I feel like I am missing some core game mechanic...

[SixthGuy]

I have been playing this game on and off for a while now and it always feels like I am either way too op or completely useless and I just don't understand why.

I can play levels that say it should be for my player level but the enemies are way too powerful for me.

I have a max level Volt with a lvl 15 Strun (I think that's what its called but its a shotgun) with a max level Impact mod and a high level puncture mod and a semi auto pistol that I cannot remember the name of and a heat sword with the 120% damage mod and a max lvl heat mod but i still deal about 0 damage to everything i fight and don't know what to do or get next to become powerful enough to accomplish anything.

[krc473]

6 minutes ago, SixthGuy said:

I can play levels that say it should be for my player level but the enemies are way too powerful for me.

Well, this is probably the thing you are missing. Missions only tell you what level enemies start at. Nothing to do with what you should be.

 

Your issue seems to be your mods. You are just not using good ones. You are using damage type mods, not flat damage mods. Grab Pressure Point, Hornet Strike and Point Blank (melee, secondary, shotgun). Adding these will make you do a lot more damage than what you are using.

[Arkennstar]

Yep, from your description, it does seem you need to start modding better. Firstly, you need to understand enemy factions, their health/shield/armor types and what kind of damage works well against them. There are elemental combinations (for example toxin + electricity makes corrosive damage), status chance, status procs, etc. Some elements do better against certain enemies, some physical damages do better against another. Some status effects remove armor, some cause bleeds or poison gas effects that bypass armor or shields. You gotta read up on that. You can do that from the codex in game or through the wiki.

For example, corrosive damage does 75% more damage against enemies who have ferrite armor on. radiation damage does 75% more damage against enemies who have alloy armor on. So that kind of thing helps you analyze your builds more.

And as the previous poster said, first and most importantly get the flat damage mods in.. Serration, Hornet Strike, Point Blank and Pressure Point. Then focus on elemental mods. Then there is multishot and all. Avoid using mods that improve physical damage (impact/puncture/slash). Also if youre using Strun, you wanna try and get mods which increase status chance. You can see the stats on weapons you use, if its crit chance is higher than 20%, put mods that enhance critical chance and critical damage on it. If it has more than 20% status chance, you can focus on status. if both, you can balance it off as you wish. 

Also make sure if youre using the Strun or Mk-1 Strun. Mk-1 Strun is the beginner version that has significantly worse stats. Mk-1 versions of all weapons are just starter weapons and should be replaced as soon as you are able to do so. I would recommend getting the Hek if you qualify for it. 

[QueenKharn]

As far as weapons go, yes, I'd look in the Marketplace and pick up all the base, non-mk1 weapons (Paris, Braton, Bo, Etc.), get those slotted up as advised above.

However, for your own sanity, my advice for first important mods to level and slot are some of your defensive mods for you Warframe. Steel Fibre, Redirection and Vitality. That'll save you some stress early on. Also do not throw away Damaged mods. They can be good space filler for some builds later on.

Edited June 21, 2019 by KokoroWish

[SgtHotPepper]

Be aware that status on shotgun is tricky.

Between 99% status and 100% is a huge difference because of the pellet projectile.

Révélation

MultishotEdit

When firing multiple pellets in a single attack, the status chance on a listed weapon in the Arsenal is actually the calculated probability that at least one of its pellets will proc. For example, the Strun Wraith displays a 40% status chance, but in fact has a ~4.98% chance for each of its ten pellets.

Individual PelletsEdit

To calculate the status chance of a single pellet, the following formula is needed:

Chance per Pellet = 1 − (1 − Status Chance)^{(1 ÷ Pellet Count)}

• Status Chance is the status chance of the weapon listed in the Arsenal.
• Pellet Count refers to the amount of pellets fired per shot.

Based on the above equation it is observable that when Status Chance reaches 100% the Chance per Pellet will also be 100%. As well, it can be observed that small decreases in Status Chance from 100% will result in significant decreases in per-pellet-status-chance, i.e. 99% Status Chance on a 10 pellet weapon will result in a 36.9% Chance per Pellet. (This is illustrated in a table further down.)

It is possible that the value displayed in the arsenal gets rounded up to 100% due to multishot bonuses without actually becoming 100%; therefore it is recommended to check this value without multishot mods equipped. (Reminder: Multishot mods do not affect the status chance for each individual pellet.)

So try to have another good primary that a shotgun.

You say that is a moment that you play so maybe you obtained the Dex Sybaris.

Give it a try.

[Elyann]

3 hours ago, SixthGuy said:

I have been playing this game on and off for a while now and it always feels like I am either way too op or completely useless and I just don't understand why.

I can play levels that say it should be for my player level but the enemies are way too powerful for me.

I have a max level Volt with a lvl 15 Strun (I think that's what its called but its a shotgun) with a max level Impact mod and a high level puncture mod and a semi auto pistol that I cannot remember the name of and a heat sword with the 120% damage mod and a max lvl heat mod but i still deal about 0 damage to everything i fight and don't know what to do or get next to become powerful enough to accomplish anything.

Okay so,

Enemies level and your player level , MR level are not really the same thing.
For instance...you could still be using a level 1 warframe or be a MR 5 player and still be taking down level 40-ish enemies with ease with the right stuff.
Take a mission's enemies level more as an indicative term of how hard the mission is going to be , your gear level cap is always going to be 30 , MR ( non yet implemented ) cap will be 30 as well.

Mods are your best friends ; learn modding your gear properly , create and try out new builds and you'll notice your frame and weapons won't be useless anymore but will instead be able to carry you even against high level enemies.

http://warframe-builder.com/

https://www.cephalonwannab.com//

These sites give you some good examples of how you should mod your gear ; you do not have to follow their builds blindly , try out what works the best for you.
If you don't know where to find a mod feel free to use the Warframe's Wiki , it will teach you a lot of stuff and tell you where to find what you need quickly.

Level your frames and gear up to 30 , craft new ones and try them out until you find something you like , that's what the game is about.

Explore the solar map and do your quests and missions , they will help you getting more mods , different crafting materials and allow you to obtain better stuff.

Orokin catalysts and reactors will allow you to double your modding capacity from 30 points to 60 , Formas will halve a mod's cost for a weapon or for a frame, use them on stuff you like to make even better builds.

Once you have tried out various weapons and warframes and managed to get some builds that are actually good for you , after finishing all of your quests then you may want to consider finally going to the Plains of Eidolon and Fortuna and max your reputation with their syndacates in order to build zaws ( custom melees ) , kitguns ( custom secondaries ) and have access to amps and arcanes ( still more powerups ~ ) ; you could also learn to actually farm eidolons at this point altough I must ask you to read or watch a guide before doing so for it may prove not so immediate to understand what you need to do or what's good against them.

Join syndacates and try maxing out your reputation with them , they may sell some useful stuff to you and are available almost immediately after you start playing the game. 

Get prime gear by farming relics , primes have slightly better stats than regular gear and are as such a direct upgrade to your weapons and frames.

I could honestly list more stuff that might prove to be useful to you but I  think this is already more than enough at the moment. Just take the game easy and have fun.
Also remember one thing , damage isn't the most important stat in warframe and not all warframes are meant to be dps ones. Always play what you like and feel like using but try to bring the most suitable frames and weapons for each mission in order to secure your party's success and its efficiency ( ex.  Nova can slow enemies down and as such is a good frame for modes such as interception , Loki can turn invisible and as such is good for spy , Frost can create ice domes to use as shields and as such is good for defense , ecc... ) .

Edited June 21, 2019 by Elyann