Resource Exchange System

[Zoh_Veldae]

Greetings to all!

Before I even start, i should warn that this kind of issue is only observable from players who have been in the game for quite some time. Newer players will probably not have encountered this type of problem and may not know what is being discussed here. Viewer discretion is advised.

Who here has an absurd amount of Nanospores laying around without any use? Who here is constantly running out of Orokin Cells while building Prime gear? Who here is STILL struggling to complete the Hema weapon research for their clan?

These issues are starting to be ever so common it's not even funny anymore. It used to be a popular joke in the community, now it's just a plain annoyance. 

The issue with grinding in Warframe is already bad but it only gets worse when it's a "selective" type of bad. We all have an almost endless supply of some common resource while we're desperately struggling to acquire a specific type of other resource. And we can't even trade them with each other, so there's little we can ask from other community members beyond just accompanying us to some resource farming missions.

This is where my suggestion comes in: an exchange system where you can trade in a number of some of your resources for another resource of your choosing.

To better introduce this system, I'd like to use our friendly Corpus merchant Darvo as the manager and main NPC to interact with. Mostly because, there's really little else that we visit him for, save for an incredibly rare Darvo deal or for helping Clem. Let's have Darvo be a good merchant and accept our surplus resources in exchange for other resources, as it seems he has quite the stock on his shop. Most of details on this system are still not well defined, due to not having enough balancing for exchange rates, but let's assume that Darvo will have a wanted resource that changes each day. it could be almost anything: Plastids, Circuits, Detonite Ampules, all the stuff we collect from missions. Then each day, he would trade us that resource for a number of other resource of our choosing, depending on the rarity of the wanted resource. One day, he might be looking for Galium and trade us for maybe 1000 of a common resource we choose, or 100 of an uncommon resource, or trade for another rare resource 1 for 1.

Overall, this system would aim to:

• Allow players to make use of stockpiled surplus resources
• Reduce significantly the amount of grinding a player would have to go through to acquire what they want
• Give Darvo a more significant position on a player's daily routine

Of course, this could not be implemented without some balancing and calculating to ensure it isn't abused, like one type of resource "ruling them all". To combat this, I suggest having it randomize the requested resource at least once per day and, perhaps, also randomize the resources offered in exchange, maybe 6-9 different resources that can be exchanged based on their rarity.

For now, this is all I am able to put to words. Any constructive criticism or suggestions to improve this system will be very much appreciated!

Have a good one!

[hellodownthere]

so you want an equivalent exchange... but its so easy to get resources, if this was implemented i would never play excavation cause i dislike farming cryotic we'd farm the easy to farm and then exchange for the "hard to get" don't think DE will add a system like this as it would make people stockpile one resource and then trade it for others 

let's make an example i have well over a million alloy plates from when the void key system was in so let's say that there's a 20-1 exchange for... idk plastids. If i want to have 10k from this exchange system id have to trade 200k alloy plates... now is that a lot ? no alloy plates aren't used that much and when its used it isn't much.  again no... hmm it seems my tiredness is making me lose myself in thought.. devstream soon 1h 15min for me and it starts at 4am too so.. must be why i ramble 

[Zookes]

This is a very sneaky way to empty the stashes of veterans I think.

We say DE implements this, tho they give steep exchange rates such as 10 rares for 1 new rare, 100'000 commons for a rare, and such. This is a thing they would do, yes? Steep, tho not so terrible, many of us have millions of resources never used and farming old resources is not so bad if you have OP gear.

Now the terrible happens a month later. Another Hema appears in the dojo! This new Hema tho requires a new rare resource, so exchange becomes ideal for people having so many spare resources. This will maybe solve the veteran stash crisis tho it will seem not so nice.

[Eirshy]

1 hour ago, Zookes said:

This is a very sneaky way to empty the stashes of veterans I think.

We say DE implements this, tho they give steep exchange rates such as 10 rares for 1 new rare, 100'000 commons for a rare, and such. This is a thing they would do, yes? Steep, tho not so terrible, many of us have millions of resources never used and farming old resources is not so bad if you have OP gear.

Now the terrible happens a month later. Another Hema appears in the dojo! This new Hema tho requires a new rare resource, so exchange becomes ideal for people having so many spare resources. This will maybe solve the veteran stash crisis tho it will seem not so nice.

Fug, I'd be okay with this even if it was predatory conversion rates.

