Zephyr, My Personal Opinion

[Oates_]

I believe Zephyr has a lot of potential for improvement in terms of ability coordination as well as general play pace and feel. Her current abilities can be confusing and do not, in my case, encourage further play.

 

Zephyr's current 25 is, to put it bluntly, a glorified slash dash. Using it for damage purposes is impractical, and is generally a waste of energy if used purely for mobility. This is the ability that I have the most reservations about in her kit as it does not give the impression of actual flight as would be expected thematically.

 

If changes were made to Zephyr, I would most like to see the 25 turned into a toggle ability that allowed Zephyr to switch into free hover mode. With the archwing movement set entering the game soon, I do not think it would be impractical to have a similar control set for her while she is flying. While in flight mode, Zephyr hovers in place unless told to move in any direction, be it horizontal or vertical. Also, and I will talk more about this later, Zephyr's other abilities will have different interactions depending on whether Zephyr is hovering or not.

 

Zephyr's 50 makes sense on paper. If Zephyr is flying, then she can dive bomb the enemy to deal damage. The problem is that I rarely find myself flying, and positioning in order to use this ability is often awkward and less efficient than simply shooting or stabbing the enemy.

 

The changes that I have proposed to Zephyr's 25 would make positioning less awkward. The problem comes when you are on the ground, the ability is essentially useless. Adding a simple radial knockback with minimal damage while Zephyr is on the ground will give it some utility to compensate for this gap. Coupled with high damage scaling if used from the air will make it a good finisher if Zephyr has been shooting from the air.

 

Zephyr's 75 is arguably her most 'useful' ability in her current state. The ability to avoid bullets makes her surprisingly tanky if built for duration. The only problem I see with this ability is that it is quite cost heavy for a purely defensive ability, and given that it does not prevent crowd control effects, it is a candidate for minor changes.

 

Given the dual nature of the proposed change to Zephyr's 25, I see opportunity to make her 75 have both offensive and defensive properties. The in flight version of Zephyr's 75 would remain largely the same, redirecting projectiles such as bullets and also grappling hooks so that she is difficult to kill even while exposed to multiple enemies while in the air. While on the ground Zephyr's 75 turns into the deadly Asphyxiate power, literally sucking the air from the lungs of her opponents. Robotics, such as Moas and Ospreys would clearly be immune to this effect, but organic enemies like the infested would find the attack extremely potent, hindering their agility and lowering their damage output while slowly killing them. 3:)

 

And finally we come to Zephyr's ultimate ability. Deemed highly troll-friendly in its earliest iterations due to the importance of loot drops in the game. I actually like the current 100 ability for Zephyr, it feels right. I only have one proposed change.

 

That change is directly related to the change I suggested earlier about the 25 toggle. While Zephyr keeps her feet on the ground, the ability functions as it does now, with multiple tornadoes slowly picking up enemies in a beautifully chaotic manner and depositing them at their RNG determined destination. The only change is that while Zephyr is in flight, she does not spawn multiple small tornadoes, but instead creates one large tornado that surrounds and follows her as she flies. She is the eye of the storm, even in complete chaos, she remains peaceful.

 

But, before I wax more eloquent, I will end my feedback post. If you have any thoughts on this matter, please do not hesitate to leave a reply. Thank you for your time.

[Sasquatchias]

For future reference though:

 

25 is called Tailwind

50 is Divebomb

75 is Turbulence

100 is Tornadoes.

[Phoenix86]

I like what u are proposing, especially for her #1

 

About her #2 i would add the following:

Dive Bomb should be "targetable" on the ground... right now we simply go 90° perpendicular to the ground from whereever we are; this can continue to exist if we are not "aiming the ground", if we are aiming the ground Dive Bomb should "crash us" exactly there!

 

Also... i would increase Dive Bomb's range by at least 30% (it's a great CC tool imho, just a little jump + Dive Bomb = instant AoE KD)

[izzatuw]

Tailwind change is a risk honestly. It can promote afk and leeching.

Idk about most changes honestly, DE doesn't need to make every frame have offensive capabilities or defensive in one frame. I think her 3rd ability is fine since it's better than Iron Skin but I wouldn't mind seeing it go from 75 to 50 energy instead

Edited October 21, 2014 by izzatuw

[dgpainkiller]

Sadly, Zephyr, were just a frame I ranked up to max and then I left her in the void.

 

"dominates the battlefield from the air" is just pure bull****. She felt more like a $&*&*#(%& bird to me, who has forgotten how to fly.

Or at least stay in the air to "dominate" as they call it.

[RobWasHere]

I find her most enjoyable frame so far, but level design is limiting her abilities as well as Dive Bomb bugs. 

 

Tail Wind - nice "Charge or GTFO" ability. Doesnt damage much, but for mobility or initial launch for Dive Bomb is ok.

Dive Bomb - fix the bugs. Sometimes it damages enemies on platform you bombed, sometimes only those below. Heavy Impact mod is necessery to at least knock down foes where you landed

Turbulence - Corpusproof shield with limited usability against hit-scan weapons. Ok for me

Tornado - Strong when "coloured" with elemental weapon due to high status chance. Otherwise funny to watch.

