you only have a Combuster, it'll ruin gremlins too. Might wanna splurge on a trinket slot for maxed out CTR.
Mié, 04/27/2016 - 12:02
#3
agree
I agree with Putkis's relaxed attitude. This mission has a reputation for being difficult, but it's not actually very hard if you simply bomb the final fight. And before that, a brandish-line sword with big CTR will clear out almost everything. You might want a gun to hit some switches.
If you want a particular loadout satisfying your criteria (as arbitrary as they seem to me), I'd say do the first two levels with...
* Acheron
* any non-shadow gun
* Vog Cub or Skolver armor
* Barbarous Thorn Shield
...and do the last level with...
* Dark Retribution
* any non-shadow weapon
* Volcanic Demo armor
* Barbarous Thorn Shield
P.S. Your original post reads as if we should remember some previous thread from you. That is not a safe assumption. Happy travels.
Mié, 04/27/2016 - 19:22
#4
Glass cannon items are hardly better or worse than non-glass cannon items there in terms of their defenses. Just use chaos. Vortex + smash is the best loadout since you have to do the mission quickly.
Mié, 04/27/2016 - 23:51
#5
A few more options you can consider:
The iron slug + vortex (you can use the grav vortex, 3 and 5* recipes are there in the och lobbies) work wonders, since there are no enemies with shields. Bare in mind that this is a somewhat risky strat, and would require having ctr, so you'd have to use like the seerus mask + volcdemo for vh-vh ctr. I guess you could try using the slug on its own, it's less effective than without a vortex.
The only status (apart from stun - lumbers) in dan is poison - from the void gels, but that most of the time is not that big of a problem. So as Fehzor said above, using chaos works fine.
If you want a safer strat, you can just spam the ash of agni, the fire will burn down everything, but this will take longer.
Having a gun is not a must, but it can help out by a great deal, hitting switches, random souls out of the way.
Dom, 05/01/2016 - 10:17
#6
"No Status Penalty/Weakness to _____ Gear"
I just want to point out the only Statuses we have in Dreams and Nightmares is Stun (Thwackers and Lumbers) and Poison (Toxigels). Something that does not have a penalty to Poison should work fine, so we should have the liberty to use Fallen Armor if desired.
I know it may be contradictory to your namesake, Swordstalker, but if you were to wish to use Handguns only, you could use Shadowsun Gunslinger Armor (Damage VH with Handguns, Poison Resistance) and your choice of Handguns with Swiftstrike (if you are elusive enough) or a Plate Shield. My suggestion is using Normal-type Handguns since you do not have to consider discriminating enemies (my personal favorite loadout is either Dual Supernovas or Dual Volcanic Pepperboxes). But like what the others have said above, you could choose any Gun, with Shadow-type being more effective due to only Zombies being resistant.
Dom, 05/01/2016 - 17:10
#7
side note
If you are really hurting for health, this is literally the only place in game to use a vitasuit deluxe without looking like an idiot
Mar, 05/03/2016 - 19:42
#8
I'm a Wizard
So the first time... I used everything Bopp described and I got rekt on normal.
I just don't have what it takes to fight the Swarm without dying. Hmm... Gotta bring friends.
Mar, 05/03/2016 - 20:27
#9
sorry to hear it
I'm sorry to hear it. Was it the lichens? Their ranged attacks can be a real bother. The swarm turrets' ranged attacks can be bothersome too.
In case you don't know, you can run past almost everything in a typical DaN level. There are only a few must-fight fights, including the final one. That might help.
For what it's worth, I followed my own advice a couple of days ago, using those loadouts, solo on Elite. No problem. That's supposed to be encouragement, not bragging. Everything in this game gets easier with practice. Good luck.
Mié, 05/04/2016 - 00:09
#10
Try not to hit the ghost blocks at the last fight. You'll have less space to move around, but don't have to dodge all 4 swarm turrets.
Mié, 05/04/2016 - 06:28
#11
wow
Try not to hit the ghost blocks at the last fight. You'll have less space to move around, but don't have to dodge all 4 swarm turrets.
Wow. I've never remotely considered that. Humans are so creative.
Mié, 05/04/2016 - 08:39
#12
@Bopp
You failed to realize
@Bopp
You failed to realize that the void slimes break the invisiblocks anyways. It is less effort to circle the entire arena in a CCW fashion and attack at the right times.
