Infested 2.0: New Units And Improvements To Old Ones [Wip]

[Paradoxbomb]

Well I finally wrote a part of that Infested Overhaul concept thread i was talking about a few days ago. It's still not complete, but check it out if you want. Mind if i use some of your images later, for example the Infestlings and Runners?

 

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/180923-mados-concept-diary-faction-overhaul-infested-20wip/

 

Not a problem, just as long as you credit me for the work. Will add the link to the OP as well.

 

 

What about large "things" that spew out lesser infested? (Crawlers, Infestlings, etc)?

 

That's what the Ancient Hive Minds do. They spawn infestlings and cordyceps, but not crawlers though since they're not really a "new" infested, just an existing one that was torn in half.

 

 

Door blocking infested. What about double-press doors(friendship-doors) - two players must press "X" together to open door - meh, not a big deal. But now imagine -  grotesque infested in a size of giant door, angry, big and ready to shout something like "You shall not pass!". You trying to run away from infested - nope, door blocked by him. Your energy drained and you must recover - too bad, even doors want to kill you. Rushing thru enemies - you will have to kill biggest of them alone.

To go along with the door thing, the infested could take over corpus systems like the cameras that scan rooms. The vicinity around them should be covered in assimilated goo that erupts with hidden infested when the security cameras spot you.

 

Evil doors may be going a bit too far, but I like the idea of the wall growth creating barriers over certain doorways rather than just being decoration, and it could take a concentrated effort to bust through it. It could make for an interesting anti-rushing mechanic or even a way to "trap" the player until they clear all infested in an area (sort of the Infested version of a lockdown). It would definitely have to be balanced though so that it's actually fun and surprising and not just annoying to the player.

 

Infested either taking of control of or even growing their own organic security systems is also something worth taking into consideration.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Paradoxbomb

[Paradoxbomb]

A few small updates:

 

-Finally got around to adding a concept for Leapers 2.0. Will have to post some sort of concept art eventually since it's hard to describe their appearance.

-Also added a concept for Disruptors and Toxic Ancients 2.0 (more of a 1.1 since they're ultimately the same save for some minor attack/mechanic changes).

-Removed the Armor mechanic from Cordyceps since it seemed redundant on top of their health boost. Instead they now boost the damage and movement speed of their host slightly.

-Overhauled Drifters since the Regulator concept is no longer necessary with Cordyceps boosting speed and damage. They are now "infested" Oxium Ospreys that lob organic mines at the player, as well as retain their trademark Self-destruct function

Edited February 17, 2014 by Paradoxbomb

[RustyNaps]

A few small updates:

 

-Finally got around to adding a concept for Leapers 2.0. Will have to post some sort of concept art eventually since it's hard to describe their appearance.

-Also added a concept for Disruptors and Toxic Ancients 2.0 (more of a 1.1 since they're ultimately the same save for some minor attack/mechanic changes).

-Removed the Armor mechanic from Cordyceps since it seemed redundant on top of their health boost. Instead they now boost the damage and movement speed of their host slightly.

-Overhauled Drifters since the Regulator concept is no longer necessary with Cordyceps boosting speed and damage. They are now "infested" Oxium Ospreys that lob organic mines at the player, as well as retain their trademark Self-destruct function

Would you like my revamped ancients for your concepts? Note I think one might Really break what you've written down already.

[MEGASHAFT]

Oh man, I was going to start a topic about flying infested units but you've gone above and beyond what I was imagining. Great ideas!

[Paradoxbomb]

Would you like my revamped ancients for your concepts? Note I think one might Really break what you've written down already.

 

Go for it, I'm open to ideas (or at least posting others' suggestions in the OP). I don't have any major overhauls in mind for the infested myself as you can see, except the Healer arguably, and even then "overhaul" is a stretch.

 

Oh man, I was going to start a topic about flying infested units but you've gone above and beyond what I was imagining. Great ideas!

 

Thanks, glad you like them. :)

Edited February 18, 2014 by Paradoxbomb

[WhiteCopain]

I'd like to see things like this.

[Paradoxbomb]

*bump*

[BlasterIce]

Lotus:Threat level detected,ITS OVER 9000!!!!!

