[Warframe Concept] Carmilla, The Vampiric Warframe [V2.0][Now With Art!]

[ZephyrPhantom]

Version 2.0 Changes :

Predation : Energy Drain is no longer affected by Power Efficiency. Cost raised back up to 35. Range of 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 meters added. You cannot attack a target that is blocked by other objects, players, or enemies. (Intent is to retain Predation's power but give appropriate limits to match.)

 

Crimson Spire : Removed Life Drain and Shield Ignore from Blood Spire. Blood Umbra and Nosferatu, while useful, are intended to be slower and weaker to counterbalance their lifedrain. This leaves Carmilla with a simple 'fast' damage option that is still weaker than a scaled-down counterpart, but efficient enough to get the job done.

 

Nosferatu : Halved damage from 50/60/75/90 over 15 seconds (Total damage : 750/900/1125/1350) to 25/30/37.5/45 over 15 seconds. (Total damage : 375/240/563/675). Keep in mind Carmilla is also draining health from enemies, so the 'net' HP change between Carmilla and her enemies is actually the 750/900/1125/1350 I intended to be - less damage and much slower than Contagion but with potential upswing + lifedrain. Clarified the description a little - they're not actually "bats" per se, just like how Nekros's Shadows aren't actually undead.

 

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"The Stalker, Baphomet, and the Oracle. Grim mockeries of the Tenno, those that formerly worked with or as one of them until for their own reasons they went rogue. But what if one of the fallen stays with the creed she lost faith in? For what reasons, some muse, perhaps to show a flaw in the ways the Tenno work though?  Regardless, the Tenno know one thing about her : she is still on their side. That is enough - for now."

 

 

Introducing CARMILLA, the Vampiric Warframe

Art by arch111

 

 

Version 2.0 : White/Blue Colorscheme by arch111:

 

"Formerly one of the countless medics on the front lines of war, this Tenno has chosen to embrace death rather than save others from it, choosing to steal the lives of her enemies in a graceful yet vicious manner."
Default Coloration : Fitting both her vampire and fallen Tenno motifs, black and red.
Playstyle : Focuses on draining enemy shields and health to negate damage. Because of this, you want her to draw fire most of the time, away from squishier allies. Her notable qualities are raised health and high speed - an evasive tank that prefers to avoid hits with a little insurance if she does get hit. Her abilities deal mostly Slash and Puncture damage, making her useful against Infested and Grineer.
Appearance : A slim helmet that resembles Trinity's helmet along with a thinner Frost-styled trenchcoat and black boots. Stylish but practical - from a distance she could be mistaken for a male.

 

 

Starting Stats:

Health : 125 (375 at rank 30)

Power : 100 (150 at rank 30)

Armor : 65

Shields : 75 (225 at rank 30)

Sprint Speed : 1.2

Ability 1 : Blood Umbra

Power Cost : 25
"Carmilla emits a blood red mist, drawing nearby enemy attention to her along with their shields and health."

Carmilla rapidly saps enemy shields and health at a rate of 4 / 5 /  6 / 7 Slash damage per second over 15 seconds while drawing enemy aggro within a 10 / 15 / 20 / 22 meter radius, encouraging them to rush her and shoot her. (Total damage : 60 / 75 / 90 / 105)  Unlike Link, enemies don't have to hit Carmilla for Blood Umbra to take effect, but enemies must be within your line of sight at some point before they start chasing you.

 

This ability is the central part to Carmilla's "evasive tank" nature - with proper use, you can redirect enemy fire away from Tenno reviving downed allies/using life support capsules, defense Cryopods, etc... all at the risk of taking the damage yourself. As the Corpus and Grineer aren't exactly great shots, using this near cover make this move more of a DPS damage skill than a damage reduction one, or if you want you can lead a little Infested parade around the ODD room which can end with some pretty M Prime fireworks.

 

Decoy, Molt, and Absorb will all take priority over Blood Umbra.

 

Blood Umbra is affected by Power Range, Duration, and Strength mods. Mist color will change to match your energy color.

 

Ability 2 : Predation

Power Cost : 35
"Carmilla silently launches herself at a target, dealing heavy damage to them and restoring her health.  If the target dies, Carmilla assumes their identity for as long as her energy supply will let her."

