Getting Frustrated With Nightmare Mode

[Jackson]

Hello,

I recently came back to this game with the season pass to experience the new content. I figured it has been long enough as to where the main story was mostly forgotten by me, so I decided to start a new character. I put it on the hardest difficulty mode, Nightmare mode and after a few days with it, it's becoming a bit exhausting. I'm Combat level 9, Survival level 11 and Agility level 10 and the difficulty is becoming too much. Big zombies with clubs have crazy hit boxes and can one shot if they hit you in the right area, virals can completely dominate me if I don't manage them correctly and everything seems to sponge a little too much.

I borderline feel bricked to where I am in the story because I'm having difficulties living, which delevels my survival ranking. Am I not utilizing something correctly or is this intended on Nightmare mode?

[Zombie]

Get the head stomping skill ASAP. Whenever virals spawn. climb somewhere high so that the Virals have to climb to reach you. Stomp their heads one by one as they try to climb up to you. If you run out of stamina you will simply do the kick, you can kick virals this way and they will fall down while you regain your stamina.


If you get the power skill that allows you to kill stunned enemies instantly and then get the abilitiy that stuns zombies for 5 seconds after vauling over them, you can kill them this way as well(or even get behind them and do the neck break thing once you get that skill). This pretty much costs all your stamina though so it's not spammable, but a good panic situation.


The big zombies with hammers aren't really worth your time, you get practically nothing for killing them anyway and should be ignored.


Once you can get it, get the one handed aerial slam skill. It is an insta KO and will lock on to the nearest zombie while you're in air, and it even works on Rai's thugs! Rai's Thugs will not be stunned by the Vault Stun skill, and they are not affected by the Battering Ram skill, but they CAN be grappled very easily and if you have the stronger version of grapple that forces them to trip you can kick their head in like zombies.



When you collect air drops, DO NOT turn them in. Put them in your storage and donate them ONLY when you are sure you'll get a level up from them.


The bigger, buffer (not the hammer goons) zombies in The Following DLC are immune to some of these skills like the neck breaker.



Also, don't get the leg-breaker slide skill, it's stupid and useless and takes way too much stamina.

[Watermelons]

Well, first off, it doesn't "delevel your Survivor rank", it just empties out all the XP you've earned towards the next level. Annoying as ♥♥♥♥ but not nearly as bad as deleveling.

2nd, I feel it was probably more designed for max level players who are working up the Legend levels to attain much higher damages and such.


also, and thirdly, what did you expect from a difficulty named "Nightmare"? A lot of handholding if you're starting a new save? Come on.

[Jackson]

Originally posted by cronnoponno:

Get the head stomping skill ASAP. Whenever virals spawn. climb somewhere high so that the Virals have to climb to reach you. Stomp their heads one by one as they try to climb up to you. If you run out of stamina you will simply do the kick, you can kick virals this way and they will fall down while you regain your stamina.


If you get the power skill that allows you to kill stunned enemies instantly and then get the abilitiy that stuns zombies for 5 seconds after vauling over them, you can kill them this way as well(or even get behind them and do the neck break thing once you get that skill). This pretty much costs all your stamina though so it's not spammable, but a good panic situation.


The big zombies with hammers aren't really worth your time, you get practically nothing for killing them anyway and should be ignored.


Once you can get it, get the one handed aerial slam skill. It is an insta KO and will lock on to the nearest zombie while you're in air, and it even works on Rai's thugs! Rai's Thugs will not be stunned by the Vault Stun skill, and they are not affected by the Battering Ram skill, but they CAN be grappled very easily and if you have the stronger version of grapple that forces them to trip you can kick their head in like zombies.



When you collect air drops, DO NOT turn them in. Put them in your storage and donate them ONLY when you are sure you'll get a level up from them.


The bigger, buffer (not the hammer goons) zombies in The Following DLC are immune to some of these skills like the neck breaker.



Also, don't get the leg-breaker slide skill, it's stupid and useless and takes way too much stamina.

