New Character Blues - The Inability To Delete/reset My Character Is Punitive, Not Progressive

[Vexaus]

Hi everyone!

 

Brand new to Warframe today; I gotta say, I'm VERY impressed!  Everything from the gameplay, the art direction, and the overall atmosphere of the game is absolutely fantastic.  I do have one pretty major issue, however, which may really prevent me from enjoying the game any further (I was just about to finish up Mercury tonight when I realized my concern).  

 

Just a disclaimer, this post is a bit long, but I wanted to be thorough with my comments, so if you really hate reading then there's a "tl;dr" at the bottom.

 

So in playing through the tutorial, I picked the Mag warframe because it's abilities sounded like the most appealing to me at the time.  I was also under the opinion that picking this warframe would not be my "final decision" of sorts, implying that I could somehow switch my frame if I didn't enjoy the Mag (which is technically true, I guess, but let's be honest here... it's not as simple as it sounds).  Upon playing several missions with my friends, I realized that I actually much preferred melee combat over gunplay, and that a warframe like the Excalibur would have been a much more suitable pick in retrospect.  Upon discovering that I actually couldn't switch freely between the other two tutorial frames (a fact which kind of puzzled me to begin with) I decided that maybe I should just save my resources and unlock whatever warframe I was most interested in overall.  Once I narrowed that choice down to the Ash, I then discovered that not only would I need to buy the main blueprint for 35,000 credits (a fact that I was already aware of), but that I would also have to collect the individual component blueprints from a mission in the Uranus mission chain... a whole 40 levels away from where I currently was (all of which would have to be played in a warframe that I was no longer enjoying very much, mind you).

 

And to be honest, that's totally fine; I'm not complaining about how difficult it is to get new warframes.  If a player's not willing to pay actual money to unlock advanced warframes fast, then I completely agree with making them difficult to acquire through non-monetary means.  So in realizing that it would probably take quite a long time to actually unlock the Ash frame, I thought to myself, "Okay, well I'll just delete this character and remake it then since I haven't played very far.  I'll choose the Excalibur frame next time so that I can at least play with a more melee oriented warframe until I do unlock Ash."  But then it occurred to me that there is, in fact, no way to delete your character.  And ON TOP OF THAT, I discovered up until 9 days ago, players actually USED to be able to reset their characters, allowing them to choose a new warframe from the tutorial (a feature which, if still around, would have perfectly solved my issue).

So here I am now... stuck with a warframe that I don't find particularly enjoyable for my preferred playstyle, unable to unlock a more suitable warframe without playing on my current, undesired frame until level 40, and unable to delete or reset my character so that I can AT LEAST pick one of the other two tutorial warframes (which, in all honesty, should really be free for everyone at all stages of the game anyway).  I mean it just seems incredibly unforgiving to present unknowledgeable players with a choice like this and then force them to stick with it without any means of exploring the other two options or restarting their character.  Several of my friends have also run into this issue, where the playstyles that they ultimately decided they preferred don't really match the tutorial frames that they picked, so they want to change them, but can't.  And let's not forget that no one wants to create a new account, and that this isn't a reasonable solution anyway.  It's not right to ask players to create a new account with an unwanted character name and an alternate email that they don't actually use -- in addition to losing any progress that they DID make -- just because the game forces them to make an irreversible, uneducated decision this early in the game.  

 

There needs to be SOME way to offer players a chance to change their decision; either by letting them switch between each of the tutorial frames or letting them delete/reset their character.  If you really want to stress the importance of this early decision and force permanency, then you need to at least allow players the option to delete and remake their character (with the same name and the same email) if they are unsatisfied.  It's your opportunity as the developer to create an unspoken agreement between yourself and the player and say, "Okay, we will let you choose a different starting warframe, but the penalty will be to lose everything on this character and start over from scratch."  And if a player acknowledges this compromise and still agrees to it, then okay; they're choosing to make that sacrifice... but it is still the player making the decision, not the developer forcing them to live with one that they might have made prematurely.

 

So does anyone know of a way to solve this issue?  Are there any plans for adding the ability to delete a character in the near future or unlocking at least the three tutorial warframes for everyone to switch between?  Because to be honest, as amazing as I think this game is and as much as I enjoy it, the fact that I feel like I've been forced into a decision that doesn't match my preferred playstyle -- which I didn't even discover until AFTER making my decision -- is really disheartening and, quite frankly, making myself and my friends not want to play anymore.  

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for your time, and again... Digital Extremes... other than this one pretty glaring issue here, I think you've made an absolutely fantastic game.

 

tl;dr - There needs to be SOME way to let players change their choice of the starter warframe they picked during the tutorial, either by letting them switch freely between the initial three options or by letting them delete and remake their character completely.  No one should have to create a new account with an alternate character name and a non-primary email address (since you can't change that in the settings either) just because they were forced into a permanent decision even before playing any of the actual content first.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Vexaus

[X3Evanescence]

Greetings and welcome to Warframe! To remedy your mistake, perhaps, you can add me up as a friend in-game and when I am free, I can assist you in farming a frame which you may enjoy-

Rhino.

