Nightmare Missions in Warframe are a special challenge meant to give a new twist on the game for older players. These randomized missions are only unlocked once you have cleared every node on a given planet, and they’re not for the ill-prepared. Whenever you’re in the Star Chart, you will notice some nodes have a red tint to their preview window, that’s a Nightmare.
These special missions have random modifiers and completing them offer some very unique rewards. Players will encounter the same types of enemies but they will be much more powerful. Players will need to bring their hardcore builds if they hope to survive. Players can complete them to earn special Nightmare Mods, which are ultra-powerful. These mods offer more stat bonuses than normal Mods, making them a must-have for serious players.
When all nodes on a planet have been unlocked, a randomly selected node will offer a Nightmare Mission. Hovering over the afflicted node will show a red background with Nightmare, along with the modifiers active, listed on it. Check out the image above for one example.
Nightmare Missions in Warframe will randomly spawn on a given node once the nodes on that planet have all been completed. Also, you should be aware that all the other node modifiers can also spawn. Any node on the Star Chart, even on a planet with Nightmares active, can also trigger Invasions. The Nightmare mode will replace the normal version of that node by default for a certain amount of time.
Enemies in Nightmare missions will have increased health, damage output, and are higher level than the default ones. These are not missions you should take on recklessly. There’s added difficulty to hacking as well, as Ciphers are disabled. Parazon mods will still work though, so there is that.
Each mission that gets hit with a Nightmare mode will have a random modifier attached to the level itself. Check out the list below to see what kind of modifiers you can expect.
Nightmare Modifiers
- Death Detonation – Enemies explode upon death, causing damage.
- Energy Drain – Players will lose 15 points of energy every second.
- Health Vampire – Players lose 1.5% of health a second, but gain 2.5% of health for every kill
- Low Gravity – Gravity is reduced.
- No Shields – Players have no shields. Warframes like Nidus and Inaros are ideal for these missions.
- Timer – Mission time is limited to five minutes, but five seconds is added to the timer for each enemy killed.
Nightmare Rewards
Each time you run a Nightmare mission, you have a shot at various rewards. Mods are the primary reason most players run these missions. Of course, you can also just enjoy the challenge.
The following mods can be obtained are rewards from Nightmare missions.
- Accelerated Blast
- Animal Instinct
- Armored Agility
- Blaze
- Chilling Reload
- Constitution
- Drifting Contact
- Focus Energy
- Fortitude
- Hammer Shot
- Ice Storm
- Lethal Torrent
- Rending Strike
- Seeking Fury
- Shred
- Streamlined Form
- Stunning Speed
- Vigor
- Wildfire