Edited October 21, 2014 by RobWasHere

[trieuazn0]

it would be nice if they mixed both her tailwind and her dive bomb together, and maybe give her a fancy second skill. . .

 

going to an Anime Stretch here, but maybe a strong gust of wind that blows enemys away (Rust tornado From Manikaizer)

[--Q--uaint]

it would be nice if they mixed both her tailwind and her dive bomb together, and maybe give her a fancy second skill. . .

 

going to an Anime Stretch here, but maybe a strong gust of wind that blows enemys away (Rust tornado From Manikaizer)

 

If you combined Tailwind and Dive Bomb, she couldn't move horizontally with it. So no, that's a terrible idea.

[izzatuw]

If you combined Tailwind and Dive Bomb, she couldn't move horizontally with it. So no, that's a terrible idea.

She can, she just has to aim down and press 1 again

[--Q--uaint]

She can, she just has to aim down and press 1 again

 

So you're saying that Zephyr would simply fly in the direction you aimed, making a shockwave upon contact with the ground?

 

I suppose I can't argue with that.

[Phoenix86]

it would be nice if they mixed both her tailwind and her dive bomb together, and maybe give her a fancy second skill. . .

 

 

Dafuq lol? i'm not a goddamn living Javelin lmao

[_Fracture8]

Imo she needs an ability that allows her to hover as well. I mean the title says she dominates the air, but thats bs considering that most tilesets have a roof that restricts that and even when they don't have a roof the reduced fall speed still isn't enough for consistent aiming in the air. She's not an air frame that dominates the sky, she's a normal tenno with the option to smack into a roof at 100mph and quickly fall back down. In order to dominate the sky, you have to be able to STAY IN THE SKY

 

Anyway... Thanks for bringing this topic up, Zephyr has needed a second look at for quite some time now, I like all the proposed changes save for tail wind. The idea of combing both dive bomb and tail wind together is pretty nice, that way we could have room for a better 2nd ability

Edited October 21, 2014 by KilelrDrone492

[DoomsDayDan]

Zephyr's one of the few frames where I actually use all four abilities regularly. Tailwind puts Dual Zorens to shame (especially when you stack power duration), Dive Bomb is great for controlling Tailwind and not flying completely off the map, Turbulence is great for not dying, and Tornado generally does a pretty good job of killing or at least immobilizing enemies, and sticks around to keep on doing those things so you can like walk away and start shooting at a different group of enemies

[taiiat]

and is generally a waste of energy if used purely for mobility.

o.0

 

Zephyr easily accepts 75% Efficiency, making Tailwind nigh infinitely spammable.

 

however, conceptually being able to hover around sounds interesting, though is easily exploited and makes Zephyr a Helicopter, not a bird ;D

 

 

Divebomb needs more than just that, but i do like the thought of being able to use it as a bit of a stun without needing to be in the air.

but overall, this Ability really struggles to have a purpose. it's literally useless without Heavy Impact, and even with, it lacks significant Damage, lacks significant CC of any form, which is all a shame, because this is a very thematic Ability to use.

 

if it Ragdolled Enemies nearby(still a decent Range though hopefully) the impact point and pushed them away from the apex a bit, knocked down Enemies in a moderate Radius, and staggered Enemies in a moderate-large Radius, it would feel rewarding (seeing nearby Enemies skidooshing off into the distance, hell yeah), and also have a real purpose.

and on the ground could instead have a small/moderate Radius stagger.

 

 

Turbulence is fine as is, if you ask me. without Mods it's fairly Expensive, but it also nullifies most / all of the Ranged Fire in the game. if you stick tons of Range on it, all Grineer in the area will never hit anything, and for Ballistic Weapons, it's a 99.100% safe deflection system that guarantees you basically never get shot, nor does anything near you.

this makes it a very powerful Ability and feels satisfying to use (though tbh absolutely is very, very effective and i'm not entirely sure how i feel about that since it's automatic).

 

 

Tornado is great as it is. it's really rewarding to use, has fantastic hard CC, can impart Status Effects from your Weapons, good stuff.

 

i do also want that one large Tornado as an option though... that would also be great. especially if your bullets got sucked up into your own large Tornado and basically turned it into a rotating circle of bullets.

because that would look absolutely fantastic.

 

 

So you're saying that Zephyr would simply fly in the direction you aimed, making a shockwave upon contact with the ground?

:o

 

that could work, and that leaves an open slot, meaning we could fit in that one large Tornado as another Ability.

 

move the current Tornado to Slot2 and reduce their size to compensate, and then have the one large Tornado (Cyclone is a neat thematic name for this, i get it's very similar to Tornado but Cyclone sounds 'cooler' than Tornado does, and describes the Ability well, despite being a near identical name) for Slot 4.

man, would that be a sight to see. cast 'Cyclone', and fire your Ammunition into it to make yourself a shredding wall of bullets that follows you around. and if you use Turbulence, Enemy Projectiles could even be redirected into your 'Cyclone', for even more spinning bullets!

