The Orokin Labyrinth: Epic End Game, Endless Dungeon And Bosses.

[Calayne]

Skip to after the bar to ignore fluff.

 

Declaration: Fluff is non-canon, and really shouldn't be the main focus! It's pretty badly written, but if you like it, I'm glad! If you don't, however, keep in mind that it's just my spin on things and is totally a fictional version of our fictional universe.

 

Tales of the Tenno

 

Deep in the Void, the Orokin had built a structure so massive, it can be seen from a lightyear away; A structure so gargantuan that it seemed to hover oddly in known space. Nobody knows what it was made for, and no one knows when it was made... But everyone swears by their mother's grave that there must be treasure inside... 

 

And much danger.

 

Behold, the Orokin Labyrinth:

 

 

Fluff here!

 

The first Tenno who found it was a loner; He frequently ran lone incursions into the Void, raiding the towers left by the Orokin. One day, as he rode in his Space Skate, he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a tiny, gold speck in the distance.

 

Intrigued, he diverted his course; Couldn't be more than a few minutes travel, he thought. 

 

He was wrong.

 

The Tenno Skate travels at several thousand light-years per second when warp speed is initiated; A technological "Gift" from their Orokin ancestors. 

 

It took him a month to reach his destination.

 

Starving, having exhausted all his rations, he stumbled onto the cockpit's pilot seat, and beheld the structure: Even thousands of kilometers away from it, it was like staring into a wall. He shuddered, though not from hunger.

 

Calculating the time it took for him to get here, taking into consideration the trajectory, influence of Void eddies, gravitational anomalies, nebula effects... ... ... ... ... He obtained the coordinates to his current location; Even if they were wrong by a factor equivalent to their own solar system, all they had to do to reorient themselves... Was to look out the window.

 

 

Speculation began to arise on among the Tenno as to what it was: Was it a treasury? A community space? Was it for safety? Many theories abound. Tenno rode out, hoping to uncover its secrets. Yet, none were successful: Scouring its large surface was indeed tedious work.

 

Until today.

 

One lucky Tenno noticed, after days of riding around the structure, a strange golden arch near the bottom of this mystery, wrapped in an enigma (And possibly fourteen trillion tonnes of Orokin concrete). Approaching it, he disembarked from his Skate, his Warframe temporarily shielding him from harsh space. 

 

Gentle, cursive writing in a lost language gracefully adorned the arch. Inspecting it, he pushes a button. And a door opened. An atmospheric bubble emerged from the door arch, presumably to welcome its visitor, providing breathable air and a welcoming environment.

 

His squad soon joined him. 

 

Within it was a great many rooms, all beautifully adorned in typical Orokin fashion: His squad split up, coordinating their search. Room, after room, after room, after room, they searched. What they were searching for, even they did not know. 

 

Eventually, they found a flight of stairs up. 

 

From then on, the sound of battle was constantly heard through radio chatter, and frantic shouting when a flight of stairs up was found. 

 

And so it went, on and on. 

 

Then, silence.

 

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So, the Orokin Labyrinths: My answer to end-game, and difficulty that scales to your ability.

 

 

 

The concept is simple: You start at the lowest level and make your way up. Easy, right?

 

Except, this goes on... Forever. 

 

The alternative name I was thinking for this concept was this: The Endless Tower.

 

Sort of makes sense now, yeah?

 

Of course, it's not really endless. As you can see from the sketch, there is a top, and there is an end; What is up there, though, is a whole other game.

 

First, the premise: End-game has to be meaningful. It has to be measurable by your ability, and it has to be until your failure point. You exhaust the limit of your equipment, your skill, your ingenuity, and sometimes, your luck. You push it until you crumple into a ball on the floor and cry silently in the dark. 

 

This is my take on that. Bit by bit, you climb the ladder, with an end in mind. You see the end coming, and you know that if you are strong, you'll eventually get there. But you also know that you'll fail somewhere between the start and ultimate success; Yet, failure is only motivation to come back better, faster, stronger, and equipped with a better plan.

 

 

Second, the climbing difficulty mechanism: The tower is run this way: You have a key that you craft once, and only once. You fight for the right to get this key, and it stays with you forever. I'm thinking Mastery Rank locked, though it won't be high: About 4 or 5, thereabouts. By then, most players will have a respectable amount of power, but may not be too powerful. A good start for testing their might. 

 

In the tower itself, you start in a room. The map is available, but only reveals rooms as you enter them, and not anything more. There are no guiding hints. You'll meet enemies along the way, scaled according to the floor level, and not to yourself. You are assured higher and higher level enemies as you progress to the top. 

 

Here's an example of a floor, though:

 

 

Your goal is to move up the tower through the elevators. What treasures lie at the top, no one knows. (Or actually, I do)

 

Every 5 floors is a checkpoint, which you can choose to begin your journey, assuming you've gone that far. This makes it easier for you to continue your journey, and you don't have to wait 30 minutes like in Survival or Defence before things start to get challenging. 

 

The checkpoints: These are small rooms, an interstice before the next five levels. Here, you can rest and recuperate, and also change the loadout of your guns. If you're happy with the way you're geared up, you can simply step past the portal, and you'll quickly be sent through the next five levels of the gauntlet before meeting another room like this. 

 

You can also tap out here, and keep all that you've gained. Mods, resources, credits and experience bonus are saved here. Of course, if you die in the middle of the towers, you get nothing. A fairly simple concept to keep players on their toes.

 

You may, of course, join your friends. But you can only start from the lowest level of the four member's highest point. 

 

The current estimate for a max level would be 150: For each level you ascend, the enemies' level increases accordingly. For simplicity's sake, we start at level 1, with level 1 enemies, and level 150, with level 150 enemies.

