Who else wants stronger infested?

[(XBOX)Lwyu]

I cant stress enough how underpowered these lot are. Everything else has been getting buffs, nerfs, etc. but I barely see anything on the infested. Maybe theres slight changes or slight damage reductions or slight damage buffs, but where are the new enemies for the infested? What are your thoughts guys, what kinds of ideas for infested do you hope to see eventually?

[nebfab]

I don't think buffing them would be popular, but it would made sense. Story-wise they're that nigh-unstoppable technozombie plague, with (spoiler) just a weaker form of it. Game-structure wise, we have dark sectors, the final planet in star chart is infested -- they're clearly meant to be if not the strongest, then at least as challenging as Grineer/Corpus.  Which is nothing like they're in game now.

 

ADD: And in the first 3/4 of the starchart they are actually quite challenging with toxic clouds and fast melee attackers... It's mid-to endgame, with better build possibilities opened up where they start to look weak.

Edited January 19, 2020 by nebfab

[(PSN)AbBaNdOn_]

Stronger ?  no stfu.   Different?  Maybe.

Infested is my favorite thing to fight.  The melee attacks and energy drain and pools of acid, and tox status are plenty. 

[844448]

Make them plenty like that scene from World War Z where hundreds, thousands if not hundreds of thousands running to you if that doesn't make them scary enough

[kapn655321]

Few things I'd address first. Ancient Healers, Mutalist Ospreys, Mutalist/Tar Moas, Toxic Ancients.
Since there are aspects of the Infested that aren't fun to fight, a cap on how much of that ability any one unit has, should be in place.
For instance, when you have several ancients all covering for each other.. all being replaced by ancients covering each other.. it's tiresome.
Each one of those ancients does the full job. You don't get to feel you've made progress if there are 2 nearby, and you kill one. Everything is still protected fully.

Ancient Healers: Now Redirect a maximum of 30% damage each. AI now seeks other Ancient Healers to combine their abilities for a total of 90%. When 3 Ancient Healers are within aura range of each other, they call infested to them, giving them movement speed bonuses for a few seconds. The mobs rush to meet up with the Healers, and be fully tanked up.. but now, if you kill one ancient healer, the pack dynamic changes, and their forces are less impenetrable. One ancient healer feels different than 2, and 3 is practically it's own new unit.

Mutalist Osprey toxin clouds are bothersome in how dense they are. Again, split this across units, and have them coordinate attacks to obtain the same level of cloud density. Each cloud dealing less damage on it's own, (because toxin really wrecks some frames in particular) but may orchestrate to obtain the same result. Have them spawn more regularly so long as each individual one isn't going to be a bother to fight.

Mutalist/Tar Moa both rely on sheer annoyance to be a mechanic. The Tar Moa goo should be dispersed Far more easily, but have them hurl it far more regularly. Each individual cast being less damaging, but able to stack up to be far worse. Minimal corrosive proc on the first hit, but be hit with a second or third, and a Nox gun stacking effect takes place. Easier to swipe away, but more oppressive in it's attempts. Mutalist Moas can stack to intensify in noise level and rapidity of damage ticks.. again, not more damage, but the capacity to be worse.

Toxic Ancients We've probably all been suprise barfed to death by these guys from behind, and too far away. Closer range... pulling you in to barf on you.. but not a one shot. These should be the only Pull ancient units. Ancients scorpion pull we all unanimously recognize needs a rework. Have toxic ancients gain range or damage bonuses from Mutalist Bees/Goo/Clouds.. but very minimal ones (around 6%) for each collision with these factors. Very capable of being super deadly, but only one shot monsters if you get stuck in their ideal environment.

Bring in the infested from the Halloween event (not the boss guys, the other ones) to diversify the spawns.
Make Brood Mothers spawn about 30% more often.
Have Boilers spawn Mutalist Ospreys from them like Corpus Elite and snipers do with their drones.
Oh, and nauseous crawlers.. less barf stun time.

NEW UNIT: Resistance buff. Similar to ancient healers, aura that improves base resistance to a Randomly Shifting damage type. With a sheen like salmonella, or an oil slick on a puddle.. the types or resistance are constantly swirling and changing rapidly. Only giving up to 15% resistance at any one time, but combines with other units to stack up to 45% resistance maximum in any one damage type.

Then from there, if you want to crank their health up a bit, make all the light mob units way crazier somehow, please do.

My main thing is each unit should be bolstered in some way by the units around it.. but in small ways that amass into something scary.. and not so much an immediate effect from one unit being so predictable. Splitting the powers more makes the potential of letting them get out of control more subtle and looming, and less, "Oh, a big ol' derpy spinach godzilla is around the corner making my combat not fun."

