Garuda Impressions

[Aeryes]

Before I start I just want to make clear I'm bad at math so I may be misunderstanding how the numbers work.

There were a few things on the devstream about her design which worried me due to the horde nature of warframe. Some of these concerns have turned out to be correct.

Garuda is clearly a risk vs reward frame with a blood vampiric theme. Sounds great on paper and I personally love vampire type mechanics but the problem with a risk vs reward playstyle is the reward has to be very worth it. I don't think it is right now.

 

Passive

This is her biggest issue right here, so I'm going to go a little more in depth with this one.

So based on what I've tested with weapons when you have her passive at 100% it was giving 100% more damage. I was hoping the 100% was just meant you have the passive fully charged and it wasn't a literal 100% increase because to me that simply isn't enough given in that situation I'm at 2hp. If you're going to intentionally put yourself at great risk for this bonus I think it needs to be around double the potential of Chroma's damage buff which compared to Garuda gives you a massive damage bonus as well as making you more survivable and all you have to do is press the button and take a few hits, you aren't putting yourself in serious danger.

Again I haven't tested this much and my math sucks so I may be missing something but if not this needs to be ludicrously more powerful to justify this risk vs reward playstyle, because as I said before intentionally making yourself vulnerable doesn't work well in a game like warframe unless the benefit you get is absolutely crazy. Just think when you play harrow, you make a point of only using penance in circumstances where you feel completely safe and using it by accident is usually instantaneous death. For Garuda her passive is a permanent thing and is nowhere near as beneficial. You either try to take advantage of it or you don't. If you do you're at significantly more risk for a small boost, if you don't you're far more safe and can focus a lot on other things which honestly is just flat out more effective. Also not tying to use it is the same as her just not having a passive.

Her passive has the potential to be really interesting. I think its the most interesting thing in her entire kit so please give this thing some crazy scaling so people can build around it rather than see it as a stupid gimmick. She is after all the kind of frame who should be all about crazy damage.

 

Dread Mirror

For the most part this ability is fine. I have one complaint and an addition to suggest. First is to do with the shield. This thing being directional makes her passive even more of a joke. This really just needs to be a vortex or something which surrounds you completely. Give it a durability to keep track of or lower the duration if you have to but being directional in a game like this with a passive like this just doesn't make sense. You can easily be hit by a stray bullet from behind which came from half way across the map from a guy who wasn't even aiming at you. That wouldn't be a problem if this surrounded you.

Other than that this is fine. I like its current synergy with your 4 but I'd like to suggest one more. Tapping 1 instantly kills near death targets, it would be nice if you gained this functionality at any health level if the target is marked by your 4. That way she can take out high priority targets instantly. Sometimes charging your orb isn't a safe move so this would be quite a nice addition.

 

Blood Alter

Solid ability. A bit counter to her passive but for the sake of energy management its good and gives you some nice support to bring. I'd say it might even be her best skill currently. Keeping this up with high range is honestly better than trying to abuse the awful damage increase your passive gives.

 

Bloodletting

It does exactly what it says. Honestly my only complaint with this is its a bit boring that it only serves one purpose which is either increase your passive or restore your energy. That said I can't think of what I'd add to make it more interesting. Giving you a temporary armor buff after using it could be nice to help prevent you getting insta-killed by a mob you didn't see.

 

Seeking Talons

Overall I like this. A lot better than the blender that's for sure. The synergy with her 1 is great and having so much power tied to this synergy forces you to use most if not all of her kit. For those who don't know throwing your orb does huge damage if your targets are marked by your 4. My only issue with this ability is excluding the 1 synergy the bleed damage is absolutely awful. Would like to see this buffed quite a bit.

 

Overall she's okay. I'd like to see some absolutely massive buffs to her passive as I feel like she's designed around it yet if you actually do play around it then you're usually at a serious disadvantage for almost no gain especially when you compare her to other frames. The passive giving a much bigger bonus also opens her up to more build variation. Other than this her shield being directional is the only thing I have an issue with, it seems a bit silly for a frame which prefers being in a situation which makes her an easy kill.

A great foundation for sure which should make for a really interesting frame.

Oh and as usual hats off to the art and sound team. Nailed it again.

Edited November 9, 2018 by Aeryes