Account Reset: The Post-Mortem

Man, that took some balls!

Warframe has offered the very useful ability to reset your account, letting you reset to what you started with before doing the tutorial or spending any Platinum.  It's a fantastic option to give players in Beta, and you can read more about it right here.

But I'm looking to briefly touch upon the aftermath of resetting, and why not everyone should do it.  This won't be a long discussion, since it's a fairly simple issue.

Why?

Simply put, to make better choices.  Platinum spending, what to level, how to go about spending your time, and the simple fact that it can be fun to start from scratch.  Getting only your MK1-Braton and Lato helps a lot to make you a better player, as you need to be able to rely on your gunplay over the abilities of your Warframe.

Why Not?

Time.  Investment.  Progression.  Not everyone has the time or desire to re-grind the progress they made before, and many people would feel like a detriment or burden to those they play with while re-leveling and re-acquiring the tools they used previously.

Worth It?

Were it not for the release of Update 8: The Clan Dojo, I would have reset a lot sooner.  But I wanted to invest my resources before I did so, since I had amassed a great deal in a short time of playing.  Looking back on this I can identify that I would have possibly spent a bit of cash to get more Platinum to buy more Weapon and Warframe slots, but I have no regrets having reset.  Even with the new Orokin-sphere missions and large amount of grinding I have ahead of me, I look at it as a challenge to overcome.  Much the same as Forma and the Prestige-like system of re-leveling items will be.

Oh god I'm excited just thinking about it!

Vauban, Rhinoceros, and a Coat of Stars

What Is Perfection?

At the start of the weekend a new frame was released in Warframe.  The Vauban is a tactical frame with very interesting abilities, ranging from a static proximity attack to a black hole.  The frame its self has fairly favorable Polarities, low shields and standard health, a fair amount of armor, and good sprint speed.  As a caster-support frame, it has a good base power to work with.

It is also perfect in the eyes of players.

Perfection in a game such as Warframe is bad.  Single-frame self-sufficiency greatly impacts the balance of other frames and enemies encountered in missions.  No single frame should be able to handle every situation as favorably or more favorably than another frame, and certainly no frame should be mechanically and numerically better than another.  Outside of the line of Prime Warframes.

What is the point of an Ash or a Loki stealthing ahead and dealing favorable damage on targets when a line of Tesla mines can be planted in a choke-point?  Why bother crowd-controlling a group with the Frost's Freeze or the Excalibur's Radial Blind when you can lock them down in Bastille and fire at your leisure?

Don't misinterpret this as a complaint about the Vauban Warframe.  Creative use of a frame should allow the player to do amazing and fun things on their own or in a group setting.  Being able to one-shot threatening foes such as the Stalker with Tesla cheapens the experience though, which helps us identify the original question at the top of the page.  In this case, what is perfection?  Perfection is a lack of challenge.  And Warframe should be all about challenge.

Risk, Reward, and Rhino

The Rhino changes which came in the same patch as the Vauban help to illustrate the issues of Risk vs. Reward and shine a bright spotlight on the problem with challenge in Warframe.  Immunity and invulnerability in a game with such a focus on team-play and movement (remember, this isn't a cover-base shooter!) cheapens the experience.  This is what the Rhino suffered from.

Iron Skin originally granted complete immunity to damage, knock-back abilities, energy-drain abilities, movement-impairing effects, and the cold vacuum of space.  It was an "I Win" button for boss encounters, a hard counter to Toxic and Disruptor Ancients, and one of the few ways to safely hack a Terminal without risk of being moved or interrupted.

Iron Skin was imbalanced.

The Rhino took out any risk in playing Warframe.  Short of a hostage dying or a Mobile Defense overwhelming you with more foes than you can fire on at a single time, a Rhino could do any mission by themselves with almost no risk of failure.  As long as you Iron Skinned early and often, you could withstand any punishment thrown your way.  There was no risk in playing the frame, as none of the disadvantages inherit to the standard gaming definition of a "tank" were applied to the Rhino:

• Slower Speed
• Less Offensive Capability
• Less Utility
• Limited Usage*

*The standard build for a Rhino which undoubtedly lead to the nerf in the first place was to apply Continuity, Flow, and  Streamline.  This negated the issue of limited usage in practice.

