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[Spoiler] How To Decide Which Path/school/focus To Choose:


sir_deadlock
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When you do The Second Dream quest, you get some RPG conversation choices and you are asked to choose a the school that is most like you.

 DO NOT PICK THE SCHOOL THAT IS ACTUALLY MOST LIKE YOU!

 

 This is all about picking an ability tree to add to your warframe. Maybe your personality is like your play style, but make your decision based on your play style, not your personality.

 

So when your friends say "take your favorite warframe" that's why, not because of the cinematics and photo ops, but because this will be your 5th ability and you want to put it on a warframe you'll be comfortable using (because you'll be starting a whole new grind).

All Warframes gain the ability to use your power once unlocked. I've done it with four different ones so far, it all functions the same. The Warframe is not what is getting the ability. If you mean the lens you get, you don't need to put that onto a Warframe or even carry a lens with you at all to use it. I put my lens on a weapon, and frames I did not take to the quest using different weapons can still use the ability.

 

 

Madurai = "special beam cannon!"

Vazarin = Medic

Naramon = crowd control Spy/DPS

Unairu = Crowd Control Tank

Zenurik = Energy dispenser

 

 I'm going to try to simplify this for you. Everything you choose here is mostly in the game already, but this looks different. For example, if you ever said to yourself "I love my Nova, but I wish she had more armor" or "There's never a healer around when I need one" then this is the answer to your prayers.

 

I will be paraphrasing to the best of my ability from this source: http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Focus

 For more detailed explanations regarding cost, duration, application, etc. please visit the Wikia page.

My goal here is to give a TL;DR of the options.

 

Each focus has a "mastery" unlock, which reduces cooldown, so I won't include those.

 

 Madurai

base ability:

Phoenix Gaze: essentially an opticore sized Flux laser that shoots from your chest

 

Searing wrath: + puncture damage

Burning rage: + impact damage

Pheonix flash: + fire rate, - range

Rising ashes: + blast damage

Chimera breath: splits the beam three ways. Just think hall of mirrors.

Hades touch: + fire proc

Meteorite: + blast & splash damage

Dragon fire: essentially Oberon's Hallowed Ground with fire proc

 

Vazarin

Base ability: Mending Tides/AKA Trinity's Blessing meets Oberon's Renewal: short range insta-heal.

 

New Moon: kind of like Nekros' Soul Survivor augment. It revives allies (though I don't know if this applies to post bleedout).

Disciplined approach: players share affinity from farther away for the rest of the mission.

Retaliation: essentially the Reflection mod, but applies to all attacks and no need to block.

Mending Shower: + radious, - effectiveness

Polluted Waters: Revives, chance to proc viral or magnetic

Protection Ward: Frost's Snowglobe, but no cold proc

Commanding words: short range molecular prime aura, blast & stun damage

Strengthen Defenses: +shield restore

Guardian Presence:....? "Mending Tides grants affected allies a Protection Ward"

 

Naramon

Base ability:

Mind Spike:"Unleashes bursts of psychic energy that inflict Confusion on enemies."

 

Mind Spike literally just stun locks I should know, I have it.

 

Mind Blast: - range, + AOE

Traumatic Redirection: 3 crit melee attacks at the expense of health

Tactical Spike: + crit chance for allies

Reveal Weakness: + Exalibur's radial blind without the stun

Sundering Blast: + X% Loki's Disarm.

Cloaking Aura: Itzal's Penumbra (group cloak)

Strategic Execution: + affinity on melee kills

Deadly Intent: +crit chance to melee

Shadow Step: melee crit activates personal invis

 

Unairu

Base ability:

Basilisk Flare: Atlas' Petrify

 

Stone Shape: + armor

Medusa Touch Skin: Like Saryn's  toxic lash, but petrify proc instead of viral

Unairu's Medusa Touch only activates when THEY hit you, not the other way around. Mainly because it was changed to Medusa Skin... I feel lied and betrayed.

Mighty Blows: melee reduces enemy's armor

Scorched Earth: Ember's Fire Blast, but self harm risk like Thunderbolt.

Lasting Judgement: - movement speed, + petrify fire rate

Crushing Force: petrified enemies take damage

Weight of Justice: +damage

Stone Armor: Basilisk flare can be used to buff ally armor.

Erode Defenses: like a corrosive projection proc

 

Zenurik

Base ability:

Void Pulse/Rhino Stomp like sound quake

 

Time Stream: +sprint, - shields

Temporal Storm: same as above, but for allies. Together, they're like Volt's Speed, I guess.

Energy Overflow: energy restore

Systematic Override: +warframe ability efficiency

Energy Spike: energy orbs restore ally energy too

Energy Surge: Team energy restore

Rift Sight: enemy sense + Assasin's Creed Eagle Vision

Umbra Lance: "Void Pulse creates an aura around the player that lashes out at enemies with harmful Void energy."

