Spiral Knights - Tips for "Dreams And Nightmares"?

Tips for "Dreams And Nightmares"?

15 replies [Last post]

Tue, 06/06/2017 - 03:37

Cyborg-Rox

I remember the first time I did this mission, back when it came out. I played solo on Normal difficulty, and I spent more Sparks of Life than I have ever done before...

Now I'm thinking of checking it out as a Radiant farm, but you'd have to go on Elite for that, and I'd burn through all my Sparks in a day trying to do that unprepared. So, any tips for doing this reliably would be appreciated, solo or in a group. I'm willing to invest into some equipment for it as well. Already thinking of getting some bombs and CTR armor with piercing resistance, as I read around that it'd be a good thing to have.

But also aside from equipment, what should I actually be doing? What should I know? Any advice would be helpful, so please, go nuts!

Tue, 06/06/2017 - 04:15

Bopp

obligatory

If you search Google for something like "dreams nightmares site:forums.spiralknights.com" (without the quotation marks), then you'll find several threads, such as Guide to farming Dreams and Nightmares efficiently.

Speaking for myself, I usually do this mission solo, and I don't find it very hard. In the first two levels I charge Acheron and use a gun to hit switches. And I skip all of the unforced fights. In the third level, only the final fight is forced. There I run in a loop around the edge of the board, spamming Nitronome or Dark Retribution.

Tue, 06/06/2017 - 08:33

Poothis

From experience

From my experience it's usually the last fight on the third floor you prepare for. As Bopp said, you pretty much just rush through the first two levels. For the last fight you want to kite counter clockwise and don't stop moving. As for weapons, I use Dark Briar Barrage for almost everything and an Argent Peacemaker (AP isn't popular due to low damage, but I got ASI med on it from crafting so eh). Another gun I would suggest would be Winter Grave. Really, I would pick a gun that you are comfortable with to deal with the void lichen/lumber wave, because that one sucks the most.

Tue, 06/06/2017 - 14:36

Cyborg-Rox

I have nothing interesting to write as a title...

Huh, alright. Well I've never gotten into bombs before, but I figured I'd give it a try at this point. I've already gotten started by crafting the 3-star Padded Demo Armor and the 3-star freeze vaporizer bomb, along with farming the Spine Cone.
Also, I've already thought about getting the Winter Grave, because it looks sweet as hell, and I've seen the effectiveness of its freezing charge.

One question though. Would it generally be better with the Chaos set instead of the Starlit Demo set for this mission? The main differences being damage, universal bonuses, and their defense types, that is. Because I figured I might as well get an armor with some Sleep resistance on the go so I'm prepared for those painful Starlight levels.

Tue, 06/06/2017 - 15:05

Zincamania-Forum

Another weapons to try out is

Another weapons to try out is the normal tortofist. It gives you easy AoE spam damage that hits all monsters equally and also gives you a little push to help you avoid hits when releasing the charge.

As for your question about Armor: Yes you can use chaos armor for this. Sadly the developers only seem to focus on getting as many monster types in 1 mission for 'recent' endgame/hard missions. Even though for Dreams and Nightmares it had to fit the original Swarm theme, other missions like grinchlin assault did the same (all monster/damage types, but limited status). The result is that you cannot specialise your gear towards a certain damage type (like elemental/piercing/shadow) because they're all present and status protection is not really required because of how limited it is (DaN only has the occasional poison from the slimes I think). Because of this, you might as well ignore defense and focus entirely on damage, so chaos is a good option especially when you benefit from the CTR (otherwise Black Kat is better)

Tue, 06/06/2017 - 16:12

Poothis

Winter Grave

I wouldn't say using Winter Grave for the freeze but more for the shadow damage. I guess Iron Slug would technically be a better gun there. And just for DaN specifically, Chaos would likely benefit you more than the padded demo set. The CTR and damage boosts are pretty much what you need with charge spam type weapons like Iron Slug and DBB.

Wed, 06/07/2017 - 02:40

Cyborg-Rox

We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon

Hmm, I see. Guess I'll put the Demo armor on hold then, for now. Also, when I mentioned the Winter Grave's freeze, I only meant it as a general usefulness outside the mission, an additional plus for getting it. I also don't have any other Shadow Handgun so, yeah.

I tried doing the mission again today, with my current gear, just to see how it was. Results: Normal, Solo, 6 Sparks used.
At least now I know what that last arena is like. I barely remembered it from last time I played it.

