Excalibur 2.0 - We Are Almost There!

[Lagomorf]

Admitted Shield Polarize does scale impressively, but she shares the same issue Excalibur had before the RB nerf, 1 good Skill doesn´t justify 3 bad ones. Additonaly even with Shield Polarize i don´t know what her role is supposed to be, other then being an anti corpus powerhouse in lategame.

Actually, you could find out that not only Corpus have shields. SP is impressive in the Voids, against some bosses, it even stripes off Stalker!

And well, Pull is not meant to be a cheap nuke, it is a fine control'n damage skill, though sometimes you cannot predict where enemy ragdoll would fly to.

Bullet Attractor is amazing skill if used properly, but I honestly think that it could have some tweaking.

And Crush is probably being Mag's most useless abbility, because it's casting speed could only be compared to Excal's Radial Javelin, though it doesn't stun enemies affected by it, making it one of the worst nukes.

This is a bit offtopic, but I find it relevant to point out things that need changing.

I could even make a thread whith ALL possible Warframes improvements if I was sure that at least something would be considered by DE.

Looking at the ammount of effort we put into this compilation of suggestions it doesn't look like possible reality.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Lagomorf

[RahuHordika]

Just hit me. If starters like Excalibur because he's good, then they won't buy new frames

Allow me to call absolute bollocks on this irrational nonsense (pardon my wording). By your logic everyone who already has a prefered frame has no reason to get other frames, hell not only in warframe but games in general where you unlock classes.

Yet they still do, that's the whole point of multi-classed online games, to unlock different classes that offer different playstyles and try them out (if not for just OCD). If someone wants to be so narrow minded they won't try out anything else then that's their problem, but the assumption that a good starter class means there's no reason or incentive to try out something else is absolute nonsense. Heck Volt is in a good spot right now and he's not stopping anyone from trying out new frames.

Also, a lot of people don't buy frames already, they farm for them.

[SteelSoldier]

 I dont play things solely on the fact that they are good, I like playing different warframes because I like doing things differently once in a while, even if Excalibur was stronger than what he is right now, I wouldnt just play that warframe.

[r0ckwolf]

 I dont play things solely on the fact that they are good, I like playing different warframes because I like doing things differently once in a while, even if Excalibur was stronger than what he is right now, I wouldnt just play that warframe.

while this is obviously the best way to aproach any game, there is a problem when you get to a point in warframe where this is simply not possible anymore. The higher you get in enemy level the more unreliable he becomes and i often don´t pick excalibur, even though i want to. He simply doesn´t bring enough to the table and that is what is the problem and what i would like to see change!

[SteelSoldier]

One thing that weirds me out, is the fact that Mesa, which is meant to be a ranged dps character has the same amount of armor that excalibur has, and not only that, she has an ability that grants her more defensive stats, I mean comon DE.

[CombatPastor]

I was an avid BlindSpammer for quite some time, simply because it was effective and had great synergy with Slash Dash as mobility. When they changed things, I started trying to make my Excal work for quite some time - honestly, my stats in game used to show that I used Excal for 80% of my games! Unfortunately, as he is, the frame is a pain to play. Sure, the idea for Radial Javelin to stun enemies was novel and helped with moving Excal away from spamming 2 all day - even seemed like it'd work with the Furious Javelin mod that was released...but the issue boiled down to game mechanics. Even with a maxed Natural Talent, by the time Excal finishes the RJ animation, the enemies are moving again...and shooting again. You've gotten no closer due to being locked into the animation for RJ, and the enemies are able to resume murdering you.

 

I've also been in T4S - where I was once able to solo for 50 minutes - and used RB directly in front of an enemy...and nothing happened. I don't know if it was server lag or what, but I finished the animation and the Heavy Gunner just...kept shooting.

 

And exactly what is up with the spammable RB glitching and getting stuck in "SKILL IN USE" mode? Middle of a match and suddenly I can't use skills. Be serious.

 

TL;DR - if I could ask for anything out of Excal? At least speed up the RJ animation so the stun is actually useful. Sure, I can stun things in other rooms, but what does it matter if the mobs keep coming after I'm through with the animation? Hate to be this guy, but until something happens I'll be playing Zephyr.

Edited December 21, 2014 by CombatPastor

[TheVerdict]

Take a $50 dollar buck off of me DE and make this happen!

[Joshyk810]

I would love to see the changes OP suggested for excalibur.

[r0ckwolf]

Merry Xmas guys, keep it goin in here.^^

[FoxFX]

Merry Xmas guys, keep it goin in here.^^

Merry Xmas!

 

and also please do the same for my thread on Excalibur.

[Deruser]

I've got an idea for a replacement of super jump. Since Excalibur is the "perfect balance between mobility and offense", how about we have a skill that promotes parkour use? Eg, when this skill is active, Excalibur will take 50% less damage while doing parkour related moves like wall running and clinging onto walls.

[Kuboy]

I've got an idea for a replacement of super jump. Since Excalibur is the "perfect balance between mobility and offense", how about we have a skill that promotes parkour use? Eg, when this skill is active, Excalibur will take 50% less damage while doing parkour related moves like wall running and clinging onto walls.

