The New Player Experience Dev Workshop!

[[DE]Zach]

Hey Tenno!

Our next major Update is on the horizon (hello ‘The New War’), but before we release it we want to put effort into improving the early game experience. We’ve set our sights at how new players navigate through the game and have identified a few ways to change up and improve flow. This dev workshop aims to change some progression moments in hopes of a less intimidating New Player Experience, or at the very least a little more guidance on what to do next! 

The majority of these improvements are oriented towards resource demands. We want to have players spending less time ‘grinding’ on certain gear and more time progressing through the game. You can expect various optimizations to progression in areas where the most resource demands can be found! We understand that the majority of players have long-passed these progression points (ourselves included), we think a refresh is long overdue given the sheer amount of items in Warframe these days. Some old Recipe costs just don’t reflect the accretion that’s occurred for resource demands especially when it comes to key progression items. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• The Tenno Guide
• Heat Sword Crafting Requirements
• Reduced Crafting Times for the Rising Tide Quest
• Amp Recipe Reductions
• Reduced Costs for Refined Ore/Gem Blueprints in the Plains of Eidolon and Orb Vallis
• Necramech Acquisition Changes
• Kubrow Quest Changes

The Tenno Guide has arrived!

Introducing the ‘TENNO GUIDE”! 

The ‘Tenno Guide’ adds a new UI notification when inside the Orbiter! A lot of new players have felt lost once they finish Vor’s Prize, and this persistent reminder will guide new Tenno to their next steps. This new feature will be auto-enabled on login, but can be disabled at any time in the menus under Options > Interface > Show Tenno Guide! 

We hope this change makes the biggest impact to a new player in Warframe. There is a lot to know about our game, and the Tenno Guide will help new Tenno focus on what matters at that point and time in their journey!

Heat Sword Crafting Requirements

We are changing the crafting requirement for the Heat Sword to require a Neurode rather than Neural Sensor. Originally, this was meant to incentivize players to explore new nodes, but is outdated in the current state of the game! This change is smaller than most, but meaningful to new players looking to upgrade their melee early on.

Reduced Crafting Times for the Rising Tide Quest

In March 2021, we made Railjack more accessible by reducing the crafting resources and the time it took to build your Railjack. Soon, we will be reducing the crafting times again from 1 hour to 1 minute per part. As Railjack becomes a larger requirement, we hope this change will allow new players to swiftly complete Rising Tide, and prepare their Railjack for future fights!

Amp Recipe Reductions

This change is two fold: reduced crafting costs for Amp parts, and reduced standing cost for purchasing parts. Our goal here is to make constructing an Amp more appealing to newer players by optimizing progression. This is rooted firmly in the role upgrading your Amp plays in performing well in main quests like The Sacrifice as well as engaging in Focus Tree related content. Here are the changes below:

OSTRON PRISMS

• Raplak
  • Standing cost reduced from 2,000 to 1,000
  • Iradite cost reduced from 60 to 40
  • Murkray Liver cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Tear Azurite and Esher Devar cost reduced from 30 to 10
• Shwaak
  • Standing cost reduced from 5,000 to 1,500
  • Iradite cost reduced from 80 to 40
  • Norg Brain cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Esher Devar cost reduced from 30 to 15
  • Marquise Veridos cost reduced from 20 to 10
• Granmu
  • Standing cost reduced from 7,500 to 2,000
  • Cuthol Tendrils cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Breath of the Eidolon cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Marquise Veridos cost reduced from 20 to 10
  • Star Crimzian cost reduced from 10 to 6
• Rahn
  • Standing cost reduced from 10,000 to 2,500
  • Iradite cost reduced from 60 to 50
  • Seram Beetle Shell cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Tear Azurite cost reduced from 30 to 20
  • Esher Devar cost reduced from 30 to 15