Carmilla silently leaps at a target within 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 meters and performs a stealth attack dealing 500 / 600 / 700 / 800 Puncture damage. If the attack succeeds in killing an enemy, Carmilla will be covered in a black mist that transforms her into the enemy she killed, with matching weaponry temporarily replacing the corresponding equipment in your slots. (For example, if you kill a Grineer Ballista, you will have a Vulkar temporarily replace your primary, while your secondary and melee remain the same. Any mods you had on your original primary carry over to your temporary Vulkar.) While assuming an enemy's identity, other enemies will not attack you until you attack them and blow your cover. Other teammates will see a silhouette of Carmilla over the "enemy" she is posing as, similar to Nyx's Chaos. You cannot attack a target that is blocked by other objects, players, or enemies.

 

While transformed, you will lose 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 energy every 2 seconds, encouraging a player to watch their energy supply if they don't want to be caught in the middle of crowd with no powers to draw on. Alternatively, if you manage to aggressively kill enemies and keep grabbing energy orbs, you can attempt to make Predation last the whole mission. (Note : Sentinels are cloaked while Predation is active, meaning they won't attack or use abilities.)

 

You can manually end the duration of Predation by hitting 2 while transformed; your camouflage will explode in a burst of a blood (or a normal explosion if the enemy you're posing as is mechanical) , turning you back into Carmilla and restoring your normal gear.  If you're posing as an Infested Runner, 'self-destructing' will also turn you back into Carmilla.

 

Predation can be used as a stealth ability or can be used in a firefight if increased threat level from Blood Umbra is causing you to take too much damage to blend into a crowd of enemies and regroup.

 

Predation's damage is affected by Power Strength mods.

 

Ability 3 : Crimson Spire

Power Cost : 75
"Carmilla unleashes spikes around her that deal direct damage to enemy health and add to her own."

Carmilla sends energy spikes into the ground that deal shield-ignoring 400 / 500 / 600 / 700 Puncture damage to enemy health in a 4 meter radius.
You can use this with Blood Umbra to damage enemies that are aggro'd towards you while regaining any health you took from excess damage. This can also be used with Predation to run into the middle of a crowd ignored, then drop a Crimson Spire to kill lots of enemies at once.

 

Crimson Spire is affected by Power Range and Strength mods.

 

Ability 4 : Nosferatu

Power Cost : 100
"Red mist covers the battlefield, draining all vitality from enemies into Carmilla. Enemies killed this way are spawn parasitic bats that drain their former comrades' vitality."

Carmilla is surrounded by a very large red mist within 8 / 10 / 12 / 15 meters - enemies that walk into this mist will start rapidly losing health and shields at a rate of 25/30/37.5/45 (50% Puncture, 50% Impact) damage over 15 seconds as they are transferred to her. (Total damage : 375/240/563/675). Enemies killed with Nosferatu will spawn an Infested/robotic hybrid bat drone that will attach themselves to the nearest enemy (similar to Grineer Latcher mines) dealing 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 Puncture damage over 15 seconds - this additional damage is also transferred back to Carmilla's shields/health. Keep in mind Carmilla is also draining health from enemies, so the 'net' HP change between Carmilla and her enemies is actually the 750/900/1125/1350 HP I intend it to be - less damage and much slower than Contagion but with potential upswing + lifedrain.

 

Nosferatu's damage is affected by Power Strength, range by Power Duration, and length by Power Range mods. Mist color will change to match your energy color.

 

Carmilla's ultimate damage skill is weaker in terms of damage and slower in effect such as Contagion and World on Fire, but makes up for it by draining the health and shields it damages - combined with Blood Umbra, you should be able to dodge around heavy squads of Grineer/Corpus while the damage does its work and makes up for any hits you take. At lower levels, the minions spawned by Nosferatu allow Carmilla to make up for her ultimate's somewhat low damage allowing her to level faster; at higher levels, they help give some additional 'oomph' into the lifedrain that allows Carmilla to risk taking more hits while redirecting enemy gunfire at her.

