Forma And Catalyst/reactor Reuseabliy: A Simple Soulution To A Complex Problem

[(PSN)friedricetheman]

I don't see this as an arms race.

 

I am still using my old 3 forma Mag Prime for anything not infested (which is 98% of the content).

 

I am still using my old 2 forma Boar Prime for everything (does high impact, heat and corrosive damage with 94.8% status chance).

 

I am still with my Despair. But lately have been using the Detron even when Brakk is supposedly superior to it.

 

So, the way I see it. It's less of an arms race but more of a cult of the new.

 

Being new doesn't mean that it is good.

 

Your 3-4 forma weapon is still better than a new weapon with no polarities on it.

[Xarteros]

One thing i definitely think this game needs- Potatoes that carry with upgrades.

If I wanted to get Nikana at rank 6, potato it, and forma it (not that it would even need, it, just making an example), if i upgrade it to Dragon Nikana at rank 8, it should keep the potato and forma, swapped directly into the new version.

Same goes with primes, Sacrifice the original weapon when you build the prime (or have some sort of 'merge' system) to transfer any potatoes or forma.

I'm not made of platinum, and I don't want to keep losing my hard-earned potatoes and forma just because of upgrades. There are heaps of warframes i want to forma, but i'm not going to let myself until the prime version comes out because otherwise it's basically wasted (since DE have hinted at future stat bonuses the primes will have over the non-primes)

If you build Lex and potato it, then use that exact same lex to build Aklex, it should totally still be potatoed, at the very least.

For that matter, I'd like a 24-hour undo option for potatoes and forma, even if it resets the level to zero or something to stop people 'power leveling' it by potatoing it temporarily to make it more usable (and thus get more XP for the use). It'd mean you could potato something accidentally, and have that undo feature, or you could do it and realise that even with a potato, it's a terrible weapon, and undo it.

[Varonth]

I would just be content if blue potatoes were possible to get some way through grinding them, like as a Void or Orokin Derelict drop. Potato droughts become especially apparent when tons of new content is released all at once and changes happen to the game that make older stuff suddenly more appealing, both of which are happening right now.

 

Or potatoes of both types should just be phased out and everything should have a 60 cap, with more mod slots on every weapon/Warframe. Thus Forma would become much more essential and that could be the resource DE relies on for financing. Playing without Forma on a weapon or Warframe is serviceable and fun if not optimal and the stuff of endgame fantasy, while playing without a potato on a weapon is like trying to run a one-legged marathon.

 

KInda this.

It's not so much about gold potatoes but blue ones. If you want to test if a weapon fits your playstyle in high level missions you need a blue potato.

 

They are rediculously rare from alerts, and you need so many of them.

People keep saying "How is DE going to make money". Well not by selling power, that's the first thing. That pure cosmetic items can sustain, yes even grow a business was shown by Path of Exile. They don't even offer boosters. The only game changing thing is more space in your account wide chest. And that is more convenience. Warframe is a bit different, so pay to skip is totally fine with me. The problem is, that potatoes are basically power which you have to buy in order to be effective in high end content. It isn't something you might want to have, no it is necessary. And necessary items must be obtainable within the game. Not by alerts, but just by playing. Otherwise player might hit a progression wall which they can just overcome by paying or waiting god knows how long for an alert. Not to mention alerts like last night reactor may appear when you are not online (15 minutes later and I have missed that aswell).

 

Did I already buy platinum? Yes I did. I just bought some a few days ago, because I was almost out of platinum. Would I pay for a catalyst or reactor? No, because it is unethical in my opinion to sell pure power, which I cannot get by playing the game naturally. A forma? Sure, if I really need one, and don't want to farm void. But I know I could get it elsewhere, anytime I need one.

 

What I do buy is more slots. Sure I could sell my old weapons, but maybe I want to use them later on.

 

I thing, reactors and catalyst in the store should be replaced by 100k and 300k credit blueprints. And those blueprint take some time to build. Catalyst takes 3days and reactor 7 days for example. You can then rush the construction for the current market price of catalyst and reactor. If you want one now, you can basically buy one. But you can also get new catalyst every 3 days and a new reactor every 7 days.

One complete new loadout would take 9 days, but you know you will have it in 9 days.

[Hekinsieden]

I don't see this as an arms race.

 

I am still using my old 3 forma Mag Prime for anything not infested (which is 98% of the content).

 

I am still using my old 2 forma Boar Prime for everything (does high impact, heat and corrosive damage with 94.8% status chance).

 

I am still with my Despair. But lately have been using the Detron even when Brakk is supposedly superior to it.

 

So, the way I see it. It's less of an arms race but more of a cult of the new.

 

Being new doesn't mean that it is good.

 

Your 3-4 forma weapon is still better than a new weapon with no polarities on it.

I am on this guy's side.

Yes I did make a Nikana recently but before that Dual Heat swords all the way.

The potatoes I have I got from alerts and they're really not even needed that much.

If the only way you can beat missions is with over-forma triple potato weapons then maybe you just need to 'get gud'.

Also I don't have a Prime ANYTHING and I was still doing T1-2 runs with my clan and such.

[notionphil]

 

I'm hoping these changes will alow players to evolve with new content added to Warframe over time, instead of haveing to replace over time, and to make the game less Pay-To-Win and more Free-To-Play. Please list your(helpful) feedback below.

 

Honestly, at this point in time, you can grind the void for an hour or 2 and get at least 20plat worth of Prime parts and BPs.

 

Nearly every part sells for 5P min, or you may get lucky and get a 10-30P BP.

[Sasquatchias]

You mean, you want a completely free game.

How do DE make money from their game in your world?

From the hundreds of people who impulse buy Platinum so that they can purchase the latest weapon or Warframe to come out, or the latest accessories.

