Nightmare Mode is an optional difficulty modifier introduced in Update 9.0. When Nightmare Mode is selected, up to two mission modifiers take effect that greatly increase the mission's difficulty, but completing the mission will reward players with Nightmare Mods, which positively affect two stats of a weapon, Warframe, or Companion.
To unlock Nightmare Mode on a given planet, one must complete all mission nodes on that planet (barring Dark Sectors and Junctions).
Mechanics
Edit
When Nightmare Mode is unlocked on a given planet (unlock all other nodes on said planet), the game randomly selects one mission node for Nightmare Mode every 8 hours, limiting the possible Nightmare missions (and thus, potential rewards) to 17 missions every 8 hours. After completing the Nightmare Mode mission for a given planet, a new mission node will be selected 8 hours after completion.
Mission nodes under the effects of Nightmare Mode have a scarlet background and a white swirl in lieu of a faction icon. Mission modifiers will also be listed next to the mission type. From Update 11.0 onwards you may choose whether to run the mission in Nightmare Mode or not. If some of the players in a given squad do not have Nightmare Mode unlocked, only those with it unlocked should initiate the mission vote or else the mission will start normally.
ChallengesEdit
All enemies encountered in Nightmare Mode have significantly increased levels, as well as massively increased damage and enemy spawns compared to their standard levels. Ciphers may not be used during Hacking and failure to hack any console will result in an 
Electricity proc applied to the player. Any summoned allied Specter will immediately be hostile to all players (except Shockwave MOAs spawned from a MOA Cabinet Spawner), indicated by a reddish distorted glow. Environmental Hazards can also appear as usual.
Up to two of the following challenges may occur per mission, and each modifier has an equal chance of being selected.
| Mission Modifier | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No Shields | Player and companion shields are reduced to zero. |
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| Timer | The mission has a 5-minute timer that will fail the mission if it runs down. Killing enemies will add 5 seconds to the timer. |
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| Health Vampire | Players will lose 1.5% of their maximum health every second; Killing enemies will recover 12.5% of their maximum health for the entire cell. Players cannot die from the effect. |
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| Energy Drain | Players will steadily lose energy at approximately 15 points per second. |
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| Low Gravity | Gravity is reduced. |
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| Death Detonation | Enemies explode upon death, dealing damage in a small area of effect. |
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Retired ChallengesEdit
The following challenges were present in earlier builds of the game, but have since been removed.
View Retired Challenges List▾▾
| Mission Modifier | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No Minimap | Minimaps are disabled. | Self-explanatory |
| Lethal Explosive Barrels | Explosive Barrels deal high, if not fatal damage. | Self-explanatory |
| Longer Reload | Reload Speed is reduced by ~50%. | Self-explanatory |
| No HUD | The HUD is disabled. | Self-explanatory |
| Friendly Fire | Players and enemies can damage their allies. |
|
Mission RewardsEdit
- Main article: Category:Nightmare Mode Mods
Below are the possible Nightmare Mode Mods that can be rewarded upon completing a Nightmare Mode mission. There are three pools of rewards that the Nightmare mission will pull from. These pools are based on the Planet where the Nightmare mission takes place, regardless of node level. Rescue missions have the potential to draw from any of the three reward pools based on the achievements performed throughout the mission:
View Tiered Rewards Locations List▾▾
| Rotation A | Rotation B | Rotation C | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chilling Reload | 22.11% | Drifting Contact | 22.56% | Streamlined Form | 22.56% |
| Accelerated Blast | 18.97% | Armored Agility | 15.49% | Animal Instinct | 15.49% |
| Ice Storm | 18.97% | Fortitude | 15.49% | Constitution | 15.49% |
| Stunning Speed | 18.97% | Rending Strike | 15.49% | Focus Energy | 15.49% |
| Wildfire | 18.97% | Seeking Fury | 15.49% | Lethal Torrent | 15.49% |
| Blaze | 1.01% | Shred | 15.49% | Vigor | 15.49% |
| Hammer Shot | 1.01% | ||||
Up to date as of Update 29.1.1
For any non-Rescue missions:
| Rotation A | Rotation B | Rotation C |
|---|---|---|
For any Rescue missions, regardless of Planet:
Rotation A: One of the below
Rotation B: Two of the below
Rotation C: All of the below
- Rescued Hostage
- Stealth Rescue
- Killed All Wardens
NotesEdit
- Rescue missions may have their nightmare mod reward tied to the tier of the specter blueprint gained at the end of the mission, sometimes causing a nightmare mod reward from a higher difficulty tier to be rewarded on a lower difficulty planet.
- Specters deployed during a Nightmare mission are hostile towards the player, this includes Tenno Specters
BugsEdit
- Sometimes Nightmare Mode missions have a chance to drop any Nightmare Mode mod regardless of what planet it's on.
