[Warframe Concept] Vanguard, The Noble Charger

[MonsieurBubbles]

( Author's Note: This concept was originally thought of and written up, by and large, over the course of four to six hours on June Seventh (06/07/13).It has been worked on frequently since. Here's hoping I've tidied things up enough...Also this is somewhat of a long read.)

I'm an up close and personal kind of guy. I prefer being a character who can take the hits for the team and keep the enemy distracted, which is why I am partial to using Rhino.

While characters like Nova are all well and good, I can't help but feel that we need some more close combat characters (though all characters can perform well in close combat, some are clearly geared towards it.) that fill in the gap between tankier close combat characters like Rhino (or Frost, if you use him that way) and faster scrappers like Excaliber or Ash.

And so I began to think. And Think. Then I had a bowl of chips, thought some more, had some discussions while Tanking a defense mission and finally (a week or so later): the end result was this:

VANGUARD.

What's in a Name? -

A name can tell you a lot about a piece of equipment, area, or character. Loki was a Norse deity known for Mischief and trickery, something the aptly named Warframe is capable of. Rhino is a slow bulking form that can shrug off hits, and Trinity...well...ummm...A name can tell you a lot about a character, and so what better name could their be to describe a close combat fighter than 'Vanguard'? Someone who is the first to charge into a battle and stay there? Someone who is not a fighter on the front lines but IS the line?

This was the only time I have ever been able to easily come up with a name for something. It just fits.

Combat Role -

Auxillary Tank/Crowd Control/Damage Dealer: Vanguard lacks the active defenses of characters such as Rhino or the reliability of recovery that Trinity has, but his decent passives and the bonuses (and knockdown) he can gain from his abilities lets him take an aggressive role on the front lines. In this regard he can be compared to the classical archtypes of "Berserker", or "Knight" (the later is where his physical design takes heavy inspiration from): Classes that fight on the front lines and do Crowd Control/Damage/Tanking, But of the three he is better at the first two.

His abilities lack the potency of other characters (On their own, Roundhouse and Skyward Kick lack the range and damage of moves like Slash Dash.), but still do solid damage while scattering enemies, further cementing him in the gap between Tank and Damage Dealer.

Description / Flavor Text -

Vanguard

Vanguard sacrifices stealth for durability on the front lines. His willingness to throw himself into the fray is considered reckless by initial onlookers, but the corpses sent flying soon after convince them otherwise.

Basic Statistics -

(Author's Note: For all intents and purposes, the numbers shown in Basic Statistics and Abilities are largely placeholders and meant to generally show what each ability is good at/capable of. Comment on what you think are good numbers and stuff!)

Health: 150 (450 at rank 30)
Shields: 100 (300 at rank 30)
Armor: 100
Power: 100 (150 at rank 30)
Shield Recharge: 22.5
Sprint Speed: .9

Polarities: 4x Scratch , 1x D, 1x Bar

These base stats set him between Rhino and Ash in terms of survivability. He has the same health as Ash, but less shields than rhino, with a happy median of armor between the two. However, his base sprinting speed is just barely above Rhino's, making him the second slowest Warframe.

His default polarities, Defense and Tactics (Bar), give him a nice discount on useful modifications like Focus or Redirection.

Abilities -

(Author's Note: I've noticed most damage abilities rank up as follows: 1/1/1.5/3.3. I've tried to keep this in mind while "calculating" damage.)

(Author's Note: The main bulk of this was written pre-Hotfix 8.3. Why is this important? That was when Rhino Roar was created, making 'Siege' roughly the same thing but with different buffs provided. Please suggest ideas to replace it. C: )

Stallion Kick:
Hotkey 1
Energy Cost: 25
Damage: 100/100/150/500 (deals triple bonus damage to light infested and moa)

Slot Cost: 2/3/4/5

A quick but powerful kick that sends you and your target in opposite directions.