 

Third, the defence mechanisms: Of course, at this point, I am aware that Trinities, Lokis, Ash's, Valkyrs and other Frames with a veritable God Mode will have a distinct advantage. With Blessing and Invis builds, one can remain indestructible throughout the whole map, and can progress with great impunity through the levels.

 

The Orokin, of course, know about this and have implemented counter-measures. 

 

Now and then, an anti-Tenno unit will appear (Two or three at most, even at high levels), wielding anti-Tenno weaponry: Launchers and lasers which disable certain Tenno abilities, and can detect invisible Tenno. 

 

Since I can also sense that certain warframes are OP, I also sense that people will scream that these enemies are OP. That is true, and I have an idea how to not make it frustrating: These units must be distinct, and they'll make a unique noise. When they notice any Tenno, or if they train their weapons on you, they'll start beeping madly, and their weapons fire with a wind-up mechanism that doesn't home, but has a respectable fire rate, though with low clip size. These are melee-blockable, but if they hit you, your buffs immediately gets disabled.

 

You may immediately recast your powers, though it would be wiser to retreat. Of course, these units will also be a high priority target if you wish to have buffs staying up. Introducing enemies in this way also makes strategy, tactics and prioritizing enemies key.

 

I'm also of the mind that mini-bosses copies should be present: In the chamber of the elevator leading to the next floor, the Orokin Labyrinth scans your mind and throws you enemy copies you've killed before, including the Stalker, Harvester, G3, and other bosses, except Lephantis and Vay Hek. These will not drop their usual drops, but will drop fixed rewards from a common pool, despite the enemy variety. 

 

Lastly, rewards: I'm not sure what sort of reward would be present in between levels. Credits, surely, which scale very gently (Never more than Void runs), and mods dropped from enemies, but not sure what else. Perhaps this could be done just for the heck of it.

 

I'm of a mind of completion rewards, however: Serration, Hornet Strike, etc. one specific mod, fixed for every 10 or so levels you complete. Nothing rare, but good for beginners who still don't have basic mods by then. 

 

But as you approach the top level, one thing's for certain: You're in for a...

 

 

Boss fight: Level 151.

 

The antechamber is a large, observatory-style room (Will do more art of this later on, perhaps). With a glass ceiling, and a giant, enclosed elevator in the middle, it has three or four layers, just like a stadium. Small panels hover mid-air, circling the room lazily as stepping platforms. This used to be a place where the Orokin Council met to make galactic decisions. 

 

The antechamber is also the place where you fight a massive boss battle: Four Orokin Battle Lords. Four of the greatest warriors of the Orokin High Guard, defending access to the Throne Room. They don modified Warframes, but unlike yours, they've had two millennia to improve on the design that they created: More protection, more power, in general, their abilities far outweigh yours. 

 

One fights with a blade, swift and deadly, teleporting behind unsuspecting Tenno to deliver critical blows.

 

One fights with a bow, precise and agile, catching her will be hard as she rains a hail of arrows upon you.

 

One fights with shields, heavy and unyielding, defending his team as he makes his way to crush you into pulp.

 

The last fights with the power of the Void: a conduit of power, streaming forth death and destruction from his very being. 

 

Upon defeating them, they drop rare mods and resources. 

 

But more importantly, you can now proceed to the Throne Room.

 

Taking a Light Bridge up, you're carried gently up to the Throne Room, just above the Antechamber. You see your surroundings as you rise: The raw Void, churning, twisted, distorted. You see inverted suns, and wormholes tearing the fabric of reality, eating into itself, and emerging from another part of this demented universe, spewing matter from one end to another, like great wurms. 

 

You realise as you stare in awe: You forced the Orokin here, into this Hell. 

 

The Betrayers. 

 

And then you enter the Throne Room. (Will also need images for this, huh?)

 

Level 152.

 

Deceptively, the Throne Room from the outside is merely a cube just big enough to fit four men comfortably, though it is heavily adorned with precious metals and detailed inscriptions. But as you enter the portal head first, you begin to see just how far they have advanced: A space within a space. The Throne room is huge: Easily three times larger than the antechamber, blue and purple banners hang regally from the fixtures on the ceilings: Three floors overlook one long path to the throne, a velvet red carpet leading there. A striking contrast against the white and gold of usual Orokin flair. 

 

Fluff here!

 

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As you approach at a walking pace towards the throne, a bodiless, deep voice- old, yet powerful- speaks to you.

 

"Ah. You return. Good. Good. I've been waiting for you. Tenno. Saviour."

 

"Betrayer.", he spits.

 

"We... Have waited a long, long time to see you again. Have you been slept well? Yes, yes, I trust you have."

 

"Remember, Tenno? The day you returned from the Void, we rejoiced. We celebrated your victory. My wife and child, they sang your praise as the gold petals of our Lumina trees blossomed and were gently carried by the wind."

 

"I remember, Tenno. The gladness in my heart; A soaring like you've never known; A great burden, lifted from my shoulders. I would have given you all everything you asked..."

 

A long silence.

 

"...Everything."

 

"But until now... Until now, I still cannot understand why. Why my most faithful retainers, my most trusted servants, upon their return... destroyed all that I had."

 

"I trusted you."

 

"But you took away... Everything."

 

"As I cradled my wife's dying body, choking on my tears- my child, split cleanly in two beside us- with her last breath, she told me..."

 

"She told me she loved me."

 

"She told me not to do it. She knew what I wanted. She saw it. The hate in my eyes."

 

"And then.... You beheaded me."

 

"YOU TOOK AWAY EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!", he roared.

 

"I couldn't even remember who I was until the last five hundred years. The man you know as the Stalker picked my head up and preserved it after you left, with half of his own head missing."

 

"I awoke from stasis a hundred years later, as a floating head in a jar"

 

"And even then... I couldn't remember my wife. My child. My country. I couldn't even remember who I was. How to speak."

