The Steel path Circuit is still one of the worst gaming experience i've ever had.

[(PSN)Hopper_Orouk]

AND IT’S NOT ABOUT DIFFICULTY!

Sorry, I had to make this in Big bold and all caps because some people here have the attention span of the "huh!" cat and wouldn't bother reading the thread before arguing with their own conclusions in the comments, no offense to anyone, it's just how it is.

 

The circuit randomizer, The thing I absolutely despise about the circuit is the randomizer, I can tolerate it in normal version, but on steel path, it's just a chore, nothing less of that.
it's one thing to cripple you by giving you harder enemies to fight, it's a completely different story when they try again by not giving you the things you want to use RIGHT NOW.

My experience with the circuit has been like this: I need this x reward or incarnon weapon, so I'm forced to play it, I scroll over to see which Warframe and weapon it has that I can tolerate using...I either leave the Duviri mode and come back later for another round of monopoly or clench up and just get this over with
Even when the circuit is giving me OP stuff, if it's not the things I want to use, it's never fun for me...and God forbid they give me trash items.

Not a Main problem: I play different Warframes a lot, so it's not just a problem for players who main one Warframe, I was obsessed with Hydroid the other week now my entire Warframe gameplay is centered around Hildryn, who knows in a few days it could be Dagath, Gauss, etc.

 

Playing one round of normal circuit to refresh the random drop is not a solution and it's adding to the CHORE: One answer I might get is "just play the normal circuit for one round and leave to get another round of Warframes and weapon that you might use....NO! this isn't helping the situation, this is just adding to the tedious chore.

 

yeah but that's about it, and I guess using stalker is fun so I enjoy that when he's available.

Edited December 7, 2023 by (PSN)Hopper_Orouk
the bold in every first sentence is me trying to make bullet points. the bold in the middle of the sentences is me trying to highlight my thought process during this game mode, like "chore" "get this over with" "tolerate" "forced" etc.

[Aruquae]

4 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

Sorry, I had to make this in Big bold and all caps because some people here have the attention span of the "huh!" cat and wouldn't bother reading the thread before arguing with their own conclusions in the comments, no offense to anyone, it's just how it is.

Understandable 

 

4 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

The circuit randomizer, The thing I absolutely despise about the circuit is the randomizer, I can tolerate it in normal version, but on steel path, it's just a chore, nothing less of that.
it's one thing to cripple you by giving you harder enemies to fight, it's a completely different story when they try again by not giving you the things you want to use RIGHT NOW.

This is why I stay away from it. I guarantee you someone’s going to say “this is why you get all of the weapons,”  but even if you did get the weapons you don’t like and build them, they’re still weapons you don’t like. 
Of course the decrees are what’s going to carry you through all of it, INVEST IN THE DECREES

 

6 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

Playing one round of normal circuit to refresh the random drop is not a solution and it's adding to the CHORE: One answer I might get is "just play the normal circuit for one round and leave to get another round of Warframes and weapon that you might use....NO! this isn't helping the situation, this is just adding to the tedious chore.

Didn’t know you can do that. I wish it was just a randomize button you can click, but it can’t be the same items you used in the run before. I can already see the problems with that though. For one, people can just randomize their favorite 3 warframes, guns, etc..

[sunderthefirmament]

On 2023-12-07 at 6:36 AM, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

The circuit randomizer, The thing I absolutely despise about the circuit is the randomizer, I can tolerate it in normal version, but on steel path, it's just a chore, nothing less of that.
it's one thing to cripple you by giving you harder enemies to fight, it's a completely different story when they try again by not giving you the things you want to use RIGHT NOW.

The randomizer is the core of the game mode though. It’s not perfect, but it does incentivize building up your entire arsenal, as opposed to just passively “mastering” something in ESO while a Saryn or Mirage nukes for you. 
 

The SP Circuit does have its flaws. Rewards should be locked in and saved after every round won. Survival drop rates got nerfed too hard. Some decrees are purely bloat and should be removed.  Incarnon rewards should be able to be replaced for something more evergreen once you get them all.  (EDIT: This is already a thing!  My bad.) But the randomizer isn’t the problem. In my opinion, at least. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by sunderthefirmament

[Slayer-.]

