Pay plat to skip story content to access latest content-dev stream

[TeaHands]

Being able to grind relics and trade for plat at the beginning, you can trade your way to endgame relatively quick depending how savvy you are and that's weird/hilarious. And kinda neat?

I agree it all depends how/when it's implemented though.

Edited October 27, 2023 by TeaHands

[(PSN)MoRockaPDX]

I'm not reading through all the posts here, so if someone else has this idea, cheers.

 

Not knowing how exactly the catch up mechanic with work, I would propose a condensed campaign mode. This could still be optional to play, after you are boosted to whatever is consider the appropriate, new starting point is. But, I like the idea of being able to move through the story content at a brisker pace. Campaign mode would cut most of the filler levels, and move their story content into a smaller number of missions. This could help get through the content faster, while getting all the story and upgrades. 

I think the idea is justified, given just the reasons the devs state. And I do see it as reasonable to charge for this option. As for those concerned about this turning WF into some greedy pay to win thing, I just don't see that as practical. A player with the bare minimum requirement to play all the content in the game, will not be that comparable to a seasoned player. They just will have the tools necessary to play all the content seasoned players slowly unlocked. Do personally think people should pay and skip content? No. I think the journey is its own reward. But again, the dev pointed out the game is being hurt by the climbing wall of content it takes to play new drops and to join seasoned players in late game content. 

[schilds]

7 minutes ago, (XBOX)Cram Duahcim said:

I mean thats what the labs are used for. They could use a boost in this regard.

A new player still has to acquire all the resources, build all that stuff, and (more importantly) mod it.

An armoury would let players temporarily use (rent) built and modded equipment (without adding it to their own inventory).

Edited October 27, 2023 by schilds

[(XBOX)Cram Duahcim]

Just now, schilds said:

A new player still has to acquire all the resources, build all that stuff, and (more importantly) mod it.

An armoury would let players temporarily use (rent) built and modded equipment.

I don't see an issue with that either. I mean they will still have to play the game. 

This is why I don't care it players want to skip. Because they still have to actually get the things to make things work.

[LupusCardinal]

Personally, I don't disagree with a pay to skip old content.

Warframe is a game, DE is a business. As a player, I love Warframe and truly enjoyed making my way through all the quests, improving a little at a time, getting new weapons and frames and increasing my MR.

But let's be honest people. It's daunting. Hundreds of hours of gameplay and progression being needed to play the newest content, it's a deterrent. A new player looks at that and automatically they're put off by it. Sure, some might still try it, but the majority won't.

"We don't need them then." Is what you're probably thinking. But we do. Some of us will keep playing Warframe, but many senior players will burn out, they'll play other games, they'll get busy with work, kids, IRL responsibilities. The only way for Warframe to survive as a free to play game, for it to break even with development costs, not to mention make a profit (yes, that is the end goal of all businesses) is to have an influx of new players who not only play the game, but will spend money on it.

And that's where the heart of the matter lies. DE needs to find a balance where upon new players will play the game, and pay to skip is something that has been done time and time again in many games with a scope similar to Warframe (FF, WOW). New players don't have to, but they have a choice to do so if they so wish. Nobody is twisting their arms to pay to skip (and if you're thinking "Well, they will because they won't want to play hundreds of hours to get to the new content" then you're agreeing with the actual problem).

That said, I do agree with comments regarding new players being overwhelmed by the game and it's mechanics. IMO, if there is a pay to skip, it should not be a "here are all the items you'd have received when you finished the quests, go have fun". Instead, it should be fastrack / tutorial compulsory mission that teaches new players all of the game mechanics AND catches them up with the story up to the current expansion. Even if this needs to be several hours long, it finds a balance between allowing new players to enjoy the new content sooner, while keeping Warframe true to this lore and player base.

Edited October 27, 2023 by LupusCardinal

[schilds]

Imagine DE had never coupled the sentient and operator stories into one linear sequence. Then they could branch off a whole new story about going to Tau, starting early on the star chart and without a requirement for later quests.