No. there's already a S#&$ty aerial mod like that, and to be honest, I'd rather have super jump, as useless as it is, then to be forced to do parkour. 

 

Super jump does need a change though, especially after they introduced aerial directional attacks. Now everyone can "super jump"

[r0ckwolf]

I've got an idea for a replacement of super jump. Since Excalibur is the "perfect balance between mobility and offense", how about we have a skill that promotes parkour use? Eg, when this skill is active, Excalibur will take 50% less damage while doing parkour related moves like wall running and clinging onto walls.

 

 

No. there's already a S#&$ty aerial mod like that, and to be honest, I'd rather have super jump, as useless as it is, then to be forced to do parkour. 

 

Super jump does need a change though, especially after they introduced aerial directional attacks. Now everyone can "super jump"

agreed! a prakour related change would only be usefull when they heavily change parkour before (which they intend to do), but until then or even with these chnages, it´s probably a bad idea.

[ImNotJellyAtAll]

I’d like to add my 2 cents to this thread, since Excalibur is my favorite (and most used) Warframe. And in my opinion, most of Excalibur’s skill set is underwhelming at best, and I’ll give my reasons below. Note that these are my personal opinions, and not necessarily correct.

 

---

Slash Dash

-Useful skill but flawed. It does low damage, and has no added utility (besides measly bleed status effects) besides fast movement. There’s an ability augment mod that adds to your combo count for each enemy hit, but it’s a waste of a mod slot and combo counters reset too quickly to make use of. Slash Could be made more useful if it could go up (like Tail Wind), added to your melee combo count by default, and had a crowd control element (such as pulling enemies in front of you for the duration of the skill, leaving them vulnerable to a follow up meleee combo or well placed rocket).

Radial Blind

-Was a bit ridiculous, being spammable and incapacitating rooms of enemies with the press of a button. But the way it functions currently makes it inconsistent (Warframe maps have a lot of clutter, indoor maps with long corridors and corners outnumber open spaces, etc). And nerfing it from a balance perspective is reasonable, but saying it’s unrealistic in a game full of space ninjas is ridiculous. Making it curve around walls a little or reflect off of surfaces could fix the inconsistent aspect and make it usable in rooms with cover, but I don’t know how hard it would be to program.

---

Super Jump

-Super Jump is way too situational at best, useless at worst. Some players argue that it gives a few seconds for safe reloading (IMO much better accomplished by Radial Blind), or is a vaulable mobility tool (outclassed by directional melee + parkour). But the value of a vertical only power in a mostly indoor setting isn’t very useful. I think it should be either replaced entirely (hopefully with a passive buff), or at the very least be duration based (since power strength isn’t very viable for modding when you consider his other abilities deal lackluster damage). An example for a replacement would be a toggle-able buff that would reduce stamina cost for melee and add a damage multiplier.

---

Radial Javelin

-Radial Javelin is a mixed bag. It goes through walls now (eliminating the Javelin + Bullet Attractor combo), deals average damage, and stuns enemies. Problem is, it doesn’t do enough damage to scale anywhere past the mid star chart, the stun doesn’t last long enough to make use of, and the casting animation is waaay long. Basically, it’s an average damage radial-stun that’s not justifying the 100 energy cost in any way. An good way to fix this would to be changing the damage type to finisher damage and bumping it up to Blade Storm levels, have javelins ragdoll enemies and launch them (giving loads of utility to boot, also note that javelins should even ragdoll enemies that survive), add punch through, and speed up the animation (all of these would probably be OP, so a damage buff should probably go without the CC, and vice versa). Bringing back the Radial Javelin + Bullet Attractor combo in some capacity would rock too.

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Passive Stats

-With the talk of passive Warframe stats (like Mesa’s reload speed boost), a melee focused passive bonus for Excalibur would be nice. For example, stamina recharges faster, he gains combo counter faster, combo counter could last longer before resetting, etc. A boost to armor would be nice if he were a melee-friendly Warframe. And before anyone says that Excalibur is an "all around Warframe", note that the new augments are focusing on melee, and he's named after a sword.

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Sorry for the wall of text (no idea how to put in spoiler breaks), I just  like this game a lot, and Excalibur’s my favorite class, and his mediocrity is… disappointing.

Edited December 26, 2014 by ImNotJellyAtAll

[jjpdn]

DON'T TOUCH MAH SUPAH JUMP! 

Only Excalibur gets it!

 

Because he has a horn!

And because he's the mascot!

And because his ribs are glowy and shows on the outside of his armor!

And because RAINBOHWS!

 

But i really like your new two idea.

Energy using abilities in the advanced movement realm would be really cool. Does this mean we should also have non-directional melee dashes?

[Lagomorf]

DON'T TOUCH MAH SUPAH JUMP! 

Only Excalibur gets it!

No. Everyone have it now. So stop whining about useless skill.

[SteelSoldier]

Super Jump is the most useless thing I have ever seen, we can use the melee dash that does exactly the same thing.

