When Carter and the rest of the development staff looked at the ~$137 purchase history of a man who really, really wanted to find the perfect fur pattern for his in-game pet, they realized they had essentially created a slot machine that impulsive players would gamble away significant amounts of money on. While many studios would consider this a big win, Digital Extremes made the decision that this kind of activity wasn’t healthy for the playerbase in the long run. As Carter explained, it wasn’t long before the ‘gambling fur randomizer’ was removed from the game entir
We are pretty receptive to first reactions, that social group is pretty good for us, so we’re expecting a reaction tonight to solidify future plans. But, we’re waiting for that six o’clock to start so we can commit.
Airburst is Zephyr’s newest ability and is a solid attack. It throws three projectiles forward and damages enemies in a radius upwards of 8 metres, which can be very useful for mobs. It’s not flashy by any means, but it gets the job done. The third ability Turbulence is a good way to ensure Zephyr will survive most encounters. It puts up a wind shield around the character, redirecting any potential damage. It can be a bit pricey on energy, but in a bind, it will save your butt when things get hectic. Finally, Tornado is one of the better aspects of Zephyr, giving her some fantastic crowd control, especially if you combine it with Airburst, which increases their height dramatically. These things can be devastating when you combine them with the interchangeable elemental damage, especially on enemies with high armor. This is maybe a bit too flashy at times as I’ve had my screen engulfed by numerous tornados, but so long as they’re doing what they’re meant to, it’s a good substitute for other CC attacks.
While Warframe still has microtransactions, the game has been widely praised for keeping things in balance: the online environment certainly isn’t ‘pay to win’, and purchases within the game don’t come remotely as close to gambling as the infamous slot machine lever incident mentioned above. Now some 5 years after its initial release, Warframe is still getting updates from the developers as the community continues to dedicate plenty of hours into the space-based shoo
Harrow’s bread and butter skill, Condemn, launches a blue stream that causes enemies to freeze in place while also regenerating Harrow’s shields. If Harrow’s shields are already full, he’ll generate overshields instead. Harrow’s passive allows him to have twice as much overshields as other Warframe, which greatly enhances his toughn
In an interview belonging to the Noclip documentary series by Daniel O’Dwyer, Digital Extremes Studio Manager Sheldon Carter detailed an unexpected result that occurred when the developer introduced a small microtransaction for Kubrows, an in-game virtual pet. The studio had implemented what Carter defines as a «slot machine lever» that allowed gamers — for the price of about $0.67 — to randomize the fur pattern and fur color of their pet Kubrow. While it was only a cosmetic feature, Warframebase.Com the idea of putting something so random behind a paygate drew the ire of many of the game’s fans. Still, Digital Extremes went forward with the idea — until one fan spent well over $100 on it almost immediat
Overall, Zephyr is a balanced Warframe and much better thanks to the adjustments made a couple of months ago. Her Prime release only helps ensure that she isn’t a burden on anyone’s party, and if anything a welcome inclusion. Her first ability isn’t the best for your traditional missions, but she comes with everything you’d hope to see, making her adaptable in most game modes. Really, the only thing Zephyr is missing is party buffs, but she’s more of an attack character anyways. She still may not by my favorite Frame to run with, but her mobility is a blessing in areas such as of Plains of Eidolon.
It comes down to the game being fun at its core. When you’re playing Warframe, you’re playing a casual game with your friends, you get really good feedback. You’re shooting, you’re moving faster than any other game right now, at least in terms of action games. And that is kind of a delicious sensation when you’re playing from there, you take the core and build a universe on top of it that has great art and is cooperative. You mix well with people who are there for the same goal.
In the end, the latest Prime update for Warframe is a worthy one. Outside of status damaging tornados, Zephyr is perhaps spread out a bit too thin, not necessarily doing anything better than anyone else. With that said, she is well rounded and a fast character to play as, so you’ll have a good variety of abilities at your disposal. She can glide, blast enemies, protect herself and take care of mobs with ease. What more do you want? Outside of the character herself, the Kronen Prime is unfortunately a less than ideal melee weapon thanks to it being outclassed in almost every situation, but on the positive side, Tiberon Prime is a phenomenal main weapon to bring into almost any scenario. Digital Extremes has done a fantastic job reworking Zephyr and giving her own Prime version; you probably won’t find her in the meta anytime soon, but she’s still a strong addition to the immense catalogue regardless.