Forma-Ing Weapons Is A Pointless Waste For The Foreseeable Future

[Dizzle22]

Now, I could rant about multi-shot and the concept of so-called mandatory mods and how I think trying to rework all of this is a waste of DE's -and our- time and resources. But, anything I would say has already been said, and I don't want this merged into oblivion. So lets stay on topic.

 

Formas. I don't think it's a stretch to say that everyone here has dumped at least some into their favorite weapons. They are pretty much *gasp* mandatory for getting the most out of your weapons, especially those that start with zero polarities.

 

This was an annoying system to me when I first started back around U12, but I've come to embrace it. Yes, it is still fairly tedious to rank a weapon to 30 so many times, even with the likes of Draco and T1D, but it is so satisfying when you finally get a weapon completed just as planned.

 

The whole process is satisfying, really. You find a new gun you like, or maybe just a sweet trophy weapon like a prime or wraith/vandal/etc, you plan out a build and use case, and you set it all up. Or maybe you find an obscure "pet" weapon that really resonates with you, and you just want to get the most damage out of it to make it viable in places other players would not expect.

 

Becoming a collector of sorts and setting up weapons for different purposes has become a major reason why I play Warframe. I love the game, and enjoy creating weapon builds. I have many 4-6 forma weapons, some obvious, some not so much. 

 

I'd like to continue playing as I have. However, all this talk about reworking the "mandatory" mods has really got me concerned. Lets face it, these potentially sweeping changes should really be re-branded as Damage 3.0 at this point. These are not going to be quick or easy changes to the game. We also have zero time frame on any of this.

 

I fear I've wasted a lot of time and resources adding many Forma to my weapons, based on the current (and frankly, perfectly acceptable) system. I now have zero motivation to start working on new builds, and using more time and resources that may also be a waste. This means I have pretty, new syndicate weapons that I've started working on that will now rot away in my inventory at rank 30 for the time being.

 

As I said, a big part of why I play is tweaking weapons, it's part of the progression. I fear that has been removed for the foreseeable future, while DE figures out what exactly they are doing. This isn't "the sky is falling" or Salt, I'm just genuinely unhappy about a big part of the game being ruined for me.

 

I wasn't around for the transition to Damage 2.0, so maybe it was even worse for the players then.

 

How does everyone else feel? I'd really hate to lose interest in this game, and having to completely re-work all my builds from the ground up may just do that. I like tweaking things, yes, but having all my work reset is motivation destroying.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Dizzle22

[MegpoidBeetle]

Let's not get hasty here till we get further information on how DE plans to deal with "mandatory" mods.

 

In the mean time you and I can still enjoy the game till further news.

[(XBOX)DShinShoryuken]

Interesting topic. Polarization.

I have been playing since 2014 and just last week did my first polarize. It was something that I waited on not because it was a mandatory thing to do but because I finally found a weapon I wanted to push its damage up with. I have done some 45-60 minute T3/4 with my team missions such as Def, Survival, Captures, & the like with no problems with regular level 30 weapons. Seeing that I could do this gave me no reason to forma anything in that time since we could survive and still get a challenge from the game. I have seen others forma everything and then complain that the game is too easy and boring now....and most have quit playing. There is not really a right wrong when it comes to forma and polarizing. If you are doing it to go past the hour marks in endless games,then keep at it. If you are doing it to become stronger in Conclave, then go for it. If you are doing it to keep your interest in the game strong and fear change coming, drop the fear and remember that this game gives change to keep it alive and growing.

Enjoy your builds that you have and if nothing else, start over with an additional weapon/frame IF they change the way things work. This way, you can have your worked on weapons/frames stay where they are at and give a go with the new system. There is a reason that the game allows us to have more than the one of each Warframe and weapons.

Your work in the past gives you knowledge and experience on how to get the most out of your items. Use that to look at the possible changes and challenge it to see what you can craft anew. You got this sir! Go forth and embrace it & conquer!

Cheers

[(XBOX)ChantingSheep]

I share your trepidation, op, but I think things are going to work out. Look how great U17 was for the game overall. I think DE has our best interests at heart, and if re-building all my 4 and 6 forma weapons means playing an overall more balanced and challenging game, then I am all for it. I haven't been playing long, but from what I have seen so far, the overall game keeps getting better and better, and I have faith that that trend is not going to change anytime soon.

[Odadda]

This is exactly what I've been discussing here. It's not even something just related to weapons. also warframes mods may have some changes.

[Oranji]

I'm just hoarding Formas atm. The only thing that I polarized after I heard that would be Reknos, Sanctigris, Synoid Simulor and the S.Penta.

