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DrBorris

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  1. The current Helminth Eclipse has its DR capped at 75%, we have no reason to expect that to change.
  2. Worse =/= Bad Also, are yall conveniently forgetting that you never actually got the full buff from Eclipse?
  3. Ah yes, because dedicated servers never have problems. Nope, not one. Besides that, peer to peer has its advantages. With P2P we can indefinitely pause a solo game, play on even the most shaky internet connections, not worry about queue times or server spool ups, and sit in game doing nothing without having to be booted. It's a niche advantage, but being able to suspend Warframe on my Steam Deck and come back to it without having to go through login processes is glorious. I feel like most of the issues with hosting could be alleviated with a proper rework to matchmaking. A system that judges who is actually a good host, not just the person who wins the ping test, and more in-depth options (only-host and never-host at minimum) would prevent us even getting to the point of the game needing to host migrate. Matchmaking effectively being a line where whoever is first gets the host may have the shortest time-to-mission, but I think even a 5 second queue for matchmaking where the best hosts are selected from a pool would help quite a bit. And ffs give current gen consoles the same spawn rates as PC. I understand that a Xbone, PS4, or Switch doesn't have the processing power to run all of that AI and mission status stuff. But if my Steam Deck can handle proper spawn rates, a PS5 or Series Xbox surely can. My main issue lately is wanting to enjoy this horde shooter and getting put on a Switch host with (what feels like) a quarter the spawns. TL;DR: Dedicated servers aren't a money issue, Warframe is a better game for being P2P.
  4. I've dodged this thread for awhile because I know how vehemently some people disagree with the following, but here I go. A decision without impact is meaningless. Creativity is a result of restriction, not complete freedom. I just don't buy the idea that normal path has more "variety" than Steel Path. I can make far more of my arsenal feel meaningful in SP because the decisions I am making when building a loadout actually has meaning. The "difficulty" of most non-SP content is so low that it makes many, many build options irrelevant. Crowd control means nothing because a cool breeze will kill them faster, damage buffs don't do a thing because it is already dead. Damage debuffs are an extra step to kill the thing. Defensive builds have absolutely no reason to exist. My go-to example for this is Vauban. Unless I am desperate for a meme and using Vector Pad as a mobility tool, I will never bring Vauban to normal path. His entire kit feels like crap, the only redeeming factor being Vortex as an AFK tool. On the other hand, in SP, you get a high-activity 'trap' spam. Strategically placing Bastilles to create choke points and strip armor, placing Flechette turrets in locations to maximize their ability to hold the choke, then using Photon Strike on large groups I encounter when running between the multiple chokes I am trying to hold. None of this is viable in normal path because enemies are just too weak. Utilizing the armor strip from Bastille is pointless and Photon Strike is less effective than a single gun shot. It is only in SP where his kit is able to function. And if you want to get even more broad, the entire status/resistance systems in the game are also kinda meaningless outside SP. Maybe electric and gas as they have an AoE aspect? But even then everything will probably be dead long before those could actually do anything. Enemy design also matters significantly more in SP as enemies generally have a chance to do something instead of die 0.138 seconds after becoming targetable. And I don't think you can call any assortment of mods a "build." A "build" implies purpose, that you are trying to customize a thing to do a thing. A random assortment of mods isn't a "build" that should be respected by the game, build-craft is a core aspect of Warframe and learning to create synergistic builds is just as much gameplay as shooting the gun. If you think that SP limits the variety you have earned, then you just haven't figured out how to actually make a build. Aeolak has recently been a thing I've been loving in SP. It's a basic gun, "bad" by the meta standards, but even without a frame build-around is able to keep up in mowing through hallways. And speaking of mowing through hallways, SP is still a gosh-darn power fantasy. If SP feels bullet-spongy then you're doing it wrong. You've failed to play the other half of the game that exists in the arsenal. Those things that you've been earning, the things you say you need to "sacrifice". No... use them. Combine time. Make a fudging build ffs. You are farming these things to use them, to get an effect out of them, not just equip it for giggles and gain nothing of substance. I feel far more held to the "meta" in non SP as if I use anything besides the "boom-n-zoom" playstyle then I may as well afk. In SP I can do wacky builds and not have to go solo, I can do a supportive thing and feel like I'm contributing, I can use single-target weapons and still get reasonable relative damage in. I don't just think that SP is good content on its own, nor do I think it is just a matter of preference, Steel Path is a superior level of content for the sandbox of the game. It is MORE