Stallion kick is a simple and cost effective move that performs what Vanguard specializes in: scattering enemies. Vanguard will abruptly turn around and essentially 'mule kick' an enemy in the chest (or any height equivalent body part.). Any light enemy (regardless of shielding) hit by this attack will go flying, whereas heavier units will either be knocked down or unaffected. Regardless of what happens to the enemy, Vanguard will tuck and roll away in the opposite direction with the help of his thrusters (see physical description), staggering enemies in his way and receiving a temporary damage reduction effect (something small but still notable) for six seconds. This move is useful either as an escape method, setting yourself up for a follow up attack on another enemy, or temporarily increasing your survivability thanks to the brief damage reduction effect.

An enemy must be within melee (or one meter) range and roughly in the crosshair for this ability to be used. Can be used while Sprinting or Sliding, but not while wall-running.



Roomsweeper:
Hotkey: 2
Energy Cost: 75
Damage: 60/60/120/225 (Does Triple damage towards Light Infested and Moa.)

Charge distance: 2m

Slot Cost: 6/7/8/9

A powerful sweeping kick that knocks enemies aside.

Roomsweeper is what it says on the tin: Vanguard will charge forward a short distance to gain additional momentum, then perform a sweeping kick which will send enemies in front of him (within a 120 degree and one meter/melee range cone) sprawling backwards. It can be compared to a close range melee version of Banshee's sonic boom, but with a non-upgradeable range and a smaller degree of activation, but more damage and higher knockback.

Unlike Stallion Kick you do not need a target in your crosshairs to activate it, and can be activated at any time save for wall-running.


Siege:
Hotkey: 3
Energy Cost: 25
Duration: 4/4/8/12 Seconds
Speed Bonus: 10%/10%/15%/25%
Range: 8/8/11/14
Slot Cost: 4/5/6/7

Raise your weapon in defiance, attracting your enemies and inspiring your friends.

Upon activation (think of Radial Blind for a visual in terms of animation) allies within range are granted a temporary speed boost to their attack and reload speeds (Melee and firearms respectively), while enemies are attracted to your (stylish) show of defiance. A simple ability, but helps him control crowds while also buffing nearby teammates.

Joust (His Ultimate):
Hotkey: 4
Energy Cost: 100

Damage: 150/150/225/500 (Enemies that can't be knocked back/down receive an additional 50% damage; an additional 50% damage to light infested and MOA)
Damage Multiplier: Damage x times speed increased (1, 2, or 3)

Readying Time: One second
Charge Speed: Speed One (1x sprint speed), Speed Two (1.5x Sprint speed), Speed Three (2x Sprint speed)
AoE Range: Two game meters (Constant per ability level, but can be increased by stretch.)

AoE Damage: None at Speed One, Speed One Damage at speed Two, and Speed Two damage at Speed Three.
Speed Increase time: two-point-five seconds (one second to level two and one-point-five more to level three)
Direct Kill Health Chance: 100%, Drops a fifty health orb.
AoE kill health chance: 1-5%, undecided (not increased per level or by mods)
Slot Cost: 10/11/12/13

Vanguard charges full force into the fray, sending all in his way flying.

Similar to Slash Dash and Rhino Charge, Joust sends Vanguard forward to hit an enemy in front of him. Unlike those abilities, however, Joust features notable differences.

First and foremost, the charge is not instantaneous in its wind-up time: Vanguard crouches and readies his melee weapon (or raises his fists when applicable) then charges forward at sprint speed, gaining speed over time, until a maximum of "2X Sprint speed" is reached (meaning Rush can increase your speed to shocking levels...this may not be a good thing for you to do.). A trail of -energy tint color- light will flow behind you (from the back), with an additional one (one from each shoulder) being added each time you increase in speed, up to three. You can turn Vanguard while he is charging, but with a set turn rate, it becomes difficult to navigate once you have reached your top speed. You are immune to stagger/stun/knockback effects while jousting and take 25% (seems like a sensible number to me...maybe more though) less damage.

