Fixing The Fundamentals

[Volt_Cruelerz]

EDIT: This thread contains some views that I no longer endorse.  Chiefly among them is the idea of removing all power scaling.  I believe I have since found a solution that will allow balanceable difficulty with a scaling system.  The Proficiency system I outline (or rather, a modified version of it) in this thread is at the heart of it.  This thread should be considered for reference, but should not be considered for active discussion on the subject of nuking scaling anymore.

 

Preamble

This thread has been a long time coming.  I originally thought of the idea behind this thread back in July and started to write it four or five times only to ultimately give up over the months until in mid December I finally decided to start writing it and actually go through the entire thing.  It's a very long post, I'll admit.  There's a reason why I did it in Google Docs instead of the forums.  It's huge.

 

It's not something I wanted to write.  It's something that I ultimately felt like I had to write because no one else was.  I'm not happy about this thread.  In fact, I'm rather scared to finally publish this.  I feel like I've done my best to write it and have pre-released it to a couple members of the community to get initial feedback before I let it loose in the wild, but am scared that it won't get enough of a reception due to its size.  I'm afraid that the community and devs will see it as too daunting of a task.  But I truly believe it can be done.  I really do.

 

Bear in mind that the changes I list should be thought of together.  The idea is to fix the problems with the fundamentals of Warframe's mechanics so that the other problems we experience may fall into place more easily.  Because many problems overlap into many areas, the different sections of the thread are going to reference each other.

 

There are a lot of good things about Warframe.  Unfortunately, there are some very important issues with the foundation of the game.  I'll only be covering the following because I believe that fixing them will create a solid foundation upon which the rest of the game can be constructed:

 

1. Motivation: changing Warframe from living off grind to living off self-motivation and skill

2. Means to an End: redistributing rewards so that not only is completion rewarded, but also effort

3. Progression Reward: reworking the Mastery system to better reward players for enjoying themselves

4. Play Diversity: making Warframes more diverse and less cookie-cutter

5. Missions: making missions conform better to the above.

 

In other words, I am trying to make the game reward the player at the right time for the right things in the right way which it does not do at the moment.

 

I'm not saying I present the right solutions.  If this thread inspires others to make better ideas that are implemented, I'll call it a success.  Likewise, if the thread gets DE to realize the existence of these problems and sets about fixing them, I'd also call that a success.  All I'm trying to do here is improve the game overall.  I know there are going to be controversial suggestions (in particular, the energy system, the weight system, and the wanton use of the nerfbat on mods and ultimates).  I hope that readers won't get lost in that.  I hope that readers can understand that I really do just want to help the game.

 

Well, I guess that's enough of a preamble.  Here's the link.

 

 

Document

Fixing the Fundamentals

 

 

FAQ

-Why is it so long?

Because I felt I had to be thorough.  Unfortunately, this reduces the number of those that will read it fully.

-Doesn't this contradict what you've said in other threads regarding changes to mechanics?

No.  What I suggest in other threads is more often than not going to be stopgap fixes.  Those are how to improve the broken system.  In other words, normally, my suggestions are how to polish bronze.  This thread is the alchemy of turning bronze into gold.

-Isn't this nuke Warframe from orbit and make a new game that happens to be called Warframe?

No.  This is about fixing the problems with the reward system.  The game rewards you for the wrong reasons (raw grind+luck) at the wrong time (completion+RNG) in the wrong way (giving players rewards that are meaningless to them) and encourages you to do the wrong things (play content you don't enjoy).  I hope to rectify that.  Unfortunately, these can be rather ingrained in the foundation of the game, so there are some pretty drastic changes unfortunately.  I wouldn't list them if I didn't believe they really were necessary.

-Do you hate Warframe?
Absolutely not.  I've been playing for a year, have ~430 hours, and am a Master Founder.

-Are you trying to bash the devs here?

Absolutely not.  They have done a lot of things right with this game.  I'm just trying to point of the major problem areas.  I know the list is extensive, but I'm only trying to help the game by providing constructive criticism.

