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Mastery Rank Rewards (Suggestion)


DietEbolaCola
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Update: I have not forgotten about fleshing out and updating this concept. I am working on organizing and developing my dozens of others as well. In addition to aligning it with prior event rewards and suspicious shipments rewards meta, plus your excellent user feedback, I also need to account for referral rewards, too. Thanks for reading!
 

 

MASTERY RANK REWARDS PROPOSAL (WORK IN PROGRESS)

 

This concept is a work in progress to improve the new player experience and increase player retention, where players earn specific (non-RNG) items through Mastery Rank.

 

This system is intended to be added to the game, rather than replace any existing mechanics, so we would still get most of these items through login rewards, alerts, farming, or plat purchases, as well.

 

This idea has been bouncing through my brain the last few months. I thought I'd finally get it out there. I am looking for constructive feedback. Thanks to those that have provided feedback and expressed their concerns, and thanks in advance to those that continue to do so.

 

Notes:

Currently, I have this loosely based upon prime numbers:

- Every 3 Ranks @ 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 27, 30 (Skipped 15 & 18 for items below) = 1 Weapon Slot (8 Total) -- this is 1x Slot (6p value) not the 2x Slots (12p value) you get from the Market
- Every 5 Ranks @ 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 = Orokin Catalyst Blueprint / Weapon Potato (6 Total)
- Every 7 Ranks @ 7, 14, 21 = 1 Warframe Slot (3 Total)

- Every 11 Ranks @ 11, 22 = 1 Orokin Reactor Blueprint / Warframe Potato (2 Total)
- Every 13 Ranks @ 13, 26 = 1 Legendary Core (2 Total)
- Remaining Ranks @ 17, 19, 23, 29 = 1 Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc. These items can ONLY be earned by unlocking a particular Mastery Rank. (4 Total)
- Other ranks filled with Credit Caches (2 Total @ Rank 1, 2) & Forma Blupeprints (3 Total @ 4, 8, 16)

- Cross-posted to the Warframe wiki @ http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:478167



Item Delivery

 

You receive the item through an Inbox message from The Lotus once completing your Mastery Rank Test congratulating you on your progress.

Players With Ranks Already Unlocked

 

Those items and inbox messages should be grandfathered in for those that have already earned those ranks, so you'd get spammed with those messages if you've already unlocked a bunch of Mastery Ranks already, once the system is in place.

 

Reward List By Mastery Rank

 

Mastery Rank 1 - Initiate – 2500 Credit Cache + Initiate Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 2 – Silver Initiate - 5000 Credit Cache
Mastery Rank 3 – Gold Initiate - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 4 – Novice - 1 Forma Blueprint + Novice Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 5 – Silver Novice - 1 Orokin Catalyst Blueprint (Weapon Potato)

Mastery Rank 6 – Gold Novice - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 7 – Disciple - 1 Warframe Slot + Disciple Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 8 - Silver Disciple - 1 Forma Blueprint
Mastery Rank 9 – Gold Disciple - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 10 – Seeker - 1 Orokin Catalyst Blueprint (Weapon Potato) + Seeker Tenno Badge

Mastery Rank 11 – Silver Seeker - 1 Orokin Reactor Blueprint (Warframe Potato)
Mastery Rank 12 – Gold Seeker - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 13 – Hunter - 1 Legendary Core + Hunter Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 14 – Silver Hunter - 1 Warframe Slot
Mastery Rank 15 – Gold Hunter - 1 Orokin Catalyst Blueprint (Weapon Potato)

Mastery Rank 16 – Eagle - 1 Forma Blueprint + Eagle Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 17 – Silver Eagle - 1 Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc.
Mastery Rank 18 – Gold Eagle - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 19 – Tiger - 1 Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc + Tiger Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 20 – Silver Tiger - 1 Orokin Catalyst Blueprint (Weapon Potato)

Mastery Rank 21 – Gold Tiger - 1 Warframe Slot
Mastery Rank 22 – Dragon - 1 Orokin Reactor Blueprint (Warframe Potato) + Dragon Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 23 – Silver Dragon - 1 Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc
Mastery Rank 24 – Gold Dragon - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 25 – Sage - 1 Orokin Catalyst Blueprint (Weapon Potato) + Sage Tenno Badge

Mastery Rank 26 – Silver Sage - 1 Legendary Core
Mastery Rank 27 – Gold Sage - 1 Weapon Slot
Mastery Rank 28 – Master - 1 Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc + Master Tenno Badge
Mastery Rank 29 – Middle Master - 1 Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc
Mastery Rank 30 – Grand Master - 1 Weapon Slot + Grand Master Tenno Badge

 

Response To Reward Structure Feedback

There were also concerns about DE being able to change or tweak the rewards reliably, especially once prizes were already given to players. Changing the rewards would be similar to the way DE handles it in the past. Players get the new reward(s) if they had already unlocked it, and keep their old reward(s) if they had already earned it.

 

As far as Legendary Cores using this system, you get your first one at about 500+ hours of gameplay using this system (MR13), and the second one at about the 4 year mark (MR26). I don't find that unreasonable, but I suppose another "Unique Item, Special Skin, Decorative Armor, Syandana, Color Palette, Animation Set, etc" could be substituted there.