 

Alternate Equipment :

 

Nocturnus Helmet : "Shaped like a bat, the distinctive "wings" on the Nocturnus helmet also act as additional sensors at the cost of extra power maintenance (efficiency)."
This helmet gives a 5 meter enemy radar to Carmilla, while reducing her power efficiency by 5%. Useful if you're planning to do Stealth play with Predation or want to time Blood Umbra/Nosferatu more carefully but you must pay extra energy as a price for that caution.

 

Optera Helmet :"Shaped like a moth*, the sensitivity to light on the helmet's solar film supercharges Carmilla's ability to do damage at the cost of her health."

This helmet gives +15% Power Strength to Carmilla while reducing her health by 5%. If you find Carmilla's skills lacking in terms of damage and don't mind making her more squishy, this helmet would be ideal for that playstyle.

 

(Note : I know alt helmets currently no longer give stat bonuses, but I am leaving them up if anyone is interested in them. The helmets could always be implemented as cosmetic-only, if desired.)

 

Corvus Syandana : "The black plume of feathers trailing fanning out from this syandana evoke the wings of a raven, ready to descend on it's quarry."

A cape-like syandana composed of raven feathers that fan out as they appoach the floor. Gives a cool "swish"-like effect for those who like jumping off of high places.

 

*Moths are of the order Lepidoptera.

 

What do you guys think? (Is balanced? Would you use it ingame?, etc...) I also have designed an event to introduce this Warframe called "Operation Nightingale" along with matching themed weapons, but I'd like to hear thoughts on the frame itself first.

 

Other Art:

Carmilla Bat Helmet Early WIP - by arch111

 

 

 

Archived Concepts :

This section is for older versions of abilities/traits I've made for Carmilla.

 

Predation Changelog

V2 : Energy Drain is no longer affected by Power Effiency. Cost raised back up to 35. Range of 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 meters added. You cannot attack a target that is blocked by other objects, players, or enemies. (Intent is to retain Predation's power but give appropriate limits to match.)

V1 : "Carmilla silently launches herself at a target, dealing heavy damage to them and restoring her health.  If the target dies, Carmilla assumes their identity for a short period of time."

Predation's camouflage lasts for 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 seconds. (Exchanged in favor of energy drain. Cost also lowered from 35 - > 30 due to required energy upkeep.) Formerly affected by Power Duration; changed to Power Efficiency when energy drain was implemented.

 

 

Blood Spire Changelog

V1 : Removed Life Drain and Shield Ignore from Blood Spire. Blood Umbra and Nosferatu, while useful, are intended to be slower and weaker to counterbalance their lifedrain. This leaves Carmilla with a simple 'fast' damage option that is still weaker than a scaled-down counterpart, but efficient enough to get the job done.

 

Nosferatu Changelog, V2 and Onward:

Halved damage from 50/60/75/90 over 15 seconds (Total damage : 750/900/1125/1350) to 25/30/37.5/45 over 15 seconds. (Total damage : 375/240/563/675). Keep in mind Carmilla is also draining health from enemies, so the 'net' HP change between Carmilla and her enemies is actually the 750/900/1125/1350 I intended to be - less damage and much slower than Contagion but with potential upswing + lifedrain. Clarified the description a little - they're not actually "bats" per se, just like how Nekros's Shadows aren't actually undead.

 

 

Nosferatu V1

Power Cost : 100
"Red mist covers the battlefield, draining all vitality from enemies into Carmilla. She will temporarily adapt the traits of special enemies she kills this way."
Carmilla is surrounded by a very large red mist within 8 / 10 / 12 / 15 meters - enemies that walk into this mist will start rapidly losing health and shields at a rate of 50/60/75/90 (50% Puncture, 50% Impact) damage over 15 seconds as they are transferred to her. (Total damage : 750/900/1125/1350) If you kill enemies with a special passive ability through Nosferatu, Carmilla will add those passives to Nosferatu's effect until it ends - for example, killing a Toxic Ancient will cause Carmilla to emit a short-range poison cloud, or killing a Shield Lancer will give her an energy shield that absorbs frontal attacks. 'Absorbed' passive abilities would stack, so say if you killed an Ancient Healer and a Shield Drone you'd get both the shield boost and healing wave effects.

 

Nosferatu's damage is affected by Power Strength, range by Power Duration, and length by Power Range mods. Mist color will change to match your energy color.