 

"But bit by bit, I regained all my memories. Did you know? We Orokin by then had developed near immortality. We could live thousands of years old, and one way of regaining those lost memories was to dig into your brain, and then repeat those memories. Over. And. Over."

 

"It replayed in my mind a thousand times. Do you understand what that means, Tenno? To feel a thousand joys, hear a thousand laughter, to know your friends a thousand times, and then watch as everything you love die, over, and over, and over, a thousand times? To see your people die a thousand times; Your friends die a thousand times... "

 

"... To feel all meaning depart... A thousand... times... "

 

"... To see the love of your life die in your arms. To see her plead for your sake as she goes. To know you can never change anything. Ever."

 

 

"Well, Tenno. Let me educate you: I am going to kill you. But before that, I am going to tear each of you apart, joint by joint. And then, I am going to cut your head off. And I am going to make you live. Forever."

 

 

"GUARDS! SEIZE THEM!"

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The writing's bad, so I apologize after the fact. (More concept work needs to be done here)

 

The Emperor is your enemy. His head is old and withered, and you can see that most of it has been replaced by augmentations. From his neck and below, his body is a Warframe style prosthetic that makes the Emperor a cyborg: Polymer stretches at the seams, energy lines course with power; Too light to be organic, too powerful to be human; His form is minimalist, but elegant and fearsome at the same time: A testament to the advancement of the already-impressive Orokin technology. 

 

This boss battle is different from most: It's a large scale battle, where you have to utilize the whole map. The Emperor is not invincible, but he can recover his health, and does a lot of damage at range, and he has large, sweeping melee strikes. He automatically blocks fire he's aware of, but he can only block from two directions at most, and is unable to attack at this time.

 

However, continuously shooting as he defends charges him up, and if you shoot too much, he'll release a blast that reaches the whole map and knocks everyone down and does moderate damage. He has no shields, either, so Mag's Shield Polarity will not work on him. 

 

At the same time, he also shoots lasers from his hands that spread a little like the Phage. This is hard to dodge, and cover must be used to completely mitigate damage. 

 

His secondary ranged fire is a charged laser shot that goes through cover. A very obvious yellow glow will fill the room, and you'll be able to see him as he Charges His Lazah.  This laser is slow to change direction, but continuous, and does a lot of damage. You can outrun it as he tries to chase you with the laser. Use your surroundings to climb up floors, wall run, back flip and parkour your way to safety. 

 

Occasionally, he'll hunker down to begin recovering. In this phase, he is still vulnerable to attack. In fact, this is probably the best time to violate him while he thinks you're all busy. 

 

Of course, it's not so easy.

 

While you're fighting him, you'll also be fighting his Guards: A large battalion of Orokin soldiers and drones- swordsmen and gunners- Corrupted pawn like we know now, and deployed turrets. 

 

They'll try their hardest to flank you and disrupt your attack as the fight rages on, so you have to worry about a battle on multiple fronts, less you are swarmed and taken out all at the same time. 

 

This fight requires excellent team work, coordination, and situational awareness. It should be the highest tier of skill needed in the game.

 

After defeating him, he dies, and...

 

YOU GET TO GO INTO THE TREASURE ROOM!

 

What do you get?

 

Something amazing.

 

You get RNG. 

 

If you're lucky, there's a 2.5% chance he'll drop a Prime blueprint, a 5% chance he'll drop a rare mod, and a 10% chance he'll drop Orokin Cells.

 

 

...

 

... Seriously, though, no. I hate that.

 

If this is your first time completing it, you get a cosmetic item of your choice, as well as a primary, secondary or melee weapon. 

 

This weapon shouldn't be God tier, but it should be somewhat more powerful than usual. What makes it unique, though, is its appearance: Not many people will have it, and it's prefix is... "Regalia".

 

"Burston Regalia".

 

"Skana Regalia".

 

"Latron Regalia".

A unique, personal weapon of your choice, in addition to a weapon accessory, scarf, or arm badge of your choice.

 

Redoing this mission will allow you to choose a different Regalia or accessory to replace the one you already have. This does not reset your previously levelled/potatoed/formaed Regalia, but it'll make it unusable until you reselect if after another boss battle. 

 

This keeps the weapon "Exclusive", though still completely obtainable, and you can return to whatever one you prefer simply by kicking The Emperor's &#! again.

 

Okay, that's the end of that.

 

 

 

The End: The Orokin Labyrinth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

Or.... Is it?

 

Two additional gameplay modes: Nightmare & The Endless Dungeons

 

 

The Orokin Labyrinth: Nightmare Mode

 

After completing these levels, you can take your skill one step further: A New Game+ of sorts. You can choose to complete the whole 152 levels again, but this time, in NIGHTMARE MODE! Suggested by Xenogelion and MDRLoz, creators of Tennoclock (Go watch it. It is so relevant.), this mode requires you to not only get used to being hobbled by disability, but also master the use of various weapons!

 

In this mode, every five levels you're given two things:

 

1.) A random penalty

 

2.) A specific weapon type.

 

The penalties are unlike the regular Nightmare mode: There's no "No shields" mode, though there are:

 

a "Vampire" mode (Health decreases over time, killing enemies restores health), a "Time Crisis" style mode (Limited time, but killing enemies restores time), "Hobbled" mode (-30% speed), "Raw" mode (Take 20% more damage, -20% stamina), "Glass jaw" mode (Stagger-happy mode. Each hit received has a 20% chance to cause staggering), and an "In the Dark" mode, where you only have a flashlight in otherwise complete darkness. (Suggestions are totally welcome. Brain juices are dried.)

 

The Specific Weapon type refers to a weapon that is favored for the next five levels, whereas the other weapons are debuffed by 75%: Examples: Bullet-type weapons, bolt-type weapons, explosive weapons, guns only, melee only, blades, staff, fist & hands, etc. 

