Volt's Design, His Ultimate, And A Goal Of Power And Synergy

[Diseenith]

I've seen a lot of posts regarding Volt and his abilities. His lack of scaling on the ultimate, unreliability of stun on his Shock after the first target, and some general comments on his 2 and 3. I wanted to tackle these one at a time.

 

For starters, I wanted to mention volt is one of the few frames that truly feels like his entire kit is cohesive and has abilities that feel smooth. His 1, 2, and 3 have negligible cast times, he has both defensive (1 & 3), utility (2), and area of effect damage & CC (1 & 4). His base damages are on the low side, but his 3 has substantial scaling and high functionality with beam weaponry. His 4 has high risk low reward usability with its self stun and requirement of electronics, at least in comparison with most other frames.

 

Now, an obvious choice people have is to move him more to CC! Make his shock 100% proc chance on all targets hit, give proc chances increases when shooting through a shield, and increase the damage of Overload significantly are a few I've seen. I personally however disagree with these choices. The first seems to powerful for a low energy no cast time ability, the second could get out of hand with the likes of amprex, and the last wouldn't solve anything.

 

To the first, instead of providing 100% proc chance to his Shock, rather let is be augmented by his Electric Shield. Then, in addition to that allow it to gain 100% proc chance if fired through an electric shield, increasing its damage and its usability. There is another suggestion I have to synergise with Overload, but I'll save that for when I get to Overload.

 

Second, his Speed. Speed is a pretty good ability, it gets its job done, its highly functional, and a dream come true in speed running captures. There is room for synergy in this ability but largely I'd find it fluff or unneeded, but cool if possible. One functionality is for it to add a slight proc chance to weapon fire based on intensity. Or another would be to allow allies standing near one another with speed on to periodically shock enemies between them: like lightning rods if you will... and speaking of those, well there's another idea at Overload.

 

Electric Shield. This ability alone is why I love volt, its high damage synergy with guns & its sheer quick 'Save me from a hail of bullets' use is stupendous. Although I personally don't feel it 'needs' a buff, it could certainly be a little easier to see through. I feel I need to keep my energy color dark simply to keep seeing through it. There is also lots of room for synergy to his other abilities, such as the aforementioned Shock Changes.

 

Now for the doozy, overload. It is in my honest and frank opinion that this ability needs to be completely removed. Not buffed, not nerfed, but removed. In its current form it will always be in a perpetual cycle of uselessness or an overpowered, overloaded (heh) nuke. I do have an idea for a good change that'd allow him strength, usability, and a good scaling with nearly every attribute while remaining thematically pleasing and still utilizing electronics.

 

Overload: Volt overloads a target with electrical energy for X Seconds. When Overloaded the target is stunned and periodically fires electricity at nearby enemies, this electricity charges the hit enemy for X seconds and the same enemy can be charged multiple times. Overload can also electrify nearby electronics and will target them before other enemies, an overloaded electronic will then chain to X enemies (affected by power strength) to charge them all at once. Upon Overload's duration ending or the Overload targets death, Overload will detonate in an electrical blast. This blast will deal X damage to nearby enemies and fire electrical arcs to charged targets regardless of range. These electrical arcs will cause their own smaller blasts for X damage at the charged enemies, leading to a devastating chain reaction. 

 

There are a few synergy attempts with his other abilities here, for example: "Shocking an overloaded target will charge nearby enemies hit with the chaining from Shock" or "Shock can preemptively detonate charged enemies" or "Overload can electrify nearby electric shields or sped players, increasing the shields size or adding additional electrical damage to player's attacks."

Possibly to prevent spamming and truly make it feel powerful, it could be an ability that drains energy as the enemy is stunned, and can be cancelled early to trigger the reaction sooner (Or left going for a long time if you have the duration to make the bomb bigger / utilize it to charge shields and players).

 

Its a bit late, so i wont be able to reply much till tomorrow. But any thoughts, comments or otherwise would be appreciated.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Diseenith

[Phyrak]

Good thoughts +1

Volt also needs an armour boost

[Omnimorph]

I don't think there's much wrong with Volt at all, he's probably one of the best-balanced frames in all Warframe, in the sense that he doesn't have any one ability that's so overwhelmingly good that it's not worth bothering with any other.  All his abilities are useful all the time, and his playstyle requires constant rotation of them.  IOW, Volt is a frame that's good for people who like fast and busy gameplay.  

Although Overload is a situational nuke, it can be a doozy in the right circumstances, and even when the circumstances aren't idael, in synergy with the other abilities, it's a valuable ability for getting out of trouble.

