New player. Really enjoying the game. But I won't be the first to call BS on this component.

[(PSN)Black-Cat-Jinx]

OKAY. Phobos. Thanks. Noted.



Okay. I get it. You want people to buy stuff. That's how you pay for all the wonderful content you've provided over many years. I get it. I approve of it. Thank you for giving this game free to play to so many people...

I respect that.

I'm not sure I respect this.

To build... Really a startlingly large number of items in this game, you need a specific component. One that's hard to find. Fine! I agree with that. I'm fine with that. I'm cool with that. Don't want it to be too easy to craft things. Gotcha. This is how you make your money.

The only reliable source of that item is towards the very end of the game. Gotcha. You want to kinda... Nudge people to buy things instead of build them at first, especially the things they'll want most in the end game, don't want them to get hold of all the best toys too early that would be boring.......  Maybe just leave enough here and there so that the people who aren't buying will keep interested right? Sure...

Most of the items which require this rare element..require two of them... So just having one drop from like a special event won't be enough, you have to keep hunting for the second. Sure. Okay... Fair's fair right? Don't want people getting lucky once, they have to manage to get lucky a second time. After all they can just hold onto it in their inventory, another one's bound to drop eventua-

It decays. So if you do find another one, it's probably too late...... But that's okay, I mean, it's bound to atleast last a week right? Anyone who plays every day for a week is bound to find anoth-

You don't get a week. Oh. Okay. Well.. I mean, there's bound to be rare times it drops from two alerts in the same 24 hour period right? You might get lucky right?

It lasts less then 12 hours. Oh. Okay. Uh. What the heck? So. The game drops one. Then drops another 12 hours later, both of them for a tightly limited time, and 12 hours isn't even long enough for the item to not decay away out of your inventory?

Look. I started playing this game to get away from a game that was going to bait and switch you at every turn. Come on now.

I of course refer to the Argon Crystal. I crawled out of bed early today because an argon crystal was available on Venus... Logged into remote play 400 miles from home to score it for the gun blade I've been sitting on for ever.... Oh. It takes two... Oh wow everything looks like it does... Oh well... Then 12 hours later another one drops.. As I work sixteen hour shifts, I actually logged in for 15 minutes /from work/ to score it... "I shouldn't have done that but sweet, I can finally make my..... Oh what the hell?!"

Wake up early to get one, do something I shouldn't have to get the other. And now I feel like your game is laughing at me. If there had only been one, I would have been fine with that. There would have never been a question. Putting two 12 hours apart just feels like a tease to new players who haven't figured out all the physics yet. 

I really don't see how people are cool with that.

Now. I'm not asking you to change it. Clearly people have lived with it long enough, so as a new player, I too must cut my teeth and work through what others have already been through. That is only right... But the least you could do is not drop two in a low level zone twelve hours apart. That's like giving a raccoon cotton candy. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by (PS4)Echo_X

[NovusNova]

Argon Crystals also drop from enemies and from argon resource points in the void.

They aren't an alert only resource like nitain, which has alerts 4 times a day (which technically you can farm from sabotage caches but a lot of people don't feel doing that is worth it as they feel the drop rate is too low). 

[MillbrookWest]

8 minutes ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

I really don't see how people are cool with that.

Probably because you can get like 1-3 in 5 mins from the void... or lua.

[Nerokius_]

Just go to the defense mission in the void, guaranteed argon crystals and I never left there without at least 2 of them

[RayxAyanami]

Wall Of Text. Condense please. 
 
It is literally the only resource in the game which decays, and if you bothered to read the lore, you'd know why.

Wiki - Void based radioactive resource that decays every day it is out of the Void.

http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Argon_Crystal

You either have really bad luck or haven't bothered looking for them enough. I easily get 2-4 Crystals In 1 - 2 runs of a low level void capture, Which really takes 10-15minutes Maximum.

 

 

[Snorvyn]

what are you talking about my friend? Argon cristals are pretty common drop. Yes ONLY in void but you are guaranteed to get 1 per run. They can drop from containers i believe and for sure from enemies. and there is Always 1 big argon cristal drop that you can break and get 1-2 from it. its just hidden most of the time... 
Getting a few in half-one hour isnt problem at all. You can sometimes get like 5 per run or more...

[(PSN)Voidkraken]

People are fine with it because once you unlock access to the Void (Phobos is the earliest planet for it), you can find anything from 0 to 8 Argon crystals in even the lowest level Void mission, taking a few minutes (longer if you scour every corner, but not much longer). The Alert argon crystals are singular and largely irrelevant I'm afraid (sorry!), and not a useful way to gather them.

Argon crystals are the ONLY decaying resource, and decay like this:

• Once you collect one, the decay timer starts
• The first reset which is at least 24 hours after the timer stars, your current Argon crystal inventory is halved, rounded down to a minimum of zero

However, DO prioritise Nitain Extract alerts, this only drops from alerts (there's a 0.2% chance of it showing up if you collect all caches in some missions, so basically zero), and while most cases only need 1-2, one frame needs 20 (Vauban Prime) if you ever choose to go for that.

