Cartridge, the rifleman warframe. (Fan-concept)

[Hierarch777]

Where Mesa is themed around sidearms, Cartridge is centered around primary weapons. 

-Codex entry:

"Cartridge's expertise with firearms is second to none. There is yet to be a man that can outsmart a bullet". 

Stats:

Health: 115

Shields: 75

Energy: 150

Armor: 225

Sprint speed: 1.25

Passive: Cartridge starts missions with 100% more ammo.

Abilities:

1st ability - Specialized munitions (25 Energy) 

Cartridge cycles between magazines of 3 types of bullets: Plasma, Radioactive, Venom. Grants 75% heat/radiation/toxin damage to your primary and secondary weapon with guaranteed status. Buff ends when you reload or deplete the magazine. 

2nd ability - Dexterity (50 Energy) 

Cartridge gains enhanced holster speed, reload speed, fire rate and projectile speed for his primary and secondary. 

3rd ability - Fallback plan (50 Energy) 

Cartridge drops a flashbang that blinds enemies, and gains movement speed and becomes invisible for a short time. 

4th ability - The Negotiator (25 Energy) 

Cartridge materialises his exalted sniper rifle. The Negotiator has infinite enemy punch-through, highlights enemies and their headshot hitboxes and its bullets ricochet off of surfaces up to 5 times. Consumes 25 energy per shot. 

Will update with concept art, when I come up with a satisfactory design. 

[AlphaPHENIX]

14 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

Cartridge starts missions with 100% more ammo.

Humm...question.
Is that like uh, temporary Max ammo increase, or do you have a 100% bigger ammo capacity for the entire mission?

Example: The Lenz has 6 shots total, if my math is correct, with Cartridge's passive you would have 12 at the start. After you start firing, would you be able to get back to 12, or just 6? Sorry, the way you worded it just confuses me a little.

22 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

1st ability - Specialized munitions (25 Energy) 

Cartridge cycles between magazines of 3 types of bullets: Plasma, Radioactive, Venom. Grants 75% heat/radiation/toxin damage to your primary and secondary weapon with guaranteed status. Buff ends when you reload or deplete the magazine. 

Cool

23 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

2nd ability - Dexterity (50 Energy) 

Cartridge gains enhanced holster speed, reload speed, fire rate and projectile speed for his primary and secondary. 

Alright

24 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

3rd ability - Fallback plan (50 Energy) 

Cartridge drops a flashbang that blinds enemies, and gains movement speed and becomes invisible for a short time. 

I would maybe raise the energy cost to 60 or the standard 75, unless the base duration is low.

Also - Would you throw this at your feet like with Ash's Smoke Screen or be able to aim where you throw it (like with throwable canisters, maybe)?

27 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

4th ability - The Negotiator (25 Energy) 

Cartridge materialises his exalted sniper rifle. The Negotiator has infinite enemy punch-through, highlights enemies and their headshot hitboxes and its bullets ricochet off of surfaces up to 5 times. Consumes 25 energy per shot. 

Been hoping for an exalted sniper or at least something more anti-material rifle like (I guess Kuva Chakurr fits that-ish), so I will just say yes to this.

May I suggest giving it infinite effective range too, so that it isn't affected by damage drop-off? Imagine counter-sniping someone invading you with Stalker mode from hundreds of meters on the Plains of Eidolon. Granted they are at a disatvange with only a Dread, but I would still feel better about it then the usual Stalker kills.

[Hierarch777]

Cartridge's passive is basically Ammo Drum for both primary and secondary. 

As for his 3, the duration on the invis, blind and movement boost would have ashort duration. I intended it to be an escape tool rather than an unholy abomination of Loki's and Excal's 2. The flashbang would be dropped at his feet. 

And yes, no drop-off for Negotiator's bullets. 

[AlphaPHENIX]

6 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

As for his 3, the duration on the invis, blind and movement boost would have ashort duration. I intended it to be an escape tool rather than an unholy abomination of Loki's and Excal's 2. The flashbang would be dropped at his feet. 

Phew, alright cause that would be a borderline 4th ability and get nerfed fast.

[(PSN)Wil_Shatner_face]

I actually like most of what you have here which is pretty rare for a forum posted fan concept. Good stuff.