Thank you, this helps considerably, I was doing the stomp for virals, as it is the only way to manage a situation when there's more than 2 of them, so it's good that I had the intuition for that haha.

With that said, rats, I totally got the slide, and I'm regretting it, it works so poorly, the stamina increase is crazy. I'm at a difficult combat level as I don't have the insta-kills that I can get later. I'll know to seek out the insta-kill stun skill and the aerial slash down in the near future. The stamina costs are very brutal though in general, I really hope it becomes manageable when I get to level 12.

Also for the big guys, I typically had to fight them for the valve turning quest with the gas. They hibernate near all the damn valves, and my lord, I was getting distraught from this. Other wise, I'll try to avoid them, hell I do with most enemies haha.

Originally posted by Too Many Watermelons:

Well, first off, it doesn't "delevel your Survivor rank", it just empties out all the XP you've earned towards the next level. Annoying as ♥♥♥♥ but not nearly as bad as deleveling.

2nd, I feel it was probably more designed for max level players who are working up the Legend levels to attain much higher damages and such.


also, and thirdly, what did you expect from a difficulty named "Nightmare"? A lot of handholding if you're starting a new save? Come on.

Difference of opinions aside, there was a nice way to present your information, I'm asking because I'm seeking help and I enjoy a good challenge. Parts of Nightmare feel cheap and that's why I was seeking advice to better manage these situations. Your second point is quite valid however, it definitely feels more like an end game mode, probably should have researched that earlier.

[Watermelons]

Originally posted by Jaxxxson:

Originally posted by Too Many Watermelons:

Well, first off, it doesn't "delevel your Survivor rank", it just empties out all the XP you've earned towards the next level. Annoying as ♥♥♥♥ but not nearly as bad as deleveling.

2nd, I feel it was probably more designed for max level players who are working up the Legend levels to attain much higher damages and such.


also, and thirdly, what did you expect from a difficulty named "Nightmare"? A lot of handholding if you're starting a new save? Come on.

Difference of opinions aside, there was a nice way to present your information, I'm asking because I'm seeking help and I enjoy a good challenge. Parts of Nightmare feel cheap and that's why I was seeking advice to better manage these situations. Your second point is quite valid however, it definitely feels more like an end game mode, probably should have researched that earlier.

Right. I shouldn't have come off like that.

The guy above me did a good job of giving you tips for Nightmare. Still, in the game with design flaws like the wall run which can lead to a leap off a building, or explosions happening with very little warning, it's already not rare to die unexpectantly. With things like the excessively fast attack speed of the Virals along with their hightened spawn rates on Nightmare and the stamina bar never becoming infinite, along with greatly increased zombie health, the odds are totally stacked against you on Nightmare. If you're able to complete it just like that on a new save, it's worth an applaud. But I wouldn't risk the stress inducing difficulty of leveling up while dealing with that kind of ♥♥♥♥.


It's not even an issue of you not utilizing something properly. The game just doesn't want you to win, at that point.
By the way, did you get to Rais' pit and fight the Demolisher on Nightmare? That's the very definition of a nightmare, at least when I tried to solo it. An hour and a half of trying to break it's armor, to finally start damaging it pixel by pixel, only to cut it down by a fourth then dying and having some of his health regen with his armor back. No. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Thank you.

[Jackson]

Ugh that sound disgusting and I do appreciate that you recognize how that sounded. I'm actually just before the pit, it's upcoming, as Jade and I went to the school. I'm guessing this part will make or break this run, that sounds devilish, especially given the fact, I remember they don't give you a good weapon.

Well damn, can you even start a different difficulty at the same part of the story or would it start me over? I could probably put up with hard, then go back to nightmare, or just swallow a small bit of pride and go for normal and work my way up, which is more than likely how it's supposed to be in the first place haha.

[Watermelons]

Originally posted by Jaxxxson:

Ugh that sound disgusting and I do appreciate that you recognize how that sounded. I'm actually just before the pit, it's upcoming, as Jade and I went to the school. I'm guessing this part will make or break this run, that sounds devilish, especially given the fact, I remember they don't give you a good weapon.