-You got rid of Mastery!

Actually, no.  I state during the section towards the bottom that overall mastery need not be eliminated.  It just needs to be moderated heavily.

-You got rid of energy!

Yep.  The current energy system is the RNG holding players hostage.  I only renamed it to "Flow" because I knew I'd get half a dozen responses complaining that "that's not how energy works."

-Why 6 weapons?

So that a player could potentially do something like Aklex+Dual Vipers+Dual Zoren.  Or I suppose if they really wanted to, Dual Supras+Dual Stugs+Dual Zoren.

-Why so many loadouts?

So that a person carrying longswords and pistols for instance can use them in tandem as well as in their dual configurations.

-What about lore?

I'm definitely in support of adding more lore.  I would not consider lore a fundamental mechanic of the game though which is why it is not covered here.  It is something that can be written over-top of just about any mechanic you can think up.  To use the above analogy, lore is a fantastic form of polish and one of my personal favorites.  It is not, however, alchemy.  For this reason, it is left out.

-Did you do all this yourself?

I pre-released it to a few members of the community for initial feedback and since then have integrated the ideas from several posters that had better ideas than I did.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Volt_Cruelerz

[Phatose]

Er....look, this is less "Fixing the fundamentals of Warframe" and more "Nuke Warframe from Orbit and make another game which is also called Warframe."

[Volt_Cruelerz]

Er....look, this is less "Fixing the fundamentals of Warframe" and more "Nuke Warframe from Orbit and make another game which is also called Warframe."

Given that you responded to a 21 page document within a couple minutes, I'm going to assume you skimmed very very lightly.

 

I understand that it may look like that on the surface when considered from certain perspectives, but I assure you that this appearance is a false one.  yes, there would be some radical changes.  But they they are in the name of making the game more than a Skinner Box and a numbers game.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Volt_Cruelerz

[Silraed]

Is it weird that with the way Volt_Cruelerz writes and words things the voice inside my head when I read his threads and posts is like a quiet neutral and deadly calm person?

 

I'll have to find time to read this full thread..or book.

[Volt_Cruelerz]

Is it weird that with the way Volt_Cruelerz writes and words things the voice inside my head when I read his threads and posts is like a quiet neutral and deadly calm person?

If that's the case, I guess it's a pretty good reflection of my personality lol.

 

And thank you for your time.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Volt_Cruelerz

[KvotheTheArcane1]

"Then, you start to approach the grind with hope.  Eventually though, you start to see behind the curtain; there is nothing aside from grind."

this right here pretty much is every new person's attitude (it certainly was mine and the few friends I (tried) to bring in initially), so +1 right there.

Delete Serration and like mods: these mods are pointless and worthless.  They are mandatory on every single build ever.

This too, as much as it'll suck (I assume they can just give us a few R10 fusion cores to make up for it), I honestly do feel serration and the like (maybe Heavy caliber too) need to go, no build is complete without them.

 

And I do agree with P4tW needs to go if any skill is to be implemented, in fact, all large AoE damage skills need to go. Large AoE damage is the direct opposite of skill unless it has some sort of major drawback (i.e. it's a projectile and has a long travel time, the damage is incredibly minor, like rhino stomp pre-nerf of IS).

 

I love the idea of proficiencies, make ranking up that longsword do something (unlock benefits for other longswords, and allow me to head straight for the long sword I want, or the shotgun, or sniper), the only question I have about this would be the event exclusives, i.e. Sraith, Svandal, and so on, where would these be a base item + X levels, or would they simply be a level 0?

[Volt_Cruelerz]

 

I love the idea of proficiencies, make ranking up that longsword do something (unlock benefits for other longswords, and allow me to head straight for the long sword I want, or the shotgun, or sniper), the only question I have about this would be the event exclusives, i.e. Sraith, Svandal, and so on, where would these be a base item + X levels, or would they simply be a level 0?

 

Event exclusives would probably just be Proficiency 0.

[KvotheTheArcane1]

Event exclusives would probably just be Proficiency 0.