I went in with the Snarbolax armor + shield for Max sword damage, along with Obsidian Edge and Raptor, but I got hit by the lumbers, thwackers and lichens much more than the undead, so the Chaos set's elemental defense would be good for that as well.

I have a question. How effective is the Shivermist at actually killing? I mean, only times I ever see it it just freezes everything, which I always assumed would be kinda bad in solo, but am I wrong? According to the wiki it does deal a lot of damage, but is it dealt like any other bomb, along with that giant freezing AOE?

Wed, 06/07/2017 - 09:15

Playerman

The Shivermist is pretty lacking in terms of damage, but I'd also not recommend to use it as a support weapon, either. The whole last arena is usually dealt with by kiting, and freeze inhibits that by a lot. Like, a lot. :P Also, it doesn't help much from the lichen spin-attack, which is a big issue.

The Winter Grave is still a good option, because of its damage output and knockback, but I would avoid using the Shivermist if possible. I'm also a fan of the Iron Slug. A good alternative for your haze bombing is the Torpor Tantrum, since there are not constructs in the entire mission.

Wed, 06/07/2017 - 14:25

Cyborg-Rox

Capitalism is a social plague

Gotcha. I'll probably go for the Dark Briar Barrage then, along with my Obsidian Edge and eventually with the Winter Grave. Does that sound like a good combo, alongside Chaos set and Barbarous Thorn Shield?

Also, should I be opening up the 4 Swarm turrets right away, or should I keep them closed until a certain wave or something?

Wed, 06/07/2017 - 22:20

Poothis

All at once

Open all of them in the beginning. It assists in kiting (remember counter clock-wise). As long as you're constantly moving the swarm turret bullets should not hit you. I also suggest a shield that has piercing and poison resist for the void lichens.

Sat, 06/10/2017 - 15:05

#10

Kalistes

Dark Briar Barrage makes

Dark Briar Barrage makes mincemeat out of the last room except for the lumber/lichen phase, where it is nearly useless. I actually found the Ash Of Agni extremely effective, even against the Gremlins (although a shadow weapon to finish off the stragglers when they have very low health and try to hide along the bottom of the arena is a big plus).

Sat, 06/10/2017 - 17:25

#11

Cyborg-Rox

War is a racket

I guess my Obsidian Edge (and eventually Winter Grave) will be good for that Lichen and Lumber wave then.
I've got my 4-star gear up to level 7 now, and got Eternals ready for when they all hit level 10. Then I'll try it out on Normal just to see how it fares / train a little with it.

Sat, 06/10/2017 - 18:08

#12

Bopp

Obsidian Edge, Winter Grave

Obsidian Edge and Winter Grave could be an effective loadout. They are stylistically and statistically good against everything except the zombies. And the zombies are not difficult, so you can slowly wear them down.

It's like Acheron and Dark Retribution: Good, except against zombies, which can be worn down slowly.

Mon, 06/12/2017 - 03:50

#13

Cyborg-Rox

Religion started off as war propaganda

Aaaaaaaaaalllllllllllriiiiiiiiiiiight! I finally got the Chaos set and Dark Briar Barrage, and tried out the mission a few times on Normal. First time I used 4 Sparks, second time I used 1 Spark (with Vitapod and Health Capsule), third time I didn't even use the Emergency Revive, without Vitapod and Capsule.

So after that, I tried it on Elite once, and got through with just the Emergency Revive used, with a Vitapod and Health Capsule.
So all in all, I think I'm good now. All I gotta do is practice more and I can probably stop getting that Vitapod from Basil as well.

The Blazing Pulsar really helps against the Lumbers and Zombies, and appears to be strong against the Lichens as well. Maybe it's a status thing? Fire vs Poison? I dunno. Anyways, I don't have more time to continue playing today, but tomorrow I'll try out my Mega Tundrus and see if I switch to that instead.

Tue, 06/13/2017 - 03:35

#14

Cyborg-Rox

USA has become a plutocracy

Nah, I think I'll stick with the Pulsar. It doesn't leave you vulnerable when you use it, and deals with the Zombies quicker.

Anyways, thanks for all the help, from all of you. I'm able to run the mission reliably in about 30 minutes every time without Sparks used now c:

Sun, 06/25/2017 - 10:32

#15

Dracerknight

This is all.

Ash of Agni.
Ancient Plate Set.
Swift Steps.
Piercing defense Shield, (Add poison defense, much better)
Any Shadow Gun, preferably Blackhawk series/ Permafroster.

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Tips for "Dreams And Nightmares"?