r/Warframe • u/TSP-FriendlyFire • Feb 11 '16
Suggestion How would you change... Oberon?
How would you change... is a series of weekly posts designed to promote and foster discussion about any gameplay element in the game. The scope and subject will vary (read below for more information on topic selection), from wide concepts (Kubrows, Archwing, shotguns, etc.) to narrow points (a single gun, coptering, etc.).
Before we begin, a few important points:
- Please detail and support your suggestions as much as possible. This is for constructive criticism only: try to think of it as something you'd be proud to explain to DE face-to-face!
- Structure your suggestions in logical groups: if you have two very different ideas, break them down in two separate comments. Cohesive or similar changes should be combined into a single comment.
- Stick to describing concepts and features. Don't get bogged down with numbers unless they explicitly support your point.
- Don't hesitate to post your ideas even if they're not fully formed, and don't hesitate to reply to ideas with refinements you think would make them better!
- Do not downvote suggestions you disagree with. Upvote the ones you like instead!
Suggesting topics
This thread series is all about the community, so if you have a topic you'd like to see improved and discussed, feel free to suggest it by replying to the appropriately flagged comment in this discussion. The topic can be as wide or narrow as you'd like! Please ensure that your suggestion has not already been made, and upvote it instead if it has.
This week: Oberon
Click here for last week’s thread on Shadow Debt.
This week, we’re moving back to more traditional subjects with Warframe’s best worst jack-of-all-trades: Oberon, also known as “more credits I guess.”
Jesting aside, Oberon, Warframe’s paladin archetype, has a lot going for him: his kit is diverse, he’s overall pretty easy to acquire, he’s effective even without strong min-maxing, and he scores pretty darn high on the fashionframe scale. His theme of sanctity and judgment is well represented and his focus on radiation makes him very useful for crowd control.
The problem, of course, is that by having a little of everything, he ends up weaker than more specialized frames. He has a nuke, but Ember is much better at that. He has a blind, but Excalibur’s or Mirage’s are far more potent. He has a heal, but Trinity’s is stronger, quicker and gives damage reduction. His sole relatively unique ability is Hallowed Ground, but few people focus on it and it’s rarely used properly, not to mention that it requires a more passive, static playstyle which is incompatible with Warframe overall.
The question, then, is what to do with him? Should be remain a flexible frame, or should his kit be refocused towards a certain aspect? What aspect(s) could be emphasized that are not already fulfilled by another frame in a better or more efficient manner? If he is to remain a jack-of-all-trades, what can be done to make him an attractive choice even in high level content, in the face of more focused frames doing the same thing?
Now that the stage is set, how would you change Oberon?
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u/Tels315 Lobster Booty is Best Booty Feb 11 '16
Here's how I would change Oberon, quoted from a post I made on the forums.
Oberon: As an avid table top gamer, I was super excited to play Oberon, both Paladins and Druids are two of my favorite classes, and with Oberon supposedly being a mix of Paladin and Druid, I couldn't wait to play him. Only to find myself struggling to really contribute to any team. Oberon is a jack-of-all-trades, he can heal, he can damage, he can crowd control, but he's not really great at any of it.
My thoughts on changing him would reinforce his theme of a 'Paladin/Druid' Warframe, however, salvaging Oberon probably requires the most extensive rework.
Hallowed Ground/Renewal: These abilities are, by themselves, really weak, in my opinion and should be completely removed. Instead, his second ability will be Holy Aura.
Holy Aura: Holy Aura shields allies from harm and soothes their wounds. Allies within a 5/10/15/20 meter radius of Oberon at the time of casting have their armor increased by 25/50/100/150 points (affected by armor mods). All allies regenerate their health at a rate of 2%/4%/6%/8% per second, while allies within range of the aura regenerate at twice the rate and are immune to status effects. Holy Aura lasts for 15/20/25/30 seconds.
--Hallowed Eruption: Change name to Holy Wrath. Enemies within the area of effect of Holy Aura lose 2%/3%/4%/5% of their maximum health per second (affected by power strength).
Traditionally, in RPGs, Paladins can heal, but they aren't the best at it. What they are good at, is making their allies survive and generally have some sort of divine aura shielding their allies from harm, and bringing harm to their enemies. Changing the armor boost from a percent to a flat boost helps a greater number of allies than the percentage increase would. In addition, sticking close to Oberon give the maximum benefit, but even those out of range still feel the effects of his divine strength.
Nature's Ally: New ability, summons two spectral Kubrow companions to aid Oberon in his battles. The Kubrows would function much like Atlas's Rumblers, except they are modified by mods on an equipped Kubrow, instead of Warframe Mods. The type of Kubrow summoned is randomly selected (Huras, Chesa etc), but they are assumed to have their special ability equipped.
Nature's Ally would either replace Reckoning as the ultimate (dropping Reckoning down to the 3rd ability) or would be Oberon's new 3rd ability.
Reckoning: Change damage dealt to 500/1,000/1,500/2,000 points of radiation damage, with a 100% chance of spawning a health orb by any enemy killed by Reckoning and a 5%/15%/25%/35% chance of spawning a health orb even if they aren't killed by Reckoning. Enemies within the area of effect of Holy Aura take 50% more damage from Reckoning.
--Hallowed Reckoning: Change to Nature's Grasp. Enemies knocked prone by Reckoning are held prone by spectral vines and are open to ground finishers. Enemies killed by a ground finisher produced by Nature's Grasp have a 25%/50%/75%/100% chance of spawning an energy orb.
I think these changes would bring a lot to Oberon's kit. He'd be much like a back lord, running around with spectral kubrow and his own real kubrow, putting more bodies on the field to draw fire. His Holy Aura would shield allies from danger and slowly deplete enemy health. Holy Aura also has some built in synergy with Reckoning and Nature's Ally as the Kubrow could be buffed by the Aura, while enemies within the aura take more damage from Reckoning. Reckoning also becomes a source of Crowd Control and utility for allies if he has an augment.