[Lore] Orokin Ducats might not be just plain currency

[evilChair]

So far we've had a 1K ducat requirement for the You-Know-What, and now the Solaris ARG also contains an image clearly referring to ducats as another among several objects for disassembly and cataloguing. Aside from that, the coinage also carries blue-glowing pips, a typical Orokin decoration that requires a ridiculous amount of internal power to maintain the glow for centuries after the fall of the empire.

The question is: what is inside an Orokin ducat? I wouldn't say that it's all anti-counterfeiting technology, but there's a high chance that if we ever saw one disassembled, we'd see more technology than futuristic coinage requires. Especially interesting are their indirect, but present associations with the void - either with relic-drops, being void-diver Baro's preferred currency, or with the purpose of that thing. I could see that the ducat-glow is perhaps void-powered, but I'm not exactly sure of that. In any case, they might be technologically similar to Forma*, especially seeing how they've weathered the long post-fall period in near-inexhaustible amounts, and are still in some sort of circulation, so they might have some sort of replicative and/or self-reparative capacities. And having such capacities would extend their functionality beyond "fancy coinage" into the territory of "emergency power battery/distress beacon" or "tracking device".

*In this case, I'm going to back up my argument on their self-reparation with how Regor at first sight thought that Bad Dad could have been "an ancient type of Forma".

[Raqiya]

 

[evilChair]

a) we've all seen that video about a dozen times; and b) did you even read my post?

[CriticalFumble]

Seems plausable enough, at least in comparison to everything else in game

Given the setting, there might not actually be a true "currency" as we understand it, but rather items with a functional value that people barter with.  I think someone from DE actually said that credits are actually batteries of some kind, so who knows.  

[Bobfishkins23]

I'm pretty sure that regor's "ancient forma" was an exilus adapter

[evilChair]

 

4 minutes ago, CriticalFumble said:

Seems plausable enough, at least in comparison to everything else in game

Given the setting, there might not actually be a true "currency" as we understand it, but rather items with a functional value that people barter with.  I think someone from DE actually said that credits are actually batteries of some kind, so who knows.  

Given that there's no kind of central bank in the WF universe, I assumed that credits what with their shape were just thin boxes for samples of semi-precious materials. Saying that they're batteries explains the credit cost on all foundry crafting, though.

[Miser_able]

I think it's a solidified nugget of what the "gold" on prime items is. Which could explain why we have to sacrifice prime gear to obtain it, it's been melted down. 

This would also explain why we need for the parathesis, those 1000 ducats are melted down to forge the gold on blade. Which we don't normally have to do because we only find pre-made parts. 

[ReaperOfTheSouls]

14 minutes ago, Miser_able said:

I think it's a solidified nugget of what the "gold" on prime items is. Which could explain why we have to sacrifice prime gear to obtain it, it's been melted down. 

This would also explain why we need for the parathesis, those 1000 ducats are melted down to forge the gold on blade. Which we don't normally have to do because we only find pre-made parts. 

Then why cant we scavange ducats from the void? Breaking one of those fancy doors will do the job, or even ducats should drop from corrupted since they have golden things on their heads.

[evilChair]

1 minute ago, ReaperOfTheSouls said:

Then why cant we scavange ducats from the void? Breaking one of those fancy doors will do the job, or even ducats should drop from corrupted since they have golden things on their heads.

if by fancy doors you mean the vaults, those are places for essential tech (corrupted mods being the most relevant of those, and so the only shown ones), not stockpiles of cash that might be worthless in a collapse of the state. corrupted wouldn't drop ducats either because mindless attack drones don't use vending machines, not even gilded ones from the future that sell "future pocari sweat".

[Miser_able]

30 minutes ago, ReaperOfTheSouls said:

Then why cant we scavange ducats from the void? Breaking one of those fancy doors will do the job, or even ducats should drop from corrupted since they have golden things on their heads.

Game design? Making ducats requires a special process? The process of making them is lost, and only baro knows? Pick a reason. 

[CriticalFumble]

19 minutes ago, evilChair said:

if by fancy doors you mean the vaults, those are places for essential tech (corrupted mods being the most relevant of those, and so the only shown ones), not stockpiles of cash that might be worthless in a collapse of the state. corrupted wouldn't drop ducats either because mindless attack drones don't use vending machines, not even gilded ones from the future that sell "future pocari sweat".

His point being, if they're just the Orokin gold finishings, then we should be able to scrounge them up from anything that has Orokin gold finishings.  

It might be that ducats are used to make Orokin gear, but the final product can't be reverted easily (which might explain Baro's effective monopoly on the flow of ducats).  

[Squeekly]

What special Orokin Vault is he going to,  to soak normal weapons in void energy to make them Prisma?  Why are they cheep Grineer weapons usually? 

Also we are trading prime parts to the relay for ducats to then trade Baro, where is the relay getting ducats? What are they doing with our prime goods? Why are we helping Grineer & Corpus protect Warframe cryopods with Tenno Operatives inside?