Dreams and Nightmares

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Dreams and Nightmares
Mission-Dreams and Nightmares.png
Mission List: Rank (Vanguard)
Preceded By:

10-2 Interface-icon-Dialogue.png Mission: A Call to Arms

Followed By:

10-2 Interface-icon-Dialogue.png Mission: Delved Too Deep

Important Stratum Themes:
  • Monsters: Gate Icon-Swarm.png
  • Status:
Rewards:

Dreams and Nightmares is a 10-2 rank mission.

Overview

Description:

Respond to the distress signal from the Core Terminal. We have no intel on what to expect. This is a dangerous mission. Prepare for anything.

Objective:

Prepare for the worst and journey to the Core.

Runthrough

First Floor

Environment

Second Floor

Environment

Third Floor

Monsters

Environment

  • Explore random segments of new tileset, much like Clockwork Tunnels.
  • Pending exploration entities

Fourth Floor

Monsters

Environment

  • Explore random segments of new tileset, much like Clockwork Tunnels.
  • Pending exploration entities

Fifth Floor

Monsters

Environment

A fixed floor with an arena at the end. The six monster gates blocking the exit each count for a wave of The Swarm that must be defeated in order to progress.

  • Pending exploration entities

Sixth Floor

Environment

Notes

This mission was introduced with release 2015-05-13.

It is the first rank mission to allow access to the Core.

Strategy

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Once the behavior of enemies and obstacles in this floor is understood, playing on elite difficulty is ideal to get the best loot in Refuge. This floor is a kind of Treasure Floor in Depth 28. The potential loot here, particularly Radiant Fire Crystals, is desired by many players. The mission is often repeated by players seeking crystals to forge their Tier 3 items. It is a very quick way to obtain radiants, but this mission does not have a high crown payout compared to other "end game" areas like Firestorm Citadel or deep arcade arenas, which have both crowns and radiants, but typically take more time to complete than Dreams and Nightmares.

Run through the preceding floors and areas as quickly as possible. Void monsters don't drop loot, so only defeat them when necessary. There are arsenal stations at the start of each combat floor, so change up as needed for speedrunning or fighting. You might run into some nasty mini-fights along the way, or you might not. The final fight in D27 takes place in a simple arena. Void Souls constantly spawn. The area is a large flat platform shaped like a square with simple exploration obstacles - 4 Swarm Turrets in the corners and orbital chains attached to these turrets are hazards the player must avoid in addition to defeating the six waves of monsters. Victory for the entire mission boils down to success in this fight.

Void monsters retain certain characteristics of the creature type they seem to be, with a few differences. Check the monster lists on this page and read up on their offenses and defenses. Most void monsters in this fight are limited to close-range attacks. The only projectiles in this fight are from Swarm Turrets, certain Void Thwacker swings, and the poisonous spikes of spinning Void Gels.

Establish an attack formation of sorts. If you are alone or in a squad, maintaining this pattern is important. Make sure Void Gels do not focus on Vaelyn (who is stuck to the north of the arena and unable to deal damage during the fight), because you do not want random spikes shooting around unexpectedly. There are two main strategies:

Camping: Pick a corner and fight around one turrent avoiding its bullets and the orbital chain. Use lots of knockback (like with nitronome bomb or pulsar guns) and maintain damage output. This strategy eliminates issues with hazards elsewhere in the arena, and allows control of the battlefield - bump things far away, dash back to your corner, and deal with what's near you, then deal with what's left per wave. This strategy is ideal for players who suffer from lag and connection issues, but it is a little slower than kiting.
Kiting: Avoid dashing, as this resets aggro. Dash only to save your life. Once you have the attention of the void monsters, walk counter-clockwise around the edge of the arena, firing bullets behind you and setting off bombs as you move. It is important to keep the monsters following you, but not too close. For this strategy, do not use weapons that inflict freeze or knockback, as this breaks the enemy patterns and increases the time it takes to get things done. This strategy is ideal for a quick victory but can be problematic for players who lag.

Recommended Equipment:

Disclaimer: As always, use whatever gear you are most comfortable with, as long as it does not interfere with the strategies and success of the squad. Some gear can be significantly more expensive than others, so you should always factor in economics when considering loadout options for missions. Will the gear help with only a few specific areas, or many? Will it pay for itself quickly, if at all? And so on. There is usually more than one way to solve problems - these are what work for many players.

A forum discussion about loadouts for this mission can be found here.

In general, a ranged loadout is recommended. Handguns and Bombs will keep you out of range of most things while dealing significant damage. Bombs will passively keep Void Souls at bay. High normal and some piercing defense is preferable. Poison resistance is a good idea.

Slow weapons or weapons that rely on charges that are not radial are comparatively poor choices, as these tend to leave you vulnerable and have lower overall dps in general.

The following gear has enabled a lot of success in many runs with different players. Work with your squad and gear and come up with combinations that best suit the situation and consider what each of you is best at. Someone could be the bomber, the gunner, the defender, etc.

Gallery

See Also

External Links

  • Pending
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