Forged In Flames
As an avid player of Warframe and a game designer I've had a lot of ideas for some new Warframes, weapons and game mechanics. In this post I want to talk about a new element to the game I've had rattling around in my head.
As someone who has put in a lot of hours into Warframe, I've run into a small issue that I am sure others players have also experienced. Sometimes you build a weapon, item, or Warframe and you realize that it didn't live up to your expectations or you simply no longer want it.
As someone who has put in a lot of hours into Warframe, I've run into a small issue that I am sure others players have also experienced. Sometimes you build a weapon, item, or Warframe and you realize that it didn't live up to your expectations or you simply no longer want it.
The Foundry aboard the player's landing craft.
For example, I wanted a new rifle so I did some research and thought that building a Boltor would be a wise investment. After leveling it up, I wasn't really happy with it's performance. I decided to use an Orokin Catalyst to double it's mod capacity ,effectively turning a max level 30 weapon into a level 60 weapon. After spending all these resources I was still unhappy with it's performance!
What am I supposed to do with a weapon I don't want? As of right now, you can't trade weapons with players, only their blueprints. My only option as of right now is to sell it. The only issue with selling this maxed out supercharged weapon is that the game will only let me sell it for a measly 7,500 credits! The catalyst I installed cost 35k just to build! There has to be a better way of getting rid of my unwanted inventory.
What am I supposed to do with a weapon I don't want? As of right now, you can't trade weapons with players, only their blueprints. My only option as of right now is to sell it. The only issue with selling this maxed out supercharged weapon is that the game will only let me sell it for a measly 7,500 credits! The catalyst I installed cost 35k just to build! There has to be a better way of getting rid of my unwanted inventory.
New Game Mechanic: Smelting
Smelting is a mechanic where players will select and item/weapon they no longer want to be converted back into the raw materials they once were. Mechanics such as this have existed in other MMOs for quite some time.
The Boltor costs 25k credits, 2 Neurodes (Rare), Alloy Plate 100 (common), Salvage 900 (common), 600 Polymer Bundle (Common) and the Boltor blueprint to build. The smelting process would result in the player receiving back a percentage of what they put in. For example, 1 Neurode, 25 Alloy Plates, 255 Salvage, and 110 Polymer bundle
The Boltor costs 25k credits, 2 Neurodes (Rare), Alloy Plate 100 (common), Salvage 900 (common), 600 Polymer Bundle (Common) and the Boltor blueprint to build. The smelting process would result in the player receiving back a percentage of what they put in. For example, 1 Neurode, 25 Alloy Plates, 255 Salvage, and 110 Polymer bundle
The only thing they will not get back is credits and the blueprint, these two items will be lost during the smelting process. If a weapon was outfitted with an Orokin Catalyst, Orokin Reactor or Forma, there is a small chance that it will be returned to the player undamaged or for balancing purposes as raw components.
Quest: Sum of Their Parts
In order to obtain the smelter the player must embark on a quest to infiltrate a secret Corpus factory. With the help of master thief, Maroo. In order to take on this quest the player must be Mastery Rank 3 or higher and have already completed the Stolen Dreams Quest.
Maroo contacts the Tenno with an interesting proposition. She knows the whereabouts of a Corpus manufacturing plant hidden on Neptune. If you help her infiltrate it you can obtain a smelter that will allow you to melt ore and weapons into their base components.
The Tenno will follow Maroo into the depths of the secret Corpus factories and discover more then they bargained for. Secrets are revealed as the Tenno find themselves surrounded by menacing mechanical enemies. Can they pull themselves out from the clutches of the Corpus? Or will they find themselves turn to scrap?
The Tenno will follow Maroo into the depths of the secret Corpus factories and discover more then they bargained for. Secrets are revealed as the Tenno find themselves surrounded by menacing mechanical enemies. Can they pull themselves out from the clutches of the Corpus? Or will they find themselves turn to scrap?
Quest Prolouge
In order to begin the quest, players must go to the Quest tab in their codex station aboard the Liset. Once this quest has been set as their active quest the player will receive a video message from Maroo. In the message, Maroo will tell the player to visit her at the Bazaar located on Earth.
Speaking with Maroo at the Earth Relay.
Once you meet Maroo, she will explain that she wants a Corpus Smelter so that she may melt down rare materials such as Ore. Smelted materials are much easier to smuggle as they are untraceable. She explains that in order to obtain a Corpus Smelter (the best smelter in the galaxy) you will need to locate a secret Corpus manufacturing plant, break in and steal it. She promises you a blueprint to a miniaturized smelter that will fit aboard your landing craft and inside your dojo.
