Nightwing Bundle Pack Guide - Guide for Batman: Arkham City

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Batman: Arkham City - Nightwing Combat and Challenge Guide

Contents:

1. Version History

2. Introduction

3. Nightwing vs. Batman move list

4. Analysis of new or different moves and gadgets

5. Combat differences summary

6. Enemy strategy differences

7. Combat Challenges special notes

8. Predator Challenges special notes

9. Campaign special notes

10. Copyright and contact info

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1. Version history

1.0: First version.  

===============================================================================
2. Introduction
Nightwing is available as DLC for Batman: Arkham City.  The DLC package adds:

* A new playable character, Nightwing, for both Combat and Predator Challenges 
and Campaigns
* New enemy/Riddler dialogue in Challenges (Nightwing is unvoiced)
* Two Nightwing skins and character trophies (regular and Animated Nightwing)
* One new Combat and one new Predator Challenge map, both set in Wayne Manor
* Two Achievements, for 100% completion of the Challenges (excepting Robin's)

This guide assumes you are familiar with playing the game as Batman and focuses
on what is different for the Nightwing experience.  In general, Nightwing's 
Combat Challenges are slightly harder; the Predator Challenges are mostly 
easier (due to simpler medal requirements) but a few are very tough.  Nightwing
mostly controls like Batman.  His moves are generally faster than Batman's but 
slower than Catwoman's.  Other than missing/replaced gadgets, the big 
difference is a lack of a cape, which limits him to Catwoman-style Pounce/Drop 
from high points instead of being able to Glide Kick a target.  

For an excellent discussion of combat mechanics in general, head over to 
AbaddonOnion2's Combat Mechanics Guide.  This guide assumes you're already 
proficient with Batman and discusses shared moves and strategies only 
minimally.

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3. Nightwing vs. Batman move list
The combat engine for Nightwing is the same as for Batman, so he mostly has 
similar moves.  This list compares their two movesets.  Note that Nightwing has
fewer moves total, leaving blanks in his list.  New or altered moves will be 
considered in detail in a later section.  

This list was created for the XBOX 360; the controls work the same for a 
Playstation 3.  Y=Triangle, X=Square, A=X, B=O.  LS and RS are Right and Left 
(analog) Stick.  RT (R1) and LT (L1) are Left and Right Trigger.  RB (R2) and 
LB (L2) are Right and Left Bumper.

Buttons       | Nightwing     | Batman        | Differences
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MISCELLANEOUS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X             | Strike        | Strike        | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LB            | Detective     | Detective     | Many, despite the name
              | Mode          | Mode          | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RB            | Grapnel Gun   | Grapnel Gun   | No Grapnel Boost
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RT            | Crouch        | Crouch        | Nightwing has a great duck walk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RT+A (near    | Climb Down    | Climb Down    | 
ledge)        |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RT+A (near    | Enter Grate   | Enter Grate   | 
floor grate)  |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A (in grate)  | Exit Grate    | Exit Grate    | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RT+A (near    | Corner Cover  | Corner Cover  | 
corner)       |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X (directly   | Drop Attack   | Drop Attack   | 
above enemy)  |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X (above      | Pounce        | Glide Kick    | Nightwing's range is shorter
enemy; middle |               |               | 
distance)     |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RT+Y (near    | Ground        | Ground        | No functional difference.
downed        | Takedown or   | Takedown or   | Nightwing will occasionally do
stunned       | Ground Pound  | Ground Pound  | a brutal electric-prod-to-the-
enemy)        | (in FreeFlow) | (in FreeFlow) | crotch attack.

STUN ATTACKS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B             | ???? Stun     | Cape Stun     | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBB (same     | Ultra Stun    | Ultra Stun    | 
target)       |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+XXX...      | Beat Down     | Beat Down     | Nightwing may not alternate
(repeatedly)  |               |               | fists; move is faster
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+AA          | Aerial Attack | Aerial Attack | Nightwing is faster
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+AA+         | Directed      | Directed      | Nightwing is faster
[LS(towards   | Aerial Attack | Aerial Attack | 
foe)+X]       |               |               | 

MOVEMENT & MOTION ATTACKS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LS+A (hold)   | Run           | Run           | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA            | Evade         | Evade         | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LS (towards   | Redirect      | Redirect      | 
foe)+AA       |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LS+A(hold)+RT | Slide         | Slide         | 

COUNTERS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y             | Counter       | Counter       | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y(hold)+      | Blade Dodge   | Blade Dodge   | 
LT(back) (x3) |               |               | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y(tap)+       | Blade Dodge   | Blade Dodge   | 
LT(back) (x3) | Takedown      | Takedown      |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y(under fire) | ---           | Smoke Pellet  | Nightwing is missing this move

FLYING MOVES
(Nightwing cannot fly and is missing all of them)

SPECIAL COMBO MOVES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X+A           | Group Attack  | Bat Swarm     | No similarities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+B           | Group         | Multiple      | No similarities
              | Electrify     | Takedown      | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X+Y           | ---           | Disarm and    | Nightwing is missing this move
              |               | Destroy       | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Y+B           | Takedown      | Takedown      | 

QUICKFIRE GADGETS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LT+X          | Group Stun    | Explosive Gel | No similarities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LT+B          | Escrima Stick | REC           | No similarities
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LT+Y          | Batclaw (Pull | Batclaw (Pull | 
              | or Disarm)    | or Disarm)    | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LT (tap)      | Wing Ding     | Batarang      | New whimsical name, same attack
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RT,RT         | Wrist Dart    | Freeze Blast  | Both instant stuns; not similar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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4. Analysis of new or different moves and gadgets

Altered moves
Detective Mode (LB)
Batman's Detective Mode is vastly superior to Nightwing's.  I'm not familiar 
with Nightwing from comics or TV shows, but apparently he's a lesser detective.
In any case, Nightwing's Detective Mode is actually the same as Catwoman's 
Thief Vision, except that it's gray instead of red and he doesn't get cool 
goggles.  Here's a list of things Batman's Detective Mode does that Nightwing's
doesn't:

*Highlights interactive objects in the environment, and provides data about 
them or how to use them
*Highlights enemies by color (all are white/orange for Nightwing)
**Blue for unarmed
***Held hitting weapons (sticks, blades, shields, electric prods) highlighted 
yellow
**Orange for enemies armed with guns
**Yellow highlights around armored enemies
*If an interference backpack is present, its location is visible
**Occasionally Detective Mode cuts through the interference and you'll get a 
peek at your foes
*Activates automatically in smoke (from Smoke Pellet or a detonated fire 
extinguisher)
*Highlights proximity mines

Nightwing's Detective Mode is unusable when jammed - the already grey screen 
gets darker to the point that you can't see much of anything.

Grapnel (RB)
Apparently Batman let his protege who became Nightwing borrow a Grapnel gun.  
Nightwing's functions exactly the same.  The only difference is that Nightwing 
cannot use the Grapnel Boost or the Grapnel Boost Takedown.  The only place 
I've ever found to use it in the Challenges is Natural Selection (Extreme) 
where you can get the sniper on the middle bridge with it as Batman.  Suffice 
it to say you won't miss the move.

Crouch (RT)
This move works the same - I just want to make a point of noting the motion 
capture actor's great duck-walk.  I guess Batman may walk similarly but you 
can't see through his cape...

Pounce vs. Glide Kick (X while above enemy at middle distance)
Batman glides in on his cape to kick an enemy down to the ground, and can go 
for quite a distance.  Nightwing makes a single leap in his version of the move
and thus has shorter range.  In Predator Challenges, the distance is irrelevant
(the rooms are too small for it to matter).  Nightwing does not have any of the
Glide Kick/Dive Bomb related moves (Shockwave Attack, Glide Boost Attack), 
since he doesn't glide.  Nightwing's Pounce is shared by Catwoman.

Beat Down (B+XXXXX....)
The moves work the same for both characters.  I just want to note that 
Nightwing uses his Escrima Sticks instead of fists, and doesn't alternate sides
the way Batman and Catwoman do.  He'll sometimes to two left or two right 
strikes in a row.  Nightwing's is a bit faster than Batman's, but it's not 
faster enough to make much difference.