12 minutes ago, Malikili said:

Understandable 

 

 

Didn’t know you can do that. I wish it was just a randomize button you can click, but it can’t be the same items you used in the run before. I can already see the problems with that though. For one, people can just randomize their favorite 3 warframes, guns, etc..

Same I didn't know that.

I like the randomise idea, maybe make it so you can only click it one time or maybe two and whatever pops is what you need to use.

[Aruquae]

1 minute ago, Slayer-. said:

Same I didn't know that.

I like the randomise idea, maybe make it so you can only click it one time or maybe two and whatever pops is what you need to use.

That’s a good idea, a simple rest button that you can use once or twice per run. It’s not like you’re going to hate everything in the loadout three times in a row, right? Right? (I can hear the complaints if this gets implemented)

[Slayer-.]

3 minutes ago, sunderthefirmament said:

Rewards should be locked in and saved after every round won. Survival drop rates got nerfed too hard. Some decrees are purely bloat and should be removed.  Incarnon rewards should be able to be replaced for something more evergreen once you get them all.  But the randomizer isn’t the problem. In my opinion, at least. 

This REALLY needs to be a thing, our group went up to level 3000 level enemies and one of them glitched which for some reason borked us from moving to the next round after just finishing one, only way around it was to quit out, couldn't do jack.

[Skoomaseller]

wdym bro don't you wanna use the mutalist quanta and the stug on loaner builds???? 

[(XBOX)C11H22O11]

I'm sure you can think of a worse gaming experience, there's plenty worse.

As for your critiques I think it's more personal preference, the randomizer really doesn't bother me, even if I get something I dislike the decrees make you really powerful that even some of the crappy weapons you don't own with the free build can be good.

40 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

I scroll over to see which Warframe and weapon it has that I can tolerate using...I either leave the Duviri mode and come back later for another round of monopoly or clench up and just get this over with
Even when the circuit is giving me OP stuff, if it's not the things I want to use, it's never fun for me...and God forbid they give me trash items.

Not a Main problem: I play different Warframes a lot, so it's not just a problem for players who main one Warframe, I was obsessed with Hydroid the other week now my entire Warframe gameplay is centered around Hildryn, who knows in a few days it could be Dagath, Gauss, etc

Aren't these two points a bit contradictory?

[(PSN)slightconfuzzled]

For clarity and transparency, I don't disagree with anything in OP. In fact I find it very valid and fair preference and take to have. I do happen to personally enjoy the Circuit (SP version more so), a little while back, I had an idea about a thread to post in General. The thread idea idea was basically going to be something like "Share your Circuit Experience" where people would list the 5 Warframes they were offered, all the weapons, the first and subsequent Decrees, and talk a little about their overall experience, whether positive or negative, neutral. Whether they had any strategy or synergy ideas, surprises with Decree combinations with their Warframes or weapons, talk about team mates, whether the team was good, or frustrating. 

The intent behind the thread was multiple. The first?

1. I personally enjoy coming up with strategy for Circuit. Like some Warframe can scale better than others, some will start out feeling weak, but can potentially turn into the most powerful versions of themselves the game has ever seen, with certain Decrees. Certain weapons I enjoy but aren't meta, or that powerful, can now potentially be shredding level 500+  Steel Path enemies. Certain weapons I enjoy but are limited or restricted in some way, because they might be pure single shot, can turn into mini AOE nukes, that still hold to their own strengths (like a Daikyu headshot build that proccs Toxic AOE that can spread). Not only do I enjoy figuring that out and ways to transform my own Warframe gaming experience... I actually find it fun and interesting reading about how other people approach such challenges too, what decisions they make, their strategy, why they might pick some weapons, Warframe and Decrees over others... So I thought having a thread like that, could be a really interesting idea. 

2. Another intention, was that people who might struggle, could find some help and good friendly advice too. By giving specifics about their choices, some others could give friendly suggestions about what synergies and combinations might be better or more fun. Especially if a player isn't familiar with the hundreds of items in the game. 

3. Then another intent, was it could also double as feedback for peoples negative or frustrating experiences. If they wanted to be critical, or negative, that would be fine too. People could see into the experience, trails and tribulations of others, and get some insight into those that enjoy, those that don't, those somewhere in the middle. 

I didn't end up making the thread because.

