Why is Smeeta CLEARLY better than the Adarza?

[ZephyrPrime]

Is this some balancing issue? I know the Smeeta is sorta like a lottery machine, giving random buffs with no order or sense of knowing what you'll get. The Adarza gives flat crit chance, which sounds cool in theory, and would be really cool if only they had it, but one of the random buffs from the Smeeta is seriously constant red crits on guns AND abilities for 30 seconds, compared to Cat's Eye's 10 seconds? What? Even without that, it's not like the other random buffs are bad at all: Increased drop chance, free rare drop from the planet, instant reload, free overshields, AND 100% power efficiency for 10 seconds?

I'm not trying to be salty that I got an Adarza, but it's seriously hard not to be when they're not comparable equals. I mean, I've had times where, since the Adarza buff is an AoE that affects teammates, I can actually outrun the buff and not get it. Why doesn't it directly give it to me, the owner of the cat?

This is seriously messed up, everyone's concerned about the Smeeta nerf, but I'm more concerned about how the Smeeta seems so much better than its supposed equal.

Kubrows did it right, all Kubrow breeds had their own unique, individual powers for different playstyles, and none of them were inherently better than another. That's balance, but these Kavats just need some tweaking in their current state.

I'm not saying nerf one or buff the other, but just at least put them on equal playing grounds.

[Marvelous_A]

That's what I call balance in DE style.

[CY13ERPUNK]

well to be perfectly honest the kubrows and sentinels are pretty out of whack too

you can argue for some usefulness between the huras/raksa/chesa/sahasa but the sunika is arguably the worst kubrow, having nothing unique except pinning capture tgts, so basically it is a sub-par kubrow for everything except a single mission type, and even there, another kubrow could likely be a better companion

then the sentinels all seem to have some form of utility, or at least they used to, but these days, the dethcube is severely outclassed by everything else [since its dethray is very underwhelming since powercreep/scaling enemies made it worthless]

heck even the helios, whose entire existence is supposed to be that it helps you scan for things, is pointless when trying to find kavats, becuz LOL DE decided to just make it not work in possibly the one scenario that it would be most helpful in... =[

Edited September 11, 2016 by CY13ERPUNK

[ograzzt]

And how often do you get this Smeeta red crit buff? Smeeta is better for affinity/resouse farming, Adarza is better for battle thanks to constant crit buffs. Sadly this game is about farming, so yeah, Smeeta is more useful overall. Which still don't cancel the fact that +60% buff to crit chance for basically the whole mission is better than random rare red crit madness.

Edited September 11, 2016 by ograzzt

[ArcusVeles]

Adarza doesn't just give crits, it gives it to every ally in range too.  So it's a pretty massive damage buff for your team, and it has a very high up-time.

[-Kryptyk-]

sounds like the smeeta is just what you prefer.  I like my constant, consistent red crits - I'm not complaining with both my adarzas lol 

[Drufo]

The fact that the Smeeta has more effects and the crit one is better is balanced by the long cooldown of the ability and the relatively low chance to get the buff that you need in that moment

[DEADSHOT456]

Adarza is fine in it's own place.

The problem with Warframe is that any companion that is made as an attack/offensive companion loses to companions that provides convenience and resources.

That is exactly why Dethcube loses to almost all other sentinels and Carrier is the king, being the most used companion of all times.

That is also why Sunika loses to Huras or Raksa. And that is also the reason why Smeeta is more popular than Adarza.

Our Warframes and weapons are so powerful that most of the times, any buff to damage(Adarza) or any companion damage ability(Dethcube and Sunika) feels redundant and therefore, most of the players prefer convenience(Carrier), stealth(Huras) or resource buff(Smeeta).

