THE DRAGON KING: A Chroma Rework Concept [UPDATE 11/17/2018: Warframe Strategy Layer/Syndicate Expansion concept]

[Endrian]

Math is...

...

Math is hard.

[(XBOX)ultamite hero]

Ok these rework ideas you have came up with are amazing! Even better than my idea for a chroma rework. I hope DE would actually take a look into this and make your rework concept a reality.

[--NPB-Zebaz--]

Man i love what you've done here! Please DE listen to this man's ideas! you've come up with very good ideas to make Chroma great again, even better than his former self. 

[Endrian]

8 hours ago, (XB1)ultamite hero said:

Ok these rework ideas you have came up with are amazing! Even better than my idea for a chroma rework. I hope DE would actually take a look into this and make your rework concept a reality.

 

8 hours ago, --NPB-Zebaz-- said:

Man i love what you've done here! Please DE listen to this man's ideas! you've come up with very good ideas to make Chroma great again, even better than his former self. 

Thanks very much to both of you!

[Aeon94]

Wow , this is the Chroma I'd love to play with. He is currently " keep-buffs-active-all-the-time-frame " and seriously needs improvements like these.

In addition to these ideas , what if... Chroma's abilities had 2 energy colors ? The Ruinous Lord of Rainbow !

1. Arsenal Energy Color = dictates most of energy color ( doesn't affect element since its Elemental Ward's job ).
2. Element Color =  from Elemental Ward which gives gradient effect. ( Orange-Fire , White-Ice , Green-Toxin , Purple-Electricity ).

Similar to Zenistar's old 2 tone energy bug ( that got fixed ).

Edited October 3, 2018 by Aeon94

[Endrian]

12 minutes ago, Aeon94 said:

Wow , this is the Chroma I'd love to play with. He is currently " keep-buffs-active-all-the-time-frame " and seriously needs improvements like these.

In addition to these ideas , what if... Chroma's abilities had 2 energy colors ? The Ruinous Lord of Rainbow !

1. Arsenal Energy Color = dictates most of energy color ( doesn't affect element since its Elemental Ward's job ).
2. Element Color =  from Elemental Ward which gives gradient effect. ( Orange-Fire , White-Ice , Green-Toxin , Purple-Electricity ).

Similar to Zenistar's old 2 tone energy bug ( that got fixed ).

 

It's an interesting idea, it'd certainly give Chroma more flavor. How are you thinking it'd be implemented?

Although that gets me wondering if it'd be possible to set Chroma's energy color for each element ... Like when you go into his Appearance tab, there'd be an Elements button and it'd give you a list of four energy colors, with each one tied to one of his four elements. That way, if you change elements mid-mission, it'd also change the energy color so you wouldn't end up with something weird like orange snow or green fire. Hmmm...

[Dark_Chroma_Prime]

On 2018-09-28 at 12:42 AM, Endrian said:

TIER I: BANDAID
The most basic changes necessary to assuage the concerns of a large part of the Chroma player base. PRIMARY CONCERNS ADDRESSED: 1) Chroma's Spectral Scream and Effigy are both weak, which leave Chroma as just a "passive ability" warframe. 2) The nerfs to Vex Armor hurt Chroma's survivability too drastically.

REVISED SPECTRAL SCREAM v1: Make Spectral Scream function similar to the "Afterburn" augmented variation by default: For 25 energy, exhale a single-shot 150/275/400/525-damage explosive elemental projectile rather than a weak continuous breath attack. Casting animation doesn't interrupt mobility.

• Reasoning: If a warframe's primary (first unlocked) ability is weaker, shorter-ranged, and less useful than a single firearm shot and also prevents you from using melee or ranged weapons, players simply aren't going to use it.

REVISED "AFTERBURN" ABILITY AUGMENT: Rebuilt as "FURIOUS ROAR." No visual change from Spectral Scream/Proud Roar* (* see Tier III: The Dragon King), but adds a secondary effect and secondary damage type (the damage will be divided into 50% original element, 50% secondary damage types) to all Spectral Scream variations: 

• Heat Furious Roar deals Heat + Blast damage and sends enemies flying.
• Cold Furious Roar deals Cold + Puncture/Slash damage and freezes enemies.
• Toxin Furious Roar deals Toxin + Corrosive damage and slows and weakens enemies.
• Electric Furious Roar deals Electric + Magnetic damage and paralyzes enemies.

REVISED VEX ARMOR: Two-part revision.

1. Weapon modification (Serration, High Caliber, Split Chamber, &c.) takes effect before Vex Armor's weapon multiplier is calculated (back to being multiplicative rather than additive), but correct the multi-weapon-element multiplication (the so-called "double/triple-dipping") that was skewing the Fury multiplier into absurd numbers, which is what led to the drastic nerf that adversely affected both his survivability and damage.
2. Armor modification (Steel Fiber, Cold Elemental Ward, &c.) takes effect before Vex Armor's armor multiplier is calculated; first Armor and mod multipliers, then multiplied by Cold Elemental Ward as applicable, and finally multiplied by Scorn. Effigy's 50% armor reduction should be removed (what other Warframe suffers such a drastic survivability penalty for daring to use their ultimate ability?).

