Targeted Missions, Notoriety And The Dark Side: A Few Suggestions

[TheOldOne]

[in case of TL/DR, just check out the headings in bold. :)]

 

I've recently decided to take a break from Warframe for a while because of the reward model.  Why?  Because it encourages repeatedly doing the same thing, over and over, in the hope that eventually the reward you actually want will drop.  This takes up time (lots of time), and I have both a girlfriend and a career.  Sorry, guys, but Warframe is going to lose out to those two.

 

Okay, so I think that the current random-reward system isn't great.  On the other hand, I do know that handing out the same reward every time gets pretty boring in a video game.  People are always going to complain about the drop ratio for any resource; you can't satisfy everyone.  Likewise, I know that you can buy things like forma and Orokin catalysts - but that takes away any pride in achieving these things in-game.  I have bought platinum - I like the game and think that funding it is a good thing - and used it to buy some of these toys, but I felt satisfied when I built what I wanted with items gathered in-game.  Likewise, I like the idea that there's some sort of story behind this game - that it's not just "shoot, loot, build, repeat".

 

So, what to do?  I've got a few ideas - maybe they'll prove useful.

 

1. Wars have stories:  Let players plan missions.

 

This could leverage the existing alert system, if it's as semi-random as I think:  The player gets to target a reward and/or faction ("I want rubedo", or "I want to steal rubedo from the Grineer").  This would ramp up the difficulty, but give an increased chance of getting the reward you want.  It might also take more than one mission to get a result - making a story out of the act of farming.  For example:  You run a spy mission to find out who knows where there's a cache of gallium, and then you have to capture him for interrogation.  Once he gives up the location, you have to run a raid to get the reward.

 

You could also get to choose how many missions are required before the reward - longer chains giving a better, but never 100%, chance of getting Item X in greater quantities.  Why never 100%?  Because occasionally, a caper just doesn't come off - and a surprise or two keeps things fresh.  (Maybe it turns out that you have to rescue a cryopod from an Infested ship because the Tenno inside knows where those blueprints were stored; maybe they turn out to be in the Void, and you have to go and fetch a Void Key in another mission...)

 

The point of this is to make crafting more feasible for players who want to feel in charge of the process (or who, like me, don't have endless time to devote to beating the statistical odds).  And maybe I just like the idea of ripping off a transporter full of alloy plate from time to time.

 

2. Players are part of a war:  Eventually, they'll get noticed.

 

Actions have consequences.  Granted, the Corpus shoot on sight - but some players or clans are going to hit them harder and more often than others, and that attracts attention.  So I'm suggesting a game mechanic:  Notoriety by faction.  The greater your notoriety with a faction, the more chance that they will either beef up their defences against you, or launch an ambush mid-mission - or go looking for your clan base and force you onto turf defence.

 

This sort of thing already happens with the Stalker; I'd just like to see it with the regular troops as well.  If nothing else. there's definite comedy value in a Corpus attack squad shouting "There's Player X! Get him!" just before they drop into the middle of an Infested swarm.

 

It could also be possible to reduce notoriety - for example, by rescuing someone from a faction (or opening a path for the Infested - they've got a different agenda).

 

3. If you can make choices, which side do you choose?

 

There's a lot we don't know about the background to the Warframe universe, and that's ripe ground for further development.  One question I've been wondering about since I started playing is, Who or what is the Black Lotus, and can they be trusted?

 

The Stalker had to come from somewhere, and we know that some Tenno are captured by the factions.  Also, perhaps there are factions (like the mysterious Sentients of the Old War) that we just don't know about yet.  And it might just be fun for some players to go hunting powerful Tenno for bounty and the sheer challenge - so long as they don't mind being outcasts and hunted themselves...

 

 

Okay, that's it.  Comments, please?

 

[S5alad]

You sir, are a genius.  I concur.  

 

The mission rewards need to be fixed.  As far as farming mods/mats, your suggestions sound great!  I'd love to do an extended 3-6 part mission to get something, even if it's a specific blueprint, or a large cache of mats, it sure beats grinding.

 

Also to DE: Lower the plat cost for in game merchandise or lower the cost of plat... and individualize the randomizer for mission rewards so that items already owned recieve less probability to be awarded than what you don't already have.