I probably won't touch any other weapons with forma till I hear something more about this.

In the mean time, it's probably about time to forma some frames...

[DrFail]

The news has removed any interest I had in forma-ing things as well, not because of how I feel about multishot changes one way or the other, but because there's so many unknowns. They probably should have held off on breaking the news until they had a more concrete idea of how they would re balance everything, or after testing when they determine whether they're even going to go through with the change. In the meantime since we have so little idea of what exactly they're going to do there's too much guesswork to accurately predict how to forma things or whether we'll have to reforma everything. Especially as far as secondaries are concerned since they usually run multiple multi shot mods. I'm still playing because I have the syndicate weapons to level to 30, but after that there won't really be any notable personal projects for me to stay invested with unless I just decide I want to gain some silly amount of money for little reason until either new weapons come out or we hear more about multishot.

 

I don't usually play based entirely off new content, but it feels a bit like it's pointless not to at the moment because of the risk of having time and work undone by the upcoming change.

[Dizzle22]

Interesting topic. Polarization.

I have been playing since 2014 and just last week did my first polarize. It was something that I waited on not because it was a mandatory thing to do but because I finally found a weapon I wanted to push its damage up with. I have done some 45-60 minute T3/4 with my team missions such as Def, Survival, Captures, & the like with no problems with regular level 30 weapons.

 

I genuinely appreciate the overall positive message in your response, but I have no clue how you are able to run T3/4 missions to 60 minutes with base, un-Formaed, weapons. I'm guessing a strong team, camping, or lots of power usage. I mostly hate camp tactics in survival.

 

So playing normally, I found even my two Forma Soma, Boltor, and Dread, for examples of traditionally strong weapons, to be suffering from some serious damage falloff in long missions, forcing me to knock them up to 4 each to stay in a mission that long.

 

 

This is exactly what I've been discussing here. It's not even something just related to weapons. also warframes mods may have some changes.

 

Some interesting thoughts in that thread. Maybe the whole Polarity system needs another look as well.

 

 

I'm just hoarding Formas atm [...]

I probably won't touch any other weapons with forma till I hear something more about this.

 

This was one of the reasons I started the thread. Half to express my concerns, half as a PSA of sorts. This is, sadly, the most prudent course of action at this point. Somehow, I doubt this is what DE really wants everyone doing, though.

[ss4chris]

Now, I could rant about multi-shot and the concept of so-called mandatory mods and how I think trying to rework all of this is a waste of DE's -and our- time and resources. But, anything I would say has already been said, and I don't want this merged into oblivion. So lets stay on topic.

 

Formas. I don't think it's a stretch to say that everyone here has dumped at least some into their favorite weapons. They are pretty much *gasp* mandatory for getting the most out of your weapons, especially those that start with zero polarities.

 

This was an annoying system to me when I first started back around U12, but I've come to embrace it. Yes, it is still fairly tedious to rank a weapon to 30 so many times, even with the likes of Draco and T1D, but it is so satisfying when you finally get a weapon completed just as planned.

 

The whole process is satisfying, really. You find a new gun you like, or maybe just a sweet trophy weapon like a prime or wraith/vandal/etc, you plan out a build and use case, and you set it all up. Or maybe you find an obscure "pet" weapon that really resonates with you, and you just want to get the most damage out of it to make it viable in places other players would not expect.

 

Becoming a collector of sorts and setting up weapons for different purposes has become a major reason why I play Warframe. I love the game, and enjoy creating weapon builds. I have many 4-6 forma weapons, some obvious, some not so much. 

 

I'd like to continue playing as I have. However, all this talk about reworking the "mandatory" mods has really got me concerned. Lets face it, these potentially sweeping changes should really be re-branded as Damage 3.0 at this point. These are not going to be quick or easy changes to the game. We also have zero time frame on any of this.

 

I fear I've wasted a lot of time and resources adding many Forma to my weapons, based on the current (and frankly, perfectly acceptable) system. I now have zero motivation to start working on new builds, and using more time and resources that may also be a waste. This means I have pretty, new syndicate weapons that I've started working on that will now rot away in my inventory at rank 30 for the time being.

 

As I said, a big part of why I play is tweaking weapons, it's part of the progression. I fear that has been removed for the foreseeable future, while DE figures out what exactly they are doing. This isn't "the sky is falling" or Salt, I'm just genuinely unhappy about a big part of the game being ruined for me.

 

I wasn't around for the transition to Damage 2.0, so maybe it was even worse for the players then.

 

How does everyone else feel? I'd really hate to lose interest in this game, and having to completely re-work all my builds from the ground up may just do that. I like tweaking things, yes, but having all my work reset is motivation destroying.

idk about you but i got 40 forma sitting read to be unleashed when the time comes.