Aerial Attack and Directed Aerial Attack (B+AA, B+AA+(X+LS))
Aerial Attack and its Directed variant work the same for Batman and Nightwing, 
but Nightwing performs his a bit faster.  Besides serving as another variation 
for bonuses, the move is intended to be used against shielded foes - it knocks 
them to the ground and drops their shield.  It seems that enemies stop their 
attacks when you perform Aerial Attack on a shielded foe.  This AI interruption
does NOT occur against unshielded foes.  Batman's Aerial attack is so slow that
he'll often get attacked anyway (by an enemy that started attack after Aerial 
Attack began), losing the combo.  As Batman, it's usually better to Disarm and 
Destroy the shield (X+Y) instead: it's unblockable, makes you invincible, and 
then they can't just pick the shield back up.  For Nightwing, Aerial Attack is 
sped up so he can take out shielded foes without getting hit; he can't destroy 
the shields so he's forced to use Aerial Attack much more frequently.  It's 
still too dangerous to use in the middle of a pack.  Catwoman's Aerial Attack 
is similarly faster.

New moves - Special Combo Moves
Special Combo Moves are the moves that become available when your combo counter
has increased by 5 (or 8, lacking the upgrade) since you started the combo or 
last used one of these moves.  Note that the instant Takedown (Y+B) is unlisted
in the game, but works just fine for Nightwing (and identically to Batman's).  
Nightwing has no X+Y move.  

Group Attack (X+A)
Group Attack, well, attacks the whole group of enemies.  Not a great name.  The
trick with Nightwing's Escrima Sticks (this is also true for the gadget) is 
that they ricochet.  So, for this move, he throws them and they ricochet off 
thugs like pinballs, dealing damage and racking up points.  The move scores 10 
points per hit, can hit a huge number of guys (15 at least), and increases your
combo counter by up to 5.  So, if you're at combo 20 and use it on a large pack
of guys, you can net something like 10 (points) * 15 (guys) * 25 (combo) for 
3750 points - pretty good for a combo 20 move!  It's hard to have enough guys 
left standing late-game for the move to reach full potential, but it's still 
worth using every chance you get.  The move doesn't damage armored foes.  It 
can hit shielded guys the Escrima Stick ricochets in from the side, but they 
can block it from the front; there seems to be no way to aim this.  It is less 
likely to hit through a shield if there are fewer foes.  

Group Attack can knock guys down to set them up for a Ground Pound (RT + Y).  
If everyone gets knocked down, or if a guy is isolated on the ground, feel free
to follow up with Ground Pound for big points.

Group Electrify (A+B)
Group Electrify, while as boringly named as Group Attack, is just as accurate.
Nightwing charges up the stun rod in his Escrima Sticks and then sends out an 
electrical blast.  The range and effect is the same as Batman's REC gadget 
blast when supercharged (combo count above 12; red glowing combo counter).  It 
sends out electrical currents at nearby foes; all are interrupted from their 
current activity for a very brief stun (they don't go into stars-around-the-
head stun).  Armored enemies will be blasted to the ground for a medium-length 
stun.  Blunt-object armed enemies and Lieutenants (the one-armed Abramovici 
twins) will involuntarily swing their weapons in a circle for Collateral Damage
points (10 points each; no combo multiplier or multiplication).  This move is 
very, VERY effective at getting Lieutenants to kill the rest of the thugs in 
the level.  It's not very effective for getting a good score - the move itself 
does no damage and thus earns no points or extra combo counter.  

This move is extremely time-consuming, but not slow in a tactical sense.  It 
acts normally with respect to combo timeouts, but the move sends the game into 
slow motion to zoom in on Nightwing while he charges the Escrima Sticks.  I 
guess if you need a breather in combat but don't want to pause, you can use it 
for a free few seconds to think.

New moves - Gadget Moves
Nightwing has a subset of Batman's gadgetry, plus some new tricks of his own.  
Of the combat-relevant gadgets, Nightwing is missing Batman's Smoke Pellet, 
Explosive Gel, REC, specialty Batarangs, and Freeze weapons.  They share basic 
Batarangs (Nightwing's are called Wing Dings), the Firearm Jammer/Mine 
Detonator, Batclaw, and Line Launcher.  Nightwing has the new Electrical Blast 
and Wrist Dart weapons.  Nightwing's gadgets are not powered up once you enter 
FreeFlow Focus (red combo counter), nor does their use lose Focus.  The gadgets
function fairly differently in Quickfire versus manual use so each gadget has 
two subsections.

Wing Ding (Tap LT)
The Wing Ding functions identically to the Batarang, it just has a new name.  
Nightwing does not have any of the specialty modes on his Wing Dings (no Sonic 
or Remote Control for him.)

Batclaw (LT+Y)
The Batclaw functions identically for Nightwing as Batman.  On gun-armed foes, 
you'll do Batclaw Disarm to remove their weapon and pull them towards you 
slightly (enough to trip on an edge for the Fall Guy Predator Medal).  Shielded
and gunless armored thugs can't be hit with the Batclaw.  All the remaining 
thugs will be pulled towards you for a Batclaw Slam; don't do this to foes with
Stun Rods because it will hurt you instead.

Group Stun / Electrical Blast (LT + X)
This move has different names; it's called Group Stun on the score card in 
Combat Challenges, but Electrical Blast in the Predator Challenge Medals.  In 
any case, Nightwing charges up his Escrima Sticks and slams them into the 
ground (with or without a vertical leap) to send out an electrical shockwave to
stun nearby enemies.  

The Quickfire version is very short-range and does not induce much stun.  It 
will only interrupt enemies and not daze them or put them on the ground.  
Armored enemies are knocked down (like they are for all electric attacks).  
When used with no enemies in range, it will count as a miss.  As it does no 
damage, it is worth 0 points and doesn't affect combos.

The manually aimed version can be quite powerful, as it will induce a brief 
dazed-on-the-ground stun in enemies it hits.  This version has a lot more range
in the electric shockwave itself, plus Nightwing can leap a short distance to 
fire it off.  When you activate the gadget with LT you'll see two blue 
concentric rings on the ground showing where it will hit once you fire the move
with RT.  

Fired manually from zero range, where Nightwing doesn't have to leap, he slams 
the sticks straight down instead.  This causes enemies to pop up in the air 
before falling to the ground and can knock them over ledges - there is a 
Predator Medal (Bowled Over) for this in several Challenges; it's easier to get
it from close range.

Electrical Blast can be fired from Vantage Points (gargoyles) or from high 
ledges.  The extra vertical leap gives the blast more power when it lands, 
leading to a larger stun radius and longer stun times.  You can abuse this to 
get all the enemies in a level stunned: stun a few, grapnel away, wait for them
to awaken and call for help, then stun the group again.  This is a good way to 
get three thugs together for the Triple Header Medal in the Predator 
Challenges.

Finally, Electrical Blast itself is a silent or quiet move - I never hear 
enemies react to it (they usually call out when they hear you use a gadget).  
This means it can be used for a silent grounding for a Ground Takedown; of 
course Ground Takedown is nonsilent so it won't help much.  You can use this to
bypass an enemy you want out of the way but not KOed (usually to alter the 
timing of their patrol patterns).

Escrima Stick (LT + B)
When Quickfired, the Escrima Stick functions almost the same as a Batarang or 
Wing Ding.  The only difference is that it goes in a straight line instead of 
an arc and that it ricochets so you can see it returning.  The Escrima Stick 
won't hit armored or shielded enemies.  It is worth 10 points and adds to the 
combo multiplier, unless you miss, in which case you'll lose the combo.  When 
Quickfire picks an invalid target (an armored or shielded enemy) it won't lose 
your combo counter but it also won't count as a hit.