That's not to say there couldn't be operator related stuff in it, but it would be optional - and if you first did it without an operator and wanted to see it later, you could always replay it once you had your operator.

If they want future new players to be able to access future new quests without going through everything, maybe it's as simple as using or create new major storylines that aren't heavily dependent on older major storylines.

[(XBOX)Architect Prime]

The most short form way I can put it is that I don't like seeing the removal of merit and achievment from the game. If things need to be sped up, I would prefer to see reduced grind and increased challenges. That's about as refined as my opinion can get on this. 

[MobyTheDuck]

 I think it gives a TERRIBLE look.

The 10 years of content are there for a reason, if you even think people should pay to skip that to reach the new shiny thing, it sounds like you have no faith on your game and everything you made so far. Maybe consider streamlining the start to end journey.

MAYBE thinking twice before adding a quest to a Syndicate that requires you to max that syndicate and two before it, finish 4 quests, craft 10 items and watch 20 cutscenes (Hyperbole).

Just saying, if I was a new player, opened the game and saw a big "PAY US TO SKIP TO THE END GAME" on my screen, I would assume that either the game is full of boring bloat between the good parts or is overinflated by long timers, unskipabble parts and energy management. I would instantly uninstall and never think about it again.

How even they are going to handle this big story skip? How many cutscenes and lore the player will have to watch to catch up to everything he just skipped? What about weapons, items, everything that you have to craft? What about price? I don't expect a "pay to instantly skip to the end game" to be cheap.

Reminds of these AAA games that come has a "skip DLC". Pay to skip levels, pay to skip battle pass, pay to get end game items, pay to skip to the final mission. Pay to skip to MR30?

SPEAKING WHICH, people already datamined paid boosters to skip/give more Nightwave standing. Are we really going there?

Sadly, a lot of people are saying its necessary because a lot of other MMOs also do this.

To which, I say: Remember when they were going to add the Universal Medallions and removed it from Conclave under the excuse of it being unfair to the people that worked to get the Conclave items/rank?

Paying to skip all of the game story so the new player can reach the new shiny update content island = ok, the game has too much bloat, content islands and timers to streamline, so paying to skip all that is the best option
A 5% chance for 1k Standing after 12 conduits = bad, unfair to the people that had to suffer through Conclave and Lunaro

Edited October 27, 2023 by MobyTheDuck

[(XBOX)Cram Duahcim]

5 minutes ago, schilds said:

If they want future new players to be able to access future new quests without going through everything, maybe it's as simple as using or create new major storylines that aren't heavily dependent on older major storylines.

That's the vibe I'm getting with WF1999. Older players will know who Dr. Entrati is as TMITW but newer players will simply know him as Dr.Entrati.

Time travel in theory could do this. I mean you could literally start here and then circle back to Second Dream, War Within, New War and Duviri Paradox.

Start new and then progress through the older content. The skip function could accomplish this if it's implemented in this way.

Edited October 27, 2023 by (XBOX)Cram Duahcim

[(PSN)GEN-Son_17]

3 hours ago, Corvid said:

I think simply continuing to cut down on the grind of previous expansions (at least the ones that will be prerequisite for WitW when it comes out) is the best path.

What would have summed up to 100 hours worth of grinding for players who went through each update's respective release could easily be trimmed down to a much more manageable total.

I'd say 10 to 20 hours for a player who's focused on the primary progression path should be the target, since I do believe giving players time to get used to what they think they know about their avatar is important for making the Second Dream hit like it does.

Strongly agree here. For all parts, items and anything that needs to be gathered in order to satisfy the conditions for both quest activation and completion, allow the collecting to be nearly guaranteed drops or rewarded blueprints. 

Second, I would either allow a time skip to speed up the cooking of all of the parts/frames/weapons needed, maybe to just an hour or two. This would buy some time to dive more into the star chart and collect the traditionally longer processing stuff, gather more resources and both learn the process and while progressing altogether.