[Kinetos]

Same deal as Umbra. Excalibur rework arrived, it was cool, I was finally going to forma him and play him regularly. *Umbra Rumors* aaaaaand back to the personal vault with Excalibur, all because of uncertainty.

[(PSN)PeetSquared]

Yeah, I'm with you on this, OP. At this point, I'm just going to keep an open mind about the changes but no way am I putting more forma into weapons until the shake up is more known. I still have two frames I'm going to forma for the exilus slot but weapons aren't getting touched. I did a count of how many V polarities I've forma'd into my weapons, just for multishot mods and it's like 20. I'd imagine people who have been playing longer than me are even further into that path. It's especially painful on secondaries, where I've actually had to take a D off the first slot, usually replacing with a V.

Anyway, I hope DE realizes all the time and resources we've all spent, building these weapons. Any changes to the mod system should he measured against that.

I'm excited to see what happens from all this. If they find a way to get rid of "mandatory" mods, reward those of us who have spent alot in the current system and come up with a better way to mod, overall, I'll be happy. Until then, however, I'm not playing the forma game (I have plenty of built up, bad &#! weapons to hold me over until the changes come).

[(PSN)SKRIMP-N-GRITZ]

I was wondering about the mandatory mod issues and polarization myself. I've been stacking many, many forma on my weapons and am also curious what will happen. If mandatory mods are eliminated I'm gonna have a lot of V slots that need changing lol.

I liked mogamu's opinion about more corrupted/nightmare style mods incorporating mandatory functions.

Also, 60min T4 unforma'd? No idea how you are contributing past 40min, but my hat goes off to you, Tenno.

[Dizzle22]

idk about you but i got 40 forma sitting read to be unleashed when the time comes.

 

Good for you, but that was not really my whole point. I think I'm sitting at 18 Forma with 40+ BPs in reserve. You also have to factor in all the time and effort to Forma gear and weapons. I'm more of a weekend warrior, so I have limited time, energy, and desire to grind.

 

 

Same deal as Umbra. Excalibur rework arrived, it was cool, I was finally going to forma him and play him regularly. *Umbra Rumors* aaaaaand back to the personal vault with Excalibur, all because of uncertainty.

 

Haha, I feel you on that. I was in the exact same boat. I finally gave up and dropped 2 Forma into regs Excal because I really wanted to try out Exalted Blade, and was sick of waiting for some kind of confirmation and/or release date from DE. Something we still don't have... unless I missed something.

[Kaisty]

If DE really wanted to remove doubts about " To forma or not forma?" Why not alter the system where polarities don't exist anymore. Just have formas cut down the energy use of the highest mods starting from top left and working its way around. For every forma you have, that is another mod. Yes it trivializes the whole system, but at the same time it avoids the "gotta forma a slot again" that takes place for folks trying to squeeze out every bit from the item they are modding.

And if that isn't possible, just make it where you can use a forma on a polarized slot WITHOUT needing to relevel the weapon again.

[Kinetos]

Or remove polarizing, and adding forma increases mod drain capacity by 5 for each forma.

[Lightsmith]

"Things will change in the future so why should I bother doing anything now" is basically what you're saying. Its just as foolish a statement here as it would be for anything else in life.

[Kaisty]

"Things will change in the future so why should I bother doing anything now" is basically what you're saying. Its just as foolish a statement here as it would be for anything else in life.

How is it a foolish statement? They might choose to forma something later once DE has balanced things out more. Add to it how many times have people in history done things only to have them be dashed or deemed useless when they could have waited first to see how it goes? Yes hindsight is 20/20, but even before doing something, there will be warning signs of it is a smart choice or not.

For this situation, it may seem to some that it is better to hold onto their cash/plat/forma/etc. and wait for the recent updates to occur than to invest now and possibly waste time/currency/effort in vain.

[Acos]

I have too many Forma to care about wasting Forma, or hoarding Forma, or whatever. If my weapons need adjusted for whatever buff/nerf happens then I will address it, but I don't see the point in being so paralyzed with fear of what the future holds that I simply don't play at all. Might as well just make it official and quit at that point. 

You've spent your time playing a video game; clearly your time wasn't that valuable to begin with. Go have fun while you can have it, and quit worrying about your made-up video game "progress". 

 

[(PSN)obsidiancurse]

Tbh honest I don't usually let these things affect how I play but Scott's tweet hinting they are looking further than just multi shot has stopped me forma'ing anything for a while. Was about to slap 3 Vs on my twin grakatas but don't want to waste the time and resources until we have confirmation on what's happening. Guess I'll just stick to current load outs until further notice.......

