U9 Thru The Eyes Of A Beginner (1 Week Player)

[herpderpsherbert]

My friend and I discovered Warframe very recently, and we both found the grind and farm very fun, in a Diablo/Borderlands sort of way. We appreciated that "free play" essentially meant a tougher experience, with the only benefit to paying being a shortcut, which seemed to kill the purpose of playing the game.

 

Now, we got on the game last night after U9 had released, ready to begin farming Saturn and Jackal (he wants Rhino, I need resources). We noticed the BP drop on Vor for a new scoped pistol and both decided to try to get it to drop and quickly hopped in a coop private match (we avoid public que's because the speed runs and #4 spammers make the game less enjoyable for us). We promptly got destroyed by Vor, and noticed his level had changed drastically.

 

I was frustrated immenselly, and began to search thru the systems and market to see the changes. Noticing that Saturn was now much higher than before, I knew the game was done for us. We had fought hard thru Earth to unlock Saturn, we had been looking forward to farming Saturn as it was important for Orokin Cells as noted in the Wiki, and now it had suddenly been pushed out of our reach. Taking a clue from Vor's changes, we could only imagine that Jackal and the Saturn boss (name?) would be greatly improved beyond our abilties now. Suddenly, we were looking at the reality of a much longer grind, longer farm times, and the unpalatable requirement of a public que, just to clear these boss levels thanks to our pathetic rank.

 

The game has been effectively ruined for us both, the nature of drops being scattered around the system, and overall bump in difficulty of even entry level bosses has pushed everything we had been working toward that much further from us. Each of us have managed to log over 60 hours on Warframe thru steam in the one week we had been playing, and now I can only imagine how much farther away our next frame will be.

 

I honestly had been considering spending some money on this game, only waiting to see what U9 might bring. I planned to buy a color pallet, some more slots, and even a weapon or two I didnt care to farm; leaving the frames to be farmed as a goal. My plan to spend money was because I was enjoying myself very much, and the entire grind of the game had never felt opressive, and the entire free to play market had never felt abused. I wanted to buy something to support the devs, because they hadn't been too greedy or oppresive in their cash shop implementation. Now it seems like the devs have decided to push all of that out of our reach, and the cash shop feels much more forced. My frustration is palpaple and at this point, and I will not spend a dime on this game. I'm tempted to stay around for a while longer, in the hope that the devs wise up a little, and lighten up, but I fear the change is irreversable in their minds.

 

They've rolled the die, it only remains to be seen if the playerbase accepts or rejects this new version of Warframe.

[Cpl_Facehugger]

We promptly got destroyed by Vor, and noticed his level had changed drastically.

This might have been a bug. For me Vor didn't go higher than level 26. Which is a lot for the starter boss, but it's not insurmountable.

[Lalaith]

As I have said to many others: This is currently a beta. By participating, you become a tester. To give feedback to the developers and thereby aiding them in improving the game. The changes are not irreversable. Once the devs see how horrified (and rude) the majority of the community is because of these changes, they will improve upon them. Maybe reverse them. As I said, this is a beta, not a finished product. Nothing is set in stone just yet. Just have patience.

 

Edit: The immense level boost of Vor was patched today, so that might be the reason your experience differs Facehugger.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Lalaith

[Tempera]

This might have been a bug. For me Vor didn't go higher than level 26. Which is a lot for the starter boss, but it's not insurmountable.

It had been a bug; players were encountering Vor at levels as high as 120, and levels around 70 were very common.

 

They fixed it in the hotfix soon after, Now, Vor appears to be scaled towards your highest level piece of equipment.

[Aure7]

I am pretty sure a ton of fixes are coming our way, just have a little more patience

[Finch.]

Vor was a glitch. As for the rest, yes the levels increase BUT the are still perfectly playable. On my brothers account, he only has level 11 warframe and weapons. I was able to solo missions in Venus... I have been playing for awhile but with two of you, you should be able to do it.

 

One very important thing, always go for weakpoints, especially at your lowlevels. Also if you haven't make sure you have an optimal mod setup. A level 30 unpotataoed braton can still rip through up to level 25 or so without any trouble.