 

In conjunction, these two will give you a run for your money as you fight your way to the top. The debuff is random, but the specific weapons are fixed: Redoing the missions over and over won't change the weapon selected.

 

The only exception is the two last boss battles: All weapons are permitted, but you are now stricken with TWO random debuffs! (Vampire mode and Time Crisis mode now recovers health and time for each 5000 damage dealt as a team.) Good luck, fellas. If you wanted this to be easy, you should have played the normal mode.

 

 

The Orokin Labyrinth: The Endless Dungeons.

 

You thought it was the end. A well fought battle, with a worthy adversary (or five). Surely, there can't be anything else to test your might against: You've destroyed beings which could sunder a world in two (No, you didn't), pit yourself against the highest ranked and most skilled of your enemies, and you've laid waste to all who dared challenge your superiority. Your stug and Nikana has tasted the blood of a million souls, rent cadavers apart and left no doubt that you are the mighty Tenno.

 

What comes after all this endless self-praise?

 

Why, the dungeons, of course. 

 

This is the reason why they call this the Endless Tower: A stretch of marble, concrete, gold and steel which stretches out to the endless space of the Void. From the outside, all you can see is a white and gold pin, stretching itself out into the infinity. 

 

You venture in, cocksure and ready to best everything in this hell-hole the Orokin call their tower.

 

And for a while, you do.

 

Floor, after floor, after floor, you descend. 

 

Deeper. 

 

Darker.

 

Shadows flutter in the dark. Mazes twist and turn. Heavy breathing in the pitch black silence. 

 

You've just condemned yourself to an endless damnation.

 

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The Orokin Labyrinth: Endless Dungeons, is an extension for after you defeat The Emperor. It is a place to test your skill to the utmost, and find out just how strong you really are. Here, the rewards are merely cosmetic: Badges, syandanas, skins, perhaps, but most importantly... Bragging rights.

 

Continuing where the highest level enemies left off, you start at Dungeon Level 1. The enemies on this level are Level 151. It only gets harder from this point on. 

 

As a raw test of skill, you'll need to go further to push your limits, if you are ridiculously powerful. In fact, if you are exceedingly powerful, you can go far. Potentially, you can go up to wherever you simply cannot overpower, out-gun, out-smart, out-sword, or out-anything your opponents, be it Level 300, Level 562, or never. 

 

The same rules apply: Every 5 levels, you're granted a brief reprieve in a checkpoint. However, the reprieve here will be of a different nature.

 

 

 

You see, the Dungeons are a dark, dark places. The only comfort you'll have in here is from your sword, gun, and the tiny flashlight you have strapped to your Warframe's forehead. There is no light here. No lovely gardens. Only rows upon rows of jail cells, and monstrosities of all kinds: Trapped Grineer, Corpus and infested experiments; Orokin criminals; Outlaws of all kinds. 

 

And every now and then, the Stalker comes to say hi. 

 

In the dark, all you can see is a faint glow of red. An insane smile behind a featureless mask. 

 

"Hello... Tenno. You killed the Emperor. Again. And now...." 

 

An eerie, high-pitched chuckle.

 

"Now, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to hunt you down, like the dog you are."

 

A gurgling laughter boils in his throat.

 

"Hehe... PREPAAARE YOURSELF, TENNO! I'M COMING TO GET YOU! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

 

Driven to madness by grief, he unleashes all these debaucheries of nature on you; These mockery of civilisation, outcast by their own kind for atrocities committed in their societies, against their own people. These are psychopaths, made only for murder. And the deeper you go, the more heinous their crimes. Here, they were trapped in an eternity, made to suffer, in the hopes they'll some day repent.

 

They don't.

 

So, every 5 levels, you're granted a brief reprieve in a checkpoint. Take this time to catch your breath, and possibly get a new change of pants. You'll probably need it.

 

 

 

 

Edit (22nd April 2014): The checkpoint concept is added, Endless Labyrinth Dungeon Endgame section added, Nightmare Mode added. Max Labyrinth level added. 

Edited April 22, 2014 by Calayne

[(PSN)ThatOthrPerson]

I'll have to read this after I get back from work, but based on the title, it's sounds very cool and promising!

[Calayne]

I'll have to read this after I get back from work, but based on the title, it's sounds very cool and promising!

 

Thanks! It's quite lengthy, and I suppose it's rather boring, but I hope to introduce a new concept of scaling against ability, rather than conclave rating. But that can only be done in a progressive environment, much like our star chart.

 

But to bypass the need to create a whole new solar system, an alternative would be to implement it in a Void mechanic. In fact, it could easily be simplified to another star chart, if you wish. However, this is kinda homage to my dungeon crawler youth, back in the day when Diablo style games just asked you to go as lower and lower.

[Kylecrafts]

Now, you (the OP) must draw the Space Skate.

[Calayne]

Now, you (the OP) must draw the Space Skate.

 

It's our Tenno Space Craft :O

 

I just gave it the name: L0-7U5 Tenno Space Skate  cause it looks like... A desert skate.

 

Speaking of art, though, I may work on the Throne Room, The Emperor, the Antechamber, and possibly the four Orokin Battle Lords. It'll take a while, though. Exams around the corner.

[DangerDaddy]

alright, first, if you're making anti-tenno: simply have them disable abilities in an aura, they can be similar to the Osprey Leaders, or they can be small totems that are pulsing with energy. Killing them will automatically restore some energy, as well as turn abilities back on.

 

 

Regalia in an Orokin tower, instead of a Prime? Sounds pretty non-cannon to me... Keep RNG and have a small drop pool (2 unique weapons that have 2 parts + BP), a frame (like normal prime frames bp, system, helm, and chasis) , and then you can have that cool cosmetic items. This will ensure it's replayable, but doesn't make it extremely aggravating for players as they keep getting useless drops.

