#yes you can be a space ninja and a bard

[aishicc]

(request) Come Little Children { Warframe shawzin cover }

https://www.warframe.com/signup?referrerId=5d7057b1cca251371629ee4d

[talenlee]

4e: I Like the Ardent

One of the elements of Dungeons and Dragons as a game system that I hold fast to as one of its greatest strengths is the nature of the class-species based system where a player is immediately invited to create a character the second they hear about the basics of the system. To this end, there is a design space in D&D where the classes in that class system regard the potential power carried in a name that meaningfully explicates what they do. Class systems, broadly, recognise the value of names for what a class is, because that conveys tone for what a class does. A Barbarian and a Fighter aren’t meaningfully useful classes but when positioned as game systems, one of them is immediately more technical than the other.

Even if, yes, I’m sure, Berserker is the more proper term.

Anyway, to this end, a D&D character class cares about what I think of as ‘name space’ – the kinds of things you can name classes in order to make those classes compelling, interesting and memorable, the handles that players can get a grip on. This means that some titles, like Wizard, Bard, Rogue, Sorcerer, the 90s idiot’s allure of The Ninja, have value and weight to them and you can almost always directly tie the quality of a class to the name it gets, as that’s a sign that someone had a real clear idea and wanted to do something. If the weird is generic (the Seeker) or completely obscure (the Factotum), then you were odds on dealing with something that was not designed with a strong class fantasy and were about to be in for A Bad Time that was maybe interestingly broken.

And then there’s the Ardent.

Ardents are a type of support character, a Leader in the context of D&D 4th edition. While by no means their first appearance in the game, 4th is the place where they got good. 3rd edition Ardents worked in a way that I will generously call weird, and were positioned as a psionic healer and therefore in direct competition with the Cleric, one of the best classes in the game that could always manage healing as an afterthought. Not a good look there at the best of times, especially with the strongest virtue of the psionic system of 3.5 being ‘guess what rules oversight I get to dance in.’

The simplest description for the Ardent is that they’re a melee psionic supporter that leads by example and expresses emotions hard. It’s a bit of a hard class fantasy to put into a single word, right? You’re a feeler. Wait no that’s bad. You’re an emotive? Nope, that won’t do it, either. You can tell Ardent is a rough word to use since it shows up in the flavour text of dozens of other things and the Paladin even gets a starting power called Ardent Vow.

Thing is once this idea is set aside, the actual mechanical package of the Ardent absolutely rules. For a start, it’s a melee weapon based Leader whose primary attacking stat is Charisma, and whose skills back that Charisma up. You can play a skulking streetwise Ardent or a sincere politician Ardent or even just a walking threat Ardent, they all have the compatibilities. They also rely on a big weapon, meaning you get some of that anime hero vibes of a character with a huge weapon leaping into combat to have a big impact.

Because their primary focus was how things feel they could put a lot of different emotional impacts on the kinds of moves they had. That could be something like leading your friends in a direct charge against an enemy or sometimes it could be about psychically dragging your enemy towards you so every friend you have gets to make an attack on them along the way like it’s an Assist Strikers spice reel from the attract mode on an arcade.

Ardents had a special ability that fired off when they got bloodied, which was rarely worth worrying about. They had another ability that change how you related to opportunity attacks, too – either you were better defended against them (prompting you to be more reckless about how you moved), you were better at dealing damage with them (and therefore became more mindful about forcing opponents into positions to deal with them) or you got to deal more damage when you got hit by them (in which case you were suddenly an immense idiot trying to get whacked on the snout all the time in combat just so you could retaliate with nova spikes).

They also grew well. See, they were a psionic class, which meant early on you picked some at-will powers and then instead of getting encounter attacks, you swapped those at-wills for other at-wills and got instead power points to choose how to fine-tune your powers for points in combat. This could lead to things like a slow burning opening turn setting up a late-combat nova, or vice versa, or maybe you’d find you had one power you loved to use all the time and focused on using it, with your other powers as niche, sometimes fooders. As an example, Demoralising Strike is a power you start with and, using no power points, just gives enemies a -2 to defenses when you hit with it. If you augmented it though, it would impose a penalty of -X, where X is 1+ your con mod, so in some cases, -5, or -6. This is a big swing and makes things very easy to hit and paints a very broad target.

On the note of painting a target, they also get the power Forward Thinking Cut, one of my favourite 4th edition powers ever. Used just on its own it’s a solid melee attack that gives everyone adjacent to you +1 to hit. That’s a perfectly reasonable power on its own. It can be augmented once to allow a higgledy-piggle side-step charge, but then it can be augmented a second time to instead allow two other characters to come with you on the charge. This kind of flexibility delights me, where it goes from a serviceable every-time power and then upgrades into a power for transporting people into the fray at the very start of combat.

It’s such a cool class about creating cool feeling moments.

Shame about the name.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[mayflowers07]

Continuation of this post for my Out-of-Character (or maybe better said as unexpected) DnD classes for the Hermits because I’ve come up with everyone else

Like Scar, most give Cub some form of magic to do with the Vex, making him a wizard or a sorcerer. However Cub is a sneaky businessman so I propose to you: Cub as a rogue that uses tricks and gadgets to fake having magic

It would make sense to give Cleo some form of magical alignment to explain her rising from the dead, probably a necromancer gone wrong or something. But I’ve been watching her play a lot of Fallout and Cleo with a gun makes my sapphic heart happy, so I’ve decided that she will be a fighter with the subclass of gunslinger

So initially I jumped on the idea of TFC as essentially an artificer dwarf, especially with a magical mechanical prosthetic leg. However I love the wise-old-man stereotype and after years of adventuring he’s probably a seasoned fighter and disciplined warrior. So how about TFC as a monk, probably following either the Way of Mercy or the Way of Tranquility? Bonus if he acts as a mentor of sorts to Bdubs the younger monk as well

Beef as a melee class? As something muscular and powerful to make sense of the blood on his clothes? Nah, lets make Beef a bard who builds and sells his own magical infused instruments and discs and can entangle spells in the stories he tells

Mumbo is most obviously an artificer because of all the redstone stuff. But Mumbo irl is actually pretty built, very tall, and was pretty decent at archery and axe throwing, so how funny would it be if he was a brawling fighter?

Taking inspiration from other AUs, I bet Jevin’s squishy slime body would be very good at squeezing into tight spaces and sneaking into places he shouldn’t be. Of course Jevin being a neon blue slime doesn’t exactly help him with the whole rogue thing and going unnoticed but he somehow makes do

Tango is also quite good at redstone so again artificer is too obvious. But I headcanon him as a nether being, so why don’t we assume that nether beings have inherent magical abilities like dragonborn and that he uses magic to enhance his redstone, so that way he’s a sorcerer?

Similar to Tango, I think I want to give Impulse some magic. But he needed to practice to break bedrock and learn how to do it, plus I want him to be a foil to Tango’s naturally-achieved magic. Therefore I dub Impulse as a wizard

And how iconic is it if Zedaph of all people is the tough af melee member of the Team ZIT? If he’s the muscle? I love the idea that he is sworn loyalty to his friends and he wants them to achieve greatness and that’s his driving force (plus we stan Team ZIT in this house) so how about him as a paladin who’s taken the Oath of Glory?