OSTRON SCAFFOLDS

• Pencha
  • Standing cost reduced from 2,000 to 1,000
  • Grokdrul cost reduced from 60 to 40
  • Murkray Liver cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Cetus Wisp cost reduced from 10 to 3
  • Pyrotic Alloy cost reduced from 85 to 60
• Shraksun
  • Standing cost reduced from 5,000 to 1,500
  • Grokdrul cost reduced from 80 to 60
  • Norg Brain cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Cetus Wisp cost reduced from 15 to 4
  • Coprite Alloy cost reduced from 85 to 60
• Klebrik
  • Standing cost reduced from 7,500 to 2,000
  • Mukray Liver cost reduced from 3 to 2
    • Cetus Wisp cost reduced from 20 to 5
  • Breath of the Eidolon cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Fersteel Alloy cost reduced from 50 to 40
• Phahd
  • Standing cost reduced from 10,000 to 2,500
  • Grokdrul cost reduced from 60 to 40
  • Seram Beetle Shell cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Fersteel Alloy cost reduced from 85 to 60
  • Heart Nyth cost reduced from 2 to 1

OSTRON BRACES

• Clapkra
  • Standing cost reduced from 2,000 to 1,000
  • Morphics cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Fish Oil cost reduced from 35 to 20
  • Murkray Liver cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Cetus Wisp cost reduced from 10 to 3
• Juttni
  • Standing cost reduced from 5,000 to 1,500
  • Neurodes cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Fish Oil cost reduced from 35 to 20
  • Norg Brain cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Cetus Wisp cost reduced from 15 to 4
• Lohrin
  • Standing cost reduced from 7,500 to 2,000
  • Fish Oil cost reduced from 35 to 20
  • Cuthol Tendrils cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Cetus Wisp cost reduced from 20 to 5
  • Breath of The Eidolon cost reduced from 5 to 3
• Anspatha
  • Standing cost reduced from 10,000 to 2,500
  • Morphics cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Fish Oil cost reduced from 35 to 20
  • Seram Beetle Shell cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Radian Sentrium cost reduced from 2 to 1

SOLARIS PRISMS

• Cantic
  • Vega Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Longwinder Lathe Coagulant cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Gyromag Systems & Radiant Zodian cost reduced from 5 to 3
• Lega
  • Vega Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Charamote Sagan Module cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Gyromag Systems & Radiant Zodian cost reduced from 5 to 3
• Klamora
  • Vega Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Tromyzon Entroplasma cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Gyromag Systems & Radiant Zodian cost reduced from 5 to 3

SOLARIS SCAFFOLDS

• Exard
  • Calda Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Longwinder Lathe Coagulant cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Atmo Systems cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Hespazym Alloy cost reduced from 50 to 30
• Dissic
  • Calda Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Charamote Sagan Module cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Atmo Systems cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Hespazym Alloy cost reduced from 50 to 30
• Propa
  • Calda Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Tromyzon Entroplasma cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Atmo Systems cost reduced from 3 to 2
  • Hespazym Alloy cost reduced from 50 to 30

SOLARIS BRACES

• Suo
  • Sola Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Longwinder Lathe Coagulant cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Marquise Thyst cost reduced from 5 to 3
• Plaga
  • Sola Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Charamote Sagan Module cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Marquise Thyst cost reduced from 5 to 3
• Certus
  • Sola Toroid cost reduced from 5 to 3
  • Tromyzon Entroplasma cost reduced from 10 to 6
  • Marquise Thyst cost reduced from 5 to 3

Any crafting component not noted is keeping its current cost.

Reduced Costs for Refined Ore/Gem Blueprints in the Plains of Eidolon

To accompany our changes to Amp crafting, the standing costs of blueprints for refined Ores and Gems from the Plains of Eidolon have been adjusted. Here are the new costs:

OSTRON

• Pyrotic Alloy and Tear Azurite (From 1,000 standing to 500)
• Esher Devar and Coprite Alloy (From 5,000 standing to 2,500)
• Marquise Veridos and Fersteel Alloy (From 10,000 standing to 5,000)
• Star Crimzian and Auroxium Alloy (From 15,000 standing to 7,000)
• Radian Sentirum and Heart Nyth (From 20,000 standing to 10,000)

Necramech Acquisition Changes

Necramechs have started to play a vital role within the System - from being part of the Railjack experience, to a great tool in our Open Worlds. While their firepower provides an advantage, the time and resource investment required to obtain one has shown to be a deterrent to newer players. As The New War approaches, we aim to alleviate that initial friction and provide an easier path of obtainment.