 

When a Tenno reaches the top of the tower, they have to start again from the bottom, once again making it more game play.

[5stareraser]

Very nice!!! Like it a lot !!! Future writer.

[Calayne]

alright, first, if you're making anti-tenno: simply have them disable abilities in an aura, they can be similar to the Osprey Leaders, or they can be small totems that are pulsing with energy. Killing them will automatically restore some energy, as well as turn abilities back on.

 

 

Regalia in an Orokin tower, instead of a Prime? Sounds pretty non-cannon to me... Keep RNG and have a small drop pool (2 unique weapons that have 2 parts + BP), a frame (like normal prime frames bp, system, helm, and chasis) , and then you can have that cool cosmetic items. This will ensure it's replayable, but doesn't make it extremely aggravating for players as they keep getting useless drops.

 

When a Tenno reaches the top of the tower, they have to start again from the bottom, once again making it more game play.

 

Well, the thing about Anti-Tenno auras and pulsing totem is that within a range, there's actually no way to dodge them, or to hear them being telegraphed. It's like being knocked down, except you're left without powers in the midst of very dangerous high-level enemy. I prefer the idea of run-dodge-block kind of evasion tactics, and not too fond of Cure Cause You Could Not Prevent.

 

As for Regalia being in a tower instead of Prime... You did kill the King of All Things Orokin! Prime, I suspect, are master-grade or regular soldier equipment. Regalia is master-class, fit-for-a-king gear. 

 

And as for being canon... My whole post isn't canon at all. xD 

 

Also, I hate RNG. With a passion. Especially after a long, hard, boss fight. You deserve a reward, not a punishment.

[Evariskitsune]

As great as this sounds... it doesn't match up with the lore for the game.  At least for the living Orokin parts.*  The rest is amazing and would be a truly good end-game option. 

 

.  *  This statement based on that in-game and dev statements suggest the Orokin are either AI or Aliens, given they refer to humanity as "the sentients."  Which also suggests they do not view themselves as truly sentient, or at least by human definition.  This would furthermore suggest they would have rather different psychology in comparison to humans ; things such as a 'family' might very well be foreign to them.  I feel you are writing the interaction parts too humanly. 

 

 

I feel a better idea for this is have the tower defended by the corrupted and AI units, perhaps the Titan units as suggested in this thread would also be present; https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/207583-krauserlols-ultimate-corpus-update-threat-the-corpus-shall-rise/

But instead at the top instead of the four orokin, you would instead have four specialized "super titan" units. 

 

Then at the very top would be a access chamber which would open up a wormhole to a new star system.  And from here we could access a new star chart wherein the Orokin have control, and we could find out who or what the orokin truly are.  We could also meet a new race entirely in the new star system. 

[Calayne]

As great as this sounds... it doesn't match up with the lore for the game.  At least for the living Orokin parts.*  The rest is amazing and would be a truly good end-game option. 

 

.  *  This statement based on that in-game and dev statements suggest the Orokin are either AI or Aliens, given they refer to humanity as "the sentients."  Which also suggests they do not view themselves as truly sentient, or at least by human definition.  This would furthermore suggest they would have rather different psychology in comparison to humans ; things such as a 'family' might very well be foreign to them.  I feel you are writing the interaction parts too humanly. 

 

 

I feel a better idea for this is have the tower defended by the corrupted and AI units, perhaps the Titan units as suggested in this thread would also be present; https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/207583-krauserlols-ultimate-corpus-update-threat-the-corpus-shall-rise/

But instead at the top instead of the four orokin, you would instead have four specialized "super titan" units. 

 

Then at the very top would be a access chamber which would open up a wormhole to a new star system.  And from here we could access a new star chart wherein the Orokin have control, and we could find out who or what the orokin truly are.  We could also meet a new race entirely in the new star system. 

 

Actually, I think the Orokin are human!

 

The Stalker is a prime example of the last surviving Orokin. They referred to "Something" as the Sentients, but it's not known who yet. Actually, a lot of theory abound, but the fact that they used the word "Sentients" implied that they originally are not supposed to be sentient. The Orokin are certainly human, though. They created the Warframes, which are all humanoid, based on Hayden Tenno's Infested abilities. 

 

Of course, I'm open to more intrigue; Goodness knows we need more of that stuff. I do think the Sentients are the ones that are AI or Alien, though.

[(PSN)STARSIDE_DESTINY]

This is an excellent idea! I may have missed it, but it seems that no mechanic was mentioned for when you will stop progressing upwards and enter the Antechamber. My idea is that every 20th or so floor, you get an option to keep progressing or to enter the Antechamber. The bosses and rewards will scale in difficulty and rarity, respectively, based on what floor number you chose to enter the Antechamber on (i.e. entering the Antechamber on floor 40 will provide stronger bosses and better rewards than if you had entered it on floor 20). Honestly this is the best idea for end-game content I've ever seen, I hope DE notices this!

[Calayne]

This is an excellent idea! I may have missed it, but it seems that no mechanic was mentioned for when you will stop progressing upwards and enter the Antechamber. My idea is that every 20th or so floor, you get an option to keep progressing or to enter the Antechamber. The bosses and rewards will scale in difficulty and rarity, respectively, based on what floor number you chose to enter the Antechamber on (i.e. entering the Antechamber on floor 40 will provide stronger bosses and better rewards than if you had entered it on floor 20). Honestly this is the best idea for end-game content I've ever seen, I hope DE notices this!

 

Actually, I was considering which floor it ends myself. 

 

I was thinking the 255th floor. 

 

 

...

*Cough*

 

 

It is end-game. The enemies by the end of the tower will be ridiculously hard, and progress is supposed to be slow, but steady. The bosses themselves are supposed to be ridiculously hard, to the point where it is literally the hardest fight in the whole game. A true epic show-down of galactic proportions. 

