weapon slots/Warframe slots

[Zakual]

First of all hello! and sorry for the wall 😄

Secondly, this post will include some criticisms but please read the whole thing because the intent is not to complain but rather figure out "why" etc

So im "sort of" new to the game and by that I mean I played a long time ago didnt think much of the game and was playing alone (only now do I realise the playing alone part was the problem), recently me and my friends got into the game after one of us nagged the rest of us to try it because "erhmagarddd its so good now" and I agree its improved a great deal and has a ton of potential but one thing has constantly cropped up in discussion that bothers me/confuses me. The gated nature of inventory/frame slots. 

I am aware this is a F2P game and is impressive for being a F2P game but the weapon slots and frame slots per 20 platinum? 

At first I argued that it was a horrible economic mechanic for the game because without a global trade hub built into the game (sort of like a GTN like in SWTOR) or a resource to paid currency (dilithium to zen in STO) then how are new players going to be encouraged to actually play the game without feeling like they are forced to pay to enjoy the experience without feeling blocked at every turn? (please keep in mind that my knowledge of the player economy was almost zero at this point and was vastly influencing my view at the time).

Now I am not so sure of any of that, having gained some insight into the player economy - did the devs leave this like it is because they wanted that social interaction to continue? It is a social game after all in many ways or do you think its still there with the sole purpose of making money? because realistically a single mod can go from anywhere between 5-600p depending on the mod and its rank. this is great but a lot of the time someone starting the game for the first time will have no idea about it and will be very confused likely get frustrated and quit (on average as many games these days are holding the players hand quite hard and they're used to that).

The reason I ask this and with the fact its a free to play game in mind, the game feels extremely gated to new players to list a few; 

- 24 hour lock out on mastery rank failures.

- Unintentional Deceptive nature of the market (most new players dont seem to realise that you dont need to buy new frames with platinum but thats an entirely different topic and discussion) 

- Inventory and Frame slots

- Foundry (72 hours time gate on frames) 

It goes on a bit but you see what I am saying here; I completely understand that players shouldn't be handed everything immediately it should take time and they should earn it and such but despite its improvements the game seemingly still feels like its 8 years in the past when things like this were far more common, there are of course more egregious offenders of gated gameplay (different games I mean) and such but it still seems strange for a game that now seems very successful to still maintain these kinds of things. Anyway I am rambling now.

Ultimately, do the slot purchases with plat still exist due to the player economy? Or because of the other less interesting and annoying reason? 

I am in no position to judge the company as I haven't played their product long enough and I am in no position to adequately decide if its a good thing or a bad thing. The reason this bothers me so much is that I have a lot of frames I like, Trinity prime is fun, Nidus, Chroma Prime (crafted I dislike prime access), Umbra Excalibur, Rhino, Volt. But I have already run out of space and have almost 5 other frames being built in a way it feels like my effort is being put on the backburner but I am not sure if thats good or bad for the game as a "sort of" new player. (its much worse for my other two friends as they are 100% new to the game and its frustrating them quite badly).

Anyway thats it 🙂 Hope someone helps me figure this out because thinking about it is making my head spin a bit mostly because its 3:30 am and I probably shouldn't think about stuff like this at this time of the morning. 

P.S I had intended to post this in the general discussion forums but for some reason there was no new topic option there so I tried to narrow down what would be the next correct place (admittedly though "players helping players" might of been better here concerning context). 

Edited December 17, 2018 by Zakual
fixed some spelling mistakes

[DDantalion]

20 plat is equivalent to opening like 5 relics of a current unvaulting (if you don't get 5 forma). Each one if you get carried takes around at max 7~ minutes... (I'm not up to date on current prices at the moment) Chroma Prime is obviously in high demand and if you take advantage and farm out a set, the price could jump up a lot after it gets revaulted, or sell at the moment for a very decent chunk. 30 minutes reliably for a warframe slot/weapon slot is not exactly unreasonable in my opinion...

24 lock out of mastery just paces it steadier, you hit the first 8-9 in under 24 hours and hit the next 15 over the course of the next 1000, if it wasn't delayed it would get old really really REALLY fast. Also if you're failing mastery rank test you should look them up on the wiki, or visit Simaris's training room. I don't mean to judge you but you really, REALLY, shouldn't be failing them (and I'm pretty sure you can't level up a mastery rank after 10 in under 24 hours unless you got boosters and 20 gallons of redbull)...

Market's not really deceptive as you could've just googled it, asked regional chat, asked somebody in your squad or literally anything else. The information's out there and I really don't see why anyone would buy a non-prime frame right off the bat. 

Frankly the three day wait on frames do annoy me a little bit, but it ends up just encouraging me to log in more often. As with the aforementioned farming you can spend about an hour's worth of time to skip three days worth of wait (don't do it though it's really not worth it). By the time you're done farming out the parts you won't really care about the delay since usually you have other stuff to get done (More plat, Rivens, Sorties, Fortuna, PoE, obtaining the Janus Key, etc.). 