• 1. I am lazy.
• 2. I was worried it might attract bad types of arguments, bad type of negativity, echo chambers etc.
• 3. I started to take a break from Warframe and so playing overall less.
• 4. Lastly, well, I imagined it might not be that popular. I might enjoy writing down my thought processes and strategy and small recaps of my runs, but how many other people would actually enjoy reading that or giving their own input? Would be a sad thread if I was the only one posting in it... 

Anyway... 80 percent of the time I play SP Circuit, I personally really enjoy it. 10% is neutral, and whelming. 10% is frustrating or negative. Usually because I might have got a good roll, but host wants to leave after 1 round, or I load in late and don't get to choose. Or I load in fast, but see that someone disconnected and a new player is joining but the other two players don't seem to care and rush, screwing over the last player who doesn't get to join and so on.

Last time I played, I got an okay set up. I can't remember my choices since it was a few days ago, but I ended up going with Gara, Kuva Drakgoon, Gunsen Prime, and Secondary wasn't that interesting. I felt like these were my best options, since Gara can be tanky and offer decent CC and Defence, so Excavation round, and Defence round would be easy for whole team. Plus it might be fun to see how high I could get my Splinter Storm numbers. Latter rounds could be easy/fun because of that. Kuva Drakgoon, I just enjoy, plus with Fire Rate Decrees, and a few others, could turn into a potential monster of a weapon. It felt a bit weak at first but I got the 2x Crit and 2x Status Decrees, and said Fire Rate Decrees and that status spread one.. so it felt great. Notably, I also had a Revenant on my team (and my team overall was great, we were only 3 players, but host wanted to stay, so I was going to stay with them). Anyway the Revenant had their Augment on, and was using it fairly often, and had my own DR, plus I jump around a lot as Gara anyway... so I actually also ended up taking a lot of the "Corrupted" Decrees that sacrifice your health. So that was novel and fun, and turned an average Circuit run into something a bit more risky. I think my highest SS was only around 300, 000. I didn't have my "stat stick build", but I often play Gara without anyway, since I still think she is great regardless. I did end up losing it at one point, which RIP, but at that stage Kuva Drakgoon had enough Decrees to make it potent and viable and I could lean on that more whilst I build SS back up. 

So another really fun, and unique experience in Warframe that I had. I like to emphasis, that its subjective, and how i personally felt/feel. Except a lot of my runs, even the type that seem like they might be boring or underwhelming because of my initial selection, end up as fun and enjoyable experiences for myself. Again not all, only around 80% and ideally that should be 90%... I also think that number is so high compared to some, just because I enjoy certain things, that others might not, like thinking about certain weapon mechanics and how they interact with Decrees. I also always find all the Bonus Decrees (or a team mate does), and that also really helps too. 

Tl;dr: Maybe the real Steel Path Circuit, was the friends and experiences we had along the way?

[TeaHands]

My worst gaming experience was the final boss battle of Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga. Half hour of perfectly timed dodges and attacks wore me down to the bone.

 

For Steelpath Circuit I just started slapping on Breach Surge on any frame I wasn't familiar enough with. That with any weapon combo I've gotten has been enough to at least get me to the Daily Bonus at Tier 4

But overall I still appreciate the randomness of Circuit. I like spinning the wheel and seeing what weird combos I get. But Breach Surge is my failsafe incase it goes really really wrong.

Edited December 7, 2023 by TeaHands

[Chewarette]

The randomizer is quite enjoyable tbh. Of course there are times when a quick glance at the list of warframes/weapons will make you go "meh", but most of the times you can get something to work - I'll admit that the Circuit made me enjoy some weapon I had forgotten their very existence.

Even the premade builds can go pretty far if you pick the proper decrees - the key here is to check which weapon is the least garbage, and funnel all decrees in it (Melees take melee decrees, guns take on-shot decrees, critical/status go well on both). If it's the warframe that's good, warframe decrees make them unstoppable.

It's a good breath of fresh air to leave the meta-side from time to time. I had very rarely played Saryn with another weapon than the usual suspects, and I had lots of fun while doing so in Circuit

Also - Hyperbola leads nowhere. It can't be the "worst gaming experience you've ever had", especially when things like Kahl exist in the very same game.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Chewarette

[Frebben]

1 hour ago, sunderthefirmament said:

Incarnon rewards should be able to be replaced for something more evergreen once you get them all.