• Suggested Armor Calculation: VEX ARMOR Final Armor Value = ([base Armor x mod multipliers] x [Cold Elemental Ward multiplier x power strength]) x [Scorn multiplier x power strength]
• Reasoning: A necessary step to address survivability and damage concerns ever since the massive Vex Armor nerf. The damage nerf was bad enough; losing so much tankiness was just a kick in the teeth. As far as the Effigy armor reduction removal/adjustment, Chroma players should not be unduly punished for actually wanting to use what should become Chroma's capstone ability.

REVISED EFFIGY v1: Whenever Chroma uses Elemental Ward or Vex Armor, the Effigy becomes a source of the aura as well, allowing those who remain near the Effigy to gain the benefit of the abilities without needing to stay near a mobile Chroma. As a source of Vex Armor, Effigy's armor is increased by the Scorn multiplier (it would make use of the same suggested calculation as given above, resulting in total Armor equal to Chroma's), and its breath damage is increased by the Fury multiplier the same way Chroma's Spectral Scream is boosted by it.

• ADDENDUM: Vex Armor's bonuses for the Vex Armor aura produced by the Effigy are still determined by how much shield damage and health damage Chroma has taken, not the Effigy [the Effigy has no shields to take shield damage, so it would never be able to build Scorn multiplier]. It is not two separate auras, but instead the Effigy is acting as a "remote conduit" for Chroma's auras.
• Reasoning: Effigy has long been lamented as too weak to justify its exorbitant energy-drain cost. This would simultaneously increase its woefully low damage in higher-level play, its personal survivability, and it would increase its utility for other players—in particular, it would actually make the ability description that it "strengthens nearby allies" true.

TIER II: THE GREEDY DRAGON
Further functionality tweaks to deepen the satisfaction one receives from playing Chroma and answer the remaining concerns of the Chroma player base. SECONDARY CONCERNS ADDRESSED: 1) Chroma needs a "real" passive, 2) Elemental Ward is too much of a one-trick pony: everyone uses Heat or Cold; "fun" is currently viewed as secondary to survivability because the other element types are too weak in comparison.

REVISED PASSIVE: "GREED"

• Chosen Energy color dictates the type of Elemental damage dealt by abilities.
• NEW: Credit stacks reward an amount of health and energy to Chroma relative to their size.
• Reasoning: Dragons are legendarily greedy and love to hoard treasure. Effigy already increases the chance and size of credit drops; now, Chroma can actually benefit mechanically from such increased drops rather than just increasing his credit pool.

SPECTRAL SCREAM: No additional changes from Tier I.

REVISED ELEMENTAL WARD v1: Elemental Ward keeps its primary effects (aura radius size, continuous elemental AOE damage, Cold's bullet reflection, Heat's health increase, &c.), but also:

• Toxin Elemental Ward reduces Chroma and allies' visibility to enemies (not invisibility; camouflage), silences firearms, and increases melee attack speed instead of holster rate (especially important with the coming Melee 3.0 changes where holster rate is effectively nonexistent). In theory, the camouflage would make Chroma and allies within the aura undetectable to unalerted enemies. However, if enemies are alerted, the camouflage is less effective (not hidden from alerted enemies within a certain radius, maybe 5m).
• Heat Elemental Ward additionally confers regeneration to allies within the aura.
• Cold Elemental Ward additionally slows enemies within the aura.
• Electric Elemental Ward has a default arc discharge range of 50m, unaffected by power range; arc discharge confers a portion of the dealt damage as overshield.
• Reasoning: Thematic dragon archetypes that also boost the usefulness of otherwise underwhelming element types. Toxin as the stealthy swamp dragon, hunting prey as it moves unseen amongst the green; Heat as the purifying fire dragon, burning away weakness; Cold as the freezing ice dragon, guardian of its arctic demesne; Electric as the vengeful storm dragon, imperiously smiting its enemies with lightning strikes.

VEX ARMOR: No additional changes from Tier I.

REVISED EFFIGY v2:  In addition to Tier I changes, if Chroma targets an enemy or a specific impact point (floor, wall) when using Spectral Scream/Proud Roar* (* see Tier III: The Dragon King) within visual range of Effigy, Effigy attempts to attack the same target with its own Spectral Scream/Proud Roar projectile.

• Reasoning: Chroma and his "pelt" function symbiotically. It's the entire reason the pelt can separate and become a powerful stationary turret: Chroma and the Effigy work together, in harmony. What finer example of this than to have them simultaneously blast the same target with their deadly breath?