[Dizzle22]

If DE really wanted to remove doubts about " To forma or not forma?" Why not alter the system where polarities don't exist anymore. Just have formas cut down the energy use of the highest mods starting from top left and working its way around. For every forma you have, that is another mod. Yes it trivializes the whole system, but at the same time it avoids the "gotta forma a slot again" that takes place for folks trying to squeeze out every bit from the item they are modding.

And if that isn't possible, just make it where you can use a forma on a polarized slot WITHOUT needing to relevel the weapon again.

 

Or remove polarizing, and adding forma increases mod drain capacity by 5 for each forma.

 

These are both very interesting ideas for a fairly simple Forma/Polarity re-work, but somehow I doubt they'd make things that easy on us. :(

[(PSN)PeetSquared]

Heck, I'd be happy if we could put multiple polarities into one slot. Then we would still have to do all the work but it would still allow for creative builds and safety nets for changes.

[AM-Bunny]

This logic seems to be the same used by people that were upset they 'wasted' forma on Synoid Gammacor after the ammo nerf. There's no sure-fire way to know what weapons could be buffed or nerfed at any time, so extending this logic it always has been - and always will be - a potential waste to polarize gear.

All we can do is play for the build we have, and trust that DE will try and make the transition as painless as possible. I'm sure they're aware that this is a change that will affect every gun of every player in the game, I don't think they'll do it heavy-handedly.

[MumblesMcphatty]

While I totally understand the desire to be cautious until the changes actually happen - I can't help but feel these concerns are seriously overblown.

If this is all centred on the possibility of Multishot being dropped from a plethora of weapon builds - I only see 1 of 2 things happening:

1 - Multishot is replaced with another mod of V polarity - because there's more usable mods of that sort in comparison to the others.

2 - Multishot has such a high capacity drain that your builds won't actually be in need of more polarisation - most other mods can simply be dropped into that V whether or not they match.

It's safe to assume that minimum of 2 Vs will remain standard - you'll always need to get rid of that damn D on most weapons that have it - and Naramon slots will remain when/if needed.

So what's the big deal exactly?

Edited September 9, 2015 by MumblesMcphatty

[Sloan441]

People just whining..again.

 

The fact is there's always something changing and if you wait for no more changes, you'll never do anything. At that point, you're done. Uninstall time.

 

If MS were actually simply removed, you'll just add more elemental damage. There's always something that can go in the V polarity, though this is somewhat dependent on gun type. But one extra V isn't going to go to waste.

 

Other possible changes incoming? So what? You'll deal with it when it happens. This is what forma are for, after all. Yeah, I don't like changing polarities that I've already added, but if you've got to do it, then you do it. Presently, D polarities are already a must change on any weapon that has them and more than one V polarity means a mandatory change on a warframe (so far anyway).

 

I'm not going to quit playing the game just because DE "might" do something--and you shouldn't either. Forma aren't hard to get and releveling weapons isn't exactly difficult either. I don't particularly want to see 12 stars over my BratonP , but if that is what it takes, then that's what it'll take. You deal with it.

[Dizzle22]

This logic seems to be the same used by people that were upset they 'wasted' forma on Synoid Gammacor after the ammo nerf. There's no sure-fire way to know what weapons could be buffed or nerfed at any time, so extending this logic it always has been - and always will be - a potential waste to polarize gear.

 

Maybe you are right. Others have said similar in this thread already, but you were the only one to be fairly civil about it, so I'll respond to you.

 

Comparing rage about a (lets face it) needed nerf of one gun to a change that will effect potentially every weapon you own is a bit disingenuous. Like the one guy said above, you could easily be looking at 20 weapons that you spent one or two Forma on with just multi shot in mind. Take away the pure damage mods as well and you are looking at even more waste.

 

I think it is perfectly reasonable to be cautious, and even a bit worried about the direction the game will go should they push through these changes. Or maybe I should just rage-quit as a poster above suggested. That's certainly an option, but a nonconstructive one that I'd rather not take.

 

 

Multishot has such a high capacity drain that your builds won't actually be in need of more polarisation - most other mods can simply be dropped into that V whether or not they match.

It's safe to assume that minimum of 2 Vs will remain standard - you'll always need to get rid of that damn D on most weapons that have it - and Naramon slots will remain when/if needed.

 

These are decent points, but many of my builds are down to last point even with 4+ Forma, so that may not be viable for everything. Also, I'm one of those weird guys that doesn't hate the D polarity. I keep it on any weapon that comes stock with it, and just drop in the respective 90% cold mod. So in my case, no, that's not a Forma I would have had to spend anyway.