[Spoiler] Thoughts On Vazarin Focus Tree

[Epsik-kun]

After my experience with the tree, and after testing some stuff, there are several things about it that have a really bad design.

I am not going to address numbers for the most part, because they are subject to a change - it's a beta after all, however there are few genuinely bad decisions in this tree.

 

Save for the fact it supposed to be a "counter your enemies" focus tree, Vazarin is a support/heal tree. The idea of having a heal skill with several minutes cooldown is a bad idea itself, so Vazarin is actually an "OH S#&$ button" tree.

If you think about it that way, it's actually decent. If you see you're in troubles, and you are about to die - you press your "OH S#&$" button from your "OH S#&$ button" tree and you'll end up alive, fully healed and will have a barrier that is most likely to prevent your death in next few seconds giving you time to reposition yourself. It works.

 

The point is: based on how the active skill works, Vazarin as a support tree = nay; Vazarin as an "OH S#&$ button" tree = yay;

 

So, let's talk about nodes in the tree.

 

What works:

New Moon(insta-revives)

It's hard to say, whether it's the best node of the tree, or is it the only one that is worth your attention. The passive is good. Fits nicely into "supportive tree" idea, which is a bad idea. Kinda fits into "panic button" idea, if we think about it as a delayed panic button.

Have an outstanding amount of zero total advantages for the solo play. The node is good, but I don't really like its design, but hey - it's just my opinion.

 

Polluted Waters (AoE insta-revives)

The idea of the skill is actually great. It fits both "support" and "panic button" tree ideas. Realisation is meh, but let's talk about it later.

 

Protection Ward(shield)

Fits great into "panic button" tree, works as a direct upgrade of the active skill itself. Has close to none meaning for the "support" tree.

 

Guardian Presence(AoE shield)

The idea is good and fits both tree ideas.

 

Strengthen Defenses(replenishing warframe's shields)

Makes you question yourself "why wasn't it already a thing", but works, I guess.

 

Mending Shower(increasing range)

Upgrade thingy. Well...

What should be tweaked:

Commanding Words(CC aura)

The idea of the skill fits the "panic button" tree concept, however making it give you the aura on the startup of the active skill defeats the whole purpose of having it.

What it should do is to protect you from enemies that entered your barrier after you have used your skill.

What it does now is protecting your god damn invulnerable body as you are using the skill.

Aura should be given at the same time the barrier is given.

What will not work, no matter how much you tweak the numbers:

Disciplined Approach(affinity range increase)

The problem is, Focus system supposed to be "end-game' content. It kinda implies, that when people get their focus, they already know how to farm. And the most effective method I know (and I won't even say "Draco") is getting a one-frame focused squad, which already implies that 50 default meters of affinity gain is more than enough. And how the game work, you'll get close to zero profit from getting this skill - no matter how great the increase is. Be it 10m, 40m or even if it covers the whole map right away - the effect of it will be insignificant, unless it starts leaching affinity from another game.

 

Retaliation(mirror damage)

It's pretty much a question to DE. Do you know, that Warframe is essentialy a Diablo-clone game? Second question: do you know, that "mirroring damage" never works in these games? Because this skill doesn't work. And it will never work.

The problem is, pretty much ANY game in this direction uses a simple rule:
"Heroes have low HP and high damage; enemies have a lot of HP and low damage, and there are hordes of enemies".

Let's say your frame has 1000 effective HP. If you are into "end-game" content, you are likely to have 10k+ DPS from your weapons.

Enemies, on their turn will have, let's say 15k effective HP and 200 dps.

 

 

So, tell me please, what 10% damage mirroring is supposed to achieve? 20 dps turned back on 15k EHP enemies is literally nothing.

But that's not everything. I said "no matter how much you tweak the numbers", remember?

Let's buff the skill tenfold! It mirrors 100% of damage that comes into you now! What we achieved? Well, now we deal 200dps to a 15k EHP enemy. He will kill us in 5 seconds, we will kill him in over a minute. It still doesn't work.

Let's buff it hundredfold! Now enemy takes 10 times the damage he deals to us! So, he kills us in 5 seconds, we kill him in 7. Seems fair, right? Mind me reminding you, we are playing the game, where we are supposed to fight "hordes of enemies"? Because having significant effect on a single enemy doesn't correlates to having any effect on multiple.

And the problem with these buffs is that it'll make the skill overpowered utill some point, balanced for a very thin interval of levels and irrelevant after.