TIER III: THE DRAGON KING
This final tier of rework requires a great deal more time and effort investment, as there would be a significant visual overhaul to Spectral Scream and Effigy in addition to new coding and functionality. This tier is less necessary than the changes in the Tier II rework, and is more a list of "Wouldn't it be cool if..." ideas for Chroma's abilities, to make each one more worthwhile and enjoyable to use.

PASSIVE: 

• "GREED" ALTERNATIVE MECHANIC: Temporary power strength increase after picking up credits, 5% per credit stack and accumulating to a maximum of 25%, but the buff resets after 30 seconds without a credit pickup.
• NEW: "PRIDE" ALTERNATIVE PASSIVE: [My personal favorite, and which I'm basing the rebuilt Spectral Scream (Proud Roar) around.] 
  • PRIDE GAUGE: Each kill Chroma makes adds one stack to his Pride gauge (+0.25% additive power strength and power duration per kill, to a maximum of +25% (at 100 Pride)).
  • At 50+ Pride, Chroma's wings flare out to full visibility when jumping, wall-latching, dive kicking, aim-gliding, or bullet jumping. The wings are made invisible to the player when attempting to zoom in/aim so as not to obscure vision, but other players see the wings during all these maneuvers.
  • Upon entering a dying state with more than 15 Pride stacks, Chroma immediately resurrects at full health, but receives a 15-second Wounded Pride status effect that treats his Pride stacks as if they're at zero, and his Pride stacks are reduced by 15.
• Thoughts: "Pride" passive too similar to Nidus? Or should more Warframes have a similar passive mechanic boosting their abilities to make them endgame-viable? Nidus is the finest proof of just what a passive can be capable of, compared to the extremely simple passives other Warframes use.

REVISED SPECTRAL SCREAM v2: Rebuilt from the Tier I version, Spectral Scream now has more unique mechanics dependent on the active elemental alignment.

• Heat Spectral Scream exhales a massive Heat damage fireball; explosion radius affected by power range.
• Cold Spectral Scream spews a freezing cone of Cold damage air and ice shards; angle of cone width affected by power range.
• Toxin Spectral Scream spits a massive glob of Toxic damage acid that leaves a temporary damaging puddle where it impacts; glob is affected by gravity as if shooting grenade; puddle and splash radius affected by power range.
• Electric Spectral Scream fires an arcing infinite-range Electric damage bolt; electric arcs travel from target/impact to nearby enemies, length of secondary arcs affected by power range (number of secondary arcs increased with each level).
• NEW: REBUILT SPECTRAL SCREAM "PROUD ROAR": Pride stacks from the "Pride" alternative passive greatly amplify Proud Roar, but Proud Roar would also reduce Pride stacks by 3 with each casting (it doesn't require Pride stacks to activate, just 25 energy, but will still reduce Pride stacks to a minimum of 0). Proud Roar damage would be calculated as...
  • PROUD ROAR Final Damage Value = (base damage x ([1 + Pride stacks] x power strength)) x [Fury multiplier x power strength] (if Vex Armor is active)
• Reasoning: Proud Roar is what I see as needed to bring Chroma to the next level, to make his primary attack ability truly endgame-viable. The damage calculation is modest, even humble, at a mission's start, but truly epic by the end when combined with the Pride passive and an excess of power strength and full-strength Vex Armor. Appropriate for an ancient lord of ruin.

AFTERBURN/FURIOUS ROAR ABILITY AUGMENT: No additional changes from tier I. The additional damage type and secondary effects would just be added to the new Spectral Scream/Proud Roar instead.

REVISED ELEMENTAL WARD v2: In addition to Tier II changes, Chroma can now alter his elemental alignment at will. Hold the ability button to rotate elemental choice, tap to activate Elemental Ward and complete the switch. NEW: With the addition of the Pride passive, the "energy color as elemental alignment" passive will instead be folded into Elemental Ward's mechanics. By default, when Elemental Ward is locked or Unranked, Chroma can only use Heat, as that is his core element—it was the focus of his initial reveal trailer, and it's the element used by his Prime Access banner. As Elemental Ward increases in level, so too do Chroma's options.

• Unranked: Chroma can activate Elemental Ward. Heat remains default elemental alignment.
• Level 1: Chroma can shift between Heat and Cold when activating Elemental Ward.
• Level 2: Chroma can shift between Heat, Cold, and Toxin when activating Elemental Ward.
• Level 3: Chroma can shift between Heat, Cold, Toxin, and Electric when activating Elemental Ward.
• Thoughts: It may be necessary to remove the "Energy color as starting element" base passive and just limit Chroma to the elemental alignment allowed by Elemental Ward's current level, and start with Heat by default while Elemental Ward is still Locked or Unranked; as Elemental Ward level increases, allow Energy color-matching to change starting elemental alignment as appropriate elements are unlocked, to the point that energy color.
• Further thoughts: These mechanical alterations will streamline Chroma's elemental functions for the rework. He will still be able to determine his initial elemental alignment with his energy color, he'll just need to unlock the desired elements by ranking up Elemental Ward first.

