Assign Weapon Mods To Attachment Slots

[(PSN)WiiConquered]

Note: This post is pretty long, but there is a tl;dr at the end.

 

I think there are three main problems with the mod system:

1. We, the players, use the same mods on every weapon (Serration, Split Chamber, two elementals)

2. Weapons feel too similar

3. The insane damage our weapons can do leaves damage based Warframe powers feeling pointless

 

What if the mod system were changed so mods are attached to different parts of the weapon? Here's what I would do.

 

Primary/Secondary Weapons

An uncatalyzed weapon would have 4 mod spots: Barrel, Bullet, Stock, and Special. Each spot would only allow one mod to be placed there (two when catalyzed).

 

   Barrel mods would include suppression mods, range mods (Flux Rifle, Ignis, etc), and tiny damage increasing mods (20% maxed). I would also put Firestorm and Thunderbolt in this category.

 

   Bullet mods would include critical chance increases, status increases, fire rate mods, and elemental mods (which would not increase damage, but instead change a percentage of the base damage to that element).

 

   Stock mods would include recoil/spread reducers, reload speed decreasers, and magazine/ammo size changers.

Example:

 

Serration would have a max value of 20% damage. Split Chamber would only have a 15% increase, but because of the nature of multishot that would be an increase for damage and status chance, making it more valuable to some people on a weapon like the Amprex. Max critical chance increase would be 75%, so for some weapons it would clearly be better than Serration (Dread) while with other weapons it wouldn't be worthwhile, and with some like the Latron the choice wouldn't be so clear. Speed Trigger would give a 30% increase, so players could decide if higher DPS is worth a decrease in ammo efficiency. Also, people would have to decide if any of those are better than equipping an elemental mod (in this system, the current combination elements would become single-mod elements, and would convert a percentage of the damage to elemental damage instead of adding any) or Metal Auger rounds (+2.0 Punch Through).

 

Moreover, there might be a single correct option for some weapons, but there wouldn't be four correct options (Serration, Split Chamber, and two status mods) like there are now. Some people would find a 50% reload speed reduction (max new Speed Trigger) more helpful than a 50% magazine capacity increase (Magazine Warp). Others might decide they would rather have a 75% recoil reduction (Stabilizer). The main point of splitting the mods up into four categories is that it limits damage mod stacking. And when combined with removed enemy health scaling, I think it would be less difficult for DE to change a mod value if it didn't work, because now they wouldn't be torn between making it valuable for level 70 and not making it overkill for level 10. If DE chose only to rebalance the current system, players would still just use their highest damage mods, so two to four slots would still be taken.

 

Melee Weapons

I'll add it if anyone reads this post, but Melee's wouldn't get as drastic of a change--People use a wider variety of mods for melees than they do for primaries and secondaries.

 

 

What about my Fusion Cores? And Forma?

Fusion cores could still level up mods, but this would be done on a weapon by weapon basis with fewer ranks. Ranks would go from 1-10. Formas no longer affect weapons in this setup, but people with Forma'd weapons could be given 3-5 R5 cores for each, as well as getting the Forma back. Warframes would still take Formas.

 

What about the Enemies?

The main thing that would have to change with this would be enemy scaling, meaning enemies would have to have increased difficulty in other ways:

 

https://forums.warfr...r-dumb-enemies/

 

https://forums.warfr...ons/?p=3259809 (shameless plug)

 

I would have three tiers of enemies: Grunts, Normal enemies, and Elites. Grunts would appear through Earth, Normal enemies up to Saturn, and Elites through Pluto. These distinctions would just be on the amount of damage they deal and can receive before death. Certain enemies would not appear until a certain level was reached.

 

R.I.P Endless Missions?

No-just our endless missions are going to change. Instead of increasing difficulty based on damage scaling, it would be based on the number and type of enemy. After about an hour of Grineer Survival, for example, players would find themselves facing off against mobs of Elite Heavy Gunners, mixed with Bombards, Napalms, and hopefully new elite enemies that require different techniques to kill.

 

I want superpowerful weapons sometimes!

I'm going to lay out a design for a new mission type if people read this, and I'll link to it here. I'm not going to outline it here, but I will just say that the Void does strange things to the Tenno and their weapons. (And I hope to tackle some problems with Void rewards as well).

 

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits:

-Adds value to many weapon mods

-Elemental weapons would truly feel special

-Damage-based Warframe abilities would become practical again

 

Drawbacks:

-Players who invested time in Formas would have less uses for them

-Insane amount of balancing and time required (this is why I initially didn't make this post. Then I saw the Arcwing and figured DE might not be opposed to spending a lot of time on something if they thought it could be popular)

 

In my opinion, the losses come in the form of time and attachment, while the benefits come to gameplay, which is something I'd approve of. Obviously, however, it's DE's time and not mine that I'd be spending. Still I think it would be an overall major benefit to the game.

 

tl;dr

By assigning weapons to different slots for attachments, DE would add value to many mods no one uses and make Warframe abilities more important.

Edited August 30, 2014 by (PS4)WiiConquered

[(PSN)WiiConquered]

Would someone mind explaining to me how to make the spoiler tags?

[BritishBob]

[#spoiler] Text here [#/spoiler]

 

Without the #

[(PSN)WiiConquered]

[#spoiler] Text here [#/spoiler]

 

Without the #

 

Let's see.

 

Thanks!

Edited August 30, 2014 by (PS4)WiiConquered

[(PSN)TheAce37]

No. Do not touch my 6 forma. 5million dmg Lanka. NO.

[(PSN)WiiConquered]

No. Do not touch my 6 forma. 5million dmg Lanka. NO.

 

Even if gameplay-wise, your Lanka is still a one hit kill weapon, even past the 90 minute mark of a survival?

[Eyeless]

You were right, this IS a more radical idea, but if you could get a bit more in-depth with the explanations just for the sake of utmost thoroughness  of all the ins and outs then I think we'd have a...well, you're already presenting a new and fresh idea that I think remains within the parameters of how the game is played and how our gear is customized. No silliness with aesthetic attachments and swapped barrels... 

 

 

No. Do not touch my 6 forma. 5million dmg Lanka. NO.

 

Thanks for such amazing feedback. Wow. Where would we be without you and your glorified laser bow? Probably back in Soviet Russia licking ice off our dirty walls as we thirst to death in a gulag!

[(PSN)WiiConquered]

You were right, this IS a more radical idea, but if you could get a bit more in-depth with the explanations just for the sake of utmost thoroughness  of all the ins and outs then I think we'd have a...well, you're already presenting a new and fresh idea that I think remains within the parameters of how the game is played and how our gear is customized. No silliness with aesthetic attachments and swapped barrels... 

 

Not now, but maybe at some point I will add redesigned values for every primary mod along with their new locations. Would that help?

[Eyeless]

Not now, but maybe at some point I will add redesigned values for every primary mod along with their new locations. Would that help?

 

Just to put into perspective the overall scope you're aiming for with all the different mod categories and such. 

 

I won't ask for a drawn diagram or anything, as all the best ideas on here that people poor their heart and souls into tend to get overlooked. 

[Evanescent]

This. This is a man after my own heart.

Your version of scaling is perfect. Enemy damage increase, and mob sizes increase.

Have a cookie.