Joust features no Area of Effect Damage until you reach speed two, wherein any enemy close to your sides while charging will take 'speed one' damage and be knocked down, while they will take 'speed two' damage and be knocked backwards when you reach 'speed three'. 'Speed Three' damage and knockback force only applies to the target you directly slam into, wherein you'll promptly skid to a halt and go back to your usual stance. If you end up hitting a wall/large object, you will get crash and tumble over and onto your back...dummy. This ability can be canceled early by pressing the melee or block button, just in case you miss your target and need to stop before you collide with a wall/large object. An enemy killed by a direct strike regardless of speed will always drop a Fifty health pickup at your feet...consider these your reward for winning the jousting tournament, Champion. (that and it helps you be an auxillary tank by having a small but semi-reliable means of collecting health.).

Joust deals the same base damage as Slash Dash, rank by rank, but once you double your speed you'll soon exceed its damage by a notable amount. (at levels one and two Slash dash does 150, but a full speed rank one/two joust will do 450, not counting enemy-type multipliers.).

Can only be used while on the ground (wall running would be considered 'in the air').

Pro's and Con's -

Pros:

- An excellent middle ground between Tank and Damage Dealer. Capable of filling both roles well.

- High base health and armor scale well with their respective mod items.

- Vanguard's knockback abilities make him ideal for defense missions or infested missions...or both. At the same time.

- Usage of a heavy/AoE melee weapon further increases his effectiveness against groups. North Wind, baby! Woo!

- Stallion Kick is devastating to single targets and Roomsweeper can send groups of infested flying into their graves.

- Many of his abilities cannot be interrupted by stagger or knockback, helping him stay in the fight.

- Joust does heavy damage to whoever is unlucky enough to be hit by it (and moreso against those who don't get knocked back by him), and can provide you and your team with health pickups.

- Siege helps him control the field of battle and support his team at times where offensively engaging a group of enemies is not viable. (Until I come up with something better to replace Siege with. >_>; )

- Thankfully, Enemies killed and sent flying have their loot drop near where they died rather than be sent flying off to inaccessible places...so no worrying about Trollguard's sending all that loot flying into the sunset, right? C:

- He's based off of a knight, how is that not cool? Who wants to be a space ninja all the time anyways? Knights were also honorable warriors, after all! Chivalry and Justice, hooo!

Cons:

- Somewhat low shields for a 'tank' type character.

- Lacks an active or reliable means of durability or recovery. (Iron Skin ETC)

- Second slowest Warframe, only outrunning Rhino. Makes traversing larger maps tedious.

- Roomsweeper is not affected by Stretch or Reach (Melee Mod).

- Dependance on close range for ability usage and maximum damage makes advancing on toxic or firearm using groups riskier.

 

- Inexperienced Vanguards may have to be babysat if they frequently go charging into big groups they can't handle...we all know how that is.

- Joust has to "wind-Up" For maximum Damage.

- All of his abilities must be activated while on the ground.

- Relatively high energy costs for attack abilities and a relatively low energy pool need to be accounted for.

- Knockback/stagger doesn't work on (most) bosses or (some) heavy enemies, Making direct combat risky.

- Knights? In your space ninja/samurai world!? WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY!?

Concept Art/Appearance -

Sketches be a work in progress, lads! I'm also not a visual artist in any definition of the term so have some (more) words in the meantime! Overall theme/design is mixing that of a knight with a warhorse, essentially turning horse and rider into a single deadly form, so keep that in mind while mentally picturing things and stuff!

(Author's Note: I'll be using some terminology here that basically means 'armor stuff' feel free to look it up for a better visual of what I'm explaining. There will be some links to pictures later to help get your mind's eye going.)

Notable features would, however, include:

- Helmet vaguely resembling a horse's head. Elongated snout. Possibly morph the shape with that of a Great Bascinet or the helmet of the Stechzeug (heavy jousting armor).

