Mastery Rank Up Rewards

[Neah]

Mastery rank in Warframe is an integral part of the game, it unlocks weapons, frames and trading, but in its current form, I feel it could be better utilized instead of just having some arbitrary rewards.

Instead of just unlocking weapons , frames & trading slots, simple mod rewards during mastery rank up would make the player (especially newbies, given how diluted the mod table currently is) feel more of a sense of linear progression. 
 

[suggested rewards]

Rank 0: Redirection, Vitality , just to introduce players to modding, and what not
Rank 1: Serration , Hornet Strike , Point Blank , Pressure Point
Rank 2: Elemental mods : Fire / Ice / Electric / Poison, ( choice of either one for all weapon types or could just be one elemental type for all weapons : Rifle , Shotgun , Pistol , Melee ) + Codex Scanners 100(?)
Rank 3: Rare resources such as(but not limited to): Orokin cells, Neural sensors, 5 of each(?) + 25k Credits
Rank 4: 50k  Credits , Weapon/Frame slots(?) (debatable, just a suggestion) 
Rank 5: 75k  Credits , Catalyst / Reactor (debatable, just a suggestion) 
Rank 6: 100k Credits , Rare Fusion Cores
Rank 7~ 

 

The main reason is, given how diluted the mod table currently is, to allow new players to  feel more of a sense of linear progression. Also, to introduce them to the game better .

 

For example, 

Core mods such as Serration, for example, which increases the base damage for rifles, greatly helps out new players in level progression. The mod is only dropped by Scropions, Nauseous Crawlers or Electric Crawlers (according to in game codex) which are generally speaking, uncommon mobs to be found in levels or, it could be obtained as Corpus defense rewards. Another example would be Hornet Strike, which is only dropped by Toxic Ancients, which only spawns on wave 9+ in defense, which for newbies, would be quite the challenge.

I think that new players would have a hard time finding these mods , which I think is essential to make them feel 'powerful' , which gets them going on to play the game. I mean, if you took a whole magazine of ammo just to take down a level 15 Grineer Lancer, how is that fun? It is just tedious and boring, especially when the AI which remains the same no matter what level the mob is. 

Elemental mods introduce them to damage 2.0, just in case they haven't read anything in the codex, if they even know it exists , let alone bother to look at it.The codex icon isn't really intuitive in saying "Hey, I show you info about the game, read me!" . When giving out these mods, explain a little about how elemental damage works, ( just a brief overview , E.g. Fire causes enemies to be ignited, dealing a small amount of DPS over time, Ice slows them down etc.)
then tell them if they wanted to know more, go check out the codex and stuff. Then bam, "Oh, so there is a codex, where do I find it?" Point them in the general direction. Boom. 
 

The codex scanners work in tandem with the elemental mods, mainly because if players wanted to know the innate weakness of each faction, they need to fully scan the mobs to get their weaknesses to show in the codex. What's the use of introducing them to only how to build up element types, without knowing what to use them on? Although some might argue to let the players learn naturally by playing through the game, it would be of great help to those without much experience in gaming ( unlikely, but who knows? Maybe a friend who was introduced into Warframe by his friend as his first game, improbable? Maybe. Impossible? No. )

The above is just a small example in which mastery rank up rewards could really help in player progression as well as getting to know Warframe better. I do not think that this is a case of 'holding their hands' , but rather, "Hey, here's some rewards for you to make you strong, wanna know how to use them better? Wanna get even stronger? Check out the game codex, learn more about the game!"

Let me know of what you guys think, discuss below!

Edited June 8, 2014 by Neah

[Kirby47]

Expected a garbage thread. Actually might be cool, if this were actually in the right section.

I say tone down the rare resource reward to 3 of each, make the potato reward into blueprints, and increase the credit rewards.

And how about a free weapon slot every rank after 2 and a free warframe slot every other rank after 2? 

Edited June 8, 2014 by Kirby47

[vazy14]

cool

[(PSN)xXclasic1Xx]

warframe slots should be unlockable

[Winchester117]

I am definitely in favor of this idea. I am working towards Mastery Rank 12 and I was thinking I should get more out of all the work that I do.

[klamorison]

I think its a great idea. +1 for the OP

 

This would help new ppl's to learn the game step by step, and also bring some more utility to mastery.

[sedy25]

I just liked the thrill of getting a new number on my avatar. I didn't expect to see a reward, the fact that I had achieved a new number/rank in the game was good enough for me.

[Neah]

I think its a great idea. +1 for the OP

 

This would help new ppl's to learn the game step by step, and also bring some more utility to mastery.