 

Of course, maybe 255 floors before the last run to the boss is a bit hard, but there's a light at the end of this tunnel everyone can see and work towards. 

 

Perhaps 255 is a bit steep, though. But I wouldn't settle for anything less than 100, because I know this community: They are strong, and they work FAST. They need a challenge to keep them preoccupied, and if the bosses have invulnerability periods or are mowed-down too quickly, it becomes another sad boss fight everyone will chuck aside. The level of the mobs themselves should be ridiculously high by then, where only the true Tenno can climb to the peak. It demands the utmost in gear and cooperation. It won't punish you hard either, if you fail, which is its only saving grace.

 

The bosses have to be tough, and can't be invulnerable. 

 

Personally, this is the kind of fight I'd like myself. I imagine playing through it, and I'd personally be quite happy to see it come as a real feature. Strictly, though, this is aimed towards the people who have maxed their gear and need a challenge. Then, they can have bragging rights as well. And if they're so strong they can carry newbs to the top... Then that would be bonus points for Epic.

[Evariskitsune]

Actually, I think the Orokin are human!

 

The Stalker is a prime example of the last surviving Orokin. They referred to "Something" as the Sentients, but it's not known who yet. Actually, a lot of theory abound, but the fact that they used the word "Sentients" implied that they originally are not supposed to be sentient. The Orokin are certainly human, though. They created the Warframes, which are all humanoid, based on Hayden Tenno's Infested abilities. 

 

Of course, I'm open to more intrigue; Goodness knows we need more of that stuff. I do think the Sentients are the ones that are AI or Alien, though.

I'd say it's more likely the sentients are human, and the Orokin are likely AI created by humanity.

My reasons are as follows.

-The warframes were only created only after Hayden Tenno's decedents were coerced into assisting the Orokin against the sentients.

-Orokin architecture and use of the amounts of gold as they do shows a large scale of impracticality given any construction method, suggesting their use is psychological and the creators aren't bound by as many limitations as humanity.  Namely in terms of time. 

-The orokin were not afraid of the infestation and were the ones who reintroduced the technocyte in what appears to be a -more- potent form than in Dark Sector.  Were they non-tenno humans, this would be a near suicide bill given the effects of the technocyte.  This would not be a problem for an inorganic life form.  And given their history, there is no way for them to have been Tenno. 

-An AI system would likely be able to access documentation about Hayden Tenno and could thus have accessed information about the tenno banished to the void by humanity.  This would also give it access to information on the proto-warframes, which it could then refine.  This suggests the Orokin are not alien as the warframes are not a independently conceived design. 

-Orokin have never been found in a stasis chamber, or in a cyborg body as Greneer and Corpus individuals have been able to make for themselves.  And Orokin are considered young without augmentation at over age 100.  Given the superior technology of the Orokin, and the sheer implausibility of complete genocide and/or exile, it would suggest to me that the Orokin are not biological, again. 

-The number of traps in Orokin structures would make it nearly impossible for a biological being to survive without an exosuit of some kind during all movement throughout the structure.  Which is impractical at best.

-The Stalker does not have gold appear on any of his equipment, leaving nothing but his hatred of Tenno as any connection to the Orokin; but given that Tenno are psychologically human, there are dozens of other reasons which could cause this if he were a rouge Tenno.  Also, his weapons are probably made by a private Corpus crafter given past events.  His warframe also appears to have more infested elements than anything else in terms of stylization. 

 

 

But those are just my observations. 

[Nachino]

So massive you can see it from 9,460,730,472,580,800 metres away? (Or 5.878,625 trillion miles)

That must be like x50 bigger than the biggest star.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Nachino

[Calayne]

I'd say it's more likely the sentients are human, and the Orokin are likely AI created by humanity.

My reasons are as follows.

-The warframes were only created only after Hayden Tenno's decedents were coerced into assisting the Orokin against the sentients.

-Orokin architecture and use of the amounts of gold as they do shows a large scale of impracticality given any construction method, suggesting their use is psychological and the creators aren't bound by as many limitations as humanity.  Namely in terms of time. 

-The orokin were not afraid of the infestation and were the ones who reintroduced the technocyte in what appears to be a -more- potent form than in Dark Sector.  Were they non-tenno humans, this would be a near suicide bill given the effects of the technocyte.  This would not be a problem for an inorganic life form.  And given their history, there is no way for them to have been Tenno. 

-An AI system would likely be able to access documentation about Hayden Tenno and could thus have accessed information about the tenno banished to the void by humanity.  This would also give it access to information on the proto-warframes, which it could then refine.  This suggests the Orokin are not alien as the warframes are not a independently conceived design. 

-Orokin have never been found in a stasis chamber, or in a cyborg body as Greneer and Corpus individuals have been able to make for themselves.  And Orokin are considered young without augmentation at over age 100.  Given the superior technology of the Orokin, and the sheer implausibility of complete genocide and/or exile, it would suggest to me that the Orokin are not biological, again. 

-The number of traps in Orokin structures would make it nearly impossible for a biological being to survive without an exosuit of some kind during all movement throughout the structure.  Which is impractical at best.

-The Stalker does not have gold appear on any of his equipment, leaving nothing but his hatred of Tenno as any connection to the Orokin; but given that Tenno are psychologically human, there are dozens of other reasons which could cause this if he were a rouge Tenno.  Also, his weapons are probably made by a private Corpus crafter given past events.  His warframe also appears to have more infested elements than anything else in terms of stylization. 

 

 

But those are just my observations. 

 

 

The key information passed down by the Stalker:

 

The Orokin bleed.

