5 Things I LOVE About Warframe & 3 Things I Don't

 

5 Things We Love

  1. It’s Free
    1. So much value and content for… 0 moneys
    2. You Can Earn The Real Money Currency (Platinum) Just Through Regular Playing & Farming
  2. Depth
    1. Each warframe plays completely differently
    2. Crafting mats get crazier every time you need a new one
  3. Constant Flow of Updates
  4. Core gameplay loop is SO ENJOYABLE (shooting, movement, etc.) harkens back to original Destiny 1 impressions (similarities to diablo, gauntlet, etc.)
  5. The Developers Are Exceptional (the level of interaction, community support through the partner program, contests, ability for them to be self critical, etc) Community

 

3 Things We Don’t Like

  1. Accessibility
  2. Pacing
  3. Variation in the gameplay loop? (there is some but the sheer quantity of mission repeats you have to do makes it not seem like much) - mission types are very similar, it needs more breakout gameplay elements like Plains of Eidolon
    1. Archwing supposed to break that up, but archwing sucks

 

 

 

 

Warframe was a game I had always heard about since its release but never dove head first into until about 6 months ago. I wish I would’ve gotten onboard sooner to be honest, what an incredible game this is. After 6 months of solid play I’ve come to respect the folks at Digital Extremes deeply for the killer support they provide and how well they interact with their community constantly. If you have yet to try Warframe out now is the time. Available on all platforms and optimized well on each, Warframe offers one of the best free to play experiences ever. With that all in mind I’ve enlisted the help of my fellow Tenno, EposVox, and awesome tech youtuber and friend to help me outline 5 awesome things we both love about Warframe, and 3 things we don’t necessarily like all that much.

 

#1 the game is totally free, meaning there is no real risk to any potential player in trying this title out. The amount of high quality content here can sometimes dwarf even that of full-price premium games. Hundreds if not thousands of hours of gameplay are available here. New players however tend to come in and see the platinum market from a skewed perspective, thinking that you need to spend money for more warframe slots, gear, and progression. In reality you don’t have to spend any money on this title at all, later in the game you can actually sell mods and blueprints earned through gameplay for the real world in game currency - platinum. Essentially if you want to play this game completely free, you can, Digital Extremes allows the player traded platinum market to operate and exist under player demand and usage. It’s an incredibly cool model not seen in many games these days. Need some more platinum to get a new color pallette, warframe slot, or great fashionframe accessory? Just go farm some corrupted mods and sell them on warframe.market to make some extra plat. For a free game it is astonishing high much value is inherent in warframe

 

#2 is depth.

 

There are a ton of systems, subsystems, economies, currencies, frames, weapons, and more within Warframe. The experience has gotten better the more time I’ve invested into it. The more the player learns about the game, the mod system and how to synergize the right mods with the right gear, the better the power fantasy becomes. You truly become outrageously powerful with the right setup, and I love that Digital Extremes lets that power fantasy exude from every corner of the game. Being a space ninja is ultra satisfying, and at every milestone playtime marker you as a player grow smarter and wiser, whether its the 50, 100, 200, or 500+ hour mark the game somehow nails the sense of reward when it comes to investment gaming. That depth though can come at a price and represents our biggest complaint with Warframe which is the accessibility.

 

Warframe doesn’t do a great job of ushering in new players and teaching them the groundwork of what the game is, what you do, and what your goals are. It really leaves it up to the player to either read a lot in the codex or watch community videos to figure which pathways ahead of them to take. This is unfortunate as we both think Warframe would have even crazier population numbers if it could do a better job at fostering and carefully cultivating new players during the initial 50 hours of the game. Warframe veterans can grow numb to the intricacies to the many subsystems present within the game that tend to overwhelm beginner players. A remedy to this would be some simple tutorials implemented throughout the first 30-50 hours of a players experience teaching them the core fundamentals of modding, crafting, the market, forma, syndicates, void relics, and more. The Warframe community however has some incredible content creators who have made some epic tutorials and beginner’s guides to help young tenno’s along their journey. If Digital Extremes can polish up the new player experience a bit and improve the entry level accessibility barriers than we forsee massive upticks in the population in the future.

