NOTE: The core and cosmic slot 3 do not have the correct affixes because mhbugle doesn't give me the option to show the correct affixes. Look below at the gear section to see the proper affixes.

 

Hello! Nightcrawler is a frequently overlooked hero, but he's honestly one of the best terminal clearers in the game. He also has solid damage so you can use this build in all content, including raids and danger room.

 

Build Explanation

 

This build's purpose is to travel as quickly as possible and burst targets so terminals can be speed cleared. This build can also be used in raids, it's only slightly weaker than the swords auto-crit build and still does good damage.

 

 - This is your left-click/spender. I'm not 100% sure this is better than , but in worst case scenario it's close thanks to the faster base attack speed and +50% crit damage. The one time you don't want to hold this down is when you  to set up  and  because you want to ensure Nightcrawler is stealthed. 

 

NOTE: If you are having spirit issues you can use . It's a dps loss but not a big deal, and is helpful if you're having trouble finding a good core.

 

  - Bamf! is better than your average dash not only because it's a teleport, it also has 5 charges and a shorter cooldown, 3 instead of the usual 4 seconds most dash powers have. You also use this before  and  to get the damage bonus.

 

 - Blink Strike, thanks to the carried momentum talent, is primarily used to restore charges of  in combat. Blink Strike can also be used as a dodge since it grants invulnerability frames. Outside of combat, 's main use is to restore a charge of , and it's also a decent short range teleport when there are no enemies or destructible objects nearby. 

 

 - Righteous Frenzy is how you start combat because it's your vulnerability power and a big aoe ground dot. You also want to spam this whenever it's off cooldown because it's not only a good chunk of damage, it also decreases Nightcrawler's signature cooldown by 1 second thanks to the everywhere at once talent in the fourth row. The only time you don't want to use this off cooldown is when  (NC's signature) is off cooldown. This power is also your best trash clear, thanks to its multiple charges and ground dot.

 

 - Run through is a big source of damage thanks to the surprise attack talent in the first row. Ensure you  beforehand for the damage bonus. 

 

 - Death blow is a fairly damaging cooldown execute. I recommend using it after  because both powers have a 6 second cooldown.

 

 - Bamf Bomb is another big source of damage. Like  be sure you  before using this power. It's worth noting you can chain  and  one after the other and you don't need to  in between them, regardless of order. This is also a decent trash clear power.

 

 - Brimstone Blitz is a pretty good signature that you want to use off cooldown, and you will be using it often thanks to the cooldown reduction from  and .

 

Rotation

 

I can't give you a precise rotation because Nightcrawler's rotation is incredibly spammy, active, and chaotic. However, I can tell you which skills to prioritize.

 

Rule #1, if you're not sure what to do, spam , and use  immediately off cooldown. If is one or two seconds away from being off cooldown and you're out of Righteous Frenzy charges, you can because that also decreases Brimstone Blitz's cooldown.

 

When  and/or  are off cooldown, be sure to  beforehand. If both Run Through and Bamf Bomb are available, you can chain them together, and they'll both get the stealth damage bonus. If you use Bamf Bomb first, make sure it lands before using Run Through. Both of these powers are high priority because they're hard-hitting cooldowns. Also, make sure you're not holding down your left-click when using these powers to ensure the stealth bonus is intact.

 

Use  after . The cooldowns line up.

 

Don't worry about using  off cooldown. Blink Strike is the lowest priority power, its main purpose is to restore charges of  and .

 

Gear

 

I will admit I have not done a lot of gear testing, but the gear in this guide is what gave me the best TTK. While some of these pieces of gear can be hard to get (especially the cosmics), there are fortunately easy substitutes.

 

Slot 1: We can't craft fragment yet (I'm lucky to have one). If you don't have one, I recommend . The sticks  are pretty good too.

 

Slot 2: Finding a good cosmic can be a pain, his own slot 2 is a solid choice.