The only tweaks I'd like to see are Electric Shield having a minor stun effect on enemies who pass through it into melee range, and Overload having more items in the environment that could be flagged "electrical" (e.g. crates with electric locks, that type of thing), and have a cooldown on electric items that makes them "usable" by Overload again after a reasonable period.

[Socks]

How about we turn volt's speed into his ult by making him vibrate his molecules so fast that he disintegrates enemies on contact. Volt is love. Volt is life. Volt prime soon my friends.

[Gilmaesh]

I don't think there's much wrong with Volt at all, he's probably one of the best-balanced frames in all Warframe, in the sense that he doesn't have any one ability that's so overwhelmingly good that it's not worth bothering with any other.  All his abilities are useful all the time, and his playstyle requires constant rotation of them.  IOW, Volt is a frame that's good for people who like fast and busy gameplay.  

 

 

+1

[(PSN)SGR_SEAN_]

I feel volts shock should be a continuos stream of electricity, taking energy overtime unitl you stop, an augment mod could do this, because volt is said to be a frame favoring power over gun play, and the way his powers are dont really accomplish that.

[Diseenith]

How about we turn volt's speed into his ult by making him vibrate his molecules so fast that he disintegrates enemies on contact. Volt is love. Volt is life. Volt prime soon my friends.

I am ok with with this

 

 

I don't think there's much wrong with Volt at all, he's probably one of the best-balanced frames in all Warframe, in the sense that he doesn't have any one ability that's so overwhelmingly good that it's not worth bothering with any other.  All his abilities are useful all the time, and his playstyle requires constant rotation of them.  IOW, Volt is a frame that's good for people who like fast and busy gameplay.  

Although Overload is a situational nuke, it can be a doozy in the right circumstances, and even when the circumstances aren't idael, in synergy with the other abilities, it's a valuable ability for getting out of trouble.

The only tweaks I'd like to see are Electric Shield having a minor stun effect on enemies who pass through it into melee range, and Overload having more items in the environment that could be flagged "electrical" (e.g. crates with electric locks, that type of thing), and have a cooldown on electric items that makes them "usable" by Overload again after a reasonable period.

 

I agree with you completely, except on overload. Its incredibly, incredibly, incredibly situational that overload is even worth the energy cost. Usually its only in a low level corpus mission that isn't outdoors. Although I like overload and everything else about his kit, his ult just feels like it lacks the... well anything really for a 100 energy cost ability. It self stuns, it hits for nothing vs anything asides corpus, requires finnicky one-time-use environment tools, and... well you get the idea.

 

I personally don't believe his 1, 2, or 3 need any form of buff. But his 4 does need an honest rework.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Diseenith

[(PSN)Silverback73]

Low base speed is his biggest flaw. If I had one thing to change it would be base speed from 1.0 to 1.1 or 1.2, OR cap out the Speed Power so that squad-mates can't run faster and leave you behind, OR make it a toggle AoE.

But I'd lobby hardest for 1.0 to 1.1 or 1.2 because it makes overall utility better.

Bonus? Overload - One extra tick of damage or (thunderous) knockdown as per Mag's upcoming Crush buff (per devstream).

[(PSN)JiggaJazz]

i use overload when i have elec shields up to protect me, and volt pretty much requires you always have shields up in end game content so the cast time isnt too big of a deal but obv its rare to actually need it

 

as for WHEN overload is nifty with electric shield in tandem is usually when you have a team mate or two that will appreciate the huge stun proc OR when youre trying to escape a crowd you can cast it off mid copter so you continue to move while youre stuck in cast animation and youll have plenty of time to escape as long as you have speed active

 

stream and fleeting make it cost 25 energy which isnt too hefty

[(PSN)JiggaJazz]

i use overload when i have elec shields up to protect me, and volt pretty much requires you always have shields up in end game content so the cast time isnt too big of a deal but obv its rare to actually need it

 

as for WHEN overload is nifty with electric shield in tandem is usually when you have a team mate or two that will appreciate the huge stun proc OR when youre trying to escape a crowd you can cast it off mid copter so you continue to move while youre stuck in cast animation and youll have plenty of time to escape as long as you have speed active

 

stream and fleeting make it cost 25 energy which isnt too hefty

[RealPandemonium]

If Volt had an augment for Shock that gathered enemies together his 4 would have reliable damage potential in all situations.  Fix the proc stacking for his 4 and boom, perfection.  

[Fari]

I think everything except his 4 is fine as is.