 

 

"The Tenno appeared at the Terminus, gleaming and victorious. Our cold and gold Emperors, breathless, bathed you in savior's silk. Then came the sound. Across all our worlds, all at once, the ceremonial Naga drums. A royal salute to the honored Tenno. Ten solemn beats to declare the suffering was over. I watched from a distance, with the rest of the low Guardians. With each beat terror began to crush my throat. The Tenno were not stoic and silent. They were waiting. They were poised. I tried to call out but only a strangled whisper escaped.

When the ninth beat rang a torrent of blood filled the stadium, loosed by Tenno blades. The drums, the Empire, fell silent forever"

 

This seems to suggest that they're not AI, but very, very advanced humans. From what I gather, they had very human emotions as well: They were desperate, they suffered, they feared; Very organic emotions.

 

As for surviving in their towers, I assume they had their own communal areas and living quarters outside the Orokin Void towers; There are no rooms to speak of, no beds, no hint of anything that supports life in general. While this may be chosen as to signify an AI race that doesn't need sustenance, I believe it also points out that this is an Orokin military outpost, and their soldiers are probably like the Corpus'. Drones, general war machines, enslaved races, and so on. The traps are there to deter invaders, and I certainly don't think anyone lives in a place where you can step on an ice pad and get frozen solid. 

 

The only comfort I can gather they had in the Orokin tower... Is that they had seats.

 

http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Orokin

 

If anything, they're rich, spoiled, and pampered, though they have advanced so far in technology that they can put gold on EVERYTHING. Seems to me, they've actually mastered Transmutation. That's one reason why I think they can live for extended periods of time: Science advances in leaps and bounds, especially if people don't die as quickly, and great minds begin to gather. 

 

The Stalker himself is a prime example, who has survived since the Betrayal. And that was possibly thousands of years ago, and he had no way to upkeep himself with Orokin Technology. He had latent ability to last two thousand years old even while being pummelled left and right. I probably would think that people in his age lasted many times longer.

 

In fact, the Infested being released may not be done because they felt safe: They probably had no choice, as the nuclear bombs we make have just as bad an effect on ourselves as on our enemies. What they simply did was release it in the general direction of their enemies, and made sure they won't be affected themselves... Or so they thought.

 

http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Infested

 

The above link suggests that the Tenno who are in fact the descendents of the Orokin are affected by the Technocyte virus.

As for Stalker being a rogue Tenno, that was debunked in his Codex statement as well: He was part of what he calls the Low Guardians. This suggests he was part of the Orokin, and that the Tenno, being more powerful, were the High Guardians at the time. If anything, I think we're the ones who should be called Rogue Orokin.

 

At any rate, though, this is just a theory. With time, DE will reveal more and more about the lore. I certainly hope it comes in time! The lore so far has been very mysterious, and very very intriguing. I'd love to see more of it.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Calayne

[Evariskitsune]

 

 

At any rate, though, this is just a theory. With time, DE will reveal more and more about the lore. I certainly hope it comes in time! The lore so far has been very mysterious, and very very intriguing. I'd love to see more of it.

 

Very much so.  We need a lore overhaul more than anything else in the game.  There are so many lose ends and points of confusion presently.  On another point, DE has pretty much confirmed that Hayden Tenno is the progenitor of the Tenno; (the proto skin for excalibur pretty much makes it plain)  either directly in terms of biology, or that his genes were used to manipulate those of others to create a race capable of interfacing with the warframes given their symbiosis with the technocyte.  However given that the tenno were living in the void -before- being approached by the Orokin, would suggest the former.  This would also therefore make the Tenno clearly human, or at least in origin.  Given their long-standing symbiosis with the technocyte; they may plausibly be by this point nanite colonies in the form of a human with a human-like consciousness through evolution of the symbiosis; which would explain Hydroid's ability to turn into a puddle.  

[Calayne]

Very much so.  We need a lore overhaul more than anything else in the game.  There are so many lose ends and points of confusion presently.  On another point, DE has pretty much confirmed that Hayden Tenno is the progenitor of the Tenno; (the proto skin for excalibur pretty much makes it plain)  either directly in terms of biology, or that his genes were used to manipulate those of others to create a race capable of interfacing with the warframes given their symbiosis with the technocyte.  However given that the tenno were living in the void -before- being approached by the Orokin, would suggest the former.  This would also therefore make the Tenno clearly human, or at least in origin.  Given their long-standing symbiosis with the technocyte; they may plausibly be by this point nanite colonies in the form of a human with a human-like consciousness through evolution of the symbiosis; which would explain Hydroid's ability to turn into a puddle.  

 

Actually, that would be a really cool theory to go with. Perhaps the Tenno just retain a roughly humanoid shape simply out of nostalgia and identity? A force of habit that they choose a form they're most familiar with?

 

Perhaps DE is deliberately leaving out the lore for now, though, but who knows why? I'm sure they've got writers, but I think they roughly know where they want to go, but don't as yet know the details of all of it. They've taken cautious steps forward so far, and have been very careful about lore which reveals too much. Sure gives it an air of mystery, but as far as we know, we really can't make much certain guesses with regards to the origins of the Orokin, or to the Tenno.

 

Man, when the day comes they reveal that info, I hope it'll be good stuff that makes me flip right out. I just love this universe so much. <3

 

Freakkin' Tenno 4 Lief. 

[Calayne]

So massive you can see it from 9,460,730,472,580,800 metres away? (Or 5.878,625 trillion miles)

That must be like x50 bigger than the biggest star.

Oops, forgot to answer this earlier:

Most of it is, in fact, a hyperbole of sorts! It's true that you can see much, much further in space, though, thanks to the complete absence of an atmosphere!

But as for the true size of the structure, it's supposed to be massive indeed, when I first came up with the concept: endless tower, where people literally went through levels where the enemies increase in level one per floor.

The whole idea was that it was so massive that it had effectively infinite floors for infinite levels. Seeing the typical size of the Orokin room, the structure has to be large indeed.