MediaEdit
Warframe Solo Nightmare Mode
GamesWise Warframe What is NIGHTMARE MODE?
Warframe How To Get Nightmare Missions
Starchart 2.0 Nightmare Mode Appearance
Patch HistoryEdit
Hotfix 25.7.4
- Fixed enemies in Nightmare missions spawning at different levels than advertised in the Star Chart UI.
- Fixed only 2 Nightmare modifiers being chosen at a time across the Star Chart.
- Any summoned allied Specters in a Nightmare mission will now have a reddish distorted glow to indicate that they have turned against you and you’ve made a huge mistake in trusting them.
- Increased the amount of enemies spawnable in Nightmare Exterminate mission (max cap of 500).
- Removed ‘Friendly Fire’ modifier from Nightmare missions.
- It is no longer necessary to use Antitoxin to get Nightmare rewards on Earth Sabotage missions.
- Tweaked the Nightmare node algorithm so that they appear on the same node for all players, regardless of Star Chart progression.
- Fixed Nightmare missions clearing from the Star Chart if aborted/failed before reaching the mission objective.
- Fixed players who have cleared the Nightmare for a given planet, getting Nightmare rewards by joining friends who have not cleared it yet.
Hotfix: Recurring Nightmares 2
- Vastly improved framerate for Nightmare missions on some systems.
- Fixed Nightmare missions appearing on quest nodes (e.g. Mutalist Alad V Assassination from Patient Zero quest).
Hotfix: Recurring Nightmares 1.1
- Fixed Nightmare Exterminate missions spawning an insane.. Or… nightmarish number of enemies.
Hotfix: Recurring Nightmares 1
- New Nightmare modifiers have been added to the mix! Take on the new ‘Death Detonation’, and ‘Friendly Fire’ modifiers.
- Fixed Nightmare modifiers not re-applying after a Host Migration.
- Nightmare Missions are now back in the Starchart but with a few twists:
- Each Planet will have 1 Nightmare node that changes every 8 hours (all respective Planet nodes must be completed before that Nightmare node becomes available).
- Mercury, The Void, and Lua are now included in Nightmare node eligibility.
- These Nightmare nodes are not replayable, and the Nightmare will be cleared for that Planet for 8 hours until the next one appears.
- Failing to effectively hack panels will now result in a zap and tougher enemies will spawn when you set off alarms- good luck!
- New Nightmare Mods are now available through Nightmare missions!
- Chilling Reload (Shotgun): Increases Cold Damage and Reload Speed!
- Drifting Contact (Melee): Increases Combo Duration and Status Chance!
- Streamlined Form (Warframe): Increases Holster Speed and Slide Boost!
- Nightmare Mod rewards (19 total now) can be earned across 3 tiers of Nightmare missions: Easy, Medium, Hard.
- Easy Nightmare Missions can be found on Earth, Venus, Mars, Phobos and Mercury and contain:
- Ice Storm
- Stunning Speed
- Hammer Shot
- Wildfire
- Accelerated Blast
- Blaze
- Chilling Reload (new!)
- Medium Nightmare Missions can be found on Jupiter, Ceres, Saturn, Void, Europa, and Lua and contain:
- Drifting Contact (new!)
- Seeking Fury
- Armored Agility
- Shred
- Rending Strike
- Fortitude
- Hard Nightmare Missions can be found on Sedna, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Eris and contain:
- Streamlined Form (new!)
- Animal Instinct
- Vigor
- Lethal Torrent
- Focus Energy
- Constitution
- Unlisted Change
- Nightmare nodes removed, though Nightmare alerts can still occur.
- Fixed an error preventing Nightmare mods being received from Sabotage Nightmare Missions.
- Some Endless Nightmare missions now function like their Alert counterparts in completion criteria to be eligible for a Nightmare Mod. Specifics as follows:
- Nightmare Interception now requires 2 Rounds to be eligible for extraction/Nightmare Mods, like their Alert Counterparts.
- Nightmare Defense missions now require 10 Waves to be eligible for extraction/Nightmare Mods, like their Alert Counterparts.
- Nightmare Excavation (Nodes & Alerts) now requires 500 units of Cryotic before extraction is enabled.
- Fixed Nightmare Defense Missions not properly giving Nightmare Mod rewards.
- Time-mission Nightmare variants will no longer appear in Assassination Missions.
- Added the new platinum-purchase mods to the Nightmare Mission drop tables.
- Nightmare assassinate missions will no longer select the "mission time limit" challenge mode.
- Fixed Sentinels and Kubrow having shields in no-shields Nightmare Missions.
- Nightmare Mode nodes now have an updated Icon on the Star Chart.
- Removed Nightmare Mode from final quest mission in Patient Zero.
- Fixed an issue with Nightmare Rescue Alerts giving out additional mods.
- Fixed an issue where Hijack missions in Nightmare Mode with the ‘no shield’ permutation would be unbeatable.