Admittedly I don’t watch a whole lot of Hypno, so I was initially lost on him, but I have an idea. However I have been watching the past few episodes of him breeding the villagers to get better and better arrows, which is vaguely dark and horrifying when you think about it. So anyone for warlock Hypno whose staple move is charming/feebleminding/causing hallucinations (basically hypnotizing) people?

I definitely want Xisuma as something magical and powerful, but I feel like warlock or wizard is too stereotypical. We are talking about the appointed gardener of the shopping district, and he is the man who changes his skin to match an animals every season. I feel like druid is a good fit then

Keralis is definitely a tricky one, but he really loves his friends. He just seems like the type of man that would do anything to protect them, and I mean anything. How cursed is it then if Keralis is the world’s friendliest, most loving barbarian who would throw himself into any fight to protect the other Hermits?

Mr. xB 1) loves his dog quite a lot, 2) likes to build away from everyone else and prefers to be alone in nature over people, and 3) seems to take a distant, support role in most conflicts. Therefore xB is going to be a ranger. Basic? Yes. Fitting? Also yes.

Listen am I tempted to make this sneaky ninja man rogue or a samurai fighter? Obviously yes. Am I instead going to take inspiration from Critical Role and make Etho a cleric of the trickster domain because I think Etho as a cleric that hates/refuses to heal people and who worships his god by playing pranks and lying to people is hilarious? Also yes.

Finally we have Iskall, also someone who would fit most obviously a melee class due to his “hitman”/ “Iskallman” personas. But we are talking about the man who cheated death by winning demise. Therefore I propose Iskall as a Wizard from the School of Necromancy who is actually quite nice considering how sinister his powers may seem

TL;DR here’s a summary of everyone’s classes I’ve assigned in this AU

(If you don’t look at this list and go “wtf” at least once I did it wrong)

Artificer: Stress (Alchemist)

Barbarian: Grian and Keralis

Bard: Wels and Beef

Blood Hunter: False

Cleric: Scar and Etho (Trickster Domain)

Druid: Doc and Xisuma

Fighter: Cleo (gunslinger) and Mumbo

Monk: Bdubs and TFC (Way of Mercy or Way of Tranquility)

Paladin: Zedaph (Oath of Glory)

Ranger: Joe and xB

Rogue: Cub and Jevin

Sorcerer: Tango

Warlock: Ren and Hypno

Wizard: Impulse and Iskall (School of Necromancy)

[notsosensational]

I really like Homestuck and I really like Naruto and I really like classpecting so here's my headcannons. I could talk about classpecting for hours so hit me up if you disagree with anything or want me to expand on something.

Naruto- Maid of Hope

-actively creates hope and positivity, opening up new pathways in people by believing in them (I mean,, "believe it!" with hope being about belief... Almost too easy). Naruto is so about bluntly forcing people to fix their hopes and dreams so like.

Sasuke- Thief of Breath

-actively steals people's freedom and drive. Sasuke being a hero of breath really makes sense to me because he's always been very driven to be free and make his own way, not wanting to be bound to anywhere. Though he piggybacks on other people and their motivations to help him along (Naruto's drive during Haku's fight, Kakashi's lightening technique used for Sasuke's own purposes, Orochimaru's everything and he even stole his life (metaphorically, breath) at the end).

Sakura- Page of Rage

-actively serves people rage and limitations. Pages start very wimpy and grow to be powerhouses- Sakura learned to come into her strength and use her anger to smack the shit outta anyone who tries to mess with her (and the fandom is very divided over Sakura which particularly makes sense with a rage character).

Shikamaru- Mage of Mind

-actively knows people's decisions and logic and uses that to make plans for everyone. He's very good at predicting people's next move even with little information, but he's also in the field a lot so I think this is a good fit. Later he's the Hokage's advisor which is a more active role in planning.

Ino- Rogue of Light

-passively steals and relocates information and fortune. I've seen a lot of people use mind for Ino but that doesn't make a lot of sense with the actual meaning of aspects. What does make sense is her using a lot of reconnaissance and subtlety to get information back to her friends.

Choji- Heir of Space

-passively changes the size and location of things. Choji doesn't have a lot of characterization tbh, but his main jutsu is making himself bigger, sort of like inheriting mass. Yes, maybe this is a stretch (pun intended?) but I really see him as a hero of space nonetheless.

Hinata- Seer of Heart

-passively knows people's emotions and desires. Hinata deserved a lot more than what she was written as, so going on the assumption that she has an actual character arc and doesn't just stay a stalker fangirl, she's very compassionate and seems to understand people very well. She even tries to understand Neji during the exams (and the seer class goes well with having byakugan).

Shino- Sylph of Void

-passively heals and creates secrets and misfortune. We don't know a lot about Shino but I'm into insects so he's one of my favs and gets extra headcannons. There's a lot of mystery around him so void fits well, but he's also in a position to gather secrets with how stealthy his bugs are. I really headcannon him being good with medical jutsu if he'd try learning it (read a really cool fanfic with it), and he definitely keeps his secrets so sylph.

Kiba- Knight of Life

-passively serves people growth and energy. He's very energetic and the jokester of the team. He also is very much a team player like all the cannon knights are, desiring to help everyone else. Gonna be honest, I'm going off of vibes for assigning Kiba the life aspect but he does grow a lot (and Akamaru grows A LOT) in maturity too, which fits life's theme.

Neji- Prince of Blood

-actively destroys relationships and connections. So obviously, early Neji is angry and lashing out at people, destroying his own relationships, but afterwards he focuses it on enemies, and if the series was true to itself it would've had him and Naruto dismantle the Hyuuga system (destroying those relationships to make way for new ones).

Rock Lee- Bard of Doom

-passively destroys restrictions and suffering... Okay hear me out on this. I know everyone gives Lee super happy aspects like hope but the dude is surrounded by unfortunate situations- he just,, blows through them. So I say he's a bard (the wildcard, people take him for granted but he's one of the strongest) because he destroyed the limitations placed on him saying that he couldn't be a ninja and helps people do the same.

Tenten- Witch of Time

-actively changes time. Short and to the point, but does it really fit Tenten? She's a very active person and seeks to change her circumstances and people's opinions of her (we dunno much about her life but she doesn't seem to have a great one) so I think witch fits. And her way of using scrolls and the barrages of weapons utilizes a very good sense of timing. Time is a rough aspect outside of a fantasy setting because time travel is usually involved... Either way, I can see her personality mixing with the witches we know and the heroes of time we know so I'm going for it.

[thatrhen]

Shadowbringers, thoughts...

This will likely get rather long winded, so I’ll put it under a cut. This will be all off the dome, so expect it to be a mess and potentially full of holes. (There will be spoilers, obviously)

I went into this expansion without any expectations. That’s not to say I had any expectations going into Heavensward or Stormblood, more that both of those expansions didn’t really give me what I wanted. I was expecting even less this time around, and that might have made things seem better as a result.

