Problems With Warframe and List of Improvements

(Updated as of 23/06/2020)

Contact e-mail: freighttrain@email.com

Anonymous comments will not be read or replied to by me.

Hello discerning Warframe players, the following is a preliminary list of observations I've made, problems I've encountered and improvements that I would suggest from having played Warframe with this in mind over a few of weeks, I understand that some of the entries in both the problems and improvements sections could be placed in either category with slight rewording but this is how the list turned out so I'll leave it as it is for now.

Observations

• Despite Warframe being marketed as a computer game where you can play as a 'space ninja', only a few of the Warframes could be said to be similar to the ninja of feudal Japan, with the vast majority of other Warframes being more like spectacular fruity space wizards and Warframe doesn't even feature any ninjatō style weapons yet either.
• Likely gameplay inspiration from the Mega Man X series of video games.
• Likely design aesthetics inspiration from the Predator media franchise, the computer games RuneScape, StarCraft (and also StarCraft: Ghost gameplay), Doom 3 and Hellgate: London, as well as the animated works of Adelaide Productions such as Godzilla: The Series, Men in Black: The Series and Extreme Ghostbusters.

Problems

General

• Nonsensical (no basis in reality) upgrade system (i.e. mod cards with wild unrealistic effects instead of ammunition types, weapon attachments, component alterations or construction material improvements (components and construction materials of both the weapons and their attachments) etc.).
• Level scaling of enemies (widely varying stats despite technically having the exact same armour and weapons etc.) has no basis in reality (though this is likely a system common to many computer games).
• Whilst Warframe is essentially an amalgamation of the most enjoyable features from different computer game genres, this was not done as skillfully as it could have been done.
• Warframe seems as if it is overly polished with several minor and utterly superfluous (and often annoying) features such as the Warframe's/Tenno's head moving with the mouse in menu screens.

Lore/fluff

• The setting and premise is too far-fetched and post-dystopian.
• NPC communication style might be called comical if it weren't so bizarre and annoying, a similar style can be seen in Jagex's RuneScape.
  • NPC speech seems to be very poorly scripted with regard to context and other obvious factors.

Gameplay

• Enemies are not as alert as they should be.
• Enemies often perform ridiculous looking high jumps.
• Enemies sometimes seem to spawn from dead end rooms.
• The effect that arrows have of causing enemies to fly back so far in a straight line and then be pinned to the wall is ridiculous.
• The underwater mobility and gameplay in general is terrible.
• Some surfaces/objects are not solid such as the Condor Dropship and the cranes from the Grineer Shipyard tile set.
• Behaviour and aesthetics of flame and explosion etc. physics in the abilities of Warframes and other sources is obnoxiously unrealistic.
• Several other minor gameplay elements are portrayed unrealistically.

Factions

Infested

• The Infested are not as lethal and berserk as they should be, particularly Chargers which should be faster in both their movement and attack speed.
• The Mutalist Ospreys wouldn't carrry Crawlers into battle, that is just ridiculous especially when the Crawlers often seem to move faster than ever the Runners and Chargers which is also nonsense.
• The Infested Runners and Leapers would not know how to slide down a zip line.
• When the Mutalist MOAs do the high jump technique, they often do so when there is no room to and ghost through ceilings and walls.
• The three new Zealot units don't make any sense and interfere too much with mission priorities and the style of each mission.

Aesthetics

• Far-fetched and overly grotesque designs, many of them look as if they were pieced together from regurgitated seafood.
• Any designs that are not clearly derived from other media look as if they were cobbled together to seem as different as possible from any other kind of design e.g. Mutalist MOAs so they can think to themselves that no one can say they copied from anywhere else because everything looks so random and/or goopy.
• On the Grineer Asteroid tile set the faction emblem is displayed on the wall at a slightly tilted angle, it is unlikely that it would have been applied at such an angle by the Grineer.

Factions

Nightwave

• The character Nora Night is ugly and annoying.

Infested

• All Infested enemies use the same models within their type, there should be at least four model variants for each type of infested so they don't all look the same.
• The Chargers should make that deep throat grunting noise they used to make.
• The black streaks running throughout the green gas cloud emitted by Toxic Crawlers are of terrible quality and look out of place, like basic 2D monochrome textures that have been cut and pasted.
• The slick of yellow goo created by the Tar Mutalist MOA look terrible and the pieces of webbing look like poorly cut and pasted textures that are out of place.

Warframes

• Noticably weak knees when rising from cross-legged position upon logging in.
• Incorrect neck posture when right hand thrusting with a polearm weapon.
• The pelvises of all female models need to be broader to give a more distinctive female feel.
• Excalibur:
  • Legs not proportionately long enough.
  • Buttocks not developed enough.

Improvements

Interface

• An option to disable Ordis communications.
• An option to disable tips in the upgrades screen for equipment.
• An option to disable the animated background scene in the selection screens of the market.
• An option to switch between the current orbiter craft and menu interface and the classic menu interface with just the menus (the classic menu interface is smoother and more efficient).
• An option to change the animated portraits to a default still image during communication transmissions or disable them altogether with only their name displayed instead.
• An option to skip communication scenes.
• An option to disable the optional task notifications that popup at the bottom of the screen during the beginning of missions.
• Menus should transition more quickly for more convenient navigation.
• A panel in the Navigation screen to save location quickslots.