[JohnKable]

adarza's buff is frequent and rock solid with multiple hit crit weapons like amprex, or critting powers like frost's avalanche.
I say its very good in the spot it is right now. I appreciate both cats, but are totally different. one has an unreliable buff that can be completely unexisting or unrelevant for whole missions, the other has a great buff on raw damage only, that with the right setup can turn into a buff with the utility of allowing you to clean a whole room with few rounds

[Emolition]

2 hours ago, CY13ERPUNK said:

you can argue for some usefulness between the huras/raksa/chesa/sahasa but the sunika is arguably the worst kubrow, having nothing unique except pinning capture tgts, so basically it is a sub-par kubrow for everything except a single mission type, and even there, another kubrow could likely be a better companion

Guess me and my friend got a diffrent view we put like 6 or 7 formas in Sunika  one of the better kubrows imo  it kill enemies the best and cc them. They take down bombarders by themself at higher lvl. But then we used  Inaros with the kubrow until smeeta came around and replace him.

 

And for the smeeta vs adarza   I hardly ever get red crits on smeeta while my friend get it alot I use smeeta for one reason only resources.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Emolition

[DoomFruit]

The difference here is that crittycat *will* give you and everyone next to you a 10s buff every 25 seconds (if you unequip all its other powers). Guaranteed. It's not a flat +200% crit chance like luckycat does, but it's far more reliable.

[Omnimorph]

The Adzara is a team kitty (its buff applies to you and your teammates, boosting the whole team in a lesser but more reliable way), the Smeeta is a soloers kitty (the buff applies only to you, boosting you only, in a more powerful but less reliable way).

[(PSN)Silverback73]

1.  Crit chance boosting can be done in multiple ways (Naramon, mod loadouts, certain frame powers).

Many players overcompensate with their builds and then the Adarza SEEMINGLY doesn't have the impact that it should.  Strategize appropriately.

2.  The Smeeta is largely a compensatory tool designed to offset the changes in resource acquisition due to inflation, IMHO.

Being a 4-legged resource booster that plays as a feline version of Loki definitely gives it unmatched exclusivity in the Post-SotR, resource-challenging Tennoverse.

And because established players are feeling the resource pinch and have that one, obvious and best choice to counter it (no alternate choices exist, which is usually this game's strength) the Smeeta feels overpowered.  And it just might be...

[(PSN)Asdeft]

You are looking at this on paper, but in practice, the Adarza will give way more since it is flat 60% crit to your entire team for 10s every 20s for an insane uptime of a large damage spike for your entire team and can be almost constant with just a couple on your squad. 

 

Smeeta has cool stuff, but it is so rare and random at 30% chance every 30 seconds to roll one of like 6 buffs for varying amounts of time. Very low upkeep especially since stuff like double xp/drops, infinite energy and the now nerfed rare resource really are not that useful in general gameplay. Red crits and overshields/free hit are the ones that I want, but they happen so randomly that I don't even bother banking on their usefulness since red crits commonly happen when nothing is around and your free hit can be wasted on a stray bullet. Instant reload is in neutral territory: nothing particularly powerful about it, but a definite boon and fun surprise no less. 

 

If I am running sorties, Adarza all day; if it is just some fissures on jupiter, probably want the Smeeta. I think they are honestly very well balanced. 

[kuchn]

critbuff is useless because more dmg is useless..in an area where you would actually need the +dmg your kavat dies and rather sooner than later you will die rezzing it (stealthframes are an exception)

smeetabuff is only half-useless, because of traces..otherwise it is an attempt to compensate you for missing out on loot, if you are not picking up every single thing, and since it is not providing mods....

back to topic: since high-end damage was made obsolete with the latest update and your cat would die in that niche where it might be needed anyways -> smeeta is better because it at least tries to compensate for the loss of not using carrier (or any sentinel for that matter) by giving you a chance to get a bit more resources; a feat, that has its place (and use) in all content, no matter how high/low.

it is the choice between bad or worse...in terms of pure efficiency ofc

[Dragazer]

9 hours ago, Meentlegen said:

Is this some balancing issue? I know the Smeeta is sorta like a lottery machine, giving random buffs with no order or sense of knowing what you'll get. The Adarza gives flat crit chance, which sounds cool in theory, and would be really cool if only they had it, but one of the random buffs from the Smeeta is seriously constant red crits on guns AND abilities for 30 seconds, compared to Cat's Eye's 10 seconds? What? Even without that, it's not like the other random buffs are bad at all: Increased drop chance, free rare drop from the planet, instant reload, free overshields, AND 100% power efficiency for 10 seconds?