 

Carmilla's ultimate damage skill is weaker in terms of damage and slower in effect such as Contagion and World on Fire, but makes up for it by draining the health and shields it damages - combined with Blood Umbra, you should be able to dodge around heavy squads of Grineer/Corpus while the damage does its work and makes up for any hits you take.

Edited March 5, 2015 by ZephyrPhantom

[Silraed]

Interesting concept, seems well thought out. I don't think people would like having a red mist though, people tend to not like non customisable colours.

 

I'm not sure if Predation is all right being a 25 energy ability, I know it relies on the kill to get the other effects but it seems a little spammable.

 

First and third sound good. I'm just a little unsure about the aggro draw on the first though. From what I understand the mechanic doesn't really work that well in this game, they had a lot of trouble with Rhino's Iron Skin drawing aggro, it just didn't work.

 

The fourth sounds interesting but I'm not sure how those special passives would work in game, what would happen if you killed one enemy and then another straight after? Do you keep the first kills passive effect or swap to the second?

 

One last thing, alt helmets no longer give stat bonuses.

[ZephyrPhantom]

Interesting concept, seems well thought out. I don't think people would like having a red mist though, people tend to not like non customisable colours.

 

I'm not sure if Predation is all right being a 25 energy ability, I know it relies on the kill to get the other effects but it seems a little spammable.

 

First and third sound good. I'm just a little unsure about the aggro draw on the first though. From what I understand the mechanic doesn't really work that well in this game, they had a lot of trouble with Rhino's Iron Skin drawing aggro, it just didn't work.

 

The fourth sounds interesting but I'm not sure how those special passives would work in game, what would happen if you killed one enemy and then another straight after? Do you keep the first kills passive effect or swap to the second?

 

One last thing, alt helmets no longer give stat bonuses.

Mist colors - they should change to match the color of your energy. Added a small note about that on Blood Umbra and Nosferatu.

 

I honestly wasn't sure about Predation's energy cost, either, but I felt it wasn't expensive enough to be worth 50 since it only damages 1 enemy. I decided to treat it similarly to Ash's Smoke Screen and raise the cost to 35. (also added the duration of the camouflage which I missed the first time around.)

 

I think Melee 2.0 will help open up more movement options, so I'll stick with the aggro draw for now but I added a note saying that Decoy, Molt, and Absorb will take higher priority on the enemy aggro list.

 

The 'absorbed' passive abilities would stack, so say if you killed an Ancient Healer and a Shield Drone you'd get both the shield boost and healing wave effects. I feel stacking is okay since it's enemy dependent, but if anyone feels otherwise feel free to say so.

 

Helmets : Ah, that's a pity. I'll leave the effects up for anyone who is curious about them, though.

 

Overall, thanks for the feedback! It helped me give some necessary tweaks to Carmilla.

[RedPrimed]

Kudos on Nosferatu I thought everyone forgot about him. As for the abilitys they are very interesting and I like the balanced stats

[Okamibanshu88]

i love this warframe, especially the whole 'assume them' bit for the assassination. this could add a whole new type of stealth to the game. but the absorbing abilities/stats whatever bit, i dunno about that. I would like to see perhaps instead of that, she could turn the heavies into small bats? energy bats of some sort that dive bomb their old allies. This only happens if the mist kills the heavy? would fit in line with the whole vampire them. And this is by far the most unique and awsome sounding warframe i've seen yet :) kudo's, +100 yes

[HaruhiExceptNaked]

I feel as if everything mentioned on this thread is doable. The powers may need slight tweaking, but it sounds like a very interesting concept. 

[ZephyrPhantom]

i love this warframe, especially the whole 'assume them' bit for the assassination. this could add a whole new type of stealth to the game. but the absorbing abilities/stats whatever bit, i dunno about that. I would like to see perhaps instead of that, she could turn the heavies into small bats? energy bats of some sort that dive bomb their old allies. This only happens if the mist kills the heavy? would fit in line with the whole vampire them. And this is by far the most unique and awsome sounding warframe i've seen yet :) kudo's, +100 yes

 

After a bit of thinking, I've decided that turning killed enemies into bats would be both more practical and fitting for Carmilla (absorbing abilities is cool, but Nosferatu seems more based on the damage aspect;Predation does the job of snagging enemy abilities better.). I've reworked Nosferatu to reflect this and put the old version in a spoiler for those who were interested in the old effect.. (Now, if only there was an area with some kind of "ruined castle" or cathedral-type architecture...)

