Agall

0/10, no Excalibur

Stalker's drops being sub 3% drop rate is not nearly as bad as WoW level RNG, where there's mounts that have 0.1% drop rate. I got lucky getting Baron Rivendare's mount in only like 250 runs back when I played the game. RNG can suck sometimes, there's no 'bad luck protection' on the blueprints you don't have. Even with how many times I've killed Stalker, I don't think I've gotten many Despair or Hate blueprints. I've gotten tons of War and Broken War, where with Broken War, I went from getting none for like 4 years to getting like 6 in a row... As an LR2 Excalibur main who's played for 10.5 years, I can confirm this. I don't even know what half the Warframes actually do.

I'm not sure that's true. If it puts it into perspective, it took me like 3-4 years to get a Broken War BP from the Shadow Stalker since I used the quest provided one to make War originally. I mastered it before hand obviously, but I wanted a Broken War since its stats are kind of and I wanted to play around with it.

RNG, the hilt and blade don't drop from Stalker or Shadow Stalker. The War and Broken War BPs only appear to drop from Shadow Stalker. Once you do the Second Dream questline, you should only spawn Shadow Stalker. If you're in solo missions and not seeing Shadow Stalker and have done the Second Dream quest, then you might be bugged only getting Stalker somehow.

Self control, quality over quantity.

Not true, Holokey drops scale off of railjack fissure missions based on the enemy level, people just usually stick to the highest to get that 10 Holokey drop chance. One of the most efficient farms for Holokeys is the ~60 level Meso Skirmish Grineer on Saturn. It drops 5 per chance and because you can do the missions in less than half the time as the 91-100 Axi Veil Skirmish Grineer on Veil, its more efficient overall.

Now you've got me complaining about people complaining about people complaining about people complaining.

The base stats are still reduced still, so its not 1:1 with a max level Warframe. The notable different on my Excalibur build being that you don't get >500 max energy until a certain level when polarizing to get the extra 5x37% melee CD.

If Warframe is Geo blocking you from playing the game because of the current conflict in the region, a possible work around would be to use a VPN out of Poland or such to bypass it. Not something I endorse or recommend specifically, but that's a potentiality. Otherwise, I'm not sure what you're asking or requesting.

If you have a problem with it, form a group with your clan and curate who is in your group. You don't have to LFG/public EDA, hell, you can just do it solo if you're in a group full of 'parasites'. Just because that same person spent 10 minutes in SO or ESO to 'max level' a Warframe doesn't mean its anymore capable than it was at lvl 0. In something like EDA, the rank doesn't matter if the mods and build aren't capable. MR30 just unlocks the max ranks for the abilities if you've already mastered the Warframe, but the stats are still reduced iirc.

To come back to your original post, I think there's a simple solution to most of Excalibur's problems. It involves a Passive rework, potentially a simple Exalted Blade change. New Passive: Excalibur's Slash Dash and Radial Javelin inherent the base critical chance, critical damage, and status chance of his equipped melee if that melee is a sword. That would make any sword type weapon (with the current list hopefully to include two handed swords/nikanas) directly affect Slash Dash and Radial Javelin and their CC/CD/SC, where Exalted Blade would be an inherent option. Currently, Slash Dash even with Exalted Blade out doesn't do much damage, since it still has the inherent 0/1x/0 base stats. Even if it had the 15/2x/15 it would make it more than just a mobility option with Exalted Blade. Radial Javelin would see a substantial damage increase, but that's no where near to OP relative to the most meta builds right now. Exalted Blade would then work similar to Garuda's claws and be a basic form of sword until you cast his #4 which turns it into a proper Exalted weapon sort of like the old channeling system. It would effectively be a stance-less skana with relatively low stats (15/2x/15) as a base melee weapon, then turn into a proper exalted with the base 25 energy cost and energy/second drain version it is now. People could still use any melee weapon with Excalibur, they just would have to use Exalted Blade to unlock the full potential. Any sword equipped though would truly unlock the 'master swordsman' design of Excalibur though.

