Frame Variety?

[Fyresparxx]

Is there a reason I don't see more frame variety in public matches? I'm still new (almost MR6) but I do end up in groups with higher level players for alerts. 

It seems like everyone is playing Excalibur, Nova/Nova Prime, Ember Prime, Rhino, or Frost.  Pretty much every match has one or more of those. Are they just really easy to get, or are they actually considered OP in some way? I had someone tell me that Ember sucks and I shouldn't bother with her, but I see a lot of them and I like her abilities. I've had people tell me that Nova is better than Ember, but I just haven't clicked with her. I pretty much just love her AD and her portal (which i rarely see anyone use). 

The reason I'm asking.. I am having a hard time finding any buyers for the rare mods I have (is there really no auction house?), and I don't want to buy plat without a coupon. I've got Ember, Volt, and Nova to 30 and I want to try something new, but I don't want to give up something considered "good" to find out my other options suck. I guess I just want to know if there's a reason I'm only seeing the same frames over and over. 

I see Nyx, Necros, Mirage, Loki (I hear he's OP), Ivara, Ash, Trinity and Mag at least semi-often. I've only seen Banshee once, same for Mesa, Nezha, and Hydroid. I've don't think I've ever seen Chroma, Equinox, Inaros, Limbo, Oberon, Valkyr, Zephyr or Wukong. I've been looking to see what other people are playing to help decide what I want to try next. Obviously this is all anecdotal evidence. 

Edited April 18, 2016 by Fyresparxx

[direcyphre]

I see those quite often too, but almost always in endless modes or higher level content. Ember WoF with augment, Rhino Stomp, Nyx Chaos, Nova MP (slow), and Excalibur blinding are all great AOE CC. Frost for Snowglobe point defense, of course (excavators especially).

Though I generally see a lot of different variety, and everyone will play what they like unless they are leveling new frames. I personally play Mesa almost exclusively, with a bit of Nezha for fun. Mostly because I have no issue clearing content and staying alive in any mode.

[TrickshotMcGee]

The most common frames are strong, and when modded well, some of the deadliest. Excal has the arguably strongest set of abilities in the game. Nova and Frost have amazing utility with Molecular Prime and Snow Globe (respectively). Rhino has great survivability. Ember can wreck S#&$e with World on Fire, and I can attest to its awesomeness, though I'm a bigger fan of Fire Blast. 

Inaros and Valkyr are really fun to use, as well as really strong, so I do recommend getting them. Inaros has three CC abilities, and the best passive ever. Valkyr with a Warcry/crit melee build is actively scary. I'm also a big fan of Mesa, but she's so tough to farm and you'll get a lot of people telling you she's not worth getting, so take from that what you will. I think she was worth it, especially with the upcoming buff to her Regulators. Can be tough to adapt to her kit, though because some of it is odd, like Ballistic Battery and Shooting Gallery. 

Overall, I'd recommend Ember, Inaros,and Valkyr the most (in that order). They're just really fun to use, as well as strong.

[AnonNyx]

It could also be the mission type. Some people will bring certain frames for specific missions to help along with their success in clearing it faster.  Exterminate? WoF Ember (as described above). Spy? Loki and Ivara. Defense/need to protect something? Frost (though Vaubaun for infested).

Also some may not have access to the frames they wish to play either.  Generally the matchmaking will pair you with someone of similar MR, and they may be farming or working their way to components for the frame they wish. 

And some frames are just more fun for people to play.  I personally enjoy playing my Volt Prime on endless missions with Shocking Speed and Scindo Prime. Spin-2-Win. Others may not know the frames kit very well or how to use it to maximize game play (which is true for me and Oberon). Lastly some frames are very niche in their roles. Banshee can put out high DPS (via her abilities) but is super squishy and generally is found in pre-made parties.

As for auction house/market place, take a look at warframe.market. It's set up pretty well for listing what you have for sale and looking for stuff to buy.

Edited April 18, 2016 by AnonNyx

[Fyresparxx]

Thanks! That's a good point about mission type. I often just play solo with public matchmaking, and it seems like most of the time I only get grouped with people on endless mission types or alerts. The other mission types I usually end up doing solo because I guess no one else is queued for them? So I could see getting good endless frames repeatedly. 