If this works as I imagine it, the new players will love how fast they can catch up while heavily engaging in the game's earlier content. Sure, the new stuff is great, but playing this game is outstanding from all parts of it, so new players will care a helluva lot less about rushing when they are too busy enjoying without the over grind. 

Finally, once the get to Whispers, the doors of the game really open up and the new players can now dive deeper into the larger core elements: Railjack, Duviri, operator focus stuff, etc. This may even revitalize clans, energizing the vets to take in new recruits with a big, but significantly less grindy, mission. Ultimately, DE and the 0layers would win, since Prime variants would not be their initial focus but, near the catch up point, those players would be absolutely thirsty to get their hands on prime frames, subsuming, trading, etc.

I dunno, that's my vision of it at least.

[schilds]

Or create modular stories that maintain continuity even if played in different orders.

For example, does it really matter if a player hasn't played The New War before some potential Tau storyline? Not sure it does. Maybe it just comes down to how DE present the story.

Edited October 27, 2023 by schilds

[schilds]

3 minutes ago, (XBOX)Cram Duahcim said:

Time travel in theory could do this. I mean you could literally start here and then circle back to Second Dream, War Within, New War and Duviri Paradox.

Start new and then progress through the older content. The skip function could accomplish this if it's implemented in this way.

You don't necessarily need time travel to explain it. A museum or "revisit simulated historical events" mechanic via Cephalon Simulator might be sufficient :-P.

[(PSN)MoRockaPDX]

14 minutes ago, schilds said:

Imagine DE had never coupled the sentient and operator stories into one linear sequence. Then they could branch off a whole new story about going to Tau, starting early on the star chart and without a requirement for later quests.

That's not to say there couldn't be operator related stuff in it, but it would be optional - and if you first did it without an operator and wanted to see it later, you could always replay it once you had your operator.

If they want future new players to be able to access future new quests without going through everything, maybe it's as simple as using or create new major storylines that aren't heavily dependent on older major storylines.

I have considered before, that a new start point would be a good idea in general. One that actually puts a break in the timeline. Say after the New War, all new players who sign into Warframe, have to grow under a new path, with the old stories only accept, in a simulation. This way you could make important systems available faster, in a series of missions/quests that get new players up to speed. 
It would give a real sense of history, for players to have been part of the legacy years, and players coming into a new era. There could literally be a generation gap, and dynamics between the Tenno. If not a return to the Agents of the Lotus model, you could at least have mentors baked into the general lore.

Edited October 27, 2023 by (PSN)MoRockaPDX

[LupusCardinal]

22 minutes ago, LupusCardinal said:

Personally, I don't disagree with a pay to skip old content.

Warframe is a game, DE is a business. As a player, I love Warframe and truly enjoyed making my way through all the quests, improving a little at a time, getting new weapons and frames and increasing my MR.

But let's be honest people. It's daunting. Hundreds of hours of gameplay and progression being needed to play the newest content, it's a deterrent. A new player looks at that and automatically they're put off by it. Sure, some might still try it, but the majority won't.

"We don't need them then." Is what you're probably thinking. But we do. Some of us will keep playing Warframe, but many senior players will burn out, they'll play other games, they'll get busy with work, kids, IRL responsibilities. The only way for Warframe to survive as a free to play game, for it to break even with development costs, not to mention make a profit (yes, that is the end goal of all businesses) is to have an influx of new players who not only play the game, but will spend money on it.

And that's where the heart of the matter lies. DE needs to find a balance where upon new players will play the game, and pay to skip is something that has been done time and time again in many games with a scope similar to Warframe (FF, WOW). New players don't have to, but they have a choice to do so if they so wish. Nobody is twisting their arms to pay to skip (and if you're thinking "Well, they will because they won't want to play hundreds of hours to get to the new content" then you're agreeing with the actual problem).