4 being targeted stuff does sound pretty interesting though, I wouldn't mind these changes, anything but what it is.

[Kruglov]

Make Electric Shield proc lightning bolts that normally would come from electronics when Overload is cast.

Meaning Volt can always get lightning bolts from his shields, and it creates synergy between his abilities.

 

Fixed.

[Donnell]

I would like to see the Overload give a little something more; It's ok when helping revive but a little slack when trying to clear some space.

 

Might even be useful to have the AoE effect give nearby Tenno the "shock trooper" buff : giving their weapons elemental damage/proc for several seconds.

 

Highly approve of devs giving the speed boost some special effects. Goes perfectly with the "Shocking Speed" Augment <3

[GeckoOBac]

I've been playing volt since closed beta. It's a warframe I really liked since the very beginning, it's not perfect but very close to being very balanced and versatile.

 

All in all I think there are very few things that require attention

0) A slight buff to armor. On higher level stuff it's just too easy to get oneshotted, especially when considered that the main culprits (very high lvl tar-mutalist moas and bombards) pretty much "ignore" your electric shield.

 

1) Shock is pretty much fine. The only change I'd make is giving a 100% status chance on the first target hit (or maybe more but that perhaps would be a bit too much), just so you have a guaranteed way to get out of that tricky "Just turning 'round the corn-OHCRAPBOMBARDINMYFACE" situation. I'd keep it to the first enemy hit so it actually rewards accuracy (if you want to CC one particular enemy in a group you'll have to aim for him)

 

2) Speed is great, can't say much more than that, saved my skin more than once in survival and helps with teammates as well. Also if I ever wanted to know what's like being a squirrel on cocaine speed + tipedo does the trick. The augment seems to work well for a speedy melee build (although that's a bit hampered by the squishiness of Volt).

The only thing I'd tune here is the graphical effect. Really, the blur makes it so that the caster is pretty much blinded. Tone it down or remove it entiterly and it's perfect. If we want to go overkill, I'd say give some kind of defensive bonus to speed for the duration, but otherwise it's pretty much ok.

 

3) Electric shield is probably the best utility that Volt can bring. Not much to say about that. It's a bit annoying that aoe goes through that but since it's a weakness every other similar ability has, we'll keep that in.

I wouldn't mind the shield itself being a bit larger, higher mostly, however it's not all that important. The graphical effect could be toned down, especially the "hole" in the middle.

The only real issue I have with this is that aside from bullets, everything goes through that like it wasn't there. It's mostly annoying against infected, but also the corrupted moas. The options are many although frankly I'd give it some form of CC, perhaps a % of chance of doing just the shocked effect (even without damage), with the % influenced by power strength so it's not a guarantee against a single target but at least you can't simply get swarmed by lots of enemies.

 

4) Overload is problematic. The self stun is annoying to say the least, the damage is unimpressive and the gimmick mechanic is mostly ignored. Frankly the only redeeming feature is the CC effect, however the fact that it's not instantly applied in the whole range (and, again, the self stun) quite limits the time I'd want to actually use the skill. In low level stuff, shock clears groups on its own. In higher level stuff, it's pointless.

My idea for overload is this:

Basically scrap the current overload. Make it a toggle and modify the mechanic to be close to shock, with several lightning bolts emanating from Volt himself. Limit of course the jump range and number of jumps. The damage is done per second (instead of all at once like shock), however enemies hit are stunned for the duration and will stay so until either dead of the effect ends. The exact arcing mechanic can be tuned (say, limited numbers from volt but each target can arc to multiple other targets, or unlimited targets from volt in a limited range, each target can arc to only one other target or variations of this theme).

A maximum duration can be set so as to avoid the ability to just maximize efficiency and range and use it purely as a CC EVERYTHING skill.

Most importantly: VOLT IS NOT HINDERED during the effect, except perhaps during an initial animation. Perhaps a moderate self slow is acceptable, but not a complete stun. I'd even settle for a root as long as at least the ranged weapons were still usable.

 

This is pretty much my take on Volt. It's already very close to being an exceptional Warframe. Touching his 4th will probably make it great.

[CheeseHasLeafs]

Volt's a really old frame though. Overload was designed back when the only tileset available was the Corpus ship, so the electronic chaining was actually pretty overpowered. 

This current suggested Overload is sounding a bit too much like a pumped up Tesla for my liking though, except for the fact that you've got to aim it and it does more damage. 