When used manually, the Escrima Stick has a lot of extra effects.  It will 
ricochet similarly to the Group Attack.  When you aim manually, the cursor is 
white and centered, but does not lock on immediately.  You can throw now to get
a Quickfire-like straight shot to stun an enemy.  If you wait, it will give you
a green cursor lock on enemies near the center of the screen; a throw will hit 
those enemies.  The interesting effect is that it hits enemIES, not just one 
enemY.  It will hit up to three in a group.  It can also hit around corners and
out of line-of-sight - for example you can hide on a Vantage Point and hit 
thugs in the upper-level shack in Meltdown Mayhem.  Targeting multiple foes or 
around corner is finicky - there's nothing you can do to make it aim in a 
particular way other than wiggling the camera around and hoping you're offered 
a better firing solution.  It's also slow to trigger the ricochet throws, it 
takes a second or two after pulling the stick out (LT) before you can get a 
locked-on ricochet throw with RT.  There is a Medal in Meltdown Mayhem 
(Extreme), Triple Ricochet, for hitting three guys with one throw.  Be wary 
that it won't affect the armored thug.

Wrist Dart (RT,RT)
Nightwing has a limited ammo stun dart.  In Quickfire, it will lead to a long 
ground stun in any regular thug it hits (it misses armor and shields).  You 
only get three and they do not regenerate between rounds in Combat Challenges.
The dart appears to be invisible and moves very quickly - it's effectively a 
nonfatal gun with three bullets.  

In Predator Challenges, the Wrist Dart is a lot more useful.  For body shots, 
it has the same effect as a Quickfired shot - a long stun.  However, a head 
shot is an instant KO - very useful for taking out snipers, or just reducing 
the number of moving bodies early in an Extreme level.  You can zoom in by 
tapping RS after you've activated the gadget with LT to improve your aim for 
headshots.  Nightwing's arm isn't terribly steady so getting headshots 
consistently takes some practice.  Top of the World (Extreme) requires you to 
hit all three darts as headshots (Triple Head Shot), and other levels require 
either one head shot or one body shot + Ground Takedown.  

There is a bug with the combo counter associated with the Wrist Dart.  I 
haven't seen it in Combat Challenges where it would be useful.  For Predator 
Challenges, when you use the dart, you'll get a combo counter that doesn't time
out properly.  It's especially noticeable with the Triple Head Shot Medal on 
Top of the World (Extreme), where the combo counter may just sit there for a 
while if you are sitting still on a gargoyle, etc.


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5. Combat differences summary
Nightwing's combat is not terribly different than Batman's.  Nightwing has a 
small speed edge, the same health bar (excepting that Nightwing's is blue), and
many shared gadgets.  The biggest intentional difference is Nightwing's lack of
Special Combo Disarm and Destroy, leaving him unable to get rid of pesky 
shields.  A minor difference is that while Nightwing can enter FreeFlow Focus 
(red counter, blurred slowed-down combat), he does not get supercharged gadgets
in this mode.

The other difference is Nightwing's combat pacing.  There is an occasional bug 
in Nightwing's FreeFlow targeting and timing.  Usually you can hit the button 
for your next move as the previous move ends; this is how you get the Critical 
Strike bonus.  Nightwing will occasionally just refuse to do a move at all, or 
refuse to automatically target as intelligently as Batman or Catwoman.  You 
have to stay on your toes to make sure he doesn't ignore the move input, since 
you've only got a second to input it again without losing the combo.  Be 
careful with not targeting moves with LS as well, so he doesn't just target 
empty air and break your combo.  This happens to me about once every 3 Combat 
Challenges, and seems to occur most on Hell's Gate and Rooftop Rumble, and very
frequently on Freight Train.

To learn about the flow of combat in general, read AbaddonOnion2's excellent 
Batman: Arkham City Combat Mechanics Guide.  I will summarize the important 
points here:

1) To get high scores on Combat Challenges, and to get lots of EXP and 
replacement health in Story Mode, the key is to keep your combo counter high.
2) Keeping the counter high means: always do something (a Strike, Redirect, or 
other special move) within 1 second of the end of the last move, do not perform
a move that hits no enemies, and do not get hit.
3) Abuse Redirect (AA + LS towards foe) constantly.  Your average combat will 
look like this: Strike, Strike, Strike (enters FreeFlow), Redirect, Strike, 
Redirect, Strike... with special moves interspersed where appropriate.

You are invincible to most attacks (Titans are the main exception) while 
Redirecting.  This gives you a moment to plan your next attack and keeps the 
combo going.  You are totally invincible while in the animation for a Special 
Combo Attack.  


===============================================================================
6. Enemy strategies

Normal foes and blunt-object-armed foes
Normal unarmed and blunt-object-armed enemies are treated the same for 
Nightwing as Batman: beat on them and redirect over them, they're just there to
soak up damage and provide points!  Blunt objects (pipes, hammers, and bats) 
give them a little more range, and they'll give you a blurry screen if they hit
you.  Try to Counter foes with blunt objects when you can - the animations are 
usually pretty cool.  

Blade armed
Nightwing treats these guys the same as Batman.  Blades include knives and 
broken bottles.  I am not including Assassin's swords here.  These guys should 
be treated the same as Batman treats them: as if they were unarmed.  I suggest 
never bothering with Blade Dodge and Blade Dodge Takedown - it's a losing 
proposition because the timing is challenging and the point reward isn't worth 
it.  Redirect over them to interrupt the attack and then smack them in the back
of the head instead.

Shielded
Nightwing has less trouble than Batman with your average shielded foe because 
enemy AI interrupts its attack if you do an Aerial Attack (B+AA), the only one 
that works, against a shielded thug.  Batman also gets this interruption, but 
he performs the move so slowly that it doesn't help much.  This means Nightwing
can safely Aerial Attack non-isolated shielded thugs - just don't try it in 
large groups.  The shield itself is much more dangerous, because Nightwing is 
missing Special Combo Disarm and Destroy (X+Y) and thus can't destroy the 
shield permanently.  Any shield on the field will stay there for all rounds of 
a Combat Challenge, forcing you to Aerial Attack it off the enemies again, and 
again, and again.  Special Combo Instant Takedown (Y+B) works on these guys.  
Group Attack _may_ hit them, depending on the angle the Escrima Stick ricochets
in from; it's not dependable.  Group Electrify will work, but the move won't do
much.  

Stun prod armed
You have to attack stun prod armed thugs from the back or the side to prevent a
nasty shock (with screen blur) from the prod.  Like with shields, you cannot 
get the electric prod itself off the field - it's there to stay.  The lack of 
Disarm and Destroy really hurts when you accidentally punch a Stun prod armed 
enemy.  The game is more forgiving than Arkham Asylum was about hitting them in
the back - a strike from the side from a distance (via FreeFlow) will hit them,
but it's dangerous to try this regularly.  Generally anything that disorients 
them (Group Attack, Group Electrify, Redirecting over them) and then attacking 
from not-directly-in-front will work.  At least you have electric sticks of 
death of your own....

Armored
Nightwing will treat armored foes similarly to Batman.  The best option in 
Combat Challenges is Beat Down (B + XXXXX...) - Beat Down is great if you can 
do one early because it will get your combo counter up by 11 or so.  You don't 
have a REC, but you do have Electric Blast (LT+X) and Group Electrify (A+B), 
each of which throws armored foes in the same fashion.  

In Predator Mode, Electric Blast (used manually) is a great tool against 
armored thugs.  It's quiet, so it won't alert enemies immediately (until you 
Ground Takedown (RT+Y)).  It can knock them clear off ledges for an instant KO.
Inverted Takedown from Vantage Points is better, but Electric Blast is your 
best replacement.  

Note that Nightwing's Detective Mode, unlike Batman's, will not highlight armor
- so always doublecheck your target in Predator Challenges when attempting a 
failable takedown like Silent Takedown, Corner Takedown, or the Drop/Pounce 
Attack.  

Assassins
Assassins should be treated the same as for Batman.  Note that they can dodge 
most attacks, especially projectiles - these won't count against you as a miss 
if they do the purple-smoke dodge animation.  Also note that they cannot be 
kept down on the ground by Ultra Stun or the Wrist Dart, so don't try a Ground 
Takedown.  Use Beat Down on a lone remaining Assassin.

