Intro to Modding Quest for new players

[rhoenix]

The first mission for Warframe draws a player in pretty well.  The problem is that once they get to their orbiter, quite a few new players feel overwhelmed by all the options that aren't explained, and quit.  I've in fact spoken to quite a few players who experienced this.

My suggestion is meant to a) help a player be introduced to modding, b) get a few good mods to start with, and c) find a new reason to dislike Alad V.

The idea is this - once a player completes the escape from Captain Vor, the Lotus will explain that though you don't remember, one of the reasons the Tenno were so feared was their ability to modify their weapons and Warframes.  This will then lead to contact with Alad V, who is very willing to be helpful.

As a way to implement it, a single Mobile Defense mission should be fine - the three nodes would each give the player some mods for their Primary, Secondary, and Melee weapons. 

A followup Spy mission would then net the player some good starting Warframe mods, and a Forma.  A quick explanation of polarities should follow the mission, and how a Forma lets you add or change them to fit your mods better

And naturally, once you complete the second mission, return to the orbiter and are preparing for the third mission (which you are told will have some Advanced mods for you to get), this is when Alad V betrays you, trying to capture you for his project.  This will lead to a bossfight against a half-active Zanuka before the player can escape.  Once the player does, Alad V will taunt the Tenno, daring them to try again at his home base in Jupiter.

In conclusion, this should give the player some good basic mods to start with for their weapons and Warframe, a basic primer on modding basics, and a great reason to go after Alad V.

[Zakkhar]

19 minutes ago, rhoenix said:

A followup Spy mission would then net the player some good starting Warframe mods, and a Forma.  A quick explanation of polarities should follow the mission, and how a Forma lets you add or change them to fit your mods better

Imagine the feeling, when you realise you used that free Forma to Polarize base Volt, Mag or Excal (especially excal) and it is not even potatoed. Potato first, before you do any formas. Imagine the feeling when you run out of Warframe slots and debate whether to leave that base frame that you have already forma'd once or get something new.

Modding is not an issue. Biggest ones are times of crafting (3+0,5 days for frame) and extremly limited amount of slots you get on start.

Edited August 7 by Zakkhar

[rhoenix]

5 minutes ago, Zakkhar said:

Imagine the feeling, when you realise you used that free Forma to Polarize base Volt, Mag or Excal (especially excal) and it is not even potatoed. Potato first, before you do any formas. Imagine the feeling when you run out of Warframe slots and debate whether to leave that base frame that you have already forma'd once or get something new.

Modding is not an issue. Biggest ones are times of crafting (3+0,5 days for frame) and extremly limited amount of slots you get on start.

Quite a few new players might disagree with you on the "modding is not an issue" part.  Several have related how they've quit when they check the Arsenal screen.  This idea is meant to resolve that issue for newer players.

As for the Potato part, that makes sense, but I'm not sure DE would want to give a player a free Catalyst and Reactor in the intro quest.  It would be cool of them to do, but it would also mean that player's not buying them through in-game systems or the Market.

I agree with you that crafting times are definitely an issue still - I personally think most of them should have their times divided by 12 hours.  However, that'd be an idea for another thread.

[Zakkhar]

7 minutes ago, rhoenix said:

As for the Potato part, that makes sense, but I'm not sure DE would want to give a player a free Catalyst and Reactor in the intro quest.  It would be cool of them to do, but it would also mean that player's not buying them through in-game systems or the Market.

They could if it was a training Catalyst/Reactor or training Forma, that only works in training. Or if it was marked with the weapon/warframe bound. Or better, just utilise starting Polarities of the Weapons/Warframes for the training. eg Volt has already -V starting Polarities, Mag has two -, Excal has DV

8 minutes ago, rhoenix said:

Quite a few new players might disagree with you on the "modding is not an issue" part.  Several have related how they've quit when they check the Arsenal screen.  This idea is meant to resolve that issue for newer players.

Then forma or potato are not needed for that at all. New players do not have the mods maxed up and even with maxed up mods you can use up 3-4.

[rhoenix]

2 minutes ago, Zakkhar said:

They could if it was a training Catalyst/Reactor or training Forma, that only works in training. Or if it was marked with the weapon/warframe bound. Or better, just utilise starting Polarities of the Weapons/Warframes for the training. eg Volt has already -V starting Polarities, Mag has two -, Excal has DV

Training Catalysts/Reactors/Forma only re-introduces the same issue with Broken Mods in another form, which can definitely lead to more player frustration.  I'm not sure that would help.

Having the overview be customized to whatever Warframe the player is using does make sense though, as the polarities there can be used as examples for modding.

5 minutes ago, Zakkhar said:

Then forma or potato are not needed for that at all. New players do not have the mods maxed up and even with maxed up mods you can use up 3-4.

The issue this thread is trying to address is lack of explanation for mods and modding, and how to rank them.  Having those mods ranked up already is not a requirement for this - in fact, it would be far better if the player got an explanation of that before they get too deep into the game.

Being given a cache of Endo and credits from the above missions to rank up a few mod ranks during the explanation also makes sense for this.

[Fred_Avant_2019]

I'll take anything as long as it helps new players understand just how important modding is. And why you should upgrade your mods.