 

I have over 1250 hours in-game (over 3100 steam hours) so I have plenty of mod fodder & credits to max stuff out with, as should most people by the time they reach MR13, so Legendary Cores aren't really a huge deal at that point. I was going to throw a R5 Fusion Core into the mix, as part of an earlier Reward set, but the Legendary Core seemed like a better reward candidate towards the later ranks. It would probably fit better if DE made Legendary Cores non-tradeable if they were to implement this, as the rest of the reward Items I listed are non-tradeable, although the 1 million credits required to trade tend to limit their circulation to veteran players anyway.

 

I also wanted to limit it to 1 Inbox item per rank. That is also part of why I did not use the R5 Cores (or any farmable Mods) in the Reward pool.

 

I also don't think item choice is part of the current in-game Inbox messaging system, and I hate being locked into a choice I cannot undo, especially if I have to wait months until the next one goes through, so I did not go that route.

 

Response To "DE Losing Revenue" Concerns

One day I'd also like to tell people "you can earn every item in-game" in response to new players complaining "this seems pay2win / you can only buy [X] thing with plat".

 

The plat-only items on this list only account for 108 platinum if the player managed to get all the way to MR30. Someone calculated that it would take 5-10 years at current rate to reach MR30. Currently, you can only get to MR16 (if you started from closed beta and bought founders or participated in every event), which is 64 platinum per player, comparable to the 50 plat they already receive, and DE was nowhere near bankrupt giving out 50 platinum to new accounts.

 

It isn't a huge chunk of the developer's income. They lose about USD $4 on a player that puts in 1000+ hours (MR16). They lose about USD $7 on a player that puts in 5+ years of gameplay (MR30). There's a good chance that the 1000 hour player has bought over $4 in Platinum.

 

Additionally, you'll always get people that are willing to pay to get stuff NOW instead of of earning it, too.. especially as the intervals between ranking up increases exponentially. Even knowing what you would get next through Mastery Rank unlock, you'd still buy and use plat to buy something else, or to get another one, because you can never have enough of those bread & butter DE items.

 

Again, it is a small price to pay to incentivize player retention. Retained players tend to buy more plat than ones that quit playing after a few days. It takes money to make money. DE would spend some in the short term to recoup it tenfold later on in the long run.

 

Edits:

Added item delivery note, unique item clarification under spoiler, mastery rank titles, grammar & spelling clean-up, grandfathered rewards, formatting, rank badges, weapon slots clarification, more notes from responses to feedback, wiki post link

Edited by DietEbolaCola
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DE?

Give rewards?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

IT WILL RUIN THE BALANCE OF MOOLAH!

 

-99999.

 

 

p.s. I think DE wouldn't agree with this.

While it is a good concept to make a game based on ingame cosmetics(gw2, for example), DE uses it to make moolah.

I highly doubt giving away free cosmetics is acceptable to 'DE'.

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DE?

Give rewards?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

IT WILL RUIN THE BALANCE OF MOOLAH!

 

-99999.

 

 

p.s. I think DE wouldn't agree with this.

While it is a good concept to make a game based on ingame cosmetics(gw2, for example), DE uses it to make moolah.

I highly doubt giving away free cosmetics is acceptable to 'DE'.

lol the game doesnt have balance :/

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DE?

Give rewards?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

IT WILL RUIN THE BALANCE OF MOOLAH!

 

-99999.

 

 

p.s. I think DE wouldn't agree with this.

While it is a good concept to make a game based on ingame cosmetics(gw2, for example), DE uses it to make moolah.

I highly doubt giving away free cosmetics is acceptable to 'DE'.

 

The only cosmetic items in this proposal are the Unique ones you can ONLY get through unlocking a particular Mastery Rank.

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Mastery Rank Titles and and a little changelog under "Edit" section added to the OP.

you do know mastery rank 16 is max currently because of weapon and warframe limitations right?

Yes, but that may or may not be accelerated through the Focus system and/or the Questing system coming later this year.

Edited by DietEbolaCola
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This concept is a work in progress to improve the new player experience and increase player retention, where players earn specific (non-RNG) items through Mastery Rank. I am looking for constructive feedback.

 

I think the Prime number based system is clever, but given that unique rewards don't show up until...say...1000 hours into the game (MR17), that's not really a motivating factor.

 

You should also take into consideration the drastic increase in mastery required for higher levels, and thus make them more rewarding. It might take 100+ hrs to make the jump between 14 and 15 for example, but 200h btw 15-16.

 

I think badges or exclusive colors should be rewarded at 5,10,15 then one each level from then out. We won't be seeing a ton of MR22 players for example, and the ones we do see will have already paid their keep - so don't worry too much about DE's profit margin being eaten.

 

EDIT - but yes, overall I like the idea. Just want to see more meaningful rewards.

Edited by notionphil
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I think the Prime number based system is clever, but given that unique rewards don't show up until...say...1000 hours into the game (MR17), that's not really a motivating factor.