Lieutenants (Abramovici twins, the one-armed huge guys)
Nightwing can crush Lieutenants more easily than Batman.  All strikes against a
Lieutenant become Beat Down, which is a little faster for Nightwing.  As the 
Lieutenant winds up to strike, you have a couple of options: you can leap over 
his head (AA) to dodge the attack and continue your assault, use Group Attack 
(X+A) to rack up points against nearby thugs, or use Group Electrify (A+B) to 
force the Lieutenant to spin his weapon (missing you due to attack animation 
invincibility) and mow through the other thugs.  Prefer Group Attack if you 
need points, or Group Electrify if you are more concerned about time/health.  
Batman's version of this strategy is to use Bat Swarm in place of Group Attack 
(superior, points-wise) and REC gadget for electrically-induced swinging death 
(inferior, due to no invincibility frames).  Nightwing's second advantage is 
that Group Electrify will let easily force the Lieutenant to stun Titans, 
making the Funhouse Brawl (Extreme) stages much easier.  

You may be tempted to leave them for last, but in Combat Challenges, you should
aim for the Lieutenants first.  You should be able to get a combo of 50 or so 
by the time the Lieutenant is dead: a great way to start a stage!

Titans
None of Nightwing's missing moves or different gadgets are useful against 
Titans, so Nightwing tactics are unchanged from Batman tactics.  Ultra Stun 
(BBB) followed by 8 strikes within the stun period puts you in Freakshow Rodeo 
mode, where you ride on the Titan's shoulders and direct him to wail on your 
hapless foes.  From there, you are invincible and can hit thugs with their 
swinging arms for Rodeo Strikes (10 pts), charge forward with A, and do a Titan
Ground Pound with B.  It helps to charge up 5 attacks before taking one on, so 
that you can unleash a Group Attack just after the Ultra Stun to interrupt 
nearby thugs while you attack the Titan.  If a Titan is the last foe, any 
stunning blow (generally any combo of 8) will KO it for good, even if you 
haven't done the stun cycle three times yet.  

===============================================================================
7. Combat Challenges special notes

For getting a high score on the Combat Challenges, incorporate the advice on 
moves and enemies above.  This section contains just a few pointers specific to
the Combat Challenges.

* Nightwing's Quickfire gadgets do not have to be used in ONE combo to get the 
variation bonus.  Using them anywhere in battle will work.  
* You cannot use the Wrist Dart in each phase of a Combat Challenge, as you get
three darts and there are four stages.
* Group Electrify is useless for points.  It can be used to stun armored foes, 
make gun-armed foes shoot into the air, and make Lieutenants crazily attack 
their own thugs.  Prefer Group Attack for racking up points.  
* When doing the Campaign mode, ALWAYS save Super Powered for levels with 
shields and stun prods, especially Prison Riot and Hell's Gate.  Nightwing's 
inability to break these items (due to the lack of Disarm and Destroy) is 
negated by this bonus effect.  Also, the Predator version of the effect-crawl 
faster-is useless.  
* Nightwing seems to be much more vulnerable to thrown items in Combat 
Challenges than Batman or Catwoman.  I can't quantify this, but I certainly 
took a lot more hits from them.

Blind Justice (Medals at 6000, 12000, 24000)
This is just a warm-up level.  Opponents are thin on the ground, and shields 
and stun rods are not present.

Survival of the Fittest (Medals at 8000, 16000, 32000)

Rooftop Rumble (Medals at 8000, 16000, 32000)

Hell's Gate (Medals at 8000, 16000, 32000)
Assassins are common here.

Funhouse Brawl (Medals at 15000, 30000, 60000)

Prison Riot (Medals at 8000, 16000, 32000)
Shields and stun rods abound in this level.  

Blind Justice (Extreme) (Medals at 8000, 16000, 32000)
This is just a warm-up level.  Opponents are thin on the ground, and shields 
and stun rods are not present.

Survival of the Fittest (Extreme) (Medals at 15000, 30000, 60000)
You'll face a Titan in stages 2 and 4.

Rooftop Rumble (Extreme) (Medals at 10000, 20000, 40000)
Assassins and Lieutenants are mixed in in this level.

Hell's Gate (Extreme) (Medals at 12000, 24000, 48000)
Assassins are everywhere in this level.

Funhouse Brawl (Extreme) (Medals at 15000, 30000, 60000)
You'll face a Lieutenant + Titan combo in stage 2, and a Lieutenant + 2 Titan 
combo in stage 4.  Abuse Group Electrify to keep the Lieutenant stunning the 
Titans as necessary.

Prison Riot (Extreme) (Medals at 12000, 24000, 48000)
Shields and stun rods abound in this level.  Assassins are mixed in as well.

Freight Train (Medals at 8000, 16000, 32000)
This is Robin's DLC Combat Challenge.  You can skip it as Nightwing to no ill 
effect.  They tried to make it like a sidescrolling beat-em-up, but in my 
opinion the combat engine works poorly in 2D.  There are very few foes in range
at any one time (or even in the level at all), making it hard to rack up 
combos.  Using your gadgets and getting in as many combat variations as 
possible is important.  You'll get at least half your points on the last stage,
which has a Lieutenant and Black Mask.  Black Mask has a large HP boost (as if 
he were armored); you can Beat Down both him and the Lieutenant to get your 
combo pretty high.  The funny 2D space makes Redirect and Group Attack work 
poorly so you may need to use Group Electrify to keep the Lieutenant from 
killing you.

Wayne Manor Armory (Medals at 15000, 30000, 60000)
This is Nightwing's DLC Combat Challenge.  You *must* do this level to get his 
Achievements.  The thug type is TYGER guards, you're in a large mostly square 
room, and there are a ton of blunt objects and knives available to the thugs.  
There are no shields or stun rods.  You should be able to rack up huge combos 
with Redirect, as the only foes you can't attack freely are the occasional 
Armored thugs, and the stand out as red instead of black.

===============================================================================
8. Predator Challenges special notes

This section features a few pointers for the Predator Challenges.  After 
general tips are per-Challenge tips.  I don't offer walkthroughs in text 
because Youtube videos already do it better!

* Nightwing has many repeated medals, unlike Batman.  She has fewer gadgets and
some environment tools are missing, and I guess the developers got lazy.  
Unfortunately, some of the really hard ones that require hitting three guys at 
once are repeated.
* Like with Batman, but unlike with Catwoman, air duct gratings are present.  
They take time to remove so plan your escapes accordingly.  Air Vent Takedown 
is present, but there's no Medal for it (Batman has one on Meltdown Mayhem 
(Extreme)).  If using the normal Nightwing skin, watch his face as you remove 
the vent cover - he gets a hilarious look of concentrated straining just before
he tears the cover off.
* Explosive Gel walls are present, but Nightwing has no way to actually blow 
the wall up.  
* Electric Blast is silent or at least quiet, so you can use it to bypass a foe
that you want to keep alive for whatever reason.
* If you have enemies to spare (more than you need for medals), abuse head 
shots with the Wrist Dart for silent takedowns from a distance.  
* Heat Signature Conceal is supposedly built into the Batsuit but it works for 
Nightwing too!  So long as you don't move, you can't be seen by the thermal 
vision guys looking at Vantage Points (gargoyles).
* Speaking of Vantage Points, you have no Inverted Takedown.  It's my favorite,
so I miss it.  It was one of the better ways to get armored thugs in Predator.
* Nightwing is missing the Sonic Batarang - this makes it tough to lure enemies
to a particular location.  You use a Wing Ding for the purpose - sometimes 
they'll turn and look at its source, but sometimes they'll look at where it 
lands.
* Knockout Smash will occasionally do a suplex animation.  If you played as 
much Resident Evil 4 as I did, you'll love to pretend that the thug is a monk 
Ganado!

For each Challenge, I've listed the medal name, what it is/how to do it, and 
how hard it is on a scale of 1-10 (and if it's hard, why).  

