Sortie Missions [U18 Megathread]

[JHarlequin]

 I somewhat like the sorties, but I do have a couple of minor issues, and a big issue with one of the mission limitations.

 

 They are good for giving players something extra to do, though I would prefer more then just this one way to get lens.

 

 The endless mission types seem to be a bit overdone.  The enemies don't change enough levels by the end for it to be any challenge.  If you can beat the first few waves, then you are truly done.  The rest is just rehash.  It's way too long for how little it changes by the end.  I believe someone said maybe start it at a very high wave or something like that.  It sounds like a good idea.  Start it at a point where the enemies are going to get tougher so it isn't the same from beginning to end.  Or just shorten the endless.

 

 The rewards aren't impressive except for the lenses right now.  Fusion cores are way less then half value of anything else on the list.  The legendary core is kind of good, but still, it's sort of tied with things that are probably considered five least wanted rewards.  So if the legendary is wanted that low, why would 25 or 50 fusion cores be on the list other then just to make sure players don't get something useful.  The greater blueprint is sort of mixed.  It would be saving 200k credits, but those are credits that people are easily going to earn long before they get 4 spare lenses as well as it isn't necessarily a blueprint for a focus that eveyrone needs.  For now, it shouldn't be on the sortie list, maybe after about 10 "sortie seasons" it could come back.

 

 Finally my big issue with the sorties.  One sortie came up "sniper only"  There are if my quick count is correct 27 weapon types that could come up as "This weapon only".  Last I checked, free players might have 8 starting weapon slots, 1 from finishing second dream.  Up to 8 more slots from starting plat.  So any player that doesn't get plat from a monetary source is stick with only 17 weapon slots.  And if a weapon isn't built before the sortie comes up, it probably won't be ready in time.  If players can't get a "loaner" then some sorties will be impossible for players to participate in.  It may be end game but it shoudln't shut out someone just because they didn't have at least one of every weapon type.  Either make the weapon limitations cover several weapons rather then just one weapon, or make sure players will be allowed to enter and will be given something to use as a loaner.

 

 Before I finished today's sortie, I hadn't felt exactly punished by the reward system, even though I got a 25x cores reward.  But today's reward was a second dera vandal receiver.  I intend to build the dera vandal and use it up eventually.  Probably sell it the moment I can.  But what the hell will my dera vandal look like with two receivers.  Trading blows, and these rewards blow.  No thank you.  Please change reward system because every sortie even if the weapons are new and unique is going to pull this same stuff.  We won't complete something or get anything we can really use because it will just flood us with the same thing.  And no, a single duplicate isn't a flood, but it is completely useless to me and will not inspire me to participate in other bad systems to try and clean up the mess.

Edited December 8, 2015 by JHarlequin

[Krion112]

My issues with Sorties are as follows:

 

-The weapon limit challenges. This isn't like any other game; each weapon is a massive investment. You build them, upgrade them, and either stick to them or give them up for another weapon in order to either gain mastery or just to simply to get a weapon more aligned to what you want. It feels wrong to tell the player that all that investment in their weapons may be for naught, as they may be forced to use a specific weapon type that they are not interested in or have little to no investment in.

 

 

-The difficulty in Sorties is not challenge, it is tedium. In fact, most of the 'difficulty' added in Update 18 is really just tedium. Sorties in particular just throw large numbers of high rank enemy units that play precisely the same as their normal counterparts at the players, but with the added rank number they become bullet sponges and high damage output units, which really is just the lazy way of presenting difficulty and is tedious to fight.

 

While this is precisely what I expected to happen, I was hoping it would have been something more engaging, like new unit types showing up in these missions specifically, like those Nightwatch Grineer or something. More interactive maps, puzzles, and challenges not based upon how much damage a units can take or deal would be preferable.

 

 

-The loot table likes to slap players in the face. The three Sorties I have bothered to play have all awarded me with Karak Wraith Blueprints. First, I already have the Karak Wraith; there's no need to be giving me a second one at all. Second, even if I didn't already have a Karak Wraith, why would I ever need more than one blueprint? Why does it give me three in a row? That's ridiculous.

 

For certain types of loot, such as the Karak Wraith and Dera Vandal, the system needs to check if the player already has one, and should not give them this drop or any of the parts involved with it if they do.

 

This system is only accessible once a day, and it offers a very tedious, difficult game-play, so the last thing I want to get is three of the same thing, of something I already have, in a row over the course of three days. 

Edited December 8, 2015 by Krion112

[ZzzZack]

does doing it solo somehow effect the reward at the end? i've managed to do most of the sorties solo besides the defense and excavation missions and so far i've gotten 4 karak wraith blueprints out of the 6 rewards.

[ImNotJellyAtAll]

Sorties are the most fun I've had in Warframe in a long time. Just wish they weren't over so soon.

[catastrophy]

Like i said, i dont have loki, or any other stealth frame. And even if i had, id still prefer playing it with volt, he can do it. The only problem is the kill everyone objective that happens to me. Which is kinda odd btw considering that your after the info. It's just a massive slap on the face from DE, and i bet im not the only one here who's feeling #*($%%@.