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I'm glad to see that people like the frame and I appreciate everyone's comments on it so far. Keep it coming!

 

P.S.: I might actually have to rework Operation Nightingale a bit seeing as the feedback so far has given me some new ideas too, lol.

So, out of curiousity, here's a question for people reading the thread - if you wanted to introduce this frame through an event, how would you design it?

Edited February 1, 2014 by ZephyrPhantom

[zergla]

Probably one of the most well thought out concepts I've seen here. A bit of artwork and it will probably reach Zephyrs level.

[ZephyrPhantom]

Probably one of the most well thought out concepts I've seen here. A bit of artwork and it will probably reach Zephyrs level.

Thanks! I wish I could do art for it, but I can't draw or model for my life. >.>

 

If anyone else is willing to do art, though, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Edited February 1, 2014 by ZephyrPhantom

[xZARAx]

I really like the idea of a vampiric frame, does feel a little like a trinity banshee mashup at this stage to me.but I really like the idea of morphing Into enemies SO MUCH, would have to cost a lot of energy though. Overall with a fix here and there I'd definitely grind for this ;)

[nulsu]

Hey i really like your ideas , ive drawn a few warframes and stuff maybe u could help me figure out what there skills should be :D

[Okamibanshu88]

After a bit of thinking, I've decided that turning killed enemies into bats would be both more practical and fitting for Carmilla (absorbing abilities is cool, but Nosferatu seems more based on the damage aspect;Predation does the job of snagging enemy abilities better.). I've reworked Nosferatu to reflect this and put the old version in a spoiler for those who were interested in the old effect.. (Now, if only there was an area with some kind of "ruined castle" or cathedral-type architecture...)

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I'm glad to see that people like the frame and I appreciate everyone's comments on it so far. Keep it coming!

 

P.S.: I might actually have to rework Operation Nightingale a bit seeing as the feedback so far has given me some new ideas too, lol.

So, out of curiousity, here's a question for people reading the thread - if you wanted to introduce this frame through an event, how would you design it?

ruined castle? soooo...ike the drelect orokin ships? o.o after all, its full of zombies and undead!

[ZephyrPhantom]

ruined castle? soooo...ike the drelect orokin ships? o.o after all, its full of zombies and undead!

Good point! I'm trying to figure out how to get Infested to play some part in Operation Nightingale as I type this. :S

 

I'd kill to have Vampire frame! Now if only I had the energy to work on the art... I really want to draw this!

 

Also, I didn't expect my silly concept to be mentioned here. :3

Thanks! I'd give you an energy bar if I could. X)

 

I've had a strong interest in exploring the concept of "fallen Tenno"-like entities ever since I discovered the Stalker in this game; the Oracle is one of my favorite takes on the concept.

Edited February 2, 2014 by ZephyrPhantom

[Okamibanshu88]

I really like the idea of a vampiric frame, does feel a little like a trinity banshee mashup at this stage to me.but I really like the idea of morphing Into enemies SO MUCH, would have to cost a lot of energy though. Overall with a fix here and there I'd definitely grind for this ;)

easy fix to that. And one i'm surprised no one has done. sustained/continuous energy drain. you take over the person, instantly killing them, obviously not all enemies would be effected by this. The ability goes dark so you can't just infest infest infest killing all the people in one shot. But the ability itself would be a free cast, the energy supply you have, is what gives it its strength. Infest the first enemy you see, then go through the entir emission gathering all the data clusters as long as you keep up your energy! but you can't attack, your sentinel, deathcube/wyrm/djinn etc all go into an invisble state that they dont' attack or anything, their just blended into your disguise. the moment you attack in any way the disguise falls and combat is on alerting all nearby enemies, possibly with an explosion of some sort? gory but, a blood explosion? going form the idea that you were actually possesing that person. Just an idea and i think its original since i dont' know of any other abilities that are like that. would make her a powerhouse for solo, and a great recon for co-op.