balanced than non-SP. There are a lot of discussions about how broken the core game is, that everything is OP and that it needs to be torn down. What is missing from these discussions is the state of the game. And no, not a portion that just fits to your narrative, but the actual state of SP. Where every Warframe has a unique build and playstyle. Where we have three significantly different build routes for weapon-killing (Viral/Slash, Status Priming, and armor-strip). Where nearly every weapon can kill stuff and the most powerful weapons are only rarely suffocating the less powerful. It isn't flawless, but there is so much good stuff going on. The meta for the game has never been more diverse and we've been getting more things to keep expanding it. Corrosive Green Shards are opening a whole new path for frame/weapon building. The only place where I feel restricted in SP is in the defense department, if I'm not doing something with shield gating and the frame doesn't have 90% DR I do feel forced into an Adaptation. That kinda sucks, but it's only one mod slot and I've still found that sometimes armor gets me close enough (given other factors line up). Having to build defensively isn't what feels "restrictive," it is that my options in doing so don't feel all that diverse. I hope DE doesn't just continue their trend of encouraging SP, I hope they double down on it as the official "late game" difficulty. I do think there is a lot of work needed in the on-boarding into SP, it is a massive bump in content "difficulty" with no guidance on how to grow your power into it, but as a target and balancing point it is the best "late game" we've ever had by a significant margin.
  5. That's my problem, it doesn't feel like this to me. I am expecting to slide around, always have some momentum, but any time I am trying to traverse geometry that isn't a hallway with no celling I'm getting "stalled." Hitting a wall at a 15 degree angle shouldn't kill momentum, bouncing backwards when I jump too high and hit the ceiling is backwards, going up stairs shouldn't occasionally have me stutter as I feel the momentum keep getting hit, etcetera. She should, as you say, be slick. Having to dismount because recasting Merulina is faster than reorienting Merulina is a red flag. It shouldn't take practice to get around these things. A little bit of "git gud" in a Warframe's design is appreciated, but not when that "git gud" is just to get around bad design. If I miss a doorway because I had to much momentum and hit a wall is fine, I should be slowed down in that I am not hurdling through that doorway, then after not succeeding I should be able to immediately get back to it. There is a difference between punishing mistakes and rewarding proficiency. If it wouldn't essentially be a worse version of, well, any of the other things you mention (for that purpose) I may agree. Riptide has the quirk of not being a "strong" suck, it is more of a light tug. Could Yareli camp with it? Sure, but you'd be better off with any of those other options. So if having it consistently pull would benefit her kit, I see no negative impacts it could have on the whole of the game. And on that note of benefiting her kit, a suck ability that groups enemies up an a very easy-to-shoot ball melds beautifully with Merulina. Being accurate with your weapons and seeking out stray enemies just ain't what a K-Drive is for. Riptide fills an important role in her kit as something to allow you to enjoy using Merulina. "Spread a effect when you hit a thing" isn't such a specialized mechanic that should be limited to only a single Warframe. You can take that mechanic and do a lot of stuff with it. We have Saryn doing DPS insanity, I think Yareli doing some CC shenaniganry wouldn't be all that bad. When you simplify things all the way down, you could probably say that Riptide being a "Snare spreader" and her 3 being a "weapon" to pop bubbles is basically a copy-paste of Miasma and Toxic Lash. But that's an incredibly reductive way to look at frame design that overlooks some pretty major differences. For one... Yareli is on a K-Drive. It's obvious, but that completely reshapes how Yareli is played. Even if Saryn's entire kit was copied over to Yareli she would play fundamentally different because she is able to slip and slide around. Then Riptide being a cast-on-crosshair ability makes its situational usage quite different. The utility it provides is also substantially different being a suck ability. And while Toxic Lash and Aqua Blades would both be things you use to spread, the gameplay in which you do those things is fundamentally different. Where/when/why you cast each of your abilities would be wildiy different between Saryn and Yareli, why does an on-paper similarity matter at that point? And just think, when Saryn puts a Spore on an enemy they will die. It is not a question of if, that enemy is marked for death. So to say that a CC ability, a thing that will explicitly not kill an enemy, has the potential to be more powerful is a bit of a stretch. I have Revenant on the wish-list for getting a proper "spreading" ability with his Thralls as well. Because, again, if Saryn can condemn an entire tile to death then why is it so crazy to have a frame CC a tile. FFS Nyx can hit 3 once and make every enemy on this tile and the next start shooting each other. You could simplify that theoretical Revenant kit down to "it is basically just CC Saryn"... but so what? Does it play different? If so, why does it matter if it is similar on paper?