- Feathered plumage starting at the back-top of the head and extending partially down the back of the neck, so as not to interfere with alternate helmet shapes.

- Plated pauldrons/shoulder guards, possibly having a horseshoe design implemented into them. Not sure how that'd look, working on it.

- A thick neckguard (similar to a 'Bevor'), with what appears to be a Saddle horn on the back of it. Possibly remove this due to unneeded bulk.

- Metallic chest plate/carapace with the lotus symbol etched large and in the center. On the back would be some lights circling what appears to be a hole emiting exhaust (think: frost's arm ports). There would be similar holes at the back of each knee and at the back of the upper thigh, totaling to five exhaust ports. This would hint at his usage of kicks and charges...so I guess he's like a mix of a horse, knight, and a diesel-chugging mach truck? :U

- Armored gauntlets with four fingers and a thumb. There is also a 'Lance Rest' on the right arm. Huzzah for minor asymmetry!

- Any piece of 'metal' overlaying the typical 'muscle suit' look of the warframes would have a color-able border used by one of the tint slots. Similar to Rhino's color slots, in that regard: Armor Color, Armor Border, 'Skin' color, Other Color, and Light/Effect Color.

- Faulds at the hips,possibly with feathering.

- Thick leg platting or just thick, muscular legs in general...or both. Legs have to help indicate that this guy does a lot of kicking/charging.

- Feet I'm torn between in design: Either following the Knight motif (think metallic greaves) that would be visible in the chest area of the body and arms, or the Horse motif (hooves, cleft or otherwise, adding to the abstract design.) shown in the helmet, neckguard, and pauldrons. Regardless, there would likely be feathers down there as well, resembling the feathering/long hair that some horses have above the hooves.

- Alternate helmet design would likely be more knightly/humanoid than Horse...ly. I'm thinking either an Armet or a Close Helmet...they'd still have the plumage.

- In general, my mind is leaning more towards a gothic plate armor appearance, with the helmet based around that of a horse's head and/or the helmets of later medieval europeans.

- Overall the design must overarchingly conform to the style the other frames have, but the usage of metallic pieces and feathers helps it stand out. I'll get very-rough sketches of body parts up eventually, but I'm afraid the only thing I am artistic with is words.

 

- Helpful Image Links for your imagination (because darn it I can't draw!): Example of Gothic Plate Armor (without Bevor) ,  Stechzeug Jousting Armor (Features a lance rest on right arm. Also note the large helmet...looks like obscure Warframe helmet material to me!) , Nice little 'armor map', featuring Gothic Plate Great Bascinet

Fun Facts / Bad Puns:

- Vanguard was originally a female warframe who's physical appearance was loosely based on a mole / miner (she had a hard hat-esque helmet and clawed hands. That's about as far as I got on the physical concept.) and with a much different 'name' (I'd only referred to her as 'Digger'). She was able to knockdown groups of foes from a distance with hurled rocks/debris (called Rockslide), throw up a wall of stone/debris (called Stonewall) to block attacks that could then be collapsed onto enemies to knock them down, and could also dig (called Tunnel or Bulldoze) to advance on an enemy/enemies in relative safety. Then I figured ripping out chunks of the floor or digging while in a spaceship was not a good idea so I scrapped the concept. The concept of a warframe based around knockdowns would later extend to Vanguard's moves.

- Vanguard was originally called Rook and his moves were named after chess terminology. This did not go too far before the word 'Vanguard' came to mind.

-- Stallion Kick was originally called Skyward Kick, which was originally called Battery. (A chess formation)
-- Roomsweeper was originally called Windmill, based both on the Chess tactic and a bit of a side jab to that famous segment of Don Quixote (one of my favorite pieces of literature). I still kinda like the name.