Also Ancient Disruptors.. If they take energy with magnetic procs, get a chance to steal it back if you kill them fast enough. I wouldn't mind if they possessed the power from the ancient healers to negate status effects instead of the healers, but I'm not dead set on that.

Edited January 19, 2020 by kapn655321

[Vespilan]

Think about the Warframe factions as the three RPG archtypes. The warrior, the mage and the rogue.

The Grineer are definetly the warrior. Unremarkable in most abilities but sturdy and can pack a punch in physical abilities.
The Corpus are the mage. Poor defense but alot of fancy abilities and even "summons". 
The Infested are the rogues, then. They are not tanky either but their strength comes from the poisons they apply and their agility.
Also they are strong in numbers, which doesn't add to the rogue archtype but is worth mentioning. 

Single infested units are not meant to be strong. Chargers are cannon fodder and they are meant to be. Have you played ESO and been on a infested tile once? It is SO HARD to generate energy unless you bring something like a trinity or harrow. And that is where the power of the infested lies. 

[Marvelous_A]

I don't know, I like fighting (or slaughtering) infested as in their current state.

[BDMblue]

Yes they need a few new things added.

a thing that works as a shield. 

A thing that can dive past you to get a surround.

a thing like one of those grinner staff guys that block your melee.

more then 1 juggernaut. Honestly it’s a great unit should spawn like bursas.

Infected that cause a slow effect or a tether like the ones in index.

and massive melee damage buff. They should be the faction most intimidating to enter into melee with. That bing there main damage.

 

[kapn655321]

4 minutes ago, BDMblue said:

Yes they need a few new things added.

a thing that works as a shield. 

A thing that can dive past you to get a surround.

a thing like one of those grinner staff guys that block your melee.

more then 1 juggernaut. Honestly it’s a great unit should spawn like bursas.

Infected that cause a slow effect or a tether like the ones in index.

and massive melee damage buff. They should be the faction most intimidating to enter into melee with. That bing there main damage.

 

The shield/block unit is a good idea. Maybe they should get counter attacks! That would be brutal. Might not be a bad way to distinguish disruptors.. That unit just does not feel done to me. Maybe that's just me.

[ILOHARTA]

Their strength is numbers, zerg dynamic. Energy reduction, toxins, slow down, slash proc, heat damage, staggering, knockdowns... some of them are even bullet sponges... try 1hr Arbitration with infested, it may change your opinion.

[Goodwill]

The only way DE can make Infested "stronger" is by either scaling them up, or by giving them abilities that prevent us from using our abilities.

I miss Infested back in Pluto. They use to be huge and also the most menacing faction to the point that the best way to fight them was to stand on top of boxes and abuse the fact they couldn't hit you. Now it's the faction where everyone is like? Oh? Need to kill Infested? Easy. Easiest exterminate mission ever.

Infested will never be challenging unless they have an Ancient Disruptor who prevents Warframes from using their abilities in the vicinity and toxin status that also slows you down and prevents you from doing advanced parkour maneuvers with ticks that would kill you in a few seconds.

 

[MonsterOfMyOwn]

the scaling of parasitic eximus and Moa make high level infested already hard to beat. The base values of energy drain an yellow sticky AoE should be higher and the scaling should be slower.

[Daziri]

They honestly lack the "undead virus controlled" theme, they are mostly melee with tiny blobs for ranged attacks.

The zealot was a nice change but as some1 else mentioned in this thread, I really want  that zombie theme to come up with the Infested. A Horde!

[SneakyErvin]

They need more types of units.

Right now it is as if we face a bunch of hormagaunts and the odd little zoanthrope from a Tyranid army. Where are the infested equivalent to a Hive Warrior, Genestealer, Lictor, Carnifex, Revenant or worse? Bring us those specialized horrifying infested units. Actual infested Ambulas, Jackals, Hyeanas, Razorbacks, Thumpers, Raptors, Nox, Bombards, Manics of all types etc. And to top it off, unique pure infestation units.

[844448]

34 minutes ago, Goodwill said:

The only way DE can make Infested "stronger" is by either scaling them up, or by giving them abilities that prevent us from using our abilities.

An easier solution, allow them to spawn in larger number than other factions as the undead horde.

Imagine the infested coming to you in massive amount like in World War Z, like we have in plague star if that's not scary to you

[(PSN)robotwars7]

1 minute ago, SneakyErvin said:

They need more types of units.

this^

I imagine a pure infested unit to essentially be like an enemy Warframe, minus the Operator. something that can manipulate Technocyte in many different ways: swarms, toxic darts, tentacles, Blades. something like the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, but instead of metallic liquid, it is a formless mass of Technocyte.

meanwhile, infested versions of other enemies like Hyena would be interesting too. would be simple enough to just "infest" their weapons, so for example, Hyena Pb, instead of it's normal AoE attack, would unleash gas grenades that cover a large ring-area with Toxic gas.