Well damn, can you even start a different difficulty at the same part of the story or would it start me over? I could probably put up with hard, then go back to nightmare, or just swallow a small bit of pride and go for normal and work my way up, which is more than likely how it's supposed to be in the first place haha.

You can do that, but then you'll lose out on having done the whole game on Nightmare. The only rewards for it though are I believe a couple of outfits, so up to you.

And no, they do not give you a good weapon. What I would suggest is leaving a few walkers up during the first part, going around and finding all the Gas Pipes and Table Legs, anything with little damage, while keeping the decent Hammers and especially the higher damage Heavy Rebar weapons. Break down the Gas Pipes and Table Legs for metal parts and nails, though I don't think the nails will be much use.

Regardless, use the Rebar weapons to break down the armor with swipes as you dodge the Demolisher's charge, and use the Hammers to beat him down when he's tired. Use your salvaged metal parts to repair them. Don't forget the propane tanks and weak throwing knives, and use firecrackers to distract him. If you go below 45 health, keep away and let yourself regen a bit. By default, it only regens up to 45 health but I believe it may be enough to live from a single hit. I believe he does 40 with an arm swing, but maybe 60 with a charge.

To keep him from throwing rocks, stay off the high ground. Simply put ♥♥♥♥ between you two to keep away. The second he starts to throw a rock, go for cover. Get behind the crates or pillars, just make some distance between the obstacle and yourself. The rocks have splash damage and you won't want to risk taking some because you were kinda close to your cover.

[Alexoferith]

I am so pleased to see someone are tackling nightmare with such earnest. I want to ask something. I am playing nightmare mode but only 8% into story line. However, I have spent over a week on this already. I am now max out in Power and Survival. Agility is level 20, going onto 21. Legend is level 13. Spent 5 in one hand weapon, 5 in stamina and 1 in healing, and 1 in throwing. My question Is: Is this a chicken way to play the game? I don't use any glitch to dupliate anything. However, I do farm XP by killing volatiles in one particular spot every night time by kicking them into water. I didn't know that I should hand in the relief packs until I am sure that I can gain level. I always handed them in after I collected 5 or 6 of them. There are 3 free one to pick up every day. There rest was from air drops. I did lose a lot of legend points by dying stupidly like jumping off the bridge without looking first and the other time, I got too cocky fighinig volatiles outside one of the safe house - only concentrate in front of me, didn't check my flank. With this rate, I think I may max out in legend after another week.

[Jackson]

Originally posted by Alexoferith:

I am so pleased to see someone are tackling nightmare with such earnest. I want to ask something. I am playing nightmare mode but only 8% into story line. However, I have spent over a week on this already. I am now max out in Power and Survival. Agility is level 20, going onto 21. Legend is level 13. Spent 5 in one hand weapon, 5 in stamina and 1 in healing, and 1 in throwing. My question Is: Is this a chicken way to play the game? I don't use any glitch to dupliate anything. However, I do farm XP by killing volatiles in one particular spot every night time by kicking them into water. I didn't know that I should hand in the relief packs until I am sure that I can gain level. I always handed them in after I collected 5 or 6 of them. There are 3 free one to pick up every day. There rest was from air drops. I did lose a lot of legend points by dying stupidly like jumping off the bridge without looking first and the other time, I got too cocky fighinig volatiles outside one of the safe house - only concentrate in front of me, didn't check my flank. With this rate, I think I may max out in legend after another week.

It's no doubt cheesy, but ultimately if it works and you're not cheating, I think you got a pretty brilliant set up as long as you don't look down on yourself or don't mind that you really are a lot more powerful than you should be at that given point. But it's really hard, the game does everything it can to work against you, so you're just being smart and patient about it mostly.

Originally posted by Too Many Watermelons:

You can do that, but then you'll lose out on having done the whole game on Nightmare. The only rewards for it though are I believe a couple of outfits, so up to you.

