Warframe needs Endgame

[Teridax68]

I agree that Warframe needs an endgame, but I do not think some sort of super-high-level mode would provide that, at least not on its own. Elite Sanctuary Onslaught, for example, was designed as a mode for veterans, yet once you max out on Focus and get the Peculiar mods (and the Vandal weapons if you don't have them), there's no reason to play the mode, and so players who have gotten all the rewards stop playing. The same will inevitably happen with Arbitrations, and more generally the same will always happen with any kind of content predicated upon a finite set of rewards. Because the amount of progression in those modes will always be finite, players will only put a finite amount of time into them, which means that we will inevitably come back to the original problem of lacking content for veterans to engage with. In the meantime, creating a new high-level mode or feature each time just litters the game with even more disconnected systems and levels, when we already have a major problem of Warframe having too much content that is completely isolated from everything else, and quickly abandoned once its unique rewards are obtained.

Because of this, I think the only true endgame for Warframe is going to be content that is infinite in nature: ideally, players should always an incentive to engage with this content, regardless of the items that they own, and this should occur without DE necessarily having to pump more rewards in every so often. Because rewards are finite in nature, this I think means that Warframe's endgame should have to offer something other than personal rewards as an incentive to play, which is going to be a bit difficult in a game that has almost always relied on rewards, or the promise of rewards, to guide players through all of its content.

However, I also don't think this is impossible, because I think we potentially have the foundations for such a system already in the form of invasions: invasions themselves are obviously not endgame, because players only currently participate for rewards, but what they represent could be Warframe's endgame: our in-game world is this vast battleground where many different factions fight and interact with each other in different ways. Large factions like the Corpus, Grineer and Infested push for total system domination, smaller factions like the Syndicates have their own agendas, the Sentient target and hunt down Tenno, and then we have even more shadowy entities like the Man in the Wall, as well as the Neural Sentries that continue to corrupt anyone who approaches their dead towers in the Void. Even within factions, different figures have different goals: Vay Hek is aggressively trying to recolonize Earth by any means necessary, Sargas Ruk seeks to destroy any and all Grineer defectors, Tyl Regor is spearheading research on genetic restoration, and so on.

From a story perspective, this is an incredibly rich environment with practically limitless storytelling possibility, as every incursion, strike, victory and failure could have significant impact on the dynamics of the Origin System. If we could model these factions more organically, and expand the in-game world in such a way that every mission we undertook had an actual goal besides rewards, and had actual consequences that would shift the game's internal landscape, the end result could be a game in a constant state of flux. Players would have a vested interest in keeping their world from teetering out of balance (and that should be on the brink of happening at all times), or alternatively steering it towards their own purposes, and so every mission would carry meaning and value beyond rewards. Effectively, the game would constantly invite players to change it, and the players' actions would influence it in so many aspects that it would continuously shift and open up more opportunities for interaction. This could generate a permanent, self-sustaining, infinite incentive to play, regardless of rewards, and so could be the bedrock of endgame in Warframe (and not just endgame, this is something anyone could probably participate in at all levels).

Edited October 12, 2018 by Teridax68

[Cuchullin]

One thing to consider is the fact that the game/ lore/ storyline quests is still in progress. For example the sacrifice came out with the umbra frame concept expanding a whole new avenue for DE to explore and how umbra frames tie back to the Orokin. Or with the new Revenant quest could possibly start up the return of a fully formed Eidolan down the line. Then there's the whole thing with the Sentinals and the Tau system which could open up a whole new system for DE to work with. I'm not saying it's likely for DE to go down these routes but this game is always evolving and the idea of endgame is always going to be pushed aside in favour of other peoples perception of what they see as "endgame".

[(XBOX)Artakka]

You've only got 200 hours? Rank up your MR. Work on focus, upgrade your amp. Invest into your warframes, weapons. I've got 500 hours and I just hit MR22. I've barely touched the plains, and I'm still running around with the base amp (granted its gilded, and I've got bps for the grenade burst amp). Get into eidolon hunting, play ESO. Personally, If you're where i think you are, working on ranking up everything in the game is a good place to start. I've been leveling up weapons and archwing stuff for the last month, and I still have about 150 more to go (did all the warframes already).

[(XBOX)SilverSurferGuy]

Hate to say it, endgame for warframe = end of the game. This game is about the journey not the destination cuz there is no destination. The question is, what’s your pursuit? Is there something you’re farming for? Something you want to build? Quest? Sortie? Fashion? Take your time and enjoy the ride. Once you get to “endgame” you get to the end of the game