Warframehas a long history of experimenting with its game mechanics, often introducing wildly different systems with each new expansion. From taking players into space battles with flying archwings to introducing fully-fledged open-world areas for players to freely explore, fans can always look forward to a fascinating new twist with each content drop. The game’s latest expansion, The Duviri Paradox, continues this trend by introducing a roguelike system that leverages the game’s vast arsenal of weapons and Warframes into a randomized roguelike experience.
Game Rant recently sat down withWarframeCreative Director Rebb Ford to discuss The Duviri Paradox’s roguelike systems, which involve a mix of permanent progression between runs along with a satisfying power curve during each run. Ford also talked about how The Duviri Paradox was surprisingly inspired by the ARAM mode inLeague of Legends, an idea that translates very nicely intoWarframethanks to the game’s sizeable cast.
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Warframe’s Roguelike Gameplay Is Not As Punishing As Hades or Slay the Spire
Although The Duviri Paradox has roguelike systems, it’s not intended to be as punishing or challenging as many popular roguelike games. Instead, the emphasis is on using roguelike mechanics to create a run-based gameplay loop that lets players grow increasingly powerful during the run. Players choose from a random assortment of weapons and Warframes each run before heading out, and they’ll encounter various random activities to engage with while out in the field. Players will earn “Decree” power-ups throughout the run, much like how aSlay the Spireplayer acquires cardsand relics.
It’s not going to be as punishing as most roguelikes likeHades, you die a lot,Slay The Spire, you die a lot. Our version will still be a bit more of the power fantasy ofWarframe. However, it has all the elements of that permanent progression versus the instance and session progression. And then of course, the “offering” ofWarframefrom that randomization, which I love. So it’s really fun to go in and see who’s there and pick stuff.
The idea is to really look at how much contentWarframehas and recontextualize it entirely to give you a whole new way to engage with it.
Similar to otherpopular roguelike titles, there’s also a permanent progression system in the form of Drifter Intrinsics. Players will be able to unlock Intrinsics in four categories that enhance various aspects of their gameplay. Opportunity Intrinsics may open up more choices like rerolling certain things or expanding the random selection for each run, while Combat Intrinsics enhance the player’s capacity for violence.
Warframe’s Duviri Paradox Takes Inspiration from League of Legends' ARAM
Ford was introduced toLeague of Legends' ARAM modeduring the pandemic, and the concept gave her the idea to apply a similar system toWarframe’s cast of over 50+ unique bipedal killing machines. A mode that lets players control a randomWarframeproved to be a great use of roguelike variety while also removing the complex buildcraft that can be challenging for players with less established collections.
I learned that it was a game mode where they tookLeague of Legends, and they turned it into “All Random All Mid,” hence ARAM. So you don’t get to pick your character ahead of time, you just get randomly assigned a character. There’s no meta concern about top lane, mid lane, jungling, or whatever, you just play a middle lane. And that’s it. You just playLeague of Legends. I was like, “This is the best ever, I can’t believe this is real.”
ManyLeague of Legendsplayersexclusively play ARAM since it eliminates notions of metagaming and lets players focus on the moment-to-moment gameplay. It’s likely that The Duviri Paradox will receive similar treatment from many players who wish to escape the usual grind in favor of this more immediately gratifying session-based progression.
Warframeis available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
