Void rework

[L_C_Scipio 395]

There's a major rework coming up as far as how the Void and prime parts work. Not much is certain right now but a guy on Reddit analyzed what was said and came up with the following:

There is a lot of confusion regarding DE’s explanation of the new void system. I understand why, the description was confusing as hell. Many important details were glossed over, and the ad lib method resulted in viewers misunderstanding things we did receive answers to. I’ve rewatched the clip in its entirety at least half a dozen times, and five times that in aggregate, rewinding over and over to parse every line. I even have it up for reference as I write this post. I’ve picked up on some details that were lost in translation. So let me set aside some of your concerns.

Here is a link to the clip in the devstream.

First, a transcription of the entire clip.

Steve: So this is what’s going to happen with blowing up the void. Before I ramble about it for a second, let me just say that our players should be patient with us and relax, and if they hear something doesn’t sound good, we’re always open to your feedback. If we do royally screw it up, we’ll improve it, which is the way we’ve worked on this game for the last three-and-a-half years. So, this is a change to how crafting stuff out of the void is going to work.

Rebecca: Getting stuff.

Steve: Getting stuff out of the void, yeah. It kind of acts like a crafting system. There’s these quantum projections which are the Orokin technology of 3D printing. The rewards are going to be tied to this projection. What you have to do is, when you get one of these quantum projections, you’ll have to look for a void tear in the solar system somewhere. Some of those will be on the void maps you’re used to, and thankfully some will be in maps you’re not used to. It has a bit of gameplay to it which we’re not quite ready to show. If you find that void tear and fight the things that erupt out of it, that will charge up your quantum projection. Then you can come back onto your ship and reveal what it is.

Rebecca: What’s interesting about this, as someone who’s done all my own void grinding, is… Your keys all still matter because we’re going to be taking a lot of the rewards out of them, making sure that every key has stuff on it of course. You’re going to be able to see the drop tables for them in-game. So you don’t need to go to that forum thread anymore, say “What does T1 exterminate drop? Oh, there’s 17 things there.”

Steve: It will also helps us take those projections and narrow down what they can create. So you can have a very focused void grind. Now it can be very focused on what you want rather than kicking at a huge, huge drop table.

Rebecca: All your keys will matter, by the way.

Steve: All your keys will matter because they’ll get converted into projections. So don’t worry about getting rid of your keys right now, they’re actually good to have. The other interesting thing is to reduce the RNG pain, when you take a projection and charge it up to manifest the item, if it isn’t what you want - or even if it is what you want - there’s this residual that comes in. How the residual works is it’s basically thanking you for doing this even if you didn’t get what you wanted. You plug this into your next void projection to increase the chance of rare stuff coming out of it. So it’s like the shavings of that crafting process that you can use to improve the results next time. Which basically takes the grind and plateaus the pain out of it because you can use those things repeatedly to bias it and improve it.

Rebecca: [opens the codex to the Grineer Elite Lancer entry] You can see right now you’ve got your Lancer and you can see the three tiers of mod drops. There’s the rare which is gold, the uncommon and the common. The projections are going to work kinda the same way. So if you were looking for an uncommon part and not a rare, you can put those uncommon residuals into it to skew it and get what you want.

Steve: There are more steps and there’s more gameplay [compared] to doing what void grinding is right now. Void grinding is play the same thing over and over and [et infinitum]. This one is: get the projection you want, go seek out this void tear… [Rebecca interrupts: Which is always going to be active.] ...play this custom gameplay which is this interesting escalation.

Rebecca: It’s actually immersive and crazy and it’s gonna be awesome.

Steve: It’s cool and interesting. And then you crate it back to the ship and reveal it. There is a type of banking you can do. Those void tears go into buckets and those are different difficulties, we’re calling them T1 through T4. So if you’re a hardcore player and you’re awesome at T4 survival, you’re still gonna be able to have that experience. And to a limited amount, you’ll will have banked some of that void energy to use in this process. So if you’re waiting for an update, and maybe there’s a reward you’re interested in that’s not out yet, go play some void tears and build up that energy. So when it comes out, you can go get that projection and go for it right away.