The story, this time around, was more enjoyable for me... aside from some glaring issues. I think I’ll touch on those first since they mar an otherwise enjoyable experience (especially in comparison to the last two expansions). Things start out simply enough, but I couldn’t help but feel like the explanations for things we were given, even in the end, were just a little too contrived and formulaic. I’m sure I’m missing some stuff, but given the way the story has gone thus far I’m feeling as though it won’t make much of a difference. The broad strokes are generally well thought out, but the small, more intricate details, tend to get muddled. 

I knew who the Exarch was from the moment I saw art of him. I knew it had to be him due to his lineage, ties to the Crystal Tower, and his face, build, and height. He might as well have just shown up as he had before. It’s like when people in movies go undercover and toss on a hat and sunglasses. The other new character, Ryne, was actually pretty great. I have no complaints about her, aside from her manner of dress. She’s like, what, 15-16 max? Also, while on the subject of Ryne; the whole time she is running about as Minfillia she’s got blonde hair and glowing blue eyes. This reads like the whole Super Saiyajin thing. Like, I don’t really need to get into that, because y’all should understand why and how that’s an issue. The other characters were either two dimensional or just plain uninteresting. I could maybe recall them if I looked at them, but otherwise I’m drawing a blank.

The Scions just felt like, well, the Scions. Despite all the time that they have spent on The First, they don’t really seem to have changed much. Yes, a few of them changed Jobs, but they are still the same uninteresting people. Sure, they have their moments where I find myself actually caring... but often times they’d do something stupid, like yeet themselves into the Lifestream for no good reason and brush it off like it was nothing. Typical fare as far as that lot goes. At least I didn’t have to deal with Lyse.

The first big issue was Eulmore. All of it. The whole thing. The whole place couldn’t possibly function in the manner in which it is presented, first and foremost. Then the whole thing where people live in squalor dreaming of a life of servitude for people who blindly follow a clearly evil tyrant. Said Tyrant is, of course, the atypical fat man child villain trope. You know, because of course he has to be fat, you know. Speaking of fat characters, we have one... But she is, for the most part, also a villain. Just because she was willfully ignorant of what was going on and apologized for it doesn’t really make up for the fact that she was, and presumably still is, benefiting from a system that runs on slavery. I’, all for having fat characters, but could they, for once, be out and out good guys? Oh, and let’s not forget the transformation, because when they reach “god hood”, they then become an aesthetically built, fit, dude. If that doesn’t have connotations, what does?

The second big issue is Emmet-Selch (Or, as I liked to call him: Felch). I’m getting really tired of villains being humanized. He has no room to ask for sympathy. He is, by design, a racist zealot bent on mass genocide. He’s literally Space Hitler, and while it’s nice to not hear people drone on and on and on about Zenos for a change... this isn’t better. It’s worse. I’m so glad we got to actually kill this piece of shit. The Ascians have been fucking with us since 1.0 and we haven’t really done jack shit in terms of retaliation until this moment. Maybe now we can finally go fight the Empire too? Like, we’ve had two goals since go; destroy the Garleans and destroy the Ascians. We’ve been doing a piss poor job of both. It’s almost like we are looking for any excuse not to do it at this point. Like, taking both of them out won’t solve all our issues. We’d still have a lot of stuff that could be done, as shown by Heavensward. Like, shit, we haven’t even been to half of the places on the Source.

There were a lot of enjoyable moments, but there were also a lot of moments where I felt like all the momentum the story had built up came to a screeching halt in favor of fetch quests or exposition that didn’t amount to much. I would have much preferred to just been fast tracked through the story, with each leg of the quests keeping me properly geared and leveled (especially leveled) so that I could enjoy the parts in which I was an active participant in a steady stream. That’s not to say that I didn’t like a lot of the story and details that were revealed over the course of 30 some odd hours of play time. But a lot of it either fell flat for me, personally, or directly contradicted things we’ve been told. Things written in the “lore books” that we have, until now, been able to tote as “word of god”. I feel like I know more and, at the same time, less than I did before. It’s like being at square one, despite all that time that’s passed. That sucks a lot of enjoyment out of it for me.

Gameplay has been a bit of mixed bag. Dark Knight feels simplified, but at the same time I now feel like I have way more to do and not enough ways to do it. It’s about how Bard was feeling for me in 4.0; just too much that can be going all at once and any moment not doing something is wasted. It’s exhilarating, but also draining. I haven’t had a chance to really play anything else, but the time I have managed to put into Ninja, Bard, White Mage, Gunbreaker and Samurai has been alright, but definitely not to the level of enjoyment I have with Dark Knight. Maybe that’ll change once I get one of the other Jobs to 80. I feel like Samurai changed the least with Bard and Ninja following just after. White Mage has, seemingly, been pretty ok but I need more time with it. 

I enjoyed all the dungeons and I especially enjoyed the Trust system. I would enjoy it even more if it didn’t go tits up at 80... While they were definitely slower than an actual party, I could be at the first boss by the time the queue actually popped. Added bonus; I didn’t have to deal with assholes.

I don’t think I’m going to bother with crafting. I spent so much money and so much time working on Gathering and Crafting throughout both 3.0 and 4.0 with little to no reward. The way in which the systems have been changed for them definitely killed whatever vestige of caring I had left in me. As long as I can repair in combat, I’m good. It’ll be nice to have extra money for once as well.

All in all, I feel like I did back in 2.0. Love and hate, but a good mix of the two. Despite all the bullshit, despite all the issues, despite it all I’m back on board.

[ffxiv-ofthewhite]

After Baelar’s Wall: Olina’s choice.

I’ve done Baelar’s Wall three times now and I couldn’t help but write a little something for my Of the White girls going to Baelar’s Wall to aid the Scions in their mission.

They left a sunset.

armor properly cared for and weapons ready with faces stern, stoic, steeling themselves for the task at hand-and then they left, leaving Olina behind in Lavender beds to bide her time with held breath and pacing anxiety.

The mage had wanted to join them, to assist in guarding the borders of Gridania but they wouldn’t let her. Olina wasn’t strong enough, did not have enough battle experience, to join them in the conflict with the Griffon.

But it will be okay, she was assured, it was just another mission-just like the others before it and not nearly a dangerous.

Still...

In the stillness of the night, as Olina paced about Altani’s room, the air shifted. There was an aetheric shift to the east so great it sent a shiver spiraling up the Hyur’s spine and electric through the fine hairs across her skin. She stopped her pacing and hurried towards the nearest window expecting to see the air pulsing with the aether she felt but the blacken sky revealed nothing. Clouds were gathering, a storm was coming.

“...It could just be nothing” Olina muttered and yet her pacing and worrying, and constant checking out the window continued.

It wasn’t just nothing.

Within the hour, the door was swinging open loudly announcing their return from battle.