None of these things were applied, if you simply built your Rhino like any other frame in Warframe.  A player could cycle between Iron Skin and taking damage through their shields, allowing the Iron Skin to give them time to regenerate to full.

The removal of risk serves to lessen the reward.  In a game with overwhelming challenges and boss encounters which typically require at least another player to safely defeat, the ability to fight something alone and not risk death made for a lessened reward.  There is no sense of accomplishment, and without a sense of accomplishment there is no true reward for your actions beyond a moment of superiority.  To adhere to the theme of the Bushido, there is no Honor in such a system.  And without Honor, players will become bored and move on to another game.

Imba?

Warframe doesn't balance abilities in a vacuum against one-another.  The Frost vs. Rhino debate has gone on since I started playing Warframe, and I suspect will always be something of a hot topic for tanks in the game.  As more Warframes are released, more opportunity for imbalanced play shows up; and no one likes having their own accomplishments cheapened through the use of "imba" mechanics.  So what is the solution?

Digital Extremes is doing a good job thus-far with balance.  But that is in-part because they do not release abilities until they get the chance to play with them, and do not have a problem with new uses for existing abilities.  If a damage coefficient needs to be adjusted or range needs to be toned down they do so, but they don't radically change the way abilities work unless it is absolutely required.

The Rhino could ignore mechanics, and that was a dangerous precedent to set for future abilities.  I welcome the change to Iron Skin, as I welcome the new Vauban Warframe.  I can only hope the Vauban sees a limiting to the effect some of its abilities have on the still-growing "metagame" of Warframe.

And maybe make it so Tesla doesn't attach to players, or multiple Tesla don't fire at once in an area.  Giving a Rhino a shimmering coat of stars that fire death at the Stalker the moment he engages is just silly.

The First Post: The Postening

An Introduction to Space Ninja

Warframe is a fantastic game.  Since playing in the Closed Beta at the start of 2013 I have had an amazing time getting into the setting and world of Warframe.  Running around space installations and on the decks of ships, destroying the space marines, corporate proxies and workers, and going toe-to-toe with the nanobot-infected victims of either; this game has got a lot of action going for it.

And teamwork.  As much fun as I have had playing alone and carving a path through Infected, playing with another person (or more!) has been infinitely more enjoyable.  Setting up combat standards (melee goes left, ranged goes right, shotgun goes for the middle) and sticking to them to flawlessly clear a room or level of hostiles is just great.  The myriad of choices you have in what to bring with you and how to survive combat adds to the depth, and the specific attributes of the various Warframes themselves further enhance a great experience.

But really, what the heck IS this game?

Well, it's a third-person action shooter.  You're a space ninja armed with a rifle, a pistol, a blade, and enough ninja-moves to out-flank foes while feeling like a badass.  You roam the solar system killing dudes, looting their bases for stuff, and killing the Big Bad of each area to gather up the materials needed to make more badass space ninja suits to flip out and kill people with.

There are no cover mechanics, nor any comprehensive stealth system in place (yet!).  There is virtually no instruction on how to progress beyond a comprehensive wiki and a community which is vocal in their favoritism towards certain weapons and character classes.  Clan support is fast approaching for a more group-friendly environment, while various quality-of-life changed are implemented almost constantly as they are finished and tested.  The game is still in beta; there will be bugs.

It's being designed and produced by Digital Extremes, as a free-to-play game with a purchased currency and an earned, in-game currency.  There are no limitations to play time beyond a daily life limit of four revives.  There are no level limitations, nor any restrictions on what a free player can use compared to a paying player.  The worst you will see is buying space for weapons and frames; something we'll go into another time.

Bushido, Tenno, and Lotus

You are a Tenno, awoken from your cryosleep to find a solar system in chaos.

There is no memory of the last time you woke, no friends or family to recall or mourn.  There is simply conflict, and a voice.  The voice of the Lotus, your only consult outside of your fellow Tenno.

Though you are few, you are strong and cunning.  Clad in Warframes inspired by the designs of the original masters of the solar system, the Orokin, you fight from the Mercury-sphere outwards along the Solar Rail Network.  You are the instrument of the Lotus, and she guides you to ensure the Orokin artifacts of the past are not abused for profit or destruction.