Sorry for not contributing to the original post; I just wanted to mention that you can pick rewards other than the incarnon rewards if you scroll to the right. Like rivens & kuva.

[(PSN)robotwars7]

2 hours ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

AND IT’S NOT ABOUT DIFFICULTY!

so... it's a skill issue then? :P

2 hours ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

The circuit randomizer, 

you do know you can actually check which gear you'll get now, right? if you don't like what you see you can wait until the next Spiral and it will change to something else. rinse and repeat until you see a loadout you can cope with. that's the only advice you'll get, since it's a roguelike mode and randomized gear is a big part of that. for me it's never been an issue as I've invested in a lot of gear and can usually make up for the shortcomings of a piece of "bad" gear by choosing a frame that doesn't rely on gear, e.g. "all the secondary options are Garbo so I'll take Gyre and just use my Primary, and still wipe the floor with everything". if by some stroke of unluck ALL the options suck, then I'd wait until the next Spiral.

the only possible improvement I think could work without totally undoing the mode's purpose would be to allow you to bring ONE item of your choice per rotation, but have it cost Pathos Clamps. we probably won't ever get this, but that'd be how DE does it I reckon.

2 hours ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

My experience with the circuit has been like this: I need this x reward or incarnon weapon, so I'm forced to play it,

maybe you should have a word with that guy next to you who's pointing a loaded gun at your head and telling you to play SP circuit.. there IS a guy with a gun telling you to play it right? because if there isn't, that means you aren't being forced at all. it might be the only way to get certain incarnons, but I'm sure you can still do the vast majority of the game's content without them if it bothers you that much, right? other rewards like arcanes are tradeable too.

2 hours ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

laying one round of normal circuit to refresh the random drop is not a solution and it's adding to the CHORE: One answer I might get is "just play the normal circuit for one round and leave to get another round of Warframes and weapon that you might use....NO! this isn't helping the situation, this is just adding to the tedious chore.

again, you could just wait for the current spiral to end and your gear will randomize again. you are bringing this pain on yourself at this point. you'll be a lot happier if you just do what you want and keep an eye on what gear is on offer in Duviri, and when something you like pops up, do a circuit run. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by (PSN)robotwars7

[(PSN)Hopper_Orouk]

43 minutes ago, (PSN)robotwars7 said:

so... it's a skill issue then? :P

Indeed.

43 minutes ago, (PSN)robotwars7 said:

you do know you can actually check which gear you'll get now, right? if you don't like what you see you can wait until the next Spiral and it will change to something else.

yes I know, I elaborated further on that in the OP

 

44 minutes ago, (PSN)robotwars7 said:

maybe you should have a word with that guy next to you who's pointing a loaded gun at your head and telling you to play SP circuit.. there IS a guy with a gun telling you to play it right? because if there isn't, that means you aren't being forced at all.

Forced because I need the incarnon weapons, and the other rewards it has.

44 minutes ago, (PSN)robotwars7 said:

again, you could just wait for the current spiral to end and your gear will randomize again. you are bringing this pain on yourself at this point. you'll be a lot happier if you just do what you want and keep an eye on what gear is on offer in Duviri, and when something you like pops up, do a circuit run. 

how many rounds will I skip before the week ends lol...I manage to do about 1 circuit gameplay per day, or two days, or three...it depends on the luck.

and I DO enjoy the game mode, it's just that I wish I could enjoy it using the stuff I like.

47 minutes ago, (PSN)robotwars7 said:

ince it's a roguelike mode

I'm not familiar with Roguelike Roguelite games, do they have a randomizer too? I thought it was just about facing endless hordes...which is what Sanctuary onslaught is.

[(PSN)Hopper_Orouk]

2 hours ago, Skoomaseller said:

wdym bro don't you wanna use the mutalist quanta and the stug on loaner builds???? 

truly a set up of all time, it's Duvirin' time!

[(PSN)Hopper_Orouk]

2 hours ago, Malikili said:

Understandable 

I sometimes wish I was half as confident and argumentative in debates or in general in real life or the game as I am on the forums, I leave the forums and suddenly, all that unlimited power gone.

2 hours ago, (XBOX)C11H22O11 said:

I'm sure you can think of a worse gaming experience, there's plenty worse.

Railjack at launch.