Limbo is good, too. You won't have much issues with Limbo after a coupla tries. It might be a bit iffier on Grineer missions. He laughs at Corpus vaults though. I can't really decide which is better - both are fun for spy running.

[catastrophy]

Did a couple of sorties now:

 

S1: Every one was a rush through, one of the mostest sped missions I've ever seen. Usually not too good, but considering:

 

S2: Well, defence isn't fun - that's for sure. I have limited arsenal for this level of enemies. The DR of amoured units begins getting insane here. I did yesterday's Decoding thing and picked a Valkyr for that. It did the job quite well. Well, the team wasn't bad either. Actually it was fun, but being limited to certain frames and weapons isn't really my cup of tea.

 

S3: OK, spiy runs are always interesting. At least when soloing. Not with PuGs - there is always that one guy. I was that guy, too, but how can I know if my Opticor slays the regulator or not if I don't try out?

Yesterday was Exterminate I think - I'm pretty sure I got nothing to deal with those enemies fast enough. So I took Limbo. Let the others do the job. Nick a guy here and there. Play live decoy. Watch people struggling (and help them up again). Quite relaxed actually.

 

[Guest]

Limbo is good, too. You won't have much issues with Limbo after a coupla tries. It might be a bit iffier on Grineer missions. He laughs at Corpus vaults though. I can't really decide which is better - both are fun for spy running.

Yeah limbo seems cool for solo, gotta try him sometime

[Genoscythe]

So the fusion core rewards are only level 3 rare fusion cores? I hope this is a bug...

 

It's not fun to have to spend 1 hours playing though tough missions just to get stuff you absolutely dont need.

[JHarlequin]

So the fusion core rewards are only level 3 rare fusion cores? I hope this is a bug...

 

It's not fun to have to spend 1 hours playing though tough missions just to get stuff you absolutely dont need.

 

 To clear this up quick.  There is even another thread about it.  I haven't confirmed it myself, but it shows you level three cores on the reward screen, but you get fully ranked gold fusion cores.  It's just a improper display on the reward screen.  Someone should double check, but it seems it's just an oddity.

 

 They are still the crappiest crap of reward for some people.  They are only there to dilute the reward list, not because they have any value anywhere close to anything else on the list.

[Genoscythe]

 They are still the crappiest crap of reward for some people.  They are only there to dilute the reward list, not because they have any value anywhere close to anything else on the list.

 

I think I didn't say this clear enough on my previous post.

[Thebel]

There should be conclave limits added to make it more interesting.

 

I was kinda hoping they were more like daily tactical alerts.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Thebel

[Ziegrif]

Sorties are not spanking me hard enough.

I was expecting a spiked whip and all I got was a vanilla leather one.

 

Also make it so we can choose our damn rewards or make it so it doesn't reward us with 2 of the same item or items that can be bought with credits.

 

What am I gonna do with these Karak stocks I keep getting?

Edited December 11, 2015 by Ziegrif

[Taurondir]

I think Sorties are the perfect way for DE to get solid data on player setups.

 

Enemy levels alone are not enough to slow players down, mutator combinations however, could be brutal. Just wait until we have no-energy Spy missions, so no one can go invisible or teleport around, yes, still doable, but by a much lower fraction of the player population.

[JHarlequin]

I think Sorties are the perfect way for DE to get solid data on player setups.

 

Enemy levels alone are not enough to slow players down, mutator combinations however, could be brutal. Just wait until we have no-energy Spy missions, so no one can go invisible or teleport around, yes, still doable, but by a much lower fraction of the player population.

 

 Did you do the spy sorties in public.  Invisibility only helped about 20% of the people that used it.  For most people it was either solo the spy mission or keep retrying until there was no Loki.  Invisibility is for stopping enemies from chasing you, it isn't for finishing spy missions.  At least not for most of the players that tried using invisibility.

[Bibliothekar]

Invisibility [...] isn't for finishing spy missions.  At least not for most of the players that tried using invisibility.

Well, just like any other ability, invisibility is a tool - you still need to know how to use it or you'll rather bash your own thumb. Invisibility can help to stay undetected by cameras (and sortie spy spawns all possible cameras and a few more), but it won't stop you from running into laser grids or energy barriers.

Considering the enemy level in sorties, invisibility helps you stay undetected on your way between the vaults as well (Sapping Ospreys are nasty at that level ...) - but again, you have to apply some sense, keep an eye on the timer. And not just run in guns blazing.

[Ziegrif]

Today was a good Sortie day.

Clenched a couple of times.

Interception area was small and there were a LOT of enemies and being restricted to Bows made it even more fun.

 

Good times.

 

So the sortie can whip it good sometimes at least.

 

^^

[LegioUrsa]

http://i.imgur.com/h0s2Kku.jpg

So was this supposed to happen today?

