Warframe Suggestion: Harpy

[CheeseThief]

Since all the cool kids are doing it, I'll toss my warframe suggestion into the mix.

 

 

Harpy, the bird themed warframe

 

The overall theme of Harpy is speed and evasion, similar to Loki (preferably female, so we can all make wise cracks about her being a real bird) in that the frame emphasises speed above toughness and uses terrain to it's advantage instead of powerful direct damage abilities.

 

The goal of this frame design is something that isn't going to be rated highly on anyone's tier list, but a frame that speed runners adore and everyone else can dance around with like their high on something sinister.

 

Suggested stats:

Health: 75

Armour: 10

Shields 75 or 100

Shield Regen: 40

Sprint Speed: 1.1

Power: 150

 

Low health, low armour, low or average shield capacity but with really quick shield regen and highish sprint speed (loki has 1.25 according to the wiki). Power storage is low/average but powers don't cost much so can be charged with only a couple of orbs.

 

Moves fast, recovers shields and power quickly but overall can't take a hit.

 

Abilities:

 

Power 1: Screech

Cost: 10 power

Instant cast with no or a non-interrupting animation (like catching a glaive)

 

Harpy lets out a disorientating and ear splitting screech that staggers all enemies within 7-10 meters in a 60/130/200/270 degree cone depending on level. Enemies have a 5 second cool down before they can be staggered again (like Kestrel knockdowns), with bosses having 15~ seconds.

 

Overview:

Basically an interrupt and not much else, if you run through a door and see a Grineer heavy about to smack you with a radial blast, then you tap screech and stagger them out of it. You get what you pay for, 10 power worth of crowd control.

 

 

Power 2: Slip Stream

Cost: 20

Duration: 5/10/15/20 seconds

 

Harpy takes advantage of air currents and the technological manipulation there of to significantly enhance her mobility.

 

While active, Slip Stream increases Harpies base speed by 0.25 (bringing her unmodified speed up to 12.5% higher than Loki) and applies the slippy ground buff/debuff(?) (You get it in one of the large, multi-room speed runs in the void, it causes you to slip after sprinting or landing and is rather fun).

 

The increased speed and unpredictable movements also apply a 75-50% (depends on weather 75 or 100 base shields) damage reduction to harpies shields while moving and up to 0.5/1/1.5/2 seconds after stopping.

 

Overview:

A cheap long lasting buff that makes moving fun, the slipping adds a little more zing to the skill and makes it more entertaining than just a flat speed and shield boost. The damage reduction to shields is there so players are encouraged to get out and dance with the enemy despite Harpies overall squishiness.

 

This ability could stay activated until turned off for a reserve cost of 1/3rd of Harpies Maximum power, basically giving her only 100 power reserve at max level but this ability wouldn't need to be constantly recast.

 

 

Power 3: Bomb Dive

Cost: 25 power

 

Harpy utilizes her mobility advantage to come crashing down on her foes from above. The greater the fall the greater the impact effects.

 

If use on the ground Harpy does the Rhino Stomp animation and staggers the enemies around her. Basically an expensive Screech with a long windup animation so it's flat out inferior

 

If harpy jumps into the air and activates Bomb Dive at the apex of the jump then she'll knock most enemies down and do 50/100/175/250~ physical damage in a small area.

 

If harpy wall runs up to the maximum height (without the Slip Stream buff), vaults off and actives Bomb dive at the apex of the back flip then we essentially get the Rhino's radial blast with added ragdoll effects.

 

If harpy leaps off the top of a tall building or cliff and comes crashing down upon some poor sod underneath, then excessive damage and rag-doll effects akin to smacking a corpse with a fully modded Fragor.

 

Overview:

Cost is low because of the situational use and the amount of effort required to get a height advantage in normal gameplay. Although you must admit, fleeing up a wall to escape a hoard of infested, only to come crashing back down and flatten the lot sounds like good fun, if not overly effective or efficient compared to what other warframes can do.

 

 

Power 4: Hawk Strike

Cost 100 power

 

Harpy launches herself at a single target, grasping their head in her clawed feet and bowling them over. Once they are on the ground she, still gripping their face in her talons, smashes their head into the floor up to three times.

 

Initial impact does 250/500/900/1500 normal damage and each smash does 400/500/750/1000 blunt damage.