Customisation

• More appearance and mod configuration save slots.

In-game

• Warframes should start missions with full energy.
• A gradually reddening overlay on the screen to indicate low health.
• The Rhino Warframe's ability Iron Skin should make a clear indication on the HUD when it has expired.
• HUD should show how many revives are left in the upper right corner of the screen.
• Different marker icon for the capture target in Rescue missions and the enemy markers in Extermination missions (currently same as Zealot Herald/Proselytizer/Baptizer).

HUD

• A HUD customisation option where one can change the position and size of its various elements or omit them.
• An option to change the colour of the reticle.
• Mission type should be displayed on the HUD during missions.
• The HUD should also show the Companion's weapon and it's current magazine ammunition level as well as it's rank and exp. progress.
  • There should be a key for manually reloading the Companion's weapon.
  • A progress circle should appear underneath the Companion's weapons title on the HUD when its weapon is reloading.
• The HUD should display the name of the planet and location of that planet.
• Nightmare mission conditions should be displayed on the HUD during missions.
• The reticle should indicate a ranged weapon's current accuracy.
• Crouching should increase ranged weapon accuracy.
• There should be an option for first person view whilst using primary weapons and sidearms as you can't even really see what the weapon looks like when you fire it from the third person view, which I'm sure for many is usually a very enjoyable aspect of shooters i.e. being able to appreciate the detail and; in Warframe's case; the creativity put into the gun's model and textures, as well as the firing animations.
• Axe type weapons (Scindo, Dual Zoren etc.) should have their damage types balances so that their slash and puncture damage is equal, since an axe blade isn't used to slash but penetrate a target, despite the length of the blade's impact surface (which would account for the slash damage).

Gameplay mechanics

• When a weapon has two elemental damage types that combine, an extra damage boost should be applied if the two elemental damage types that combined were of equal value.

Enemies

• All enemies should be able to run noticably faster.
• There should be less Infested Crawlers and more Runners/Leapers with the Runners/Leapers becoming Crawlers after dismemberment damage.

Tile Sets

• Several tile sets feature zones that should really just be traversable as normal without triggering teleport relocation of the player to the normal section of the map.
• The upper areas of the open air environment tile set of 'Grineer Forest' should be accessible to players using parkour and the tile set junctions for each area in the 'Grineer Forest' tile set should be redesigned to allow the option arboreal traversal (albeit at greater difficulty to the player due to narrow surfaces requiring skill to traverse at speed as well as animal hazards such as belligerant ape-like or avian creatures (maybe feathered dromaeosaurid-like creatures) only present at the upper arboreal levels) between areas, instead of just having to use the various ground level tunnels etc.

Miscellaneous

• Warframe sprint speed increases should be evident in noncombat areas as well.
• Cephalon Fragments should be a colour other than light blue to indicate they have already been scanned.
• The selected colour for Emissive on the Paris (and MK1-Paris) bow should also include the luminescent fletchings and arrowhead of the arrows.

New features

New weapons

• As there are currently katana style weapons but no ninjatō style weapons, a new ninjatō type sword weapon that deals both high slash and puncture damage (higher puncture damage due to the straight blade being optimised for thrusting) would be nice, this is especially appropriate as the word 'ninja' is often used in Warframe marketing.
• A new class (or a new polearm category spear-type weapon that can be thrown) of high puncture damage spear-type thrown weapons with regular mêlée attacks similar to that of the standard polearm weapons.
• A new kanabō style Heavy Hammer weapon with primarily impact damage.
• A new dual wield club-type weapon stylised as dual ararebos with primarily impact damage.
• Dual wield variants of the three nunchaku-type weapons (Ninkondi, Ninkondi Prime and Shaku).
• Dual wield variant of the Pangolin Sword (both full-length swords).

New clan dojo features

• A room (Argon Crystal Stasis Chamber) that can be constructed or Orokin Lab section/segment that can be activated/researched etc. which prevents the decay of the Argon Crystal resource for all clan members.

New gameplay mechanics

• An option to set enemy type targeting priorities for Companions once those particular enemy types have been scanned.
• Key binds for setting a Companion to not fire its weapons and another to remain in one location (as a sentry etc.).
• When a weapon has two elemental damage types that combine, an extra damage boost should be applied if the two elemental damage types that combined were of equal value.
• Electrical damage and status chance should be slightly amplified in rainy weather conditions.
• Rainy weather conditions should allow for a very slight chance of an instakill lightning bolt striking either the player's Warframe or any enemy with an arcing effect to nearby enemies.

Terminology revision

• Secondary (weapon) → Sidearm
• Shields → E-shield (Energy Shield)
• Overshields → E-shield buffer
• Dead (HUD indicator) → Incapacitated (Warframe)
• Dead (HUD indicator) → Destroyed (Sentinel)
• Pistol (mod) → Sidearm
• Extraction → Exfiltration
• Zip Line → Tightrope (it functions as a tightrope for players despite NPCs using it like a zip line)
• Puncture (damage) → Armour Piercing
• Blast (damage) → Explosive
• Punch Through → Penetration
• Fossilised (flesh) → Ancient