Enemy Necramechs now have a 50% chance to drop a Necramech part across the board, evenly distributed. The battle required for a newer player to defeat an enemy Necramech is neither easy nor quick. This increased chance of getting a Necramech part helps to reduce the time investment  needed in order to gather the mandatory parts to build your first Necramech. 

Additionally, we’ve halved most of the Mining/Fishing part costs for crafting the Voidrig as this is the ‘first’ Necramech players see in the Heart of Deimos quest, so we want to make acquiring it a little easier. Bonewidow has been left as is as a longer-term goal. The changes are:

VOIDRIG CASING:

• Adramal Alloy cost reduced from 120 to 60.
• Stellated Necrathene cost reduced from 16 to 8
• Venerdo Alloy cost reduced from 40 to 20.

VOIDRIG ENGINE:

• Tempered Bapholite cost reduced from 100 to 50.
• Biotic Filter cost reduced from 2 to 1.

VOIDRIG CAPSULE:

• Spinal Core Section cost reduced from 30 to 15.
• Marquise Veridos cost reduced from 20 to 10.

VOIDRIG WEAPON POD:

• Biotic Filter cost reduced from 6 to 3.
• Thaumic Distillate cost reduced from 80 to 40.
• Charc Electroplax cost reduced from 45 to 25.

Howl of The Kubrow Quest Changes

Next up are changes for the ‘Howl of the Kubrow’ Quest! For new players, we are changing the Kubrow Egg drop rate to be 100% from the first Kubrow Den. This change will only affect New Tenno playing the quest for the first time, and does not affect Kubrow Egg drop rates outside of the quest. We are also shortening the survival mission within the quest from 10 minutes to 5 minutes! 

Again, these changes are rooted in our goals to have new Tenno prepare for future battles without being hung up on outdated progression!

Additional New Player Experience Changes

• Removed Ceres to Jupiter Task of defeating a Prosecutor to reduce initial friction and get you along your way faster. Prosecutors could take a long time to spawn if you were unlucky.
• Increased the window of time where you can deal damage to the Vay Hek Propaganda Drone during his boss fight from 8 seconds to 10 seconds. Newer players who attempted the Vay Hek boss fight right when it was available to them found this phase more difficult than it really needed to be.
• Updated the “The New Strange” objective for Synthesis Targets to make it less confusing. It now reads “Sanctuary Target” as opposed to a specific enemy type which could come across confusing. 

Overall

You can expect to see all these changes in our November 11th Update on all Platforms! Our vision is to make it less intimidating for new players to play Warframe, and shorten that gap for new players to reach new content! We will be listening on ways to tweak what we are changing, so if you have any feedback that aligns with our vision then let us know below.

EDIT: Sentient Core Standing + Blueprint Changes (NEW since the initial Dev Workshop)

In addition to the already noted changes to Amps and Ore/Gems, we’ve included an increase to Sentient Core Standing return and also modified the Exceptional Sentient Core Conversion Blueprint. Those starting out on their Quills journey should find this allows them to progress through the Syndicate faster to reach the higher tier Offerings.

Increased Standing return from Sentient Cores:

• Intact Sentient Core Standing return from 100 to 250 
• Exceptional Sentient Core Standing return from 500 to 750 
• Flawless Sentient Core Standing return from 1200 to 1500 

Exceptional Sentient Core Conversion Blueprint Changes:

• Exceptional Sentient Core Conversion Blueprint now transforms 10 Intact Cores into 10 Exceptional Cores, as opposed to 2:2. 
• Duration to Craft and cost to Rush have been halved: down to 5 mins and 5 Platinum respectively. 

The Radian Sentirum and Heart Nyth values remain as 1 each!

Players who had an Exceptional Sentient Core Conversion Blueprint crafting will get a one-time gift of 10 Exceptional Cores in exchange for only spending 2 Intact Cores. Bank error in your favor!