The game's most recent updates have dramatically increased performance requirements on the CPU side. Depending on the settings, I wouldn't be surprised if you're even multithreaded limited on a i5-7400. I haven't pulled out my i3 12400f/RX 6600 rig to test this game yet on the most recent updates. New CPU is in order for you. I'd look at the 12600k(f), 5800x3D, 14700k, 7800x3D in that order. 7800x3D is by far the best CPU for this game, hands down. The results from my OP aren't accurate to today's build of the game. I'd say 85-90% the framerates are achievable. The game also has a dramatic performance requirement difference at Ultra, where I wouldn't recommend it in general unless you're spending a lot on hardware.

Excalibur in SP survival is perfectly capable, just got to run the right build. I have no issues shield gating. For reference 😁

When I test CCD0 vs CCD1, its generally been the difference between 160 fps and 240 fps on 4K ultra in endurance SP missions. The mob density being what creates a CPU draw call limitation, that's as host or client, but you get a little bit better performance as a client (about 10% if I had to guess). Before my 7950x3D, I had a 5800x3D that replaced a 3950x. It was about a 50% increase in minimum framerate from that upgrade alone. A 2700x to 5800x3D would be incredible. Regarding eidolon hunts, its content I haven't really done in a long time, but I suspect the framerate drop would be alleviated by 3D v-cache as well. Generally, 3D v-cache seems to prevent the CPU from having to operate within RAM a lot more often, where the latency difference between operating in L3 cache vs RAM (which is effectively L4 cache) is orders of magnitude higher. I would only do a drop in 5800x3D if you have a B550/X570 motherboard and a 2x16GB 3200MHz/3600MHz kit of RAM first. If you don't have those already, I'd recommend jumping to the 7800x3D instead. Unless you can absolutely only spend enough to get a 5700x3D or 5800x3D, then it is what it is. There's just less value in doing a drop in upgrade if the rest of the platform should be upgraded as well. In that case, simply get a B650(e) motherboard of your liking (generally its based on the rear I/O and motherboard layout now a days), and a 2x16GB 6000MHz CL30/36 kit of RAM. I run a 36-36-36-76 kit, but anything CL 30 or 36 with tight timings is solid for framerate stability, 30-36-36-76 usually being Intel XMP kits and not EXPO, 30-38-38-96 being more common from G.skill and such. Side note, I've got the hardware on the way to run my NH-D15 direct die. Once that happens and I don't kill my 7950x3D, I'll be doing more extensive CCD0 vs CCD1 testing in this game, likely rerunning this test.

Same with Radial Javelin, its not even a pseudo-exalted.

These changes are great, genuinely, but I think there's some stuff that'll need to adjust, take as an example, Radial Javelin's damage. Currently, its damage on even armor stripped targets doesn't keep up, where the slash proc at least can. If enemy health is scaled dramatically to compensate for armor reductions, this'll make the ability even less viable than it already is. My suggestion is to make Radial Javelin a pseudo-exalted. That'll let it keep up with modern AoE and get the initial damage and slash proc better in line with any buffs to health.

You're focusing on the symptom and not the root problem. High usage is usually because there's an abundant amount of min-max metaslaves in this game that will use 'the most effective equipment' regardless of if its balanced or enjoyable. Something being OP means its going to get used heavily and therefore have high %usage. The root problem being that its OP, the symptom being high %usage. I remember the Bramma from that time, it was OP. I think people get lost in metaslaving to realize that what they're using is objectively inhibiting their variety in the game. Nerfing things so they're not beyond necessary is a good thing. Unlike making Radial Javelin a pseudo-exalted, that wouldn't make it OP, but at least make it usable in a meta full of AoE nukes.

That's not how any of this works. What the AoE ammo nerfs? That wasn't a Bramma nerf, that was an AoE weapon nerf that included the Bramma, not the same thing.

Latron and Torid Incarnon would like a word. Lol, the last thing DE is concerned about nerfing is a Kuva weapon...

Stug incarnon would be one hell of a meme.

Regardless, I'll continue to AFK in a relay with my blessing fully available and not use it.