- Fixed an issue with Alerts/Invasions/Nightmare nodes disappearing when returning from a mission.
- Fixed an issue with Nightmare modes not having their proper debuff applied when playing on Rescue event missions.
- Fixed an issue with join in-progress functionality not working correctly for publicly hosted alerts, invasion, Conclave, Dark Sector, and Nightmare missions.
- Fixed an issue with Nightmare Mods only successfully being rewarded in Survival and Rescue missions.
- Fixed Nightmare mode overrides not being properly maintained.
- Fixed progression stopping issue if playing Earth’s Sabotage mission with Nightmare mode ‘timer’ permutation.
- Fixed nightmare-mode rewards on Interception Missions.
- Changes to the Nightmare Alert structure:
- No more 5% chance of Optional Nightmare (was incorrectly announced Wednesday 1/15/2014 – we’ve changed it)
- NOW: There will be 10 nightmare alerts "per cycle", one for each original nightmare mod.
- When the Alert is up, it will appear as "Nightmare Mod Located"; the type of mod will be displayed in the Alert info popup.
- The mission does not have an option, must be played in Nightmare to acquire the Mod indicated.
- No shields is always the nightmare modifier.
- These alerts will also be worth double the credits that would normally be given for an alert mission on the selected node.
- Alerts now have a 5% chance to be nightmare Alerts (Clarity: Eligible alerts will prompt choice to play in Nightmare Mode).
- Removed energy drain from no-shield mode Nightmare missions.
- Added option to opt-in to Nightmare nodes.
- Fixed nightmare Assassination missions giving only the nightmare reward, and not the boss reward.
- Fix for nightmare assassinate missions giving only the nightmare reward, and not the boss reward.
- Mod Rewards from “Arid Fear” event (Shred, Vigor, Lethal Torrent) now available in Nightmare Mode.
- Nightmare mode tuning
- Don’t allow 0 shields in nightmare mode if Vampire mode is in effect.
- Energy Drain mode now gives zero shields in addition to draining energy. Reduced chance of Energy -Drain mode (33% instead of 50%).
- Mobile Defense is now exempt from No-HUD mode.
- No-Mini Map mode removed as it was universally despised (but if you really liked it, a post-it note will do the trick).
- Increased difficulty (just a little) of Nightmare Mode.
- Nightmare mode storage lockers don't give ammo.
- Better timer sound for Nightmare mode.
- Fixed weapon restrictions not being applied in nightmare mode.
- Fixed weapon restrictions not being applied in Nightmare mode.
- Fixed host migrating during nightmare mode causing the mode to change.
- Vampire mode degeneration cannot kill the player -- lowest health can be is 1%. Must die to enemy fire or other environmental disasters.
- Removed Nightmare mode as an option for Mercury missions.
- Fix for Nightmare mode timer sound not being high enough stakes.
- Further tweaks to Nightmare Mode Vampire missions to be challenging but playable.
- Increased difficulty of Nightmare Mode. Vampire drain rate is higher,
and weapon restrictions are now enabled... coming soon. MUHAHA! - Fix for Nightmare mode appearing on nodes before entire planet had been completed.
- Fix and swap for Nightmare Defense mode: mission is now 15 wave countdown aka Nightmare Survival Defense.
- Introduced
- Nightmare Game Mode. Are you tough enough to survive Nightmare mode?
- 10x Dual Stat Mods rewards (awarded in “Nightmare” game mode challenges only)
See alsoEdit
| Missions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PvE | Standard | Assassination • Capture • Exterminate (Crossfire) • Hijack • Mobile Defense • Rescue • Sabotage (Deception, Gas City, Hive, Orokin, Reactor, Sealab) • Spy | |
| Endless | Defection • Disruption • Defense • Excavation • Interception • Survival | ||
| Archwing | Exterminate • Interception • Mobile Defense • Pursuit • Rush | ||
| Empyrean | Skirmish | ||
| Arena | The Index • Rathuum | ||
| Free Roam | Bounty (Isolation Vault) • Heist | ||
| Special | Assault • Granum Void • Infested Salvage • Junction • Recovery • Sanctuary Onslaught | ||
| PvP | Ludoplex | Frame Fighter | |
| Clan | Duel | ||
| Conclave | Cephalon Capture • Annihilation • Team Annihilation • Lunaro | ||
| Arbitrations • Dark Sectors • Environmental Hazards • Invasions • Kuva Siphon • Kuva Lich • Nightmare Mode • Nightwave • Sorties • The Steel Path • Void Fissures | |||
Start a Discussion Discussions about Nightmare Mode
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List is wrong
16 messages-
I got Stunning Speed (easy) on Uranus (hard) -
Just got Shred (tier 2) on Pluto (Tier 3)
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How do I descern the Nighmare missions in the new map?
6 messages-
I really miss nightmare mode. I really hope it comes back.
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and it has for the time being
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