That said, I do agree with comments regarding new players being overwhelmed by the game and it's mechanics. IMO, if there is a pay to skip, it should not be a "here are all the items you'd have received when you finished the quests, go have fun". Instead, it should be fastrack / tutorial compulsory mission that teaches new players all of the game mechanics AND catches them up with the story up to the current expansion. Even if this needs to be several hours long, it finds a balance between allowing new players to enjoy the new content sooner, while keeping Warframe true to this lore and player base.

For example (and this is only one idea) but design a quest for new players who purchase the pay to skip option, where instead of beginning the game from the current tutorial, they are actually a new Tenno that's being awaken in the current point of the game's timeline, then have the Lotus guide them in a series of missions which teaches them the game mechanics and grants them items from old quests, but also teaches them all the lore, factions, characters etc and what has happened so far in the game.

This could even allow for some deeper character development, since we could see Lotus, Tenshin, Allad V etc being reminiscent of past events and so on.

Similarly, it would also explain why these players are not as proficient as those who played through every quest in game lore: They have recently woken up, and although the Lotus is assisting them, they do not have the same experience as the Tenno who fought in The New War.

Then, have the quest be made available to all players, and give players who did not pay to skip some unique rewards as an incentive to try it out (umbra forma, endo, cosmetics, etc).

Although it would require development time and resources, something along these lines, could work.

[(XBOX)Rylor Threev]

alright so I'm not reading all replies, just op

so I take it this is seen as huge no, and while I kinda agree, I also saw the "I HATE THE NEW WAR GAMEPLAY! UNINSTALLING THIS SH*T GAME! EVEN THO I AGREED TO BEING STUCK HERE!" from my point of view they are doing this because of the people that hate the slight change of gameplay some quests "force" them into, pretty sure you can pay to skip the entire railjack quest (you can buy the railjack now right?) you pay to skip old and new frames quests by simply buying them from the market

The way the game is designed now you can rush mr ranks to get stuff unlocked, you can rush junctions, and majority of the game is just mindless killing, and when the devs go like: "here, play this new quest with new mechanincs, new way to..." "I HATE THIS! LET ME PLAY THE NEW MISSIONS AND GO KILL RANDOM STUFF AGAIN!"

DE probably lost a a few/ton of players because of things like these, it's no wonder they're going "you either play the quest and learn new stuff or pay to skip it"

meh... I'll prob get yelled at for this, guess I'll ignore the forums again for another year

Edited October 27, 2023 by (XBOX)Rylor Threev

[schilds]

I think this is partly a reaction to how the Duviri skip turned out. However, was the Duviri skip a bad idea in principle? Or was it just tripped up by poor execution?

• Lack of context.
• Started players with drifter gameplay that doesn't play much at all like the regular Warframe gameplay that they would transition to on leaving the dormizone.
• Plonking players straight into pre-built/modded frames, meaning playing on the regular star chart is a major power downgrade for a long while.
  • While some games *do* start you off with all your gear and then strip it (e.g. some Metroids) they don't just let you switch back to the boosted state at a whim *simultaneous* to earning it back.
  • It's a matter of how expectations are managed that decides whether players perceive they are getting a fun temporary boost/peek ahead, or that they are being forced to suffer downgrades.

Sometimes devs don't seem to realise that the difference between a fun activity with a nice reward, and a mandatory chore needed to progress, is the *player's state of mind*. The same activity can be perceived either way depending on a player's expectations and calculus. I've had at least one (somewhat wrenching) moment in a different game where that perception flipped from one to the other *in the same game session*.