Maroo plans on sneaking in, but stealing the smelter will require the stealth technology of a Tenno landing craft in order to get in undetected, not to mention if things go south, she will need the help escaping. She does expect some resistance.
Maroo plans on sneaking in, but stealing the smelter will require the stealth technology of a Tenno landing craft in order to get in undetected, not to mention if things go south, she will need the help escaping. She does expect some resistance.
Missions
Mission 1: Locate The Coordinates (Spy - Neptune, Laomedeia - Level:20-25) - The Tenno and Maroo land on an Corpus outpost undetected. The player must use stealth to infiltrate their way through this mission. Once inside they must hack all three terminals in order to find the coordinates to the secret manufacturing plant. If the alarm is tripped, One Hyena Proxy robot(Level 20) will be sent after the player.
Mission 2: Track Down the Bursa (Neptune) - After the first mission is complete, Maroo will inform the player that the coordinates have been scrubbed from the records. However, there was some data pointing to a certain number of Bursas that have originated from an unknown facility. The player must track down these Bursas and try and find any data that can lead the player to their origins.
Enemy Bursa on the attack.
There isn't a set node for this mission. The player can play any mission on Neptune, as long as Bursa are capable of spawning during that mission. Only one bursa per node will yield data. The bursa must also be from Neptune, a bursa from any other planet will not provide the player with the coordinates they are searching for.
The player must hack three Bursas in total to help Maroo pinpoint their point of origin, i.e. the secret manufacturing plant. Once she has the coordinates, she will tell the player the next mission location.
The player must hack three Bursas in total to help Maroo pinpoint their point of origin, i.e. the secret manufacturing plant. Once she has the coordinates, she will tell the player the next mission location.
Mission 3: Take Down The Defenses ( Deception - Neptune, Despina - Level: 20-28) - Maroo and the player head to this outpost. Maroo gives the player a Key that will hack the outpost's computer system, allowing them access into the main facility and reach the smelter.
Cinematic: The hack begins to go through, until it suddenly stops and a familiar face pops ups on screen, Alad V. He says he saw this hack coming and laid a trap. The facility suddenly begins to depressurize. Alad V taunts the player and the screen turns off. Hordes of Corpus machines begin to pour into the halls, Maroo and the player take action, they burst out of the room and get ready to fight.
Mission 3A: Survival (15 mins) - Lotus will help the player find life support capsules. There will only be corpus machines spawned in during this mission (Moas, Drones etc). The player will have to survive long enough for Maroo and Lotus to secure an extraction point.
Mission 3A: Survival (15 mins) - Lotus will help the player find life support capsules. There will only be corpus machines spawned in during this mission (Moas, Drones etc). The player will have to survive long enough for Maroo and Lotus to secure an extraction point.
Aboard the player's ship: After escaping the factory, Maroo tells the player that she was able to trace the incoming message from Alad V. His location seems to match another set of coordinates found in the data from the hacked Bursas. She then sends the coordinates to the Lotus and tell the player to be ready to silently infiltrate this facility.
Mission 4: Infiltrate the Hidden Facility ( Mobile Defense - Neptune, Nereid - Level: 25-30) - The player will need to move completely undetected to one of the computer terminals. Maroo will hack the second terminal and will sync up the hack so they will be undetected.
Note: If they player is spotted, they must kill the enemy that spotted them immediately or else the mission will fail.
It will take 3 minutes for the hack to go through. The player will have to stealthily eliminate any Corpus units that get too close to the terminal. They can do this with a silenced weapon or by a stealth take down.
With the terminals hacked, Maroo will ask the player to meet her inside one of the vents overlooking an assembly line. The player must make their way to her, once again avoiding detection. Once they reach her a cinematic will start.
Note: If they player is spotted, they must kill the enemy that spotted them immediately or else the mission will fail.
It will take 3 minutes for the hack to go through. The player will have to stealthily eliminate any Corpus units that get too close to the terminal. They can do this with a silenced weapon or by a stealth take down.
With the terminals hacked, Maroo will ask the player to meet her inside one of the vents overlooking an assembly line. The player must make their way to her, once again avoiding detection. Once they reach her a cinematic will start.
Cinematic: Maroo and the player look down on the factory floor. They see Alad V and his corpus advisers overlooking the production of new machines. The player spots a heap of damaged Warframes being dissembled and smelted down. Lotus tells the player that this must be where Alad V studies the Tenno for his work on the Zanuka project. Maroo reminds the Tenno that they must retrieve the smelter. The Tenno will then decide to deviate from the mission and attack Alad V. During the attack, Alad V will flee, leaving Maroo and the player surrounded.