Ah ok, that was the only thing that wasn't mentioned (I think)

 

edit: I do think this is something that can be done, but would probably take at least a year to implement even some of the things there, simply because of how much of an overhaul it'd be (it's not a "simple" change like D2.0, or mods 2.0 were, the complexity of these proposed changes dwarf those so much it's hard to properly describe it)

Edited January 7, 2014 by KvotheTheArcane1

[Naqel]

Largely what I've been trying to say for moths now.

Sadly, not likely to happen.

 

+1 for what it's worth.

 

Although the idea that Event weapon should be balanced "a tier above" is just a hilariously bad joke when it stands compared to the other suggestions in there.

 

I mean, if w're rooting out everything harmful, it has to be everything, including the power boost on limited availibility items.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Naqel

[sedu13]

I agree with everything in there, so +1.

 

Still, I believe that if DE had any intent of fixing Warframe, they would have done so, using all the feedback the forums have been constantly supplying them with. They're only making things worse.

 

Maybe when they run low on the green ones. Profit numbs the feeling, after all.

[Athros]

Finally finished it, and I can say that I agree with all of it. Sure, it maybe harsh, but this could be something, THE thing that Warframe needs for the future.

[Sophronius]

Reminds me of a few things I've said which largely agree with the post...as well as many other posts from several other people in regards to the very same problems.. =\

Will DE consider, or even at the very least acknowledge any of this?

I want to like Warframe. But any time I think about playing...I'm actually sick of it. Tired of it. Done with it. Same thing, always. Not fun. I always find something more enjoyable to do. I sincerely feel like I'd rather watch paint dry, or the grass grow, or the shadows move in correlation to the sun instead of grinding on Warframe.

 

I want FunFrame, not WarGrind.

 

Harsh? Yes. Truth? Yes. I am really burnt out on Warframe. Many hours..much RNG. No amaze..

Edited January 7, 2014 by Sophronius

[SkyllianBlitz]

Good read. While I don't necessarily agree with all the issues, details and solutions, the analysis of the general problems and the general thrust of the proposals are things people need to read if only to get a grounding of where Warframe is and where it should be going.

 

A couple of brief things I'd like to mention.

 

 

Ults and "Press 4 to win": I don't believe the issue with ults is of themselves but rather it's the result of the energy system, energy mods/auras and possibly the current enemy leveling/behaviour. Between Flow and Streamline and stacked Energy Siphons, ults become far more spammable leading to their overuse. Where we want to go with them depends on the replacement energy system. I don't think a nerf in general is needed but rather a rethink on what they should do. More "one-time panic button" or high penalty breathing space. If you have to use it, there should be a major cost to be paid after.

 

 

Movement: While the general theme of the improvements is around skill (which I heartily approve), I feel that we'll run into a wall if we put in improvements and that is that the current movement system is not capable of handling the demands required to face the new style of difficulty. You can change how the enemies act, shoot and respond but it only does so much when our reactions and movement is exactly the same as before. Dodging sucks, the current jogging speed is sluggish and sprint, block and melee are tied to stamina.

 

I want to be able to dodge rockets from a Grineer Bombard, do a recovery roll from being knocked away by a Shockwave MOA and bounce over the heads of a Charger dogpile. Essentially, give me tools so I can turn a bad situation into an awesome one or, if we're talking about the high difficulties, give me a way to dance on the avalanche. Failure doesn't sting as much if you look cool while doing trying.

 

 

I'll have more to talk about when I've thought over everything some more.

[Volt_Cruelerz]

Although the idea that Event weapon should be balanced "a tier above" is just a hilariously bad joke when it stands compared to the other suggestions in there.

 

I mean, if w're rooting out everything harmful, it has to be everything, including the power boost on limited availibility items.

 

They're balanced in line with primes and clantech so that players at endgame can feel justified in using their "L33T" Strun Wraith.  What's the point of having exclusive content if no one would ever show it off?  The whole point of exclusive content is an ego booster.