Edited October 27, 2023 by schilds

[EpsilonAllen]

okay let me start with this thing i call "peaceful discussion"

i bring my idea to the table and u don't have to agree on it but if u don't agree with it and want to say something , please have another idea instead of just saying please no.. its not helping saying please no and have no solution to the problem.

second thing second i think DE is on to something but not in the right way, they have a good point with the entire "new players need to play for 120+ hours" and then "they leave before they even start the missions"

so here is my idea

i think they just make a STORYMODE only option that will lock you out of the standard mode and just make u focus on the story missions and setup and they could have TIPS like any game mid gameplay cause it can help, i think pay to skip is gonna kill the game cause so many will come and it will just be high numbers of users that have signed but low player count in general. Story Mode can be priced with PLAT(OR NOT IDK WHAT ELSE) you will still need to do every main quest and side quest that connects with the main story , and you still have to put around 20 up to max of 50 hours and that will drop the 120+ HOURS in half and will make new players learn the game earn the stuff , while the star chart will be locked and when u finish the story mode u will have the post new war star chart fully locked and u will have your gear and stuff but u will still have to unlock the star chart like any player and that is where they go back to the grind of the 120 HOURS - the 20/50 hours of the story.. in that point the new player has put lots of hours and gonna start in the star chart as a god ..... idk how i feel about that but it can make new players stay in the game as long as they can pull that skip off without selling new players short with explaining how tf the game works , and without selling us the vets who are playing for years now.. full skip for plat will be a big mistake but if they do go for it they will have to make it very carefully and it can't be less the the perfect solution ... 

[(PSN)Unstar]

Paying to skip is complex.  I don't think this is a black-and-white issue.

As a developer, you don't want people to skip your game; you want them to play it.  You put a lot of work into the game so that players could enjoy it, not so they could bypass it.  And many players, especially players who love a game, will feel the same way: when you love a game, you want others to experience the thing you love in the best possible way so that they can share in that same wonderful experience.  And that's why I personally would never use a skip, and why I would encourage every other player not to skip as well.

But at the same time, we should recognize that there are potential players out there who want to play the game but are overwhelmed by how much they'll need to do to feel "caught up".  Some of these folks simply can't wait to play the newest content that caught their eye, some of them are eager to play the same content as their veteran friends, and some have limited time to play games to the extent that natural progression in the Warframe would mean they won't reach new content for months if not years.  What looks like a treasure trove of content to me can look like an obstacle to someone else, and neither perspective is correct; the truth of the situation will be dictated by each individual's distinct needs.

All of these various kinds of potential players have lives and needs that are different than mine, and I don't feel like I have the right to dictate how they engage with the media that enriches their lives.  In addition, more players is a good thing for the community and the game's health, and people being able to play with their friends is a good thing as well.  So there's a question of what to do with the almost paradoxical situation of potential players who are interested in the game but are (quite reasonably) unwilling or unable to navigate through a decade of content to feel up-to-speed. 

If — even after my earnest recommendation to play through the game the "normal way" — a person thinks that a skip is the best way for them to get into Warframe, I feel like it's important to respect that; after all, they are the experts on their life, not me.  Even if it does end up being a less than ideal experience, some fun is better than no fun.  And maybe they'll love Warframe so much that they'll go back and experience all the great quest content later, just in a different order than I did.

All of which is to say, for some players an option to skip will be a good choice.

However, as developers, you want to steer your players towards the game experience that will lead them towards the most fulfilling outcome, and for (presumably) most players that will be to play the game normally without the skip.  Unfortunately, the very existence of a skip is at odds with this goal, because even players who don't ""need"" the skip will be tempted to use it...and all it takes is a momentary lapse in judgment to make what many who love the game would consider a poor and permanent choice.

Because of that, if you're going to add some manner of skip to a game, you want to de-incentivize using it.  You want to do what you can within reason to make sure that players who use the skip really want to use it.  And one way you can do that is to add a financial barrier.  For most players, pressing a button that's free is drastically easier than pressing a button that costs $5 of their real money.  Even if $5 is no big deal to you, just the thought that you're paying someone for a service will generally lead to some critical thought.  Now it's not just "do i want this?" but "do I want this enough to pay them for it?"