I got 25 gold cores, but they were all rank three.

Is this intentional?

This feels like it is a pretty poor reward for the time put in to get those cores, as I could have gone and done an alternative mission to get 25 rank 5 cores. I did this with a clan mate and neither of us are happy about this.

[Bibliothekar]

That's a display error, they are fully ranked if you check your mod console.

 

Addendum: Not that this makes it much better in my eyes. If I want 25 R5 cores, I'd rather do something less stressful. I hope this was just a test to see how we'd react. Personally, I'd prefer Gaia's Tragedy, Vengeful Revenant and Vermillion Storm over core bundles in the next rotation. At least there'd be a legit chance to get them then ...

Edited December 12, 2015 by Bibliothekar

[LegioUrsa]

I double checked the mods, feel better that they are rank 5 over rank 3.

I went to Dark Sector Excavation with a few friends and had a far more engaging time than I did with the sortie, and still came out with more mods.

As for Gaia's Tragedy, I got mine in the process of acquiring said cores, but I get what you were saying, make the sortie rewards worth the time and effort required. Some of them are legitimately painful to sit through, which is why my friends are willing to just drop sorties altogether, because we aren't having fun with them, and the rewards aren't there. I understand the need for RNG, but gating rewards behind a 24 hour lockout just feels bad. My friends I play with aren't happy with them, I am not happy with them, and I think the sortie rewards need some tweaking. There is a foundation to work with, but I think the execution really needs a lot of work. Some of the mission restrictions are fun to work around, and have gotten me to play some of the warframes I haven't played in a while, but some of them are really starting to become grating. Some of the tile set choices are miserable to play on, especially if it is one of the defense tile sets where the AI constantly gets lost.

I got 25 cores from the sortie.
I got 25 cores from a Triton playthrough, which I had more fun with, and it also took less time.
If I could do more within the timeframe and rewards had some sort of lockout system, where you could only recieve a specific reward on the table once within a finite timeframe, I might be inclined to do more.
Nerfing the rate at which I acquire resources from sources other than sorties will not make me do more sorties.

One of friends put it this way: "If we keep getting rewards like this, I am done doing sorties."

I have put plenty of time on a few loot conveyor games, but the best way to put is that so long as I am happy with the conveyor, I will keep moving at the pace of the conveyor. But should the conveyor not be interesting, I will find other means of enjoying content.

My friends, with which I am normally playing this game, don't find sorties fun right now, and do not want to bother with them, so I think I am going to opt out as well.

[JHarlequin]

 Well until they add lenses to other sources, you either do sorties and pray for the drops to get better, or you pay plat.

 

 Not that I have heard of anyone that got a lens that matched their path.

Edited December 12, 2015 by JHarlequin

[(PSN)l0r3n7step]

You should not be able to get duplicate rewards from this.  That's just brutal.  Got Karak Wraith Barrel from yesterday's set, and again from today's set.  With the season being time-limited and seemingly having a checklist, why duplicate rewards?  These missions are very grindy in nature, spending a couple hours to get literally nothing is not cool.

 

Yes. Sure there should be a chance to get a certain item from the pool. But weapon parts should be crossed off a checklist.

[Ziegrif]

Not that I have heard of anyone that got a lens that matched their path.

 

I think I have one of each now.

 

Edit: Nope! Missing Zenurik.

 

Edit2: Now I got one of each.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Ziegrif

[FLSH_BNG]

After 5 different attempts with different groups, I've come to the conclusion that survival sortie missions against Corpus are frustratingly asinine.

 

The shear number of sapping ospreys placing their mines that cover large areas, aren't destructible until after full deployment, and don't take damage from abilities of clients make these missions nothing more than a 5 minutes stint at trying to res other players only to fall yourself because all of them dropped to sapping ospreys.

 

This particular enemy needs to be reconsidered for these missions types, they are an interesting enemy to be sure but their numbers are too great and they each drop too many mines covering a massive area and making it impossible at high level missions to do anything resembling being not dead.

[Mr._Clean]

One of friends put it this way: "If we keep getting rewards like this, I am done doing sorties."

[...]

 

Hey! That's what my friends are starting to say now too!

One of friends put it this way: "If we keep getting rewards like this, I am done doing sorties."

[...]

 

Hey! That's what my friends are starting to say now too!

[Clideb50]

My friends and I are enjoying sortie missions, and I feel they are an excellent way to mix up the game at higher difficulties. My only real gripe (if it can even be called that) is the rewards are the same for everyone in the party, and can be repeated. 

 

In my opinion: I'd like to see sortie rewards be different for each person in the group and work on a random, not repeating system. For example say I get a dera vandal stock. I won't be able to get a dera vandal stock again until either the season changes or I've gotten every reward possible from a season (19 in season 1). Assuming there are more than 19 days in a season, then the list would unlock, and you would just start at the beginning again.

 

EDIT: Just saw each season lasts for only 15 days. Still would like the no chance of repeat. 

Edited December 13, 2015 by Regulus1990