As previously announced, Digital Extremes hosted the 168th Devstream last night on the development of Warframe, the highly successful free-to-play multi-platform online space ninja game. In this article, we will briefly analyze what was new and interesting to us.
Miscellaneous
Collection of various more simple information:
- In just a week, on March 15, Hildryn will add to the collection of prime variants of warframes. According to the standard scheme, she will come with her prime access. It contains:
- The prime version of the Balefire Charger is Hildryn’s special weapon.
- Prime version of the Larkspur archwing weapon.
- Prime Guardian Shade.
- Prime Syandana.
- Guardian Prime Ornament Set.
- They showed new TennoGen items (17 items in total), which the developers decided to divide into groups and introduce gradually.
- Along with the major update Duviri Paradox will add the first group of 6 items – an accessory for the operator in the form of an earring, 2 Syandanas, a Gauss skin, a Caliban helmet, a Zaku skin and a helmet.
- This year’s TennoCon will take place on August 26 in a normal live mode.
Duviri Paradox
Most of the stream was devoted to the features of the hotly anticipated major update The Duviri Paradox, which will be released very soon – in April of this year. If last year the developers presented an update in terms of the main story quest, this time they told what awaits users immediately after completing it. Next, we briefly review the main points.
After installing the update, new users at the start of Warframe will be offered a choice – immediately immerse themselves in the events of Duviri Paradox or start playing the original storyline. The entrance to the world of Duviri or, more simply, to the location is located in one of the rooms of the user’s personal cabin on Zariman, the only closed door leads there at the moment. However, of course, there is an alternative faster way – starting from the card.
Before going to the location, the player will have to choose 1 of 3 available modes:
- The Circuit – endless.
- The Duviri Experience – story, with additional tasks.
- The Lone Story – story, without additional tasks.
The mode selection screen also indicates the current mood of the owner of the Duviri world, it changes every 2 hours, affecting the abilities of opponents, the environment, soundtrack and, in general, the diversity of the world itself. As the developers explained, this system is not tied to some important things that make you wait for X’s mood to take action Y.
As an example, last year’s demo with a dark atmosphere was during Anger, and yesterday’s footage full of bright colors was during Joy.
In the open world of Duviri, there is no central big city, instead, after starting the selected mode, the user finds himself in a sanctuary, where he has to prepare for a new session (hereinafter just a run), manipulating standard roguelike mechanics:
- Select and configure a frame from the available pool.
- In the album below there are 5 options, but initially there will be only 3.
- The pool may contain options that the player does not yet have.
- Apparently, it will even be possible to play for the Stalker.
- Choose and customize weapons – primary, secondary and melee.
- The selected options can be tested on a special stuffed animal.
- Select and customize the Drifter’s melee weapons – yes, the Drifter will finally learn how to use melee weapons, and various stances will open for him in the course of development.
- Upgrade passives – presented in the form of an already familiar system, divided into 4 categories. The maximum level of each is 10 and it is maintained from run to run, acting as a permanent improvement system.
- Combat – improves the combat performance of the Wanderer and opens up new opportunities.
- Riding – adds combat abilities to the horse and opens up new opportunities.
- Features – improves various roguelike systems, for example, allows you to reroll bonuses 3 times in one run (more on them below).
- Survival – improves all aspects related to the character’s health.
You can also customize your horse in the sanctuary, which allows you to move on the ground / air and even has various combat abilities, however, you will have to unlock them first.
- Select body parts – skeleton, head, tail, saddle. All are purely decorative.
- Customize the colors of individual body parts and change the name. Alas, the last option is opened through passives.
Having completed the selection and customization of the warframe and weapons, before finally setting off to conquer the world, the player has to do the most important thing – to choose the first permanent bonus that strengthens the character in a special way. Bonuses are unique for each race and in the process of passing you will gradually accumulate them, creating a kind of build. It was mentioned that by the end of the race you might have 10-15 pieces.
Examples of bonuses (all options work for both Drifter and Warframe):
- Casting abilities will aggro nearby enemies.
- When taking damage, the character recovers 15 energy every second for 3 seconds.
- You deal +30% more damage against enemies affected by the Freeze status effect.
- You gain +15% damage for each enemy with a status effect within 10 meters.
- Enemies hit by the status effect have a chance to transfer it to targets within 5 meters.
- If you crouch, your weapon will slowly reload.
- Melee kills restore 10% shield.
- Enemies within 10 meters are slowed down.
- Status effects deal triple damage.
- When holstering a weapon, you gain a buff that increases the power of your next ability by +25%, the effect stacks up to +300%.
- After killing an enemy, you recover 10% of your health.
- If a heavy melee attack does not hit an enemy, you create a shock wave that deals 75% damage.
- Each bonus received increases the character’s movement speed by 10%.
- Ground slam (most likely a Drifter ability) sets the ground on fire, dealing 100 heat damage and setting enemies on fire.
- When you deal critical melee damage, you gain a +15% critical damage buff for 4 seconds.
- While airborne, Critical Chance and Critical Damage are increased by 30%.
- Each shot increases the rate of fire by 7% for 0.5 seconds.
Once in the world of Duviri, to complete the run, you need to complete several tasks while controlling the Drifter or the Warframe, the second can only be controlled in special areas – Undercroft. In endless mode, you immediately find yourself in Undercroft, the essence of which is the next passage of a series of standard modes, such as survival, protection, etc. Each mode lasts 5 minutes.
It is important to note that as the Drifter develops and his connection to the world strengthens, you will unlock the ability to temporarily switch to warfare. Apparently, at first for this you will have to accumulate enough special energy.
In the story mode with additional tasks, each race can be varied by completing secondary content, which includes:
- A new type of fishing – the player turns into a sea creature, after which it is necessary to fill the progress bar to a certain value by eating other fish.
- Animal capture system.
- Various riddles.
- And much more.
Duviri Paradox Awards
The main reward that players can take with them to a regular game are Incarnon Adapters. These are special devices that allow you to add a leveling tree and a unique alternative mode to a certain weapon, in other words, turn a weapon into an Incarnon. If I understand correctly, adapters can be applied to 30 weapon variants.
It will be possible to farm adapters in an endless mode, every week they will allow you to choose two desired options at once and get them immediately after reaching tier 10.
In addition, the following things were mentioned as awards:
- Mystifiers.
- 3 costumes for the Drifter.
- Idle animations for the Drifter.
- Beard for the Drifter.
- Abyss skins for Misa and Limbo.
- Deluxe skin for Baruuk and Wisp.
