Warframe: Prime Revisited Concept

[di0n08O8]

Hello Tenno!

Recently, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what I’d like to see added or changed in Warframe after a hypothetical two or three year long break. For me, it mostly boiled down to wanting improvements to existing systems in the game, but Prime gear in particular is very important to me, which is why I’m writing this post.

When a new Prime is released, it’s almost quietly. The model might get shown off a bit during a Dev Stream and there might be a short trailer on YouTube to show what’s new, but that’s it.

DE doesn’t really make a spectacle out of a Prime Access anymore, which I think is a shame. New Primes used to get a Prime Trailer, but they aren’t worth the effort it seemingly takes to make them.

In-game, it’s equally underwhelming. A link to the Prime Access page shows up on the News terminal and in the Market, some Relics get swapped out in the drop tables, and if we’re lucky we get a Leverian entry that shows off the non-Prime version of the Warframe.

There’s also the issue of grind. When a new Prime is released, its Relics replace those of another Prime in the drop tables. This means that you do the exact same grind for every Prime Warframe, which gets very tedious and boring and takes away from their uniqueness.

With this post I hope to solve or at least reduce these issues in hopes of making Primes a bit more special to get. On top of that, it will also provide DE with the opportunity to tell short stories on a somewhat consistent schedule.

 

Prime Revisited

Memory Orbs

For this system to work, an important change will have to be made: Prime Warframe Component and Main Blueprints are no longer obtainable through Void Relics. Instead, they will become obtainable through Memory Orbs.

So, what is a Memory Orb? These mysterious Orbs allow the player to relive an important mission of another Operator using a Prime Warframe. Each Prime Warframe will have it’s own Memory Orb (E.g. Inaros Prime Memory Orb, Nezha Prime Memory Orb, etc.). When you relive one of these missions, you use the same equipment as that Operator. So, you’ll use the Prime Warframe, their Prime weapons, and their Accessories. This way players can see the full Prime Access in action in an actual mission. The mission itself is around 15 minutes long and will have the player complete objectives based on the Warframe’s strengths. The player will also receive specific Component Blueprints at certain points in the mission, and the Main Blueprint at the end, essentially guaranteeing the full set upon completing the mission. This removes a layer of RNG compared to Relics, which is needed since players have to do these missions alone.

Memory Fragments and Tower Heist

Of course, giving Memory Orbs as mission rewards will make Primes way too easy to get. That’s why players will have to make the Memory Orbs from Memory Fragments.

These Fragments can be awarded in place of a Relic, but I would like them to be exclusive to a new game mode like Triburos’ Tower Heist concept. Memory Fragments would be obtainable as a drop from containers in the Tower, similar to Ayatan Stars, and through whatever drop rotations this game mode would have. Leftover Memory Fragments could also be exchanged for Relics from the same Prime Access or Riven Slivers at a vendor (E.g. Nezha Prime Memory Fragments --> Lith P5 Relic).

Having this game mode take place in the Tower of the Unum on Cetus specifically wouldn’t lock new players out of getting Memory Fragments, while more experienced players are rewarded for their progress by being able to get further in the Tower which allows them to get Fragments faster. In my opinion, farming the Tower Heist every time a new Prime Access is released would get much less repetitive than Relics due to the nature of the game mode.

Example Scenario

I’ve tried to write a somewhat interesting outline for one of these Memory Missions as an example of what getting a prime could look like. Of course, if this was created by an actual game designer and a writer it would probably be a lot more natural and creative than what I’ve come up with.

The player has farmed the Tower Heist for a while. They’ve finally got enough Nova Prime Memory Fragments to turn them into a Memory Orb.

After the Foundry has finished constructing the Orb, they player sets course for the Necralisk. They head over to Father. He’ll help you extract the necessary data from the Orb to make your very own Nova Prime. Your Operator sits down in the chair that is attached to Father’s machine. He places your Orb into an opening in the machine and turns it on. Your Operator experiences the memory contained within the Orb. (Potential way to use Memory Orbs)

A Nova Prime and Ivara Prime fall through a hole in the ceiling into a dark room. This asteroid base has been long abandoned by any Orokin researchers that worked here. What kind of data you’ve been sent you to retrieve is anyone’s guess, but it’s probably important. Why else would they send two Warframes to a research base overrun with Infestation when Sentients are trying to break through Lua’s defenses at this very moment? (Introduction to mission)

The moment the two Warframes step out into the corridor they hear a gurgled scream. A small group of Infested creatures at the end of the hallway has seen them. It seems the Grineer workforce wasn’t allowed to evacuate. Nova quickly silences them with her Vasto Prime, but her weapon fire only draws the attention of more Infested.