 

hah. that sounds like a grand time.

[Guest]

Personally I like Zephyr as she is right now. I mean, her being one of the last frames I built, and having over 988 in-mission hours under my belt syandana, I mained her so hard she's listed as my most used frame now. She's also one of the few frames where I actually use more than two abilities; the first is awesome when you just need to get anywhere now, her third brings good but balanced survivability, and her second is just cool and fun. I haven't used Tornado much honestly, because I needed the space for mods, but with the upcoming changes I might start using it.

[Crewell]

I love Zephyr. It's my go to frame. Tailwind is a great mobility power. It doesn't need changing. Turbulence is also a great power. It stops a lot of incoming damage. Tornado is one of the best CCs in the game. The frame also has insanely high shields and health. The only thing wrong with Zephyr is Dive Bomb. That could be easily fixed by just changing the power to have a blast of air knock back all nearby enemies so you no longer need to jump first. All in all Zephyr is one of the most well rounded frames in the game.

[Frostmire]

I like Tail Wind the way it is , lots of mobility in one skill , it's like a better combination of Super Jump and Slash Dash. Dive Bomb on the other hand , not so much , i hope Dive Bomb will be change to an ability that let you hover in mid air

[trieuazn0]

So you're saying that Zephyr would simply fly in the direction you aimed, making a shockwave upon contact with the ground?

 

I suppose I can't argue with that.

i was half asleep when i made the "Mix tail wind with Dive bomb"

my personal problem with tailwind was that, if you used itm and collide with the wall, near the floor, you would be stuck next to the wall for a few seconds due to this "Momentum" feeling, im not sure how to explain it in words

 

it just would be nice if you could like make shockwaves on impact, even if you hit the enemy

 

Dafuq lol? i'm not a goddamn living Javelin lmao

 

well, her Dive Bomb is like a spear from outta space,

Drops head first and makes a Shockwave, shaking the ground

 

anyway, she flys like a spear as well, most flying things have their arms out or in front of them, although all she dose is throw herself in one direction with her arms to her sides (To stop air resistance) like a spear

[EchoesOfRain]

Why not Keep tailwind as it is, while also adding a divebomb mechanic when running into walls and floors, and changing the current divebomb to a toggle hover? This way she has way more air mobility than just tailwind, or just a hover, and she would be INSANE in the air. A hover/Tailwind combo would be crazy fun

[Zarlockk]

When we first were given concept of air frame I always thought we will have a frame able to fly. Yet we did not. However I was disappointed until I tried her out. After playing her for quite a bit I found her to be a lot of fun if you rely on gunfire not ability power. 

However I agree her 3rd is her best ability. Other than divebomb I use all her abilities. her 1st is good for mobility when used right. 2 is ...hard to get on target. Turbulence is just amazing for survivability. Tornado is good as CC but it has disadvantages such as hard to hit target inside of it. But it is best damage ability because you can change damage type, also long duration makes total damage really big.

BUT, I like your idea and i support it.

[[DE]Momaw]

I only use Tailwind and Turbulence with her.   Dive Bomb was questionable at release, now it's a waste of a slot after they changed it to scale based on your height instead of letting you just hop to do it. Tornado is irritating as CC, and painfully inefficient as damage.

 

Pretty much since release my suggestion to fix her first two powers has been

#1 "Soar";   toggle power. Reduces Zephyr's personal gravity by ~95%, allowing for extended periods of hover-flight

 

#2 "Talon strike"; launches you at high speed in whatever direction you are looking, with extreme damage on direct impact with an enemy plus knockdown in a radius.

 

I don't even know what to do with Tornado. :|

[EchoesOfRain]

Tornado Change idea...

 

1. At least 1 tornado will always spawn right next to Zephyr

2. After casting Tornado, casting it again will despawn your existing Tornadoes to spawn another set

     - Tornado on CD when you need it most? this should help

3. Enemies caught by Tornado are sucked into the center and bob up and down instead of whipping around frantically

     - This way, it still makes it a tad difficult to hit the targets so that it doesn't become stronger than Vauban's vortex, but improves CC viability

 

 

Turbulence Changes....

 

1. When hovering, Turbulence has a slight ragdoll mechanic to surrounding enemies

2. When using Tailwind/Dive Bomb, the knockdown radius of both the dash and the dive bomb are increased

[Noble_Cactus]

Tailwind change is a risk honestly. It can promote afk and leeching.

 

 

Not if it's a toggle or duration-based ability.

 

I'm with EchoesOfRain. Tailwind should either be kept or incorporated into that new flight/hover mode somehow, since the mobility boost is rather useful (and the enemy knockdown on takeoff is cool). Maybe Dive Bomb could be integrated with Tai Wind itself somehow?

 

As for Tornadoes, the RNG drop location thing is still a bother and will still sour the opinions of players who want to kill enemies being flung around. I suggest to change it so that all gunfire shot into the tornado is redirected towards the enemies inside it, at the cost of not being able to headshot them by shooting into the twister. Do that, and make the enemy CC reliable, and Tornadoes will become a decent ult.