I'm not trying to be salty that I got an Adarza, but it's seriously hard not to be when they're not comparable equals. I mean, I've had times where, since the Adarza buff is an AoE that affects teammates, I can actually outrun the buff and not get it. Why doesn't it directly give it to me, the owner of the cat?

This is seriously messed up, everyone's concerned about the Smeeta nerf, but I'm more concerned about how the Smeeta seems so much better than its supposed equal.

Kubrows did it right, all Kubrow breeds had their own unique, individual powers for different playstyles, and none of them were inherently better than another. That's balance, but these Kavats just need some tweaking in their current state.

I'm not saying nerf one or buff the other, but just at least put them on equal playing grounds.

Have you even used the smeeta? You have 6 different possible buffs. The ability activates every 27 seconds. When the ability activates you have a 28% to even receive a buff.

So every 27 seconds you have a 28% chance along with a 1/6 chance to get the red crit buff

Smeeta does not actually give 100% power efficiency it just refunds the cost of abilities, so it is not going to save you from a magnetic proc.

Also do note these buffs only affect yourself

Adarza it is guaranteed every 20 seconds and it also affects teammates 

And no not really in Kubrows case, the Sunika is absolutely garbo compared to the Sahasa, its ability only works in 1 mission and that one mission is already easy enough as it can be.

A big issue in these forums is that people love to compare things and call for nerfs or buffs b4 actually using them:

Edited September 11, 2016 by Dragazer

[NPC]

8 hours ago, ograzzt said:

And how often do you get this Smeeta red crit buff? Smeeta is better for affinity/resouse farming, Adarza is better for battle thanks to constant crit buffs. Sadly this game is about farming, so yeah, Smeeta is more useful overall. Which still don't cancel the fact that +60% buff to crit chance for basically the whole mission is better than random rare red crit madness.

Precisely. 

Almost constant 60% additional crit chance > random red crits.

[(PSN)Silverback73]

1 hour ago, kuchn said:

critbuff is useless because more dmg is useless..in an area where you would actually need the +dmg your kavat dies and rather sooner than later you will die rezzing it (stealthframes are an exception)

smeetabuff is only half-useless, because of traces..otherwise it is an attempt to compensate you for missing out on loot, if you are not picking up every single thing, and since it is not providing mods....

back to topic: since high-end damage was made obsolete with the latest update and your cat would die in that niche where it might be needed anyways -> smeeta is better because it at least tries to compensate for the loss of not using carrier (or any sentinel for that matter) by giving you a chance to get a bit more resources; a feat, that has its place (and use) in all content, no matter how high/low.

it is the choice between bad or worse...in terms of pure efficiency ofc

If you invest the forma and mod right, you can go pretty far with the basics for survivability if your frame is built for survivability with the link.

1.  3 X Link shields, armor, health

2.  Pack Leader for melee regen

Beyond that it's about stealth (Smeeta Loki-cat, Naramon, Stealth frames) modding for heavy damage (Crit stacking Adarza with Max maul/bite combo to start), and CC (Nova's MP, Volt's Discharge, Nyx's Chaos...etc.)

It can be quite effective but requires considerable commitment  when you have 5 or 6 mods that need to be rank 12-15 with multiple forma(s) and 2 specific builds per Kavat and Kubrow Type.

 

[ograzzt]

3 minutes ago, (PS4)Silverback73 said:

If you invest the forma and mod right, you can go pretty far with the basics for survivability if your frame is built for survivability with the link.

1.  3 X Link shields, armor, health

2.  Pack Leader for melee regen

Beyond that it's about stealth (Smeeta Loki-cat, Naramon, Stealth frames) modding for heavy damage (Crit stacking Adarza with Max maul/bite combo to start), and CC (Nova's MP, Volt's Discharge, Nyx's Chaos...etc.)

