Thoughts on the new weapons system
I want to start by saying I appreciate DE trying to reduce the crafting burden, since it’s a major source of friction for new players. I still think crafting has a place as a core mid-to-late game system, focused on things like pacts, (Warframe's) Forma-like items, and Wyld pacts, weapons and armors.
This said, crafting is currently a big part of the game, if far less items need to be crafted. there could ba a resources inflation. Imo new craftable items or resources sinks needs to replace the place weapons currently hold (especially if they plan to do the same with armors).
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
The new system would require players to constantly scrap gear, which could quickly become tedious with the current inventory system. Even simple improvements like marking items as trash and bulk-destroying them would only partially solve the issue. It also creates friction for newer players, who won’t know what to keep or scrap. A solution I’d like is a separate "temporary" inventory with around 15–20 slots for weapons which can't be used as long as they stay there. This would reduce the pressure on personal inventory space and allow for a different handling system. Since most players would probably sell the majority of drops and keep only a few, it would make more sense to mark the items you want to keep, then sell everything else with a single button press.
HIGH BARRIER TO ENTRY
I strongly believe that core systems in live service games should be hard to master, yes, but easy to learn and approachable. My main concern with this system is that deciding what to keep, scrap, or invest resources into requires a lot of game knowledge. New players are being asked to make important decisions before they even understand the game well enough to make informed choices. That kind of friction can easily push people away, especially when the system makes players wfeel like it requires effort before they’ve decided whether they even enjoy the game.
A good comparison is Rivens in Warframe. They’re more complex, but optional. Even players with 1,000+ hours avoid engaging with them because of the barrier to entry. Many players constantly ask others whether a Riven is good, what it’s worth, and Riven trading is its own can of worms. But if weapons themselves now come with these kinds of modifiers, engaging with the system becomes mandatory rather than optional.
The high barrier to entry feels inherent to the system, and I don’t think that’s healthy for such a core part of the game. Something needs to be done to reduce that friction, even if I’m not sure what the best solution to do that and make these systems easier to understand and introducing them gradually.
WEAPON LEVEL
This is more of a QoL issue, but still worth addressing. If Weapon A is level 14 when I drop Weapon B, Weapon B will also start at level 14. However, if I later realize Weapon B is better after reaching level 30 with Weapon A, I still need to level Weapon B separately from 14 to 30 again.
This becomes less of an issue once you already have max-level weapons dropping, but it still creates unnecessary repetition. Weapon levels should ideally be shared across the same weapon type, as if the player is gaining experience with that weapon itself (i mean the weapon, e.g. The Paragon, not the weapon art, e.g. Greatswords), rather than with each individual item.
THIS SYSTEM PARADOX
One thing that worries me is the possibility of having to reinvest resources every time I find a better weapon, which may also lead to players holding resources until they find a “good enough” weapon. I really hope this won't be the case, as that would be a major issue for me, this said Steve mentioned that we’ll be able to upgrade these weapons, but the details matter a lot here. If upgrading only improves the Craftwork, that’s still a major issue for me. Finding a weapon with better tempers later would mean all the resources invested into the previous one were effectively wasted, forcing the player to start over again. That kind of progression loop would honestly be enough to make me quit if necessary to have decent gear. On the other hand, if players can freely upgrade craftwork and change tempers, then it risks undermining the entire purpose of the system, right?
I think something needs to change to preserve the idea behind the system while still giving players flexibility and preventing resource waste. Not an idea I'm proposing, but more of an example of what I mean would be: the first time you loot a new weapon you get the built weapon at the lowest possible craftwork, which is upgradable, and some random tempers. After that, everytime you loot that weapon you just get that weapon type's tempers, which have random value%. That way, when you drop tempers with higher with higher % you get a clear upgrade, and trading becomes more straightforward since players would mainly trade maxed rolls. (Easier than evaluating in in-game currency a set of tempers)