  6. I wouldn't call myself a fan of Yareli. I like some of the broad concepts she has going, of note I enjoy using K-Drives on the open worlds, but all of her abilities feel half-baked in some way. Merulina: While the bullet jump would "fix" Merulina, it would be doing so by allowing you to ignore its issues rather than directly fixing them. The single thing that prevents me from playing Yareli the most is how momentum is handled while on Merulina. It reminds me of how momentum used to work in the coptering days, when you'd hit a wall rather than immediately loose all momentum the game had to reduce your momentum over a period of time. The effect of that was when you hit a wall when going very fast you would be stuck on that wall until your momentum reached zero. This makes hitting any wall (or more often roof) feel like stalling. This gets even worse with how Merulina interacts with even slight glances against objects. A small railing or a tiny bump against a door frame means your momentum gets stalled. And don't get me started on how you bounce backwards. Being on a hoverboard should feel more slippery than base movement, but due to this clunkyness with momentum it feels sticky. If I could copy over an aspect of the core movement system to Merulina, it wouldn't be bullet jump, it would be aim-glide. Where I most often find fundamental issue with a K-Drive's capability in tile-sets is when a gap is too big or when I misjudge a distance, being able to glide in the air on your hover board would also look cool. Aqua Blades: I just kind of hate this ability as it stands. I get the theory of having a AoE damage ability that allows you to ride past enemies and kill them, but that is something DE has generally said they don't want to do. DE can't make the current vision of this ability good because then it would be "OP." It needs to do something different. The augment is something, but I can't stand the "spam a useless thing until it gets good" design it has. When I saw the concept art of Yareli with two giant water blades I was given dreams of exalted Glaive. I don't think Yareli will ever go that far, but I think having the base version of Aqua Blades be an active combat ability rather than passive would do a lot more for her kit. I know this is a complete rework, but here's my hot take... Make the damage numbers good at base (if Tempest Barrage can be good at base so can Aqua Blades) Casting throws out your Aqua Blades as a giant boomerang. Every enemy hit increases the speed of rotation up to 10x. Recasting while Aqua Blades is out will cause it to stop moving (blades keep spinning, just the axis of rotation stops) for 5 seconds. After that is up it will return to you (cannot be done multiple times per throw). A second recast before the time is up will immediately recall. When Aqua Blades returns to you it persists for 8 seconds. If recast within those 8 seconds the speed stacks remain. If you recast at the exact moment Aqua Blades returns, the travel speed is increased ("perfect cast"). For the augment, kill the carpal-tunnel. I know there's some enjoyment of the spam but... really? I know it gets effective when you build for it, but is spamming 3 the gameplay yall are wanting out of Yareli? Have the augment drastically increase the travel speed and make it so recasts cause it to explode. Sure, it's nothing like the old augment, but I'm not convinced the current augment is a good thing to have in the game. I know this is all unrealistic. But I can dream... Riptide: This needs to just be a "vortex" ability as you say, but it definitely doesn't need an enemy cap (Bastille and Tornadoes don't have a cap). It doesn't need the continuous suck range to be equal to the initial suck range (Bastille's Vortex is 10m for reference), but it needs to do some amount of suck over the duration. It plain looks wrong for enemies to walk underneath a giant floating bubble completely unaffected. Sea Snares: I saved this for last because I think I'm stuck in a "I want it to be this thing, therefore I can't appreciate how good the current thing is" mindset with it. I want Sea Snares to be a cold version of Spore. It doesn't need the crazy damage scaling, and definitely a lower spread range due to the heavy CC/debuff nature of the ability, but having to spread bubbles just sounds like a way more interesting gameplay loop. A gameplay loop that would have easy synergies with Aqua Blades and Riptide acting as "bubble poppers" that spread the Snares. As it stands, it's fine, but I wish it were more. Now tear into me Yareli stans