 

And of course there is also the Prime Access, which gives them about $140 if someone buys the full price with all the accessories, $50 just for the Platinum and weapons.

[Varonth]

Honestly, at this point in time, you can grind the void for an hour or 2 and get at least 20plat worth of Prime parts and BPs.

 

Nearly every part sells for 5P min, or you may get lucky and get a 10-30P BP.

 

Nearly every 5P part is worth almost nothing and especially not 5P.

For each one searching the market for this part for 5P there are like 10000 players selling 50000 of this part.

[Salganos]

KInda this.

It's not so much about gold potatoes but blue ones. If you want to test if a weapon fits your playstyle in high level missions you need a blue potato.

 

They are rediculously rare from alerts, and you need so many of them.

People keep saying "How is DE going to make money". Well not by selling power, that's the first thing. That pure cosmetic items can sustain, yes even grow a business was shown by Path of Exile. They don't even offer boosters. The only game changing thing is more space in your account wide chest. And that is more convenience. Warframe is a bit different, so pay to skip is totally fine with me. The problem is, that potatoes are basically power which you have to buy in order to be effective in high end content. It isn't something you might want to have, no it is necessary. And necessary items must be obtainable within the game. Not by alerts, but just by playing. Otherwise player might hit a progression wall which they can just overcome by paying or waiting god knows how long for an alert. Not to mention alerts like last night reactor may appear when you are not online (15 minutes later and I have missed that aswell).

 

Did I already buy platinum? Yes I did. I just bought some a few days ago, because I was almost out of platinum. Would I pay for a catalyst or reactor? No, because it is unethical in my opinion to sell pure power, which I cannot get by playing the game naturally. A forma? Sure, if I really need one, and don't want to farm void. But I know I could get it elsewhere, anytime I need one.

 

What I do buy is more slots. Sure I could sell my old weapons, but maybe I want to use them later on.

 

I thing, reactors and catalyst in the store should be replaced by 100k and 300k credit blueprints. And those blueprint take some time to build. Catalyst takes 3days and reactor 7 days for example. You can then rush the construction for the current market price of catalyst and reactor. If you want one now, you can basically buy one. But you can also get new catalyst every 3 days and a new reactor every 7 days.

One complete new loadout would take 9 days, but you know you will have it in 9 days.

 

This is the same way I feel.  I hit a wall a year ago (or was it two? I don't remember anymore), and despite having 800 platinum I refused to spend it on blue potatoes because none of the weapons I had or had immediate access too seemed worth money to upgrade.  The more I struggled, the more I hated the idea of being forced to pay for a thing that was an absolute requisite in the first place.  So I quit.  I'm back for the time being, but my feelings haven't changed on the subject (as can be readily seen in how most of my posts are massive rants).

 

I really like the simplicity of your suggestion.  It prevents DE from having to immediately fix their game progression curve while reducing the effect of the wall.  That said, I feel I'd get more gameplay time out of some weapons if we could simply acquire, with some effort but complete reliability, a non-functioning potato for any level 30 frame or weapon that then has to be leveled (probably with no effect on mastery rank) to regain its 30 mod points until it is identical to an installed store-bought potato.  There are too many weapons that I feel I might like more with a potato in them, but am not willing to risk the permanent expense, and frames pretty much deserve more time, though more effort/cost should be expected there.  (Edit: This would also reduce the frequency of the currently ubiquitous power spike when upgrading level 30 equipment.)

 

Weapon/frame slots tend to annoy me, but if the game doesn't feel like it's outright ripping me off if I don't buy them, I'll stop caring about having to buy them for the much desired convenience (which is where most of my platinum has been going).

 

Also: transferal of potatoes from component weapons to paired/upgraded weapons: do it.

 

Edit: Oh, yes, and forma really doesn't need to be in clan-tech blueprints.  It's weird and makes no sense.  These are faction weapons with no (direct) Orokin tech in them, and forma already has a well defined use.  Since we have to farm the void for forma to make those weapons as it is, it would make (slightly) more sense if what we were farming for was a void-specific resource, such as those crystals that annoyingly vanish a few days after you get them.  Then I might be able to find something to use them on.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Salganos

[Mal-content]

The only real frustration I have with these that I feel is somewhat unfair is that a catalyst and all Forma are lost when a weapon is merged into an akimbo version (as with pistols and dual kamas).  There's no way to know when a new akimbo option will be added, so I'm hesitant to bother to potato a pistol that may eventually get one (Akbronco Prime, you tricked me!).

 

My suggestion to solve this problem: cut the cost of Orokin Catalysts in half on the market and double the number of them a weapon takes.  When combining weapons into an akimbo version, keep half of the installed Catalysts and the Forma applied (round up).  That way DE can still make money on Catalysts, but in smaller doses, and we don't lose everything when an akimbo version of a favorite, multi-forma potatoed weapon is introduced in order to have it.  Of course, that also implies that any Catalysts and Catalyst blueprints in current existence should be doubled so players maintain the value they already paid or played for.

 

It also makes for some choices in scalable power, since there would be 30 point, 45 point, and 60 point builds for any given weapon and players will probably be tempted to put a 15 point tater on lots of things they kinda like but aren't sure they want to commit to. Cheaper taters would likely drive more impulse tater buys rather than waiting for alerts.  Maybe the new "half value" taters could be renamed, such as "Orokin Catalytic Cell" and the double value taters could be an "Orokin Catalytic Battery."

 

Edit:  One thing I forgot to say is that we could have battle pay for half-catalysts a little bit more often since they're not as powerful or valuable as they currently are, which could also protect DE's profit from these.  Giving them out too often obviously reduces the amount of money made when a player buys them with platinum (driving plat sales).

Edited April 21, 2014 by Mal-content