It can be quite effective but requires considerable commitment  when you have 5 or 6 mods that need to be rank 12-15 with multiple forma(s) and 2 specific builds per Kavat and Kubrow Type.

 

No mod will help them to become smarter. Thus they will die a lot anyway.

[Autongnosis]

10 hours ago, ograzzt said:

And how often do you get this Smeeta red crit buff? Smeeta is better for affinity/resouse farming, Adarza is better for battle thanks to constant crit buffs. Sadly this game is about farming, so yeah, Smeeta is more useful overall. Which still don't cancel the fact that +60% buff to crit chance for basically the whole mission is better than random rare red crit madness.

 

9 hours ago, Drufo said:

The fact that the Smeeta has more effects and the crit one is better is balanced by the long cooldown of the ability and the relatively low chance to get the buff that you need in that moment

 

9 hours ago, JohnKable said:

adarza's buff is frequent and rock solid with multiple hit crit weapons like amprex, or critting powers like frost's avalanche.
I say its very good in the spot it is right now. I appreciate both cats, but are totally different. one has an unreliable buff that can be completely unexisting or unrelevant for whole missions, the other has a great buff on raw damage only, that with the right setup can turn into a buff with the utility of allowing you to clean a whole room with few rounds

^ All of this.

In random mission the Smeeta is more useful due to its multipurpose precept.

But if you're any serious about buffing your own crit damage the Adarza is a lot better due to the fact that it's a LOT more reliable.

[Vohim]

would any awesome kind soul gift me a smeeta :v? i shall name it Internet 

 

the utility gap is pretty even between kavats unlike Kubrows  

Edited September 11, 2016 by Retepzednem

[kuchn]

2 hours ago, (PS4)Silverback73 said:

If you invest the forma and mod right........."snip"

have all relevant companion mods maxxed, 7 forma smeeta , 6 forma adarza... my frames, the ones i play, are not less modded to the teeth

 

go mot and watch your maxxed out kavat get oneshot after 5 mins by a shotgun corrupted

adarza or smeeta, when it comes to dying they perform equally well - smeeta has an advantage, which is not really noticeable in the oneshot-world

...carrier dies at 40mins+ in mot (3 forma, maxxed out)...

 

Edited September 11, 2016 by kuchn

[(PSN)Silverback73]

3 hours ago, kuchn said:

have all relevant companion mods maxxed, 7 forma smeeta , 6 forma adarza... my frames, the ones i play, are not less modded to the teeth

 

go mot and watch your maxxed out kavat get oneshot after 5 mins by a shotgun corrupted

adarza or smeeta, when it comes to dying they perform equally well - smeeta has an advantage, which is not really noticeable in the oneshot-world

...carrier dies at 40mins+ in mot (3 forma, maxxed out)...

 

Challenge accepted.  Solo or group?

Edited September 11, 2016 by (PS4)Silverback73

[Racter]

All of them are completely out of balance. Several types of companions are objectively useless. DE does not seem interested in fixing this.

 

4 hours ago, kuchn said:

have all relevant companion mods maxxed, 7 forma smeeta , 6 forma adarza... my frames, the ones i play, are not less modded to the teeth

 

go mot and watch your maxxed out kavat get oneshot after 5 mins by a shotgun corrupted

adarza or smeeta, when it comes to dying they perform equally well - smeeta has an advantage, which is not really noticeable in the oneshot-world

...carrier dies at 40mins+ in mot (3 forma, maxxed out)...

 

This is a bit of an unfair example, the corrupted crewman are bugged right now. I basically lived in endless Void when it was rewarding and they are doing far, far more damage than they should be right now. Not to say that Carrier Prime wont outlive them, generally. I have a hard time using them at all in even mid level content, I rarely run survivability mods on my frames at all so those 3 rank 10 maxed mods do basically nothing for me.

[(XBOX)Twinna25]

Adraza is more reliable with it's effect compared to Smeeta, and can buff Allies too.