  7. I'm on the cope that it was a strategic decision to move to a more focused development model. The new guard at DE seemed to have taken a lesson from the old guard's reign, you can't do everything at once. Railjack is still a fundamentally flawed game mode in mission design in how it works as a vessel for co-op gameplay. Archwing is in a dire state, needing a ground up re-envisioning of it's role next to a Railjack. DE can't "just" add more Railjack content, they would have to divert a lot of resources into that. Resources that could be spent on something else. There are a lot of parts of the game that need love, and they've been getting to them piece by piece. As someone who adores the potential of Railjack, even I can't deny that there are more pressing matters to attend to. Eventually (I hope) they'll come around to it and put a full focus on it, and given the quality of recent content I'm happy to wait. It is almost like DE has listened to the years of feedback that they shouldn't throw 52 half-done things at the wall.
  8. I find it interesting when posts like this don't take a critical look at the content we've been getting in the context of the complaint. Every update that has come out since The New War (everything in the Reb/Pablo era) has had a much higher emphasis on slowing down. Kahl missions, besides literally slowing us down, have sub objectives and challenges that ask you to look around. Angels of the Zariman had Voidplumes, the most direct way to get players to slow down. Voidplumes weren't just arbitrarily tacked on to traditional level design, the Zariman is incredibly dense with secrets and exploration. The new mission types have a common thread of being tightly connected to the game's movement system. Void Flood being a literal parkour challenge, Cascade having you run around to manage multiple points, and Armageddon has a periodic speed run tied in. Lua's Prey and Citrine's Last Wish were smaller updates, but even then the variant missions these introduced added more reason to smell the roses. Conjunction Survival is quite basic with the roaming buff zone, and is often ignored, but it does move the needle ever so slightly towards more level awareness. Mirror Defense fully embraces the game's movement system in a way that isn't just "go fast." It takes a lot from Void Flood, but keeps the importance of combat. To be the most successful in Tycho mirror defense you have to have a deep understanding of each tile's flow. Where Defense let you remain idle and content standing next to the objective, Mirror Defense asks you to explore your surroundings. And now we have Albrecht's Laboratories. I don't think anything here is novel as compared to the Zariman, it is essentially a doubling-down on everything the Zariman did, but that's not a bad thing. As a baseline we have Voca to be the reward for exploration, but that's not the extent as the new mission types all use the same tricks as the Zariman. So basically... I find it odd to criticize the "crackhead pace" of the game without acknowledging the ways the page has been significantly altered in the last few content releases. Even if it isn't to the standard you personally want, you can't deny the shift. It would help in understanding your perspective to know how the changes haven't satisfied you. I do also think the outlook some have of "the game is too fast" is a bit short-sighted. Rather than look for how to work with the strengths of the game, it is an outlook of working against aspects of the game. Just because a thing is causing perceived problems, that doesn't mean the thing inherently is problematic. Something something don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is also a mindset I see when it comes to discussions on damage, but let's not go there. Edit: If I had to summarize DE's recent design philosophy with mission design, I'd say it is a great example of "why not both?" Rather than condemn the game as "too fast" or "too slow" DE has tried to give every new mission type something that asks us to do both. Leverage all the strengths of the game rather than pigeonholed the game into a single thing.
