Feedback On Recent Changes

[Suupa-Kistu]

Warframe is a growing, evolving game. Every update could dramatically change the way the game is changed, from new map layouts, new game modes, new weapons new frames... it's been really fun in the short time I've been playing! But a few new things feel really like the antithesis of what I've come to enjoy in warframe, so I wanted to take the time to give some feedback to you, DE, because you've given me so many hours of fun and the least I can do is give you some constructive criticism.

The first thing I'd like to bring up are the new Grineer Doors. Wait wait - it's not what you think! While these initially enraged me to no end, now that I know they're there and what to look for I don't mind them - mostly. But they have a big problem. The green sensor bar? Can be obscured by the terrain. A lot. Without punch through, or standing directly infront of the door, some of these sensor bars are literally untargetable. Corpus doors at least have cameras which are always lowered from the ceiling. These being attached to doors themselves allows the tile to obscure them, and this can be a major problem. I don't have time to dance around infront of a door while who knows what is coming infront of or behind me. Please make the door sensors something which cannot be obscured by a low hanging ceiling.

But let's be honest, we all know if I'm bringing up Grineer maps the real problem is the arc traps. There is a lot wrong with them, but I'll get started with the worst scenario first. In invasion maps, where you begin in a grineer tile, and go to a corpus tile? The arc reactor can exist. They can exist on the other side of laser doors. That means if I bump into the door, and fall over, the arc trap has all of the time in the world before my frame stands up to zap me to its heart's content. This is not fun, good, and shouldn't really be happening anyway. It's an invasion, those are traps, it doesn't make sense for them to be there.

Arc traps though, are sort of a flawed idea. The lights were the same thing, and while I appreciated them being removed, you managed to make them largely worse. The lights were large, they were white, and they flickered. While they were often on the other half of objects so you couldn't see them (IE you entered from the wrong side, too bad, zap! No chance to see it!) you still had a chance to blast them before you got close. Now? Arc traps are the same color as most walls. You see them when you get shot, often while reloading moving between fights. They can respawn durring survival missions for a fun little surprise while you're low on health - because that makes sense. Worse yet, they can appear on the other side of objects still, zap you before you can see them, and they're way smaller targets than the lights!

The core problem with the arc traps, and the lights before them, is that the map generation code makes it so they are not punishments for not paying attention. They're punishments for playing grineer maps. I know that if I play in a Grineer tile, i'm going to get zapped. I'm going to take damage. Invisibility doesn't matter. Being stealthy doesn't matter. Using abilities doesn't matter. My mods don't matter. All that matters is that it's the right kind of map, so I'm going to get zapped.

Warframe when I started playing was a game of paying attention, quick moving, sizing up a challenge and dealing with it effectively. There's a lot of out-of-match stuff to do, mods, items, frame coloring, but the gameplay is 99% going through a level, sizing up threats, and dealing with them in your prefered method. The arc trap, like the light before it, punishes a player who cannot predict what is on the other side of a room, and in the case of the arc reactor, does so constantly until a small device can be destroyed.

In the same vein, the corpus doors not allowing you to slide through them makes those makes so much less fun. Often times there are cameras you cannot even reach, thanks to those laser doors. Corpus are coming at you from all sides. the only way to get the quick going fun that I used to love in those levels is to use Rhino, which sure, I love Rhino, but I'd like some variety in my frames. Stopping to find a camera to shoot is the opposite of quick decisive acction. It makes me feel like I should be going slowly and methodically, which doesn't really work for a lot of frames anyway.

Additionally, there is a bit of problem with mod drops. I've had unusually good luck in some ways, getting my hands on many copies of streamline, continuity, and flow, but I have never once seen a Stormbringer drop. It is only an uncommon drop from Ballistas, which are now very common enemies by comparison after the recent patches. I have run almost exclusively Everest to level up several frames, and I have killed at least 2-5 Balistas most runs. I have farmed over 40 neurodes from Hek, killing those Balistas in the past week or two alone... and I have not seen a single Stormbringer.

While I have plenty of electric pistol mods, the only ways I have heard to get the electric rifle, before the recent event (which was fun by the way, I look forward to the fire or ice themed status mods in a month or two!) were Corpus Defense (which almost completely vanished until recently, hooray!) or Ballistas. I played many Corpus Defenses, which was made harder by no magnetic on my primary weapons, and never got one. I played many maps, namely Lares, which had lots of Balistas, and even with Nekros using allies, never got a Stormbringer. Electric creates Radiation, Magnetic, and Corrosive, three of the most useful elements in the game. The difference in my effectiveness, and enjoyment, after I got my hands on High Voltage was insane.

I've read a lot of people saying that before terribly long ago, this was not the case. Stormbringers were easy to get before the end of Mercury, apparently! This feels like the sort of thing that should be adjusted.

As a last note, I have fought the Stalker a lot of times lately, due to my farming of Hek, when I do the occasional survival or alert to spice things up. Every time I get Slash Dash. Every time. Do you know how many copies of slashdash I have? So many things drop it. The Stalker doesn't need to. However, recently I have not even gotten blueprint drops. I have dread, and a backup copy, I've gotten Hate, and a backup copy... but no despair. And lately it won't even drop anything but Slashdash. There are plenty of rare, awesome mods. Please make sure if the Stalker can't have the decency to show up often, or drop a blueprint, that it at least drops something useful? I can get 10 slashdashes from one side of mercury to the other. I don't need one from the Stalker attempting to avenge Lephantis.

There are other things that don't feel great, farming a void mission for hours to only get credits or resources when those keys are then consumed, and the scarcity of some resources while some are all too easy to get (I have over 400 control modules, but so few orokin cells, because I can't get cells from voids but I can get control modules!) but these are problems that feel more intrinsic to the current setup. It feels like there should be some better way than just doing the same content again and again to get the new, cool stuff. Some way that I can go on a path that even if I have to do the same level 100 times, at least on the 100th I know I'll get rhino prime, and not another forma blueprint. Or credits.

When someone is currently unemployed, needing to take painkillers to make getting around on a crutch okay, and spending way too much time a day on your game, they should be able to work towards their goals without feeling like all that matters is the RNG...

But you've done so many amazing things so far, and I have faith that you will do so in the future! I look forward to seeing how all of this turns out. Even if you disagree with me and continue to refine the arc trap/broken light, keep the corpus doors as roadblocks, I am sure you will continue to make the game fun.

[unmog]

First off, I like these big first impressions sort of posts. Kudos +1

 

I agree with the arc traps, Steve even sorta teased us about it in a recent livestream. :p They know it needs work, Im sure they are. It was silly though that only corpus had any kind of security. If anything corpus needs some better security now... and what about infested? Hopefully some new units at least are coming out with the new infested planet. Infested and "corrupted" enemies really are lacking in variety... and face it corrupted enemies are just reskinned normal enemies so far.

 

Corpus laser doors giving you a problem? Have you tried forward rolling through them? Try it, that still works.

 

About mods and RNG? I dunno... thats RNG for you. You could try asking a friend or someone in trade channel if you can trade something for one. I give new people stuff all the time, theres lots of others like me. :) I have mostly good things to say about warframes community compared to others.

 

 

Otherwise, what happened to you to get hurt if you dont mind me asking? Anyway if youd like some help add me in the game sometime and we can do some missions etc together.