[SneakyErvin]

11 minutes ago, (PS4)robotwars7 said:

this^

I imagine a pure infested unit to essentially be like an enemy Warframe, minus the Operator. something that can manipulate Technocyte in many different ways: swarms, toxic darts, tentacles, Blades. something like the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, but instead of metallic liquid, it is a formless mass of Technocyte.

meanwhile, infested versions of other enemies like Hyena would be interesting too. would be simple enough to just "infest" their weapons, so for example, Hyena Pb, instead of it's normal AoE attack, would unleash gas grenades that cover a large ring-area with Toxic gas.

Love that T-1000 idea, reminds me of the symbiotes from Marvel aswell. The infested could really use something like that.

[xcrimsonlegendx]

Eh, I don't care if they're stronger. I just want more variety. They made the thrashers but never implemented them into the main game.

Give me creatures crawling on the ceiling, big ass slugs, some real freaky deaky monsters with unique behaviors.

[ILOHARTA]

58 minutes ago, Goodwill said:

Infested will never be challenging unless they have an Ancient Disruptor who prevents Warframes from using their abilities in the vicinity

in some type of missions they are ever-present.

[(PSN)Dishinshoryuken]

More varieties mean more bugs and we all know how much the community LOVES bugs.

With the addition of Railjack and the Infested being up for a open world sooner or later, mayhaps we will get treated to another type of Infested that does some of this stuff you all want. An infested that stops powers/connection to the Void Demon so that they can talk to us and inform us that not all the enemies out there want to kill the Frames.

Perhaps we will get a space faring Infested that is immune to our powers and cultivates frames to let them see there is a faction of Infested that are not part of the hive mind and have a society they want protected. Maybe we will get that faction as another Syndicate that will have their own missions.

Anything is possible but we also have to remember this is a video game that can only take so much programming. Look at how the Manics changed from when they had their tactical alert. Those were vicious and now they are laughing stocks. Same thing happens to most enemies in the game as someone will complain it's too hard. Hek, y'all made the Commander go from being a threat to being a Loki teleport clone.

We just got a few new Infested and yesh, you need a key to fight them....but they still die just as easy as the rest of the infested when you bring a blowtorch and Nova.

Eximus only needs to happen with Infested to give the players some challenges that want it. Imagine having 8 Chargers Eximus taking your power while 10 Ancient Healers heal, a few Disruptors make each hit lose you energy, Tars spitting on you while Thrashers knock you down. You know it would be a bit harder....until DE needs it after complaints that it's too much and the rewards are not worth it.

[Lost_Cartographer]

I'd like for the Infested to have units that actually USE the infested weaponry available to us.  Infested bombards with a Torid?  Infested Corpus Techs with the Paracyst?

The biggest problem with the infested is that virtually all damage is done in melee, but the S key is a thing?  They definitely need more than a homogeneous mass of bee lining flesh with some token nuisances peppered in for a vain attempt at target prioritization.

[Butterfly85]

1 hour ago, ILOHARTA said:

Their strength is numbers, zerg dynamic. Energy reduction, toxins, slow down, slash proc, heat damage, staggering, knockdowns... some of them are even bullet sponges... try 1hr Arbitration with infested, it may change your opinion.

That's why I take Rhino to those. Infested arbies get ugly real quick if you can't block status effects

 

[TearsOfTomorrow]

To offer a counterpoint just as food for thought: perhaps Infested are MEANT to be individually weak.

Think about it: a zombie is not that scary an entity, is it? Slow, barely capable of standing upright, you can just set it on fire to permanently end the issue. But if there's a million of them, and every time they kill a guy he becomes one of them... That's what makes them scary.

I think that was the intention with the Infested. Of course, the issue lies in the execution, not because this faction was done wrong, but because EVERY OTHER FACTION WAS DONE THE EXACT SAME WAY (individually weaker than you, make up for it with massive numbers), and so if everyone is using the same tactic, then of course the one faction that's doing so without any guns comes off as the weakest of the bunch.

So yeah, IMO what we really need is more tactical diversity on the part of our enemies, rather than enemies which are individually stronger. Although that too isn't easy to implement.

[Firetempest]

Would like them to be more adaptable against damage like limbs will be destroyed before wild shots killing it outright. You shoot a leg off a charger, it gibs and keeps charging you. Or shooting the main head off of a charger wont drop it but decreases damage as if it cant bite but it still swipes. The legs of a runner or leaper can be shot off and it turns into a crawler. More "second wind" like things without the immortal like Undying Flyer pod ability.

[Aadi880]

They're all nice and easy, until that one toxic ancient harpoons you and says "Rawr!"