Focus

[Latiac]

I'm not a user of the '5th' ability, Really ever, I just don't like it, so I prefer not to use it.

 

My question here is, Is focus worth getting if I don't use the 5th ever? Do the passives still count or is it revolving around the 5th, If I don't use the 5th should I bother with focus at all?

[-Amaterasu-]

If you never use it at all then there's really no reason to bother as the "passives" only activate after you use the ability but I highly reccomend you put the lense on a frame you use alot and at least try to get them you can quickly activate the ability and then cancel it by pressing 5 while it's active which will give you all the passives without ever really having to use the ability alot of passives can be pretty useful and are worth a look at.

Edited February 23, 2016 by -Amaterasu-
Typos

[SquireAngel]

Each branch has passives that are pretty nice to have, despite the 5th ability seeming lackluster. Madarai increases dmg from punc, slash, and impact by 30% all the time, for Zenurik, you get 4 energy per second (twice as fast as a full squad of energy siphons), having one of the few dependent on cast as it increase effeciency by a percentage for 20 seconds after the cast, and causing orbs of energy to pulse out energy across a decently sized area when picked up. Namaron increases melee affinity gain, critical strike, and will cause you to invis upon hitting a crit. Unairu gives an armor buff, a chance to petrify upon being struck, and armor reduction upon melee hit for a few seconds. And Vazarin grants the ability to rez team mates up to 4 times a mission instantly, dmg reflection, and affinity share range. 

Those are all the benefits you get without using the 5th ability more than once a mission. You fire the ability, and bam, benefits the entire rest of the mission.

[--Q--uaint]

21 minutes ago, -Amaterasu- said:

If you never use it at all then there's really no reason to bother as the "passives" only activate after you use the ability but I highly reccomend you put the lense on a frame you use alot and at least try to get them you can quickly activate the ability and then cancel it by pressing 5 while it's active which will give you all the passives without ever really having to use the ability alot of passives can be pretty useful and are worth a look at.

This. Also, Vazarin's #5 is something you can easily wait until you need it, then just use as invincibility + a health pizza.

 

To clarify on the passives, the passives do not activate until you use your #5, but most of them last for the rest of the mission.

[SquireAngel]

In the end, Focus is worth having lens equipped, as it converts from the Affinity you would otherwise simply 'lose'. It's a pain to farm specifically for it, but compliments any playstyle nicely, as it grows like a cactus; requiring little to no attention. 

[TheSteelRat]

Used to be worth it until the last fix.  where before you could easily gain your cap of 75k with a single lensed farming frame and 3-4 rounds of Draco.I have pretty much maxed out as much as I want of varazin, and now slogging through Zenurik.

Now I get about 1/4 of that. and be lucky to get about 30k over the course of my daily gameplay.

 

Zenurik with 3 nodes active you can get its energy restore Passive.  4 energy/sec is incredible, and can make having an EV Trinity pointless if you have good efficiency.  And during some rather intesense survival missions, Varazins Instant revives were really nice.

 

Nice to have? yes,  Needed? no.  Worth focusing on now? not really

 

[SquireAngel]

3 minutes ago, kkinnison said:

Used to be worth it until the last fix.  where before you could easily gain your cap of 75k with a single lensed farming frame and 3-4 rounds of Draco.I have pretty much maxed out as much as I want of varazin, and now slogging through Zenurik.

Now I get about 1/4 of that. and be lucky to get about 30k over the course of my daily gameplay.

 

Zenurik with 3 nodes active you can get its energy restore Passive.  4 energy/sec is incredible, and can make having an EV Trinity pointless if you have good efficiency.  And during some rather intesense survival missions, Varazins Instant revives were really nice.

 

Nice to have? yes,  Needed? no.  Worth focusing on now? not really

 

Focus was never meant to be something you'd farm hardcore, it's something that you gain slowly over time to work on gradually. Focus was never intended to be a core system. It was intended to be a reward to players who had already kinda been there, done that with a bunch of the content. It's meant to be slow so that you can't instantly farm it. For hardcore players, they have little to work on or work towards, so having a slowly progressed addition gives them something they CAN work towards over a long period of time. 

[TheSteelRat]

7 minutes ago, SquireAngel said:

Focus was never meant to be something you'd farm hardcore, it's something that you gain slowly over time to work on gradually. Focus was never intended to be a core system. It was intended to be a reward to players who had already kinda been there, done that with a bunch of the content. It's meant to be slow so that you can't instantly farm it. For hardcore players, they have little to work on or work towards, so having a slowly progressed addition gives them something they CAN work towards over a long period of time. 

I am not sure, but doing some napkin calculations I have gained around 3 million focus affinity since U18 that is about 68 days.  A new player is going to take four times as long to get where I am now.  Which is why I said in reply to the OP that it isn't worth bothering with anymore.  Over the course of a sortie season, you might get 4 lens, and trade to make a greater lens, to put on ONE item.  Then to gain the affinity you need to only use that frame/weapon.  It is taking the grind to a whole new slogging unrewarding thankless level

[wiggatron]

I think, considering how many players did the grind to get arcane enhancements for law of retrib, the focus system is useful. I found a shortcut to getting lens simply by lucking out with the login reward system. A 75% reward is given. If you wait and buy your platinum when it is that cheap and granted I've only bought platinum twice or so, it is easy to accumulate lens for all your main weapons and warframe(s). I don't spend much time on gather focus points, and gradually if I find time over a weekend I might buy up an affinity booster, build a greater lens and do a bunch of stealth missions or forma multiple weapons and warframes to upgrade my arsenal. The focus systems does help in situations were your 1-4 abilities are exhausted because of lack of energy. Other than that, be prepared not to rely on it. It is simply another play style, kinda like conclave. I rarely if ever play conclave and could not tell you how to. I simply ignore it. And players will do so with the focus system.

 

I found the Kubrow mission annoying when I started and tuned out building a kubrow for at least 6 months when I started. Now, I own several and use them in certain situations.