@OP
Too many restrictions. Play with glass cannon gear and get better. I ran D&N in 15 mins with the following (no UVs required):
Chaos Clone set
Callahan
Acheron
Wildfire
Pentas
Could use BK gear with UVs to get extra dmg
Callahan when your health is full (charge obviously), Wildfire against enemies strong to piercing/when you have low health. Acheron charge gremlins/void slimes as well (use good judgment to determine when to fire Acheron charges). If I can run D&N (entire mission) in 15 mins with this, you can probably do it in 12. Just think about when to attack, dash when needed, don't be afraid to use ER, and farm those radiants.
Mié, 05/04/2016 - 09:25
#13
Lethal-Bunduru
Usually I do circle the arena in a CCW fashion. So you and I agree.
But thanks for pointing out a potential problem with Altmetal's strategy. Trying it is now a lower priority for me.
Mié, 05/04/2016 - 17:41
#14
@Swordstalker
You have an interesting (if not unusual) way of wanting to play this game, but having read your replies to your previous thread, it makes more than enough sense why you said "no trinket slots, no additional weapon slots". That being said......I wouldn't recommend doing this mission alone. I've tested a combination of randomly-selected items from the replies here, so I can confirm that it is possible to make it through to the last battle room without any of the gear you've marked "verboten" without using an ER, even on Elite difficulty. However, the monsters in said room will pick you apart before you're able to open the fourth gate.
I know you probably intended to run in by yourself, farm Radiants, and repeat without using Sparks, but the devs clearly didn't want that happening for anyone. Still, I applaud your efforts to try to get people to think outside the box about how to complete a mission.
@Lethal-Bunduru
You know, I don't know whether to be amused or annoyed at your post, but.....yours is the type of commentary that is so horrendously typical of a "pay to win" elitist. I would expect to read that kind of criticism about someone else's gear preferences in the "Coliseum" forum or while playing Lockdown with certain overly chatty (i.e., opinionated) players, but here, it just comes off as trolling. :/
I mean, seriously....."get better"? It's funny, because I wasn't aware that the OP (or anyone else you've ever given that kind of "advice" to), by not wanting to resort to cheap "spend money, instant victory" tactics and/or by not wanting to be a carbon copy of most other users, was afflicted by some sort of illness. >_>
Mié, 05/04/2016 - 18:41
#15
As unfortunate as it is, the advice of "Use glass cannon + pentas + get good" is pretty sound. You really can't take more than about 4-5 hits, no matter how defensive you are. All of the damage types are present, heart drops are extremely sparse, and there are no vitapods. The best thing you can do is plan a loadout for speed farming that consists of glass cannon and penta heart trinkets and practice with it until you're good enough to speed run. Finding a friend is also pretty necessary, though practice can be accomplished without friends no problem.
Jue, 05/05/2016 - 08:10
#16
It can be done, but ...
I have beaten DaN solo elite with just Shadowsun, SSB, Valiance, and a lot of running in CCW circles. It's more fun if I bring heart trinkets and an Umbra along, but it can be done.
I've also been pounded to a pulp with that loadout. There is some luck involved, and the heart trinkets do help a lot. Phantamos + Arcana would be better than just Valiance, if I had those.
The point of using the Valiance family is that their tiny knockback is enough to help avoid getting trapped by the hoards, while not interrupting my CCW running.
Jue, 05/05/2016 - 12:03
#17
tl;dr spam AoA and DBB
With your restrictions in mind——
D25/D26
>Antigua- or Blaster-line gun
This is your tool for hitting switches and ghost blocks.
>A light sword
I recommend a light sword for one level element in particular where ghost blocks behind corners are obstructed by two enemy-spawning blocks in a way which makes them difficult to shoot (as it is a tight space and shield-bumping will not work) but which a sword combo can reach with ease. Incidentally, you might also be forced to kill things with this sword, and so I recommend the Acheron, because Toxigels are unpleasant due to their ability to shoot at you, while Zombies are literally harmless. I suppose you could shoot the Zombies with your gun, but the Acheron's normal damage output will wreck them anyway.
>An armor
I suppose you could look for sword CTR for faster Acheron charges, or black kot items to help you run faster.