You face foes of various skill and threat across the solar system.  They outnumber you and your fellow Tenno millions to one.  The odds aren't good.  Someone should warn them.

The Grineer, a society of soldiers and commanders forcing their law on the solar system, fight without Honor or Respect.  They fight in squads, with bio- and cybernetic-augmented troop-clones bred for the purpose of domination and suppression.  Armed with rapid-fire Grakata rifles, Sicarus burst pistols, Strun shotguns, and heavy weapons, the Grineer use tactics and suppressive fire to eradicate their foes.  Be weary if you hear a female voice in the ranks of male clones; though many are sharpshooters supporting heavier troops, some are Heavy Gunners armed with fierce Gorgon machine-guns that will rip the strongest Tenno to pieces under sustained fire.

The Corpus, a natural evolution of the corporations of the 20th century and the mega-corporations proceeding them, attempt to subvert the legacy of the Orokin with their Dishonesty and Cowardice.  Minions in box-headed space suits and animal-like proxies of alloy plate patrol the corridors of Corpus ships and manufacturing worlds, treating technology they understand little about with an almost mystical attitude.  When not crafting crude imitations of Orokin technological masterpieces in strange religious ceremonies, they seek profit from any stolen tech they can capture or steal.  Even with their basic rifles, Snipetrons, and shock prods, the Corpus' most dangerous weapon are their proxies.  MOA, two-legged robots with gun-mounts and a pack-mentality, will overwhelm even the most fearsome Tenno if given the chance.  Threats from the Corpus are not only ground-bound; Ospreys will support troops with enhanced energy shields, energy mines, and even shield-leeching projectiles.

The Infested, humanoids infected with the Orokin Technocyte Plague, are a hive-mind which lacks Benevolence and Loyalty.  Created by the Orokin long ago, the Technocyte Plague infects any living sentient being with nanobots.  These nanobots proceed to change the structure of the being greatly, causing the inferior genetic template of the Grineer clones to revert to animal-like states while Corpus crewmen turn into shambling zombies of their former selves.  Striking with life-draining toxic clouds, shield- and energy-draining melee attacks, and suicidal explosions of blood and gore, the Infested are the greatest threat to a lone Tenno.  Even the vacuum of space is preferable to infestation.

Wait, Bushido?

There is one universal constant in all of the encounters Tenno will find themselves in; a single fact which must undoubtedly guide your blades and steady your aim no matter the circumstance.  Rectitude.

"To die when to die is right, to strike when to strike is right."

The Bushido teaches dedication in all things undertaken.

The strike of a blade cannot be halted due to indecision or doubt.  Knowing your steel is fit and your strike is true will ensure success.  An action undertaken only to be halted mid-way through is a waste of time and energy; both of which are valuable in battle.

The stroke of a brush ruins the lines of calligraphy if halted due to a change of message or differing intent.  The very symbol for Rectitude (義) is a complex array of strokes, which cannot be changed at a whim to another character without destroying the original intention.  

And so too does a Tenno require the dedication to follow-through with their actions in a righteous, just manner.  This is not simply deciding "A Toxic Ancient is through this door; I will strike it down."  The Tenno must accept the situation and his place, and take a course of action which is true in nature.  "A Toxic Ancient is through this door; I will fire on it from a distance to avoid the taint it gives off, and ensure its deadly remains do not block the doorway for myself and my fellow Tenno."  The Bushido can teach Tenno a great deal about being true to themselves.  They are in effect wandering ronin, serving no lord or master nor any Shinsengumi or Shinchōgumi.  Thus they should adhere to the Bushido.

Rectitude

Courage

Benevolence

Respect

Honesty

Honor

Loyalty

Expect to see more about the application of Bushido in the activities of the Tenno.  It blends well with the setting, and can teach players a great deal.

So now what?

Next is going to be an honest look into the most important part of Warframe; its business practices and pricing model.  Though this is a free-to-play game, there are purchased aspects which must be understood to have a better idea of the undertaking this game is for the developers.  We as players have the rare opportunity to show the developers what we think and what we want to support.  We shouldn't let it go to waste.