[(XBOX)CaptainSeth5423]

Noice

[mahorych00]

Any chance to recompense the resources for older players? Necramech stuff and all. 

[Haenohalanodien]

Any compensations?

[TheZkiller9]

These are great steps in the right direction and are honestly way overdue. However, it would be great if players who have these items get some sort of compensation.

[librarycat]

Always good to see this. It's frustrating when I introduce friends to Warframe only to have them bounce off it for the stupidest reasons. If it was a gameplay issue that would be one thing, but quitting the game because it's being frustrating in places it really doesn't need to be is a huge shame.

[Captain_Rocket505]

I agree that there should be some type of compensation. These changes are pretty significant, but those who went through with these costs before, should be fairly compensated in some way. After all, we were the ones who pioneered the way for these changes, based on our feedback.

[(NSW)freedycurie]

Thank you very much. I hope new players will find the game easier to play now.

[Hiskus]

Don't need compensation for these changes. Don't listen to the greedy and lazy.

[Jalepino_Joe]

Im very glad to see these changes and hope that people wont be scared off quite as quickly anymore. I generally think vey hek is kind of a stupid fight, that isnt intuitive at all and needs a rework, but so do most bosses imo (jackal rework was fantastic btw). If your goal is to make progression more fluid and thats why youre removing the prosecutor requirement, please remove the specter crafting requirement from the europa junction or reduce the specter crafting time. Getting home from work/school, making it to jupiter and wanting to progress but then seeing even if you play for a while and complete all the nodes and other requirements, you still need to wait 8 hours to actually continue is dumb. Also, rhino needs to attention the heat sword is getting. He is obtained from mercury but you need plastids (which require saturn) to actually get him. Hes a very basic tank frame and very nice to have, his crafting should not be locked behind completing half the star chart.

[Shoumath]

Yeah, we definitely don't need compensation for silly stuff like this.

[Shoumath]

5 minutes ago, Jalepino_Joe said:

I generally think vey hek is kind of a stupid fight, that isnt intuitive at all and needs a rework

Yes. I was MR20 when I found out that Vay Hek has a silly "shoot when he's talking" mechanic, I always assumed the fight was just a "keep shooting and pray that he's vulnerable" since the game never mentioned anything about it.

[PhreedomPhart]

Can confirm, the New Strange was very confusing the first few times I tried it lol

[rokugaming]

1 hour ago, Meleter said:

Not expected changes but still quite nice ones. Hopefully, things such as properly introducing modding will be addressed soon enough!

ya i hope so too 

 

[DragoonStorm1]

This is amazing, please keep looking into these!
Please also lower resource costs for stuff across the board, not just heat sword hahaha
I'm MR30 and resources mean nothing to me, but to a new player, just 500 oxium, or 9000 cryotic means a lot of time spent repeating boring content that they cannot comprehend the value of.
So please consider it.

[AGS37]

about compensation: I'm MR-1-L and I don't really need it, BUT i actively helped a friend last month and I realized how awful it is to receive these resources. Please compensate the players who have already spent time on this.

[LillyRaccune]

It is nice to see these changes in a general sense. The Amp changes are much appreciated! Will veteran players be refunded resouces or gifted something as compensation for being pioneers (and expensive resource costs)?

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Reduced Crafting Times for the Rising Tide Quest

I like this because it will take away from "pay to play" feeling that some players have expressed about wanting to jump right into railjack missions. Good decision.

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Amp Recipe Reductions

This change is two fold: reduced crafting costs for Amp parts, and reduced standing cost for purchasing parts. Our goal here is to make constructing an Amp more appealing to newer players by optimizing progression. This is rooted firmly in the role upgrading your Amp plays in performing well in main quests like The Sacrifice as well as engaging in Focus Tree related content.

This is fantastic. I have tried encouraging many players build amps and they would say "too hard-won't try". Perhaps you should have a Tenno-Guide/quest to teach new players how to earn standing with the Quills/LilDuck. I personally needed to be taxied through many eidolon hunts to get enough standing to build my first amp.

I'm glad you are reducing the costs! I have wanted to experiment with different amp builds, but the high costs have always made me a reluctant cheapskate.

