How required/mandatory is Helminth/skill swapping?

[GinKenshin]

Hello, 

I'm a returning player, stopped when railjack come out. Returned for a few weeks now and did all the new quests and I'm about to finish the starchart. I know this opens up the supposedly endgame content of the game with SP and Arbies. 

I also know that warframe skill swapping is now a thing. I won't dive too deep on the reasons why, but I'm not interested in partaking in it. 

Would this be a major issue if I attempt to do that endgame content? 

For context, I'm content with just being able to provide what a team needs in terms of frame selection/role. I'm also not really gonna focus too much on the new frames, just acquire them and raise them for MR, maybe forma them if they're primed. Basically just happy with playing the same few frames and swap if the team needs me too. 

Been playing since 2014 till railjack and the current game just feels weird ig. 


Oh, and if you are a player who didn't use this system, how's the game been treating you? 

[Kegnor97]

There are deffinetly some fun combis you can do with the helminth but honestly, as long as you know what you're doing you should be fine. However, you do need the helminth to install archon shards on your frames so, even if you do not want to swap abilities you might want to build the segment for that

[GinKenshin]

Thank you, that's reassuring. Learning the new content and what to do and not do is definitely an option I'm more comfortable with and used to. 

I was aware about the shards thing, and thankfully I already bought the bp from Son and built the segment. Now I just need to figure out where to put the thing. No need to tell me, I'll just first try to actually open the door with a cysted frame. If that doesn't work then I'll look it up kek. 

[(PSN)Unstar]

You in no way need to replace abilities with Helminth.  There are some cool combos that are only accessible via this system, but nothing that will drastically reduce your game experience.

Also, if you play a frame and don't feel like any of their abilities are useless, then you probably wouldn't use Helminth to replace one anyway.

[(PSN)GEN-Son_17]

3 minutes ago, (PSN)Unstar said:

You in no way need to replace abilities with Helminth.  There are some cool combos that are only accessible via this system, but nothing that will drastically reduce your game experience.

Also, if you play a frame and don't feel like any of their abilities are useless, then you probably wouldn't use Helminth to replace one anyway.

Agreed.

Helminth is a fun add to the game but nowhere near necessary. It's just power fantasy levelled up. 

Regarding the new frames, weapons, focus school changes, pet changes, etc, I think you should give it all a spin. I've been a Frost main for nearly 8 years but thoroughly enjoy realizing each frame and setup adds a ton of new life to the game. Yareli is a surprising mega monster that I thought I wouldn't enjoy. 😂

[(PSN)FirmBizkit]

43 minutes ago, (PSN)Unstar said:

You in no way need to replace abilities with Helminth.  There are some cool combos that are only accessible via this system, but nothing that will drastically reduce your game experience.

Also, if you play a frame and don't feel like any of their abilities are useless, then you probably wouldn't use Helminth to replace one anyway.

This. I didn’t helminth anything on Octavia. I like her whole kit.

[(PSN)slightconfuzzled]

You'll be totally fine if you don't want to subsume or swap abilities around. I have done a little experimenting, but in like 92 percent of most of my builds, its just the Warframes default powers, and abilities, and they can all do Steel Path fine.

I can even remember my own exceptions. I have Perspicacity on a Loki build. Perspicacity is one of the Helminths unique powers/abilities. I have it because it can bypass Sortie and Archon Hunt locks, which can be convenient on certain maps/missions, (essentially its Cipher in places you can't use Cipher). Then I have an Equinox build that uses Terrify to make annoying Defence missions faster. Then I also have an Ivara with Ensnare build, that works really well with her Bow augment that makes her a bit of a DPS monster. I also have more traditional normal builds for them too, so yeah, you really don't have to.

I would encourage looking into it and then making a decision once you know more. Better to make an informed decision when you yourself know better than potentially limiting yourself based on others understandings. Could potentially rob yourself of fun or experimenting. All.. still arrive to a similar conclusion, that you aren't interested, which is very valid and similar to what I do, bar those 3 exceptions. 

Oh and welcome back! 

[Voltage]

@GinKenshin Welcome back :). It's nice to see familiar faces.

On the topic of Helminth, it's like anything in Warframe. It unlocks immense power and new build opportunities, but you're by no means forced into using it. Unfortunately though, there are some abilities in there that are almost universally beneficial to swap for that one ability you wouldn't use much anyway. If you're avid on avoiding Helminth, I would look into the more recent Warframes added to the roster. DE has (for a couple years now) been making new Warframe kits jack-of-all-trades with armor strips, crits, and defensive abilities all in one package. In that regard, there's several options that don't require Helminth to be effective in that department (even if I personally feel that this trend is getting overused).

Helminth for me was a fantastic way to get me (someone at the end of the road in content) to earn all the vanilla Warframes a second time. I would really love for DE to expand Helminth in a way where it eats weapons to unlock that weapon's skin/reload/model for that weapon family/class. The prospect of rewarding players with more customization for engaging in a pseudo-new-game+ farm is enjoyable to me (because I do still enjoy Warframe's core gameplay and gear collection aspect).

[trst]

There's absolutely no requirement for engaging with any of Helminth's systems unless you're looking to maximize the potential of a frame. And even that isn't required in any actual content on offer. It might be a factor if you want to push endurance content on some frames but that's more of a self imposed issue at that point.

The only context in which it might actually help is in dealing with SP Circuit especially with frames you're not fond of/familiar with. Since you might get stuck with choices you don't want it might help to have those frames optimized as much as possible. But even then there's ways around that very niche issue so again Helminth isn't a necessity.

[SDGDen]

honestly? i quite like the helminth system but it's not needed at all. what i don't like is how some helminth abilities are just "universal great picks" (terrify, gloom, nourish, breach surge) but it's fun to experiment with different combi's to round out a warframe.

 

[Flannoit]

Some frames get a huge boon from Helminth access (such as Garuda and Nekros) but ultimately most frames are just fine with their base kit. It's more about increasing synergy by replacing abilities with something that gives what you want more, or outright replacing borderline useless abilities. (Such as Nekros's Soul Punch!)

[(PSN)robotwars7]

it's not essential, but has plenty of benefits:

- being able to swap out abilities that objectively suck or you don't personally use for one that's better/you might use.

- being able to use powers temporarily, like running Perspicacity for Archon Spy.

- Archon Shards, which offer a non-essential but nice QoL boost to frames.

 most of all though: there are some interesting synergies that you ca get when you combine a helminth ability with part of a different frame's kit. it encourages you to experiment, and, for better or worse, it can also introduce new metas (RIP Thermal Sunder Titania). personally my new favourite is gonna be Wrathful Advance for my Ash, Atlas and Loki. 

that being said, there are also those who see it as an excuse to not rework frames that need it, when in truth reworks are still needed, but Helminth allows for a decent band-Aid fix until a proper rework comes. 

[CaptainShortbus]

The last few warframes have released in a state where using helminth to swap an ability has made them arguably worse, so it's not just an issue of everyone swapping a meta skill onto every single build. You definitely do not need do use it.

I enjoy it though. Each warframe only has one ability (preselected) that other ones can use. I have made a lot of really interesting and unique builds without altering the "identity" of any warframes.

[GinKenshin]

Thank you everyone for the insight