REVISED VEX ARMOR v2: Additional effects granted to those within the aura when maximum Scorn and Fury multipliers are achieved.

• Maximum Scorn: Knockdown and stagger immunity.
• Maximum Fury: Gain +1.0 punchthrough on firearms and +50% melee weapon range, augmented by power strength.
• NEW: Maximum Fury alternative: Instead of punchthrough on the firearms, gain an AOE effect on all weapon fire, causing bullets to act like miniature explosive rockets or a beam to continuously radiate damage at the impact point. Explosive radius augmented by power strength, but would still be significantly lower than traditional explosive weapons like rocket and grenade launchers, for balance purposes.
• Thoughts: Giving all firearms AOE damage may be far too strong, such as on traditionally very-high-damage single-target weapons, like sniper rifles. Punchthrough bonus may be the best-balanced option, but turning any weapon into explosive ordnance at maximum Fury does suit Chroma's "maximum overkill" style. Perhaps the explosive damage could be balanced by adding a divisor relative to the weapon's fire rate.

REVISED EFFIGY v3: Renamed and rebuilt as "RUINOUS EFFIGY" in keeping with Chroma's "lord of ruin" theme. Time to make Lotus's statement about "when all the land is in ruins, only Chroma will remain" thematically appropriate. It retains the changes from Tier I and Tier II, but additionally...

The Effigy becomes a modifiable weapon entity like Ivara's Artemis Bow [primary], Mesa's Regulators [secondary], Wukong's Iron Staff [melee] or Khora's Venari [kavat companion].

• Suggestion: Effigy is modified as if applying weapon mods to an Ignis or similar limited-range elemental primary firearm; when applying elemental damage mods, Effigy always deals base elemental alignment damage first, then the elemental mods after—i.e. if your elemental alignment is Toxin and you mod it with Electric damage mods, the Effigy's breath would deal Toxin + Electric damage; if you mod it with Electric and Toxin damage mods, it would deal boosted Toxin + Corrosive damage.

When activated, Ruinous Effigy generates a "ruined landscape" around itself that reflects its elemental alignment, which deals continuous elemental damage to enemies within its domain. The ruined landscape has a 20m radius (unaffected by power range), expanding out from the Effigy; continuous elemental damage is affected by power strength. When Chroma activates Elemental Ward while Ruinous Effigy is active, the Effigy performs a stunning roar and instantly changes its own elemental alignment and ruined landscape to match Chroma's current elemental alignment (if it changed). NEW: Crowd control mechanics limited to the range of the landscape, in addition to the knockback slam and stunning roar.

• Heat Ruinous Effigy summons volcanic terrain that deals continuous Heat damage; high chance to burn/panic enemies with each tick.
• Cold Ruinous Effigy summons arctic terrain that deals continuous Cold damage; slows, high chance to periodically freeze enemies with each tick.
• Toxin Ruinous Effigy summons swampy/poisonous terrain that deals continuous Toxin damage; strips enemies of half their armor (affected by power strength) with each tick (diminishing returns).
• Electric Ruinous Effigy summons lightning-blasted black sand terrain that deals continuous Electric damage; high chance to stun enemies with each tick.
• Thoughts: While the Effigy is producing the Elemental Ward or Vex Armor auras per Tier I rework, its aura radius should be 20m, the same as the ruined landscape radius, so that other players aren't confused about where its "reach" ends. All they have to do is stand on the ruined landscape to be under its aural influence. Chroma's personal Elemental Ward/Vex Armor auras should still be affected by power range.

Alternate names for the revised fourth ability—Lord of Ruin, Master of Ruin, Ruinous Power, Ruinous Domain. I just see it as important to have "Ruin" in the name to reflect the repeated taglines that make up his theme: "when all the land is in ruins" from the original Chroma trailer; "the lord of ruin" from Prime Access banner; "the master of ruin" from the Prime Access page itself.

Possible names for the Effigy modifiable weapon entity: Effigy [Prime], Pelt [Prime], Drake [Prime], Dracolyst [Prime] (if the "pelt" is indeed a Sentient creature that Chroma has bonded with/assimilated).

CONCEPT ART

RUINOUS EFFIGY CONCEPT (HEAT VARIANT)

All the elemental alignments would follow roughly the same idea: A simple landscape that matches the element (swamp/bog for Toxin, volcanic rock for Heat, snow/ice-covered rock for Cold, and black crystallised sand/rock for Electric) where the borders of the landscape are marked by a number of short elemental "towers" spouting elemental energy like in the above image. Heat would spew energy color-matching fire/lava particle effects, Toxin would emit poisonous smoke particle effects, Cold would spout freezing air and snow particle effects, and Electric would emit arcs of electricity/lightning strikes. As with similar landscape-generating Warframes (like Nidus or Oberon), anybody could freely move through the terrain; the towers would not be solid, so you could clip right through them (in order to prevent buggy terrain interactions).

please post this in warframe feedback to, its absoulutly perfect 10/10

[Endrian]

Multi-energy selection, something like this, perhaps...