  9. Despite this update having three new endless missions, I feel little desire to actually play these missions in an endless format. Sure, we have some exclusive rotation C rewards, but those are one-and-done drops. The Tome and Tennokai mods are also in the market for plat, which kills off any long-term player market value. Zariman, Lua's Prey, and Citrine's Last Wish all kept their endless missions relevant by having in-mission drops that retain some amount of evergreen value. While the Arcanes are not technically evergreen, the length of the grind for a full set is so long that it is effectively an evergreen grind for most players. And on top of that those Arcanes have kept some semblance of market value post-launch. Fighting Whispers is also just something I'd like to do more of. They are an interesting mini-boss enemy, getting to fight them periodically in endless sounds like a good time. In terms of non-endless content, Bounties already have that well covered. If you want to speed-run Exterm or Assassinate to farm Arcanes that is still probably going to be the most optimal method, respawning Whispers would only bring up endless to be a bit closer. This wouldn't 'force' people who dislike endless to farm it. One more note; I don't think having to find the Whisper every respawn would be all that fun. After you find it the first time it'd be nice if the book was automatically marked whenever it respawned.
  10. This all seems great. Obviously it is a bunch of animation work that needs to be done, but there has been a strong need since melee 2.9 for DE to go back and actually finish the animation work. Some stances still feel borked after the changes, and some stances are still missing the core set of combos. I don't want to discount the effort that goes into making these animations, but for being such a core part of the game it is confusing why DE seems so hesitant to invest time into fully fleshing out the systems they've implemented. Tenno-kai feels like another case of a great core concept that will be let down by rushed/insufficient animation work. Still waiting for all stances to have... As a general note on heavy attacks, an issue I've had with them for awhile is that just dealing more damage isn't actually that useful in most combat scenarios. Sure, it'll help for an elite enemy, but melee's bread and butter is clearing crowds and basic attacks already kill basic fodder fast enough. Tenno-kai's semi-random nature will lead to us (having the option to) using more heavy attacks on basic enemies, for us to engage with that system they need to actually be more effective than basic attacks. Engaging with Tenno-kai in anyplace outside SP will be entirely for novelty if the only thing it does is make damage number bigger. Combo count increasing the range of heavy attacks would make them a generally useful tool instead of a niche option.
  11. I'm not sure what's wrong with the OP's argument (when reading it in good faith). When I say "core design" I'm not really referencing Equinox's current state in the game. I think we could all agree that she needs something. The core design I was referencing was basically dead-on with what the OP is criticizing. As it stands, Equinox is designed as two independent frames that you can swap between mid-mission. Pacify/Provoke and Mend/Maim are both abilities that fundamentally don't synergize with her other form as neither ability has any impact on the battlefield after being disabled. The abilities being disabled when switching forms is only part of the issue being raised. There are two ways I can think of to look at Equinox's "balance" motif. One is that of a split-personality. You can choose between two distinct playstyles and have the versatility of being able to switch when the mission calls for a change in tactic. The balance lies in being able to approach any situation in a choice of two options. (Current Equinox) The other is to maintain a constant balance. One form isn't enough, in order to reach true (effective) balance you need to balance the two distinct kits you have access to. (What the OP is proposing) On paper, both of these options are viable ways of designing a frame with Equinox's core principle. I think the problem comes in with how Warframe is actually played. Even when theory-crafting complex content DE could make, I struggle to come up with anything that would ask a player to switch between a defensive and offensive form mid-mission. Unless the game pushes into very complex Raid missions, you just don't need a dedicated... well... anything. This means that using one form or another isn't a matter of balancing your output, but rather picking whatever you feel like using. That's not bad per-se, but it is quite close to just having two completely separate frames you pick between in the arsenal. I