Meltdown Mayhem
* Bullseye - get a body shot with the Wrist Dart, then Ground Takedown the thug
** Difficulty 2/10.  This is trivial to get, you don't even have to aim if you 
use Quickfire Dart (RT+RT).  The Ground Takedown is noisy, though.
* Fall Guy - Batclaw a thug off a railing and watch them fall for a KO.
** Difficulty 6/10.  This is mechanically very simple, the hard part is that 
Nightwing doesn't aim through railings too well, so your opportunities to pull 
them off without being shot at are slim.  If you leap to the middle island as 
the level starts, then focus on the thug in front of you moving right, you can 
get him on the stairs.
* Fists of Fury - take out a thug with Beat Down
** Difficulty 3/10.  The move is easy, but it's noisy and leaves you 
vulnerable, so do it late in the level.

Police Brutality
* Pound the Beat - knock someone to the ground with Electrical Blast, then do a
Ground Takedown.
** Difficulty 3/10.  The only vulnerability is if you accidentally knock them 
off a ledge (which KOs them for the wrong Medal, Bowled Over), plus the Ground 
Takedown is noisy.
* Grate Moves - leap out of a floor grate for an Instant Takedown.
** Difficulty 3/10.  The move is easy, waiting for a target is boring.  It's a 
noisy move so escape fast.
* Mind Your Head - Knock a foe down with a Wing Ding, then Ground Takedown for 
the KO.
** Difficulty 2/10.  This is trivial to get, you don't even have to aim if you 
use Quickfire Wing Ding (tap LT).  The Ground Takedown is noisy, though.

Natural Selection
* Stick Up - knock someone down with the Escrima Stick, then Ground Takedown.
** Difficulty 2/10.  You can get the Escrima Stick hit from around a corner if 
you use the manual version and wait for the green reticle.  The Ground Takedown
is still noisy and attracts foes.
* Line Drive - Kick 1 thug while riding the Line Launcher
** Difficulty 2/10.  Sight lines are good in this level, so you won't have too 
much trouble finding a target in range.  Be sure to escape afterwards.  You 
don't have to KO them.
* Break Your Fall - Use the Drop Attack (not Pounce) to knock down a thug, then
use Ground Takedown. 
** Difficulty 2/10.  Get up on a Vantage Point and drop down on someone 
isolated.  They have to be close enough for your context-sensitive attack to 
read Drop not Pounce.  The attack itself will draw foes, so you may get shot at
during the Ground Takedown if you take too long.

End of the Line
* Head Shot - instant KO a thug with a head shot from the Wrist Dart.
** Difficulty 1/10.  It's like shooting fish in a barrel.  Hitting a head shot 
is a little difficult from a distance, as Nightwing's arm isn't very stable, 
but you get three tries.  Try to shoot at thermal thugs looking up at 
something, or foes on walkways looking down, as their heads are still.
* Weapon Jam - Use the Firearm Jammer on a thug, let him try to shoot, then 
take him down before he gets another gun.  
** Difficulty 2/10.  The Firearm Jammer will prevent your target from shooting 
at you.  Wait for him to start shaking his gun as he tries to make it work, 
then take him down with three Strikes and a Ground Takedown.  You have until he
re-arms from a gun crate to get him, but any time after he tries to fire will 
work.  If he doesn't try to shoot you, and yell about his gun not working, you 
won't get the Medal!
* Knockout Smash - Tap X for a Knockout Smash during a Silent Takedown (thus 
making it non-silent...)
** Difficulty 1.5/10.  The thugs will hear it so be sure to escape promptly.  
Leave it for the hostage-taking thug if you want.

Lost City
This challenge is easiest if you go for Kick Off first, then get Over the Ledge
when someone comes to investigate.  Stick Up can come at any time.
* Stick Up - knock someone down with the Escrima Stick, then Ground Takedown.
** Difficulty 2/10.  You can get the Escrima Stick hit from around a corner if 
you use the manual version and wait for the green reticle.  The Ground Takedown
is still noisy and attracts foes.
* Kick Off - Use the Line Launcher to kick a thug over a ledge for a KO
** Difficulty 7/10.  It can be very hard to find a thug that's isolated and 
aligned properly for this award.  I suggest going aggressively after the 
thermal goggles thug patrolling the upper walkway, ASAP.  You can hop onto the 
first Vantage Point, swing over to the one on your left above the middle 
walkways, hop down, and immediately target this henchman for Kick Off.
* Over the Ledge - While hanging from a ledge, grab a thug for an instant KO
** Difficulty 5/10.  There is a lot of upper walkway to hang from to get this.
It can be hard to get onto the upper ledge, because the context-sensitive A 
button will usually offer you Corner Cover instead of Climb Down.  Once you've 
dropped down from Kick Off, if you immediately Grapnel back up, you can pull 
down the first thug who comes along looking at the Kick Off victim for this 
Medal, then disappear downstairs after.

Top of the World
* Bowled Over - knock a guy off a walkway with Electrical Blast for a KO.
** Difficulty: 5/10.  Aiming the Electrical Blast properly is the hard part; 
aim so that the foe is directly between your landing point (circles' center) 
and the ledge.  You're going to have to wait for someone to walk along one of 
the narrow ledges to get this.  Alternatively, if everyone is downstairs, let 
yourself be seen at the top of a ladder, and fire the Electrical Blast just as 
he stands up.  If a thug has taken a hostage, you cannot perform this move 
above them (it would cause the hostage to die, so the game prevents it).
* Fall Guy - Batclaw a thug off a railing and watch them fall for a KO.
** Difficulty 7/10.  This is mechanically very simple, the hard part is that 
Nightwing doesn't aim through railings too well, so your opportunities to pull 
them off without being shot at are slim.  Your best bet is to stand near the 
bottom of a ladder and wait for someone to pass the top of the ladder to pull 
them off.  You can also try climbing a pile of crates so you're at the same 
level as the upper walkways.
* Grate Moves - leap out of a floor grate for an Instant Takedown.
** Difficulty 3/10.  The move is easy, waiting for a target is boring.  It's a 
noisy move so escape fast.

Meltdown Mayhem (Extreme)
This level is a HUGE difficulty jump over the non-Extreme Predator Challenges.
It's probably the second hardest Predator Challenge for Nightwing, and it's 
much harder than any of Catwoman's or Batman's.  Two of its three medals 
require you to attack three enemies (simultaneously for one, separately for 
another), and the third medal has spotty targeting.  Note that none of the 
medals require a KO, so you can theoretically have one thug involved in every 
single medal, and could get all three medals if you had only three guys left.

I suggest you start the level by leaping forward and left and then Grapneling 
up to the Vantage Point on the left.  Get a Wrist Dart head shot on the sniper 
thug, then swing across to the Vantage Point on the other wall.  Look towards 
the shack that you start on top of; there is one fairly isolated thug in or 
near it.  Jump down behind him and punch him three times.  Get the Ground Pound
if you feel like risking it, but it isn't necessary.  Escape.  Now, hide on a 
Vantage Point and wait for everyone to come join this guy / look at his corpse.
This is your opportunity for Triple Ricochet.

* Triple Ricochet - Hit three non-armored thugs simultaneously with one 
manually targeted Escrima Stick
** Difficulty - 9/10.  This is preposterously hard.  Guys always spread out 
unless you do something to bring them together.  There is no way to manually 
target three thugs - you can just target in their direction and hope you'll get
three valid green reticles.  Also, one of the three is the armored thug, you 
won't get the Medal.  On the up side, this doesn't KO thugs, so you can keep 
trying so long as they don't spot you.  See my advice on starting the level 
above for a way to reliably get this Medal.
* Rope-a-Dope - While doing a Wire Walk with the Line Launcher, knock a thug 
down with a Drop Attack.  This won't work with Pounce Attack and does not 
require a KO.  This does NOT involve cutting down an Inverted Takedown victim, 
as it did in Batman: Arkham Asylum.
** Difficulty - 8/10.  This is far harder than it ought to be for two reasons.
For one, you are NOT very stealthy while doing the Wire Walk, so getting seen 
and shot at is not infrequent.  For two, the targeting for Drop Attack is 
TERRIBLE - you have to move back and forth to get a sweet spot where it will 
let you perform the attack.  The only good thing is that you don't have to 
follow it up with the Ground Takedown for the Medal.
* Three Strikes - Punch any three different thugs.
** Difficulty - 9/10.  This is a very small arena, and your escape options are 
thin.  Punching a guy and then Grapneling will usually get you shot at AND your
Vantage Points destroyed.  You have to wait for isolated guys and then punch 
and run, or wait until you're down to just a few and punch all of them.  A Beat
Down punch against the armored thug counts.  See my advice for starting the 
level above for an easy route to your first punch.