[Aeon94]

45 minutes ago, Endrian said:

Multi-energy selection, something like this, perhaps...

Photoshop skillz :D

Really good idea tho.

Hope colors are not exclusive to their element so it would be nice to have Green Ice , Pink Electricity , Blue Fire etc.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Aeon94

[Endrian]

44 minutes ago, Aeon94 said:

Hope colors are not exclusive to their element so it would be nice to have Green Ice , Pink Electricity , Blue Fire etc.

Yeah, that'd be my suggestion. You have 4 preset energy colors, one for Heat, one for Cold, &c., and you can just set them to whatever color you want, and that's the energy color you'd have for that elemental alignment.

[Aeon94]

22 minutes ago, Endrian said:

Yeah, that'd be my suggestion. You have 4 preset energy colors, one for Heat, one for Cold, &c., and you can just set them to whatever color you want, and that's the energy color you'd have for that elemental alignment.

Dude, I kinda hate you. Your ideas excited me like crazy and I can't stop hyping myself for Chroma rework now :d

[(PSN)Frost_Nephilim]

On 2018-10-03 at 10:13 AM, Aeon94 said:

Wow , this is the Chroma I'd love to play with. He is currently " keep-buffs-active-all-the-time-frame " and seriously needs improvements like these.

In addition to these ideas , what if... Chroma's abilities had 2 energy colors ? The Ruinous Lord of Rainbow !

1. Arsenal Energy Color = dictates most of energy color ( doesn't affect element since its Elemental Ward's job ).
2. Element Color =  from Elemental Ward which gives gradient effect. ( Orange-Fire , White-Ice , Green-Toxin , Purple-Electricity ).

Similar to Zenistar's old 2 tone energy bug ( that got fixed ).

I wish we could get the energy color to change betweeen different colors, or maybe a syndana that changes between different energy colors ig red then blue then back red. Id love to have a law enforcement looking warframe

Edited October 4, 2018 by (PS4)Ghost--00--

[Endrian]

Still thinking about tweaks and changes, but I'm pretty close to being satisfied with this rework concept. Likelihood of devs actually seeing it? No idea. But I've made an attempt!

In the meantime, I want to bump up the thread for visibility, but I want to at least contribute something in exchange for the bump, so, have some Operator suit concepts.

[Aeon94]

4 minutes ago, Endrian said:

Still thinking about tweaks and changes, but I'm pretty close to being satisfied with this rework concept. Likelihood of devs actually seeing it? No idea. But I've made an attempt!

In the meantime, I want to bump up the thread for visibility, but I want to at least contribute something in exchange for the bump, so, have some Operator suit concepts.

Post the whole thread in --> Feedback Section <--

So more people can see and upvote your concept.

Also there is a chance for DE to see it in Feedback.

Edit : Stop impressing me with your drawing skillz.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Aeon94

[Endrian]

35 minutes ago, Aeon94 said:

Post the whole thread in --> Feedback Section <--

So more people can see and upvote your concept.

Also there is a chance for DE to see it in Feedback.

Edit : Stop impressing me with your drawing skillz.

Is that what they've said to do for rework ideas? Because I know they look at Fan Concepts—or at least they did, when coming up with Chroma.

[Aeon94]

Just now, Endrian said:

Is that what they've said to do for rework ideas? Because I know they look at Fan Concepts—or at least they did, when coming up with Chroma.

Well they collect ideas from Feedback Section , mostly from Megathreads about reworks.

Posting this on Feedback wouldn't hurt tho :d

[Endrian]

Couldn't sleep until 3 AM, came up with this during a flash of inspiration:

UMBRA PATH
Functionally always active, uses existing Focus pool capacity, doesn't have to activate waybounds because it's a "core" path rather than a school of study (it would be positioned on the wheel at the center between all the schools); Umbra and your chosen school are both active at all times. Must activate waybounds with chosen school rather than Umbra. CLARIFICATION: All Umbra path nodes affect only the Operator. Warframes do not gain the benefits of reduced energy costs, extra/higher jumps, increased damage vs Sentients, or anything else. This is meant as a way for allowing people to augment their Operator experience and give them a way to do Operator-only runs even in high-level play, when combined with waybounds or their chosen school.

