Syndicates: Some Feedback, Conjecture, And Suggestions.

[Oates_]

I've seen a lot of topics talking about Syndicates, mostly about how little they have to offer as a late-game mechanic or that they are too grindy. Let me submit to you an idea: Syndicates are not endgame.

 

Now you may think they are, and DE might hint that they are, but their role in Warframe should not be the end or destination of our story. They represent the means to an end, but they are not an end in and of themselves.

 

Allow me to explain.

 

We'll start from the beginning. What is the purpose of the Tenno as prescribed by the Lotus? We are to bring balance to the system. The choices we make are entirely up to us, but the end, currently, is to bring balance. Balance is a term which has as many definitions as there are people to define it.

 

Syndicates offer a variety of ideological means to achieving the goal of balance.

 

             Steel Meridian believes that Justice is the path to balance.

          Arbiters of Hexis believes that Truth is the path to balance.

            Cephalon Suda believes that Knowledge is the path to balance.

          Perrin Sequence believes that Prosperity is the path to balance.

                The Red Veil believes that Purity is the path to balance.

                    New Loka believes that Tradition is the path to balance.

 

And because they represent these ideological paths, Syndicates should be treated not as the goal, but as the path to the goal.

 

Now you may say, "if they are the means to achieving our ultimate goal, then aren't they late game by definition." The problem is that our goal of balancing the system is probably not our ultimate goal. It's a stepping stone, a means to an end, much like the syndicates themselves.

 

I believe that the Grineer vs. Corpus conflict will pale in comparison to the inter-system war that is coming. If we don't balance the system, Grineer, Corpus, and Tenno alike will all perish. Hence our goal of achieving balance is far more important than it at first seems.

 

My theory is that the Orokin tried using us as, quite literally, Warframes. But we could not overcome the Sentients through our power alone, and thus we were repurposed. The Lotus is a part of the plan to change us, but her origins remain unclear at this time.

 

So with all of this theory crafting in mind, here are some suggestions to enhance the role of Syndicates as a path and not an end.

 

Change the alliances to reflect the ideological positions. Knowledge with Prosperity, Truth with Purity, Justice with Tradition. Thematically that will make more sense. (from what I've read, there will be changes coming to alliances anyway.)

 

Syndicates that fall under Grineer and Corpus authority. If we have ideological differences, so do our enemies. We have seen some of this expressed through some of the Bosses' lore entries, but to see it on a practical day-to-day basis would make the enemy more realistic and less bland. This would also open up the opportunity for a Tenno to choose a path with more questionable motives. If you think that Grineer Syndicate X will bring balance to the system through power, who is to tell you otherwise? You would truly have a choice. Perhaps doing so would yield greater benefits with more resources at your disposal, but it would also greatly increase your list of enemies. (I made a thread expanding on this idea. https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/358513-faction-syndicates/#entry3981399 )

 

Greater consequences for betrayal. If you 'betray' a Syndicate by aligning with their enemy after you have worked for them, it should yield greater consequences due to the breach of trust. Turncoats are rarely trusted again. Also, other 'passive' factions should take notice if you betray a Syndicate, as they have no interest in being betrayed either.

 

Antagonist Missions. Instead of just running positive daily missions for your Syndicate, what if you could gain rep by Antagonizing their opponent? For instance, If I pull for Steel Meridian, then I receive a daily Capture or Intel mission against Perrin Sequence. It could even be as interesting as a reverse rescue mission. (Tenno opens door. "Thank you for rescuing me Tenno, you will be richly rewarded!" Tenno replies, "I will be rewarded, but not for saving you." Tenno downs and captures target for interrogation. Yes, that was a carbon copy of a scene I remember from a TV show.)

 

Syndicate Quests. Useful both for introducing the mechanic, as well as giving some story to munch on. I know that the quest makers are rather busy right now, but I still think this is a good idea to give an early reputation boost so players can begin receiving benefits from syndication sooner.

 

More gear slot items. Eximuses, keys, and the various restorers are helpful. It makes sense that the Syndicate which we try to represent would be happy to help us succeed in our everyday endeavors.

 

Get rid of weapon specific mods. They're incredibly difficult to balance, and few of them are truly advantageous as a result. Also, why would you want to maintain balance when the point of the mod is to intentionally unbalance? (If you say PvP, please realize that Warframe is a Coop PvE game. If we have to 'balance' everything for PvP, it winds up destroying the fun of the PvE where we are supposed to be intentionally overpowered by comparison to our enemies. /endrant)

 

If not weapon mods, consider giving each Syndicate a unique melee stance or two. Melee stances apply over multiple weapons, reducing the spike effect created when you only make the mod for one weapon.

 

Aura slot cards. Sure would be nice if Corrosive Projection, Shield Disruption, Enemy Sense, Infested Impedance, Energy Siphon, and Rejuvenation had a place where you could acquire them without waiting for the alert cycle.

 

Warframe ability modifiers. More mechanical creativity, less copy and paste from other functions. Some of them should have been integrated into the warframes during update 15 (looks at ember, frost, volt, and saryn.)

 

And on the subject of the grind. Leave it. Syndicates are a long term path. Considering that you can start with them at rank 3, I see no difficulty for new players as they will have plenty of experience from then until 'lategame'. Yes, it's hard on people who have already 'arrived', but that's par for the course. This sort of issue has been prevalent in multiple updates over the past year, where new content has to be ground out for old players. Release some way of obtaining the materials, experience, or other resource a week or two before the update comes out so that we can get past the preliminaries without grinding.

 

More cosmetics. I've still got my Rakta Syndana from the Red Veil, where are the other Syndicate's Syndanas? (EDIT: Yay! Syndicate Syndanas are now in the game!) Alternate helmets and skins for their preferred Warframes, armor plating, Sugatras, and weapon skins: There are plenty more opportunities for looking good.

 

And with that, I believe I am done. There are other suggestions that I could make, but there is plenty of material to consider here already. I apologize that this post lacks brevity, but I wanted to be specific. Thank you for your time.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Oates_

[Cloudy13]

I really think this is what the Syndicates need to be. It needs to be a integral part of gameplay from the start and not an endgame.