“Olina!” Elle was the first to enter, behind her Altani staggered into the room with U’laiboli’s help “Quickly, fetch me my potions and a roll of bandages! From the third drawer!” the small woman’s word were almost drowned out by Altani’s cries of pain. The Au ra clenched her side, her pale fingers painted red with blood. Another step and the Bard cried out again nearly doubling over if U’laiboli had not been supporting her. Olina wasted no time after seeing this, nearly tripping over herself as she hurried to the other room. “Come, Laiboli, help her to bed and remove her armor. I can tend to the wound easier that way, that I can”

“Wish you’d just let Y’shtola look at you before we left the wall” U’laiboli remarked, grunting as she hoisted Altani back onto her shaky legs and lead the Au ra to the comfort of her plush canopy bed.

“Ugh...” Altani leaned against the side, allowing the Miqo’te to unbuckle and unstrap the leather of her cover until she was bare from the waist up save her chest bindings. “It would have helped if I found aught amiss when we left, the bleed was slow and adrenaline made the pain slower...” the petite woman responded gripping the edge of her bed for support while U’laiboli put her clothing away “Besides, how could I refuse the service of two great healers such as you and Elle?” the Bard chuckled, the gold rings in her eyes sparkled with amusement before she doubled over along the edge of the bed in a spasm of pain from her laughter overcame her “Seven Hells”

“Enough” Elle intervened “Lay down, Tani” the Au ra didn’t need to be told twice. U’laiboli eased her down on her side while Elle settled on the bed beside her. “Let me see...” Olina returned with the requested materials in time to witness Altani slowly, carefully, pull her hand away to reveal the wound. A bloody, mangled patch of flesh, the Au ra’s pale skin was torn open horribly-like someone had tried to eat her alive.

How could Elle ever hoped to close such a mess? Especially when it...

Altani gasped in pain resisting the urge to cover the wound again as blood gushed from it. Olina gasped at the sight, bringing her hands to her mouth in horror. The Au ra took notice, she chuckled-wincing as she did- offering a pained smile.

“Don’t worry yourself” she assured Olina “It’s just a flesh wound-Nn!”

“Flesh wound, my ass” retorted U’laiboli, the Miqo’te didn’t flinch as blood coated her fingers from through the bandages she pressed against the wound. “You’re lucky Elley here is quick on the staff or we’d be lookin to replace half your stomach”

“And who’s fault is that?” Altani shot back, the seeker shrugged.

“I’m a bit out of practice with my daggers. Ninja’s my secondary job, remember? I did warn you to watch your back, y’know” she excused the apparent part she took in the Bards injury

“Is it so hard to shout ‘look out for that gigantic, bloody, dog charging at you’ Lailai?” Altani snapped

“Was it so hard to notice the gigantic, bloody, dog charging at you until it chomped down and tried to bite you in half, Tani?” U’laiboli shot back.

Bite her in half?!

“By the twelve” Olina couldn’t help but feel faint at the thought

“She’s kidding-Ow!” Altani jerked in pain under U’laiboli’s touch.

“Heh, and it looks like he left you a parting gift- the old mutt.” the cat mused, golden eyes shifting to Elle’s pupiless gaze “it feels deep, Elley...”

“Fantastic” Elle mused sitting up and shooting Altani a worried gaze as she rolled up her sleeves “Considering the damn beast bit into you, I’d assume it’s a tooth, that I would... Olina”

“Y-yes!” Olina squeaked out, her back straightening just a bit.

“Come here” the mage commanded and Olina almost didn’t. It was just...there was so much blood “...Olina” the Lalafell pinned Olina with a sharp tone and an even sharper stare “I need your help. Steel yourself. When you’re out there and someone needs you, you wont have a moment to settle your nerves, that you won’t”

“If you’re not going to help then get out” U’laibol remarked harshly over her shoulder “Last thing we need right now is you crackin your head on the floor because you fainted”

“Give her a break, Lailai-Nn!” Altani cringed

“Stop moving” the cat hissed

“Olina” Elle spoke up sterner this time “you wish to become stronger? it starts now, that it does. It’s when we act despite our fears that shows our strength, your test is now, that it is, and you must decide”

“Miss Elle...”

“The choice is yours” Elle concluded before turning all her focus on Altani “I’m going to have to remove the tooth before we heal her, least it puncture something and cause internal bleeding later on” she was a medic now, not a teacher-speaking in leveled voice to U’laiboli who nodded in understanding.

“Right, so?” U’laiboli perked a brow

“Hold down her arms” replied Elle “I don’t need her swiping at me in blind pain, that I don’t...no offence Tani”

“None taken” Altani tried her best to shrug while allowing U’laiboli to pin down her arms “I hear I had a mean left hook”

“Humor” U’laiboli snorted “good attitude”

“Alright, here we go... one...two...”Elle paused as the bed dipped under added weight. Olina settled on Altani’s legs, pressing down on the Bards thighs to keep her still. Looking to her teacher, Olina took in a shaking breath before nodding her head to indicate she was ready. “On three” Elle spoke “one...two...three!”

Olina looked away when Elle pushed into the wound, her hand disappeared into blood and flesh.

Altani inhaled, her eyes rolled back into her head, her back arched upward and her shrieks echoed through out the room with a shaking curiosity. U’laiboli grunted and Olina yelped as the petite Au ra nearly dislodged them both- she was strong despite her size.

The task was long and grueling. Elle hand to search for the offending object within the wound stopping once to give poor Altani a moment to rest and Olina and U’laiboli time to catch their breaths. At least twice, the Bard nearly bucked Olina off her but they held fast-pressing all their weight down on Altani while Elle worked as fast as she could in locating the tooth. Eventually she did.

When the foreign object was removed-pulled out with a strangled sob from the injured Au ra, Altani lost all strength. Her body fell limp, her breath shallow and her consciousness gone within minutes. Elle passed a large fang over to U’laiboli before turning back to Altani and running her now glowing hand over the wound. Olina held her breath, leaning over Altani in curious worry.

“Is she...”

“She’s alright” Elle nodded checking Altani’s neck for her pulse before focusing on her healing once more “I can stop the bleeding and close up the wound but she’ll have to recover the rest on her own, that she will. I’d say for a few months.”

“She won’t like that” U’laiboli snorted as she climbed off the bed.

“that she won’t” Elle snorted out gentle dropping onto her but with a huff of a sigh “but its better then being dead”

“So...” Olina remained “she’ll be okay?” she perked

“That she will” Elle nodded with a tired smile to the Hyuran mage “You did well, Olina” Olina took in a shaky breath but smiled back. The three mages collectively sighed taking up whatever space they could atop Altani’s bed to rest.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Warframe Review (2019) - Re-Frame

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/warframe-review-2019-re-frame/

Warframe Review (2019) - Re-Frame

Editor’s note: GameSpot originally reviewed Warframe in 2013 and gave it a 6. Due to substantial revisions and new content since its debut, we have re-examined Warframe as it is in 2019 and produced a new review to reflect its current state.

To play Warframe is to reconcile yourself with the sensation that you’re always a bit in over your head. Even six years after its debut, it’s still something of an oddity within the realm of online action-RPGs. With an expanding universe housing a wealth of content, the free-to-play game offers a stellar amount of freedom to explore, uncover loot, and take on missions with its cast of stylish space ninjas. It takes a decidedly unorthodox approach with its non-linear adventure–sometimes frustratingly so–yet journeying across Warframe’s massive universe is as satisfying as it is endearing.