NEW EQUIPMENT: "ARC"

• Crafted three-part Amp-like bracer for left arm
• Generates a blade made out of Void energy the Operator can use in melee; never runs out of "ammo"
• ARC COMPONENTS:
  • CRYSTAL determines weapon type/Stance options and base stats (attack speed, damage, critical chance, &c.)
  • HILT determines bonus critical damage/status chance/damage balance; each Hilt can carry two bonuses and one penalty (i.e. +critical damage/base damage, -status chance)
  • POMMEL determines bonus attack speed/critical chance/status chance balance; each Cord carries one bonus and one penalty (i.e. +attack speed, -critical chance)
• WEAPON TYPES: T1 crystal creates Dagger, T2 crystal creates Sword, T3 crystal creates Heavy Blade, T4 crystal creates Nikana
• DAMAGE SPREAD: Light Impact, Moderate Puncture/Slash, heavy Void
• ARCANE MODIFICATION: "Valiance" arcane; can potentially increase melee range, attack speed, damage, critical chance, critical damage, or status chance
• STANCE: Operator chooses fighting Stance for equipped Arc from all available and appropriate Stances; mod capacity/level is irrelevant, it's purely to determine attack animations and combos
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Because the Arc is worn on the left arm, all Stance animations would need to be mirrored for a left-handed user, for consistency.

 
PATH OF POWER

A path of training that increases the Operator's command over the Void and all the powers it grants, as well as developing the Operator's skill with the Arc blade.

• VOID MASTERY: Press 1 to use Void Blast (unlocked by default); increases Void Blast radius by 2/4/6m
• Reasoning: This is a necessary functional change, because E is otherwise used for Void Blast, when it will be needed for meleeing with the new Arc. The normal Warframe ability functions of 1, 2, 3, and 4 are otherwise unused by the Operator.
  • VOID SLASH: Press 2 to fling an infinite-range wave of Void energy with a slash of your Arc; width of wave is 300/500/700/900/1,200% of Arc melee reach, deals 200/400/600/800/1,000% of Arc base damage, penetrates 2/4/6/8/10m cover (10 energy)
    • VOID CRUSH: Press 3 to ragdoll all surrounding enemies in 10/12/15/17/20m and pull them into a concentrated point in front of the Operator for  2,000/4,000/6,000/8,000/10,000 Void damage (50 energy)
      • VOID SPECTER: Press 4 to create a cloaked Specter of the Operator, lasts for 30/45/60/75/90 seconds (100 energy)
        • Uses Void Blast, Void Slash, Void's Edge, and Void Dash abilities (Void Mode if Operator is also using Void Mode)
        • Wields copies of Operator's Amp and Operator's Arc
        • Benefits from Operator's Umbra path, chosen school, active waybounds, and active Arcanes
        • Uses Arc and Void Blasts on close-range enemies, uses Amp and Void Slashes on distant enemies
        • Says "Hey, Kiddo" upon first appearing
  • FREEZE LIKE ICE: Slow enemies struck by Arc by 15/30/45/60%
  • BURN LIKE FIRE: Increases Arc damage by 15/25/35/50%
  • FLOW LIKE WATER: Increases Arc attack speed by 10/20/30/40%
  • STRIKE LIKE LIGHTNING: Increases Arc critical chance by 15/30/45/60% (multiplicative of the base chance)

PATH OF AGILITY

A path of training that increases the Operator's natural agility, developing their Void control in order to defy gravity, cling to surfaces, and move through the Void more swiftly and smoothly.

• VOID DRIFT: Increases movement speed by 15/25/35/45/60% (also increases sprint and Void Mode speed by 60%)
  • SWALLOW'S FLIGHT: Gives the ability to double/triple/quadruple/quintuple-jump
    • HUMMINGBIRD'S HOVER: Gives the ability to hover when aiming in midair for 5/3/2/1 energy/s
  • FROG'S LEAP: Gives the ability to wall jump; increases jump height by 1/2/3/4m
    • WATCHFUL MONKEY: Gives the ability to wall-latch for 5/10/15/20 seconds
      • HIDDEN SPIDER: Activates Void Mode when wall-latching for 5/4/3/1 energy/s
  • TIGER'S HUNT: Increases Void Mode movement speed by 50/100/150/200% (at 200%, animation becomes a stealthy ninja run and the fastest ground movement mode)

PATH OF SUBTLETY

A path of training devoted to the Operator's mastery over Void ability usage, as well as his power while within the Void itself. The Operator who has thoroughly trained in this Path will find himself to be a potent adversary for all Sentients, and for all unwary enemies.

• VOID CONTROL: Reduces energy cost of all Void abilities by 10/20/30/40/50% (includes school-only abilities)
  • WAY OF SHADOW: Arc slashes do not interrupt Void Mode invisibility, but each slash costs 10/9/8/7/5 energy
  • BLADE MASTERY: Increases Arc/Amp damage against Sentients by 40/80/120/160/200%
    • BLADE BULWARK: Blocking with Arc prevents all frontal damage for 2 energy/s; blocking with Arc reflects 30/60/90% incoming damage back onto attacker
  • VOID'S EDGE: Context-sensitive silent Finisher, possible when meleeing from behind unaware/stunned enemy while in Void Mode; increases Finisher damage by 100/200/300/400%
    • VOID'S CALL: When performing Void's Edge, creates 1/2/3/4 "Void Specter" clones of the Operator that also execute Void's Edge on nearby enemies before disappearing

Edited October 5, 2018 by Endrian
Additional abilities/tweaks. Tweaked Swallow's Glide into Hummingbird's Hover. Ability clarification for Void's Call. Sentence/grammar fixes.

