Being Batman’s first protege, Dick Grayson’s Nightwing is a testament that a sidekick can forge their own path. Now the protector of Bludhaven, Nightwing takes his acrobatic prowess and detective skills to solve cases in his new city. And while Dick periodically goes back to Gotham to assist Batman in his affairs, it’s the untimely death of Bruce Wayne in Gotham Knights that Nightwing is called to become one of his old home’s newest protectors.
In the action RPG, Gotham Knights will have Nightwing use his acrobatic skills and expertise in non-lethal force to ensure that Gotham stays well-protected without crossing the line to wanton murder. Armed with his trusty batons and martial arts, Nightwing easily becomes Gotham Knights' resident heavy-hitter. However, how does one create an ideal Nightwing build in the game?
One-Shot Critical
With Dick Grayson serving as Batman’s “OG” Robin, there’s no denying that he’s perhaps the most learned of all the Dark Knight’s proteges. This is reflected with the One-Shot Critical build; here, Nightwing proves his combat prowess is so refined that he’s capable of not just securing high damage numbers but high enough that he knows exactly how much force to apply to incapacitate foes.
This One-Shot Critical build relies heavily on Nightwing securing enough Critical stats to grab high damage numbers capable enough of one-shotting enemies to oblivion. Thankfully, acquiring extra Crits from Gear and skill trees have been made much easier for players.
Gear Focus: Criticals Have Benefits, Too
- Suit: Escalation Suit
- Melee: Jumpstart Escrima Sticks
- Ranged: Lucky Darts
The general principle regarding securing Nightwing’s One-Shot Critical build in Gotham Knights' gameplay relies heavily on attaining high Crit stats and securing Gear that incentivizes the acquisition of said stats.
For instance, Escalation Suit ensures that Critical Hits boost damage and defense, giving players the incentive that their gameplay style should suit proccing Crits as often as possible.
Meanwhile, the other Gears pave the way for Nightwing to secure more opportunities for Crits. For example, Jumpstart Escrima Sticks gives healing for Momentum-based knockouts, while being in low health boosts not only Critical Chance but also grants Momentum. Lastly, Lucky Darts grants a Critical Hit at full health, Ultimates grant more Critical Chance and Damage, and Criticals themselves generate more Momentum.
Skill Tree Focus: Secure Criticals
- Raptor: Critical Expertise, Precise Strikes, Critical Distance
- Acrobat: Extra Momentum Bar, Momentum Gain+, Mind and Body
- Pack Leader: Family Ties, Health Bolstered Defense, Momentum Regen, Elemental Darts+
- Knighthood: Triple Darts
The idea players should have when choosing which skills to prioritize in Nightwing’s skill tree in Gotham Knights gameplay should always revolve around securing Criticals. This is made easier with the Raptor tree, as a lot of its skills already focus on ensuring Nightwing is always prepared to secure more Critical Chances and higher Critical Damage than normal.
As such, other skill tree focuses should give Nightwing more damage opportunities so he can proc more Crits. This is why Acrobat aims to boost Momentum through an extra bar and better gains, while Pack Leader boosts Momentum regen and grants Elemental Effects via Darts. Lastly, Knighthood has Triple Darts that give Nightwing more ranged opportunities.
Momentum Abilities Focus: Combo Supremacy
- Ultimate: NEST
- Momentum Ability 1: Elemental Shockwave
- Momentum Ability 2: Shotgun Darts
- Momentum Ability 3: Whirlwind
Tying Nightwing’s One-Shot Critical build together would be his Momentum Abilities. Unlike other builds in the Batman game, One-Shot Critical ensures Nightwing is able to dispatch opponents easily through punchy attacks. Whereas NEST (Ultimate) is a nifty emergency buff, the rest of his Momentum Abilities are geared towards fast and loose abilities.
Elemental Shockwave is a convenient AOE that boosts damage options via Elemental Effects. Meanwhile, Shotgun Darts unleashes deadly damage up close to enemies who try to go melee. Likewise, Whirlwind is a nifty and ever-reliable AOE to hit multiple opponents at once.
Momentum Spam
With a game like Gotham Knights being yet another part of the Batman franchise, the title would want to be separate from the ever-lovable classic, the Arkham series. Aside from the aesthetic, the game sets itself apart with Momentum Abilities, or special “techniques” that set each Gotham Knight apart from their fellow Batman proteges. In the case of Nightwing, a lot of his Momentum Abilities rely on showcasing his skills as an acrobat, whipping out large jumps and deadly martial arts, coupled with his Darts.