In GameSpot’s original 2013 review, we praised the game’s agile and hard-hitting combat but criticized the lack of meaningful features that effectively took advantage of those strengths. In the broader sense, the Warframe of old was a promising sketch of an idea that lacked reasons for investment. The Warframe of today, however, has filled out the bigger picture. Its vision is clearer, and it’s now so much more than just space ninjas brawling in corridors. Some of Warframe’s best moments involve venturing into the realms of deep space, exploring open worlds and, yes, engaging in combat to power up and take on greater challenges.

When it comes to its gameplay and narrative, Warframe always seems to chuck you into the deep end. The larger story focuses on an interstellar clan of warriors known as the Tenno as they reacquaint themselves with a grander universe in perpetual conflict. You take control of a reawakened Frame–revitalized Tenno fighters from the distant past–to engage in missions against a myriad of enemy factions. This conceit of spacefaring ninjas slashing and shooting across the universe holds the loose narrative together while also giving you an impressive amount of freedom. Several cinematic quests shed light on the history of the Tenno, leading up to some profound moments that reveal a surprising depth for your character and their place in the galaxy.

Warframe is a massive game with numerous, complex systems to dive into–but therein lies the rub. It’s a challenging game to crack; even with hundreds of hours under my belt, I can still feel overwhelmed by how much game there is to unpack. However, the trick to understanding this game lies within finding your own focus in the nebulous grind–whether that’s taking on a variety of side-activities and missions on a series of planets or investing time to customize, experiment, and tweak your favorite Frames.

It can often feel like playing catch-up, considering there is six years’ worth of content in the package, but it’s a game that rewards taking the time to soak it all in, instead of rushing through. How you get accustomed to this surprisingly sink-or-swim structure will determine the mileage you get out of it. Most missions are singular, discrete encounters across the solar system. This piecemeal structure ultimately makes the massive game more digestible. There’s a staggering amount of activities to dive into, and with over 40 hyper-stylized Frames to utilize, there’s a constant sense of fun and surprise when discovering how deep it all runs. However, while the opening missions do well to get you into the basic swing of things when it comes to its core gameplay, the more in-depth systems are left for you to decipher on your own.

The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling.

This mostly hands-off approach in getting you acclimated can sometimes manifest feelings of aimlessness. And it’s magnified when it becomes apparent that there isn’t a traditional endgame to work up to. There are higher-end missions and stories designed for more experienced players, some focusing on endless fights against waves of enemies, but there isn’t anything like raids to unlock later on. In many ways, you’re introduced to that familiar endgame grind from the onset, and that often entails fine-tuning your suite of Frames to tackle many of the game’s tougher challenges.

The true star of Warframe are the various Frames, with each possessing their own unique designs and abilities. The pursuit of new characters to play as is one of the many constants in your journey, often dictating where you should invest your time. It always feels rewarding when you find a new Frame, especially when it’s one that stands apart from the others. Some are highly specialized, such as the stealth-oriented Ash or the aquatic, alien-tentacle-summoning Hydroid. Another standout is Octavia, a Bard-like Frame that lets you craft custom music to amplify your abilities and attack enemies. One time, a squadmate of mine used Octavia’s skills to effortlessly clear a hallway full of enemies–all to the tune of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.”

There is a ridiculous amount of room to experiment, and it can be especially fun strengthening one of the beginner Frames with powerful mods and armaments that can melt through enemies. It’s also impressive how in-depth customization and personalization is in Warframe–you can apply different shaders, accessories, and even alter their particular animation set, and it’s rare to find another player who has the same style and loadout.

It’s a necessity to get your Frame to reach its potential for them to be viable for more advanced activities. If you don’t apply the correct mods and buffs to your character, it can often stop you in your tracks at some inconvenient moments in your progression. If you’re committed to figuring out the intricacies of the game, then using online guides to understand these advanced mechanics, much like with other aspects of the game, is a must. These resources are a big help, but it’s disappointing how often you have to use them, as opposed to the game teaching you the same information. Without them, learning these systems on your own can be a significant test of patience.

You’ll quickly find yourself in a rhythm of cutting down mobs of enemies and boosting your Frame’s strength by collecting mods and earning experience as new gameplay systems and events open up. While the core gameplay is often satisfying, it’s still common to see a streak of highly repetitive missions, most of which re-use tile-sets for procedurally-generated levels and objective types. This repetition can create a recurring feeling of déjà vu throughout, and there were times when this left me feeling exhausted after an extended play session with the game.

To help ease this sense of repetition, Warframe does inject a number of variations on standard missions, as well as adding in new activities. Along with Nightmare challenges, harder versions of previously completed levels, several missions even remix past stages by including multiple enemy factions within one level, making some standard objectives far more hectic. Some objectives feature totally different gameplay modes, in particular incorporating the Archwing, which switches up the familiar action sequences with Wing Commander-style shooter levels. There’s even a set of PvP game types, such as the Conclave and Duel modes, with the latter letting you invite another player to a player-made clan dojo to engage in a solo fight. Unfortunately, the PvP activities come across as exceedingly basic and clunky compared to the core PvE experience.

Despite how much the game has grown over the years by adding in game-changing features, Waframe’s roots are still planted firmly in its fast-paced and satisfying core combat. The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling. It often shows similar shades to a fast-paced corridor shooter by way of a stunning character-action game, with your squad tearing through enemies using myriad skills and armaments.

The core combat and general traversal of Warframe can move at a blistering pace. Despite how complex they can get, they’re still intuitive enough to dive into, and you can pull off Warframe’s advanced acrobatics like gliding, wall-runs, and the appropriately named “Bullet Jump”–which darts your character in any direction–reasonably quickly. Melee combat also features its own complexities, allowing you to use an assortment of combos and aerial abilities to cut through legions of foes in flashy display. Over time, chaining together slick parkour leaps into fast strikes with your weapons can become second nature, resulting in Warframe’s most gratifying and stylish encounters.

Warframe can be daunting for newcomers, yet it can also prove a challenge for players–like myself–who take an extended break and have to learn the basics of new features while simultaneously unlearning outdated ones. Such is the case for online games, and fortunately, Warframe does have an active and open community to trade with and seek assistance from, and you can directly interact with others at various social spaces across different planets. It’s common that you might have to consult outside resources in order to figure out what to do next, or else your progress might come to a halt abruptly.

Stick with the game long enough, and you’ll unlock access to the more involved cinematic story missions and open-world settings that best show the game’s considerable growth. Unlike the fragmented storytelling in most of the game, these two pillars present a more guided plot that offers memorable narrative and character moments. Some of these missions even include the surprising addition of a dialogue system, which can result in some slightly different events in questlines.

In the open-world settings of the Plains of Eidolon and the Orb Vallis, which open after you reach the planets they’re located on, you can take in the sights of the large-scale worlds, take on dynamic bounties and events with squads, and even learn more about the brewing conflict within each setting. The Vallis’ story is especially engaging, dealing with workers’ rights and the perils of late-stage capitalism in the interstellar age. Though these main stories set in the open worlds tend to end far too quickly, the amount of nuance and narrative packed in was impressive, which left me wanting to spend more time in the settings to continue interacting with its characters.