But I realised that there needs to be a point to all of it, so I added a boss to the top end of the level. Something to make the climb worthwhile, even if it becomes hard to do so. The right team, the right load out, dedication to your art.

So, to include a true endless tower, I considered adding "Dungeon" levels to the Orokin Labyrinths. Unlocked after you defeat The Emperor, you'll continue downwards instead in true infinite fashion.

Possibly, starting level of mobs would be well above the hundreds.

[Casardis]

I've read a bit and I love it so far! I think that end-game mission's difficulty should be determined by how much you're exhausting YOURSELF, and not like Defense where it's how much you can hold until the pod actually takes heavy damage, or Survival which is how long you can hold until you can't get enough oxygens.

 

Your idea is kind of what I'd wish for in Warframe: a long mission that has development while keeping fast paced action.

 

I also like the anti-tenno units. If anything, the one faction that makes more sense to have such weaponry are the Orokin, due to them creating the Warframes and to a certain extent, forcing the "creation" of Tenno.

 

I do have an idea to balance them out though. Unlike Stalker and Zanuka who can spam their Dispel, these rarer anti-Tenno units (which would be unique Eximus leaders instead of being taller reskins) can only use Dispel once and then recharge (there will be color indication on them to show if they've recharged or not).

 

It won't be as cheap as Stalker either, who can do Dispel from any range, and even behind walls, almost instantly; these units will need to hit you with their disabling attack, and when they actually shoot their thing, you will know for sure (kind of like Railgun MOA's distinct sound).

 

Will continue reading later and keep giving feedback little by little.

[warpath514]

Platinum would be a good reward as well, by that I mean in addition to the ones you mentioned especially if you do the whole thing by yourself.
Oh yeah I have to ask were you inspired by the manga called Magi for this idea

Edited April 18, 2014 by warpath514

[Calayne]

I've read a bit and I love it so far! I think that end-game mission's difficulty should be determined by how much you're exhausting YOURSELF, and not like Defense where it's how much you can hold until the pod actually takes heavy damage, or Survival which is how long you can hold until you can't get enough oxygens.

 

Your idea is kind of what I'd wish for in Warframe: a long mission that has development while keeping fast paced action.

 

I also like the anti-tenno units. If anything, the one faction that makes more sense to have such weaponry are the Orokin, due to them creating the Warframes and to a certain extent, forcing the "creation" of Tenno.

 

I do have an idea to balance them out though. Unlike Stalker and Zanuka who can spam their Dispel, these rarer anti-Tenno units (which would be unique Eximus leaders instead of being taller reskins) can only use Dispel once and then recharge (there will be color indication on them to show if they've recharged or not).

 

It won't be as cheap as Stalker either, who can do Dispel from any range, and even behind walls, almost instantly; these units will need to hit you with their disabling attack, and when they actually shoot their thing, you will know for sure (kind of like Railgun MOA's distinct sound).

 

Will continue reading later and keep giving feedback little by little.

 

I LIKE THAT IDEA.

 

You're right that the Orokin are most likely to have a countermeasure for the weapons they created themselves, just as body-armour was created to fend off steel weapons! I really do wish they had more lore, though. It tears me apart speculating!

 

And that idea is pretty cool! Dispel with a cool-down! And I had an idea when you said such: Maybe there'll be different units of that sort, as well! Melee and ranged units, where you can block their attacks! Would be good for both melee-focused players and gun-focused players, where they can choose to either block it, or simply outrun it.

 

Platinum would be a good reward as well, by that I mean in addition to the ones you mentioned especially if you do the whole thing by yourself.

Oh yeah I have to ask were you inspired by the many a called Magi for this idea

 

Also, I'm an avid supporter of DE, so I'll have to disagree with giving out platinum XD

 

It's a hard mission, yes, but I'd loathe to go anywhere near their rice bowl. If you gave players a place to farm what they earn money with, then they'll soon be facing hard times. I'd really rather not go there, my friend. 

 

And what's that? Magi? The inspiration for this was actually an endless mission concept based on skill level, and an idea harking back to the old days of dungeon crawling. This was when you didn't have to wait 30 minutes of survival before things got hard. 

 

At any rate though, this idea definitely needs tweaking! The rewards in particular for the regular missions as you climb, and then maybe the Dungeon missions after, I'm not too certain how to balance. 

[Cold_Arrow]

This sounds Really awesome. I'd love to challenge my skills in a place like this and i'm very eager to see more art

Edited April 18, 2014 by Cold_Arrow

[warpath514]

In Magi there are things called dungeons they vary in appearance but they kinda defy the laws of physics since they are bigger on the inside. They are also extremely dangerous(a whole army went in one and never returned) being filled to the brim with monsters and traps meaning only the most skilled people can do it and at the end they are rewarded with treasure and a being called a d jinn who essentially upgrades a piece of their equipment.

They also scale in difficulty with the more djinn you own. So as you can see there are some rough similarities that were just coincidental 

 

Oh yeah i typed my first post on my tablet so when i said 'many a' i meant manga and when i mentioned platinum i thought in would be a good reward for a persons first time completing the thing and just their first time

 

By the way this is a great idea certainly better then my idea of a huge battle between the current three factions hope it gets the attention it needs

Edited April 18, 2014 by warpath514

[ukovalian]

based off what has been said the difficulty is going to be insane and so i am also assuming that this is going to be done in a party not a cell

[unsafestone]

Love the idea for this i was a huge diablo 2 fan and i feel like some end game dungeon crawling in warframe would be amazing.

 

Also i think there should be a checkpoint of sorts that appears every 10 or so floors that lets the squad replenish on health and energy and change their loadout(so if they know a boss is near they could change their equipment so it is more suited to take on the boss although this might make it to easy).