Yep, this suggestion is mainly tailored towards new players getting to know the game.

Another point which I had not mentioned in the OP, is the whether the rewards should be retroactive (or not) , veterans who have fought all the way to say, Rank 16, by this time, most would have bought at least some platinum for slots, etc. But there are others ( myself included ) who does not buy plat at all, this could help them acquire some slots, as well as some useful potatoes along the way.

 

I personally, through trading, have acquired enough platinum to last myself quite a while without having as much as a worry for slots/cosmetics, but for those who do not, I think that it would be to their benefit to have some more weapon / frame slots, as well as having a sense of 'appreciation' towards the game which rewarded them (perhaps?).

[sedy25]

Yep, this suggestion is mainly tailored towards new players getting to know the game.

Another point which I had not mentioned in the OP, is the whether the rewards should be retroactive (or not) , veterans who have fought all the way to say, Rank 16, by this time, most would have bought at least some platinum for slots, etc. But there are others ( myself included ) who does not buy plat at all, this could help them acquire some slots, as well as some useful potatoes along the way.

 

I personally, through trading, have acquired enough platinum to last myself quite a while without having as much as a worry for slots/cosmetics, but for those who do not, I think that it would be to their benefit to have some more weapon / frame slots, as well as having a sense of 'appreciation' towards the game which rewarded them (perhaps?).

In every XP based game, I have never seen a reward for levelling up. Since it is that persons own choice to level up. The fact that they can hit higher, use better armour is enough(I believe) for them not to need yet another reward.

Edited June 8, 2014 by frostybe3r

[DiddlyMcGee]

DE read this

[Hadanch]

I like all the ideas except for the weapon and warframe slots.

[Joyfulmama]

Sounds appropriate, the rewards you suggest are very balanced in my opinion.

[koolen]

cool but WF is a grinding game, so i don't see the point of giving to the rank 2 all the dmg mods

[Neah]

In every XP based game, I have never seen a reward for levelling up. Since it is that persons own choice to level up. The fact that they can hit higher, use better armour is enough(I believe) for them not to need yet another reward.

 

cool but WF is a grinding game, so i don't see the point of giving to the rank 2 all the dmg mods

 

Well for most XP based games, for example MMORPGs your gear usually gets upgraded through some quest rewards, but progression in Warframe depends mainly on mods, in which there is no other way of obtaining other than RNG based drops / rewards. 

However unlikely, there might be some people who have horrible RNG with drops, and could not acquire even the most basic of mods, these rewards could be godsend to them. Again, this is mainly directed towards newer players.

Slots do not help you become stronger, but allows you to keep the weapons / frames you have earned by yourself, so they do not affect progression(much?) other than providing you with more variety of loadouts. Potatoes allow for more mod slots, but if you do not have the mods, you do not become stronger, so it does not directly affect your strength ( yes it helps immensely though ) . Besides, potatoes could be obtained through alerts & invasions , but never slots. This is to allow people to keep what they have earned through hard work.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Neah

[CGs_Knackie]

I'm rank 15 soon 16 and the truth is high mastery rank haven't got really advantage. I hope DE'll do something.

[Gryphticon]

Exclusive swag only for certain masteries would be preferable, giving consumable items or credits or mods seem way too cheap.

[Ionus]

Somebody suggested that you get a new badge for every mastery rank. It seems like a good idea, as the ranks already have their own insignia.

Also: Hi mogamu! o:

[Neah]

Somebody suggested that you get a new badge for every mastery rank. It seems like a good idea, as the ranks already have their own insignia.

 

 

Just a thought , instead of a badge, why not just have your rank's insignia displayed in your in game icon at the bottom right(?) that changes every time you rank up, similar to the Founder's badge in the forums ? We already have so many badges from past events , having more will just clutter up the inventory without much use of them. Besides, I don't think anyone would really want to use a 'Initiate' badge when they are already at Gold Hunter / Eagle rank etc.

 

[Vantooth]

I totally agree, but I would suggest giving out fusion core and not elemental mods. I only played the original tutorial so I have no idea the current one teach you but having a tip here and there saying "did you know, elemental mods(fire, toxin, electricity, ice) drops from different types of enemies." Might solve the find out about those problem.

And the reason behind fusion cores:

1. If you reward mods like redirection, vitality or others "core mods" it might be a worth while idea to give them that little boost

2. They won't need to grind as much to upgrade the mods they are currently using more

3. Fusion cores are awesome and vital to every player right now, whatever play style.

[(PSN)Draconis1981]

definitely a 5 rhino ninjas out of five from me great concept.