 

Speaking of Digital Extremes, the #3 we love is the constant flow of updates. Since the game’s release over 4 years ago there have been over 150 updates, 500 hotifxes, and a ton of new content introduced. It is undoubtedly one of the main pillars to warframe’s success. THe world feels like it is in a constant state of evolution, a living breathing place that you want to hang out in. Whether it’s a new prime frame, some new enemy types, playspaces, or entire open world expansion like in Plains of Eidolon, warframe is always in a state of flux & growth. The Warframe of 2013 and 2014 is unrecognizable today, DE hasn’t been afraid to go back to the drawing board and completely overhaul systems that weren’t performing optimally. The plains of Eidolon update that released this last fall brought with it a huge new step forward in the form of open world gameplay. It was a super ambitious update that brought in a ton of new players, however it had some issues. DE has publicly talked about the shortcomings of that update and have through multiple dev streams made commitments to improving, growing, and enhancing the open world experience. We can’t wait to see what big updates are in store for 2018 and beyond.

 

The second thing we don’t enjoy all that much is the pacing. Due to its extended development over many years without a full “redo”, Warframe’s systems, story bits, and additional mechanics are all tacked onto each other. This causes much of the lack of accessibility we discussed before - but it also means you really don’t start playing the core “story” until like 50 or 60 hours into the game. Before that you don’t have a whole lot of reasoning as to why you’re doing the things you’re doing or who you are in the universe. But 60 hours and a few big quests later and WHAM finally you get something that most games start you out with… but you’ll have to experience that yourself..

 

However that complaint is overshadowed by #4 of things we love and that is the core gameplay loop. It is gratifying, entertaining, rewarding, and fun. The movement system lends itself to complete freedom and with practice, allows a skilled Tenno to fly through map tile-sets with ease. The shooting & melee strikes feel good and the sheer variety of weapons allow for very diverse build opportunities that all occupy their own unique feel. More so, the investment loop is what matures so well throughout a player’s time with Warframe. Whether it be a prime blue print set, corrupted mod, particular rare resource, potato, or more the rewards in this game feel meaningful. As your arsenal of weapons, frames, and mods grow so too does your knowledge of the experience allowing you to further capitalize on powerful synergies. In a nutshell, the mission and gameplay are fun, and the reward economy is addictive.

 

BUT

 

We’d love to see more variety with the actual gameplay itself. Plains of Eidolon, I think, was a huge step in the right direction towards expanding this sandbox experience into completely new territories - no pun intended. While the larger outdoor playspaces open up a huge world of opportunities for digital extremes, eidolon however only scratches the surface. They have gotten the core warframe formula nailed, but as players we can’t help but feel like there are more opportunities out there for raid- like activities. The Law of Retribution and Jordas Verdict trials have unique mechanics not found elsewhere within the game. If DE were able to take some of the concept found here, and some of the concepts within eidolon and spread them throughout the game in new creative  activities you could see warframe transform further.

 

The final thing we love is Digital Extremes and the Warframe Community. The Warframe community have been exceptionally helpful and kind, always hospitable to new players and ready to help questions. Need a group for corrupted mod farming, the in-game LFG chat is alive and well. Sure there may be some bad apples here and there but on the whole the Warframe community is fantastic. Digital Extremes as a developer interacts and supports their community in ways that we wish other large studios would. The dev streams, community managers, twitch drops, tennogens, charity initiatives, and more foster and cultivate an incredible game. DE also has the capacity to be brutally honest when critiquing their own work. This self reflexivity allows the devs to help re-tool and fix systems that aren’t performing up to the standards they would like. And as a player being able to help participate in game to initiatives that recently helped raise $100,000 for the Children’s Health Foundation, well…. There’s not a whole lot better than that. Warframe is a great game, great community, and has great devs behind the wheel. If you haven’t had the chance to hop in and play it yet, now is the time!