Mission 4A: Rescue the Captive Tenno (Rescue mission) - While dealing with the Corpus forces, Maroo sends Lotus information on the layout of the facility. Lotus confirms that there appear to be a holding cells with prisoners. Against Maroo's wishes the player will travel to the holding cells and attempt to free the captive Tenno. Maroo, frustrated goes off on her own as the Tenno rush to the rescue.
Rescuing the captive Tenno.
Note: Depending on how many players are in the mission, they might have to free 2-4 captive Tenno.
The player must escort the freed Tenno to the extraction point. Upon arriving at the extraction point, the captive Tenno will be board the player's landing craft. Suddenly, the extraction point is ambushed by a Zanuka Hunter.
The player must escort the freed Tenno to the extraction point. Upon arriving at the extraction point, the captive Tenno will be board the player's landing craft. Suddenly, the extraction point is ambushed by a Zanuka Hunter.
Mission 4B: Eliminate the Zanuka Hunter (Exterminate) - The player must now escape the extraction point. They must eliminate all of the remaining enemies in the facility and the Zanuka Hunter. While the player is battling through the facility, Alad V taunts the player, he boasts that his Zanuka Hunter is the latest prototype, made from the parts of fallen Warframes. The Zanuka Hunter is unlike any the player has encountered before. it has a pair of shield Ospreys following it at all times that must be destroyed before it can have it's shield/health damaged.
With all of the enemies destroyed, Alad V will curse the Tenno for destroying his latest creation. Alad V flees as Lotus reveals the next extraction point for the player. Once the player boards their landing craft they will notice that Zanuka dropped a block of ore. A random block of ore will be added to the player's inventory.
Mission 5: Escort The Smelter (Hijack - Neptune, Nereid - Level:25-30) - Upon arriving back on there landing craft, the player will receive and incoming video message from Maroo. Maroo will urge the player to return to the facility immediately, as she has found the smelter and loaded it up onto a Corpus cargo rover. She Just needs the Tenno's help to get the transport off planet. She urges the player to help her retrieve the cargo. Lotus then advises the player to help Maroo. She reminds the player that the smelter can help the Tenno in their cause.
The mission plays like a standard Hijack mission, except Maroo will join the player in defending the rover and there will be Bursa helping the Corpus. Once the rover reaches the extraction point the players will see a cinematic where Maroo thanks the players for their assistance. Shortly after she will send the Tenno a blueprint for the Smelter Foundry Upgrade Segment in their inbox.
A New Economy
With the introduction of the smelter I felt it would be an interesting idea to introduce a new type of resource. Ore. This resource would be a very rare resource that on it's own can't be used to craft anything, but it can be smelted down to usable raw components.
The resources needed to craft the smelter segment.
For example, a block of Oxium Ore when smelted down can give the player anywhere between 200-400 pieces of Oxium. Oxium is a very rare component, and is usually only dropped in low single to double digit quantities. This would make the raw block of ore very valuable.
Ore would be a reward for high level invasion missions, Events, Alerts and sorties. Ore can be traded from player to player for mods, blueprints or platinum. The price of Ore increases and fluctuates in value. Players would be able to cash in their ore at relays. The value of ore fluctuates day to day. Players may trade ore among NPCs from different factions or syndicates for varying amounts. Friendly syndicates will grant players standing and credits for ore.
Ore would be a reward for high level invasion missions, Events, Alerts and sorties. Ore can be traded from player to player for mods, blueprints or platinum. The price of Ore increases and fluctuates in value. Players would be able to cash in their ore at relays. The value of ore fluctuates day to day. Players may trade ore among NPCs from different factions or syndicates for varying amounts. Friendly syndicates will grant players standing and credits for ore.
Not all types of Ore will give the player hundreds of raw components. Argon ore for example might give the player anywhere from 2-4 argon crystals. Argon Ore form does not deplete unlike argon crystals.
These raw blocks of ore require 25k credits to smelt and it will take 8 hours for the ore to be turned into raw materials. The player can pay 10 platinum to rush the smelting process, but there is no guarantee that there will be an increase in the amount of resources awarded.
These raw blocks of ore require 25k credits to smelt and it will take 8 hours for the ore to be turned into raw materials. The player can pay 10 platinum to rush the smelting process, but there is no guarantee that there will be an increase in the amount of resources awarded.
Proven in Combat
That is my idea for the smelting game mechanic and the quest players would have to embark on to get access to it. As a seasoned player of Warframe, I feel that the smelter would encourage players to build more and Ore would bolster trade.
If you play Warframe I would love to hear your thoughts on the the smelting mechanic/quest. Leave a comment here on my blog or tweet me. Thanks for reading!
If you play Warframe I would love to hear your thoughts on the the smelting mechanic/quest. Leave a comment here on my blog or tweet me. Thanks for reading!
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- Danny Q
@Dannylv100
@Dannylv100
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