But I hate the name. It just doesn’t sound like the name of a badass weapons focused Warframe.

[Hierarch777]

Eh, still deciding on a name. Cartridge is a placeholder for now. 

[AlphaPHENIX]

2 minutes ago, (PS4)Wil_Shatner_face said:

But I hate the name. It just doesn’t sound like the name of a badass weapons focused Warframe.

I mean, on the nose names aren't exactly new to Warframe. 
cough Strangledome: It strangles things and is in the shape of a dome cough

Gara: Glass, but in another language.
Mag: Short for Magnetic.
Bolto: It fires bolts, semi-automatically
Boltor: It fires bolts, but fully-automatic so we put an r on the end (To be fair, Warhammer 40K is guilty of this too and probably where DE got it from)

Naming stuff really isn't complicated unless you try to make it complicated.
Cartidge is a good enough placeholder. Strangledome was a placeholder but then nobody thought of anything better so it got in the game.
I mean it could have been worse, could have been simply Bullet. Cartidge takes at least slightly more effort think of.

[Jhura]

Honestly, the concept is good and the abilities make sense with one another and compliment each other. So yeah, I would play this frame if it came out. I like the idea of more diverse exalted weapons.

[MasterBurik]

58 minutes ago, Hierarch777 said:

Stats:

Health: 115

Shields: 75

Energy: 150

Armor: 225

Sprint speed: 1.25

Base stats? If so, Rank 30 stats would presumably be:

• Health: 345 (Assuming usual 200% increase)
• Shields: 225 (Assuming usual 200% increase)
• Energy: 225 (Assuming usual 50% increase)
• Armor: 225 (Assuming usual 0% increase)
• Sprint Speed: 1.25 (Assuming usual 0% increase)

Sounds alright, although it has a bit higher "overall average" value compared to most Warframes.

Quote

1st ability - Specialized munitions (25 Energy) 

Cartridge cycles between magazines of 3 types of bullets: Plasma, Radioactive, Venom. Grants 75% heat/radiation/toxin damage to your primary and secondary weapon with guaranteed status. Buff ends when you reload or deplete the magazine. 

When compared to similar abilities, a 75% base damage boost seems high for a 25 energy ability with so much built-in versatility.

Quote

Passive: Cartridge starts missions with 100% more ammo.

 

2nd ability - Dexterity (50 Energy) 

Cartridge gains enhanced holster speed, reload speed, fire rate and projectile speed for his primary and secondary. 

I'm liking the concept of Cartridge being a type of "gun platform", that actively rails against the limitations of the mod system. 😉

Quote

3rd ability - Fallback plan (50 Energy) 

Cartridge drops a flashbang that blinds enemies, and gains movement speed and becomes invisible for a short time. 

I know you planned this ability as more of a survivability tool, but I would still build a "finisher weapon" to also utilize it as a specialist-killing tool.

Quote

4th ability - The Negotiator (25 Energy) 

Cartridge materialises his exalted sniper rifle. The Negotiator has infinite enemy punch-through, highlights enemies and their headshot hitboxes and its bullets ricochet off of surfaces up to 5 times. Consumes 25 energy per shot. 

I was kinda disappointed it wasn't a lever-action rifle, as I felt it would fit the placeholder name of Cartridge better...but w/e.

With Sharpshooter, you could actually refund its cost and still get extra energy on headshot kills if you had decent ability efficiency. Or if you wanted to cut into efficiency for strength, Sharpshooter could offset some of the increased cost.

 

This is a Warframe with a lot of potential to spice up modding for itself and any weapon it equips. I love that.

[(PSN)robotwars7]

- the name isn't too bad, but it should be something more exotic IMO. I would call it either "Coriolis" (an important mathematical factor in Sniping, to account for the Earth's rotation), or "Jezail", which is a type of black powder rifle that was used in Afghanistan, India and other middle eastern/Asian countries, and is known for it's unique appearance; here's an example of one:

Spoiler

 

- 1st ability isn't too bad, but I feel that if you make them just deal different elements, there will be a Meta. perhaps an alternative could be to have AoE/precision punchtrough/homing bullets as the choices? somethign for crowds, something for precision, and something that allows you to attack around corners without exposing yourself.