>A shield
Who cares?
D27
>Ash of Agni
This is your primary damage output device. It is fast to place and does not significantly hinder your mobility while charging. It has a massive radius, lingers for some seconds, and enemies need only be caught in it for half a second to receive its full damage output. It wrecks Zombies, Toxigels, and Lumbers, and, if you have kot, it makes Heart Attacks dead-easy to time.
>Dark Briar Barrage
Gremlins resist fire. They are also, along with perhaps Wolvers, better at chasing you than the other enemy types. They won't catch you, of course, but they do move around quite a bit. As the optimal movement pattern is in counter-clockwise circles encompassing varying areas of the arena as enemies dwindle, you will be very mobile, and so they will be very mobile. For this reason, as well as that of the tendency for Gremlins to hide along the bottom edge of the arena when critically damaged, I recommend this—an instant-damage bomb with a fairly large radius—over the Dark Retribution, which relies more on goading the enemy into staying in its relatively smaller radius.
>Bomb CTR 2 equipment (e.g. Volcanic Demo, Mad Bomber, or Chaos)
I don't know if bomb damage even works with Ash of Agni. In any case, CTR is more effective.
>A shield
Piercing, if you like, if you find yourself catching too many Toxigel shots. Maybe choose one that matches your costume outfit.
The issue with the D27 loadout is you'll have an awful time breaking the few ghost blocks and whatnot at the beginning, and you'll always have leftover Lumbers milling about in the middle of the arena making you (or at least me) impatient. Do consider getting a third weapon slot and bringing a Peacemaker or Arcana or whatever.
I can't say that this is the absolute fastest loadout. I've got all slots unlocked; what I've posted above is essentially my usual loadout split into two halves. With everything together (and a bit more: bomb CTR 4+2, bomb damage 5, MSI 3, and a penta- because I suck), I can get a turnaround of fifteen–seventeen minutes. More importantly, I can spare the attention for a light novel or a comfy slice-of-life show on the side and maybe some tea and clementines, so I could go on forever if I wanted to and didn't mind getting carpal tunnel syndrome or deep vein thrombosis.
Jue, 05/05/2016 - 12:51
#18
For a shield I'd suggest ironmight plate shield if you're running any kind of MSI/care about that, or the event-only piercing tortodrone shield if not. Since you don't want event items that leaves you with just ironmight.
Either way, your priorities should be-
As much normal as possible = almsot everything has this
Poison = slime spin attacks
Piercing = wolvers and slime spin attacks
Others = shadow, elemental, stun
Ironmight gives the best option for as much normal as possible while also offering piercing to cope a bit better with the slime spin attacks. Poison is unfortunately hard to get on a shield with tons of normal defense, and lessening the normal defense would be rather foolish. Omega shell is also a good option, but is somewhat less suited for dealing with huge amounts of normal damage, from lumbers and swarm shots and swarm souls and swarm gremlins and to a lesser extent beasts, slimes and zombies.
Sáb, 06/18/2016 - 14:31
#19
Just sayin'
Technically, if you are really good at dodging all you need is a proto gun.
And about 12 hours :V
you should consider grabbing some slots for this mission. but if you dont want to, fine. you might want to buy a vitapod at the beginning though.
for armor, go either ancient plate if you dont need speed and get hit often or mercurial if the slime spin attack wrecks you and you just want to quickly farm for radiants. for the pet, grab a sera (heart attack will make your team love you) with health boost (if you dont have slots, you need this here).
shield is an easy choice, you want something very resistant to normal. so grab the omega shell (finally a use for it).
for weapons, things get a little trickier. first you need to understand swarm composition. you have gremlin thwackers (resistant to ele, weak to shadow), lumbers (resistant to pierce, weak to ele), toxigels (resitant to piercing, weak to shadow), wolvers (weak to piercing, resistant to ele) and zombies (resistant to shadow, weak to ele).
the first thing you might notice is that only one of these is resistant to shadow. if you pick guns, you should use something that deals either elemental (lumbers, zombies) or shadow (thwackers, toxigels), both of which can be covered with antiguas. for swords, a piercing one might be good, to deal with wolvers and zombies if you pick a shadow gun. if you take bombs, DBB and DR are great choices, as they both lack knockback, which could quickly make things more chaotic than necessary.