Archwing missions are a problem

[CptZucchini]

To be perfectly clear, I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the hard work put in by the developers of Warframe. That is, in fact, the reason I am making this post instead of ranting and raving like a child. I believe that this is a fantastic game, and I hope to see it grow even better. But for games to grow in quality, somethings simply must be identified and discussed. Keep in mind, everything in this post are all my opinions and the opinions I've heard from peers in the community. Some of my grievances may be unfounded and based off of a difficulty in perception, but as of now, I whole-heartedly believe that the grievances I state in this post are true and at the very least merit review. Some of the info in this post may be subject to change in the future. Thank you for your time.

As far as feedback goes, I find Archwing missions to be a bit of a drag. Using the Pandora node on Saturn as an example, There are multiple "inconveniences" during the mission (a few of which are present in other Archwing missions as well) that make playing the mission dull at best, and infuriating at worst. The courier ship, which is the target for the mission, has multiple issues by its own right. The ship frequently runs into rocks and other level geometry, permanently becoming stuck in a fashion where the weak spots of the ship are hidden, making the mission impossible to complete. The ship also has a nimble agility that the players Archwing lacks, making aiming for the ships numerous weak spots a chore to reach at best. Pushing off of that, the Archwings themselves lack the agility that Warframe's possess, making freedom of movement and sharp turns difficult.

My final issue with Archwing missions is the progression. In my experience playing, Archwing missions are not necessary to progress through the game's main quest line. That being said, A fair bit of the game's content relies on a resource found in Archwing missions to be accessed. This resource, Tellurium, is rare enough as is, however that wouldn't be a problem if Archwing missions were more engaging and more accessible. As I stated, I find the progression of Archwing missions to be awkward at best. Looking through the star chart, this is a list of Archwing missions taking a straight path from Venus to Earth, to Mars, to Ceres, To Jupiter, and finally to Saturn, with a detour at Phobos.

Venus: Montes: a level 3-8 Archwing exterminate mission

Earth: Erpo: a level 4-9 Archwing interception mission

Mars: Syrtis: a level 8-13 Archwing exterminate mission

Phobos: Kepler: a level 12-14 Archwing rush mission

Ceres: No Archwing mission

Jupiter: Galilea: a level 19-24 Archwing exterminate mission

Saturn: Pandora: a level 21-23 Archwing pursuit mission

Now it is possible for a player to participate in the Archwing mission on the Kepler node on Phobos, but that being said, it is by no means necessary. My main issue with the progression of Archwing missions stems from the Galilea node on Jupiter. Seeing as the highest level Archwing mission prior to Galilea is Kepler, and given the vast level difference, it seems that most players would have a troublesome time participating in the Galilea node. And while grinding for levels is the most logical answer, it doesn't work so great off paper. Assuming a player would want to play the Galilea node solo, they would have to level up their Archwing from the previous highest level on the Kepler node (14) to the Galilea's lowest level (19). While the level difference there does not seem too daunting, the problem arises when considering Kepler's mission type. Rush missions require the player to make their way to an objective on the other side of the map as fast as possible. This would mean the player would have to ignore most if not all of the enemies dotted throughout the level. Upon completing the mission, the player would earn experience for their Archwing as a reward for completing the level, but no experience for defeating enemies, and possibly no experience for the challenge added to each level. This means that the experience earned from Kepler would be comparable to a Syrtis or possibly even Erpo. To avoid the low experience gain from Kepler, a player might go back to farming on Syrtis, however, this also poses a problem. Since Syrtis has such a low-level recommendation (8-13) compared to Galilea's (19-24) the experience gain from farming off of Syrtis would continue to diminish in value thanks to the player's Archwing level. Now the player is posed with a dilemma. Either farm Kepler and risk failing the mission for more XP gain from killing enemies, or farm Syrtis and watch your life ebb away as you run same mission time and time again.

I am perfectly aware that farming is a natural part of Warframe as a game. I am simply bothered by the innate flaws in the missions and the system itself.   

While I entirely respect the dedication and effort put in by the developers of Warframe, I do hope that this topic can be discussed in a civilized manner and hopefully addressed in a proper manner.

Once again, thank you all for your time, and I hope we can discuss this topic further.

[Senketsu_]

TL;DR but from what I did read and a bit of conjecture on my part. I think that Railjack is going to take the place of normal Archwing missions. DE knows Archwing isnt really well implemented right now and that the community pretty much unanimously dosnt like it.

[CptZucchini]

30 minutes ago, Senketsu_ said:

TL;DR but from what I did read and a bit of conjecture on my part. I think that Railjack is going to take the place of normal Archwing missions. DE knows Archwing isnt really well implemented right now and that the community pretty much unanimously dosnt like it.

If that is the case, I am incredibly excited. Thanks for your input