An Idea for Augments!

[Kalthea]

So, one of the biggest complaints in the game right now is mod real-estate on builds. Another is the lack of Warframe usage for "weaker" frames. And the last I can think of is reasons to do old content. I was just randomly pondering yesterday when an idea dawned on me! You can free up mod slots, add a boost to "weaker" frames, and give players a reason to return to old content with one change to the augment system.

Make augments permanent unlocks.

Now, you may read that and say "Kal, what the heck is wrong with you? That's dumb!" but hear me out!

If we take Nova as an example, and look at her Antimatter Drop and its augment, you can say that it's not really a massive upgrade for her. It's a nice boost in usability, but it's not exactly a game changer unless you really need to block incoming damage. Often times, you'll see Nova builds completely bypass this ability, and go for more duration and sustainability on her Null Star to maintain the DR. Now, instead of just completely ignoring the fact that the augment exists, why not pose a challenge to the players to unlock it as a permanent addition to Antimatter Drop? You could use the systems that are already in place for Nightwave and Rivens to give players challenges to complete in order to unlock these ability buffs. They'd have to performed per-frame and per-ability, meaning you would have a reason to play different frames and go to different missions.

Let's continue to use Antimatter Drop as our example. Let's say you're a new Nova player, and you just reached level 30 on the frame. You now have access to all of your abilities! But leveling your frame doesn't end there. You're now given the chance to boost your power even further by killing 10,000 (just as an example) with your Antimatter Drop. You can't kill them while it's out, you can't kill them with a gun. It has to be using Antimatter Drop. And after those 10,000 kills, your Antimatter Drop grants a permanent boost to your frame's kit by allowing you to now absorb enemy attacks, thus providing you a bit of extra defense and offense!

This system would also work very well with the new Helminth system as well. You slap on Mag's Pull to another frame, and then you need to CC around 5,000 enemies with it, and bam, you now have Greedy Pull unlocked on that frame! But removing the ability would mean you have to start that over again, so you would have to make sure that it's the ability you want to use for that build, or you'll have to start over again later on with either a new ability, or Pull if you put that back on.

What do you think? I honestly like the idea. I think it's good for both new and old players alike, providing a reason to play different frames, and giving some frames a much needed boost to their usage. One that I really want to have permanent access to is Equinox's Energy Transfer. It changes the dynamic of the frame so much that it would allow for a wonderful gameplay change, smoothing out her usage and abilities without hindering the player's progress on her ultimate.

[KitMeHarder]

Works for me, but it seems like another thing DE will struggle to keep updated. But a couple things...

• Have a way to disable them, as augments like Irradiated Disarm and Iron Clad Flight aren't always good.
• And for helminth, once you've mastered the ability on the original frame, all frames have the mastered variant. And to balance it out have the subsumed abilities be unable to master said ability.
  • Helminth is already more constricting than it should be. I shouldn't have another reason to feel punished for trying new abilities.

[Kalthea]

I can understand that, I guess. And yeah, don't always want Concentrated Arrow on Ivara either.

As for Helminth, it's meant to be end-game. I don't really mind either way, I just want a reason to play frames.