This game needs sweeping changes to how it's structured because the old systems from 6-7 years ago are making the game almost unplayable and boring.

[Alphas]

I've been thinking a lot about the problems I have with Warframe and they certainly are many.  The biggest I can think of is how much of a slog EVERYTHING is.  There are so many weapons, so many frames, so many companions that all need to be leveled up, especially Syndicates.  Just starting now players have a wide breadth of stuff to do and play with but experienced players are getting hamstrung by these "come back every day" mechanics like standing caps and it's getting absurd.

For example I'm ranking up with the Entrati and I just hit rank 3 so I can begin using the Helminth Chrysalis system, however I need to purchase the Orbiter segment in order to start engaging with that content.  The problem is that I have run out of my daily standing limit with the Entrati before I could have enough to buy the upgrade segment.  I hit the cap just two hours into playing after reset and now I literally don't want to do ANYTHING in Warframe until 7:00pm tomorrow.  This stupid standing cap that's designed to keep players coming back now is making me put the game down until my standing resets and I can actually engage with the content.  This needs to go.  It was old and long-in-the-tooth years ago and it's got NO place in this game now with how wide and evolved it is.

Yes standing caps keep players from reaching the endgame of the new content too quickly but I would say that if the new content needs to be time-gated so heavily that players can only do a little bit each day then that just means that either the endgame of the content is boring and there's nothing to do in it, or the cap is just stupid and doesn't have a reason to exist.  Quite honestly, Warframe is a game that lives and dies by its endgame and if that's not good then the rest of the game isn't good.  The game needs replayability and if the only way you, at DE, can achieve that is by limiting how much a player can do in a given day, so much to the point where only two hours of very light play can reach that limit, then I think some things need to change.

 

Aside from the standing caps being stupid there are a number of other issues like affinity and leveling.  The Focus endgame is a HILARIOUSLY large grind wall and the meta for gaining focus and affinity has always been based around exploiting the fastest way to get affinity in large quantities: stealth chaining, ESO, etc.  With how much crap we have to level in this game and how many weapons and warframes require extra Forma I think the Affinity rate that we gain should be multiplied by at least 3x but no more than 4x at base.  This means that players can churn through weapons and MR fodder faster and get to using weapons they want to use faster.

On the topic of weapons and warframes, I think a good way to make weapons more enjoyable to use would be to flat-out eliminate Orokin Reactors and Catalysts from the game.  Having a few more, grindy ways of getting them doesn't solve the problem when their economy is such a compelling decision that most players will just hold onto them until they find a weapon they actually want to put effort into.  This is because weapons without Catalysts are ABSOLUTELY horrible.  There is nothing fun about using a new weapon that only has a max capacity of 30 mod energy.  Absolutely nothing.  What's the only way to remedy that problem?  Either spending platinum on Catalysts or being lucky enough to have Nightwave currency left over in your inventory to buy one.  These just need to leave the game and never come back especially considering the fact that they come pre-installed on plat-purchased weapons which feels extra terrible for Free2Players.

 

Warframe is a game that was made public in 2013 as a Free2Play title and even after gaining enormous success it's still clinging to the old Free2Play garbage that makes these games un-fun but mechanics that compel players to return day after day.  With Warframe being so deep and rich as it is now, I think it's time for it to step into the modern era.  There are plenty of other Free2Play games that don't have the same level of success and player counts as Warframe while still not relying on these old, slimy tactics of keeping players around.  It's time to change and it's time for this game to grow up and shed the training wheels.  I think people will realize that when new weapons come out they will actually be excited to use them and play around with them rather than just stick them onto their frame, jump into Hydron/ESO, level them in 5-10 minutes, shove them in the vault and never touch them again because THAT'S what this game is right now.