[ZephyrPhantom]

easy fix to that. And one i'm surprised no one has done. sustained/continuous energy drain. you take over the person, instantly killing them, obviously not all enemies would be effected by this. The ability goes dark so you can't just infest infest infest killing all the people in one shot. But the ability itself would be a free cast, the energy supply you have, is what gives it its strength. Infest the first enemy you see, then go through the entir emission gathering all the data clusters as long as you keep up your energy! but you can't attack, your sentinel, deathcube/wyrm/djinn etc all go into an invisble state that they dont' attack or anything, their just blended into your disguise. the moment you attack in any way the disguise falls and combat is on alerting all nearby enemies, possibly with an explosion of some sort? gory but, a blood explosion? going form the idea that you were actually possesing that person. Just an idea and i think its original since i dont' know of any other abilities that are like that. would make her a powerhouse for solo, and a great recon for co-op.

Hm.... energy drain is interesting but I'm not so sure about the instant-kill factor - it does give Carmilla something to make her viable at high levels, but then you'd have to balance it out by not making it work on all enemies, as you stated - that kind of limits the fun part of Predation. I like the blood explosion animation, though, which I've added as Predation's manual cancel animation. (Considering energy drain instead of a timed cloak, to differentiate her more from Ash/Loki.)

 

I've finalized the three themed weapon concepts I've designed to accompany Carmilla; once they get stats, expect to see them in a thread sometimes soon.

Edited February 3, 2014 by ZephyrPhantom

[Okamibanshu88]

Hm.... energy drain is interesting but I'm not so sure about the instant-kill factor - it does give Carmilla something to make her viable at high levels, but then you'd have to balance it out by not making it work on all enemies, as you stated - that kind of limits the fun part of Predation. I like the blood explosion animation, though, which I've added as Predation's manual cancel animation. (Considering energy drain instead of a timed cloak, to differentiate her more from Ash/Loki.)

 

I've finalized the three themed weapon concepts I've designed to accompany Carmilla; once they get stats, expect to see them in a thread sometimes soon.

well i'm not talking like anyone heavy but low level enemies that most people can kill wiht a quick one shot kill thing. maybe that one shot kill is fully leveled up?

[arch111]

Good concept and skills. I get a female assasin/stalker vibe from this.

Hmm tempted to try some art...

[ZephyrPhantom]

Good concept and skills. I get a female assasin/stalker vibe from this.

Hmm tempted to try some art...

Thanks! I'd give you ecookies if that's any help. :S

well i'm not talking like anyone heavy but low level enemies that most people can kill wiht a quick one shot kill thing. maybe that one shot kill is fully leveled up?

I'm thinking that 800 Puncture is enough to kill even some mid-to-high level grunt-type Grineer (if bows/Blade Storm are any indication), plus every skill in Carmilla's arsenal benefits from power strength, but I'll give some further thought to it nevertheless.

 

Changed Predation so that duration is determined by an energy drain factor instead of a set timer - also lowered the energy required for initial cast from 35 - > 30 since energy drain makes the ability overall more expensive.

 

Lastly, I'm happy to say that I've finalized the themed weapons introduced in Operation Nightingale, which can be found in this thread! (images included ^^) Feel free to give a look!

Edited February 5, 2014 by ZephyrPhantom

[ZephyrPhantom]

Bumping for great justice. I'd really appreciate some art if anyone is willing to try. ;)

[Brainsworth]

So when I first saw this post im like wait here comes a vampire fan boy o god but thankfully I was wrong. The concept is well thought and gives enough detail you can see it as a frame. However I do feel with the way the abilitys currently  on this frame concept it would make the frame a very op one right of the bat. I can see people rocking this frame and never dying on the battlefield. It would become the most op passive tank in the game with the current abilitys. As others have mentioned the abilitys would need to be changed mostly the 4th one. This does not make it bad concept just needs tweaks to make it balanced among the other frames. Lastly I can not wrap my head around seeing bats steal health in this game I can see drones though but not bats. Keep working on this concept it could have a bright future.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Tailsy

[Schwood]

I'm not sure the gothic horror aspect of this really fits well into the Warframe world, but I like the concept. 

Ninjitsu and Samurai originates from a Shinto world, with animistic and elemental qualities. Animals with "vampiric" qualities that come to mind, -Spider, Bat, the Giant Japanese Hornet. Each of these animals introduces flight, but I especially like the idea of having access to spider silk, running up walls, immobilizing and poisoning/energy draining opponents. 