In my opinion, services like these should be fairly cheap; you want the price to be enough so that players think about their decision, but not so steep that those who feel that the skip is right for them feel prohibited from it due to cost.  So in a game like Final Fantasy 14 — where all a skip is doing is bypassing game content — I generally think that an appropriate cost for a skip would be around $5-10.  That's just my personal opinion though, and there may be aspects of the process that I'm uninformed about that would change that opinion.

That said, with Warframe, you're not just bypassing content, but actually getting numerous items that have a value in platinum.  And of course, there's also the development work of the skip system to consider, whatever that may be.  Because of these details, I don't feel comfortable specifying what I think a good price for a skip in Warframe should be, just that I hope it would be a price that reasonable members of the Warframe community would feel was justified.

One thing to potentially consider would be to add a bundle to the market that has everything the skip provides, but without the skip.  That way nobody feels like they should buy the skip just because it's a good deal to get all of the stuff in it, rather than the fact that they really truly want to skip.  And that would provide an easy point of comparison for the player community to differentiate between the cost of the items and the cost of the skip itself.  Hopefully that would help make it clear that this isn't a cash grab.

Finally, one thing that I think would probably go a long way would be to add a disclaimer to the purchase of the skip service, stating something along the lines of how the team thinks that the best game experience is to play from the beginning, and that this service is only recommended for players who have their own reasons why they feel that's not viable for them.  Something like this would encourage players to get the "natural" Warframe experience that both devs and players love so much, without shaming or criticizing the choice to skip.  By doing that, not only would this hopefully mitigate players who don't truly feel they need a skip from going down that path, but it would also hopefully make it clear to Warframe players who are critical of the skip that this is not a cash grab.

Edited October 28, 2023 by (PSN)Unstar
Initial response was before I had seen the devstream; new response is in some ways the same, but more informed and better related to the actual circumstances

[(PSN)FirmBizkit]

Sorry can you elaborate? I don’t understand the context here. So you’re saying DE is planning to introduce a story skip option?

 

I think that’s a bad idea. It took me 7 years to get into this game and it was the story that hooked me. The new player experience is really bad and presents the majority of the game as being nothing but a hallway simulator with identical levels and enemies with no real direction or objective. If they’re concerned about new players they should be focusing on new players and I can say without any question that the story line is NOT a barrier to retaining players. The story was amazing.

[(PSN)robotwars7]

a low-difficulty "condensed" version of the story would be interesting, essentially removing any difficulty whatsoever and allowing players to faceroll it quickly with any gear, just so that they can get the story material under their belt. then after that, they can access the starmap as normal.

another option would be a cutscene explaining the main points of the story, though it definitely won't be delivered the same way as it would if you are actually there to experience it: I know some parts of the story aren't great, but the good parts ARE worth sticking through and actually playing. and I think many players will be robbing themselves of a good narrative if they choose to skip: especially with quests like The Sacrifice; arguably the peak of quests in warframe, beautifully done, both as an individual story and as a setup to the events that followed. 

that said, there's no guarantee this will become a thing, and even if it does, other people's choices won't affect my warframe experience, so there's little point in getting riled up about it. 

[(PSN)robotwars7]

2 minutes ago, (PSN)FirmBizkit said:

So you’re saying DE is planning to introduce a story skip option?

yes, DE explicitly said this in the devstream, because there's literally years worth of content to go through before whatever the newest quest is for each update, and they want new players to have an option to skip ahead to whatever the latest quest is. whether that's right or wrong, well... that's what we're all in the middle of discussing. personally I don't really care, I'm playing the quests regardless, but it does potentially mean creating a whole generation of warframe players who don't know a single thing about the story because they paid to skip it all... 

[trst]

I don't see what the issue is about. Players already can, and do, pay their way through a majority of the game. Be it outright buying things off the market, players, or even how boosters already are a "pay2skip" for over half the resource grind. Even Railjack and Necramechs were given a plat option with them being required for New War.

All I see with them adding a skip story option is them turning thirty other "pay2skip" buttons we already have into one while also cutting out things those types of players clearly weren't interested in to begin with.