Rebecca: What’s also interesting is now you can go to those lesser used maps. Maybe not a lot of people spend time on Europa, so a void tear could happen there, and you could be interacting with different enemy types and different maps so you’re getting a bit more of the map diversity that WF offers. Of course, if you’re someone like me who’s, “How do I get my argon now that you’re taking away the void?” The void is now just gonna be an essential part of the map. There’s no keys required to play in the void. You can just go there now at your leisure to get argon and other void - like if you want to do the puzzle rooms in there, you can just go to the void.

Steve: The ducat system is not changing. So the result of this quantum projection, even if it’s something you don’t want, keep it and sell it for ducats. Baro may be coming in and selling those projections directly. Although we’ve made the system more complicated, in my opinion because a lot of people are engaging in this, it’s going to be a lot more interesting. There’s going to be a lot more choice and variety for them.

Rebecca: It’s immersive and tactical too. Right now you’re running that key, you’re in the tileset, and then you get an end-of-mission reward. Now you’re interacting with the void tear itself, you have to play it.

Steve: And you’re using work you did last week to bias the results. You’ll feel a little more control over the RNG. But it’s still RNG.

Scott: And the resources are tradeable?

Steve: Yes, I believe so.

Like I said, confusing as hell. It’s slightly clearer with the verbal stumbling cleaned up (you’re welcome, DE). But let’s dissect it.

Projections: What are they?

Think of a projection as a blueprint for a part. Blueprint Prime. But rather than requiring a set of items in order to “craft” the part, you seek out something called a void tear. Completing this objective will ‘charge up’ the projection, and reveal it. This turns the current void grind into an item identification process, similar to getting rare unidentified items in lootgrind RPGs. But instead of using a scroll, you run a mission. (Technically how it already works. Except before, the part magically poofed into your hands out of thin air. Now it magically poofs into your hands out of thin air with context.)

Projections: How do I get them?

We don’t have a clear answer to this question. Some assume that they will be obtained from void tears (unlikely imo), or conventional void missions (likely imo). Since identification is tied to the projection itself, that frees up the entirety of void mission tables, so it’s a possibility. My guess is that they will be awarded from normal star chart missions, similarly to how keys are awarded now.

Projections: What can I get from them?

Each projection has multiple possible rewards sorted into three rarity tiers: common, uncommon, rare. All of the potential rewards will be visible to you. You can bias the result in favor of one of the three rarity tiers using residuals (see below). This is all we know for sure. DE’s description seems to indicate there are differences in projections’ tables, but we don’t know if the possible outcomes are rolled on obtain, or if there are different types.

One thing no one is talking about is the possibility of projections being identified as things other than just Prime parts. I fully expect Forma on the projection tables. But there may also be Vandal/Wraith parts, or extremely rare mods.

Residuals: What are they?

Residuals are an item, a residue, leftover when identifying a projection. There are three types: common, uncommon, rare. Residuals can be poured into a projection of your choice, presumably irreversibly, to bias the identification in favor of a common, uncommon or rare result. There is a cap on how far you can skew the result. This is part of what DE means when they say that the grind is more focused on getting what you want.

Residuals: Where can I get them?

By identifying projections. You will receive a token of residuals every time you do so. Apart from that, residuals will also be awarded for completing void missions. Steve implies that higher-level and endless missions (namedropping T4 survival) will be extra rewarding. Perhaps they will drop in stacks scaling with difficulty, similarly to cores. They may even be awarded by star chart missions, but we don’t know that for sure. (Edit: Thanks to /u/God_is_a_cat_girl for correcting me here. Steve is referring to a resource used for identification, not to residuals. So, we don't know where else residuals can be obtained.)

Void Keys: Where do they fit in?