For the mod pricing gap, I was initially also jarred a tad bit since I was being carried by some kind fellows farming Tridolons when I was MR 12 and I found out each Arcane Energize sells for 240~ and practically all my other mods and stuff were garbage that didn't even sell. This isn't really a fault of DE's, the market is largely player controlled. Arcane Energize becomes really, really useful later on and it's definitely worth the price, but really still it's not exactly as outrageous as those 10k Lanka rivens I see... The prices shouldn't bother people who are so new that they don't understand how mods work (pretty sure those people get scarred when they see the scrolling of the trade chat), and even if they don't understand why the prices are so spread out for some mods they should understand that the hard to get gold ones sell for more than the average Streamline or other. 

If you really want slots badly, make sure to ask somebody during Tennobaum 🎄, I'm sure others would gift you them quickly (Not me though I already spent all of my meager earnings re-gifting and it's exam week). 

Basically, I really don't see a problem other than me being tempted to hit that 50 plat rush button... 

[Zakual]

21 hours ago, DisasterDev said:

20 plat is equivalent to opening like 5 relics of a current unvaulting (if you don't get 5 forma). Each one if you get carried takes around at max 7~ minutes... (I'm not up to date on current prices at the moment) Chroma Prime is obviously in high demand and if you take advantage and farm out a set, the price could jump up a lot after it gets revaulted, or sell at the moment for a very decent chunk. 30 minutes reliably for a warframe slot/weapon slot is not exactly unreasonable in my opinion...

24 lock out of mastery just paces it steadier, you hit the first 8-9 in under 24 hours and hit the next 15 over the course of the next 1000, if it wasn't delayed it would get old really really REALLY fast. Also if you're failing mastery rank test you should look them up on the wiki, or visit Simaris's training room. I don't mean to judge you but you really, REALLY, shouldn't be failing them (and I'm pretty sure you can't level up a mastery rank after 10 in under 24 hours unless you got boosters and 20 gallons of redbull)...

Market's not really deceptive as you could've just googled it, asked regional chat, asked somebody in your squad or literally anything else. The information's out there and I really don't see why anyone would buy a non-prime frame right off the bat. 

Frankly the three day wait on frames do annoy me a little bit, but it ends up just encouraging me to log in more often. As with the aforementioned farming you can spend about an hour's worth of time to skip three days worth of wait (don't do it though it's really not worth it). By the time you're done farming out the parts you won't really care about the delay since usually you have other stuff to get done (More plat, Rivens, Sorties, Fortuna, PoE, obtaining the Janus Key, etc.). 

For the mod pricing gap, I was initially also jarred a tad bit since I was being carried by some kind fellows farming Tridolons when I was MR 12 and I found out each Arcane Energize sells for 240~ and practically all my other mods and stuff were garbage that didn't even sell. This isn't really a fault of DE's, the market is largely player controlled. Arcane Energize becomes really, really useful later on and it's definitely worth the price, but really still it's not exactly as outrageous as those 10k Lanka rivens I see... The prices shouldn't bother people who are so new that they don't understand how mods work (pretty sure those people get scarred when they see the scrolling of the trade chat), and even if they don't understand why the prices are so spread out for some mods they should understand that the hard to get gold ones sell for more than the average Streamline or other. 

If you really want slots badly, make sure to ask somebody during Tennobaum 🎄, I'm sure others would gift you them quickly (Not me though I already spent all of my meager earnings re-gifting and it's exam week). 

Basically, I really don't see a problem other than me being tempted to hit that 50 plat rush button... 

My issue with a lot of "the information is out there" is that while it is true that you can just wiki, the thing is a lot of people are like that - i've seen a lot of people in region chat lately who are just so confused. Information isn't conveyed well in game at all and it should be because many people tend to be very impulse and base their opinions upon first impressions. A lot of people NEED it shoved in their face to understand it.

As far as the market - as I said its "unintentionally" deceptive in the sense that when I started again I had forgotten much of what I learned when I played a bit previously a year or so before so when I saw chroma I was like "yes I want this, this looks awesome" I then assumed that like chroma the weapons available were also MR 6. They were not and I became pretty frustrated as I dont really have time to spend money on plat and my player market knowledge was limited so I didnt know how to make plat and such. This is what im seeing from other new players i've talked too as well. visually its pitched as if the weapons are available at the same MR as Chroma Prime because hes wielding them but they are not. I am not saying they are intending to do this, but this is how its coming across too the people i've talked too as well as my friends (at the time).