- Siege was originally an ability called Pavise (Which was originally called Castling or Fortress, I forget. Again: Chess tactic) and was his ultimate. He would immobilize himself (unable to move or attack) while enemies focused on him and allies received the same buffs they do from Siege. I removed Pavise as it didn't fit the idea of an aggressive sub-tank/berserker, but preserved the Team buff and aggro aspects because- well didn't have anything to replace it entirely with... :|

-- The only reason Siege is still on the list (especially with the addition of Rhino Roar) is because I couldn't think of another offensive/fitting ability for the warframe...I should really quit horsing around and get on that.

- Other ideas for abilities replacing Pavise had included:

-- A Combat move that blasted hot exhaust (Fumigate as I called it) onto enemies infront of Vanguard to damage and disorient them. I deemed this move to be both a lesser Ice Wave and a line-based, knockdown-less Roomsweeper. Either way: didn't think about it too much as it didn't fit the concept a character who charged into the fray, sending foes flying.

-- A Tactical move (which I alternated between calling 'Pin' or 'Gambit') that caused Vanguard to warp infront of an ally, taking hits for them. I deemed this move to be useful only for getting around faster, nor did it fit the theme of a non 'magical' fighter.

-- A Buff type move (which I alternated between calling 'Bloodlust' and 'Checkmate') that would, for a time, force vanguard to only use his melee weapon or a special 'skyward kick' attack while drawing enemy aggro and gaining a hefty amount of damage resistance. He would glow -effect tint color- for the duration as an indicator. I deemed this too similar to Iron Skin due to the damage resistance, even though it was just damage resistance and not temporary invulnerability.

--- A variant of the above move, but instead of increased damage resistance allies could shoot Vanguard for 5% their normal damage in order to imbue him with an elemental effect. Characters like Ember could then light Vanguard on fire as he charges into a distant group,or really anyone with an elementally charged ability or weapon. It retained the melee-only restriction, and enemy struck by an imbued vanguard would have that elemental effect detonated on them (so fire would release a fiery explosion on and around the enemy) but I also decided against the idea as...well, people would probably just kill vanguards they didn't like, though I did consider removing the friendly fire entirely but keeping the element effect. This is an ability I really like but can't quite seem to get to work in my mind's eye.

- Joust was originally his basic slot one ability, but I didn't want 'just another slash dash' move. It was also half its current cost, had a max range, and did not provide the health 'reward', but otherwise provided a similar effect. In essence? It was just a sucky version of Rhino Charge, and that was just silly. Knightly charges are supposed to be glorious, and so I worked to make Joust a unique and glorious move!

- "I Need a Hero" kept popping up on my media player as I was writing this. It made the experience pleasant and made me prone to imagining how Vanguard would work...actually I was just daydreaming, but daydreaming is fun sometimes!

- Lances should totally be a new melee weapon. The polearm is cool and all but- come on: Lances. Joust ALL the things!

- As of the postage of this concept to the public eye, I have still not drawn a physical concept worth showing you all, let alone the light of day. I'm not an artist, sorry!

 

- I originally toyed with the concept of Vanguard having his knees at the back of his legs (think the hind legs of a horse or goat) thus giving him the appearance of an armored satyr or minotaur. However, I wasn't sure how that would affect any animations that he shared with other warframes (running ETC) nor would it make sense to work on custom movement animations for him, so that concept was scrapped early on.

 

- I forever will consider Vanguard to be best bros with Ystella's 'Verbatim'. Its a groovy concept.

 

- Did I mention I like knights? :U

[Althix]

Rhino....

[Anvildude]

An idea to replace Siege- Bastion:  For a period of time, Vanguard gains a Damage Resist (not Armour) in exchange for absorbing all the damage dealt to friendlies within a radius.

 

This'd go well with the idea of him being a 'Health Tank'- being able to refill health after absorbing the hits that would kill an ally.

 

Could also call it Shield Wall.

 

 

Like this idea- especially how you took a 'knight' class and made it kicking focused, instead of Sword or Shield or whatnot.