[Nawkia]

I support the pay to skip story with the following suggestions:

• Priced between $5-$10 with their default WF having a potato and some mods for survivability.
• Increase the new player selection from 3 WF to 5. Add some new player friendly warframes. 
• New players still have to do the Duviri Paradox to learn the way the game plays.
• There's a story so far. 
• The Codex is redone and referenced for new players often. I really support a readable guide here as a summary of how things work. I haven't looked at it in ages. 
  • Please number the quests, and making them replayable (if they aren't already).
  • Clearly separate and label story quests and side quests.
• Add a new party option for seasoned players to "Join new player on any mission". Maybe like a monster hunter flare. 
• Star chart progression rewards should remain on their associated nodes. (Exception to new WFs added to new player choices.)
• Buff the mote amp.

 

My reasons for this are as follows:

• Get players in the gameplay loop with everyone else quicker. 
  • I joined during PoE, saw and Eidolon and was hooked within a few hours. 
  • Participating in the new/popular/populated content is part of what keeps new players engaged. 
  • 10 years of progression is overwhelming. 
• It's a PVE game. Let people catchup. I believe people are going to do the old content anyway for MR most likely. 
• There is no Pay to Win. 
• The game is super lax on FOMO. 
• New players can already just play the game with the Duviri Paradox Circuit with seasoned players and play the star chart whenever they would like to. Story catchup isn't that different. They unlock a node to access X story quest. 
•  

Other

• Add a cephalon to the codex named Barry or Clem that players can ask questions to in a chat prompt. You do this with the bot in Region chat. 

[BleedRainbows]

I understand the need to catch players up, and i think the solution is unfortunately not the easiest.

Players really just need to play the quests. I think its the reality we have to accept. I get you want new players to hop into the new content but that content means nothing to them if they don’t understand it. New players dont need another thing to make them feel lost.

The big bad wolf solution is co-op, or rather, sherpa’d questing. Even if players only see their own tenno as the “canon” one in the cutscenes, allowing people to play through them together sequentially and uninterrupted is the best play. If you can group these into a “critical/main story” quest chain where they can be played back to back in coop (no starchart, no crafting, no junctions in between), a new player can get through them in a few hours/play sessions. Any quest requirements like a railjack or necramech would have to be owned by at least one player (the sherpa). Youll probably have to add loaner things for players to use in the missions like the broken necramechs or archwings. I know thats a pain in the ass from a lot of standpoints, but it uses one of warframes biggest assets to retain and help new players. Their friends and the community.

Allowing an advanced player to utilize their gear to get a friend through the story missions is as good as you can get without pissing people off IMO. You can already skip through a lot of story related grind via plat. In fact, exposing that content to a new player faster via their friends in a streamlined path may result in them pursuing those established options anyway. It gives a few carrots for them to chase almost immediately. 
 

To be honest, its always been sad that the story quests are solo only. In an ideal world, theyd all be made coop friendly. Imagine all four of your warframes losing control as the four of you fall out of the pods in the second dream. Imagine Kahl getting up from that crash with three generic grineer lancers behind him, controlled by your friends. Honestly just makes me nostalgic for the old halo 3 and reach campaigns. 

[TARINunit9]

2 hours ago, Garbor said:

but if a skip were to be added i wouldn't enjoy having to explain every single system/mechanic up to that point because they decided they were lazy and now other players have to carry their ass.

 

And Pay2Skip also causes harm both ways in FF14/WoW if people want to keep comparing games, you get players who know nothing how mechanics/jobs work and make the experience worse for everyone, and will usually get backlash when they go on content they have absolutely no clue of what they are doing.

This is a very good point. The quest wall isn't just an arbitrary time investment. It's learning how to play the game and then getting good at the game. Skipping that is dangerous

The Duviri/Origin System split was awkward, but at least it dodged this pitfall -- you weren't skipping tutorials, you were just changing their order