Police Brutality (Extreme) 
This level has a Jammer Backpack thug.  There is a good way to get him first.  
He'll walk along the floor grates 10 seconds into the level, so if you can beat
him to the grates he's an easy takedown.  From where you start, the grates look
like this:

      /-----Y----\   |
      |          |   |
      |          |   |
      |          \-X-/

  If you can get to point X within 8 seconds (run straight there, then drop 
down from the railing with B), you can get in the grate (RT + A).  Move to 
point Y, and hop out (A) and do a Silent Takedown (Y) right after he passes.  
This leads into Triple Header and Chain Reaction.

* Triple Header - Hit 3 thugs with one Electrical Blast.  KO not needed.
* Difficulty 6/10.  The hard part here is getting 3 guys together.  It's easier
than the other Triple moves because the Electrical Blast is an area-of-effect 
attack and has a huge range.  If you do the suggestions above for the Jammer 
thug, then immediately turn back towards the start point and Grapnel up to the 
upper level (not the Vantage Point).  Climb up on one of the computer box 
things and wait for someone to discover the Jammer thug's body and call for 
help.  You should shortly have 4 thugs near the body, all in range of this 
attack - fire it off for the Medal.  I suggest following this up with Chain 
Reaction.  If you don't use this method, in general you can get it by Drop 
Attacking from a ledge, NOT doing the Ground Takedown, waiting for thugs to 
investigate, and then doing the Electrical Blast.
*Chain Reaction - Hit two thugs as you travel down one Line Launcher line.  No 
KO required.
** Difficulty 6/10.  This would be really hard with three, but two is doable.  
In general, do Triple Header and then pick up Chain Reaction as the thugs stand
back up.  If you take my Jammer and Triple Header advice above, you'll have 4 
guys down in the middle of the level and two running towards you.  Hit both 
with Wrist Darts (RT+RT) and position yourself in line with any two Triple 
Header victims while they begin to stand up.  Usually I fire my line parallel 
to the long portion of the floor grates and escape through the door to the left
of the starting platform, then take out thugs in the hallway as they come 
looking for me.
* Confiscated Weapon - Disarm a thug with Batclaw Disarm, then KO them before 
they re-arm
** Difficulty 2/10.  This will draw thugs to your location, so follow with the 
KO quickly.  I wait until there's only two guys left to do this - one will give
you this medal and the other will take a hostage, leaving him vulnerable to an 
easy Silent Takedown.

Natural Selection (Extreme)
This level features an armored thug with a sniper in the middle.  You can KO 
him early get rid of him painlessly.  I suggest getting Head Shot on the thug 
walking down the stairs as you start (around 8 seconds), Grapneling up in front
of the sniper and giving him a Ledge Takedown, then working on Triple Ricochet.
Escape from the ledge either up to a Vantage Point or down and forward to the 
floor grates.

* Head Shot - instant KO a thug with a head shot from the Wrist Dart.
** Difficulty 1/10.  Aim for the thug walking down the stairs as you start for 
an easy, close-range target.  He is moving, unfortunately, but if you wait 
until he turns away from you, his motion is imperceptible.
* Weapon Jam - Use the Firearm Jammer on a thug, let him try to shoot, then 
take him down before he gets another gun.  
** Difficulty 2/10.  The Firearm Jammer will prevent your target from shooting 
at you.  Wait for him to start shaking his gun as he tries to make it work, 
then take him down with three Strikes and a Ground Takedown.  You have until he
re-arms from a gun crate to get him, but any time after he tries to fire will 
work.  If he doesn't try to shoot you, and yell about his gun not working, you 
won't get the Medal!
* Triple Ricochet - Hit three non-armored thugs simultaneously with one 
manually targeted Escrima Stick
** Difficulty - 9/10.  This is preposterously hard.  Guys always spread out 
unless you do something to bring them together.  There is no way to manually 
target three thugs - you can just target in their direction and hope you'll get
three valid green reticles.  Also, one of the three is the armored thug, you 
won't get the Medal.  On the up side, this doesn't KO thugs, so you can keep 
trying so long as they don't spot you.  If you do the Head Shot/Ledge Takedown 
start I suggest, then your next move is to find and watch the armored thug.  
He'll be in the walkway above where you started the level.  Follow him with 
Detective Mode as best you can and wait for him to lay a mine.  Hit the mine 
with the Mine Detonator to take out the armored thug - this will take out the 
armored guy so he can't screw up Triple Ricochet, and draw a large crowd of 
thugs as Triple Ricochet targets.  If you're in the upper areas, target them 
from a Vantage Point; otherwise wait around a corner to let the Escrima Stick 
bounce off a wall.

End of the Line (Extreme)
This is, improbably, even harder than Batman's Lost City (Extreme), even harder
than Catwoman's End of the Line (Extreme), and takes the cake for hardest 
Predator Challenge.  Switch Hitter is ... unpredictable, and you have no Freeze
Cluster to simplify it.  Recall that all enemies are armored in this Challenge.

I suggest starting by moving forward either to the right wall and hopping into 
the floor grates, or (if Scattered Weapons is active) into the right train car 
to the first door on the right, and then to the floor grates.  Go to the far 
end of the grates and wait for the armored Jammer Backpack thug to come along 
(47 seconds), then do a Grate Takedown.  Hide in the (thankfully grateless) air
vent just beyond this and watch though the far side for a thug through the 
train doors.  Once he moves (1:04 or so) enter the train, turn right, go to the
end, and Grapnel into the sniper nest from below.  This is the safest place in 
the room and sets you up for Fall Guy.

* Triple Header - Hit 3 thugs with one Electrical Blast.  KO not needed.
** Difficulty 8/10.  The hard part here is, surprisingly, escaping rather than 
getting 3 guys together.  Thugs are extremely aggressive in this small arena 
and they'll come running whenever you're spotted, so getting a group is simple.
The problem is that they're rarely all on the same level (most areas have 
ground, railcar, and walkway levels) so you can only get some of them with the 
Electrical Blast; the rest will shoot you.  Detonating a mine under a thug is a
good opener to draw attention to get a group for this move.
* Switch Hitter - Fire a Line Launcher, kick one thug, re-fire in a different 
direction while still moving, then kick a different thug.  
** Difficulty 10/10.  I have no idea how to reproducibly get this Medal; I only
ever got it once (I used Free Medal in the Campaigns).  You can try knocking 
groups down (for Triple Header) and then getting them as they rise.  You can 
try waiting for two guys to be separated but at the same height on the upper 
walkways (argh, why are they not all at the same height?).  The walkway sniper 
and a mobile thug are good bets for this.  You can also try sacrificing to the 
volcano gods; maybe that will work better.  Email me if you've got a good 
strategy and I'll put it here!
* Fall Guy - Batclaw a thug off a railing and watch them fall for a KO.
** Difficulty 3/10.  This level features a perfect setup for Fall Guy.  From 
the sniper's nest on the far end of the level, you can try to Fall Guy the 
sniper into the hole you climbed in from.  If he misses the hole (he usually 
magically flies over it) then just Ground Takedown him and stand behind the 
pillar.  Any thug walking over the bridge in front of you is a perfect target 
for Fall Guy.  I usually get the walkway sniper this way when he trades places.

Lost City (Extreme)
Bullet Proof is the real challenge here.  Also, you'll be abusing that same 
poor thermal goggles thug as in Lost City (not extreme).  