Its not that's he's bad in any particular way, I think primarily there's just a giant hole in his kit where Radial Javelin sits currently. Just imagine if Radial Javelin did capable damage, how much more useful Excalibur would be. Beyond simple that would be a massive rework would be something like this: New Passive: Excalibur's abilities inherent the stats of his equipped melee if that melee is a sword. That would make any sword type weapon (with the current list hopefully to include two handed swords/nikanas) directly affect Slash Dash and Radial Javelin and their CC/CD/SC, where Exalted Blade would be an inherent option. Ideally then, Exalted Blade would work similar to Garuda's claws and be a basic form of sword until you cast his #4 which turns it into a proper Exalted weapon (that would eliminate the waves and not have [Chromatic Blade] be applied, the slide blind, energy drain, etc).

I think some of the extra functionality like waves similar to Exalted Blade shouldn't be available to the ability unless Exalted Blade was currently overriding the equipped melee. That would keep the novelty of using Exalted Blade in combination with Slash Dash and Radial Javelin over just an objectively better option like when using an incarnon adapted weapon. I have a feeling it'll end up 0% and 0% with a 1x, similar to Slash Dash, otherwise I'm not sure how they'd code it with Exalted Blade. Excalibur's the only Warframe I can think of that has a pseudo-exalted and Exalted, so maybe Slash Dash having 0%/0% and 1x is necessary coding wise. That would involve it inheriting the same bonuses as Slash Dash when using either an incarnon or Exalted Blade, which has a base 15%/15%/1x. I'd love it to have inherent crit and status though, so that newer players wouldn't need to be using Exalted Blade or a super late game Incarnon adapter weapon to make it viable like what's currently required for Slash Dash. Even then in a min-maxed Exalted Blade build, Slash Dash's slash procs only hit in the 20-30k range per tick with Exalted Blade, noting this is with a full Tau Violet Shard build and 259% Wrathful Advance. It barely goes up even with the double strength/range bonus from cracking a relic. I still think the best option would be making it a pseudo-exalted as you suggested. I don't see how it would be viable otherwise unless they scaled the damage so heavily that stacking power strength would make it S tier again. I imagine DE would probably best be able to determine values associated with it like its innate stats to keep it balanced. I recently went full dumb and did a Slash Dash [Furious Javelin] build to see if it was viable. The lack of AoE damage make it worse than just holding LMB and running through enemies with Exalted Blade. Sure, the slash procs from Slash Dash were hitting in the millions, but it still wasn't enough volume of damage to compensate, with Slash Dash's slow target rate. If I ran functionally the same build but with Radial Javelin as a pseudo-exalted, then I wouldn't have to Slash Dash every target for them to die. They'd likely perish from the slash proc from Radial Javelin after a couple ticks. Great to see though that this isn't a novel idea, so I suspect DE has had this on their timeline or had thought about it at some point. I imagine the same goes for the recently added Umbra augment that makes me so happy to see. Having an Exilus augment that disables a passive and gives +strength% not being novel at all or has the suggestion.

I have a thread discussing various ideas, including coding it as a heavy attack similar to Wrathful Advance. Slash Dash damage does scale off of combo counter and would synergize with [Surging Dash] if they did so. I think at the root, the ability needs to be a pseudo-exalted to keep up. How they go about it, like if it works almost exactly the same as Slash Dash and scaling off combo would be nice synergy. The idea of making it coded as a heavy attack would keep people from spamming it without having to add a cooldown. Part of the idea being that it can get a free heavy attack with a tennokai proc like Wrathful Advance. Effectively being coded as a 'heavy slam' or such. If they did that change, I would actually have to make a hard choice on what ability to subsume off for Wrathful Advance, if its even worth it at that point. It would likely be trading Radial Blind or Exalted Blade, depending on if I wanted to run a stat stick build or an EB build. I feel like the goal of every Warframe should be to have subsuming over an ability a compromise. I think Dante is a perfect example of this, where he really has no ability that's so terrible that you're removing it. Excalibur could be the same with Radial Javelin being a pseudo-exalted.

I don't even know what Limbo's abilities are, I'm an Excalibur main. All I know is that if I can't kill sometimes, its probably Limbo's fault, and the solution is probably to roll 😄