 

Ults and "Press 4 to win": I don't believe the issue with ults is of themselves but rather it's the result of the energy system, energy mods/auras and possibly the current enemy leveling/behaviour. Between Flow and Streamline and stacked Energy Siphons, ults become far more spammable leading to their overuse. Where we want to go with them depends on the replacement energy system. I don't think a nerf in general is needed but rather a rethink on what they should do. More "one-time panic button" or high penalty breathing space. If you have to use it, there should be a major cost to be paid after.

 

 

Movement: While the general theme of the improvements is around skill (which I heartily approve), I feel that we'll run into a wall if we put in improvements and that is that the current movement system is not capable of handling the demands required to face the new style of difficulty. You can change how the enemies act, shoot and respond but it only does so much when our reactions and movement is exactly the same as before. Dodging sucks, the current jogging speed is sluggish and sprint, block and melee are tied to stamina.

 

I want to be able to dodge rockets from a Grineer Bombard, do a recovery roll from being knocked away by a Shockwave MOA and bounce over the heads of a Charger dogpile. Essentially, give me tools so I can turn a bad situation into an awesome one or, if we're talking about the high difficulties, give me a way to dance on the avalanche. Failure doesn't sting as much if you look cool while doing trying.

 

 

I'll have more to talk about when I've thought over everything some more.

P4tW: one-time panic buttons have issues with usability as most players would simply not equip them.  They'd just play the game without ever needing it.  Even if you did equip it, if you can't use it except for super rare circumstances, you'll still never use your ult because you'll always be too afraid to use it and burn your energy in the process.

 

Movement: you have a lot of good points here.  I may add some of these to the document.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Volt_Cruelerz

[notionphil]

Volt, thanks for the heartfelt and yet-somehow-simultaneously-analytical vision of what Warframe could be.

I agree wholeheartedly that WF is on a dangerous path of squandered potential; led primarily by the lack of player motivating forces, absence of skill based rewards, dearth of meaningful progression and punishment of diversity.
 
While you'll never get everyone to agree with every minutiae, the point is that core elements deep inside WF need disruption. And they can change.

This document's goals (regardless of its details) are the starting points for that change. Now the question becomes; how do we ensure they are heard?

Edited January 7, 2014 by notionphil

[Voidflow]

Fixing the Fundamentals

 

Great job Sir Volt_Cruelerz!

 

I write some comments today in the evening after work.

[shut]

I haven't read through all of it yet (just skimmed through it lightly), but while I disagree with a few specific points about certain subjects, I'm liking the general direction you're heading in.

Game has problems, and is heading down the wrong path. DE needs to stop avoiding the problems, or the game will die just like Vindictus did.

[Taranis49]

Finally read the entire thing, and I'm inclined to agree with a lot of points; made quite a few of the same observations myself, particularly on matters like the difference between tedium and difficulty (and a concept some folks seem to have trouble grasping), e.g. lifting a 300 lbs. weight? That's difficult, whereas lifting a 3 lbs. weight 100 times is simply tedious. Currently, the reward structure of the game tends to put it in the latter camp.

 

Sadly, the current RNG reward system feels like a crutch DE insists on also using as a club to slowly beat the game to death with.

 

It's also somewhat baffling, because in the case of some of the void missions on larger maps, they do actually incentivize exploration via the time trials/hidden loot rooms that can drop mods (hell, those are the whole reason I even bothered developing parkour skills in the game back in U8, particularly since I main a Rhino/Frost). In every other tileset though, the carrot just ain't there to persuade you to go out of your way.

 

The one thing I'd ammend is the tendency of Grineer to stick to cover, prior to hitting that damage threshold, they should be far more aggressive than they are currently; capitalizing on the advantage of their armor to push in/flank an enemy. As-is, they simply strike me as far too cowardly - They're marines, afterall: as the wisdom used to go, they fight or they drown :-P

Edited January 7, 2014 by Taranis49

[KrazyKrl]

The one thing I'd ammend is the tendency of Grineer to stick to cover, prior to hitting that damage threshold, they should be far more aggressive than they are currently; capitalizing on the advantage of their armor to push in/flank an enemy. As-is, they simply strike me as far too cowardly - They're marines, afterall: as the wisdom used to go, they fight or they drown :-P

 

I second this. With the (It's the) Grineer health pool double dipping with exponential effective health gain from health + armor. Grineer could be the Assault/Shock Troop faction, always applying pressure to the Tenno. This game sorely needs PRESSURE, and not just cheesy big number chance PROC mechanics.