don't think Equinox going the split-personality route is objectively incorrect, or even "bad" design, but rather is a waste of a frame. A design ethos for Equinox that asks you to be constantly in a state of flux, never at full potential because you could be utilizing your other form's strengths, is something that has the grounds for a properly unique frame. I'm not opposed to there being a build for Equinox that is dedicated to one form, but I would much rather see the builds that have you balance both forms be the "proper" way to play Equinox. The problem is that she is a one-trick pony. Because of how her kit is designed you are encouraged to lean into a single trick. Recontextualizing "make her use both forms" as "a (single) path" doesn't feel all that fair. You can design around many paths that all use both forms. A core design of Equinox where she has 7 abilities to build around sounds a lot more diverse than one where she has (two sets of) 3. I give my opinions on "swap accordingly" above, I just don't think that is a design that works in Warframe. To be fair, it may be too significant a rework to make Equinox a frame that constantly has to balance. In order to do that, at least one of Pacify/Provoke and Rest/Rage should probably be turned into single-cast abilities rather than toggles. That would allow the forms to actually interact with each other. But that is getting to a fairly significant rework, Equinox does still have a lot of room to improve within her current core design. A gameplay loop of bolstering defenses, nuking until those defenses wear off, than bolstering those defenses again is kind of there. I just feel as though that is a more static "path" that has less room for build/gameplay variety.
  12. I was going to come in here and call this a frigid take, but apparently people think Equinox's core design is good? Huh? What's the point of having a frame that can switch its kit mid-mission if all gameplay discourages that? I don't get the "keep your cake and eat it too" ideology some people are using as a defense of her current state. Yeah, you're supposed to make a build, but in Equinox's case making a build means forgoing her entire gimmick. Having to lean into one ability at the expense of another is solid design, ignoring abilities in favor of others is not. Especially when the frame's theme is balance. If anything Equinox's kit should be designed in a way to discourage going all in on one form. There should be synergies between forms that you need to utilize to maximize her effectiveness. Otherwise what is the difference in having two distinct frames? This does get a bit difficult seeing as Equinox only has one active "gameplay" ability, as it stands the only active thing you can do is combine Rest/Rage, but there's at least something there. It was ages ago now, and it was comically cheesy, but the Sleep>Metamorphosis>Maim>Covert Lethality>nuke strategy was at least interesting. I'm... the more I think the more it hurts. I can't fathom how people are spinning a conceptual change that increases the difficulty in maximizing the gameplay of a frame (having to balance 7 abilities with mutually exclusive castings is a lot) is somehow being perceived as asking for something to be made less "resistant." Guys... I get it, some people come in here and ask for the game to be removed from the game all the time, this ain't that.
  13. Or they want to use an ability in gameplay as intended without locking themselves to a specific build on their traditional melee weapon. But sure, it is easier to dismiss a group when you generalize them. But to your main point, while I agree the combo system in general on abilities is fundamentally broken, that doesn't mean that removing stat sticks in favor of an exalted-like modding system wouldn't be a net improvement. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good or something like that. The core concept of needing to spam an ability for it to be effective is questionable, Atlas's combo system just means you are forced into 1 spam at the expense of weaving abilities/weapons together. But if all I get is the ability to equip Atlas, then equip whatever melee weapon would be fun to use with Atlas, I'd be happy.
  14. I am very aware of "Fat Mesa with one extra step" Grendel, I never saw that play-style as very healthy for the game or all that thematic. The new Grendel fits far better into the theme of a hungry hungy Warframe than void-powered Bulimia. I'm also getting tired of this new definition of "weapon platform" that has started to catch on. We have three weapon slots, it isn't a knock against a frame that those slots aren't made irrelevant by their abilities. Especially if that gameplay is "press 1, hold 1, press 1, hold 1, press 1..."
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