NOTE: The core does 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.

 

Update September 5th. Guide has been updated now that Bandana has been fixed. It's still best in slot. Not much has changed except the insignia is now a melee/crit damage insignia instead of crit rating/crit damage insignia. New videos posted too.

 

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. It is better than  because this build doesn't pick any of the +10% sword damage talents. 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. Bamf! is not only a teleport, it also has 5 charges and a shorter cooldown than most dash powers, 3 instead of the usual 4 seconds. 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 because it's low damage, its main purpose is to restore charges of  and .

 

Gear

 

Some of these pieces of gear can be hard to get (especially the cosmic), but there are fortunately easy substitutes.

 

Slot 1: Nightcrawler, being a hero in the game Marvel Heroes, uses a  like almost everyone else. If you don't have a fragment, I recommend   or . Unfortunately, 's proc won't activate because we're not using sword-tagged powers, despite this build using multiple flourish skills.

 

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

 

Slot 3:  It turns out now that crafting is available, nothing beats , it has a lot of great stats.

 

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

 

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. Despite the fix, Bandana/Mask still gives a bunch of damage rating to Nightcrawler's signature, and thanks to the cooldown reduction, Nightcrawler is frequently using his signature. FYI, you can get an Elektra Bandana for 120 orders of the hand from the event terminal. It won't be cosmic, but Nightcrawler does not require a lot of cosmic affixes.

 

Good substitutes:

•  - This is very close a top 4 artifact. It's an armor artifact. It's a matter of reroll patience and armor drives acquiring this.
•  - Another artifact that was almost in the top 4 slot. Definitely a good substitute if you are missing one of the top 4 artifacts.
•  - Good artifact, but the damage to movement powers only affects 3 of your powers. That being said, they are a big source of your damage and you will get noticeably bigger numbers out of them.
•  - This is not a great dps artifact, but if you're having trouble maintaining spirit, you can use this.
•  - This is a good hybrid survivability/dps choice.
•   - This is a decent hybrid survivability/dps choice thanks to Nightcrawler's high dodge chance.

Good budget starter artifacts are , , , , and . The first four artifacts are all common drops, and you get the medal of valor from completing chapter 10 in story mode.

 

Cosmic Affixes: The most important cosmic affix is 10% cooldown reduction on signature. The 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 core with a higher attribute. 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, Weapon X, and Archangel. Falcon and Eric O'Grady are also decent. Crit damage is always a must have affix. As for the secondary affix, crit rating instead of melee damage is also good, boss damage is good too, 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 - 150 points in Mental Focus in the Mind Gem
• 302-452 - 75 points in Strike Through in the Power Gem.
• 452-602 - 6 points in Fighting in the Soul Gem
• 602-802 - 200 points in Potency in the Reality Gem.
• 802+ - Fighting in the Soul Gem. One point into Infusion nodes (right side of each gem) is also good. Putting six points into Mind over Matter (Mind Gem) and Superhuman (Power Gem) is also good, gives you 1% crit and brutal chance thanks to rounding errors.

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 in this guide then any +physical damage synergy is good such as Thor or Psylocke. Winter Soldier is also a good synergy for the +3% melee damage.

 

Videos

 

Cosmic Kurse Full Clear 0:47 - 1484 IP

 

Cosmic Ultron Full Clear 1:37 - 1484 IP

 

1:29 TTK - 1484 IP