Arc Traps In Rescue 2.0 And Warden Prevalence.

[DalaiLlama]

My observations may be limited by the number of rescue 2.0 missions I've done thus far, but I have two gripes that clash with the internal intent of stealth.

 

I'd like to start off by saying that from what I've seen of public reception, compared to the yay-sayers, the nay-sayers of the broken lights and the arc traps have strongly blasted the idea with negative feedback.  Now, they're still here and a large problem.  A bigger problem they are when the target rescue area is littered with these things.

 

Stealth is largely either impossible with mind to pay to incoming damage from these traps.  Results turn into a "kill everything as quickly as possible before the countdown" or "shoot frantically at everything and hope for the best" while taking damage from multiple sources at the same time while dealing with a bright screen, flashing lights, and the simple "wtf" panic.  My squishy Loki is great for stealth, but was fried by these traps that, for some reason, see through invisibility.  As a result, I managed to keep hidden from the wardens but ended up being sentenced to the electric chair on two revives before giving up.  Stealth is washed away by the simple prevalence of these unwanted things, as logically, a stealth frame should be great at a stealth mission.

 

Secondly, I only ever noticed wardens spawning in and closely around the target rescue area.  We had firefights with regular mobs on the way to the jail and even had the alarm triggered, reset, and triggered once more, and the captive was still safe and sound.  By that token, there is little need for stealth in these "stealth" missions apart from one section of map.  Players may engage in all the firefights they want until they reach the critical objective.  Defeats the purpose to me, perhaps I have this incorrect.

 

Solutions:

1. Eliminate arc traps from Rescue maps entirely (as much as I want these things just gone).  These things are difficult to see and make stealth unnecessarily difficult.  Not only must a player keep an eye on the eyes of wandering enemies (all of which deserves AI, Movement, and Stealth 2.0's) but they must also mind damage coming from these hard to spot disks, which can distract them from wandering enemies.  Also, these things make the actual rescue less of a stealth job and more of a mad dash when the things clutter the rescue area like half-eaten potato chips.  Other solutions include reducing the damage done, reducing the range, reducing the bloom; just reducing the effectiveness of these things.

 

2. Spawn wardens all over the map, this way, stealth is significantly more important.  Heck, even start the execution timer when the alarm first sounds that cannot be deactivated by alarm deactivation (because how long does it take to hack a console?), regardless of warden presence.  Also, make the wardens' presence more pronounced to players in order to warn them beforehand.  Gameplay is punishing when players are punished for small actions and given little to no warning beforehand.  Gameplay is difficult when players are punished for making a mistake.  Punishing is not fun.  Difficult can be great fun.

Edited May 1, 2014 by DalaiLlama

[Kartumterek]

so the prisoner guard spawns by the prisoner, and the trap detecting you (aka working correctly, otherwise whats the point of a trap that cant detect enemies?) and theres a problem?

 

im confused.

[DalaiLlama]

so the prisoner guard spawns by the prisoner, and the trap detecting you (aka working correctly, otherwise whats the point of a trap that cant detect enemies?) and theres a problem?

 

im confused.

 

1. The point of these Rescue 2.0 was to introduce a stealth mission to Warframe.  With the "prisoner guard"s spawning only at the end of the mission, there is no need for stealth all the way up to the end until the prisoner is secured.  Going guns blazing and activating alarms is no stealth mission.

 

2. The problem is both with the effects these traps produce as well as their sheer number.  Seeing as these things can detect you even while invisible, there is no stealth element; you can stealth past these things and still get hit.  The bright effects, screen distortion, and incoming damage can easily distract a player who must either spend time looking for the trap to destroy or run out of range, the former putting him at risk of an enemy popping behind his back and the latter risking running facefirst into an enemy, both of which immediately break stealth.  Coupled with the prevalence of these traps, players must repeat these actions multiple times within a time limit determined by how much health and shields they have left, prompting this panic, rash action, and further increasing risks to stealth as they escape one trap to be caught in another.

 

Not only, but their prevalence in the Captive rescue room seems to clash with the wardens: you are to sneak past the wardens, but cannot sneak past the traps.  This is a clash of gameplay mechanics: At the jail, players are surrounded by enemies they must stealth past as well as traps they cannot stealth past, and while both are destructible, their proximity is puzzling.  With the great prevalence of these things, players are almost always taking damage at the end jail; the two previous techniques of dealing with the traps places you at greater danger of alerting the wardens, which again violates stealth.  And while I can understand and even support a gameplay style where players must both "clear a path" as well as stealth past enemies, the arbitrary placement and small size (poor implementation) of the things makes such a thing impossible, or at least undesireable.

Edited May 1, 2014 by DalaiLlama

[residente]

Those annoying traps are there to prevent you for capturing the host.

 

If the game is too easy you complain. If the game is "hard" you complain too.

 

Deal with the traps and keep playing, at least it makes the mission a bit harder. 

[Mehbah]

so the prisoner guard spawns by the prisoner, and the trap detecting you (aka working correctly, otherwise whats the point of a trap that cant detect enemies?) and theres a problem?

 

im confused.

 

What's the point of a guard that can't detect enemies? Obviously they should see through invisibility.

 

What's the point of a guard that lets the hostage escape? Obviously it should be impossible to rescue the hostage.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Mehbah

[XRAY0128]

Well not everyone is stealth game pro, its good to have some lee-way

[R34LM]

I've played a few missions where the Arc Traps where littered in one room. I counted at least 7 of them in one area. It doesn't matter what you do, you are going to lose shields and then health pretty fast. I'd say keep them, but limit the hell out of them, one to two next to the console that opens the door.

 

But, for now, I just play on a corpus ship tileset and avoid the traps entirely. It works fine there.

 

 

Well not everyone is stealth game pro, its good to have some lee-way

 

Totally true. I've been solo playing for most of my time here, and, therefore, have a knack for good stealth (loki..ahem..). But yes, some people do go in with guns blazing from the getgo. There is a mission for just about every playstyle now. This one just demands a cautious solo player or a well-coordinated team. Or a squad of Loki's.

 

P.S...Invisibility will never change. Loki was made to be like that, therefore he has low health and shields. It doesn't matter if you have no target most of the time; if you mess up, you are dead in seconds on high levels. Also, if it was to be nerfed, I wouldn't be very pleased :P.

[Kaotyke]

you guys know that you have an Entrance on the right of the Main Gate that you can get in from and by-pass those traps right?

Let me get a picture

 

Edit: here you go

 

Edited May 2, 2014 by Kao-Snake