Your concepts are okay too, not bad for a first post huh? XD

Enjoy!

Edited September 9, 2013 by X3Evanescence

[Elifia]

Just for the record, I think Mag is a pretty decent frame for melee. High shields, an ability to refill shields, bullet attractor to protect you from enemy fire while you are using melee... She used to have a pull ability too, but that one got ruined in 9.8. Excalibur doesn't really have any abilities to aid you in melee combat.

 

If you want, though, you could always get someone else to bring you to Uranus and farm that place a couple of times. I'd be more than willing to help you out with that.

 

Other than that, I think your options are limited to either creating a new account or using some real money to buy a new frame.

[NixeonLow]

Just for the record, I think Mag is a pretty decent frame for melee. High shields, an ability to refill shields, bullet attractor to protect you from enemy fire while you are using melee... She used to have a pull ability too, but that one got ruined in 9.8. Excalibur doesn't really have any abilities to aid you in melee combat.

 

-Snip-

Gotta agree there. Excalibur may have a melee orientated ability, but you have to focus on the frame's physical stats (such as: speed, shields, armour, health.) and their abilities as well.

Excalibur is the average Joe frame. He doesn't excel in anything except being a filler in a group that has three frames with good synergy. His Slash Dash can deal great damage for a starter frame, Radial Blind is meh, good for a getaway/chance to melee unhindered, Super Jump is good if you have that Heavy****(forgot the name) mod, and Radial Jav....let's just let that one ​miss anything that's a centimetre off your height...

Mag however, has high shields, decent speed, health, and armour, and her abilities are good at disabling enemies and helping you. Pull ragdolls enemies, letting you use your finisher melee attack on them. Bullet attractor works extremely well if you direct it at an enemy in a large group, and Shield Polarise can make a target easier to off. Crush (if you have the energy to use it twice) can be used to weaken a large horde and regain your shields.

All in all, I feel like Mag is more suited for melee combat than Excali. I chose Excali when I first started, and while I had fun with him I was easily overwhelmed (I play mostly solo) if I didn't pay attention. When I got Mag though, I went through with the starter weapons just to see if it would've have been easier, and it actually was! Trust me mate, Mag is a good choice. 

To take a page from your book... TL;DR Mag's abilities and stats allow her to get up close and melee far more effectively than Excalibur's.

 

 

Edit: Basic editing I should have done before posting. Probably didn't catch everything though.

Edited September 9, 2013 by NixeonLow

[EganMC]

We're sorry your first time on warframe was not to your liking.

 

As people say, the best method for farming frames is to add a high level member who has unlocked Uranus, because as long as the host has unlocked it, you can still join it, even if it's locked for you.

 

However, if not having a warframe entirely suited for melee combat isn't to your style, then a mission on Venus, namely Fossa, has a boss called the Jackal who drops Rhino blueprints. Rhino is the first Warframe you can get blueprints for, as Vor doesn't drop any parts of a frame. Rhino is heavily tankish, and all of his abilities mainly stem around him being up close and deadly. He is currently one of the strongest frames in the game, yet you can get him so easily. As a player of Ash myself, I'll say that if Mag is giving you trouble at for close range combat, Ash isn't going to be too suited either.

Even in the lower levels, I tend to find myself hanging back and shooting with my bow if I get in trouble, using Ash's Bladestorm is safe because it's radius can be moved, and I get teleported back to my current safe spot upon it's last strike.

I never really teleport to enemies unless they're at a vantage point, and more likely use it to teleport to a downed teammate.

Shuriken works well in a pinch, but slaughters best at distance if you can give your shuriken time to home.

Smokescreen is indeed his only very useful in close range ability, as it gives you melee crits while using.

 

While Ash is quite fun, his concept quickly tires, and I got bored of him relatively quickly.

The further you get in the game, the more you'll realise that Utility beats Straight-Up Damage in every aspect.

Most of the powers, like Mag's Crush or Excalibur's Radial Javelin tend to lose meaning in the late levels.

You never find yourself running and slashing into a crowd, because at late levels, they're just too strong. You need to handle groups with care.

Mag can retain a lot of utility, thanks to Shield Polarise. Against Bosses, Bullet Attractor is a god send. Along with Pull, which is a great repeat stun method, as it throws most bosses down to the ground, all the while pulling them close for a little melee damage before you flee.

 

In later levels, melee damage is worrying and difficult, and shouldn't be the main attack method, so having a frame oriented around it shouldn't be the case, but if you really want it, then go with Rhino.

 

Even if you do want to switch to Excalibur, his parts only drop on the highest level boss, on Pluto.

[r3dzer0]

Taking a note from Egan, melee is fairly worthless when you get to higher than 50s. 

though i disagree ash is less fun after a while.  I've played almost every frame and ash is my favorite, mostly because of bladestorm.

 

Mag actually is a really good frame.  crush your enemies then melee them is fairly fun,

as for excal, slash dash is his only melee attack, but radial blind has a lot of utility.  All in all the idea i really want to get across is that any frame is melee "viable." 