[NeverEatTheLemonsAlone]

I can only say that I would be absolutely DELIGHTED if DE were to implement even part of this. The infested need some love, my Latron Prime can generally one or two shot most infested at low to medium levels. Adding in some more support or CC, as well as high armor and my god the Ancient Warrior (looks so goooooood) would add some much-needed variety to their roster. +1.

[Paradoxbomb]

Lotus:Threat level detected,ITS OVER 9000!!!!!

 

There's no way that can be right! (I'll take this as a sign of approval).

 

I can only say that I would be absolutely DELIGHTED if DE were to implement even part of this. The infested need some love, my Latron Prime can generally one or two shot most infested at low to medium levels. Adding in some more support or CC, as well as high armor and my god the Ancient Warrior (looks so goooooood) would add some much-needed variety to their roster. +1.

 

Same here, although as a fellow Latron Prime fan I'm concerned that thing will one-shot just about anything no matter what, but hey, at least it won't be the exact same Charger or Runner over and over. Glad you like the Warrior, I'm surprised no one's called it out for being gamebreakingly OP yet (not that it's stats are set in stone or anything but still).

[spysweeper242]

They should move like the hyenas 0.0

[Paradoxbomb]

They should move like the hyenas 0.0

 

Which enemy specifically? Because I kinda imagined that Leapers would have a very similar (if not even more unpredictable) movement pattern, wall-jumping included.

[(PSN)Evilman520]

I like most of the ideas. One thing I have to say is that the osprey one cannot happen. If you read up into the infested, you'll remember that they are organic beings infected by the Technocyte virus. It's a virus that specifically cannot attack robotics. It must have organic or synthetic flesh to infect. It's simply not a virus that can be transferred to a robot.

 

As for the Ancient Warrior, I honestly feel like that is certainly something that should be the Infested hunter (like Stalker for the Tenno and Harvester for the Corpus. Rebecca did hint once before that they were in the midst of making a Grineer hunter next, so Infested is the final order of business). Make it a challenge.

 

The Ancient Disruptors are enough of a pain in the &#! as-is. Personally, I don't think it would be a very good idea to make their disruption an AOE and an even worse idea to make it drain shields too. That's just way too overpowered.

 

Also, while the idea of making most of these Infested a nightmare is certainly something that should happen, try not to make all of them have 100% dmg immunity to certain points. One thing you should keep in mind is how the infested work. They are, essentially, the Zerg. They come in swarms and there are typically twice as much Infested on maps as there would be Corpus or Grineer. You're going to have these infested swarming the S#&$ out of you. That being said, Very very few people will find themselves able to maintain the calm and precision required to hit the few spots on certain enemies that aren't immune to dmg. The phalanx, for example: You're going to eventually become swarmed by the "grunt" units (it's inevitable). That being said, You would have to worry about wading your way through an army of Chargers, Leapers, and other monsters so that you can get around to the backside of a phalanx to kill it. It would be almost impossible to do so, and would be COMPLETELY impossible if you are soloing, since the phalanx would be tracking you as you flanked it. MY point is, don't necessarily make these things have 100% dmg reduction. Instead, give them something like 75% like the corpus helmets... Except for the Warrior. Give that *@##$ exactly what you said it should have.

 

Overall, most of the ideas are great, but you still have to keep in mind to not give too grandiose of stats. The Infested are a swarm. Their purpose is to overwhelm. Although weak individually, Infested are meant to be a living nightmare in large groups. I agree that they need a buff, but not so much of one that their dmg immunity, coupled with the sheer numbers, would make it impossible to survive more than a few seconds.

[Paradoxbomb]

-snip-

 

Some valid points here. To reiterate, the Drifters aren't actually infested but rather they simply have a large mass of wall-growth attached to them, kind of like some really big, ugly, mutant barnacle. The growth has limited control over it's movement systems, but the Osprey is still fully aware and uninfested (further proven by it's tendency to fulfill it's programming and detonate when near death). A stretch maybe, but the Virus is artificial in nature, and more intelligent than we're led to believe, so anything is possible.

 

Making the Ancient Warrior the infested stalker would be interesting, but I don't know how fitting it would be since it's a giant hulking creature whereas the "hunter" enemies tend to be small, fast, and agile.

