Ancient Disruptors And How I Feel They Should Be Altered.

[KillerPassifist]

Hey DE crew and fellow Tenno agents,

 

I've long taken issue with a certain enemy in Warframe that tends to ruin the experience for myself and every friend I've ever spoken to on the matter. An enemy who takes a huge portion of fun and skill out of a third of the game, as it's a predominant 'heavy' class unit in their ranks.

 

I'm talking about, obviously, the Ancient Disruptor unit. Since its addition to the roster of menacing life-corrupting Infestation, I've had numerous run-ins with them at the worst possible moments. It's not so much the knockdown that ruins things for me, but their 'disruption' ability, hence the name. See, I can usually dodge their strikes, but when random little fellows stagger me when I go in for a melee kill (or a leaper knocks me over when I can't see where he's jumping from), I tend to get a bit irritated when a disruptor just happens to be nearby to sap me of all energy.

 

Herein lies the problem, in my eyes: Half of the Warframes in this game can be counted as "casters". While they may not be magical in the Fantasy theme sense, their abilities keep them from going squish in the midst of an enemy onslaught. Banshee knockback, Vauban bastille, etc. Now, pair their 'caster 'nature with a disruptor, and you've got a recipe for nullifying about half of the Warframes of their true use - and that, dear reader(s), is a terrible thing.

 

Now, I'm not saying that disruptors should have their technique removed, nor should they be made to be less menacing. I'm merely thinking that it should be a drain, not an outright burst. Let's take, for example, my run-in with disruptors earlier this week. I was on a mobile defense and had spent about three full minutes rounding up enough energy orbs to max out my Esprit Vauban's energy at nearly 400. I was feeling pretty happy about it and decided 'Now's a good time to drop that data core in!' However, a disruptor had other ideas. As I ran past what appeared to be an empty side-room, a tentacle arm came flying out and stole all of my energy and shields. This is a horror story many Tenno agents have had happen to them far too often. So much time spent rounding up energy just to have it instantly ripped away without any chance to evade? Heck, sometimes I'll be disrupted without even being hit!

 

Digital Extremes, if you read this, please take this idea into account. To keep spell-focused Warframes able to stand side-by-side with their brethren, I present this thought:

 

New Ancient Disruptor:

- Remove the instant shield and energy burst disruption

- Add a 'drain' mechanic that still punishes those who get hit, but can still be saved!

   - Drains 50 shields per second over 5 seconds, does not damage health

     Base attack damage could be increased to compensate for the lack of a burst on shields

   - Drains 25-40 energy per second (depending on maximum energy pool) over 5 seconds

     This will keep those who invest heavily in their Warframe Power from being completely useless when drained

   - Drained shields make the Disruptor more durable, possibly adding a shield barrier

     A shield on a heavy unit could present more risk in being hit by a disruptor!

   - Drained energy, if it reaches a large amount - perhaps two or three disruptions in a row without being killed -

     could set off a disorienting nova that staggers Tenno for 1-2 seconds

 

In the current build, Disruptors are a hassle and, honestly, tend to die just as easily as their non-heavy Infested allies. With the above changes, they could be a menacing threat, while avoiding the whole "Oh great, I got slapped.. Time to farm energy orbs for another five minutes."

Edited July 18, 2013 by KillerPassifist

[PsychedelicSnake]

I like the Ancients. In my opinion, they just need a texture change and a fix for the lag when they ragdoll.

[gam3addict]

I like this idea. It makes the Disruptor into a threat without being frustrating, as you can still get up and fight back, as well as if you DO get hit he becomes a much larger threat as he now has a shield.

[DAWGUNITALPHA]

50 shields isn't much. I'd say keep their shield breaker attack but instead give them an energy drain aura and remove the awful visual effect if you get hit.

[gam3addict]

The numbers aren't as important, I think, as the ideas. The DoT can scale with enemy level if need be. However, I'm completely against an energy drain aura, as I dislike the health drain aura on Toxics. It just punishes melee unnecessarily against such a fast, tough enemy. If they were changed to not sprint or at least not sprint so quickly, I think it might work.

[K_Shiro]

I like the Ancients. In my opinion, they just need a texture change and a fix for the lag when they ragdoll.

 

That ragdoll-fpsfall is brutal. Since when does that happen? I only noticed it today actually - perhaps because I usually play in online games nowadays.

 

Also the disruptor's ability would be a nice threat but it's incredibly affected by lag - many time I get my energy lost by an already dead disruptor or one that wasn't even hitting me, was too far away, etc. Okay, it's lag, but when noone is in the room and I get my energy wiped out because the game thinks I was hit by one of these... even when there is hardly any noticable lag. I mean doors open properly, loots are alright etc.

 

Since even during a laggy session my shots are connecting as the hit detection seems to work on what I see and not what the server does, it's strange that it's not the same system handling the hits I get from the disruptor... or at least not the same way.

(I can't even say it depends on the what the "host" sees as there are many times in a laggy session that I stand undamaged in a room full of infested and the host sees I'm hit a few thousand times without no effect...)

 

Normally I like challenge but there are many times when I get frustrated by being hit, rolling, etc just to get touched by a disruptor from a mile away taking all my shields and energy. Even the shield ignorant toxic ones are not that annoying - they are purely scary :)

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[BadAimbot]

The Disruptor needs to communicate its effect without hitting you, because you already get punished by being hit (knockdown). It just makes them a less interesting version of other Ancients. We do not need extra disincentive to being hit.

[InsomniacOvrLrd]

I'd prefer if the disruptors were red again. So i could tell which is which, and prioritize threats better.