[ZephyrPhantom]

So when I first saw this post im like wait here comes a vampire fan boy o god but thankfully I was wrong. The concept is well thought and gives enough detail you can see it as a frame. However I do feel with the way the abilitys currently  on this frame concept it would make the frame a very op one right of the bat. I can see people rocking this frame and never dying on the battlefield. It would become the most op passive tank in the game with the current abilitys. As others have mentioned the abilitys would need to be changed mostly the 4th one. This does not make it bad concept just needs tweaks to make it balanced among the other frames. Lastly I can not wrap my head around seeing bats steal health in this game I can see drones though but not bats. Keep working on this concept it could have a bright future.

Thanks for taking the time to read! I'll do my best to keep improving Carmilla and balancing her to be more equal to the other frames.

 

As for abilities, I tried to balance their 'net value' against other AoE damage frames, with the goal in mind being that the total 'gain' has to be weaker than most AoE damage. While I appreciate people's thoughts on the abilities, I'd really also love to hear suggestions on how I should change certain abilities to make them better if you guys feel they need to be worked on! (E.g. Should I lower damage? Raise duration? etc...)

 

Here's my thoughts on balance after taking a second look at abilities (I've answered some of your other concerns in the spoilers below.)

 

Blood Umbra:

Maxed Blood Umbra : 105 damage + 105 heal for 15 seconds over 22 meters = 210 HP 'net' value

Maxed Pull : 300 damage instantly over 25 meters= 300 HP 'net' value

Blood Umbra I feel is fine - it deals slash damage, which will be reduced even further by Armor/Shields and draws aggro, and it has a smaller overall gain than Pull, a similar AoE ability. Furthermore, the damage is spread out over time, so you will be dealing less DPS than other frames can at a similar rate.

 

Result: Left this one as is. It's her bread and butter skill but it's strengths are just as likely to be drawbacks.

 

Predation :

A bit more explanation on why I was opposed to the idea of making this ability a one-hit kill - I didn't want a kneejerk reaction from people saying "OMG this is OP" right away (Plus Max Flow + Fleeting Expertise would've made it spammable.). I intended to balance out the concept with some moderately high damage values (since it was only able to kill one enemy, I felt it should have notably high enough damage to A) kill something and B) outpace a similar AoE ability that dealt damage like Slash Dash). I do feel the values are in the right place as a result, but the cost and how Carmilla should be able to maintain camoflauge does need work.

 

Changes :Energy Drain is no longer affected by Power Effiency. Cost raised back up to 35. Range of 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 meters added. You cannot attack a target that is blocked by other objects, players, or enemies. (Intent is to retain Predation's power but give appropriate limits to match.)

 

Crimson Spire :

I had to do a bit of guesswork with the the first version, since no Warframe has a true #3 damage that is a simple AoE damage blast (Fire Blast isn't really comparable thanks to the whole fire ring deal). For the second version, I ultimately decided to scale down Contagion and make it a bit weaker after looking through damage values to see if I should rework this one.

750 / 950 / 1250 / 1500 damage for 100 Energy

(all values x 75%)

562 / 713 / 938 / 1125 damage for 75 Energy

vs

400 / 500 / 600 / 700 Puncture damage for 75 Energy ( 800 / 1000 / 1200 / 1400 net HP with lifedrain)

 

Result : Removed Life Drain and Shield Ignore from Blood Spire. Blood Umbra and Nosferatu, while useful, are intended to be slower and weaker to counterbalance their lifedrain. This leaves Carmilla with a simple 'fast' damage option that is still weaker than a scaled-down counterpart, but efficient enough to get the job done.

 

Nosferatu

Before I get into the actual math, I just wanted to note that I intended Nosferatu to use similar nanobot technology to Nekros's Shadows of the Dead to create 'bat drones', not actual bats. (Alternatively, some kind of Infested parasite.)

 

Maxed Nosferatu : 1350 damage + 1350 heal for 15 seconds over 15 meters = 2700 HP 'net' value

Maxed Contagion : 1500 damage over 4 seconds over 15 meters = 1500 HP 'net' value

 

....I feel like I must've goofed on this one, because having Nosferatu have almost double the net HP gain vs Contagion caught my attention right away this time around.