[SPECTR_Eternal]

I feel volts shock should be a continuos stream of electricity, taking energy overtime unitl you stop, an augment mod could do this, because volt is said to be a frame favoring power over gun play, and the way his powers are dont really accomplish that.

Yeah, let's make a Sith Emperor from Volt by adding a channeling to his Shock! I'll really enjoy that. :D

[kuri99]

I suppose I have to be the dissenting voice here. Volt, my favorite frame in the whole game, is perfect if you build him right and play him right. Build him right and play him right being the part to really take away from that sentence. One of the many complaints I see is his overload essentially immobolizes him which confuses me why thats an issue. If thats a big deal for you just get behind cover then use it. Its not like it functions off line of sight. If you're getting killed for using overload its more likely that you're being a lazy player instead of overload actually being a poor power

 

Damage of overload seems to be another issue. I run a normal intensify on my volt and I can do 40 min T4S with it killing off minor minions easily (plus that aoe stun). Thats it. I dont really know what people are doing wrong to make overload not kill almost everything in a room and stun the rest of the survivors.

 

Perhaps the only buff that I feel overload can use is to make it so electronics that explode and do extra damage can be used multiple times. That would make him even more viable in defense missions.

[--Q--PyralisTT]

Using volt for the past 2 months the only problem i have with him is his 4th ability. I mostly use 2 when i gotta go fast and 3 when im using my amprex.

[(PSN)Kish_Lat]

change it to 2.0

[Uhkretor]

... I believe you're all missing the point of why Abilities are built the way they are...

 

... Have you all tried to be indepentant from the abilities themselves...? Because my brother does that with his Volt and he has no problems whatsoever with any of its abilities. And before you say he doesn't have problem with its abilities because he's not using them at all, you're wrong... He uses the Volt's abilities -when he has to use them-, and not because the Universe demands it.

 

... If your problem is with Overload then its because of either of these 3 reasons:

1) You mindlessly press the Overload key/button like a beast

2) You have too much spare energy and since you can't have multiple energy bars, you have to use it BECAUSE the Universe demands it.

3) You either use it when there is a small group (up to 12 units) around you OR you're trying to use it against enemies beyond level 25, which the Universe dictates that the Overload will fail its purpose.

 

... These are the -only- 3 reasons that validate of why you think you have a problem with Overload... I know, I know, "alternative to gun play"... I know, I know, its abilities should (in your honest oppinion) perform better... I know, I know, the Devs probably thought about it already but left them as it is because its in line with all other Warframes.

 

... Volt's an Anti-Corpus Warframe, through and through. Want an "alternative to gun play" that's good for everything? Use Mirage or Limbo... Especially Limbo, because he never runs out of energy because he recharges himself.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Uhkretor

[Diseenith]

... I believe you're all missing the point of why Abilities are built the way they are...

 

... Have you all tried to be indepentant from the abilities themselves...? Because my brother does that with his Volt and he has no problems whatsoever with any of its abilities. And before you say he doesn't have problem with its abilities because he's not using them at all, you're wrong... He uses the Volt's abilities -when he has to use them-, and not because the Universe demands it.

 

... If your problem is with Overload then its because of either of these 3 reasons:

1) You mindlessly press the Overload key/button like a beast

2) You have too much spare energy and since you can't have multiple energy bars, you have to use it BECAUSE the Universe demands it.

3) You either use it when there is a small group (up to 12 units) around you OR you're trying to use it against enemies beyond level 25, which the Universe dictates that the Overload will fail its purpose.

 

... These are the -only- 3 reasons that validate of why you think you have a problem with Overload... I know, I know, "alternative to gun play"... I know, I know, its abilities should (in your honest oppinion) perform better... I know, I know, the Devs probably thought about it already but left them as it is because its in line with all other Warframes.

 

... Volt's an Anti-Corpus Warframe, through and through. Want an "alternative to gun play" that's good for everything? Use Mirage or Limbo... Especially Limbo, because he never runs out of energy because he recharges himself.

 

I'm going to assume you read absolutely nothing that I posted. I only have issues with overload because by and large it is only comparible to other ultimates if used when the star's align on a corpus ship in pre-level 25 content. I don't care about the alternate to gunplay, in fact I feel volt is the ultimate jack of all trades in that he's effective with guns, melee, and abilities (overload aside.)

 

His 1, 2, & 3 are fine, as I had mentioned. Especially his 3 which I'd argue is one of the best non-ultimates in the game. But beyond that, he might as well not even have an ultimate given how few situations it exceeds the usefulness of either just shooting the targets or spending energy on the other abilities.