I’m continually pleased with the flexibility of Warframe’s many systems, and how it allows for you to attain a variety of rewards and unlocks at your own pace. Of course, there is an assortment of items, weapons, and even Frames to purchase with real money or with Platinum, Warframe’s premium currency. Fortunately, most items in the game are attainable through gameplay, allowing you to get into the nitty-gritty of the game’s content mostly unabated. The in-game economy of Warframe is very active, and if you’re resourceful enough, you can even trade some of your own gear and blueprints with other players for Platinum as well.

When new content is introduced, the pathway to experiencing the quests or acquiring the next Frame is available to all players. This relaxed approach is reassuring, especially for a game of this magnitude. I generally find acquiring gear and new classes to be quite manageable. However, there are still some time-sinks that feel mostly arbitrary, resulting in the expected and sometimes lengthy grind that’s commonplace in free-to-play games. To that end, the primary intent of Platinum is to circumvent both investments of time and resources.

Thinking back to GameSpot’s original review, it’s interesting how much the game has improved, yet also how much has stayed the same. The game still has issues with repetition and lack of explanations for its more complex systems, but it’s managed to overcome their severity by introducing so many events and revisions that continue to elevate it. While there are inevitable bouts of frustration here and there, I always manage to center myself once I move on to other opportunities. In a lot of ways, that’s what Warframe manages to do best. One moment you’re taking part in a random spy mission on Saturn, and the next, you’re partnered up with a powerful squad of players that help you through several void fissures. Just when you feel like you’ve hit a lull, a better, and more fulfilling opportunity will likely present itself. Perhaps most importantly, Warframe makes sure that the time spent in its world is almost always well rewarded.

Source : Gamesport

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Warframe Review (2019) - Free To Frame

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/warframe-review-2019-free-to-frame/

Warframe Review (2019) - Free To Frame

Editor’s note: GameSpot originally reviewed Warframe in 2013 and gave it a 6. Due to substantial revisions and new content since its debut, we have re-examined Warframe as it is in 2019 and produced a new review to reflect its current state.

To play Warframe is to reconcile yourself with the sensation that you’re always a bit in over your head. Even six years after its debut, it’s still something of an oddity within the realm of online action-RPGs. With an expanding universe housing a wealth of content, the free-to-play game offers a stellar amount of freedom to explore, uncover loot, and take on missions with its cast of stylish space ninjas. It takes a decidedly unorthodox approach with its non-linear adventure–sometimes frustratingly so–yet journeying across Warframe’s massive universe is as satisfying as it is endearing.

In GameSpot’s original 2013 review, we praised the game’s agile and hard-hitting combat but criticized the lack of meaningful features that effectively took advantage of those strengths. In the broader sense, the Warframe of old was a promising sketch of an idea that lacked reasons for investment. The Warframe of today, however, has filled out the bigger picture. Its vision is clearer, and it’s now so much more than just space ninjas brawling in corridors. Some of Warframe’s best moments involve venturing into the realms of deep space, exploring open worlds and, yes, engaging in combat to power up and take on greater challenges.

When it comes to its gameplay and narrative, Warframe always seems to chuck you into the deep end. The larger story focuses on an interstellar clan of warriors known as the Tenno as they reacquaint themselves with a grander universe in perpetual conflict. You take control of a reawakened Frame–revitalized Tenno fighters from the distant past–to engage in missions against a myriad of enemy factions. This conceit of spacefaring ninjas slashing and shooting across the universe holds the loose narrative together while also giving you an impressive amount of freedom. Several cinematic quests shed light on the history of the Tenno, leading up to some profound moments that reveal a surprising depth for your character and their place in the galaxy.

Warframe is a massive game with numerous, complex systems to dive into–but therein lies the rub. It’s a challenging game to crack; even with hundreds of hours under my belt, I can still feel overwhelmed by how much game there is to unpack. However, the trick to understanding this game lies within finding your own focus in the nebulous grind–whether that’s taking on a variety of side-activities and missions on a series of planets or investing time to customize, experiment, and tweak your favorite Frames.

It can often feel like playing catch-up, considering there is six years’ worth of content in the package, but it’s a game that rewards taking the time to soak it all in, instead of rushing through. How you get accustomed to this surprisingly sink-or-swim structure will determine the mileage you get out of it. Most missions are singular, discrete encounters across the solar system. This piecemeal structure ultimately makes the massive game more digestible. There’s a staggering amount of activities to dive into, and with over 40 hyper-stylized Frames to utilize, there’s a constant sense of fun and surprise when discovering how deep it all runs. However, while the opening missions do well to get you into the basic swing of things when it comes to its core gameplay, the more in-depth systems are left for you to decipher on your own.

The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling.

This mostly hands-off approach in getting you acclimated can sometimes manifest feelings of aimlessness. And it’s magnified when it becomes apparent that there isn’t a traditional endgame to work up to. There are higher-end missions and stories designed for more experienced players, some focusing on endless fights against waves of enemies, but there isn’t anything like raids to unlock later on. In many ways, you’re introduced to that familiar endgame grind from the onset, and that often entails fine-tuning your suite of Frames to tackle many of the game’s tougher challenges.

The true star of Warframe are the various Frames, with each possessing their own unique designs and abilities. The pursuit of new characters to play as is one of the many constants in your journey, often dictating where you should invest your time. It always feels rewarding when you find a new Frame, especially when it’s one that stands apart from the others. Some are highly specialized, such as the stealth-oriented Ash or the aquatic, alien-tentacle-summoning Hydroid. Another standout is Octavia, a Bard-like Frame that lets you craft custom music to amplify your abilities and attack enemies. One time, a squadmate of mine used Octavia’s skills to effortlessly clear a hallway full of enemies–all to the tune of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.”

There is a ridiculous amount of room to experiment, and it can be especially fun strengthening one of the beginner Frames with powerful mods and armaments that can melt through enemies. It’s also impressive how in-depth customization and personalization is in Warframe–you can apply different shaders, accessories, and even alter their particular animation set, and it’s rare to find another player who has the same style and loadout.

It’s a necessity to get your Frame to reach its potential for them to be viable for more advanced activities. If you don’t apply the correct mods and buffs to your character, it can often stop you in your tracks at some inconvenient moments in your progression. If you’re committed to figuring out the intricacies of the game, then using online guides to understand these advanced mechanics, much like with other aspects of the game, is a must. These resources are a big help, but it’s disappointing how often you have to use them, as opposed to the game teaching you the same information. Without them, learning these systems on your own can be a significant test of patience.

You’ll quickly find yourself in a rhythm of cutting down mobs of enemies and boosting your Frame’s strength by collecting mods and earning experience as new gameplay systems and events open up. While the core gameplay is often satisfying, it’s still common to see a streak of highly repetitive missions, most of which re-use tile-sets for procedurally-generated levels and objective types. This repetition can create a recurring feeling of déjà vu throughout, and there were times when this left me feeling exhausted after an extended play session with the game.