And no, they do not give you a good weapon. What I would suggest is leaving a few walkers up during the first part, going around and finding all the Gas Pipes and Table Legs, anything with little damage, while keeping the decent Hammers and especially the higher damage Heavy Rebar weapons. Break down the Gas Pipes and Table Legs for metal parts and nails, though I don't think the nails will be much use.

Regardless, use the Rebar weapons to break down the armor with swipes as you dodge the Demolisher's charge, and use the Hammers to beat him down when he's tired. Use your salvaged metal parts to repair them. Don't forget the propane tanks and weak throwing knives, and use firecrackers to distract him. If you go below 45 health, keep away and let yourself regen a bit. By default, it only regens up to 45 health but I believe it may be enough to live from a single hit. I believe he does 40 with an arm swing, but maybe 60 with a charge.

To keep him from throwing rocks, stay off the high ground. Simply put ♥♥♥♥ between you two to keep away. The second he starts to throw a rock, go for cover. Get behind the crates or pillars, just make some distance between the obstacle and yourself. The rocks have splash damage and you won't want to risk taking some because you were kinda close to your cover.

Very detailed guide, and it will definitely come into use after work when I attempt this. Thank you, makes a lot of sense, hopefully he doesn't one shot. Do you know if his health resets upon death? I don't want to zerg rush it, but I am curious all the same in case I can't withstand his threshold of health and damage and I end up dying.

[Watermelons]

Originally posted by Jaxxxson:

Do you know if his health resets upon death? I don't want to zerg rush it, but I am curious all the same in case I can't withstand his threshold of health and damage and I end up dying.

From what I saw, he regenerated some. And the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ armor. It's a pain, it really is. Probably best to do that with a full party. Solo would be nearly impossible and too time consuming

[Anirv[PL] 🚀]

What about nightmare mode can I ask how much exp can I get for 1 relief package from the quatermaster? And yea it`s supossed to be a "NIGHTMARE" people were crying that hard mode is too easy and here you go :)

[Jackson]

Originally posted by Too Many Watermelons:

Originally posted by Jaxxxson:

Do you know if his health resets upon death? I don't want to zerg rush it, but I am curious all the same in case I can't withstand his threshold of health and damage and I end up dying.

From what I saw, he regenerated some. And the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ armor. It's a pain, it really is. Probably best to do that with a full party. Solo would be nearly impossible and too time consuming

Yuck, well, I suppose I'll find out relatively soon after work.

Originally posted by AnirvPL:

What about nightmare mode can I ask how much exp can I get for 1 relief package from the quatermaster? And yea it`s supossed to be a "NIGHTMARE" people were crying that hard mode is too easy and here you go :)

I believe I get 3999 per pack. I can double check later tonight though. To be fair, there's a huge difference between the two modes, I've dabbled on hard with a friend and it wasn't nearly this...crazy.

[Jo Lehmy]

Originally posted by AnirvPL:

What about nightmare mode can I ask how much exp can I get for 1 relief package from the quatermaster? And yea it`s supossed to be a "NIGHTMARE" people were crying that hard mode is too easy and here you go :)

on hard you get 30.000 each disaster pack, on nightmare you will get 120.000 each. Maybe they changed this with the latest patch.

[Jackson]

Originally posted by Silentbob 63 (GER):

Originally posted by AnirvPL:

What about nightmare mode can I ask how much exp can I get for 1 relief package from the quatermaster? And yea it`s supossed to be a "NIGHTMARE" people were crying that hard mode is too easy and here you go :)

on hard you get 30.000 each disaster pack, on nightmare you will get 120.000 each. Maybe they changed this with the latest patch.

That's probably at max level. I'm far from max level.

[Dank Matter]

As with the Virals, they are bloody annoying. They need to tone down their spawnrate. They are not dangerous, just annoying.

[Jackson]

Originally posted by Handsome Glove:

As with the Virals, they are bloody annoying. They need to tone down their spawnrate. They are not dangerous, just annoying.

Couldn't agree more.