Magnetic Aftershock: Mag's Bullet Attractor

Edited by sir_deadlock
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 This is all about picking an ability tree to add to your warframe. So when your friends say "take your favorite warframe" that's why, not because of the cinematics and photo ops, but because this will be your 5th ability and you want to put it on a warframe you'll be comfortable using (because you'll be starting a whole new grind).

All Warframes gain the ability to use your power once unlocked. I've done it with four different ones so far, it all functions the same. The Warframe is not what is getting the ability. If you mean the lens you get, you don't need to put that onto a Warframe or even carry a lens with you at all to use it. I put my lens on a weapon, and frames I did not take to the quest using different weapons can still use the ability.

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When you do The Second Dream quest, you get some RPG conversation choices and you are asked to choose a the school that is most like you.

 DO NOT PICK THE SCHOOL THAT IS ACTUALLY MOST LIKE YOU!

That was actually the right decision I made after all.

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I chose Vazarin (that's most like me) and I am happy with my choice. All the CC, damage or Debuffs don't matter when you are dead.

It's become essential to use it constantly in my weaker CC and not melee focused frames, and it has even saved my but with Valkyr when I forgot my Life Strike and Hysteria healing.

Hope insta reviving allies is good, seems VERY useful for the defense sortie.

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I picked the mountain one b/c it sounded like it was defensive/healing kinda thing. Vazarim, the one I actually wanted was described as being a 'counter attack' type ability. So not only am I set back by a huge amount of time, I also accidently put that focus on the wrong frame; UI confused me intially and I did not know if it was equiped or not cus there was a huge check mark on it. Anyways, I screwed up and it's gonna cost me months of grinding sorties just to fix this. At this point, might just take a long break and hope focus prices for plat is cheaper later on I guess. :\

 

If they had included the trees when the choice came up then this would not even be an issue.

Edited by fizbit
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I picked the mountain one b/c it sounded like it was defensive/healing kinda thing. Vazarim, the one I actually wanted was described as being a 'counter attack' type ability. So not only am I set back by a huge amount of time, I also accidently put that focus on the wrong frame; UI confused me intially and I did not know if it was equiped or not cus there was a huge check mark on it. Anyways, I screwed up and it's gonna cost me months of grinding sorties just to fix this. At this point, might just take a long break and hope focus prices for plat is cheaper later on I guess. :\

 

If they had included the trees when the choice came up then this would not even be an issue.

i made the same mistake.......i'm so pi..ed by this i'm not even angry

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How do you know Umbra Lances is like Hydriods tentacle swarm ? Do you have a vid

The description on the wikia says 

  • Umbra Lance: Void Pulse creates an aura around the player that lashes out at enemies with harmful Void energy. (80,000 focus to unlock)

So really, that's what I'm assuming it is. But now I'm going to look it up!

*searches* couldn't find anything. So I could very well be wrong, but that's what it sounds like. Probably won't look like it though.

Maybe it'll be like when Vauban casts a bunch of Tesla orbs on a player. I'll change it to the wikia description. Thank you!

 

 

You should probably go into more detail because some of these passives don't effect weapons, and or only work during the Focus ability is active.

I'm trying to keep it short as possible. I posted my source which has gratuitously more accurate details. I will emphasize that point. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Edited by sir_deadlock
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I wish the menu at the time had at least an explanation of each of the powers because I so regret my choice, I also wish it told me that I would be locked in

From what I can tell, you aren't locked in at all.  You can unlock the other paths and then equip whatever ability they have.  Now, you'll need an appropriate lens to level that path up, but those can be gotten as rewards in the new sorties.  So no need to get worried or mad if you chose a path you don't like.  

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From what I can tell, you aren't locked in at all.  You can unlock the other paths and then equip whatever ability they have.  Now, you'll need an appropriate lens to level that path up, but those can be gotten as rewards in the new sorties.  So no need to get worried or mad if you chose a path you don't like.  

 

This is true, partially. But some of us are able to complete the quest, but aren't able to take on enemies above level 40-55. So running sorties outside of being carried by generous Tenno is out of the question. And that whole time you now get to _not_ enjoy your quest rewards.

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This is true, partially. But some of us are able to complete the quest, but aren't able to take on enemies above level 40-55. So running sorties outside of being carried by generous Tenno is out of the question. And that whole time you now get to _not_ enjoy your quest rewards.

Yeah, that's true too. I'm sure DE will make em available occasionally as alert rewards and other ways as well. Only getting them through sorties does seem a bit limiting if you aren't very good at the game or don't have decent equipment.

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