Finally get the Hema _{^{(I HAVE SO MANY DETONITE SAMPLES)}} and be able to do something with the gigantic pile of basically every rare resource that isn't Orokin Cells.

Do it at something like 2, 5, 10, 100, 1000 to 1, starting at the 10, and shifting based on the resource's rarity. Obviously ban Nitain from it since that'd defeat the point of Nitain.

Would only get 10k poly bundles for 1m of my nano spores. While the rates would be kinda ass, it's better than the literally-nothing I can do with the nearly-3m nano spores I have. And don't get me started on control modules. Oh man, I could probably build an entire Razorback Armada myself with how many friggin' control modules I have.

... I still remember back when we specifically had to go hunting Hyenas for control modules. God how the times have changed.

Edited April 13, 2018 by TheBlueJelly

[peterc3]

This effectively removes any kind of reason for the different resources.

[Eirshy]

6 minutes ago, peterc3 said:

This effectively removes any kind of reason for the different resources.

Not if the exchange rates are predatory. As per the rates I suggested.... 1m nano spores would only net you 10k poly bundles. Circuits to Poly would be a little less bad- getting 1k per 10k- but still pretty garbage. Rare resources, it's literally just the unfathomable stockpiles of Fieldron Samples and Detonite Injector Fragments that everyone has that would cause a huge flux at the start. Once that "wears off" it'd be back to normal as, unless some specific grind overstocks you absurdly on one resource, you'd avoid the conversion system.

[peterc3]

4 minutes ago, TheBlueJelly said:

Not if the exchange rates are predatory. As per the rates I suggested.... 1m nano spores would only net you 10k poly bundles. Circuits to Poly would be a little less bad- getting 1k per 10k- but still pretty garbage. Rare resources, it's literally just the unfathomable stockpiles of Fieldron Samples and Detonite Injector Fragments that everyone has that would cause a huge flux at the start. Once that "wears off" it'd be back to normal as, unless some specific grind overstocks you absurdly on one resource, you'd avoid the conversion system.

Players find a node which provides an abundance of X resource, which would be exacerbated by Nekros, Hydroid, Ivara, etc. If said resource can be converted, even at a bad rate, to other resources, you've effectively rendered any resource requirements on keys or frame/weapon construction invalid. 1000 Poly Bundles becomes 100000 Rubedo. 2500 Plastids becomes 250000 Rubedo. Every other resource, instead of needing to go to a specific planet or enemy, to get a specific drop, just becomes a need to find any enemy/planet that drops a ton of resources.

[Eirshy]

1 minute ago, peterc3 said:

Players find a node which provides an abundance of X resource, which would be exacerbated by Nekros, Hydroid, Ivara, etc. If said resource can be converted, even at a bad rate, to other resources, you've effectively rendered any resource requirements on keys or frame/weapon construction invalid. 1000 Poly Bundles becomes 100000 Rubedo. 2500 Plastids becomes 250000 Rubedo. Every other resource, instead of needing to go to a specific planet or enemy, to get a specific drop, just becomes a need to find any enemy/planet that drops a ton of resources.

You... you do realize that it's absurdly faster to farm 1k poly or 2.5k plastids than 100k/250k rubedo, right?

[Zoh_Veldae]

2 hours ago, hellodownthere said:

so you want an equivalent exchange... but its so easy to get resources, if this was implemented i would never play excavation cause i dislike farming cryotic we'd farm the easy to farm and then exchange for the "hard to get" don't think DE will add a system like this as it would make people stockpile one resource and then trade it for others 

let's make an example i have well over a million alloy plates from when the void key system was in so let's say that there's a 20-1 exchange for... idk plastids. If i want to have 10k from this exchange system id have to trade 200k alloy plates... now is that a lot ? no alloy plates aren't used that much and when its used it isn't much.  again no... hmm it seems my tiredness is making me lose myself in thought.. devstream soon 1h 15min for me and it starts at 4am too so.. must be why i ramble 

Well, I mentioned we could have the resources requested/offered randomize each day, so there wouldn't be only one "good resource" to use to get everything else and to add some variety.

Also yeah, probably the lack of sleep, some rest wouldn't be bad.

[vitz3]

I like this, it makes use of resources that would otherwise go unused and just increase the mass of your orbiter.

I'd be more for the idea of using blueprints to construct or convert some common resources to a grade up in a fashion.