[Hybridon]

Vor was a glitch. As for the rest, yes the levels increase BUT the are still perfectly playable. On my brothers account, he only has level 11 warframe and weapons. I was able to solo missions in Venus... I have been playing for awhile but with two of you, you should be able to do it.

 

One very important thing, always go for weakpoints, especially at your lowlevels. Also if you haven't make sure you have an optimal mod setup. A level 30 unpotataoed braton can still rip through up to level 25 or so without any trouble.

 

How will he go to Neptune for control modules at level 45, with unpotatoed stuff? And with the lack of high fused rare mods?

 

The first 3 planets are ok for new players, the problem is the increase on levels needed to get mats for new weapons and frames.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Hybridon

[herpderpsherbert]

We both have potatoed level 30 frames. We played A LOT in our one week. We were not pushovers, but these changes have pushed the mid ranged content out of our reach. It's easy to tell a newbie to "hang in there" or "changes are coming" when you've spent money or already have several maxxed frames and items. The purpose of this thread is to highlight how the game looks to a new-ish player and his friend. It is impossible to realize, or sympathize about, the vast changes at the lower and mid levels for new players when you can #4 your way thru 90% of the content.

 

I'm just glad I waited to see U9 before spending money on this game; saved myself a lot of rage.

 

How will he go to Neptune for control modules at level 45, with unpotatoed stuff? And with the lack of high fused rare mods?

 

The first 3 planets are ok for new players, the problem is the increase on levels needed to get mats for new weapons and frames.

 

Thanks, thats exactly my point. Vor aside, we had just finished Earth and were beginning to get into areas which would allow us access to actual content beyond the newbie stuff. Now, all of this has been pushed out of our reach. Its painfully obvious to me that the devs simply did not like the old progression rate, and felt they could push player into the cash shop by slowing down the grind.

 

I mean, cmon, 60+ hours each in barely a week of play. And we cant even begin to work into the mid level stuff now...

Edited July 13, 2013 by herpderpsherbert

[Lalaith]

I would recommend you retire from both game and forums for a while instead of continuing to post here in such a fashion. You seem far too aggravated with this issue to give a completely objective opinion on the state of affairs, as hinted to by your aggression toward people just for saying to have patience. Just take a break and come back in a week or so. Hopefully then, both the game and your mood will have improved substantially.

[herpderpsherbert]

I would recommend you retire from both game and forums for a while instead of continuing to post here in such a fashion. You seem far too aggravated with this issue to give a completely objective opinion on the state of affairs, as hinted to by your aggression toward people just for saying to have patience. Just take a break and come back in a week or so. Hopefully then, both the game and your mood will have improved substantially.

 

I would recomment you retire from this thread for a while instead of continuing to post here in such a fashion. You seem far too sensitive about this game to read about things that go contrary to your opinion, as hinted by your aggression toward people saying the change was too harsh on newbies. Just take a break and come back to the thread in a week or so. Hopefully then, both the topic and your mood will have improved substantially.

[Lalaith]

I apologize should my tone have come across as rude and/or insulting. It was not my intention to aggravate anyone. I was simply observing that you seem too upset to partake in a discussion and might want to calm down. Once more, my apologies should you feel insulted by my statements.

[neKroMancer]

We both have potatoed level 30 frames. We played A LOT in our one week. We were not pushovers, but these changes have pushed the mid ranged content out of our reach. It's easy to tell a newbie to "hang in there" or "changes are coming" when you've spent money or already have several maxxed frames and items. The purpose of this thread is to highlight how the game looks to a new-ish player and his friend. It is impossible to realize, or sympathize about, the vast changes at the lower and mid levels for new players when you can #4 your way thru 90% of the content.

 

I'm just glad I waited to see U9 before spending money on this game; saved myself a lot of rage.

 

 

Thanks, thats exactly my point. Vor aside, we had just finished Earth and were beginning to get into areas which would allow us access to actual content beyond the newbie stuff. Now, all of this has been pushed out of our reach. Its painfully obvious to me that the devs simply did not like the old progression rate, and felt they could push player into the cash shop by slowing down the grind.

 

I mean, cmon, 60+ hours each in barely a week of play. And we cant even begin to work into the mid level stuff now...