[Ionus]

Just a thought , instead of a badge, why not just have your rank's insignia displayed in your in game icon at the bottom right(?) that changes every time you rank up, similar to the Founder's badge in the forums ? We already have so many badges from past events , having more will just clutter up the inventory without much use of them. Besides, I don't think anyone would really want to use a 'Initiate' badge when they are already at Gold Hunter / Eagle rank etc.

 

 

Well, founders got in-game badges, and you get all of the badges from the ranks under you. So as a master, I also have the badges for hunter and disciple. Grandmasters have all 4.

 

Planetside 2 also did this IIRC. You got a new rank decal every time you dinged and could wear any one of them whenever.

[(PSN)Draconis1981]

really good idea

[Neah]

I totally agree, but I would suggest giving out fusion core and not elemental mods. I only played the original tutorial so I have no idea the current one teach you but having a tip here and there saying "did you know, elemental mods(fire, toxin, electricity, ice) drops from different types of enemies." Might solve the find out about those problem.

And the reason behind fusion cores:

1. If you reward mods like redirection, vitality or others "core mods" it might be a worth while idea to give them that little boost

2. They won't need to grind as much to upgrade the mods they are currently using more

3. Fusion cores are awesome and vital to every player right now, whatever play style.

 

Good idea, to elaborate further on your point , the old tooltip section in the loading screen could be brought back to tell players more about elemental effects , damage,  etc. The new loading screen that displays random codex entries just makes little sense, they display a mod, or an enemy, tells you the name, perhaps some description ( bosses mainly ) , and that's it. Mods do not even have a word in them other than the picture of the mod itself.

 

Frankly, if I were new to the game, and I saw for example, Heated Charge. It tells me that it adds 90% Fire Damage, and its for Pistols and that's it. I'd be like "Ok cool, whatever". Nothing is said about its method of acquisition or what you can do with it. Of course you'd need to scan enemies to know of the drop table to know, but merely displaying the mod does not really do anything other than letting you know such an item exists and its basic properties is just plain and uninteresting to me.

Instead, put up a tooltip (for example) that not only displays the mod, but what it is, how do you get it, what it can do (in this case introduce them to elemental damage, etc )  and most important of all, send a message to tell them to use the codex. Tooltips that displayed information about basic maneuvers ( wallrunning , climbing up walls, etc ) should come back too imo ( I might be mixing up some facts here , not sure whether the old tooltip was about wallrunning , but yeah ) . Sometimes watching newbies not knowing what a wallrun is just a little.... sad. Its one of the most interesting mechanics in the game and I think they should know about it sooner rather than later. The game should point them in the general direction of what should go where, in a way that the players are motivated to work towards that direction without feeling that they are being dragged along .

 

About the elemental mod rewards themselves, I think it would still be better to give them at least two of them, just to get them started on knowing the basics of elemental damage & combinations . Fusion cores are great too, but since it drops from almost any mob in the game, acquiring Fusion cores won't be that much of a hassle. Besides , I don't really think that new players would have that much credits to fuse mods to high ranks anyway, so by giving them new mods it would be a better option. They could use their credits to buy new weapons, blueprints, etc. 

[Shehriazad]

In every XP based game, I have never seen a reward for levelling up. Since it is that persons own choice to level up. The fact that they can hit higher, use better armour is enough(I believe) for them not to need yet another reward.

Really? What kinda games do you play? Because in the games I play my attributes and skillpoints gain a bonus every time I level....I also get access to new gear and am often given access to things I didn't have before.

In Warframe it mainly lifts limitations that shouldn't exist in the first place. (like low rank people can only trade 1-2 times a day) Oh and yea....at rank 8 you gain access to some dojo weapons...great.

 

Edited June 9, 2014 by Shehriazad

[EternusDolor]

Cash and resources seem fair and the low level mods are a great suggestion, however, giving away free slots seems unfair for those of us who have used Platinum for this purpose.

 

Do not get me wrong, I am happy to buy platinum as I want to support the developers and want this game to thrive. Most people who want slots etc to be unlockable by grinding are the players who have no interest in parting with any money, but still expect to have the same experience as someone who has done their bit to keep the game going strong.

 

I believe that people who spend their money should have more to show for it than just 'less grinding'. If that means I can have 8 active warframes whereas you can only have 2... that's fair. That said, I DO NOT WANT OP WEAPONS OR FRAMES.

 

Just my thoughts.