Devstream #74 aired on May 13, 2016, @2pm ET
Rebecca and the gang talked passives, answered a handful of fan questions, and showed off Vauban Prime and the new in-game Market! If you missed the Devstream you can watch it here. Don't have an hour to spare? We've got the written overview for you below.
TennoCon[]
This Thursday, May 19, we'll be unveiling a ton of info on TennoCon so be sure to be on the lookout for that. On that note, TennoCon is approaching in less than two months! Saturday, July 9, 2016 is when you can join us in London, Ontario (Canada) for a full day of meet and greet, panels, exclusive reveals, and lots of Warframe. Be sure to grab your ticket before it’s too late at www.warframe.com/tennocon!
Passives[]
At the end of May on PC (later on Console), we'll be releasing Passives for the remaining Warframes who don’t have them. Below is a work-in-progress list of the new Passives that will be incorporated, but please note that as always everything is subject to change.
- Ash: increased timer and damage for any Bleed Proc inflicted by Ash.
- Banshee: all equipped weapons are automatically silenced.
- Ember: Energy Regeneration and damage dealt are increased when Ember suffers a Fire Proc.
- Hydroid: a ground-slam melee attack has the chance to spawn a single tentacle from his ultimate power.
- Limbo: there is nothing definitive at the moment, although it will probably center around being in the Rift (such as increased fire and reload rate while in the Rift, etc.)
- Loki: nothing finalized as well, although no Wall Cling fatigue was mentioned.
- Mag: items within a certain radius will be pulled towards her while Bullet Jumping.
- Nekros: all enemy deaths within a radius will restore his health.
- Nova: releases an Antimatter explosion when knocked down.
- Nyx: there is a chance of enemies disarming themselves while affected by any of her powers (except for Mind Control, in which case this passive will take effect after the power is ended)
- Oberon: nothing final, but there was discussion of all Animals and Wildlife fighting for him for a certain period of time.
- Trinity: faster Revival of allies with Revival being triggerable from be farther away.
- Vauban: fellow Warframes in range give him bonus armor (this Passive is being implemented at the end of May with the others, and not with his Prime Access release)
- Volt: the amount of ground you cover is converted into electrical damage on your next attack.
Vauban Prime[]
With the release of Vauban Prime Access coming on May 17, Bounce has been given the Ivara 'Quiver' treatment. This power rework provides Vauban (both the Prime and regular version) with 4 different options that expand his crowd-control and damage-dealing abilities.
Here's a look at how we're expanding 'Bounce':
- the original Bounce Grenade as it exists currently in-game.
- creates a 10 meter long Trip Laser, whose effect on enemies is determined by their movement state. Running foes are rag dolled, while those walking are staggered and stumbled.
- places a Shred Grenade which reduces enemy armor, as well launching and rag dolling them.
- releases a Concussion Grenade that deafens enemies and creates a radial stun effect.
Market Overhaul[]
A sneak peek at the new Market rework had tons to showcase! The overhaul will include tons more functionality to simplify user experience, including a search bar, a wish list, a 'Hide Owned' button, related items pages, and the ability to see if the product you’re viewing comes in a bundle. We have created a way better interface and categorization at top level which will allow for the system to grow with new content as we add it. As we mentioned in Devstream 73, some prices are in review but more concrete information will be released in the future.
Umbra[]
The radio silence about Umbra has been deafening in the face of all your questions, but we have been tight-lipped for a reason. Much like the identity of the Tenno for the Second Dream quest, any discussion about Umbra will spoil the lore that will be introduced by upcoming updates. There is no definitive release date, but keep an eye (and an ear) out for more info as it comes out!
Colorblind Usability[]
Differentiating between locked and unlocked doors has always been a challenge for our colorblind players. We’ll now be making changes to the layout and lighting of the doors in Warframe to make that process much easier.
Currently, doors with red lights on them are completely unusable. But with the upcoming changes, these unusable doors will have no lights on them at all. There will also be different patterns on the doors to distinguish between locked and unlocked. You can see this in the graphics below.
Fairy Frame[]
The name of the new Fairy Warframe is currently being decided by a Design Council poll that started on May 16. After the voting ends on May 23, the name will officially be announced within a week, just in time for the reveal of idle animations during the next Devstream. What we can tell you right now is that she is shaping up to be very different and very cute, and we are so excited for you all to finally meet her.
Weapon Reworks and Fixes[]
With the enormous size of Update 19, there are no sniper reworks planned for the near future. However, there is discussion surrounding the lethality of all weapons in-game and how we would define something as 'overpowered'. A weapon hierarchy is necessary but the top-level equipment should still have their drawbacks and be suited for certain types of play or missions – not all of them. With that in mind, changes and fixes are being looked into to help balance the damage and viability scale of weapons in-game.
Future Changes[]
We receive a humongous amount of feedback on a daily or even hourly basis, which is amazing for helping us make the best possible game for the Warframe community. However, because of the large influx of requests or suggestions, our efforts have to be spent on the most pressing matters of the bunch. Steve discussed a lot these issues in his Bourbon List last Devstream, which covered the ‘brightest stars’ on our radar, including the new and end-game player experience and the decay of the Dojo and clan systems. Being a 3 year old game, there are things that were implemented in the past that we perhaps would do differently today, and even though we are three years in, that doesn’t mean they have to stay the way they are.
The upcoming changes to the Starchart shows that we are not afraid to make radical changes to the game if we feel that it will improve user-experience. The existing disk format creates stagnant missions and doesn’t communicate a clear way to progress between nodes. Starchart 3.0 will incorporate more character and lore into existing missions and allow for better matchmaking with the new limited node system. Improvements such as these may also be done to other aspects of Warframe, such as the large percentage buffs given by Mods, or the Tamagotchi-esque system of owning Kubrows.
We're not saying if these changes will ever happen, but that Warframe's development is always an ongoing process, and a learning process at that. We are not afraid to mix things up a little, or a lot, if we feel that it will benefit our players and making being a Tenno the most rewarding experience possible.
Mastery Level[]
We have mentioned before possible changes to the Mastery Rank system in regards to your equipment’s level the moment you take it off the rack. As a way of rewarding our experienced players, your weapon’s level will automatically equal your Mastery Rank the moment you purchase or create it. This system is still in the works, so stay tuned for more update in the future!
- Housekeeping
- Loki Prime, Bo Prime, and Wyrm Prime are entering the Vault on May 17 at 2 pm ET.
- The second ever Unvaulting is happening this summer. We can't tell you who it is but we can tell you it's definitely not Ember.
- Mag and Volt reworks are coming by the end of May.
- You can hopefully look forward to custom melee holstering in Update 19.[1]
- References