Defense Mission Discipline: Toxicity

There are many different goals in WARFRAME, with Endless Defense missions being the introduction to the "end game." Every game has an end game, and with the end game comes guidelines to success and the pitfalls which lead to failure. Whether you're running a quick Xini for a chance at Tier III Orokin Tower Keys, or Pluto's Outer Terminus to aim for Wave 100, Defense Mission Discipline is required to succeed.

I'll just get this out of the way immediately; it took me about a day to level my Nova from unranked to 30. I spent the majority of this time doing Endless Defense missions, making use of the new function of the Aura slot to immediately slot Molecular Prime and a few other Mods to ensure I would not simply be a burden to the team. After doing Xini for a single day and collecting Mods for Nova, I feel as though it was successful.

Everything but Energy Siphon and Molecular Prime was farmed on Xini.

And while doing my run through the horror and terror which was Public Xini, I watched as many Tenno did their bodily-best to get themselves killed.

Repeatedly.

To things they could very easily avoid.

We really need to fix this problem.

Last Time On Defense Mission Discipline

We touched upon Time-To-Kill on a previous installment of Defense Mission Discipline, but it's worth reiterating.

All weapons have a Time-To-Kill, or TTK. TTK represents the time which a weapon is able to bring a single target from alive to dead, and is modified by variables such as the clip size of a weapon and its accuracy. Higher-damage weapons have the benefit of a shorter TTK, with the durability of the opponent factoring in heavily. A level 20 Corpus Tech can be taken down by a lightly-Modded Paris with ease, but a level 50 Charger can require multiple shots or heavy investment in Serration and Piercing Hit/Bane of Infested.

There is another aspect of TTK that has a great impact on Endless Defense, and this is the ability to dispatch multiple targets in a period of time. With waves on Xini requiring a great deal of damage to clear, it becomes necessary to output the most damage in the shortest period of time. Warframe abilities such as Excalibur's Slash Dash can do this in smaller areas, while Ember's World of Fire can persist in an area to damage many more targets over a period of time.

Making It Rain

So what works best for the average Tenno? Anything properly Modded can perform in an Endless Defense, but some weapons perform in their role better than others. The Hek stops almost anything where they are shot, allowing you to clear a group with enough front-loaded damage. Kunai, Hikou, and Despair can all bring a target down quickly with little delay between shots, with the Despair in particular being able to pass through multiple targets. The Boltor and Bolto/Akbolto can strike targets and send them flying, dealing further damage to nearby foes while removing corpses from your line of fire. Various heavy two-handed weapons such as the Scindo, Gram, Fragor, Bo, Orthos, and Amphis can easily crowd-control multiple targets and deal damage as they do so.

But weapons lose their effectiveness against multiple targets as the difficulty increases in Endless Defense, and ultimately the danger to lone Tenno fighting on the field becomes too great to risk heroics. This is where Courage, from the Bushido code, comes into the discussion.

Courage

The concept of Courage in the Bushido code refers not simply to the will and fortitude to do something, but also the understanding of that action and the acceptance of it being correct. There is a sense of finality which is similar to Rectitude, but differs in the conscious and unconscious mind. Rectitude refers to completing a course of action, such as striking with a sword and not hesitating before or upon impact. Courage is knowing that you must strike with the sword; or knowing that you must not.

Two abilities used by Warframes are the focus of Courage in this discussion. The first is Pull, as used by the Mag. It is the lesser offender, but one which I personally experienced multiple times defending the Cryopod in Xini and was victim of. Pull can allow a Mag to easily group a set of enemies together for quick dispatch through the use of cleaving melee weapons or allied abilities and fire, but it will also deliver upon the user and anyone nearby toxicity.

A Toxic Ancient grabbed by a Mag becomes a threat to the group. The clustering effect of bringing a foe which was safely at range into melee before it would have reached its target makes for a dangerous situation, as many Tenno will not expect such a deadly foe to be expedited towards them.

Secondly we have Vortex, as used by the Vauban. Vortex is an ability which is used far more often and by a greater number of Tenno in Endless Defense, which makes the threat all the more dire. When used correctly Vortex allows a group of foes to be removed from the fight completely, ensuring that your fellow Tenno are able to focus their attention on other threats. It also allows for the precise placement of area-of-effect abilities and traps, as clustered foes can be cut down with ease when using the right tool.

Vortex alters the space around it to better attract foes, but Tenno are also affected by the brief change in physics. Finding themselves weightless and unable to control their trajectory with any accuracy, the Tenno becomes easy prey for any Toxic Ancient which has been entrapped in the Vortex effect. The Vortex effect does not dispel previous Toxic Ancient clouds left upon their demise, and thus can make avoiding unnecessary damage extremely difficult. This is compounded when a Tenno falls in the effect of a Vortex; I have personally witnessed an ally fall in a Vortex to a Toxic Ancients cloud, only to watch as my two remaining allies leap into the Vortex field and themselves succumb to the cloud.

Thus we return to The Role of the Tenno and the Pod:

• The safety of the Cryopod or Reactor is the primary objective; losing it loses the mission and your progress.
• The safety of your fellow Tenno is below the primary objective; you must not do things which will lead to their death.
• Your own safety is important; a wasted life is worthless.

Time-To-Kill... Toxics?

Your Time-To-Kill when doing an Endless Defense on Xini or any other difficult mission should be tempered with caution and planning. Tenno must have the Courage to know when to fight and where, and keep Rectitude in mind when taking an action.

Reviving a downed Tenno only to fall yourself shows neither Courage nor Rectitude.

Leaping upon a threat with the intention of defeating it soundly only to be defeated yourself is a waste.

Tenno have no time to waste when the Cryopod could be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Or you could just Molecular Prime and Chaos. =|