Is Warframe a horde-shooter?

[(PSN)drollive96]

On 2021-06-15 at 8:19 PM, (NSW)Greybones said:

Or does the idea come from players equipped to delete enemies fast, therefore facilitating rapid respawns?

I don’t play Warframe as a demigod, and my experience in solo missions has mostly been a maximum of about 12ish enemies at any one time (I’d have to do some testing to confirm). In my situation, mission failure is a very likely outcome, as those enemies stay alive and can put pressure on the player (me), and if possible I’d try to keep those numbers from happening. Considering them a horde doesn’t cross my mind, since I don’t have one-size-fits-all equipment, so I tend to have to deal with each individual in different ways.

I feel like whenever I hear that Warframe is a horde-shooter, it comes from players who blend enemies with their power. Is this a correct interpretation of what I’m hearing?

Next you will ask if Coca-Cola is actually a soda

[Aldain]

After this coming update it's gonna feel like a "Horde shows up and dies from nothing" game if those mods/arcanes go through.

[(NSW)Greybones]

7 hours ago, Leiferra said:

An interesting discussion.

I tend to see Warframe as a sandbox. It's clear that this is a game stuffed with all kinds of various things which are barely compatible but provide a wide array of player experience.

You want to fly through a level with enemies exploding in your wake? Can do. You want slow stealth play? Can do. You want to shoot? full auto? shotguns? sniper rifles? Can do. You want to personally punch enemies in the face? Can do. You want to solve laser puzzles? Can do. Want to fly and shoot things in space? Can do. Want to pilot a ship and shoot things in space? Can do.

That's a big strength of Warframe because high-efficiency play degenerates into farming pretty quickly and farming is no fun.

Everyone insisting that lots of power to clear levels fast is the only "right" way to play Warframe misses the path/destination distinction. If you're playing the game merely to get to the next carrot higher-stat thingy, well, your choice, but you're stuck in hamster wheel. On the other hand, if you're playing the game for the pleasure you get in going through things, even though it's "inefficient" from the farming perspective, I think you'll end up with more enjoyment.

Yus. The “Warframe as a sandbox” approach has been where I’ve come from as well, which is why I’ve sometimes been confused by claims that seemed like “Warframe can only be played this example way”. Admittedly, I tend to think of it from a single-player perspective, and claims tend to not specify whether it’s multiplayer or single player. Multiplayer may be understandably limited to a certain set of good-faith rules, but single-player or playing with friends I feel is a lot more sandboxy

This topic is getting some good answers on where people get the term “Horde-shooter” from, though 👍. I’m learning their perspective as yet another approach to Warframe.