 

(No, It's the) Corpus could be the more tactical "spellcaster" faction that utilizes more exotic weaponry and more lasers. Shield Ospreys should be buffed significantly, but have reduced shields for themselves while they are boosting others.

 

(it's the) Infested should be the standard "accidentally your face." The disruptors could use a minor nerf, if just for their kind of displaced full energy depletion attack. And the Infested sure need something like a snaring unit, seeing as how they are all melee attackers. Or possibly a unit that fogs your screen for a few seconds when they hit you, or die near you.

 

 

I would like to see more TACTICAL opportunities, and less in the way of bigger numbers. Possibly with something like "they locked the doors, there is a heavy unit approaching." Type of penalty, or miniboss, for letting them lock the doors on you. Of course, all this depends on lots of backend work for the, frankly, unpolished AI.

[dashashou]

reminds me of an old post of mind where warframe = a leaking tire

 

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/155882-warframe-a-leaking-tire/#entry1830327

[Liminal]

No holds barred! I like this.

I haven't even finished reading the document, but I love all the "delete" suggestions. You need to leave only the undisputedly good stuff on the table before you move forward.

 

(also, glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks enemy levels are unnecessary in a shooter)

 

EDIT: when you mention an exploit for Survival: are you sure it works? Because, as far as I know, 5 minutes after you run out of air everyone's health drops from 5% to 0.

Edited January 7, 2014 by The_Doc

[Volt_Cruelerz]

EDIT: when you mention an exploit for Survival: are you sure it works? Because, as far as I know, 5 minutes after you run out of air everyone's health drops from 5% to 0.

I haven't checked myself, so perhaps there is a block in there.

[NeroUmbra]

Were this to be implemented the screaming would be epic, might even require a player wipe and plat refund.

 

That said I do like the vision you laid out in general.  I don't necessarily like some of the specifics but then I'm not fond of some of the specifics of Warframe as it is currently so that's a wash :)

 

Removing damage mods and levels for enemies is one particular item I like.  If the damage mods go away enemies don't need to level.  If the enemies don't level then level scaling and the accompanying issues go away.  Difficulty can be increased by new elite/heavy units with their own abilities instead of making the scrubs bigger and bigger and...

 

All in all you have My +1 on this for what it's worth.  I'm not going to hold my breath, but I will cross my fingers...

[Phaenur]

Add me to the approval pile.  Beautifully articulated and extremely well thought out.  Sure, I disagree with some parts (not too keen on the dual-wielding bit personally) but everyone has their own quibbles and personal approaches.  Since I'm more of a writer than a programmer I'm going to focus more on the storytelling, immersion, and other worldbuilding than on combat and numbers, though.

 

For one, the codex lore - when it exists - is excellent.  Excalibur and Stalker between them gave a huge amount of background information that still leaves great big open spaces for players to insert themselves into the world.  Sure, we may be power-armored space ninja with mystical void-demon powers who Stalker claims destroyed the Orokin civilization, but what kind of P-ASNwMV-DP are we specifically?  Were we even around for the Betrayal or did we come later?  Why did we participate, if we even did?  Amnesia is normally kind of a cop-out but in this case it allows for great creativity.  We've had a bit of a Darth Revan twist with Stalker's lore, but every entry we've ever gotten (events and letters included) have been often hilariously biased.  That's good storytelling too, since it leaves curiosity and doubt and never makes any single statement totally definitive.  Even Lotus comes across as having her own preconceptions and goals.