[HugintheCrow]

20 minutes ago, Endrian said:

Couldn't sleep until 3 AM, came up with this during a flash of inspiration:

UMBRA PATH
Functionally always active, uses existing Focus pool capacity, doesn't have to activate waybounds because it's a "core" path rather than a school of study (it would be positioned on the wheel at the center between all the schools); Umbra and your chosen school are both active at all times. Must activate waybounds with chosen school rather than Umbra.

NEW EQUIPMENT: "ARC"

• Crafted Amp-like bracer for left arm
• Generates a blade made out of Void energy the Operator can use in melee; never runs out of "ammo"
• ARC COMPONENTS:
  • CRYSTAL determines weapon type/Stance options and base stats (attack speed, damage, critical chance, &c.)
  • HILT determines bonus critical damage/status chance/damage balance; each Hilt can carry two bonuses and one penalty (i.e. +critical damage/base damage, -status chance)
  • POMMEL determines bonus attack speed/critical chance/status chance balance; each Cord carries one bonus and one penalty (i.e. +attack speed, -critical chance)
• WEAPON TYPES: T1 crystal creates Dagger, T2 crystal creates Sword, T3 crystal creates Heavy Blade, T4 crystal creates Nikana
• DAMAGE SPREAD: Moderate Puncture/Slash, heavy Void
• ARCANE MODIFICATION: "Valiance" arcane; can potentially increase melee range, attack speed, damage, critical chance, critical damage, or status chance
• STANCE: Operator chooses fighting Stance for equipped Arc from all available and appropriate Stances; mod capacity/level is irrelevant, it's purely to determine attack animations and combos
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Because the Arc is worn on the left arm, all Stance animations would need to be mirrored for a left-handed user, for consistency.

 
PATH OF POWER

A path of training that increases the Operator's command over the Void and all the powers it grants, as well as developing the Operator's skill with the Arc blade.

• VOID MASTERY: Press 1 to use Void Blast (unlocked by default); increases Void Blast radius by 2/4/6m
• Reasoning: This is a necessary functional change, because E is otherwise used for Void Blast, when it will be needed for meleeing with the new Arc. The normal Warframe ability functions of 1, 2, 3, and 4 are otherwise unused by the Operator.
  • VOID SLASH: Press 2 to deliver a Void-infused slash with your Arc that increases in width with every upgrade and travels infinitely; penetrates 2/4/6/8/10m cover (10 energy)
    • VOID CRUSH: Press 3 to ragdoll all surrounding enemies in 10/12/15/17/20m and draw them into a concentrated point in front of the Operator (50/45/40/35/30 energy)
      • VOID SPECTER: Press 4 to create a cloaked Specter of the Operator, lasts for 30/45/60/75/90 seconds (100 energy)
        • Uses Void Blast, Void Slash, Void's Edge, and Void Dash abilities (Void Mode if Operator is also using Void Mode)
        • Wields copies of Operator's Amp and Operator's Arc
        • Benefits from Operator's Umbra path, chosen school, active waybounds, and active Arcanes
        • Uses Arc and Void Blasts on close-range enemies, uses Amp and Void Slashes on distant enemies
  • FREEZE LIKE ICE: Slow enemies struck by Arc by 15/30/45/60%
  • BURN LIKE FIRE: Increases Arc damage by 15/25/35%
  • FLOW LIKE WATER: Increases Arc attack speed by 10/20/30/40/50%
  • STRIKE LIKE LIGHTNING: Increases Arc critical chance by 15/30/45/60/75% (multiplicative of the base chance)

PATH OF AGILITY

A path of training that increases the Operator's natural agility, developing their Void control in order to defy gravity, cling to surfaces, and move through the Void more swiftly and smoothly.

• VOID DRIFT: Increases movement speed by 15/25/35/45/60% (also increases sprint and Void Mode speed by 60%)
  • OWL'S FLIGHT: Gives the ability to double/triple/quadruple/quintuple-jump
    • SWALLOW'S GLIDE: Gives the ability to (aim) glide for 3/2/1/0 energy/s
  • FROG'S LEAP: Gives the ability to wall jump; increases jump height by 1/2/3/4m
    • WATCHFUL MONKEY: Gives the ability to wall-latch for 5/10/15/20 seconds
      • HIDDEN SPIDER: Activates Void Mode when wall-latching for 5/3/1 energy/s
  • TIGER'S HUNT: Increases Void Mode movement speed by 50/100/150/200% (at 200%, animation becomes a stealthy ninja run and the fastest ground movement mode)

PATH OF SUBTLETY

A path of training devoted to the Operator's mastery over Void ability usage, as well as his power while within the Void itself. The Operator who has thoroughly trained in this Path will find himself to be a potent adversary for all Sentients, and for all unwary enemies.