 

You should also take into consideration the drastic increase in mastery required for higher levels, and thus make them more rewarding. It might take 100+ hrs to make the jump between 14 and 15 for example, but 200h btw 15-16.

 

I think badges or exclusive colors should be rewarded at 5,10,15 then one each level from then out. We won't be seeing a ton of MR22 players for example, and the ones we do see will have already paid their keep - so don't worry too much about DE's profit margin being eaten.

 

EDIT - but yes, overall I like the idea. Just want to see more meaningful rewards.

 

You raise some good points.

 

I completely forgot about Badges, but I think those should be added by Mastery Rank Title (Tiger Badge, Dragon Badge, etc), rather than by the Mastery Rank Number.

 

There are plenty of other perks for increasing Mastery Ranks that I didn't really scale them up here for these rewards. These rewards are just an added bonus, really.

 

What kind of more meaningful rewards would you suggest?

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You raise some good points.

 

I completely forgot about Badges, but I think those should be added by Mastery Rank Title (Tiger Badge, Dragon Badge, etc), rather than by the Mastery Rank Number.

 

There are plenty of other perks for increasing Mastery Ranks that I didn't really scale them up here for these rewards. These rewards are just an added bonus, really.

 

What kind of more meaningful rewards would you suggest?

 

I feel that once you start getting to 100s or even 1000s of hours in a game, recognition (aka swag, as many would call it) becomes more valuable than anything else. I'm (only?) MR12 and I personally feel like I have everything WF has to offer, and way more power than I could possibly ever need.

 

What I don't have is anything besides a few exclusives from being around a while that differentiate me from less experienced/dedicated/insert-polite-way-of-saying-newbie players. No amount of potatos and slots will do that. Yes, those perks could be given as well...but I'd much rather have things like:

 

MR 10 - metallic copper texture is unlocked (cannot be used in the 'primary' or 'secondary' color slot for an item).

 

MR 15 - Tracer rounds and bullet 'hits' can now be colored.

 

MR 16 - metallic silver texture is unlocked

 

MR 17 - can now use metallic in the secondary color slot.

 

MR 18 - can apply a sound filter to default weapon firing sound

 

MR 19 - muzzle flash alpha and color can be changed

 

MR 20 - metallic gold texture is unlocked

 

Etc.

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Added rank badges to the rewards list as suggested in this thread to the OP -- thanks notionphil.

 

Added clarification about weapon slots brought up on the wiki blog to the OP -- this is 1x Slot (6p value) not the 2x Slots (12p value) you get from the Market.

Edited by DietEbolaCola
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MR 10 - metallic copper texture is unlocked (cannot be used in the 'primary' or 'secondary' color slot for an item).

 

MR 15 - Tracer rounds and bullet 'hits' can now be colored.

 

MR 16 - metallic silver texture is unlocked

 

MR 17 - can now use metallic in the secondary color slot.

 

MR 18 - can apply a sound filter to default weapon firing sound

 

MR 19 - muzzle flash alpha and color can be changed

 

MR 20 - metallic gold texture is unlocked

 

Etc.

 

I support this notion, phil. /corny_joke

 

How would these textures map onto powers? I mean, what does a shiny Absorb look like?

 

Also, some warframes have VERY significant portions of their body taken up by Secondary color. (i.e. Ash)

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While I agree wholeheartedly to this suggestion, I doubt many of the rewards will come to fruition. Slots, cosmetics, and potatoes are the main ways DE makes money off of the game, so rewarding players with that much seems(to me) like a stretch for them.

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While I agree wholeheartedly to this suggestion, I doubt many of the rewards will come to fruition. Slots, cosmetics, and potatoes are the main ways DE makes money off of the game, so rewarding players with that much seems(to me) like a stretch for them.

 

One day I'd also like to tell people "you can earn every item in-game" in response to new players complaining "this seems pay2win / you can only buy [X] thing with plat".

 

The plat-only items on this list only account for 108 platinum if the player managed to get all the way to MR30. Someone calculated that it would take 5-10 years at current rate to reach MR30. Currently, you can only get to MR16 (if you started from closed beta and bought founders or participated in every event), which is 64 platinum per player, comparable to the 50 plat they already receive, and DE was nowhere near bankrupt giving out 50 platinum to new accounts.

 

It isn't a huge chunk of the developer's income. They lose about USD $4 on a player that puts in 1000+ hours (MR16). They lose about USD $7 on a player that puts in 5+ years of gameplay (MR30). There's a good chance that the 1000 hour player has bought over $4 in Platinum.

Additionally, you'll always get people that are willing to pay to get stuff NOW instead of of earning it, too.. especially as the intervals between ranking up increases exponentially. Even knowing what you would get next through Mastery Rank unlock, you'd still buy and use plat to buy something else, or to get another one, because you can never have enough of those bread & butter DE items.

 

Again, it is a small price to pay to incentivize player retention. Retained players tend to buy more plat than ones that quit playing after a few days. It takes money to make money. DE would spend some in the short term to recoup it tenfold later on in the long run.

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