INCONSISTENCIES IN EQUINOX

[(PSN)AlaTsuki-Ali]

Okay, so I have been putting this off for about a year now and I feel, due to the recent trend that DE has been following regarding REVISIONS, REWORKS, and REVIEWS, and attempting to tackle a lot of the game's Core Inconsistencies, it's the perfect opportunity to discuss to some Major inconsistencies with one of my favorite warframes: EQUINOX. 

TL;DR At the bottom!

We all know and Love Equinox. She is arguably one of the highest burst DPS/Support/Tanks in the game, if modded correctly. She is extremely versatile to build and play, and quite frankly, there is no wrong way to build her! NO ONE, with a brain, can argue how great of a frame she is really is. However, with many of our beloved warframes, she definitely needs tweaks to her Kit and she is a bit outdated as well. With her prime being released almost a year ago, I really had hoped DE would address some of her biggest problems. Unfortunately, they did not and here we are! The Post will be my attempt to address, raise awareness and provided constructive feedback or solutions to the DEVs in hopes that they find the time to rid Equinox of her inconsistencies and bring her Kit (augments included) up to date. 

Abilities:

There is not much to say about equinox's abilities. They can be complicated at first but with some practice and knowledge, you will be able to master her in no time at all. My only real gripes with her abilities are: 1st, For a caster frame, her casting speeds are bit too slow, especially her 1st and 4th abilities. 2nd, Her second ability feels a bit wonky sometimes. I know why, tho. It is because her Rest & Rage is designed to create a point of interest, if you will, and anything in that radius will be affected by the ability. So to really alleviate that issue, you just gotta aim true, so to speak, and make sure the pointer/marker at which you are casting to create is in the middle of a large group of enemies. Also, One of my biggest peevs about equinox's 3rd and 4th is that they do not remain toggled while switching forms. I know there is an augment for her 4th on this as a cheap "fix" but more on that later. To be completely blunt I think this was the dumbest decision DE could make on an ability for a warframe who, if played interactively, with players like me, is designed to be constantly switch forms; utilizing all of her abilities in the ideal situation. Not everyone plays her in the brain-dead, 'press 4 to win' meta. Having this "feature" exist with a frame who can switch forms at the press of a button is just plain counter-intuitive. Here in Warframe, you have a frame that is literally two warframes in one; yet you are damn near FORCED into picking a form and sticking to said form, without the use of her band-aid augment, for the duration of the entire mission. Like Why?? I digress. Speaking of Augments..

Augments:

Here's where this article gets a bit length, I will try to keep it short. Ironically enough, many of equinox's problems actually lies within or revolves around her augments; some more than others. Do NOT get me wrong, all of her augments are great; ALMOST MANDATORY, AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

• Let's start with her 4th; Energy Transfer. I touched on this in the paragraph above, so I will try to refrain from ranting; believe me I can go on and on. Ultimately, I just feel like her augment for her 4th should be a feature of her ability. At the very least it could be applied to her 3rd and 4th together, so basically she would be able to toggle both 3rd and 4th abilities while switching forms; that would make the augment more robust. I think the Devs were just didn't have the time when they realized they should have added it in her Kit, and settled on just making it an augment for a quick "fix". 
• Now let's talk about arguably her best and worst augment; Duality. Duality has a special place in my heart, but it also leave my taste buds bittersweet. It does TONS of Damage, when it works. It will cover your back and basically protect you from unsuspecting enemies dumb enough to get in shooting range, when it works. It can snipe from across the room, if it isn't busy walking into a wall or shooting the wall. But my biggest issue is the fact that the specter is designed to be equinox's other half; she's literally just the other side of equinox form. It even says so in the augment's description. However, it can't use the other abilities not even if you cast, it barely follow her around, it derps out 90% of the time AND MOST OF ALL THE DAMAGE IT DEALS DOESN'T CALCULATE TO THE PLAYERS DAMAGE OR KILLS, if you are not host that is. It makes no sense to me. Then you have a frame like Wukong. He get reworked, he gets a clone who's specter can not travel more than 15 meters from the players position. He has a target priority indicator; effectively overwriting Specter's Derpy AI and increasing his DPS. His clone is also allowed to use all of Wukong's abilities when Wukong himself casts that particular ability. Not to mention, that his clone can proc all weapon based arcane requirements. In every single scenario Wukong's clone is superior to Equinox's duality. When Equinox's Duality starts to derp she HAS to recast; and she derps A LOT, turning her what was originally supposed to be an cheap cast into a energy draining monster. Did I mention that Duality has an ability timer AND health pool? Wukong doesn't have a ability timer and he doesn't even need an augment to summon his clone. Which is by far the silliest design. It can be one shot and disappear before the ability timer times out, forcing you to prematurely cast the ability AGAIN. All these problems for an ability that require an augment. Augments are supposed to make the ability better and enhance the warframe's performance but in a lot of ways that isn't the case. Using the augment will take an important mod slot, further limiting her building potential. Meanwhile, Wukong does not need an augment nor any he has better energy economy. Wukong makes equinox's duality redundant. It begs the question why use her specter when Wukong exists and that really makes me feel bitter and sad, primarily because Equinox's Clone was first and she's deserves the same treatment if shes gonna have a clone.

How to fix:

Honestly the fix is simple. Buff equinox's specter. Allow specters damage to count towards the players damage and kill count. Allow her clone to be able to cast her abilities and channel her abilities when you cast, just like Wukong. Limit the distance the specter can travel like Wukong's Specter; 10 meter radius is preferable; THIS IS A MUST. Give equinox a target priority maker, like Wukong or fix the derpy AI so that an Target Marker isn't a requirement. It is only fair that both clones can benefit from the same perks, especially when Equinox NEEDs an augment to be WORSE than Wukong. It makes no sense. 

 

TL;DR: EQUINOX IS A GREAT FRAME BUT WUKONG'S CLONE IS FAR SUPERIOR, PLEASE APPLY BUFFS TO EQUINOX'S DUALITY. IT'S ONLY FAIR.