* Bowled Over - knock a guy off a walkway with Electrical Blast for a KO.
** Difficulty: 5/10.  Aiming the Electrical Blast properly is the hard part; 
aim so that the foe is directly between your landing point (circles' center) 
and the ledge.  I suggest going aggressively after the thermal goggles thug 
patrolling the upper walkway, ASAP.  You can hop onto the first Vantage Point, 
swing over to the one on your left above the middle walkways, hop down, and 
then duck.  After he turns around, get him with the Electrical Blast and then 
Grapnel away to safety.  IF you don't KO him, run away anyway and try again 
later - you can't take a hit because of Bullet Proof.
* Confiscated Weapon - Disarm a thug with Batclaw Disarm, then KO them before 
they re-arm
** Difficulty 2/10.  This will draw thugs to your location, so follow with the 
KO quickly.  I wait until there's only two guys left to do this - one will give
you this medal and the other will take a hostage, leaving him vulnerable to an 
easy Silent Takedown.
* Bullet Proof - KO all thugs without taking damage.
** Difficulty: 8/10.  For this medal, you need to stay stealthy.  First, get 
Bowled Over.  Next, hide on Vantage Points and get unarmored thugs with Wrist 
Dart head shots.  Then, hide in the area with floor grates and Weak Wooden 
Walls in the lower level - this offers your best chance for escaping after each
kill, and offers through-the-wall and floor grate instant takedowns on armored 
thugs.  The Medal MAY allow you to take grenade or mine damage (so long as it's
not bullet damage) without penalty - I believe I once got the Medal with 
incomplete health, but I'm not sure.  Also, getting shot at doesn't count so 
long as you don't lose health.

Top of the World (Extreme)
This challenge is very frontloaded in difficulty - hitting all three headshots 
for Triple Headshot is challenging, but it's smooth sailing from there.  I find
it best to start by turning around, Grapneling up to a Vantage Point, and 
making like Tarzan until you find the platform with a guy on it.  Drop him with
a Wrist Dart head shot, then fall (B) and aim for the platform edge with your 
Grapnel (RB).  (This may take some practice).  This will bring you back up to 
the platform ledge just in time to get a Ledge Takedown on the armored Jammer 
Backpack thug.  Get him, then drop again (B) to reappear safely elsewhere in 
the level, with 1/3 of Triple Head Shot in the bag and the Jammer out of the 
way.
* Triple Head Shot - Hit three thugs with Wrist Dart headshots for KOs.
** Difficulty 8/10.  Getting A headshot is easy.  Getting all three is hard, 
Nightwing's aim just isn't that steady.  The best way to do it is to get a 
Ledge Takedown on a thug on one of the platforms on the outside of the level, 
escape to a Vantage Point, and then hit enemies as they watch over the side.  
Another method is to target thermal goggles thugs while they are looking at 
Vantage Points.  Try not to get all the thermal goggles thugs with Wrist Darts 
- they're your best bet for Feet First.
* Feet First - Do a Reverse Ledge Takedown from a walkway on a thug below
** Difficulty 6/10.  This is an easy move to perform but requires extreme 
patience.  They took the hostage out of this level because the hostage position
offers a super-easy Reverse Ledge Takedown.  Your best bet is the thermal 
goggles thugs, who pass under walkways frequently as they wander out to the 
outer platforms.
* Mined Your Step - KO a thug by hitting a mine with the Mine Detonator.
** Difficulty 5/10.  Listen for a "arming the mine" call from a thug and hit 
him as soon as possible.  The mine turns a different color once they're out of 
range, so you'll know if you waited too long.  I believe it's green for in 
range and red for out of range.  You can also just watch a laid mine and hit 
whoever walks near it.  Try to get an armored thug for this medal, since it's 
an instant KO despite the armor.

Black Mask (Sionis Meat Packing Factory)
This is Robin's DLC Predator Challenge.  You can skip it as Nightwing to no ill
effect.  You will notice that this level, like Nightwing's DLC Wayne Manor Main
Hall, is HUGE for a Predator level.  Escape will rarely be an issue.  It is 
much simpler if you go for Bowled Over first, immediately followed by Get Over 
Here.  
* Get Over Here - Channel Scorpion and pull a thug through a window with the 
Batclaw.
** Difficulty: 7/10.  The challenge here is in getting someone to walk near a 
window.  You can reliably get it on the guy who starts in the room to your left
as the level begins, but you'll have to pull him at least twice to get him 
close enough, and you'll get shot at in the meantime.  You can also get it on a
guy in the windows in the upper area in the left side of the room after getting
Bowled Over (see below).  This does NOT have to lead to a KO for the Medal.
* Bowled Over - knock a guy off a walkway with Electrical Blast for a KO.
** Difficulty: 5/10.  Aiming the Electrical Blast properly is the hard part; 
aim so that the foe is directly between your landing point (circles' center) 
and the ledge.  If you immediately (from the start) Grapnel up to the Vantage 
point above you and to the left, then drop down, you can get Bowled Over on the
thug on this walkway very quickly.  This sets you up for Get Over Here on the 
windows nearby as a thug runs by to see the guy you just knocked out.
* Head Shot - instant KO a thug with a head shot from the Wrist Dart.
** Difficulty 1/10.  It's like shooting fish in a barrel.  Hitting a head shot 
is a little difficult from a distance, as Nightwing's arm isn't very stable, 
but you get three tries.  Try to shoot at thermal thugs looking up at 
something, or foes on walkways looking down, as their heads are still.

Wayne Manor Main Hall
This is Nightwing's DLC Predator Challenge.  You must do this level for his 
Achievements.  Go for Knock Knock first, there's a very reliable window for it 
just at the beginning.
* Stick Up - knock someone down with the Escrima Stick, then Ground Takedown.
** Difficulty 2/10.  You can get the Escrima Stick hit from around a corner if 
you use the manual version and wait for the green reticle.  The Ground Takedown
is still noisy and attracts foes.
* Fall Guy - Batclaw a thug off a railing and watch them fall for a KO.
** Difficulty 7/10.  This is mechanically very simple, the hard part is that 
Nightwing doesn't aim through railings too well, so your opportunities to pull 
them off without being shot at are slim.  I wait until foes are few and try to 
do it across the open space near a corner on the upper level (so that you are 
at the same level as the thug), which makes targeting easier.
* Knock Knock - distract a foe with a Wing Ding, then do a Silent Takedown 
while they're distracted
** Difficulty 7/10.  This is mechanically challenging because the thugs are, 
well, dumb.  Getting close enough to Silent Takedown and having a wall close 
enough to bounce a Wing Ding safely off of is hard.  I suggest going for this 
Medal first.  Run right from the start and go into the floor grates.  Wait for 
a thug to come along.  Hop out and throw a Wing Ding past him; it may take a 
couple of tries for him to react.  Do the Silent Takedown while he's still 
looking around in confusion.

===============================================================================
9. Campaign special notes

Here, I have listed the campaign conditions, what order you should take them 
in, and why.  I may be missing positive conditions (Replenishing Health and 
Takedown Projectiles) because they are irrelevant if you are good at the 
levels; take them when you need them.  First, some notes on conditions in 
general:

* Negative conditions matter a lot less on Combat Challenges than Predator 
Challenges, so get used to loading up on negatives there.
* Time Limit: You should always take Time Limit on Combat Challenges.  Unless 
you aim for record times, Predator Challenges are best done calmly and slowly.
* Increased Aggression is a positive for Combat Challenges, because enemies 
will have more health.  More health means they take more hits, which means 
greater combos.
* Increased Aggression and Time Limit pair poorly, especially on levels with 
Titans (Survival of the Fittest (Extreme) and Funhouse Brawl (Extreme)).  It's 
plenty doable, but you have to cut some corners and KO as fast as possible to 
make up for the slow Titan rides, or kill the Titans last.
* Super Powered is useless in Predator (extra crawl speed) but excellent in 
Combat (stun rods, shields, and armor no longer prevent attacks).
* Decreased Health is much worse in Predator (start with a sliver of health, so
you can take no hits) than Combat (start with a weak normal health bar, but 
with the split bullets/punches bonus health full).  
* Avoid using Beat Down while One Hand Tied is active - not seeing incoming 
counterable attacks makes the move harder to pull off.  Against Lieutenants and
Titans, position the camera carefully and jump around as much as needed.
* Protective Aura is a bit buggy.  If you start a KO animation while a thug is 
yellow, and he turns red before the animation completes, then he counts as KO'd
for the purposes of "kill X guys to finish", but he stands back up! Usually if 
he stands up, his AI is broken and he just ignores you. If you don't touch him 
again, the match will end when you get the next-to-last guy, even though one is
still standing. If you do attack him, the slightest attack (even Bat Swarm) 
will take him out. Also, he won't ever re-gain the red aura.
* Gadget Malfunction is suicide on Predator maps - no Detective Mode!  It's 
nearly meaningless in combat.
* You get infinite retries on the first level of each campaign, but only four 
tries altogether for the latter two.  Front-load hard conditions onto the first
level, and don't waste Free Medal early!