Edited January 22, 2018 by (PS4)Voidkraken
Fixed a typo, Corrected the earliest planet you can access the Void from

[Snorvyn]

2 minutes ago, (PS4)Voidkraken said:

Ceres is the earliest planet for it, if I recall correctly

Phobos my friend 

[(PSN)Black-Cat-Jinx]

1 minute ago, NovusNova said:

Argon Crystals also drop from enemies and from argon resource points in the void.

They aren't an alert only resource like nitain, which has alerts 4 times a day (which technically you can farm from sabotage caches but a lot of people don't feel doing that is worth it as they feel the drop rate is too low). 

Yes. I am aware that Argon Crystal's are common end game drops. How ever putting them singularly in early game drops just seems like a tease don't you think? "Here's something you need to make about half of the items in the game as a reward for this alert. Oh and you need two of them and they evaporate in twelve hours lol so good luck doing anything with it".

Suppose I could get someone to taxi me to the the void or something but I don't really want to wreck the whole game just to get some gear.  Oh well, there's plenty enough gear I can make with plastids and nanospores so that's something to start with.

[NekroArts]

Like the others have said, you can easily get Argon Crystals in the Void. Since you're new, I recommend you work your way through Earth to Mars to Phobos to the Void. This is the earliest and easiest way to get to the Void. Once you have access to it, you won't have to worry about the decay as bad as you are now.

[(PSN)Voidkraken]

1 minute ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

Suppose I could get someone to taxi me to the the void or something but I don't really want to wreck the whole game just to get some gear.  Oh well, there's plenty enough gear I can make with plastids and nanospores so that's something to start with.

Phobos is far from "endgame", and the earliest Void mission that comes from the Phobos link is an Exterminate, easy to run reasonably quickly. I used to use it to run for Argon Crystals for it's sheer simplicity, later Void missions don't drop any more or less than this one really.

[Snorvyn]

1 minute ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

Argon Crystal's are common end game drops.

thats where you are wrong friend. They arent endgame drops. You can access void right from phobos which is quite early into the game. or someone can taxi you if you want to go sooner. and you need basically 10-20 mins to get 2 if you are that unlucky with finding them. i might get like 10 in that span sometimes... 

[Dhrekr]

1 minute ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

I am aware that Argon Crystal's are common end game drops

It's hardly endgame. Void missions start with enemies at level 10, which means basically anyone can do them, even players who have just started.

2 minutes ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

Suppose I could get someone to taxi me to the the void or something but I don't really want to wreck the whole game just to get some gear.  Oh well, there's plenty enough gear I can make with plastids and nanospores so that's something to start with.

Wreck the whole game? You're hardly doing that by asking for someone to taxi you to a mission with enemies of level 10-15. You are going to be able to access those missions really soon on your own anyway.

 

And you're not the first player to waste an Argon Crystal. After a while, I barely notice that I have acquired them. One day I think I got around 40 in my inventory. Couldn't craft a single thing with them as I had already build everything. All lost. Emotionally that didn't even register.

[Mepheri]

4 minutes ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

Yes. I am aware that Argon Crystal's are common end game drops. How ever putting them singularly in early game drops just seems like a tease don't you think? "Here's something you need to make about half of the items in the game as a reward for this alert. Oh and you need two of them and they evaporate in twelve hours lol so good luck doing anything with it".

Suppose I could get someone to taxi me to the the void or something but I don't really want to wreck the whole game just to get some gear.  Oh well, there's plenty enough gear I can make with plastids and nanospores so that's something to start with.

you get access to the void fairly early on, not even halfway into the starchart, and the end of the starchart isnt even being considered close to endgame since the enemies on sedna are like level 40 or something, while sortie 3 enemies are level 90+

you can get to the void as a new player after several days of playing the game, less than a week.

[Whooohooo]

im cool with wiki or atleast im cool with asking newb question in region...

and teshub is ezz place to farm ... it like many dude go there to farm argon

you can just join there and ask "argon farm?"

[(PSN)Black-Cat-Jinx]

OKAY. Phobos. Thanks. Noted.

 

I appreciate the help from everyone.

[AlphaPHENIX]

Ok, let's just calm down.

il y a 11 minutes, (PS4)Echo_X a dit :

Yes. I am aware that Argon Crystal's are common end game drops.

Borderline mid-game to be honest. Sorties are supposed to be end-game, but by the time you get to them even they will seem not so difficult (given that you didn't rush through the star chart)

Also the one thing that's both great and not so great about this game is how much reliance a new player needs to have on veterans. Just ask around a bit, preferably in a nice mood, and everything should be fine.

Edited January 22, 2018 by AlphaPHENIX

[(PSN)Black-Cat-Jinx]

 

5 minutes ago, AlphaPHENIX said:

Ok, let's just calm down.

Borderline mid-game to be honest. Sorties are supposed to be end-game, but by the time you get to them even they will seem not so difficult (given that you didn't rush through the star chart)

Also the one thing that's both great and not so great about this game is how much reliance a new player needs to have on veterans. Just ask around a bit, preferably in a nice mood, and everything should be fine.

