Nightfall

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The Vantage line taken to its end: the longest reach at tier 3, the fastest bullet, and a wider view than any class before it. It's the best tank in the game at not being where the fight is.

Stats

At 0 stat points. Bullet speed and range include the global bullet-speed and range multipliers.

Tier	3
Unlock level	30 (12,205 score)
Upgrades from	Vantage
Upgrades into	Level 45: Horizon, Nightveil
Barrels	1, the longest single barrel at tier 3
Reload	1.33 s between shots (0.75 shots per second)
Bullet speed	809 px/s
Bullet range	728 px
Bullet damage	16 per bullet (+5.0 per Bullet Damage point)
Bullet penetration	3 (every 5th shot: 6)
Spread	±0.3°
Recoil per shot	3× a Recruit shot
View	1.225× view multiplier (Vantage and the rest of its line: 1.125×)
Drones / traps / turrets	None
Body	All body multipliers 1.0. Top speed 168 px/s at level 30, 108 max HP at level 30

How it plays

Nightfall's bullet travels 809 px/s and flies 728 px before it disappears. Most tier-3 guns stop at 331 px. That means there's a band nearly 400 px deep where you can hit them and they can't do anything back. Your job is to live in that band.

The view bonus is what makes that possible. Nightfall sees more of the map than any other tier-3 class, so you usually see a threat before it sees you. You get to decide whether a fight happens. Most of the time the right answer is "at 700 px, or not at all".

Each shot does 16 damage with almost no spread, and you get one every 1.33 seconds. That's about 12 damage a second at 0 points, which sounds low next to a Duet-line class. It isn't the point. You're not trading damage per second, you're trading damage for free, from outside their reach. Every shot a player eats while crossing that band is damage they never got to answer, and a crossing takes them a few seconds.

Every 5th bullet has double penetration, 6 instead of 3. It doesn't make the first thing it hits take more damage, but it holds its damage through drones and shapes in the way. If there's a drone screen between you and your target, time the 5th shot to go through it.

Recoil is 3× a Recruit shot. When something charges you, keep firing and let the kick carry you backwards. It's slow, but it adds up and it's free.

What it beats and what beats it

Nightfall beats slow, committed classes: Quadrant, Crossfire, Trident, Buckshot, anything that has to walk to you. It beats Snare because you can shoot it from far outside its trap field. It's good at finishing low-health players who are running from someone else.

It loses to fast divers. A Vector or a Bastion closes 400 px in a couple of seconds, and at close range your one slow shot can't stop them. It struggles with Shepherd: drones soak your shots. Bullets hit drones for double damage, so one of your shots kills a drone outright, but there are eight of them and you fire once every 1.33 s. And it loses to other snipers who aim better. Nightfall duels are decided by who misses first.

Building your stats

• Bullet Damage first. +5 per point is the biggest per-point damage gain at tier 3 outside the Sledge, and at 7 points each shot does 51.
• Reload second. 0.75 shots a second is painfully slow. Seven points takes it to about 1.4.
• Bullet Speed a few points. Here each point adds about 121 px/s and 109 px of range. Faster bullets are easier to land, and more range widens the band you live in.
• Movement Speed after that, to keep your distance from divers.
• Bullet Penetration a little, Max Health with the rest. Skip Body Damage completely.

Where it leads

• Horizon if you want to be a better sniper. Even faster, harder-hitting bullets, more penetration, the widest view in the game, and a double-penetration round every 3rd shot instead of every 5th.
• Nightveil if you want to ambush. It fades out when you stop moving and becomes fully invisible after ten seconds still, and its shots hit 50% harder while you're fully cloaked. Firing flashes you briefly visible, so the first shot gives your position away. It's 20% faster than Nightfall too, which helps against divers.

Horizon is for players who already win long-range duels. Nightveil is for players who'd rather not be seen at all.

Common mistakes

• Fighting inside 331 px. You've given up the only thing that makes the class good.
• Standing still in the open. You're not invisible yet. That comes with Nightveil.
• Not leading. Even at 809 px/s, a bullet takes most of a second to cross 700 px. Aim where they'll be.
• Chasing. Every shot you fire while chasing pushes you backwards. Let them go and pick another target.
• Building like a Duet. Reload before damage is backwards here. Every shot should hurt.