Rise of Iron, Warframe and Having Fun (Gaming)

by Mad_Stylus, Friday, August 19, 2016, 04:23 (3019 days ago)

So, I havent been playing Destiny in a long while.

Main reason is just I don't got anything to do. I've beaten all the content in some form or another. Sure, I could do Hard Mode Oryx, but whats the point? Same fight, just different level numbers. What modifiers I've heard of aren't honestly that huge a deal. No matter how much I stop to smell the roses, I'm often going into the exact same room to defeat the exact same enemies in the exact same positions.

You can only get so much out of that.

Last few months, instead, I got into Warframe. For those uninformed, its a third person action-shooter where the player takes control of biomechanical space ninjas in a far, far future. You also get to use a form of Space Magic. It has heavy RPG mechanics, as opposed to Destinys more Halo-With-Stats approach.

Upcoming Rise of Iron has me interested, despite my "better" instincts. In theory, the included content alone will justify the price tag. Even if it doesn't fix any of the underlying problems of the game, which is probably going to be around until Destiny 3. They did a good job with that with Taken King, and this appears to be following the form.

So it seemed like a good idea to give the two a comparison. It feels right, especially after all the time I've sunk in. Always seems better to ask what someone thinks of a game after running a game into the ground. One playthrough isn't sufficient anymore, not telling.

So.

First point: Updates.

Warframe updates periodically, and typically in very meaningful ways. The game as-is does not resemble the game when it was first put in peoples hands. Damage, how its dealt and calculated, was overhauled significantly some time ago. Recently, the star chart was given a new look and the method by which players farmed rare endgame pieces revamped for the better. Thats a point I want to return to, by the way.

Second: Level Design

This is one point where Warframe has something way ahead of Destiny, IMO. The levels are all randomly generated from a tileset, with conditions as outlined by the mission type. You can play the exact same node on the same planet and the layout will be different every time. You'll see a lot of the same rooms, of course, but I think its a vast improvement over the exact same rooms and positions thing. Knowing the rooms now just grounds me, gives me an ability to act in a context rather than boring me. Also, each tile tends to have all sorts of little hidden touches. Things to scan, hidden alcoves and so on.

Its also something I dont see Destiny copying without severely rehauling their level design. Not that some of the levels right now are terrible, but this would be great for sidequest fodder. Randomly generated dungeons with a set amount of space and enemies, kind of like Firefight. Just that little bit of variance would clear out so much dust.

Third: Grind

This is gonna be very up to personal taste, I think, so take this with a grain of salt. Its a very easy point to argue that Warframe has much more grind than Destiny. You have to find the mods you want, get enough cores to power them up to the most useful point, mod up the frames and weapons, etc. By comparison, in half the time I could have easily gotten to max Light in Destiny and probably gotten most, if not all, the ideal weapons.

Destiny grind is, however, much more aggrevating by far in my experience. Theirs the weekly lockout, for starters, on raids. Then you got to get lucky for that one roll. With Taken King, you have to get the item you want at the light you want. Warframe has more steps to it, but you can just keep taking a shot at it. You always feel like your making progress, even if its in a slight manner.

Fourth: Gameplay

Warframe isn't a bad game, at its core. Its a fluid, fast paced action game with unique character mechanics. All the actions blend seamlessly. Its also just really cool to wade into a group a hundred strong and emerge victorious in vicious melee. Its hilariously anime like that.

That said, at its core gameplay, I do believe Destiny is the stronger game. Aiming and executing a perfect headshot is viscerally satisfying. Even with more precise rifles, I'm typically just snap-shooting in Warframe. The proportion between movement speed and aim agility just isn't the same.

Fifth: RNG

Warframe will ask you to roll RNG more often. You can just keep rolling far easier, though, which makes the process at least a little more manageable. Only lockouts I know of are daily for sorties, maybe for the raid equivalents. Where Destiny can really learn from Warframe, though, is how they recently redid the Void.

Cutting the story short, heres how you farm Prime parts, which are by and large endgame quality weapons. You do special missions where these Fissures show up. With a Relic equipped, you get enemy drops that will open it up and give you an item. When you select the Relic, you can see what items it might contain along with the probability for a drop. However, theirs an additional enemy drop, called Void Traces. Put them into a Relic, and it'll make the rare stuff more likely to drop. Not a guarantee, but you can skew the odds more favorably.

Idea is, in the course of actually farming, you can earn the right to improve your odds. In theory, they tried this with Oryx, but having an additonal roll with terrible odds doesn't seem to be much of a roll in my experience. Theoretically, this would be a good counter to people who constantly get one thing, or never get what they're looking for.

Sixth: Story

Warframe actually has one in the game.

The characterizations are also a lot more convincing. The Speaker might as well be made of cardboard. The Lotus, however, has a character. She has a personality, hence the nickname "Space Mom". Oryx is, in game, a two dimensional cliche spewing monstrosity. He's a very awesome threat for us to confront and defeat, but in game narrative he has the depth of a puddle of rainwater. Hunhow has a place in the universe, a connection to the player and a definite personality. He emotes, demonstrates wants and a sense of scale. He does more than bombastic threats from afar.

Destiny does have Captain Mal, though.

Seventh: RPG Mechanics

This is another point in Destiny's favor.

Warframe suffers at high levels from its RPG mechanics. Like most RPGs, after a point your just beating enemies to death with your character sheet. Either you cream them absolutely, or the other way. Theirs little room for struggle, outfighting them or such. Especially when we get into the arms race of hard counters between player abilities and enemy capability. Not much wiggle room.

Destiny, though, is basically Halo with stats. This means at equal level, theirs a very briskly paced, rewarding and challenging experience you are supposed to have. Even if you do have amazing weapons, such as Hawkmoon or its ilk, its still engaging. You are actively combating the enemy, outmanuevering and outfighting them. It is a struggle, unless the level difference is just huge. Which, by the way, a constant drawback of Patrols.

Destiny is a great game, behind the awful systems that surround it. Warframe is a good game, but with a more palatable long term flavor.

I might buy Rise of Iron, and I'd probably enjoy it.

I just don't know if I'll still be enjoying it a month or two after release.