Yeah I forked out some platinum and bought Ember and an Atterax when I officially couldn't deal with Desityn anymore. I'm really regretting it now because it's only fun for so long to run around like a toddler flailing a yoyo in a china shop. Having a win button is good and well but I mean really............... I guess things will change when I get to the stuff that's like fifty and sixty levels above me. Until then I can literally set off WOF and just go out and have a smoke x.x Having a win button is only nice until it stops working.

[--RV--Dark]

[Xaero]

Argon is the only thing you won't be able to stockpile here. So whatever you are farming for, put this resource in the end of the list. It's easy to obtain and is never required in high numbers. Access to the Void is given pretty early. Lastly, Argon Crystal doesn't decay in 12 hours.

Each Argon Crystal in a Tenno's inventory is either stable or decaying at any given time; beyond this, the age of a single crystal does not matter. Each day at GMT 00:00, two things happen: first, the quantity of decaying Argon Crystals is cut in half and rounded down; second, all stable Argon Crystals shift to the decaying state. For example:

11 crystals are collected on Day 1. They are all stable.

GMT 00:00 hits, and now all 11 crystals are decaying, but the quantity remains unchanged.

12 crystals are collected on Day 2. The Tenno now has 23 crystals total.

GMT 00:00 hits. The 11 decaying crystals decay to 5, and the 12 additional crystals are now decaying. The Tenno now has 17 crystals.

GMT 00:00 hits again without the attainment of any further crystals. All 17 crystals decay to 8.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Ksaero

[(PSN)Black-Cat-Jinx]

Well I mean you can put it how you want, but I had 1 crystal before midnight that I obtained from an allert at 3pm eastern, and then after midnight I had zero crystal. So what ever the higher math, at midnight that crystal turned back into a pumpkin.

[Xaero]

5 minutes ago, (PS4)Echo_X said:

Well I mean you can put it how you want, but I had 1 crystal before midnight that I obtained from an allert at 3pm eastern, and then after midnight I had zero crystal. So what ever the higher math, at midnight that crystal turned back into a pumpkin.

Must be either a bug or you've spent it on something and forgot about it.

[(PSN)Black-Cat-Jinx]

Bug then. I got the thing, checked it was in my inventory, found I couldn't spend it on anything, and then had to go to work... Oh well, clearly they aren't that hard to get after all. Just kinda annoying to feel baited though.

[aerelm]

The impression I got from your wall-o-text was that you're not looking at progression in Warframe the right way.

As a new player, your first priority should be clearing out the starchart. In Warframe, the Starchart is not a "progression map to endgame", it's just the "early-game structure", i.e. what you need to take care of before even reaching the mid-game. Once you unlock all the planets you'll have access to all the missions, alerts, resources and mods you'd need to start building your arsenal toward something even remotely endgame-viable. Various junctions on later planets also unlock the cinematic quests that add a whole new layer to the lore and also unlock an entire gameplay system separate from what you currently have access to (and unlock those doors at the back of your landing craft).

If you haven't even been through the Phobos branch of Void yet (which is considered early-game btw), you probably also lack any of the mods you'd need to make the Redeemer actually fun to use, so rushing through the arsenal before clearing the starchart will just end up being frustrating rather than fun. That's a mistake I made as well when I was new, and many of my favorite weapons right now are the same ones I immediately dumped after leveling when I was new because I couldn't mod them properly, and so didn't realize how fun they actually were.

Warframe is not a game you can "finish", so there's gonna be new stuff to do as long as you want to stick around. You can put as much time as you want into crafting new weapons after clearing the starchart, so my suggestion is to find a loadout you're more or less happy with, push through the starchart with it, and start experimenting with different guns and frames that require the resources you've passively farmed as you work your way to Sedna. That way you won't end up frustrated when you want to build something but don't have access to the resources, or invest in a weapon that requires certain late-game mods to actually work well, just to turn out you can't get it to work the way you want because you lack those mods.

Also, Wiki is your best friend: Warframe Wikia , the only drops that are actually "hard" to get in this game are a handful of rare mods (which you'll have the means to easily trade for even as a F2P player once you get to that point in your progression, so the game doesn't force you to "Grind or $$$" at all). Other than that, anything you wanna farm - especially regular crafting materials - is quite easy to get if you know where to farm for it. So whenever you feel stuck, just check the Wiki and it'll point you in the right direction.

Good luck.

Edited January 22, 2018 by aerelm

[Dreddeth]

Argon is neither particularly hard to come by (You reach Phobos before the "wake up call" to new players that is Saturn), nor is it particularly essential for building weapons good enough to see you through most of the game.

There are 6 Primaries, 6 Secondaries, and 6 Melee weapons that don't require Argon, or Forma, or even too much of a special resource like Fieldrons or Mutagen Masses, aren't a pain in the a$$ to mod for whatever reason, and yet would be perfectly okay IMO basically anywhere on the Star Chart. Most of these are MR 2 or lower, and about half of them are Sortie and/or extended run viable by the time you reach the point of regularly doing that. That's more than enough good-quality weaponry for a new player with a limited number of available slots.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Dreddeth