Monday, January 11, 2016

[Builds] Rhino: Basic and Extreme Builds as of 18.2.4


Rhino is a very versatile frame that has a damage, survivability and control. Here are three builds that will help you start out with this powerful frame.

The Basic Build


This build is all about efficiency and flexibility. With this build you can deal damage, you can control and even buff all at max Efficiency.



Extreme Damage


Rhino can definitely deal damage, but it's not going to come from stomp, but Iron Shrapnel. Maximum potential damage is 13894.276 after using Roar. You'll have to consider that this damage will decrease with range (~25m according to wiki). This could also potentially increase because of the damage absorption phase or Iron Skin. Rhino Charge will be your next go to skill in terms of damage especially with the new combo mechanic. You will probably just use stomp for the  CC and do this rarely.

The biggest problem with extreme builds like this is the energy consumption. You'll want to use this only with an EV Trin in your team. Given that EVs are rare you might find yourself using the basic build most of the time.



Roar Only


This build, as the header states is focused on Roar as a means to boost your team's damage. a 2.49 damage multiplier is nothing to laugh at especially considering the damage that can be achieved with Warframes like Ash (Blade Storm). This build also has decent Iron Skin health along with good Rhino Charge damage.

As with the build above, you can expect problems with energy so EV Trinity is a must.




Monday, January 4, 2016

Double Damage: Rhino VS Nova


There are only 2 choices when it comes to Consistent buffs, that's Rhino and Nova. Other options either can't provide enough of a boost (Equinox) or can't provide it consistently (Total Eclipse Mirage).

Most teams can't accommodate both these frames so here's a short post that might help you pick your team or frame (if you're deciding on which to pick up).

Here's a short summary of their differences based on buffing alone (Roar vs Molecular Prime).

NovaRhino
MultiplierNot Power Strength DependentPower Strength Dependent
DurationAffects Debuff and Range (spread)Affects Duration
EffectSlowly Spreads from cast point
Can be recast
Immediate to allies in range
Cannot be recast
Other EffectsExplosions deal damage
Debuff also slows up to 75% or
Speed up enemies by 30%
n/a

Multiplier

In this post I'm not going to include the Roar Augment to keep things simple.

Both can deliver (potentially) double damage. Nova does it by default as any enemy that is affected by her debuff will receive double damage. Rhino Can potentially hit double damage and can even exceed it capping at 2.49 times.

So if you are a Vet with all the requisite mods (Blind Rage -BR, Transient Fortitude-TF, Intensify and Power Drift) Rhino is a sure pick. If you're starting out, you might have to focus on your collection first, building Duration before Power Strength.

If you're picking team mates, Nova will be a sure bet at 2x regardless of mods as long as she is at rank 30. Rhino is going to be a bit chancy unless you ask the player for their multiplier before inviting them.

Duration

In terms of Duration, Rhino can sacrifice this and still provide effective damage multiplication (as long as he keeps on using it) while Nova's debuff duration and range is dependent on duration mods.

At 50% duration Rhino will just have to recast more often, while Nova on top of having to recast will have her coverage affected as well.

This is one consideration you'll have to make when taking a Nova into a large map.


Effect


Nova's Molecular prime spreads out from the cast point while Rhino's affects all allies in range immediately.

Again this has to be considered based on how big the map is. Bigger maps will see slower coverage while Rhino can be effective regardless.

Another consideration is that Rhino's Roar cannot be recast. So if you miss cast your roar and miss the damage dealer for any reason, you will not be able to recast it until the duration runs out.

Other Effects

Molecular Prime, being an ultimate has other effects when you cast it. The debuff can either slow of hasten enemy movement depending on your Power Strength. Aside from this, enemies that are killed while debuffed by Molecular Prime will explode and deal damage to nearby units (affected by power range).

Rhino's roar doesn't have any additional effect.

Conclusion

There are a lot of things to consider when making choices for either team mates or for personal use but Mods will play a very important role in your choice. Also consider that not all the players in recruiting will have all the necessary mods maxed.

Assuming equal mod levels and that most of the mods were obtained...

Rhino will excel at providing raw damage output consistently regardless of map size and when in coordinated teams. Consider Rhino for missions that just require destruction (like exterminate or... Draco).

Nova will be able to provide double damage and crowd control (or speed for farming) that will become slightly less effective on bigger maps. Nova Can be very effective when farming (speed variant) or at control (slow Variant) for defense, Mobile Defense and Interception.

Which is your personal pick?

Thanks for reading.