While slaughtering Infested, the Operators make a plan. Nova will head to the base’s reactor to restore power to the necessary systems while Ivara will silently move towards the terminal where the required data needs to be extracted. (Short Survival or Exterminate)

Ivara turns invisible and disappears from the player’s view, but Ivara’s Operator gives updates on their progress and participates in back-and-forth dialogue between the Operators. (Removes the need for an AI companion in the mission, but keeps the interaction between characters)

Nova also moves towards her objective. She makes her way through a few hallways while killing Infested when an explosion collapses the corridor ahead of her. The other side of the hallway is still visible through holes the rubble and dialogue between the Operators hints at the player using Worm Hole to move through the gap. (Showcases an ability, Neuroptics BP awarded)

After killing her way through a few more hallways, Nova reaches a large room with the reactor in the center. She turns it on, knowing the large machine will be noisy and will draw even more Infested to her.

Nova needs to protect the reactor while Ivara extracts the data they’ve been sent to get. Infested enter the room from all sides and Nova will have to use all of her weapons and abilities to keep herself and the reactor alive. (Mobile Defense with lots of enemy spawns, show off all weapons and abilities)

After a period of time, Ivara’s Operator declares that they have the necessary data and that they’ve closed all but one access to Nova’s room. Nova clears the remaining Infested around the reactor and heads for the agreed extraction zone. (Chassis BP awarded)

On the way there, Nova has to kill more Infested and passes through a lab where she has to seek and destroy a few Infested Tumors to get rid of an Infested Hive that blocks a door on her route. While doing this, a Juggernaut appears as a mini-boss. (Mini-boss to show off relative tanky-ness, player can choose to fight or run, Systems BP awared upon Hive destruction)

Nova and Ivara rejoin at the extraction site, have some dialogue about their mission, and leave. (Main BP awarded, mission ends)

The player’s Operator wakes up in the chair, has a few lines of dialogue about the mission with Father and leaves.

 

Notes

A mission like this would likely have no revives and would feature unmodded equipment. This wouldn’t be an issue though, since each memory mission can have their enemy spawns and levels tweaked separately to achieve the desired difficulty.

The in-universe explanation for the player getting parts at specific points could be that Father is scanning the Warframe while the player’s Operator is ‘reliving’ the mission.

A story like this is relatively self-contained and unimportant, but it could be incorporated into something bigger in the future if DE would want to. These missions allows us to see Operators other than our own, which would make them more 'real' as a faction in the game's universe. They would also be the first voiced non-player Tenno, after Rell.

As a Quality of Life feature, these missions would be replayable through the Prime Warframe’s Codex entry once the player has obtained them, so players that acquired them through Prime Access or Prime Vault can also play them.

 

So, that’s my concept! Thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts and opinions so I can potentially post a more refined version of this concept in the future.

[(PSN)phelan_1988]

I like a lot of this idea honestly, except for the part about unmodded equipment. I didn't enjoy that at all when they did it for Grendel and I absolutely don't wanna see it done more. I do understand how difficult it is to make things hard on someone with maxed out mods and formaed equipment, but unmodded missions always feel less 'difficult' than they are cheesy. The closest I think one has been to fun was when you get Umbra, but even then he wasn't totally unmodded. Otherwise I think this would be very cool and a lot more interesting than just running relics. I liked the relic system a lot in 2016 but after doing it these last four years, I kind of dread having to farm relics back up again so it would be great to change up how primes are acquired again.

 

 

[di0n08O8]

@(PSN)phelan1988 The reasoning behind this is that players don't get to customize the loadouts they'll use for this mission to show how the Warframe and the weapons function at the most basic level. It also allows DE to really customize each mission's difficulty, since everyone uses the exact same thing.

Maybe the player can make a build at the start of the mission with 15-ish predetermined mods for each item. This way players can still customize the Warframe while also giving everyone the same options so it's not unfair to newer players and to keep the objective power of each player relatively similar.

I don't think allowing players to bring their own mods is a good idea, because if you're doing a mission for, say, Mesa or Ember Prime people can just bring a build that deals a lot of damage and is very efficient with energy. There's no way to make a mission difficult for people who do bring a build like that and for people who don't. I'd rather have players choose whether or not they want to use Blind Rage or Transient Fortitude for this mission or whether they'd rather have Heavy Caliber or Fever Strike and a lv 5 Speed Trigger.

The builds don't have to be optimal since the enemies in these missions will probably be around lv 40 in most cases. If players would get some customizability in these missions I think forcing them to make tough choices is the best approach.

[MacIntoc]

Wonderful idea, even for the unmodified mission. You don't have to do a mission against level 40 mobs like with Grendel.

The only thing a bit strange is that you can try the Prime Access at the end of the quest, after the farm, just before getting the prime warframe/weapons. It would seem more logical to try the bundle during the introduction of the quest and before the farm.