I Think It Saw Us. --Basilisk, The Forest Hunter

[Calayne]

If TL;DR, skip past the italics!

 

Leaves sway gently in the rare breeze. Columns of light pierce the thick canopy of the Grineer Forest, as you flit from shadow to shadow, avoiding an unseen enemy. Rapid bursts of Grakata rounds sound in the distance, as the Grineer Commanders bark orders, engaging battle tactics and, from what you can understand, a "Tactical retreat". Screams of dying clones shatter the serenity of the wild.

 

You crouch behind a large, defunct storage tank, oxidized and overrun by tree roots and moss. Blood trickles down your arm, from a gaping wound in your shoulder. Fortunately, the shade of the trees mask your presence as a large Grineer platoon storm past you to reinforce their brethren, completely unaware of the trail of blood you left behind. Ammo pouches jingle with each chaotic step of the troop; Grakatas, Karaks and Miters are locked and loaded.  

 

By the time the platoon has completely cleared you, the noises have given way to an eerie silence.

 

The platoon skids to a halt in a clearing of the forest.

 

"Hh?"

 

"Se-ku gleh, gre-yah!"

 

"A'kwey-ah sektom!"

 

... ... ...

 

... ... ... ... ... 

 

... ... ... ... ... ... 

 

Silence.

 

But you feel it.

 

Under your feet. It comes. Step by step. A dull thud resonates. It comes.

 

Step.

 

By.

 

Step.

 

...

 

... ... And from below the path way up, it reared its ugly head.

 

"GET GLAM!!!! ATTAAAAAAAAAAAFFFFFFF!!!!!"

 

As the war cry rings out, and the Grineer scatter to positions, you see it, once more. Glints of light reflect off its majestic, palm-sized scale, as it let out a deafening roar, and charged its enemies. Rounds collapsed impotently upon its natural armor; miter blades ricocheted off its gigantic frame. And in a moment, it was upon them.

 

The wrath of the Basilisk. 

 

Now, screams echo across the forested hills once again, of which you are now a spectator. Lethal claws on the Basilisk's hands and feet rip across the bloody torsos of Lancers. It whips its tail, which effortlessly closes the breadth of the clearing, and decapitates a Miter and crushes an Elite.

 

And as it tore into their ranks, feasting in the bloody mess, Heavy Gunners revealed themselves from behind a tree line above the Basilisk, an ambush sprung as blood-lust led to beast within the Gorgon's effective range. 

 

"TENNO SKOOOOOOOM!!!" 

 

You briefly wonder why they never insult anything else, but your thoughts are quickly cut short as the Gorgons began firing, a veritable bullet hose. Surprised by the ambush, the Basilisk hisses as lead poured upon it. A gurgling sound was heard, and with hardly a breath, it spat an oozing, grey liquid at one of the Gunners.

 

The projectile landed square in the Gunner's face, and her panicked, rabid motions suddenly slowed considerably, and within mere moments, she froze, solid. 

 

The remaining battle was a blur, as the leftovers were decimated by the monster in the forest. And as the chilling quiet claimed the land, the beast stood still where it was.

 

And then it turned its head. 

 

Slowly, you feel its piercing, golden snake eyes sweep its surroundings....

 

All...

 

The way...

 

To you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Basilisk. Don't tell me none of you thought of a hulking, T-rex-sized lizard when you saw the Grineer Forest tile set? Freakken' T-rexes, man. Have some, we must.

 

I'd like to introduce a concept of a new fauna which inhabits the Forest tile set. An uncommon creature, it occasionally appears in a clearing off the beaten path, in a cave where it makes its lair. Sometimes, it comes out to hunt. 

 

This creature is near unkillable, even for the toughest of Tenno, though it is by no means invulnerable to damage. Rather, it requires patience and skill, and a constant stream of bullets and hacking blades to take down.

 

There are many ways to approach this creature: Stand in its sight while it hunts, your gun pointed at it; Ambush it while it sleeps within its cave; Challenge it to mortal combat, as you ready your Galatine.

 

But by far, the most common response to this creature is simple: You run like hell. Dodging its swiping claws, tails and pounces, you can either wait out its patience, or you can hide. You can even lure it to a Grineer Battalion to sate its hunger. But you better hone your focus, Tenno, as it also has a specialty: The petrifying spit. 