[(PSN)Hopper_Orouk]

2 hours ago, (XBOX)C11H22O11 said:

Aren't these two points a bit contradictory?

well in a way they are...but I was trying to say is...I have this "warframe of the week/day" thing I do undeliberately where I find myself interested in this Warframe a lot, and use them in all content, so it's not like I'll forever not play the circuit because I only play this warframe forever.

last week I was waiting for Hydroid to appear in the circuit, this one I am waiting for Hildryn, so it should've been more convenient for players like this.

 

additionally, my Warframe builds are in a constant flux, always reforma and changing builds, so half of my frames in the inventory are unranked, incomplete, and uncomfortable to use currently...while the Warframe I'm focusing on is min maxed to the last forma.

Edited December 7, 2023 by (PSN)Hopper_Orouk

[(XBOX)C11H22O11]

5 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

well in a way they are...but I was trying to say is...I have this "warframe of the week/day" thing I do undeliberately where I find myself interested in this Warframe a lot, and use them in all content, so it's not like I'll forever not play the circuit because I only play this warframe forever.

last week I was waiting for Hydroid to appear in the circuit, this one I am waiting for Hildryn, so it should've been more convenient for players like this.

 

additionally, my Warframe builds are in a constant flux, always reforma and changing builds, so half of my frames in the inventory are unranked, incomplete, and uncomfortable to use currently...while the Warframe I'm focusing on is min maxed to the last forma.

Ok, I understand 👌

[Hexerin]

1 hour ago, (PSN)robotwars7 said:

maybe you should have a word with that guy next to you who's pointing a loaded gun at your head and telling you to play SP circuit.. there IS a guy with a gun telling you to play it right? because if there isn't, that means you aren't being forced at all. it might be the only way to get certain incarnons, but I'm sure you can still do the vast majority of the game's content without them if it bothers you that much, right? other rewards like arcanes are tradeable too.

"NoBoDy Is FoRcInG yOu To PlAy It" is not a valid argument, grow up.

[SovietSilviu]

got lex prim incarno, got dread hate incarno, got burston prime incarno, done, never touched that mode again

[(PSN)robotwars7]

11 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

I'm not familiar with Roguelike Roguelite games, do they have a randomizer too? I thought it was just about facing endless hordes...which is what Sanctuary onslaught is.

Yes, it's like the main defining feature of them. You start out with the weakest equipment and the enemies, map layout and loot are all procedurally generated. Some runs you might get a great item and go for ages or you might get garbage items and now the difficulty goes up; the randomness and variables is what makes it exciting and unpredictable, and DE wanted to put a slice of that into warframe with the Circuit mode.

One example of a roguelike i've played Extensively is Enter The Gungeon, which i highly recommend trying. Its a tiny game that won't make a dent in your storage but you can sink hours into it, lord knows i have. IMO it also makes you learn and get better at the game when you don't have any crutch items to rely on, but also makes it more rewarding when one does drop, just don't be lulled into a false sense of security, because it can end your run quickly! 

[(XBOX)Shodian]

29 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

I'm not familiar with Roguelike Roguelite games, do they have a randomizer too? I thought it was just about facing endless hordes...which is what Sanctuary onslaught is.

Though each game is different, the concensus is everything is random everytime you play. You may find a quality 4 item in the first treasure chest, or you may struggle the whole time through a session. All about skill and luck.

[Yamazuki]

For me part of the issue is what you don't own popping up, and for weapons the number of options is too low. 

The other fairly important issue isn't specific to circuit but the game in general, and that's how armor functions. Armor as a whole has been a problem, a way to remove it ends up being required unless you're getting carried or are using a weapon able to output enough damage to not care.

[Aruquae]

51 minutes ago, (PSN)Hopper_Orouk said:

I sometimes wish I was half as confident and argumentative in debates or in general in real life or the game as I am on the forums, I leave the forums and suddenly, all that unlimited power gone.

Thankfully took classes for that, but you’re right

On forums you get that strange sense of confidence. It could be because it’s Warframe, a game you know a lot about, or it could be the Social Presence Theory. 

[sunderthefirmament]

2 hours ago, Frebben said:

Sorry for not contributing to the original post; I just wanted to mention that you can pick rewards other than the incarnon rewards if you scroll to the right. Like rivens & kuva.

I didn’t know that. Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind for next week!