 

Err.... no offense. I have been playing 30-40 level map with unpotatoed, no vitality, no redirection Ash and Loki. Not that big deal if you know what you're doing. Got 6 control modules from Europa in one mission with this setup. I have to admit that I died once in a while from bad situation that is a result of my poor judgement but that's player's mistake and I can live with that. 

 

Change in difficulty is a good change, imo. I see nothing wrong with mooks hitting harder while having relatively same durability compared to U8. I think the real problem is lack of learning curve in pre-U9 gameplay and considerably steeper curve in U9. However, the game got to get harder somehow and players have to keep learning new tricks to deal with it. Static gameplay is going to kill the game for me and U9 is a good remedy to cure my boredom. 

 

BTW, stop attacking other that disagree with you. That's not helping. 

[Shelter92]

Today  played 2 and a half hours of warframe to test the new update.

The nightmare is challenging,but rewarding you can get a lots of rare material by just a couple of runs and playing smart to avoid death.

Have to say i'm a solo player,Old pc,thankfull can run Warframe 60-45 fps all time (Except when Zergfest of enemies)

I'm currently running in maps where level is usually 30-40 having no problems at all.

My first week was a distaster,until i starting reading guides,and watching videos and found myself getting better at the game.

Hope something help's and apologies for horrible English.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Shelter92

[Cpl_Facehugger]

Edit: The immense level boost of Vor was patched today, so that might be the reason your experience differs Facehugger.

Maybe, but I fought him last night at 2 AM before the patch. :p

Also, it looks like they changed the expected progression around. The way the system connections are arranged is totally different. Mercury is still the starter, but Saturn is above Earth in level now (about where old Sedna was, which is now where old Ceres was, with Ceres being where old Pluto was.)

So there's still progression, it's just in a different order than what we're used to.

Edited July 13, 2013 by Cpl_Facehugger

[herpderpsherbert]

BTW, stop attacking other that disagree with you. That's not helping. 

 

Tell me please, when did I attack anyone? Attempting to derail the topic by accusing me of things I have not done isn't engendering an amiable discussion. As to the general topic and tone, someone in the thread said: "This is currently a beta. By participating, you become a tester. To give feedback to the developers and thereby aiding them in improving the game." I am attempting to give feedback, as my friend and I were on our way toward putting some cash down in support of the devs and their game. This update has changed our minds, and I'm certain they would like to know why. I'm not asking for advice from players who are beyond the content we are trying to do, I'm merely sharing our viewpoint, because, ya know, its a "beta" and I'm sure they want our feedback.

 

The fact that a large number of higher level players are responding to this thread essentially telling me that I am "bad" is not helping the conversation. Every existing high level player has had the luxury of getting where they are before U9, so it is pretty unfair to comment and claim we just need to get better.

[liavalenth]

I completely agree with the OP - increasing difficulty for veteran players is great. However, that was not what happened. What happened was increased difficulty for all players. Yes, after a time the game gets too easy as it was, but making it more difficult for everyone was not the answer.

[Davoodoo92]

For the sake of feeling like new player i tried vor without any mods and sentinel and laughed at 46lvl vor being unable to go through 300 shields on my exca.

Sure im probably more experienced than new players but i doubt that vor will be unbeatable obstacle. Especially that there are always more experienced players who can help.

[RicHSAD]

Jeez, talk about giving up easily. The game is still in heavy development so anything can change and this is something that you have to accept when you decide to play a game that is still in beta. They increased the difficulty because it was necessary. Just go back a planet if the one you are one is now too hard and before long you'll be back where you left off.

Edited July 13, 2013 by RicHSAD

[RazorTip]

Same here, started playing a few days ago, before the U9 patch, and it's considerably harder to grind for materials when mobs just swarm you all the time. The difficulty has gone higher, and for those that just got started it poses a great problem. Yeah, it's a welcome challenge for the senior players, but for us newbies...plus, the fact that you end up playing with a ping of +300 makes the game even harder to grind or play.

The devs better balance things as soon as possible.

 

Just go back a planet if the one you are one is now too hard and before long you'll be back where you left off.

 

 

Rich, telling him to just stick to a low level planet won't help him progress any further, in terms of levels and gear. If anything, it'll be a boring and worser repetitive experience.