Search and Destroy
* Meltdown Mayhem
* Blind Justice (Protective Aura and Time Limit)
* Police Brutality (take Replenishing Health if you didn't yet)

Street Justice
* Rooftop Rumble (Decreased Health, One Hand Tied, and Takedown Projectiles)
* Natural Selection (avoid Takedown Projectiles, which complicates Stick Up by 
precluding Quickfire Escrima Stick)
* Survival of the Fittest

Offensive Maneuvers
* Funhouse Brawl (Danger Zones, Scattered Weapons)
* End of the Line (Free Medal, Replenishing Health)
* Hell's Gate

City Invader
* Top of the World (Increased Aggression)
** Increased Aggression is a bonus on Combat maps, but take it here because the
other three conditions are best handled on Prison Riot.
* Prison Riot (Gadget Malfunction, Decreased Health, Super Powered)
** Gadget Malfunction and Decreased Health are both very hard to handle in 
Predator but no issue in Combat.  You can swap Increased Aggression for Super 
Powered if you like.
* Lost City

Midnight Assault
* Natural Selection (Extreme)
** This one is not easy, but you can restart for free, so take no negative or 
positive medals.  You can take Danger Zones if you stay low in the level or 
Increased Aggression if you want.  
* Hell's Gate (Extreme) (Increased Aggression, Danger Zones, Scattered Weapons)
** You may have enough negatives here to make survival hard.  Play 
conservatively and hit the gunmen with Wing Dings as necessary.
* Meltdown Mayhem (Extreme) (Free Medal!, Replenishing Health)
** Any of the three Medals are good candidates for Free Medal.  Work on all 
three, and whenever you get two, ignore the third.  I skip Three Strikes.

Hostile Takeover
* Prison Riot (Extreme) (Super Powered, One Hand Tied, Time Limit)
** Prison Riot features the most shields and stun rods, making Super Powered 
great.  Time Limit is better here, as Funhouse Brawl (Extreme) will feature 
multiple slow-to-kill Titans.  One Hand Tied makes Titan and Lieutenant KOs 
hard on Funhouse Brawl, so take it here.  You can swap Protective Aura or 
Decreased Health to here for Super Powered if you wish.
* Police Brutality (Extreme)
* Funhouse Brawl (Extreme) (Decreased Health, Protective Aura)
** Switch Super Powered in for either of these if this level gives you trouble.

Double Jeopardy
* Lost City (Extreme) (Protective Aura)
** Restart if Protective Aura lands on the Bowled Over thermal goggles guard 
target.  Otherwise this is a slow and patient level so Protective Aura is no 
threat.  If you feel gutsy, take Scattered Weapons and use the preset mines as 
traps!
* Rooftop Rumble (Extreme) (Gadget Malfunction, Scattered Weapons, Increased 
Aggression)
* End of the Line (Extreme) (Free Medal, Takedown Projectiles)
** You'll get Fall Guy easily.  Once you have Triple Header, go to town with 
the Takedown Projectiles!

Ruthless Vengeance
* Survival of the Fittest (Extreme) (Decreased Health, Gadget Malfunction)
* Top of the World (Extreme) (Super Powered)
** Super Powered doesn't help, but it doesn't help much on the Combat 
challenges either.  It's most useful on Blind Justice, but that is the easiest 
challenge, so it's already loaded with negative conditions.
* Blind Justice (Extreme) (Time Limit, One Hand Tied, Danger Zones)

Combat Expert
* Survival of the Fittest (Time Limit, Danger Zones)
** You can swap Increased Aggression for Time Limit.  They're dangerous 
together because the extra health keeps enemies alive too long.
* Funhouse Brawl (Increased Aggression)
** I prefer Increased Aggression here to hit the high score targets.
* Prison Riot (Replenishing Health, if not needed elsewhere)

Predator Expert
* Meltdown Mayhem (Gadget Malfunction, Scattered Weapons, One Hand Tied)
** There are few thugs in this level, and it's pretty open, making it your best
bet for Gadget Malfunction.  First get Fall Guy on the thug that starts 
directly opposite you (one down, four left).  Escape to a Vantage Point.  Wrist
Dart somebody and KO him for Bullseye (two down, three left).  Return to a 
Vantage Point and wait patiently to tag two more as they step over the 
Scattered Weapons mines (four down, one left).  Beat Down the last guy for 
Fists of Fury.
* Lost City
** Avoid Takedown Projectiles, as it complicates Stick Up.
* Top of the World (Takedown Projectiles)

Combat Master
* Blind Justice (Extreme) (Decreased Health, One Hand Tied, Scattered Weapons)
* Rooftop Rumble (Extreme) (Protective Aura, Gadget Malfunction)
* Hell's Gate (Extreme) (Super Powered)
** Hell's Gate features the most shields/armor/stun rods of this triplet, so 
save Super Powered for last.

Predator Master
* Police Brutality (Extreme) (Time Limit, Danger Zones/Increased Aggression, 
Protective Aura)
** This is the best level for Time Limit, as the Medals that require certain 
enemy configurations (Triple Header for a triple Electrical Blast and Chain 
Reaction for a double Line Launcher kick) are best gotten A) together, and B) 
immediately after KOing the Jammer Backpack thug, which you'll do ASAP.  Danger
Zones is a good choice here because you can hide in the side passageways 
instead of using Vantage Points, but Increased Aggression will complicate 
Natural Selection by making it harder to get groups of three (and REALLY hard 
to try again if you miss) for Triple Ricochet.
* Natural Selection (Extreme) (Increased Aggression/Danger Zones)
** If you take Danger Zones, stay in the bottom area and you can try to get 
Triple Ricochet from around blind corners in the bottom passageways.
* End of the Line (Extreme) (Free Medal!, Scattered Weapons)
** Totally ignore Switch Hitter.  Get Fall Guy as usual, then escape to a 
Vantage Point.  Use your Mine Detonator to KO someone on a pre-laid mine, then 
get Triple Header when everyone comes to investigate.  You can get another guy 
with the Mine Detonator; after that my favorite tactic is Electrical Blasting 
thugs off railcars for KOs.  You can also hide in the sniper nest and Batclaw 
away.

Black Mask Campaign (not needed for Achievements) 
*Black Mask
*Freight Train

Wayne Manor Campaign (needed for Achievements)
* Wayne Manor Armory (Protective Aura, Takedown Projectiles, Scattered Weapons)
* Wayne Manor Main Hall (Danger Zones)
** Danger Zones is irrelevant here; there are tightropes on the ceiling that 
work as Vantage Points but are not booby trapped, so you can avoid the trapped 
Vantage Points.  Avoid Takedown Projectiles, which complicates Stick Up by 
precluding Quickfire Escrima Stick.

===============================================================================
10. Copyright and contact info

You can contact me with corrections, suggestions, strategies, or proofreading 
edits at stillnotelf ==at-symbol== gmail ==you-know-it's-a-dot== com.  

Copyright 2012 Steven Lewis.  I have borrowed GameFAQs' suggested copyright 
notice: This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for 
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise 
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on 
any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, 
and a violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document (such at Batman, 
Nightwing, Catwoman, and the game title Batman: Arkham City) are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.


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