- 2nd ability is good, something to help bring guns up to par with Melee, even if it does require energy.

-3rd ability is basically Smoke Screen lol. I know some people are bored of Damage Reduction powers, but at this point it's expected of new frames, and Invis doesn't help vs AoE. to make it a little different though, the power could stop enemy rounds in front of you, hold them, and then you cast again to fire them back at the enemy who sent it. it would be sort of like a mix of Grasp of Lohk and Mesmer Skin.

- 4th ability is meh. kinda over exalted weapons, but a Sniper, if doen right, could be interesting. I don't want some tiny-a$$ rifle though, I want at LEAST a 50. cal, or better yet, an anti-tank gun (yes I know that's not a sniper, but this is meant to be an exalted weapon, right? size matters here!). it needs to do Arquebex levels of damage, have infinite punchthrough and negate armor. yes, not reduce, tear right through armor. bonus points for the sound to be LOUD. (like, Kuva Bramma pre-nerf loud) and style points if you have to unfold a Bipod and shoot from Prone; I know that goes against our ninja thing, but IMO being stationary justifies the insane damage - just like with Guard Mode - and you won't be as likely to get hit in the Prone position

TL;DR/ How I would do a Sniper Frame:

- Named Coriolis or Jezail

- 1st ability cycle between AoE/Puncthrough/Ricochet enhanced shots

- 2nd ability, same as OP

- 3rd ability, stop bullets matrix style then fire them back at enemies.

-4th ability forces you to go prone and bring out a massive rifle that can kill just about anything less than an Eidolon with one well placed shot.

for visuals, maybe a warframe take on the Ghillie suit? idk, I'm not an artist. and if you read the whole post, thank you very much, I just got excited about this!

 

[(XBOX)bigsnake84]

I'm really liking this idea. Sounds like a solid frame that would make any guns feel great to use. This would be extra good since melee weapons outperform guns often. Cartridge could flip that around. Great idea here!

However, the most important thing to ensure about this frame... that Exalted Sniper better have the most satisfying punch to its sound. Like REALLY satisfying. It needs to be ASMR levels, but for loud bangs.

[3rdpig]

As a gun guy I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the idea. I like it just as much as I like the idea of DE buffing Primary weapons so they'd be more...well, primary.

[AlphaPHENIX]

58 minutes ago, (PS4)robotwars7 said:

-3rd ability is basically Smoke Screen lol. I know some people are bored of Damage Reduction powers, but at this point it's expected of new frames, and Invis doesn't help vs AoE. to make it a little different though, the power could stop enemy rounds in front of you, hold them, and then you cast again to fire them back at the enemy who sent it.

Um, Mag just kind of recently got that as an add-on to Bullet Atractor...sorry I still have the habit of calling Magnetize by it's old name.

1 hour ago, (PS4)robotwars7 said:

- 4th ability is meh. kinda over exalted weapons, but a Sniper, if doen right, could be interesting. I don't want some tiny-a$$ rifle though, I want at LEAST a 50. cal, or better yet, an anti-tank gun (yes I know that's not a sniper, but this is meant to be an exalted weapon, right? size matters here!). it needs to do Arquebex levels of damage, have infinite punchthrough and negate armor. yes, not reduce, tear right through armor. bonus points for the sound to be LOUD. (like, Kuva Bramma pre-nerf loud) and style points if you have to unfold a Bipod and shoot from Prone; I know that goes against our ninja thing, but IMO being stationary justifies the insane damage - just like with Guard Mode - and you won't be as likely to get hit in the Prone position

I would say we could have a way for both the prone version and mobile version to be available so players can choose which one they want. There are points to be made for a sniper playstyle that repositions after every shot and camping is also a legitamate strategy. 
Unpreferably with an augment mod or you know, Tap/Hold function.

[PancakeLord333]

2 hours ago, AlphaPHENIX said:

lright

3 hours ago, Hierarch777 said:

3rd ability - Fallback plan (50 Energy) 

Cartridge drops a flashbang that blinds enemies, and gains movement speed and becomes invisible for a short time. 

I like the other abilities... but not this one. This kind of feels like Ash smokescreen 2 electric boogaloo.