In the game, Nightwing players can enjoy the punchiness and flashiness of his moves with Momentum Spam. Compared to other builds, Momentum Spam is designed to ensure Nightwing can regenerate his Momentum Bar and grab opportunities to use his Momentum Skills as often as possible.
Gear Focus: Crit-Momentum Balance
- Suit: High Ultimate Suit
- Melee: Cryogenic Escrima Sticks
- Ranged: High Abilities Darts
When it comes to gearing up Nightwing for his Momentum Spam build, a lot of success comes from Gear that gives Nightwing more room to pull off his Abilities. Ultimate Suit is key to this synergy, where attacks through the NEST Ultimate give health and damage boosts and Critical Chance and Critical Damage.
This Suit is also paired excellently with Cryogenic Escrima Sticks that emphasize knockout-based effects: KOs boosting Elemental Effect damage and resistance, Momentum-based KOs boosting Momentum build-up, and Perfect Attack KOs giving more Momentum.
Lastly, High Abilities Darts focuses on building Criticals, with Momentum-based KOs boosting Momentum build-up and Ultimates boosting Critical Chance and Damage.
Skill Tree Focus: Jump Away
- Raptor: Critical Expertise, Precise Strikes, Critical Distance, Perfect Evade, Trampoline, Assassin’s Mark
- Acrobat: Aerial Damage+, Extra Momentum Bar, Evade Chain, Evade Chain Momentum, Mind and Body
- Pack Leader: Family Ties, Health Bolstered Defense, Momentum Regen, Shared Skill, Elemental Smart Darts+, Revive Darts
- Knighthood: Triple Darts, Strike Distance+
When building skill trees for Nightwing in Gotham Knights gameplay, a key area to take note is to secure various means for Nightwing to consistently jump from one combat situation to another. This is because he’s built precisely to jump around battle. Key to this is Acrobat, where his skills encourage him to move around the battlefield.
Likewise, Raptor secures his Critical Chance and Critical Damage, even when striking from a distance with Gotham Knights' gadgets. Pack Leader is a third choice when it comes to bolstering performance when doing co-op, whereas Knighthood further increases striking distance.
Momentum Abilities Focus: Grab Crit
- Ultimate: NEST
- Momentum Ability 1: Shotgun Darts
- Momentum Ability 2: Elemental Shockwave
- Momentum Ability 3: Pounce
Players who want to pull off Nightwing’s gameplay properly would want Momentum Abilities that let him procure his Critical Hit and Critical Damage boosts as often as possible. Aside from NEST (Ultimate) giving him much-needed performance, his other Abilities give him the chance to explore the battlefield.
For instance, Pounce allows him to maneuver around the battlefield as often as possible. Meanwhile, Elemental Shockwave can proc Elemental Effects, making it easier for Nightwing to deal damage. Lastly, Shotgun Darts give Nightwing more damage options while also securing Criticals.
High Damage Consistency
Given Nightwing’s nature as the most learned of Batman’s proteges, it’s natural to assume that he’s the most capable leader of the team. Unlike the other characters, Nightwing is one of the most neutral characters to play with, as his toolkit allows him to cover distance, range, and melee more efficiently.
Players can capitalize on these advantages further with High Damage Consistency, which is a build that banks upon spamming Momentum Abilities for as much damage as possible. Compared to other high-damage builds, the High Damage Consistency build relies on knockouts to proc more benefits.
Gear Focus: Knockdown Potential
- Suit: Linked Suit
- Melee: Linked Escrima Sticks
- Ranged: Linked Darts
Unlike other builds, the best Gear for Nightwing in Gotham Knights to secure as much damage as possible involves the full Linked Set. This equipment set allows Nightwing to secure benefits related to knockdowns that further incentivize staying in combat.
For instance, Linked Suit not only has Ults boost damage and revives, giving extra health, but Perfect Attack KOs remove damage from the next attack Nightwing receives.
Building upon this defensive build is Linked Escrima Sticks, where Momentum-based KOs deal double damage with the next attack, and general KOs boost Elemental Effect resistance for everyone.
Lastly, Linked Darts will have Momentum-based knockouts do double damage and general knockouts, boosting everyone’s Elemental Effect resistance.