 

They're reworking alot of the damage and armor for enemies so hopefully melee gets boosted so that people can use it again at high levels. 

 

The most that you change for your frames in the end is skills and hp/shields/armor.  your weapons and your playstyle really don't have too much to do with it other than that.

[syle]

trust me on this

stick with mag

all skills are very good and useful

once modded your pull is amazing so try to max it up 1st using any fusion cores or spare mods from frames you don't think you will use (like trinitys well of life)

shield polarize is great survival skill for you and your party

bullet attractor is great for boss fights and vs hard enemies

crash is a great cc when you are surrounded

mag atm is a top tier frame its equal with rhino , nova , frost

 

stick with it

of course I understand what your problem is

just giving you advice on the frame

Edited September 9, 2013 by syle

[Dr.KennethNoiswater]

There in fact is a way to reset your account which should be at the bottom of the page in this link. https://warframe.com/user

 

However, THIS IS A ONE TIME RESET. You will never have another chance to do so again afterwards.

 

I would strongly suggest that you follow the advice of the kind individuals above who offered to help you farm or taxi you to planets of your choice as changes are coming to the game in the near future.

 

They are also correct about the generalities of all frames being melee "viable" and that Mag and Rhino are both decent frames with survivability in melee situations if played with experience and practiced till perfect.

 

It does remain your choice in the end, though one thing to remember is that it is a full reset to your account which means you will regrettably still lose all progress you have made thus far.

[Vexaus]

Thank you all for your responses.  I appreciate that none of you simply told me that my argument had no legitimate basis and that, instead, you all tried to explain that Mag is just as efficient at melee as any other warframe.  I also appreciate the offer to help me farm out Ash component blueprints, X3Evanescence, although I think that I'll just work towards getting to Uranus myself, and I also appreciate the insight into Ash's overall capabilities from several of you.  While I do still think that the limitations imposed on being stuck with the tutorial warframe and having no way to delete/reset one's character is still an inherent design flaw, I at least feel like my concern over being stuck with an unsuitable melee frame isn't really an issue anymore.  From the sound of it, each warframe is just as effective at melee as any other class, and that the real variety lies in their different abilities and overall utility.  As a result, I imagine that no player can truly know which warframe best matches their playstyle until they've tried ALL of the warframes, and so I'm comfortable sticking with my tutorial choice while I work toward completing that goal.

 

Thank you all again for your valuable insight.  If you have any additional recommendations as to which warframe's abilities and stats best complement a more melee-centered style of play, I would be happy to hear them.

[Estred]

Welcome to Warframe. Perhaps a form of "final choice" would be good for the tutorial mission alone. If you wish as the 1st responder said. Add me in Warframe and I can help you farm whichever frame you wish to try out.

 

You said you want a Melee-Style warframe. My recommendations are as follows but do keep in mind Melee is pretty weak around Pluto when enemies deal high damage and have high health.

 

Rhino: Roar+Ironskin is great for melee and I would recommend using the Fragor or Scindo (Fragor has a hilarious ragdoll effect on kill). If you want to use Charge Attacks I recommend Scindo, if you want to wham-bam-slam I recommend the Fragor and eventually the Brokk-Hammer skin for it which increases the base swing speed.

 

Sayrn: While the fix to Venom harmed her ability damage she is the most durable Female Frame in the game currently and her weakness only starts to crop up around Pluto/Tower III areas (which are 80-130 level range total).

 

Nyx: Some may look at me odd here but her ability to stun enemies with the Kogake greatly augments her disruption as a warframe. Critial-Kogake also deals pretty high damage as they ignore armor.

 

Hate/Orthos: Regardless of what Frame you use these are strong Heavy-Weapons. I love both of them.

 

 

Sadly, 1 hand weapons are considered sub-par because they can only strike one target. To be balanced against Heavies they would have to deal much much more Charge-Damage than they do now. Take this for an example.

Scindo-Charge attack deals 200 base damage but also hits all targets meaning you can actually deal 1000 damage if you hit five enemies.

Dark-Sword (Arugably one of the strongest 1h weapons): Would have to deal say 500 damage on a Charge Attack to compensate for only striking one opponent.

 

If you wish to use lighter weapons than look at Dual Ether, Dual Zoren or Fang for you Spamalicious attacks. I hope that gives you and idea and once again welcome to Warframe.

[xenapan]

excal is NOT a "better" melee based frame. loki is (invis). excal's slash dash is simply a in line ability that looks like a melee (but really isnt affected by your melee weapon) what it DOES do is give you plenty of mobility (to get out of fire) 

 

i'd suggest starting a new account, play around with excal for a bit ( I did .. i hated it) 

[syle]

well since you ask for advice

lvl up your weapons and increase your rank asap - this will unlock more blueprints from marketplace

join a clan that has all weapons researched

 

try to get hikou and orthos - those 2 weapons are amazing for the start

[BRad_Skirata]

...

Radial Jav....let's just let that one ​miss anything that's a centimetre off your height...

...

 

Completely wrong