 

So I'd say to suck more players into the game and get more use out of the codex scanner, add more lore.  Not necessarily infodumps like the one on Excalibur, maybe more like data retrieved from one faction or another.  Corpus and Grineer log entries on the Infested would be an interesting way to discuss their abilities and possible origins, hopefully with a large degree of humor worked in too.  Nothing has to be conclusive, just engaging and not too far from the truth that we feel betrayed when something contradicts it.

 

That said, there's no overarching narrative.  The definitive "awesome moment" for me was one of the battles in Gradivus when the Grineer supporters reversed a single-digit near-defeat and turned it into a victory three days later.  Heck, I even worked the hacking incident into my personal narrative for how the war had gone as the Corpus busting out holographic decoys that fooled the Grineer warships into withdrawing.  The battle was all-consuming enough and had enough "riding" on it with the Zanuka captives that everyone was engaged, to the point of burning out on hundreds of missions just to stop the other side from winning.  The new Invasions don't have that - there's no real cause for Tenno to get involved except money and coolness (which I'd imagine is why the Corpus have been handing the Grineer their heads on both fronts).  Gradivus could definitely have been handled better as well, and that's what gives me a solution idea here.  I'd strongly advise the expansion of existing tilesets, boss dialogue, and so on to give us reasons to sign on with one or the other.  If people want to be mercenary about it there's nothing to stop them, of course, but it would help to get players invested in one of the factions (or alternately so disgusted with all of them that they just blow them apart indiscriminately).  There's still no narrative to the game - I think I'll start my own thread on that in a bit - but at least there's still a greater investment in it.  And with the AI and especially mission-type revamps that Volt called for it would make Invasions into a privilege instead of a chore.  At the very least we'd be closer to patriots than to rent-a-cops like we are now!

 

The only suggestion other than universal dual-wielding that I don't throw myself wholeheartedly into is the Mastery revamp.  I agree with everything that was said with the sole exception of removing the big high-numbered rank altogether, because that helps me buy into the ninja/Oriental martial artist motif by paralleling belts.  So I'd amend your original suggestion by retaining the old system and allowing the overall rank to progress based on the number of lesser ranks gained, basically throwing a single overarching category called "Mastery" over all of the Proficiencies.  The only things Mastery really ought to unlock are fun tests and challenges and then color stripes for your syandana or something while Proficiencies, as in the OP, govern weapon unlocks and some minor-to-moderate upgrades or customization choices.

 

Other than that, I just have to restate that you and your post are both genius.  I don't know what will come of this, if anything, but DE is a good company when it comes to listening.  Acting on what they hear not so much, but even with D2.0 taking some of the edge off your points are so strong I want to see another revamp that gets me legitimately invested in the gameplay again.  Thanks for taking the time to put this thing together!

[DiabolusUrsus]

I must say, Volt_Cruelerz, that you have provided an excellent clump of feedback. You've picked apart ideas I've seen being juggled around the forums in half-baked format, removed the gristle, so-to-speak, and pieced them back together with the addition of some coherency.

 

Like Phaenur, I'm not so sure about the idea of dual-wielding Gorgons, or about having six different weapons, but if doing so has the necessary drawbacks, I'm not going to say that someone whose dream is toting around LMGs like they're Schwarzenegger in a bad action flick shouldn't be able to. My issue with carrying such a wide array of weaponry is twofold: First, Warframe has done a nice job of visually and functionally avoiding the "Carrying around 6200 steel swords, 4000 potions, and 234790 gold coins" that many other RPGs fall prey to. You can actually SEE which weapons your Warframe has access to during gameplay. There's no moment of pulling guns or swords out of invisible bottomless boxes of infinite inventory, and I really like that. Secondly, having access to six different weapons (and by extension six different weapon loadouts,) eliminates most of the consideration from customizing mod loadouts. Players can take one weapon for dealing with each of the four enemy factions, and still have two to spare. There's no sensation of deciding between general customization that is less efficient but more reliable, or highly specialized loadouts that will kill one thing really, really well, but fall short against other foes. Granted, the game is not exactly to the point where there is that level of concern just yet, but considering your proposed changes to gameplay it has the potential to get there.

