The team behind Warframe has the courage and confidence to fundamentally overhaul the game after more than 5 years. Instead of mostly just bringing new content, they finally want to address old issues like the Dark Sector Conquests and damage types. But is this a good thing?
Warframe started in 2013 as a fairly simple shooter. You had a handful of classes, there was only one type of enemy, and the levels were always the same corridors.
Five years have passed, and anyone who hasn’t checked back into Warframe since then might hardly recognize the game. There are now dozens of classes, hundreds of weapons, a whole solar system full of missions, an open world, a complex story, PvP, space pets, a character editor, and housing.
The developers gradually brought new things into the game, but many old issues remained unresolved. That is set to change now.
Weapons and Warframes will be adjusted
After the great success of the open-world map Plains of Eidolon, the developer studio Digital Extremes finally wants to wrap up the old issues in 2018:
- 9 Warframes will be significantly reworked
- The damage system is to be completely overhauled
- Over 150 firearms have been completely reclassified into tiers and buffed or nerfed as necessary.
The weapons have already been adjusted. Ranks are experience levels that you earn in the game when you master many weapons and Warframes. However, the classification has been extremely arbitrary until now. The powerful “Grakata” shotgun is one of the strongest weapons in the game but has a rank of 0. Every newcomer can take it right away.
With the new system, it is now placed in a much more appropriate rank of 9, which can only be reached after considerable effort in the game. This way, newcomers are gently introduced to the rather complex system of weapons and upgrades and are not overwhelmed by dozens of strange firearms right away.
Competitions in the Dark Sectors are finally returning
Another old issue concerns the competitions in the Dark Sectors. This was a game mode in which clans could “conquer” certain missions and then collect taxes from other players there. Due to many exploits, the feature was disabled in 2015 and has been on hold ever since.
Three years later, this gameplay mechanic is set to return in a revised form. Clans will compete in the announced new version for relics. If you collect the most of them within a certain time, you will receive hefty rewards.
Developers are now more confident, community is somewhat skeptical
The developers at Digital Extremes stated that after 5 years, they feel bold and confident enough to finally tackle the problems of the game and settle the outstanding accounts. They are now a different studio than they were back in 2013.
Many players welcome the innovations and view the weapon classification and the new damage system positively. Many complain about the nerf of the popular frames Banshee and Ember. And that players had to wait 3 years for the rework of the Dark Sectors while the raids were removed from the game, is something many players won’t easily forgive.
The gap between beginners and professionals is widening …
Additionally, some fans fear that there will be an increasing gap between newcomers and veterans. With the new classification of weapons, many guns are no longer available to beginners.
Furthermore, some players complain that many new contents are designed specifically for the open-world map Plains of Eidolon. Those who do not like this map have little to laugh about.
Warframe is changing. There will be new players, but also old players who no longer enjoy it and will drop out. But there will be change. Stagnation does not fit into Digital Extremes’ future concept. Whether this is “good” or “bad” for the game will be seen over time.
The new Eidolon world bosses in the Plains are definitely not for noobs!