Oh I didn't fail my mastery rank but my friend did and she wasn't happy about it at all. Some people are just crap at bullet jump angles (the one where you jump to the platforms after shooting the red orbs with the pistol) she didnt know she needed a pistol and was leveling random weapons and didnt actually have a pistol and couldn't change her loadout in the mastery rank level so she was basically stuck and had to fail - in fact it was the day of the void trader, she had the ducats we did index for the credits and then she couldnt get in because orcus is MR 8 Locked so I had to farm the ducats and credits AGAIN to get the prime mod for her and my other friend (her BF) also couldnt get in due to the MR grind so in total I brought 3 prime mods in a single day lol. Even for pacing reasons it still seems silly unless there is a lot less playable content in the game than is lead to believe. If at all the 24 hour lockout should only start at a higher rank for a "extra" challenge and if not that then not at all because if you dont have the plat and you dont have the slots and you just dont understand the game even with people helping you in chat the extra barrier is just daunting. 

As for the 3 day wait....if i was a higher MR I probably wouldn't bother logging in until its done because I would of already farmed a ton of MR exp and its just like yeah....I might as well play something else. I get that the game is grinding and such but it honestly just doesnt feel fluid. You earn one thing to only be thrown back several days each time.

Regardless non of this was the reason for the thread 🙂 

The main reason was I was curious as too why they actually kept the slot costs at all instead of just letting people have all the slots they want for free but still have to wait for all the frames and weapons and crafting and grinding. Because I feel like that alone would make the game 50% better you know? Especially for new players.

Edit:

In fact that and making the information for where things drops, whats in what relics like a loot table available in game like a console or something you could activate in game to see the full up to date loot table instead having to go through the links and web browser and all that. But not just that like ALL information on the game and making alert missions more clear like what are nightmare what are not etc and many other informative things. If it was just available there in game clearly instead of just "go to the wiki" a lot of people would not get turned off by the game. Me and my friend had so many hours of discussion about this trying to determine just how much this could improve the game and it would do it ten fold. Giving that information to players accessible in game instead of just "wiki it" supposing they even know to do that or even think about it due to how other games do it would help so much.

Obviously a lot of it is available in the codex but a lot of new players just think its lore stuff, hell even the a notification just telling them if they're struggling to find some information then consult the codex would help more right now because people just do not think.

Edited December 18, 2018 by Zakual
added further detail...again

[DDantalion]

To be fair in my opinion Warframe is way too complex to introduce all the methods and drops through in game progression, which is where the wiki really comes in... If you want a specific prime frame really badly you'll google it and then the relics, drop chances, and part chances all appear pretty clearly. Its complexity is pretty much negated by its community... Find a clan and they'll walk you through the processes of plat, roles, and mechanics (which you can check the recruiting tab for), and probably even give you the things you need. Since you came back from a year of inactivity, go tackle the other activities.

If your friend sold her weapons, the MK-1s, the ones you choose from are available for only 15000 credits (and if you say that is a problem I will start screeching)... The videos are out there and if your aim really is that bad, build yourself a shotgun. Either way after failing that single mastery test, I hope your friend learned their lesson and put aside 2 minutes every rank to watch a walkthrough. Also, if your friend isn't past MR8 they really don't need primed mods, they're more endgame-y and I think that's the main reason you're frustrated. I barely even have any primed mods >.>, farming ducats is a lot less fun than putting together builds and requires more effort.

The main reason you're having issues is because you're attempting some later-game stuff and you're attempting to carry your friends for irrelevantwhen you should be carrying them through the star chart. Get through the star chart, complete the quests, farm some prime stuff for plat and to keep along the way, and the pacing will seem much more balanced. (I can help you farm next week if you want just message me ig).
 

Addressing the slots, it doesn't really bother me the way I see it, but it just means a little extra grindy and more contemplation on how you spend your plat, which to me makes it all the more interesting, it really shouldn't be a big deal.

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by DisasterDev
Grammar/Clarification

[5H4DE]

I don't see an issue with slots being plat only but I guess from a new player perspective it does look really bad, especially considering the amount of frames and weapons we have atm.

My suggestion: Increase the starter slots to 4 Warframe slots and 8 weapon slots. Also, put a tip somewhere relevant saying that platinum can be traded between players, ideally on the market, have it as a pop-up in the corner when checking the plat purchase page of an item.

 

Edit:I don't say that so we can get some free slots, I couldn't care less personally if we get them as well or not since I have lots of extra slots and plat to buy more.

Edited December 19, 2018 by TheRealShade

[(XBOX)Hyperion Rexx]

Warframe is not a game for instant gratification. You need to wait to do things sometimes, just like in real life.  The 3 day wait for frames can be annoying at times but is not unreasonable, start building and then go do something else - farm resources, relics, prime parts, complete the star chart, quests or just have fun and run about shooting stuff.  Before you know it the 3 days have passed and you get your new frame.

Plat is easy to make, even for new players.  You can farm prime parts and sell 5 random parts for 10p all day, every day.

Also, use your codex in your ship to look up what relics have what parts and where they drop.

Biggest tip though is join a clan, many vets enjoy helping and explaining things to new players, that is endgame to many of them.  And have a bit of patience, there's a literal ton of stuff to do in the game, go do some of it instead of expecting to have your hand held at every step and you'll quickly learn how it all works.