• VOID CONTROL: Reduces energy cost of all Void abilities by 10/20/30/40/50% (includes school-only abilities)
  • BLADE MASTERY: Increases Arc/Amp damage against Sentients by 40/80/120/160/200%
    • BLADE BULWARK: Blocking with Arc prevents all frontal damage for 2 energy/s; blocking with Arc reflects 30/60/90% incoming damage back onto attacker
  • VOID'S EDGE: Context-sensitive silent Finisher, possible when meleeing from behind unaware/stunned enemy while in Void Mode; increases Finisher damage by 100/200/300%
    • VOID'S CALL: Creates 1/2/3/4 "Void Specter" clones of the Operator that executes Void's Edge on multiple nearby enemies before disappearing

Not really related to chroma, but it's pretty cool.

A random thought I had when reading through, was that a neat thing would be if the Operator would become more mature as they unlock more of the Umbra Paths. Ending up as young adults, possibly.

[Endrian]

47 minutes ago, HugintheCrow said:

Not really related to chroma, but it's pretty cool.

A random thought I had when reading through, was that a neat thing would be if the Operator would become more mature as they unlock more of the Umbra Paths. Ending up as young adults, possibly.

If nothing else, they could put something like that in as a slider. "Maturity"/"Age" slider, maybe? Or maybe just a build/height slider in general.

[Endrian]

Had another thought.

This, but instead of three standard A/B/C appearance loadouts, instead you get 4 appearance loadouts, labeled for each element (i.e. a fire-symbol A, an ice-symbol B, a toxin-symbol C, and an electric-symbol D). They would each have the four elemental energy colors for you to choose (for when you switch elements mid-mission), but they would start with whatever elemental alignment is tied to the loadout elemental label.

You would start with just the one Heat loadout, but as your Elemental Ward level increased and you unlocked more elements, it would add the other loadout choices. If you had already filled out the other loadout options, but had reset your Chroma's level with a Forma and so "lost" the appearance loadouts, it would just "reload" those loadout appearances from your profile (on server or client-side, not sure how it works) without you having to do it all from scratch again.

EDIT: By necessity, the elemental energy color choices would also need to be choosable on accessories, syandana, and regalia as well. Can't very well have energy colors mismatching, can we?

Edited October 7, 2018 by Endrian

[DarkRuler2500]

I recently did a Chroma Rework thread myself.
But ... yours is ways better. Its like a Chroma Developer Rework thread.
Very beautiful design and presented and the stats/ideas sound promising.

[Endrian]

53 minutes ago, DarkRuler2500 said:

I recently did a Chroma Rework thread myself.
But ... yours is ways better. Its like a Chroma Developer Rework thread.
Very beautiful design and presented and the stats/ideas sound promising.

Thanks very much!

Chroma is something I care about a great deal, so I'm putting more effort and care into this concept than I normally would.

[Aeon94]

1 hour ago, DarkRuler2500 said:

I recently did a Chroma Rework thread myself.
But ... yours is ways better. Its like a Chroma Developer Rework thread.
Very beautiful design and presented and the stats/ideas sound promising.

Yea , this thread looks like its made for dev workshop :D

[Endrian]

I was thinking more about the Pride passive and expanded my thoughts on it.

• Further Thoughts: Also, Pride stack calculation may need to be adjusted. 100 kills may be too "easy" to achieve for such a significant passive boost. Might need anywhere from two to five kills per Pride stack (still a maximum of 100 Pride). At the higher end of that possibility, 250 kills (five per stack) seems awfully high in order to unlock the visual effect of Chroma's wings, and 500 might be too high to get the maximum power strength/duration bonus, but it may simultaneously be more reasonable in order to justify Proud Roar's damage. If it is a high number of kills per Pride stack, Chroma's wings would need to be adjusted to be available lower, perhaps as soon as 15 Pride stacks (the self-resurrection amount), in order to provide the player a decent chance to see Chroma in his full (visual) glory in any normal mission (excepting perhaps Spy missions, where players are generally not expected to kill loads of enemies).
• ALTERNATE PRIDE STACK SOURCES: Credit drops (for Effigy synergy), amount of (ability?) damage dealt, amount of damage received/absorbed, amount of Warframe energy used, number of abilities used. Note: Important to keep in mind that it should be possible to build Pride stacks even as an unranked Chroma, so it can't be locked into higher-level ability usage such as Vex Armor, Elemental Ward, or Effigy. It needs to be something Chroma can immediately start building so that Proud Roar can spend and benefit from Pride. Kills seem the most obvious, something a dragon would be proud of, alongside its treasure hoard.

Added this to the original post under the Tier III heading, to the Passive section.

[Kalvorax]

ooooo, i like all of this 😄