Well, unless you buff it into killing anything that shoots at you (and tbh, after some point where everything one-shots you, skill will again become irrelevant)

 

This skill will not work as it is now. No matter what numbers are. It will never work.

 

 

What could be done to it? Well, a simple change that'll boost it into "relevance" is simply to change "mirroring" for actual "reflecting". So, you get hit by a 1000 damage nuke, 10% of it is reflected - redirected from you, so you only get 900 damage to hit you, while 100 reflected damage gently blows on 99k EHP Bombard.

It will still be a weak skill (unless numbers are tweaked, of course), but it will be a skill that works. It will be increasing your EHP by 11% which is something (especially for min-maxing your frame). And something is much more than nothing which is what the skill is right now.

 

There are quite a lot of genuinely bad concepts not only in this tree, but in pretty much every one of them

 

Getting obligatory debuffs to your skills to progress further into the tree is a terrible concept.

Increasing skill cooldown for each active node is a bad concept.

Some trees don't even have their own identity yet (like Vazarin)

 

The main terrible concept of all trees is trying to balance active skills. DO NOT.

It's a game where you can be permanently immortal, invisible or be able to clear the whole room of enemies with one button press. And all of this can be done at any given time. And vast majority of people is actually perfectly fine with it.

You shouldn't be thinking about making abilities that are available for a short period of time once in 5 minutes "balanced". They are supposed to be OP. Absurdly OP. Hell, having the ability instantly win you a mission will be better "balanced" than what we actually having now.

Passives should be balanced, but not to the point of not having an effect. Because it really bugs me that some trees have passives that grants immediately noticeable strong effect, some can give you powerful boost in stats if you grind enough, and some just do literally nothing.

[Nesit1]

This guy reminds me of Quiette Shy. Srsly. I died at this "OH S#&$" button. 

 

Anyway, you speak correctly. What I would change personally

 

1).This affinity share to.

Mending Tides allows "intercepts" X% damage taken by allies in Y meters for duration of the mission.

(my English can't find proper word, so it'll be "intercept")

 

Sharing damage taken greatly fits healing role.

It's optional, even if ranked, so you can take it only while playing tanky warframes or Limbo.

Would be TOO MUCH interesting to use, imo.

There can be cap in % hp, so if you drop too low, skill stops working.

Can also intercept status effects, but it would be too much OP.

 

However, adding skill, that provides immunity to status effects for X seconds would be okay. To the right or down tree.

 

About Retaliation. So if it's still offensive skill. I suggest it should be like Nyx's Absorb with changes.

1).It triggers if it isn't on cd and when caster receives constant amount of damage (like 500 or 1000 in general).

2).When it triggers, for the next ~3-5 seconds caster partially absobs incoming damage, unleashing it all (with some constant amount) to the enemies in huge radius with NO CC.

 

However, generally remaking skill to smth defensive would be okay as well.

 

Also, about New Moon.

 

I think it should be clear how many premium revives left and some visual effects if you revive somebody this way. I mean, it's so epic if you get ressurected by Nekros. And New Moon is like meh. You just stare at him for second and he gets up. Not rly epic.

[YasaiTsume]

Retaliation should just be a mini absorb that blows up after the frame takes an x amount of damage. 

Like say each rank increases the damage threshold, like 1000 / 2000 / 3000

then when yu get hit and store 3000 damage, unleash it immediately as a passive AoE blast

[Terrornaut]

I appreciate the ideas of the OP, so this is generally just a bump.

 

1).This affinity share to.

Mending Tides allows "intercepts" X% damage taken by allies in Y meters for duration of the mission.

(my English can't find proper word, so it'll be "intercept")

 

 

That is the most appropriate word for the intent and functionality actually, so you've done well.  Your English is completely fine lol.  Hell, some people I come across might not even know what the word means -_-

[Epsik-kun]

One thing I would be happy to see in this tree is some kind of protection from one-shots. Like using Mending Tides could give you a charge in a similar way it gives New Moon charges (or even using New Moon charges themselves), that is consumed when you receive fatal damage as a result you survive and become invulnerable to damage for a brief period of time (1~3 seconds), giving you enough time to do something to save your life.

While ain't being something completely OP, it would be still an unique and powerful passive, that'll be worth taking especially at high-end content.

[ViciousTeletuby]

I would say replace Disciplined Approach effect with something like 'Gain temporary immunity to last (level) types of damage taken' or 'Gain passive damage reduction for entire mission for last (level) types of damage taken' as that would actually fit the supposed theme of the school.