Can us veterans please get a resource refund or gifts (preferably gifts) because of all the drastic price changes to the Amp economy?

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Enemy Necramechs now have a 50% chance to drop a Necramech part across the board, evenly distributed. The battle required for a newer player to defeat an enemy Necramech is neither easy nor quick. This increased chance of getting a Necramech part helps to reduce the time investment needed in order to gather the mandatory parts to build your first Necramech. 

Thank you. This is a QoL change that will help many experienced players too! I have been unable to get Damaged Necramech Weapon parts. It is very frustrating.

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Additionally, we’ve halved most of the Mining/Fishing part costs for crafting the Voidrig as this is the ‘first’ Necramech players see in the Heart of Deimos quest, so we want to make acquiring it a little easier. Bonewidow has been left as is as a longer-term goal.

So... about those resource refunds... any of those for players that had to struggle to make them the first time? You refunded players that were early adopters of railjack, I see this as a similar situation.

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Howl of The Kubrow Quest Changes

Next up are changes for the ‘Howl of the Kubrow’ Quest! For new players, we are changing the Kubrow Egg drop rate to be 100% from the first Kubrow Den. 

This a another good change. I never had a problem with it, but heard from players who struggled. Good decision.

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Again, these changes are rooted in our goals to have new Tenno prepare for future battles without being hung up on outdated progression!

I just want to point out that this quest is rich in lore and pretty important in the player building a connection with both The Lotus and another character (the new pet kubrow). I resent that you call this quest "outdated". 😿

On 2021-11-02 at 11:52 AM, [DE]Zach said:

Additional New Player Experience Changes

These are all good changes too! Great work!

[Phailberry]

I have been helping random tenno on Ares, Mars for years with The New Strange quest. I'm happy to finally see the synthesis target getting the nomenclature that it deserves.

Cool to see the Heat Sword getting a redistribution on resources like Rhino once did.

[whatiswar01]

Many changes here is nice but what the hello? Voidrig cost of crafting is lowering down but bonewidow not?

I mean people among the starchart is already like 95% using voidrig as main necramech and you still make bonewidow harder to get cuz of making it a goal? I think what you mean is just "Don't use bonewidow cuz it was suck and still need more component than voidrig, just like coca cola is easier to get worldwide why you still striving to get pepsi?"

[(NSW)AlbaDicentra]

As someone who spent a great deal of time flying around POE searching for wisps I’d definitely like to be refunded all the wisps I spent making amps if you’re changing the resource cost.

[Kontrollo]

Maybe one small UI thing to improve. I don't know with what mode new players start when going to Navigation, but if it's Nightwave...

 

... then it's not really clear they have to click on the 'Resource Drones' button, then click a planet, and then hover over the extractor icon to see what resources are on said planet:

 

I feel like that's unnecessarily convoluted when the first question probably is: "Where do I get resource X".

 

P.S.: It of course doesn't help that a lot of new resources don't follow that system anymore, either.

[Darthplagueis13]

Neat. Comes just a few months late for me, but a lot of this were things that did in fact annoy me (especially the amp grind).

 

Now, if you could also take another look at overhauling the Fortuna syndicates one of these days, that'd be great (particularily the fact that Heists are locked behind the Rank of Old Mate and Debt Bonds either being heavily RNG based or prohibitively expensive to acquire).

[Ramflare]

The change I was really hoping for: significantly shorten the amount of time it takes to reach the second dream. Or make the journey more interesting.

TSD is the game's biggest story hook and despite this guide mechanic I think players will drop off as they're shuffled through all the different planets that have minimal story.

 

Bring back some of the old events that introduce characters such as alad V would be appreciated. I'm a fairly long time player but I'm jealous of the content I've missed.

[AleteiaHogryff]

2 hours ago, mahorych00 said:

Any chance to recompense the resources for older players? Necramech stuff and all. 

really? hahahaahahhaah this is completely unnecessary lol

[Mura]

Nice casual changes lmao. Cant wait to peoples to figure out to just dont play and come back 5years afer with a drop in their inbox with all the resources to craft the lasts updates.