Short answer? They don’t. Void keys are gone from the game.

Steve: All your keys will matter because they will be converted into projections. So don’t worry about getting rid of your keys right now, they’re actually good to have.

Rebecca: The void is now just gonna be an essential part of the map. There’s no keys required to play in the void.

This is a hugely important detail that many people misunderstood, because of an earlier quote:

Rebecca: Your keys all still matter because we’re going to be taking a lot of the rewards out of them, making sure that every key has stuff on it of course. You’re going to be able to see the drop tables for them in-game.

The confusion is understandable. But here’s the gist: void keys are being removed from the game. Keys you own will be transformed into projections. So as soon as the update drops, players with many keys will have a healthy store of projections to start with.

Void Tears: How is this different from a tower mission?

Here’s the awesome part. The two have nothing in common.

DE doesn’t go into detail about how void tears work, but a lot can be gleaned from surrounding statements. Steve describes void tears as an “escalation”, and that “killing the things that erupt out of it” will charge up your projection. I was going over the information again yesterday afternoon and suddenly it clicked, my eyes went wide, and everything made sense. “Void tear” does not describe the mission itself, but rather an additional objective present somewhere on the node. Think vault runs. You find the door, grab the corrupted mod, then complete the mission objective. Except with tears, you find the portal, commit genocide on its population, then complete the mission objective.

Void tears are ordered T1-T4 in difficulty, and Steve has said on a previous devstream that they will move around the star chart. In the very brief moment that Steve shows us the World State menu, we see the level associated with void tears: 20-30 for T1; 30-40 for T2; 40-55 for T3; 55-70 for T4.

(Note: This applies specifically to the enemies which emerge from the void tear. I contrasted the levels of nodes Steve briefly hovered over, and their levels are identical to the current star chart. For those complaining that T4 tears are going to be too hard: keep in mind that T4 tower missions have a 3x modifier to enemy damage/health/shields/armor. This is the reason T4 is often bullshit, and it should not be assumed the same modifier will apply to tears.)

What does all this mean? Two very big changes. First, Prime parts are no longer pursued in a closed session. If you are playing public, you will be joined by others, and there are no restrictions on joining like the ones designed to prevent key abuse. Secondly, you’ll be doing your grinding on many different nodes. Void fatigue is officially gone. Rejoice. Obviously a lot could go wrong, and there will be oversights. So be realistic. But also do rejoice that there will be far less monotony.

The Void: So what’s the point of tower missions now?

Conventional void missions no longer require keys to access, you can go there freely. That also means they’ll be open to public. (Chill. Just set it to invite only, or solo like you always do anyway. Nothing has changed for you. Yes, you, the one I’m talking to. You know who you are. Cool it.) Steve has said that void tears can also occur on void nodes.

Prime parts can presumably no longer be obtained there, however Steve said that they will drop residuals. (See earlier struck out text.) I assume they will also award Forma and projections. So there is still incentive to go there. But it’s not the focus of endgame anymore. Void tables may be populated with entirely new things as well. We’ll have to wait and see.

The New Grind: What will I be doing?

Anything and everything. Tears could open up on sabotages, assassinations, archwing missions, defenses, survivals, spies, anywhere on the star chart. You’ll actually be playing the game the way it was meant to be played, instead of spending all your time on a handful of nodes. Tears will move around the star chart, and generic missions will rotate periodically. The high level of T4 tears means they’ll be amazing for affinity, too. When you’re not identifying projections, you’ll be collecting residuals. But even then, you won’t be restricted to specific void missions. You can go wherever you want, and experience the content you personally enjoy with no keys to get in the way.

It’s a bold new solar system, Tenno. Get hype.

Sauce: https://www.reddit.com/r/Warframe/comments/4pa86k/the_new_void_system_an_indepth_analysis_or_you/

[JsinOwl 644]

I don't even know what to make of all that. 

 

I have faith in DE to do the right thing. We'll see when it lands I guess.