To help ease this sense of repetition, Warframe does inject a number of variations on standard missions, as well as adding in new activities. Along with Nightmare challenges, harder versions of previously completed levels, several missions even remix past stages by including multiple enemy factions within one level, making some standard objectives far more hectic. Some objectives feature totally different gameplay modes, in particular incorporating the Archwing, which switches up the familiar action sequences with Wing Commander-style shooter levels. There’s even a set of PvP game types, such as the Conclave and Duel modes, with the latter letting you invite another player to a player-made clan dojo to engage in a solo fight. Unfortunately, the PvP activities come across as exceedingly basic and clunky compared to the core PvE experience.

Despite how much the game has grown over the years by adding in game-changing features, Waframe’s roots are still planted firmly in its fast-paced and satisfying core combat. The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling. It often shows similar shades to a fast-paced corridor shooter by way of a stunning character-action game, with your squad tearing through enemies using myriad skills and armaments.

The core combat and general traversal of Warframe can move at a blistering pace. Despite how complex they can get, they’re still intuitive enough to dive into, and you can pull off Warframe’s advanced acrobatics like gliding, wall-runs, and the appropriately named “Bullet Jump”–which darts your character in any direction–reasonably quickly. Melee combat also features its own complexities, allowing you to use an assortment of combos and aerial abilities to cut through legions of foes in flashy display. Over time, chaining together slick parkour leaps into fast strikes with your weapons can become second nature, resulting in Warframe’s most gratifying and stylish encounters.

Warframe can be daunting for newcomers, yet it can also prove a challenge for players–like myself–who take an extended break and have to learn the basics of new features while simultaneously unlearning outdated ones. Such is the case for online games, and fortunately, Warframe does have an active and open community to trade with and seek assistance from, and you can directly interact with others at various social spaces across different planets. It’s common that you might have to consult outside resources in order to figure out what to do next, or else your progress might come to a halt abruptly.

Stick with the game long enough, and you’ll unlock access to the more involved cinematic story missions and open-world settings that best show the game’s considerable growth. Unlike the fragmented storytelling in most of the game, these two pillars present a more guided plot that offers memorable narrative and character moments. Some of these missions even include the surprising addition of a dialogue system, which can result in some slightly different events in questlines.

In the open-world settings of the Plains of Eidolon and the Orb Vallis, which open after you reach the planets they’re located on, you can take in the sights of the large-scale worlds, take on dynamic bounties and events with squads, and even learn more about the brewing conflict within each setting. The Vallis’ story is especially engaging, dealing with workers’ rights and the perils of late-stage capitalism in the interstellar age. Though these main stories set in the open worlds tend to end far too quickly, the amount of nuance and narrative packed in was impressive, which left me wanting to spend more time in the settings to continue interacting with its characters.

I’m continually pleased with the flexibility of Warframe’s many systems, and how it allows for you to attain a variety of rewards and unlocks at your own pace. Of course, there is an assortment of items, weapons, and even Frames to purchase with real money or with Platinum, Warframe’s premium currency. Fortunately, most items in the game are attainable through gameplay, allowing you to get into the nitty-gritty of the game’s content mostly unabated. The in-game economy of Warframe is very active, and if you’re resourceful enough, you can even trade some of your own gear and blueprints with other players for Platinum as well.

When new content is introduced, the pathway to experiencing the quests or acquiring the next Frame is available to all players. This relaxed approach is reassuring, especially for a game of this magnitude. I generally find acquiring gear and new classes to be quite manageable. However, there are still some time-sinks that feel mostly arbitrary, resulting in the expected and sometimes lengthy grind that’s commonplace in free-to-play games. To that end, the primary intent of Platinum is to circumvent both investments of time and resources.

Thinking back to GameSpot’s original review, it’s interesting how much the game has improved, yet also how much has stayed the same. The game still has issues with repetition and lack of explanations for its more complex systems, but it’s managed to overcome their severity by introducing so many events and revisions that continue to elevate it. While there are inevitable bouts of frustration here and there, I always manage to center myself once I move on to other opportunities. In a lot of ways, that’s what Warframe manages to do best. One moment you’re taking part in a random spy mission on Saturn, and the next, you’re partnered up with a powerful squad of players that help you through several void fissures. Just when you feel like you’ve hit a lull, a better, and more fulfilling opportunity will likely present itself. Perhaps most importantly, Warframe makes sure that the time spent in its world is almost always well rewarded.

Source : Gamesport

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Warframe Review (2019) - Space Oddity

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/warframe-review-2019-space-oddity/

Warframe Review (2019) - Space Oddity

Editor’s note: GameSpot originally reviewed Warframe in 2013 and gave it a 6. Due to substantial revisions and new content since its debut, we have re-examined Warframe as it is in 2019 and produced a new review to reflect its current state.

To play Warframe is to reconcile yourself with the sensation that you’re always a bit in over your head. Even six years after its debut, it’s still something of an oddity within the realm of online action-RPGs. With an expanding universe housing a wealth of content, the free-to-play game offers a stellar amount of freedom to explore, uncover loot, and take on missions with its cast of stylish space ninjas. It takes a decidedly unorthodox approach with its non-linear adventure–sometimes frustratingly so–yet journeying across Warframe’s massive universe is as satisfying as it is endearing.

In GameSpot’s original 2013 review, we praised the game’s agile and hard-hitting combat but criticized the lack of meaningful features that effectively took advantage of those strengths. In the broader sense, the Warframe of old was a promising sketch of an idea that lacked reasons for investment. The Warframe of today, however, has filled out the bigger picture. Its vision is clearer, and it’s now so much more than just space ninjas brawling in corridors. Some of Warframe’s best moments involve venturing into the realms of deep space, exploring open worlds and, yes, engaging in combat to power up and take on greater challenges.

When it comes to its gameplay and narrative, Warframe always seems to chuck you into the deep end. The larger story focuses on an interstellar clan of warriors known as the Tenno as they reacquaint themselves with a grander universe in perpetual conflict. You take control of a reawakened Frame–revitalized Tenno fighters from the distant past–to engage in missions against a myriad of enemy factions. This conceit of spacefaring ninjas slashing and shooting across the universe holds the loose narrative together while also giving you an impressive amount of freedom. Several cinematic quests shed light on the history of the Tenno, leading up to some profound moments that reveal a surprising depth for your character and their place in the galaxy.

Warframe is a massive game with numerous, complex systems to dive into–but therein lies the rub. It’s a challenging game to crack; even with hundreds of hours under my belt, I can still feel overwhelmed by how much game there is to unpack. However, the trick to understanding this game lies within finding your own focus in the nebulous grind–whether that’s taking on a variety of side-activities and missions on a series of planets or investing time to customize, experiment, and tweak your favorite Frames.

