Gara: Free Energy for Everyone!

Written in Update 31

 Gara. Arguably one of the gentlest souls out there ( Yareli and  Wisp players may see Gara's Noble Animation as equally cute when she is idle with a bow or a pair of pistols).

Her ability kit is attuned towards defensive gameplay, and she can be treated as the girls' answer to  Frost with her ability to block enemies from engaging defense targets with  Mass Vitrify. We may have also seen Gara in Eidolon hunts (which would be lore-appropriate, as she is the one who felled these giants' ancestor), buffing herself and allies with  Splinter Storm as added padding in nasty situations, especially when it comes to the showdown with the Hydrolyst. And in Survival runs, Gara can deploy  Spectrorage to block choke points and confuse enemies into attacking each other.

Yet although Gara's skillset is meant to protect, she has builds that can defy convention.

When playing Defense missions, we have likely seen those Gara players utilizing her as a nuker, combining Mass Vitrify,  Shattered Lash and a good high damage melee weapon to turn the shattered glass wall into a flood of deadly shrapnel. Such builds can forego of Ability Strength, focusing instead on Efficiency to rapidly redeploy new walls to break, because the bulk of the explosion damage is affected more by melee weapon mods (as granted on Shattered Lash) than Ability Strength.

And she can use Spectrorage, a denial ability, in a support role to provide Energy for her allies, which will be the focus of this blog entry's build.

The Manamaker Tank Build

• Aura:  Steel Charge (requires an Aura Forma to override her default polarity and become open to other possible builds)
• Exilus:  Power Drift
• Warframe Mod List:  Umbral Intensify,  Umbral Vitality,  Primed Continuity,  Primed Flow,  Blind Rage,  Adaptation,  Spectrosiphon,  Augur Reach
• Minimum Forma requirements: Two Umbra Forma and one Aura Forma (note, this is for  Gara Prime)
• Skillset:
  • Gara's default kit ( Shattered Lash,  Splinter Storm,  Spectrorage,  Mass Vitrify)
• Weapon Options:
  •  Proboscis Cernos, the weapon that will make best sense for this build.
  • A heavy melee weapon such as  Tenet Livia, in those moments she wants to take things up close and personal, or nuke enemies with Mass Vitrify.

Explaining the build

The above mod build takes into account Gara's ability at fighting toe-to-toe against enemies, with Adaptation and the self-buff from Splinter Storm doing most of the woodwork of her tankiness, while also giving her an additional utility option besides buffing others with Splinter Storm via an upgraded Spectrorage. Loading Blind Rage gives Gara the option to either nuke enemies with a shattered Mass Vitrify wall when she sees fit, or leaving it as is to become a tough barrier for protected targets. As for Spectrorage, enemies near, or are caught inside, the carousel of glass have a 50% chance at dropping Energy orbs once killed, helping provide needed mana to partymates and herself and the provider being tougher than other energy givers such as, say,  Trinity or  Protea.

Now, the key aspect for the above build is on getting enemies to congregate near or within the upgraded Spectrorage. Having allies with the ability to cluster enemies near or inside the carousel ( Yareli,  Vauban,  Mag,  Nidus) will certainly help, but at the typical moments that they are not around, the Proboscis Cernos is going to be Gara's best friend. An arrow with an enemy-pulling and staggering ability, extremely high explosive damage and status chance? Yep, Gara will certainly love that.

However, note that due to her use of Blind Range, Gara sacrifices Efficiency for a stronger glass barrier. She cannot immediately start farming Energy, as her starting supply is insufficient to cast Splinter Storm, let alone Spectrorage and Mass Vitrify. That means she'll have to secure Energy first, either from starting enemy kills, opening containers or using a Squad Energy Restore deployable.

Alternative builds

The above build is also viable for those who prefer Gara to become a nuker while also providing Energy to allies. Simply replace Blind Rage with  Streamline and Power Drift with  Preparation. As an added option, Gara can let go of Augur Reach for  Boreal's Hatred, further improving her Efficiency.

As an alternative option, Gara can completely concentrate on area denial and free energy generation by eschewing Blind Rage and adding  Stretch or  Overextended to increase the number of rotating mirrors.

Conclusion

There is something about Gara's poise that may look too dainty for a seasoned warrior, but it works especially well on her form. Fashionframe PROTIP: Animation set also looks good on  Nezha Prime.

Whereas  Ash evokes the memory of the shinobi,  Grendel of an honorable sumo wrestler, and  Rhino of something completely un-oriental for a ninja-inspired lore, Gara reminds players of the onna bushi - that graceful warrior lady of the old feudal period, with her distinct kabuto and samurai-like livery. Not quite the Dax, as they have been manipulated to submit to treacherous goals, but one who espouses the true nature of honor and is willing to sacrifice her life for a rightful cause.

And Gara had already proven that, with how she offered her life to defeat an ancient Sentient.