[OriVerda]

I wanted to make my own thread with a suggestion but this seems to be the place to be when it comes to all things Excalibur related.

 

First of all I want to make it clear that I absolutely love Excalibur and it really, really hurts me that DE would rather nerf him a dozen times over before they would even dreamception a tiny buff to him. At most our favorite posterboy gets an aesthetic upgrade which, while appreciated, is not to be considered a long overdue buff. But I understand DE's irrational fear of buffing a starter and actually making him useful in high-level play without requiring players to sit on the edge of their seats and becoming super saiyans to get the most out of their match, if you are doing better than that multi-Forma, potato'd Rhino Prime then something must have gone horribly wrong!

 

Therefore I suggest giving the Excalibur (and perhaps some other Warframes) a treatment similar to upgrading from MK-1 Braton to Braton and from Latron to Tiberon. The Excalibur Dragon with improved stats and abilities. Since I have had bad experience with suggestions I can already guess there will be many naysayers but we are a community and I accept the views of everyone. But here are my arguments to support my case.

 

Simply put the Dragon Nikana and the Tiberon are (arguably) superior to their normal counterparts in every way. They are their original in upgraded form, the MK-2 version so to speak. For me this is the best system ingame as it does not require endless farming or grinding to get a good weapon or Warframe. It allows you to keep the spirit of the thing you love and, after applying a bit of spit shine, it become that much better. 

 

Lore-wise (what little there is) the Excalibur is considered to be quite important given its nature as the original Warframe. We have the Proto-Excalibur, the Excalibur Prime (<3) and then the most recent version of the the Excalibur. It would stand to reason that the Excalibur Warframe could, would and should be used as a sort of prototype for augmentation, experimentation and upgrading seeing as he is the oldest and most trusted Warframe. His stability is comparable to Windows XP still being considered one of the best operating systems by some experts.

 

TL:DR

Give us the option to transform the Excalibur from a Starter to a Dragon Excalibur because upgrades are fun.

 

A/N

Please tell me what you think but don't be too harsh. I'm fragile ;n;

[r0ckwolf]

I wanted to make my own thread with a suggestion but this seems to be the place to be when it comes to all things Excalibur related.

 

First of all I want to make it clear that I absolutely love Excalibur .... -snip-

Hey Dude, your input is very welcome in here, so far it´s really been a very constructive discussion, for the most part.^^ 

 

I really like your idea of upgrading a or any Warframe into a "dragon" version, since i do agree that it´s one of the more interesting systems of incresing power in the game. I do however think that it´s somewhat unlikely that this is gonna happen, i think the next step of Power increase for Warframes will be the Focussystem and i´m quiet curious how it will change things. 

 

I still do believe that each Warframe, should be equal to some degree, so that he/she has it´s own nichee at least, even if the Upgrade you suggested would be released, i wouldn´t be fully satisfied, since regular Excalibur wouldn´t have get his much deserved buff.^^

[Thaumatos]

I've said it in other posts but I'll put it here too.  Slash Dash and Surging Dash should compliment each other instead of one just being a band-aid mod.  Make Slash Dash's damage increase based on the melee combo multiplier and leave Surging Dash the way it is.  That'd make melee and Slash Dash synergize well and the augment card would no longer be a band-aid but a benefit.

 

Then change the combo counter from 100% vaporization after 3 seconds to an immediate but slow tick-down rate that increases in speed over time. 

 

But guys, you know what's coming next don't you?  

 

Radial Blind Augment: Blind Puncture - Causes Radial Blind to puncture surfaces and hit enemies behind them.

 

inb4nextbandaid

[Guest]

hey

 

as long as super jump still exists in some form i'm cool with anything, man

 

SUPERJUMP4LYF MADDER PACKERS

 

Edited December 28, 2014 by Guest

[Guest]

MAH SUPAH JUMP! 

Only Excalibur gets it!

 

Because he has a horn!

And because he's the mascot!

And because his ribs are glowy and shows on the outside of his armor!

And because RAINBOHWS!

 

you dishonor the holy order of superjump...

[Thaumatos]

Well all nonsensical "Super Jump FTW" arguments aside, I'd honestly like to hear DE's current opinion on xcal.

 

They've made some changes; most of them were 100% outside of the realm of feedback; I'm sure most of us would like to know why.

[SubtleOwnage]

when can we expect DE to make tweaks on excalibur? or are they not gonna touch him at all anytime soon?

[DesecratedPoop]

I actually like the new Super Jump, and I can see what they intended to do with it. They turned it into a defensive ability. Excalibur now turns invisible when he jumps, allowing him to break enemy aggro and hide behind cover to wait for his shields to regen without being chased. I've used it successfully on boss fights to get the boss to attack my teammates instead. However, I think that it still needs one little tweak for people to start to use it defensively: it should instantly "jump start" (see what I did there) your shield regen when you use it. Since it only costs 10 energy, the amount of shields regenerated during your jump should be enough. Otherwise, I would increase the cost to 25 energy and make it boost your total shield capacity and regen rate temporarily, but then people would stop jumping with it.