 

Apparently I made a mistake with the Disruptor's attack, I didn't realize it no longer completely drains shields, I'll be sure to change that. As for the AoE, it is supposed to be telegraphed so that the player has ample time to move, so while the threat of the attack is higher the player actually has time to react as opposed to their current state where a tap on the shoulder permanently siphons your energy.

 

So far the Phalanx is the only enemy (besides the Warrior) with 100% damage reduction from the front, and it is possible to defeat them solo. If the player doesn't have some ability to stun or distract them, they can still trigger it's Absorb attack, which reduces it's turning speed and allows them to flank and kill it. All other "armored" enemies simply have damage reduction, making killing them via the raw DPS route possible but not practical. Regardless, I understand your point that the infested are indeed rushers and shouldn't require too much in the way of precision, though on the other hand if they only have units that attack head on isn't a very interesting, difficult, or diverse faction. The way I see it the infested are in need of enemies who won't attack directly or hinder your own ability to attack directly to add more diversity and challenge the player.

 

Granted the stronger or trickier enemies would need to be balanced out with the lighter infested, either by having smaller waves of light infested spawn when heavier infested are spawning in conjunction, or making sure that the heavies are rarer if you're playing solo. Right now the Infested are ONLY "zerg" units so obviously the amount of lighter units like Chargers would have to be toned down since they now have a whole skew of new creatures spawning alongside them. It would fall on DE to make sure the balance between light and heavy infested is enough so that they prevent players from getting too comfy around a cyropod or even risk running into the fray to kill an Asilid or Phalanx, but not so much that the players simply cannot distribute their focus between the rushers and the heavy/support units.

 

As for stats, nothing is set and stone, those are just general ranges to indicate "this is slightly tougher than that" or "this will only Spawn from Earth and upward." Naturally the stronger the unit the rarer it's going to be compared to the lighter stuff, so the player being swarmed by 50 Phalanxes would be incredibly unlikely.

[RustyNaps]

-snip- (Just needed to notify you)

Here's my infested Ancient concepts. you can use them if you please.

 

 

 

You might want to edit out their powers with photoshop or tell people to disregard them.

[Paradoxbomb]

Here's my infested Ancient concepts. you can use them if you please.

 

Ah, I remember actually seeing these a long time ago. The only thing I'm not too terribly crazy about is the Disruptor with the hive nodes on it's shoulders. Nonetheless, I've added them to the OP; I like how you made them look distinct without looking completely different from one another (as it should be). As per recommendation I cropped out the side notes, though I'm debating whether or not to add some of those features to them. Will have to think about that one. :)

[Archwizard]

My ONLY problem with this is the shoulder-coils on the Ancient Disruptor; I feel they make him a bit too... Frankenstein-esque.

 

And maybe Ospreys aren't the best way to go with a flying enemy, since the Technocyte Plague doesn't usually attack robots (in spite of the name). But I absolutely ADORE the idea of a flying Infested enemy; perhaps one were instead grown out of the spores on the ships, like a massive flying carpet/manta ray? Could even hide on the ceiling like a bat until it spots an enemy, then swoop down and gas/bite them.

[RustyNaps]

Ah, I remember actually seeing these a long time ago. The only thing I'm not too terribly crazy about is the Disruptor with the hive nodes on it's shoulders. Nonetheless, I've added them to the OP; I like how you made them look distinct without looking completely different from one another (as it should be). As per recommendation I cropped out the side notes, though I'm debating whether or not to add some of those features to them. Will have to think about that one. :)

Well those hive nodes are more like tesla's to which he channels the electricity to fire a medium ranged beam that drains 50% energy if the player was out of melee range. Though it has a wind up time of 5 secs and can be stopped if enough bullets hit.

 

Trust me how they look now was much better before. Before they were mushroom looking things; it was pretty funny.

 

Anyway thanks for adding them :P

[RustyNaps]

My ONLY problem with this is the shoulder-coils on the Ancient Disruptor; I feel they make him a bit too... Frankenstein-esque.

 

And maybe Ospreys aren't the best way to go with a flying enemy, since the Technocyte Plague doesn't usually attack robots (in spite of the name). But I absolutely ADORE the idea of a flying Infested enemy; perhaps one were instead grown out of the spores on the ships, like a massive flying carpet/manta ray? Could even hide on the ceiling like a bat until it spots an enemy, then swoop down and gas/bite them.