 

Slot 3: Mhbugle actually doesn't let me display a cosmic with the proper affixes, this is what I am using and what you want.

 

 

There's a chance that a crit rating cosmic might be better once hela blessings are available, but for now you want one with brutal rating. Yes, you specifically want might and the movement cosmic affix. The latter will restore a charge of Righteous Frenzy when the affix procs.

Like the slot 2, Nightcrawler has a good slot 3 , so use that if you have trouble or can't be bothered finding a cosmic slot 3.

 

Slot 4: Nightcrawler not only has a good slot 4, but it's a necessity thanks to the spirit recovery and cost reduction it provides. Nightcrawler is incredibly spirit hungry.

 

Slot 5: There's nothing that can beat , it has a ton of great stats.

 

Artifacts: Most of the artifacts should be self-explanatory. Only Elektra's Bandana/Mask requires an explanation. What we are quickly discovering from TTK's is that the Elektra summon from the artifact is incredibly strong and is first-slot BiS for any fighting/melee hero that has either a low cooldown signature, or a 30-35 second signature.

Other good artifacts are , .  is good if you need some spirit sustain. is a good hybrid dps and survivability choice. Good budget starter artifacts are , , , , and .

 

The most important cosmic affix is 10% cooldown reduction on signature. Other affixes are mostly a bonus. -15% spirit cost reduction is good if you have spirit issues. +1 attributes is good if you want a little more damage, and +2000 health and +1500 to a defensive stat are good ttl affixes.

 

Legendary: I tested, and it didn't do quite as well as savage axe in tests. Maybe it's slightly faster for moving around terminals because of the cooldown reduction, but Nightcrawler has no problem quickly traveling through terminals. For ilvl 70 legendaries, use . A  is fine if you want to be tankier, but survivability is not an issue because Nightcrawler is so mobile and evasive.

 

Core: The core should have the burst heal and spirit restore (3k health/100 spirit), and 5 spirit restore on hit because Nightcrawler needs the spirit sustain. Mhbugle does not let you pick the spirit restore on hit as an affix. Below is the core I'm using.

 

Yes, it's speed and not fighting, but the difference between the two is negligible. Fighting provides a tiny amount of crit rating so use which ever has the higher stat. Also, I'd rather have invisibility rather than movement speed, but this is my only trifecta that is good for Nightcrawler. You can also use 1000 damage rating on signature use, but shield on medkit use is too useful for actual combat situations because it lets you dps more without worry.

 

Insignia: Other good insignias are Taskmaster, Cyclops, and Archangel. Falcon and Eric O'Grady are also decent. As for affixes, melee damage instead of crit rating is also good, and if you want ttl, then health is a good one over crit rating.

 

Infinities and Synergies

 

Infinity:

I have around 1150 IP. However, most pepole don't have IP this high so here's what I would prioritize.

• 0-152 IP - 38 points in Temporal Loophole in the Time Gem.
• 152-302 - 6 points in Fighting in the Soul Gem
• 302-452 - 150 points in Mental Focus in the Mind Gem
• 452-602 - 75 points in Strike Through in the Power Gem.
• 602-802 - 200 points in Potency in the Reality Gem.
• 802+ - Fighting in the Soul Gem. You can also invest in Mind Over Matter in the Mind Gem and/or Superhuman in the Power Gem

If you want some more survivability, you can take points out of fighting and invest them in gravity well, the health node in the Space Gem.

Synergies:

Most of the synergies are self-explanatory -  Angela and War Machine for speed and fighting, respectively. Then a bunch of physical melee nodes. Juggernaut might not be best in slot, but it's still a good synergy to invest in and the difference between 6% base damage on movement powers to 3% on all your powers is negligible. If you don't have some of the synergies I use then any +physical damage synergy is good such as Thor or Psylocke.

 

Videos

 

Cosmic Kurse Full Clear 1:06 - 1148 IP

 

Cosmic Ultron Full Clear 2:18 - 1006 IP

 

2:18 TTK - 1000 IP