If I like a frame, is it safe to assume I can play it effectively in most modes (with decent mods)? Or are there some that are just bad, and that's why I don;t see them? I'm just remembering League of Legends, where some champions were just worse than the other options and people didn't want them on their team. I wasn't sure if Warframe had a similar kind of meta. 

[Zachatoo]

41 minutes ago, Fyresparxx said:

If I like a frame, is it safe to assume I can play it effectively in most modes (with decent mods)? Or are there some that are just bad, and that's why I don;t see them? I'm just remembering League of Legends, where some champions were just worse than the other options and people didn't want them on their team. I wasn't sure if Warframe had a similar kind of meta. 

You certainly can use any frame on any mission type if you're good enough (although trying to solo defense or interception with some frames will prove very difficult). Some frames are perceived to be bad in general by most of the community (Oberon, Hydroid, Limbo) but every frame has a niche and can be useful depending on the situation (Oberon for radiation, Hydroid for infested loot farming, Limbo for spy or lvl 200+ enemies).

[HellEnforcer]

I can't speak much as to which WarFrame is more popular since I usually play either solo or with my clanmates.

As to why some are more common, it is a safe bet to say they excel in a way on that mode. On endless missions, usually the deadliest are preferred or those who can provide a solid defense.

Excalibur has almost exclusively the best set in game for defense and offense. Exalted Blade has incredible range, incredible damage and punch through. In case things get bad, Radial Blind literally puts every enemy in range in a stun and open to stealth attack, with bonus damage included.

Ember is a mobile machine of destruction. World on Fire allows her to pretty much set enemies on fire often causing a brief stun and dealing damage. Unfortunately this damage is rather low depending on the enemy and their level. She falls short on damage rather fast on endless missions. She can counter this somewhat with Accelerant, causing a brief stun around her and allowing her to deal extra fire damage to them.

Nova used to be the queen of obliteration (not sure if she still is). Molecular Prime is a good cc and debuf. Slows enemies a lot and makes them receive extra damage. Even better if you kill some and set off a chain reaction of explosions. She could potentially clear entire rooms or waves. Wormhole is rather useless now with the new parkour when it comes to mobility. You could still use it to move past some defenses on Spy or some barriers if you feel like wasting energy on that. Null Star used to be great, it isn't much now. Antimatter Drop could deal incredible amounts of damage if you have a decent weapon and good aiming.

I haven't used Rhino much and neither do my clanmates, so I can't really say what could be the reason people use them. I know he is a good tank with cc included. Iron Skin makes him immune to cc and damage as long as his iron skin is up. His stomp puts enemies on a type of stun for a while in an area around him.

I don't have Frost, but one of my clanmates use it. He is really good at defending a static target. He used to be pretty much a requirement for long defenses. He still does a good job at it. Snow Globe blocks the shots and slows enemies that dare entering the globe. He pretty much creates a slaughterhouse impervious to outside interference. Those who enter will be slowed down for you to eat them cold, and if they stay out, you can shoot them with little worry for retaliation.

That covers why I think people use the ones you mentioned. As for personal opinion as to which frame is worth it, I have to say that it is very situational.

Examples:

 - I almost exclusively use Loki for Spy missions simply because he can become invisible allowing him to extract the info without being detected by cameras and guards.

 - On the same page, I almost exclusively use Nyx for excavations and hijacks. Chaos and mind control keeps the enemy away from my objective while it finishes its job.

 - I tend to use Mag when it comes to face the corpus at high levels and I know they will come in clusters. Shield Polarize is spelled d-o-o-m on their language if that happens.

 - Valkyr for Grineer survivals.

Sadly there is no way to tell you accurately which frame you should try next as you want. All we can do is tell you under what circumstances they can perform well. It is all up to you, what you want to do and how you play. I could tell you why I use the ones I use if you wish, but it will be ultimately just a reflection of my playstyle.

[(XBOX)DataStorm 8Bit]

In my opinion, you make the frame, not the other way around.

 

Unless it's Oberon. In which case, why don't you just play trinity.

[(XBOX)BluAina]

If ain't meta you primarily won't see a lot of it, or if a youtuber posts a vid on it, it will be the new rage, it's just meta man, no auction house but some "rare" mods aren't really rare which ones ya trying to sell?