 

Small quibbles aside, I want to congratulate you on managing to take one more step than the rest of us, and progressing from "the game needs a better skill system," to "the game needs a better skill system, and here's one way you could go about creating that." I, for one, would really like to see mods implemented less as a damage template and more of a utility template. Mods that add features like punch through and prior to D2.0, stagger chance, were always mods that appealed to me, but mods that I didn't use very often. Mods should be aimed at changing the way a weapon functions, not increasing its damage output (without drawbacks.) You have my support, 100% here.

 

Your suggestion of removing damage as the main aspect of elemental damage and critical hits has actually spawned a bit of an idea in me: Change status procs from random percent chances to effect buildups. I don't know how many people here have played Dark Souls, but I really liked the way that game handled its more outstanding auxiliary effects. The one that stood out to me the most was its bleed proc. Unlike Warframe, which features the classic "damage over time" bleed that is essentially identical to toxic damage over time, Dark Souls bleed deals 30% of your maximum health in a single blow. The thing is, it does absolutely nothing until it procs, which occurs when your resistance to bleed is depleted by taking consistent bleed damage.

 

Warframe should function the same way. Stagger chance should be changed to stagger damage, and all enemies should have stagger resistance. Taking fire from a stagger-damage equipped weapon should gradually eat away that resistance, and when it's finally gone, cause a stagger. Higher stagger-damage will obviously proc staggers more often. Enemies that manage to avoid taking stagger damage for a bit will have their stagger resistance restored instantly. Let's say after 2 seconds of not taking stagger damage. The puncture proc can be discarded completely, and Puncture damage can take up the sole purpose of efficiently damaging enemy armor. The bleed proc can be differentiated from poison procs by never proccing through shields or armor, but doing higher damage over time when it actually does proc.

 

Elemental procs should function in much the same manner, but be focused on auxiliary utility in terms of how the enemy AI responds to them. Some factions will have higher resistances or weaknesses to various procs. Infested will be easier to burn, Corpus will be harder. Corpus will be easier to electrocute, Grineer will be harder. Grineer will be easier to slow with ice, Infested will be harder, etc. Instead of simple DoT, fire procs will emphasize panicking enemies. Electricity temporarily disables weaponry. Ice slows, as usual. Magnetic is a passive bonus against shields, but sacrifices the auxiliary effects of its consituent elements. Corrosive does the same for armor. Viral offers a weaker slow and slight damage debuff that spreads between targets. Radiation is left as-is. Gas has a very low DoT effect that increases in intensity the longer an enemy stays in the cloud and can be procced on terrain, but dissipates quickly. Enemies will flee from gas, which has it implemented as an area/cover denial element.

 

While we're on the subject of violent and reckless changes, why not eliminate hitscan weaponry, and add mods that increase projectile velocity? Decrease spread? Enable projectile ricochet? Explosive rounds that increase a projectile's hitbox slightly? Doing this really opens up a ton of possibilities, like a mod that adds target tracking to projectiles, where projectiles that are still in flight will seek where the player's crosshair is pointing similar to Nova's Antimatter Drop. (Really effective on slow projectiles, not so much on faster ones.) Of course, this mod will be disabled if projectiles are above a certain speed (say, the Dera's base speed) to prevent it from becoming a godly auto-aim. These effects range into melee weapons as well: Ether weapons glide through armor and shields, but are terrible for blocking (assuming DE succeeds in actually making blocking worthwhile,) and there's a mod that emulates their capabilities to a lesser extent on other weapons. Mods like reach actually add noticeable range to melee weapons other than the Orthos/Orthos Prime. Shift block mods from Warframes to melee weapons. Provide mods that improve jump-attack AOE. Maybe try out mods that change swing patterns.

 

I'd definitely like to hear your thoughts on this and whether or not you think it would integrate well into skill-oriented gameplay. I'll probably transmute this into its own thread later on, but for the time being I'll consolidate my thoughts a bit more. Cheers, and thanks for the delightful feedback. It's a nice change of pace from threads that are focused on simply speeding up the grind.