If he's a rifleman he should probably have the ability to entrench or fortify a position. Maybe drop a turret (Protea) drop a sentry/support drone (octavia balls/Vauban balls) 

maybe ... drop up to 3 blunts [the Grineer sandbags] that block damage & bypass your magazine to pull from ammo reserves first when firing whilst standing by them. So if you have 100/500 rounds, fire off 50 near the blunt, you'll have 100/450 rounds left (only at 100/0 will the gun burn through it's ammo then).

Or go full gunzerker and let Cartridge conjure up a spectral copy of any gun they have equipped in their off hand (they'd just be held like handguns) so you can akimbo anything - ak-supras, for example, reloads would just be a fudged hand-jiggle animation. With the shadow gun lasting X seconds and dealing Y/100% damage (scaling with power strength, or something).

I feel like starting with spare ammo is going to be pretty limited as a passive, for most guns you have to try pretty hard to run out - and for the ones that run out, you run ammo mutation, or you'll still run out fast. Not sure what might be a better alternative though... maybe inherent ammo efficiency(applying to archguns too?) or can fire sidearms whilst reviving allies/fire primaries(or archguns - had this as a glitch once so i know its technically possible lol) whilst downed? Or completely ripoff borderlands - fire a gun whilst downed and if X headshots are made, gets back up again.

[elmetnuter]

I like it a lot. Especially the exalted Sniper rifle.

[AlphaPHENIX]

4 minutes ago, PancakeLord333 said:

I like the other abilities... but not this one. This kind of feels like Ash smokescreen 2 electric boogaloo.

Not that Ash's Smokescreen is bad...

5 minutes ago, PancakeLord333 said:

akimbo anything - ak-supras

You are making me want to AkShedu though...
or AkPyrana Prime...then proc it's passive, get AkAkPyrana Prime...YES

Oh and the blunts are neat.

[PancakeLord333]

2 minutes ago, AlphaPHENIX said:

You are making me want to AkShedu though...

I just want AkAtomos for my bomberman cosplay lol

 

[Proscriptor]

i like the idea overall, this is my feedback:

i think his passive should be more interesting; how about "no recoil while crouching"

i think it's 1st ability too similar to existing bonus elemental damage abilities; perhaps this frame should have bonus physical damage

• +120% puncture, +2m punch through 
• +120% slash, +20% bleed proc on critical hit (additive to Hunter Munitions)
• +120% impact, +30% headshot multiplier (additive to Target Acquired)

[HalcyonProxima]

This frame is just solid around the board, though I do agree with maybe changing the 1 to physical damage increase with a side bonus to each type, and with having the 3 spawn a blunt that allows you to draw from your magazine. That would synergize really well with his 1, especially preventing energy guzzling on weapons with a small magazine size like the Hek. Maybe the blunt could also grant damage reduction, like 25-50% to make up for the fact that you'd have to remain stationary to use it.

[Anaktoria]

4 hours ago, (PS4)Wil_Shatner_face said:

I actually like most of what you have here which is pretty rare for a forum posted fan concept. Good stuff.

But I hate the name. It just doesn’t sound like the name of a badass weapons focused Warframe.

Second all of this - maybe Bellona, Roman goddess of war? Maxim, after the first machine gun? Actaeon, the hunter in Greek mythology? He could be Ivara's fallen comrade, now resurrected. Maybe Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron and patron deity of hunters?

[Hierarch777]

Thanks for the feedback. Will work on a second iteration. 

Stay safe, Tenno. 

[Firedtm]

19 hours ago, Hierarch777 said:

Passive: Cartridge starts missions with 100% more ammo.

Getting ammo most of the time is never really a issue, on less it is something like using Baza Prime with a max strength Wisp buffs.
The point being is most weapons never have ammo issues, now if this was a passive that gives 100% more magazine/clip size, that would fit in with your concept and make more senses.

[(PSN)ForNoPurpose]

https://forums.warframe.com/forum/89-fan-concepts/

a new exaulted ranged weapon would be nice imo. Snipers are underused in this game tho, depending on how good or bad it is people might treat it like Wukongs staff.

[Arcarlo]

infinite punchtrough seems a little too op, maybe give the passive some punchtrough for weapons and exalted sniper?

[Circle_of_Psi]

Cycle powers are a big pass for me