It can often feel like playing catch-up, considering there is six years’ worth of content in the package, but it’s a game that rewards taking the time to soak it all in, instead of rushing through. How you get accustomed to this surprisingly sink-or-swim structure will determine the mileage you get out of it. Most missions are singular, discrete encounters across the solar system. This piecemeal structure ultimately makes the massive game more digestible. There’s a staggering amount of activities to dive into, and with over 40 hyper-stylized Frames to utilize, there’s a constant sense of fun and surprise when discovering how deep it all runs. However, while the opening missions do well to get you into the basic swing of things when it comes to its core gameplay, the more in-depth systems are left for you to decipher on your own.

The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling.

This mostly hands-off approach in getting you acclimated can sometimes manifest feelings of aimlessness. And it’s magnified when it becomes apparent that there isn’t a traditional endgame to work up to. There are higher-end missions and stories designed for more experienced players, some focusing on endless fights against waves of enemies, but there isn’t anything like raids to unlock later on. In many ways, you’re introduced to that familiar endgame grind from the onset, and that often entails fine-tuning your suite of Frames to tackle many of the game’s tougher challenges.

The true star of Warframe are the various Frames, with each possessing their own unique designs and abilities. The pursuit of new characters to play as is one of the many constants in your journey, often dictating where you should invest your time. It always feels rewarding when you find a new Frame, especially when it’s one that stands apart from the others. Some are highly specialized, such as the stealth-oriented Ash or the aquatic, alien-tentacle-summoning Hydroid. Another standout is Octavia, a Bard-like Frame that lets you craft custom music to amplify your abilities and attack enemies. One time, a squadmate of mine used Octavia’s skills to effortlessly clear a hallway full of enemies–all to the tune of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.”

There is a ridiculous amount of room to experiment, and it can be especially fun strengthening one of the beginner Frames with powerful mods and armaments that can melt through enemies. It’s also impressive how in-depth customization and personalization is in Warframe–you can apply different shaders, accessories, and even alter their particular animation set, and it’s rare to find another player who has the same style and loadout.

It’s a necessity to get your Frame to reach its potential for them to be viable for more advanced activities. If you don’t apply the correct mods and buffs to your character, it can often stop you in your tracks at some inconvenient moments in your progression. If you’re committed to figuring out the intricacies of the game, then using online guides to understand these advanced mechanics, much like with other aspects of the game, is a must. These resources are a big help, but it’s disappointing how often you have to use them, as opposed to the game teaching you the same information. Without them, learning these systems on your own can be a significant test of patience.

You’ll quickly find yourself in a rhythm of cutting down mobs of enemies and boosting your Frame’s strength by collecting mods and earning experience as new gameplay systems and events open up. While the core gameplay is often satisfying, it’s still common to see a streak of highly repetitive missions, most of which re-use tile-sets for procedurally-generated levels and objective types. This repetition can create a recurring feeling of déjà vu throughout, and there were times when this left me feeling exhausted after an extended play session with the game.

To help ease this sense of repetition, Warframe does inject a number of variations on standard missions, as well as adding in new activities. Along with Nightmare challenges, harder versions of previously completed levels, several missions even remix past stages by including multiple enemy factions within one level, making some standard objectives far more hectic. Some objectives feature totally different gameplay modes, in particular incorporating the Archwing, which switches up the familiar action sequences with Wing Commander-style shooter levels. There’s even a set of PvP game types, such as the Conclave and Duel modes, with the latter letting you invite another player to a player-made clan dojo to engage in a solo fight. Unfortunately, the PvP activities come across as exceedingly basic and clunky compared to the core PvE experience.

Despite how much the game has grown over the years by adding in game-changing features, Waframe’s roots are still planted firmly in its fast-paced and satisfying core combat. The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling. It often shows similar shades to a fast-paced corridor shooter by way of a stunning character-action game, with your squad tearing through enemies using myriad skills and armaments.

The core combat and general traversal of Warframe can move at a blistering pace. Despite how complex they can get, they’re still intuitive enough to dive into, and you can pull off Warframe’s advanced acrobatics like gliding, wall-runs, and the appropriately named “Bullet Jump”–which darts your character in any direction–reasonably quickly. Melee combat also features its own complexities, allowing you to use an assortment of combos and aerial abilities to cut through legions of foes in flashy display. Over time, chaining together slick parkour leaps into fast strikes with your weapons can become second nature, resulting in Warframe’s most gratifying and stylish encounters.

Warframe can be daunting for newcomers, yet it can also prove a challenge for players–like myself–who take an extended break and have to learn the basics of new features while simultaneously unlearning outdated ones. Such is the case for online games, and fortunately, Warframe does have an active and open community to trade with and seek assistance from, and you can directly interact with others at various social spaces across different planets. It’s common that you might have to consult outside resources in order to figure out what to do next, or else your progress might come to a halt abruptly.

Stick with the game long enough, and you’ll unlock access to the more involved cinematic story missions and open-world settings that best show the game’s considerable growth. Unlike the fragmented storytelling in most of the game, these two pillars present a more guided plot that offers memorable narrative and character moments. Some of these missions even include the surprising addition of a dialogue system, which can result in some slightly different events in questlines.

In the open-world settings of the Plains of Eidolon and the Orb Vallis, which open after you reach the planets they’re located on, you can take in the sights of the large-scale worlds, take on dynamic bounties and events with squads, and even learn more about the brewing conflict within each setting. The Vallis’ story is especially engaging, dealing with workers’ rights and the perils of late-stage capitalism in the interstellar age. Though these main stories set in the open worlds tend to end far too quickly, the amount of nuance and narrative packed in was impressive, which left me wanting to spend more time in the settings to continue interacting with its characters.

I’m continually pleased with the flexibility of Warframe’s many systems, and how it allows for you to attain a variety of rewards and unlocks at your own pace. Of course, there is an assortment of items, weapons, and even Frames to purchase with real money or with Platinum, Warframe’s premium currency. Fortunately, most items in the game are attainable through gameplay, allowing you to get into the nitty-gritty of the game’s content mostly unabated. The in-game economy of Warframe is very active, and if you’re resourceful enough, you can even trade some of your own gear and blueprints with other players for Platinum as well.

When new content is introduced, the pathway to experiencing the quests or acquiring the next Frame is available to all players. This relaxed approach is reassuring, especially for a game of this magnitude. I generally find acquiring gear and new classes to be quite manageable. However, there are still some time-sinks that feel mostly arbitrary, resulting in the expected and sometimes lengthy grind that’s commonplace in free-to-play games. To that end, the primary intent of Platinum is to circumvent both investments of time and resources.

Thinking back to GameSpot’s original review, it’s interesting how much the game has improved, yet also how much has stayed the same. The game still has issues with repetition and lack of explanations for its more complex systems, but it’s managed to overcome their severity by introducing so many events and revisions that continue to elevate it. While there are inevitable bouts of frustration here and there, I always manage to center myself once I move on to other opportunities. In a lot of ways, that’s what Warframe manages to do best. One moment you’re taking part in a random spy mission on Saturn, and the next, you’re partnered up with a powerful squad of players that help you through several void fissures. Just when you feel like you’ve hit a lull, a better, and more fulfilling opportunity will likely present itself. Perhaps most importantly, Warframe makes sure that the time spent in its world is almost always well rewarded.

Source : Gamesport