 

Overview:

A single target attack used to leap at and utterly murder something, be it a boss or a high level heavy. The ability will act with multiple segments, somewhat like Saryn's Miasma, if the target is killed on the initial impact then their head pops when it hits the ground and Harpy ends the animation, if they aren't killed on impact then Harpy does the stomping attacks until they are dead or a maximum of 3 stomps is reached. High level Continuity mods would allow for a 4th stomp.

 

Harpy is immune to CC effects while hawk strike is active but is still susceptible to damage, so using this ability on a Toxic Ancient or on a Heavy in the middle of a Grinner pack is a sure way to waste a revive. She does count as moving for the slip stream shield buffs though.

 

 

 

How these skills synergise?

 

Slip Stream is the bread and butter ability of this frame, Harpy moves faster and her shields become significantly tougher while doing so. The slippery ground buff is there so the ability isn't just a raw stat boost, and personally I think it's really fun to go sliding all over the place, and more fun to do it at speed which is the basis of this warframe suggestion.

 

Because harpy is sliding and dancing all over the place then she is going to end up in melee range and generally trigger every CC ability a mob has, which is where screech comes in. If a grineer heavy is going to do a radial blast, a shockwave Moa is charging up, a boss is getting ready to do whatever melee ability they have, then screech and by the time they have recovered from the quick stagger Harpy should be well out of range.

 

Bomb dive is the 'fun yet situational' skill, you jump off something, pay power, and get hilarious results. Cheap yet reasonably powerful when used under the effects of Slip Stream and in a large room, the ability is generally for laughs and to randomly get the warframe running up walls or leaping off tall things when there is really no need to do so.

 

Hawk Strike is the number 4 ability, you push it and something dies. The leap keeps with the mobility theme, and to a single target it's slightly more energy efficient than an Ash frame standing at point blank and throwing 100 power worth of level 3 Shurikens.

 

 

The looks

 

The image I have in my head is basically what you get if you dip into Warhammer 40k, and cross breed a Chaos Raptor with a Howling Banshee.

 

Taloned feet, screeching or snarling beaked face mask with flamboyantly styled yet dull coloured feathered crest in place of hair. Overall a sender torso and arms but with a shawl over the shoulders made out of bio-metallic blade looking feathers to give overall bulk to the upper frame.

 

Heavy set legs that are used for lots of running and smashing faces into the ground, preferably something like the Ember warframe with a puffy duelling pants theme that 'engulf' pistols rather than Saryns hip shawl that pistols sit on top of.

 

Also possibly some feathered 'boot protectors' to give some ankle bulk, so it doesn't look so much like they lopped the frames wearers feat off and replaced them with robotic claws.

 

Overall colour theme could possibly be overall mottled browns and greys with a hint of Grakata yellow and Ignis red thrown in for highlights and energy colour.

 

 

Favourite Weapons

 

Since apparently Banshee likes Bows, Saryn likes the braton, etc, and they come in purchasable packs with them, what would Harpies be? My vision for this frame is something that thins out the enemy at range before getting stuck in up close, so;

 

Primary would be a marksmen rifle like the Latron, a rifle sized Kraken, or even an enhanced version of the MK1-Braton. Slow firing, accurate and with good damage, but the highish recoil counters out any of the weapons accuracy if you hold the trigger down. Something good at range but nothing special up close, but not a sniper rifle.

 

Harpies favoured secondary weapon would be Kunai with a themed custom skin. The custom Kunai skin would be bicep mounted fan of feather shaped blades, so it essentially looks like Harpy is ripping out her own feathers to throw at the enemy.

-10% fight speed, +20% exploit damage. Harder to use at range than normal Kunai but hurts more when you bean something in the head with them, also a theme, Harpy hates faces.

 

For the melee weapon, aesthetically I'm thinking of something similar to the dark sword, only with the blade a third as thick and with extra twirly animations like a scythe. A heavy rapier essentially with dark sword/dagger hilt, blade effects and colours, with super flashy and flamboyant animations to emphasise the 'dancing with enemies' aspect.

25 slashing damage, 1.5 rate, multi-hit,  1.1 sec charge, 75 charge damage. Stagger on charged attack but not normal attacks..

 

 

 

 

And now that is done I am going to go do something constructive with what's left of my day.

Edited June 28, 2013 by CheeseThief

[Valfunde]

I can't wait for the pig warframe

[Ced23Ric]

Moving to FanZone.