 

I hate knock down and CC effects the most in Warframe: The Scorpions, Shield Lancers, Leapers, Heavies and all sorts rely on it far too much. So for the petrifying spit, instead of being helpless if you're hit by it, you'll still be able to shoot, but unable to move and progressively slowing down. Rapidly pressing the movement keys will break you away from the petrification process, and you'll be able to move in a short while. Do nothing, and you'll be frozen stiff. The Basilisk uses this move only occasionally, and is not its first resort move (Quite unlike freakken' Scorpions.) 

 

 

This creature was conceived for a purpose: It's not meant to be weapon fodder, as most things in Warframe are. Rather, it was meant to inspire fear, and change the mood of the game, as well as to add some life into the Universe. I don't think Grineer, Corpus, Infested and Tenno should be the only dangerous things in the solar system.

 

The Basilisk should drop absolutely nothing. It is hard to kill, and is lethal enough to take a Tenno out in half a dozen hits. Its sole purpose in its conception is to simply chase you around and get you sweating. In addition, if you have a good team, you can try to take it down simply for the sake of it. 

 

I believe the forest tileset could definitely use more life: Prey and predator alike. 

 

[Saravind]

oh i thought of reptiles more along the lines of.....

 

give me a spaz 12 and some clever girl reference reptiles though...

 

but i do feel we need a big animal monster liek elephantis

[Calayne]

I used to think more along the lines of just a T-rex, or just something big and scary. Kinda like Rancors, from Star Wars.

[Cybernetix]

I like it. A lot. But rather than have it drop nothing (which will inevitably get people raging that they have nothing to show for killing it) why not let it drop a basilisk scale syandana or something? That way anyone succesful in killing it will have a prestige/bragging rights item that doesn't impact gameplay whatsoever.

[Calayne]

Haha, well, I think an achievement would suffice, to be honest! 

 

As for why I'd rather it drop nothing, I think a brief examination of the Stalker and Harvester cases will yield an answer.

 

The Basilisk is a challenge for challenge's sake. It's not a quest for loot of any sort, and I think we've gotten too used to needing a tangible reward to feel satisfied. This hunt is a primal, man-and-beast fight. Certainly not a prize fight, or at least, I'd prefer it if it weren't. Perhaps a simple badge would do? But even so, that's really kind of pressing it, for me.

 

Scarves are currently quite sought-after, especially if it is unique. I believe even objects with no game impact whatsoever would draw ire if it's hidden behind an RNG wall. 

[Warlord1400]

It will be perfect for the wildlife roster!

[Madotsuki]

I don't like that it's "nigh unkillable" and you're supposed to run away like a wuss. It should be threatening, but by no means simply a force that you must avoid, this isn't Amnesia -_- Making it tough is one thing, making it an ultimate bullet sponge as you implied is another.

 

I can see this as a rare mini-boss of the forest tileset, a chance to be found in some secret area in slumber, a slightly smaller chance to be out hunting like the giant beasties in Monster Hunter.

 

As for how it fights, I'd imagine it'd be something like the Rages in DmC (minus the quill shots and buzzsaw spins), claw swipes, pounces, bites, 180 degree tail swipes and so forth. The petrifying spit starts being used when the Basilisk is on half health.

 

To make it tough to kill, its entire body can be covered in armored scales that reduce damage, with patches of particularly armored areas that are completely immune to damage (these spots are covered in stone-like exo-skeleton. while they provide more protection than scales, they're also less flexible, so enough firepower can shatter them to reveal unprotected patches of flesh). Its unarmored weakspots are its eyes (you can blind it temporarily with enough eye damage, destroying its aim but also making it attack faster and more unpredictably), its mouth when it's open (to spit or to roar), and the exo-skeleton armored spots after destroying the armor.

 

Killing one gives Basilisk Scales (a material) and, on the first kill, a guaranteed Basilisk Scale Syndana blueprint (bp drop becomes chance based after first kill, much like the Cronus for Vor), which requires basilisk scales (about 2-3 Basilisk drops' worth) and some other mats.

 

How does that sound to you?

[Calayne]

The concept of the hard scales is actually wonderful! It provides some tactical use to weakpoints (and "strong" points, too) other than just increased damage. Also, the limitation of the petrifying spit is a very good addition.

