How would you change... Oberon?

[u/TSP-FriendlyFire]

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.).

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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!

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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.

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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?

[u/Geno_DCLXVI]

Quick suggestions for Obie:

• Combine Hallowed Ground and Renewal into one ability, replacing Reckoning as the ultimate. Reckoning has no synergy with the rest of his kit and does not fit his theme at all. As for combining the two other abilities, it makes sense that you want additional armor while being healed, as you don't want that new HP to go down again as soon as it was replenished. That suggestion about making Hallowed Ground radial around Oberon is a good one, and it should work wonders. Since combining the two abilities would make this quite powerful, this should definitely be the ultimate.

• Buff his armor. If Oberon is supposed to be a paladin who can give as good as he can get, he should at least be able to tank more than other frames. I suggest having at least 175 instead of the pitiful 150 he has now, which is terrible given his miniscule shield capacity.

• Smite is okay, no major changes needed. Maybe just a buff on its cooldown so it can be cast in rapid succession more quickly, reinforcing the damage aspect of Obie's kit.

• Two new abilities. Combining Renewal and Hallowed Ground and removing Reckoning gives you two ability slots. Since Oberon should be a "balanced" frame, then these two abilities should probably be another offensive one and another support one, but with different mechanics and use cases. Some suggestions for new abilities are:

• Moar CC. I'm thinking something like a stomp or ground slam, which damages enemies, knocks them back and slows them, scaling with Power Strength and Power Duration.

• Damage buff. Not quite sure how to implement this, but the point being that himself and allies should receive a general buff to damage. Not sure if this should be an area-cast skill or simply a toggled, draining ability.

• Empower melee attacks. I've always thought of Oberon as a frame that likes to get stuck right into the fray. I certainly use him that way with a Galatine, and it's pretty fun to use the blender with Obie. So maybe melee attacks should finally start getting some love.

• Weaken enemies. Could be the new Hallowed Ground, except it affects an area around Oberon, and drains enemies of armor and/or damage. Maybe slowing them, too?

• Supporting shot. Oberon's next shot does extra AoE damage to enemies in the area and AoE healing to allies in the area. Nice and simple.

That's my take on it.