Well that was the point. He is electrical and I wanted to make his powers really stand out. I can revert them back to the mushrooms they were before if you'd like.

 

OR I can try a completely new style to show off electricity.

[Paradoxbomb]

And maybe Ospreys aren't the best way to go with a flying enemy, since the Technocyte Plague doesn't usually attack robots (in spite of the name). But I absolutely ADORE the idea of a flying Infested enemy; perhaps one were instead grown out of the spores on the ships, like a massive flying carpet/manta ray? Could even hide on the ceiling like a bat until it spots an enemy, then swoop down and gas/bite them.

 

As I've said before, the Drifter isn't a true infested, it's just an Osprey with infested growth attached to it like a barnacle. Other than having limited control over it's movement, the Opsrey is uninfested and fully self-aware (or as self aware as Corpus proxies get). Even so, I'll probably have to add some sort of bat/bird like flier as well, since the drifter is more of a "float around and bombard the player" enemy than a "swoop in from above and claw your face off" creature, which is something that the infested should really have as well. I'm always open to player suggestions if anyone has ideas or concepts as well.

 

 

Well that was the point. He is electrical and I wanted to make his powers really stand out. I can revert them back to the mushrooms they were before if you'd like.

 

OR I can try a completely new style to show off electricity.

 

I may not be crazy about it, but concept art is concept art, so it's your call. I think it looks fine for now and it does get it's point across, but if you feel like updating it than by all means go ahead (I hope I'm not coming off as rude or insulting).

Edited February 24, 2014 by Paradoxbomb

[RustyNaps]

I may not be crazy about it, but concept art is concept art, so it's your call. I think it looks fine for now and it does get it's point across, but if you feel like updating it than by all means go ahead (I hope I'm not coming off as rude or insulting).

Nah your fine. 

 

Now I'm thinking of his back plate having 2 large horns protruding from it conducting electricity THEN probably giving him a mag like mace tentacle hand, sorta like the nodes on the Amphis. 

 

I'll have to sketch it later.

[lautalocos]

i really like this ideas!

(except for cryo runners. not because of the skills, but because a cryo mutation sounds a little bit silly. yes, i realise it´s a game about space ninjas, and we have magnetic monsters, but still)

 

also, the hovering infested looks like he uses fedoras for floating

[Paradoxbomb]

Nah your fine. 

 

Now I'm thinking of his back plate having 2 large horns protruding from it conducting electricity THEN probably giving him a mag like mace tentacle hand, sorta like the nodes on the Amphis. 

 

I'll have to sketch it later.

 

The ends of the back halo thingy being longer than the other ancients and having electical/magnetic energy coming off of them? Now that's something I could get behind. He could also have shoulder nodes as well, but instead being large hive-shaped objects they could be shaped similar to the spines that grow out Chargers' backs (two small spines per shoulder or something).

[Paradoxbomb]

i really like this ideas!

(except for cryo runners. not because of the skills, but because a cryo mutation sounds a little bit silly. yes, i realise it´s a game about space ninjas, and we have magnetic monsters, but still)

 

also, the hovering infested looks like he uses fedoras for floating

 

It's a little silly, though then again we have elemental enemies in the form of leaders now, so it's anyone's call at this point. Could easily be changed to some kind of infested chemical that hinders movement though.

 

Also Oxium-Powered Fedoras, make Ospreys both fashionable and functional. That element works wonders (was also too lazy to go into massive detail with the Osprey's wings).

[RustyNaps]

The ends of the back halo thingy being longer than the other ancients and having electical/magnetic energy coming off of them? Now that's something I could get behind. He could also have shoulder nodes as well, but instead being large hive-shaped objects they could be shaped similar to the spines that grow out Chargers' backs (two small spines per shoulder or something).

Well the left and right end being longer and thicker than the others having electricity jumping between them, sorta like jacobs ladder. 

 

Maybe I can turn the shoulder nodes into smaller coiled charger spines that would hold the magnetic charge coming from the spines to transfer the energy.

 

Actually, that sounds really good.

 

ALSO the "Hives" are actually a morel mushrom  I just didn't go into much detail with it :P

Edited February 24, 2014 by RustyNaps