I'd say that the reward is generally something that can be added if desired, but as I said before, you'd only want to confront it if you come prepared, and in a group, perhaps. I'm personally against necessarily adding rewards for the kills themselves, especially blueprints (why would beasts drop prints?), but if DE makes other fauna drop materials and prints too, I don't see why not. Personally, I'd make a cloak out of this guy.

Regarding the fact that you have to run, I think a change of pace is good once in a while. We're always the hunter, feeling no threat because we are ridiculously powerful. But for once, we're prey, and you can try to fight it, but ultimately it is meant to inspire a fear: of being seen; bring chased; bring helpless, against somrthing vastly tougher than you.

The most similar in concept is the stalker, but he dies quickly, isn't very imposing, and people generally look at him like a Hate Blueprint. Not to mention he's largely a range fighter, except for slash dash (arguably).

But to round it off, I just think not necessarily having a blueprint or reward makes a return to the primal realm more evident, and it allows life to be added to maps without necessarily needing a reward for each, even if it is a mini boss. But I love your idea about the scales and eye thing! Really would bring immersion to a whole new level.

[Madotsuki]

Well i really consider the whole "blueprint" thing as game mechanics and not part of the immersion. It's like, why would BOSSES randomly drop blueprints? Materials and components salvaged from their corpses, sure, but a blueprint?? It's just a mechanic, not something justifiable within the canon universe.

 

As for the "change of pace", I believe that with Warframe, while it's alright to make the player feel threatened, for this particular game and its theme such threatening encounters should focus on inducing excitement and an adrenaline rush over simply terror and fear. Players will already get their fair share of fear from encountering the unknown for the first time. Regardless of how strong it ACTUALLY is, wouldn't you be terrified randomly running into a giant reptile in the middle of a forest when you were just curbstomping grineer grunts a few seconds ago? But i suppose that's just a difference in headcanon for what the game is about, and i can see where you're coming from.

 

Regardless, this is a great concept that definately would spice up the game, wish i'd see more of the sort on the forums :D

[Calayne]

Hmm, that's true, in fact, regarding the blueprints and the terror thing.

 

Granted, people do get used to even scary things after a while, so I have to agree, it's not an effect on people that could last forever. But one of my most memorable moments in Warframe was when I first found the Stalker, blinking lights and all, and I was alone. Of course, I was a Loki, so that ended pretty quickly with his death (No dispel yet), but the impression he made would have been more lasting had he actually meant a threat.

 

I do like the idea of being hunted, though, and the frantic pace of trying to escape a creature much stronger than you is one I'd like to see. Sure, you could kill it, but it has a good chance of killing you as well, unlike most units in the Warframe universe. And to enhance the mood as well as the need for stealth in a world that is bigger than you are, I believe having at least one apex predator in this place that isn't immediately killable by most people would do it some good.

 

Just imagine: Walking through the forest, you suddenly feel the vibrations of heavy steps, getting louder and louder. Peeking around a corner, a massive frame emerges from behind a tree as massive as itself. It lumbers on, eyes wandering, searching for prey. But before it reaches you, it spies a group of Grineer, including the target you're meant to capture. A roar penetrates the silence, one that can be heard even from a few rooms away, and you hurry to distract the beast before it can down (And subsequently devour) your target as well.

 

Running in the opposite direction to the target, the beast follows you, hoping to pin you down with quick lunges and bold charges. You reach a Grineer clearing, filled with run-down structures, run up a wall, back flip onto a platform, and disappear from sight as the Basilisk begins to prowl the area. Quickly doubling back, you capture the fallen target, and escape the mission unharmed.

[Bhaltair]

I love the idea of a large active predator for Earth (Kubrow's are just territorial). owo

Will you be making a color concept for Basilisk?

Edited September 9, 2014 by Bhaltair

[Calayne]

I love the idea of a large active predator for Earth (Kubrow's are just territorial). owo

Will you be making a color concept for Basilisk?

Haha wow, talk about necro across time! How far did you have to scroll down the fan concepts to see this?!

Well, I might consider doing it, but my backlog for colouring is larger than the basilisk itself! Haha, my Orokin Labyrinth and a few other stuff need some love, too. ;)

Plus my colouring sucks. I'm really new to it.