Skill Tree Focus: Fast Momentum Gain
- Raptor: Critical Expertise, Precise Strikes, Assassin’s Mark
- Acrobat: Momentum Gain, Evade Chain, Evade Chain Momentum
- Pack Leader: Elemental Smart Darts+
- Knighthood: Triple Darts, Strike Distance, Combat Experience
When it comes to building Nightwing’s toolkit in Gotham Knights gameplay, the ideal approach is to ensure his skill trees are able to help him grab as much Momentum as possible to perform his Momentum Abilities.
This has a lot to do with maximizing his Raptor and Acrobat skill trees, as a lot of skills here help him gain more Momentum Bars, get faster Momentum Gain, and be able to attain extra Momentum through movement action, such as evasion.
Meanwhile, his Pack Leader and Knighthood skill trees can focus on more precise actions, such as proccing Elemental Effects and securing more combos to make his damage more consistent.
Momentum Abilities Focus: Combos Matter For Damage
- Ultimate: NEST
- Momentum Ability 1: Pounce
- Momentum Ability 2: Elemental Shockwave
- Momentum Ability 3: Shotgun Darts
Given how the focus of this Nightwing build has to do with securing high damage as often as possible against Batman’s villains, a lot of efficient Momentum Abilities rely on consistent movement and attacks. The key here is NEST and its buffing capabilities, as these help Nightwing shine in his natural acrobatic environment.
Meanwhile, Pounce is an ideal Momentum Ability to focus on, as this allows Nightwing to transition from one group of enemies to the next and maintain his combos. Likewise, Elemental Shockwave and Shotgun Darts give Nightwing much punchier options when alternating between AOE and single-target gameplay.
Heavy Hit All-Rounder
With Nightwing serving as the first Robin, he’s naturally the Batman protege with the most experience. And now that he’s taken up the position as protector of Bludhaven, Nightwing has acquired a lot of experience being the sole protector of a city. This is easily reflected in Gotham Knights' gameplay, where Heavy Hit All-Rounder shows Nightwing being able to deal all sorts of damage from different vantage points.
Given how players can play Gotham Knights solo, Heavy Hit All-Rounder as a solo build ensures players have all the tools they need to be able to deal with threats quickly without the need for the extra firepower offered by allies.
Gear Focus: Secure General Attack Benefits
- Suit: High Ultimate Suit
- Melee: Direct Hit Escrima Sticks
- Ranged: Direct Hit Darts
A key component in ensuring Nightwing can deal as much consistent damage as possible has to do with the right Gear. In the context of Gotham Knights' gameplay, Nightwing achieves peak damage efficiency if his Gear maximizes the benefits he can get with general combat mechanics. For instance, High Ultimate Suit ensures that Ultimates boost Critical Chance and Critical Damage and that they also give health and damage boosts.
Meanwhile, Direct Hit Escrima Sticks and Direct Hit Darts focus on ensuring hits grant Momentum generation, while Heavy Melee KOs guarantee that the next melee attack is a Critical Hit.
Skill Tree Focus: Buffs All Around
- Raptor: Critical Expertise, Critical Distance, Precision Strike, Assassin Mark
- Acrobat: Aerial Damage, Extra Momentum Bar, Evade Chain, Evade Chain Momentum
- Pack Leader: Family Ties, Health Bolstered Defense, Momentum Regen, Shared Skill, Elemental Smart Darts
- Knighthood: Triple Darts, Guardian, Nest Buffs+, Bigger Nest
Another ideal way for Nightwing to secure consistent high damage is through skill trees. Key to this high damage build is the Raptor tree that ensures Nightwing is able to procure not just high Critical Chance rates but also high Critical Damage in general.
The rest of the trees give Nightwing more flexibility when dealing with various scenarios. These include his Acrobat skills boosting his Momentum gain, whereas Pack Leader and Knighthood give him as many buffs as possible to avoid early deaths.
Momentum Abilities Focus: A Strike For Every Occasion
- Ultimate: NEST
- Momentum Ability 1: Elemental Shockwave
- Momentum Ability 2: Whirlwind
- Momentum Ability 3: Bright Night
Aside from NEST (Ultimate) giving Nightwing much-needed buffs, his other Momentum Abilities are designed to give him an edge no matter the occasion.
For instance, Bright Night is ideal for Nightwing to stun and be able to take care of heavier - and usually beefier - foes. Likewise, Whirlwind is a nifty AOE to get opponents off him. Lastly, Elemental Shockwave can give Nightwing extra damage opportunities with Elemental Effects.
Gotham Knights was released in 2022 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.