Night Shift is a very cool character and was my most anticipated swapper to upgrade.  There is a reason I tout he and Boom Jet's Double Pack so much.  I also have to say that I think the Teleport Ability is the best of all the Swappers, so that puts Night Shift and Hoot Loop in high regard.

That said, what about his upgrades?  Night Shift is one of those characters that really doesn't have to have anything past his base upgrades...they are that good.

Up top the Base Upgrades touch on the primary attack bumping damage output +4/+6 to 28-42.  The punches are quick and have a very nice range.  Don't Move, Just Stick!  is a charged version of the primary attack and offers up one of the best animations in the game as well as delivering a staggering 100-150 damage points, and the charge time for it is minimal.  Rounding the top end out we have Vampire's Bite which is a really vital addition in my opinion.  The one weakness to Night Shift is his low base health (likely to offset the "A Batty Coach" extra life/lives.  However, Vampire's Bite does nice damage (40-60) AND gives you +20 Health each time you use it!  That means you can rattle it off 10 times in a row and garner and 200 HP back in your direction!  This top end trio is really a force to be reckoned with and one of the best base upgrade sets in SWAP Force.

But, then there are the paths.  Proper Vampire is my personal pick.  Why?  It is just super functional.  The first installment, Infections Smile, deals the same 40-60/+20, but adds in enemies taking 10-15 damage 5x afterwards.  The follow up, Healthy Appetite, is what seals it.  Damage jumps to a staggering 60-90 and your health gained jumps 10 points from 20 to 30.  What is not to love?  Inflict major damage, gain +30 Health, and still have a quick, good ranged primary with a powerful primary charged attack!

That said, if you are a fan of hard hitting upgrades, or just need cash, go with Champion Fighter.  I must warn you that the gloves will change appearances here...Prize Fighter give you a chrome glove set that turns 115-173 damage, while Pay Day puts out more cash after each hit and an impressive 130-195.  The only downside (at least for some) is that Pay Day has, somewhat fittingly, replaced the chrome gloves with a high luster gold pair of gloves.  This makes PERFECT sense on Legendary Night Shift imo.

So, you basically have to pick between a super hard hitting path with slight cash bonuses in Champion Fighter and a very formidable path with health incentives in Proper Vampire.

But wait, there is more!  The top end Soul Gem, Gentlemanly, makes ALL ATTACKS do more damage!  You can see the damage numbers in the spreadsheet...very, very nice!  Oh, and by "all" they didn't disappoint or shortchange us this time...it also applies to the bottom end upgrades!

Down low, Night Shift has another near perfect set of base upgrades.  Float Like a Vampire makes up for his teleport not doing any damage by jettisoning a projectile that does 25-38 Damage.  Foggy Movement grants +8 Speed (35-423) and you know how much I love speed upgrades!  A Batty Coach is where Night Shift takes things to a whole new level.  You may have thought the top end with a health incentive Proper Vampire and a cash producing Champion Fighter were hot tickets, but this BASE UPGRADE allows Night Shift to return from the dead...literally.  Let's say you lost your Night Shift in Nightmare Mode...fear not, A Batty Coach, brings him back!  The animation is epic and you literally get that second chance you always wish you had with your other Skylanders!  Oh, but lest we forget...it gets better!

If you are a fan of "A Batty Coach," you will no doubt want to take the Underbat Path.  While nothing flashy like the 195 damage on Pay Day, Underbat just does the usual...you know grant you 2 extra lives...WHAT?  Yep, "Round 2" will puff your health up a bit when you come back with "A Batty Coach," but "Luck of the Underbat" will let you return from death TWICE.  This is something we have never seen before in Skylanders, and regular viewers/readers should know how fond I am of the "unique" abilities of Skylanders.

If you think that is just overkill, or feel once is enough for your superior play style and you desire more damage output, you will want to take the Warping Vortex Path.  I'm not sure many people will ever even take this path because Underbat is so special, and useful, but some Story Mode purists with multiple Night Shifts will likely explore it at some point...

I have to say, it is also pretty good.  "Vortex of Doom" will appear when you teleport and pull enemies in towards the vortex.  The finishing act, "Close to Doom" adds damage to the vortex by way of 18-27 3x.  The greater asset might just be being able to dart around the arena/level, and use the vortex to set up enemies for your charged attack for quick deaths, or to get some health back with Proper Vampire.  You really can manipulate the field to your liking if you are well versed with this upgrade.  Oh, and don't forget that you also have the projectile to work with while teleporting and making vortexes!

Lastly, both paths are aided by the bottom end Soul Gem of "Grand Entrance."  This slows enemies down considerably after you have teleported and appear in front of them.  This may seem lame, or leave you wanting something epic like an explosion etc., but trust me, this is useful.  If you took Warping Vortex you now can further direct the enemies to your liking, and should you ever have incidentally teleported into a bad situation you have time to abort, or set up and adjust.  With Underbat, it lacks the direct interaction, but it will allow you to better utilize all your upgrades to avoid having to rely on Underbat and that should count for something...Not flash at all, but very functional.

All-in-all, Night Shift did not disappoint and is without a doubt one of m favorite Swappers!  He has great aesthetics, incredibly unique upgrades, paths, and abilities, and he offers up a play style all his own that no other Skylander comes close to offering.

My personal choices are Proper Vampire and Underbat.  Proper Vampire does great damage AND boots your health, which is vital with a character like Night Shift who has a lower base health line.  Underbat is just too unique to not suggest.  It is the ultimate offset for the low base health.  It will also be like a 3 strikes set up in PvP.  I will say, that if you don't play much PvP, or are content with one extra go and primarily play Story Mode and Challenges, you would be better off with Warping Vortex, which likely will not get much love due to how unique Underbat is.

For rookie players I would suggest Proper Vampire and Underbat.  It is the ideal combo for surviving.  If you are more inclined to like the flashy, hard hitting paths go with Champion Fighter up top and Warping Vortex down below.

The bottom line with Night Shift is that all his Upgrade Paths are great.  The only one that isn't incredibly unique is Warping Vortex and it is very functional.  Extra Health, Extra Cash, or Extra Lives...Night Shift has it all!