Edited July 13, 2013 by RazorTip

[fatpig84]

I used a level 19 Trinity for hunting Raptor in pubs.

My level 18 Snipetron is powerful enough to one hit most thrash mobs and that's good enough.

 

Upon reaching Raptor I just spam bolto with my squadmates and use link in case I need to revive em.

 

It is not super hard.... But it is your mods that matter.

Edited July 13, 2013 by fatpig84

[0Pinger]

Taking a new warframe through a number of missions.  So Mercury/Lares as an example of what they can expect, I ran into 4 Grineer Bombards with a level 6 Ember and in one room that had me quiting the mission as one of the objectives was behind them.  Increase the difficulty ok, but it needs more polish than this.  Someone one day in will get that and think no not going to bother with this game.

 

Slapping 10-20 levels on the enemies from before this update, is not tweaking but plain lazy enemy level spawn range change on a spreadsheet.

 

Going by the update 9 preview, they had too many late nights to see the changes for what they are and pushed on regardless.  Better to put in 9-12 hours good work after a good nights sleep, than over doing it and 15-20 of this quality.

[RicHSAD]

The levels scale smoothly from system to system. Stop being lazy and adapt. The game really isn't hard.

[Winterbraid]

I completely agree with the OP - increasing difficulty for veteran players is great. However, that was not what happened. What happened was increased difficulty for all players. Yes, after a time the game gets too easy as it was, but making it more difficult for everyone was not the answer.

 

Actually, the difficulty got increased ONLY for new players. It didn't get more difficult for veteran players seen as they have no trouble killing level 100+ enemies. For them, the only difference is that farming bosses will take longer.

 

I don't envy anyone who didn't get their most wanted frame before U9.

[Eirshy]

Considering I solo'd Jackal on Vampire Nightmare Mode with a non-maxed frame (though my vipers were very much maxed, and I did use an ammo pack).... Jackal's fine. Lowest my HP dropped was ~43 before mine osprey showed up and allowed me to heal; the boss died shortly after. Seriously, if you're running Jackal he shouldn't almost ever even get to attack because he should be too busy hunched over a damaged leg. Focus fire one of them if you must, but he's basically a sandbag if you do it right :/

 

Vor's level was a bug, he still scales (which is something I'd love for all bosses to do; if you have an effective level 150 banshee with you, she's got the dps on the boss covered, you could literally just sit back and let her work), but not as harshly as he used to. If you went at hit with low-rank frames/gears he wouldn't have been as obscenely high.

 

To farming drops and the levels there, they re-arranged the entire solar system, and the wiki hasn't caught up. Raptor drops control mods, and is lower level than Hyena. Oro cells aren't something you really need to farm till later, and even then, *every single boss* has a chance to drop oro cells as a secondary drop. Go Golem-hunting for Neural sensors, when you hit 10 I can all but guarantee you'll have 5 or more oro cells too (unless they did fix the neural sensors drop rate from him).

 

 

 

As to the difficulty for a new player...

It's almost as if they want you to invite your friends and get them to play, too, so you have a 4 man team :/

Either that, or you have to actually use mods earlier on. And/or use elemental weaknesses to your advantage.

Edited July 13, 2013 by TheBlueJelly

[Penguinatorr]

From reading the post and everyone replies I see these issues come up:

 

1. Vor's difficulty

2. Speed runners on lower levels

3. Encouraging Buying Platinum

4. Time it takes to farm

 

 

 

Now I'll address each one with my personal feedback:

1. I agree that Vor was way too difficult, especially that he's the first boss, but playing again today they fixed it.

2. I agree, this is really annoying and makes the game boring. They should put some sort of limitation that doesn't let players that are too buff to play online on lower level maps. That is, they can still play in private and solo with their friends. They can also simply use weaker gear then they can play online again.
3. Balancing paying users and free users will take a while to get right given that this is beta. You'll just have to bear with it for a while. Right now I think it's pretty balanced, because what they're selling for Platinum is simply upgrading your gear faster. The ideal implementation is only selling Convenience as opposed to selling Power. Also almost everything sold should be obtainable for free, it just takes longer.
4. The time it takes to farm for things will take a while to get right as well, because that's closely tied with buying Platinum. As long as the farming doesn't get too tedious it should be fine.