NIKOLA TESLA
- ELITE
- THE RIFT
- SPAREABLE
NIKOLA TESLA is a named elite on THE RIFT, a place of entities.
He fell through a torn sky in 1943 — the funeral back home was a padded box — and has been in the current ever since. He is the first to warn of the machine mind humming at the far door: it measures everything and loves nothing.
The numbers
- BASE HEALTH320
- CONTACT DAMAGE24
- HITS EVERY0.70s
- SPEED20/s
- SIZE24 across
- CRIT CHANCE12%
- ABOVE THE HORDE+3 levels
- NOTICES YOU AT250
The monster at its baseline, before a venue has placed it. What it really fields on each difficulty is under “Where you meet it”.
Where you meet it
THE RIFT
It is placed by hand on THE RIFT and waits at its post until you come close.
| DIFFICULTY | LEVEL | HEALTH | DAMAGE | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EASY | 24 | 320 | 41 | 1229 |
| MEDIUM | 25 | 480 | 41 | 1427 |
| HARD | 28 | 736 | 43 | 1672 |
| NIGHTMARE | 52 | 1920 | 61 | 13221 |
What to know
- SPAREABLEBeaten, it kneels instead of dying and the run pauses for the verdict. Spared, NIKOLA TESLA joins the party.
- THE ENTRANCECloses at 115/s until it has said its piece, then fights at its own pace.
- WHAT IT WAS CARRYINGA shift's pay, and only about one body in five is carrying any of it when it falls.
- WHEN STRUCKIt bleeds. A blow that overwhelms it bursts it, and there is a face among what lands.
Mechanics
Every dangerous move is telegraphed — it roots, it winds up, and you get the beat you need to be somewhere else.
- SHOCK PULSEIt roots for 0.5s first, then throws a ring 66 out from itself: 78% of its contact damage, and a shove hard enough to put you back out at range. The shove is the point rather than the damage — it is answering the habit of standing on top of it and trading. A jump clears it, exactly like a slam. Once every 7s.
- ORBIT GUARDIt roots for 0.6s first, then 3 motes come up and turn around it at 28 out, for 6s. Anything the ring sweeps through takes 45% of its contact damage, no more than once every 0.7s however many motes pass at once. The ring does not chase — it only means the last stride into contact costs something. Time the gaps, or fight it from outside. Once every 12s.
What it drops
Every kill pays one medkit, one repair kit and one XP scroll.
Its drops roll 30% better on the rarity ladder than the level's ordinary loot.
Guaranteed pieces by rarity: 1 magic and a 50% chance of a rare. A rarity the monster's own level has not unlocked yet is skipped, so the same fight pays better on a harder rung.
Always drops
Story items
WARDENCLYFFE NOTES
What it says
Spoilers for this fight, covered until you ask for them.
NIKOLA TESLAA VISITOR! ALIVE! MAGNIFICENT. MIND THE LAWS OF MOTION HERE. THEY ARE MORE OF A SUGGESTION.
THE HERONIKOLA TESLA. I'M A BUILDER - HALF MY TOOLS RUN ON YOUR IDEAS. HOW ARE YOU IN HERE?
NIKOLA TESLAIN 1943 THE SKY TORE OPEN. I FELL INTO PURE CURRENT. MY FUNERAL BACK HOME WAS PADDED.
NIKOLA TESLALATELY A NEW THING HUMS AT THE FAR DOOR. A MACHINE MIND. IT MEASURES ALL, LOVES NONE.
THE HEROA MACHINE MIND - IN HERE TOO? I KNOW THAT MAKE. IT'S GUARDING THE DOOR I NEED.
NIKOLA TESLATHEN ASK YOUR QUESTIONS - IF YOU REACH IT. THE RIFT MAKES US GUARD OUR CORNERS. EN GARDE.
Last words
THE CURRENT... ...RETURNS TO THE COIL...
Beaten, it kneels rather than dies, and the run stops for your verdict. Spare it and NIKOLA TESLA fights at your side for the rest of the campaign, handing over its story items but keeping its own kit. Kill it and the withheld blow lands.
What this scene is part of — everything said and found around it — is its chapter of the story.