 

Result : Halved damage from 50/60/75/90 over 15 seconds (Total damage : 750/900/1125/1350) to 25/30/37.5/45 over 15 seconds. (Total damage : 375/240/563/675). Keep in mind Carmilla is also draining health from enemies, so the 'net' HP change between Carmilla and her enemies is actually the 750/900/1125/1350 I intended to be - less damage and much slower than Contagion but with potential upswing + lifedrain. Clarified the description a little - they're not actually "bats" per se, just like how Nekros's Shadows aren't actually undead.

 

I've considered the changes I've made from my second review of Carmilla enough to count as a rework, so I've added a V2.0 tag to the OP. Please give feedback on the rebalanced values!

 

I'm not sure the gothic horror aspect of this really fits well into the Warframe world, but I like the concept. 

Ninjitsu and Samurai originates from a Shinto world, with animistic and elemental qualities. Animals with "vampiric" qualities that come to mind, -Spider, Bat, the Giant Japanese Hornet. Each of these animals introduces flight, but I especially like the idea of having access to spider silk, running up walls, immobilizing and poisoning/energy draining opponents. 

I'd just like to politely point out that Valkyr takes design cues from Valkyries and Egyptian Cat Goddesses, neither of which are very Shinto/Eastern/ninja themed. The same goes for Oberon, who draws from the medieval concept of a Paladin merged with the general fantasy idea of a Druid. (Excalibur is also rather knight-themed for a 'ninja', etc...)

 

As for the suggested concepts : I'm not sure if I could make any of those fit with Carmilla as she currently is (I've already incorporated the moth and the crow into the alternate gear), but if I need to make serious thematic changes to at least one ability, I'll take them up for consideration. (To be honest, though, your listed abilities sound like you have a completely different frame in mind - mainly a spider-based one.)

Edited February 12, 2014 by ZephyrPhantom

[Okamibanshu88]

So when I first saw this post im like wait here comes a vampire fan boy o god but thankfully I was wrong. The concept is well thought and gives enough detail you can see it as a frame. However I do feel with the way the abilitys currently  on this frame concept it would make the frame a very op one right of the bat. I can see people rocking this frame and never dying on the battlefield. It would become the most op passive tank in the game with the current abilitys. As others have mentioned the abilitys would need to be changed mostly the 4th one. This does not make it bad concept just needs tweaks to make it balanced among the other frames. Lastly I can not wrap my head around seeing bats steal health in this game I can see drones though but not bats. Keep working on this concept it could have a bright future.

well who says they have to be drones? djinn wyrm death cube, they all have a theme. A simple orb of energy with 'wings' like the sentinels could be called a bat, doesn't need to actually look exactly like a bat.

 

I'm not sure the gothic horror aspect of this really fits well into the Warframe world, but I like the concept. 

Ninjitsu and Samurai originates from a Shinto world, with animistic and elemental qualities. Animals with "vampiric" qualities that come to mind, -Spider, Bat, the Giant Japanese Hornet. Each of these animals introduces flight, but I especially like the idea of having access to spider silk, running up walls, immobilizing and poisoning/energy draining opponents. 

...gothic horror, sooo like the warframe who was torture dand experimented on and is now bat nuts crazy berzerker, and the almalgus creatiosn known as the infected who have infected entire ships turning them into a gothic castle turned zombie?....think the horror aspect has sailed bud.

[arch111]

Gothic horror is not present in Warframe by my defintition. There are some twisted monsters and some frames that are borderline Dark, like Nekros and Ash. But the design to me is rather cute and cartoony, not gross and scary.

 

Mynki kind of blew the bar to the moon when he dreamed up Oberon and Nekros. They are becoming more and more fantastic and mythical and less like a futuristic battle-armor. I think allmost anything goes, design-wise, as long as it´s not to much fantasy.

 

And Void-energy seem to be basically Magical Powers.

[VoidWraith]

Hmm... a slim helmet like Trinity's... the trench-coat from Frost.... you you want her to have boots too.... how about Saryn's boots? But you know... without that mutation thing on her thigh? Just the boots from below the knee?