[2022] Focus School System Rework - A Broad Overview

Focus School is in session! The Focus System is getting an extensive rework in the Angels of the Zariman update coming April 27th on all platforms to refresh the gameplay potential of Operators, movement, School identity and balance.

Almost every aspect of Focus is being reviewed & touched, and this Dev Workshop aims to provide a broad overview of the current changes. The Official Patch Notes on launch will house all final information. We felt it was a priority to give intent & vision to the community in workshop form, so let’s get to it!

WHAT IS FOCUS?
Focus has been a lot of things over the years. What started in 2015 as a pivotal decision moment in Warframe’s story has continually evolved into its own form of gameplay: Convergence was introduced alongside Focus Lenses to give players an added boost to collecting Focus, Update 22: Plains of Eidolon shook the system up to add new Focus School nodes and Way-Bound abilities, and Update 22.6 attempted to bring the 5 schools’ power levels closer together with numerous abilities reworked.

At its core, Focus aimed to be an exciting new path to enjoy Warframe from the lens of another character. What we’ve come to realize over the many years is that there was a lack of true synergy between Operator and Warframe. We hope to change that while also bringing something fresh to the table!

VIDEO COMPANION
We covered many aspects of this workshop in our Devstream, please see the timestamped section here for convenience & more details:

https://youtu.be/GlgFz3xMUuQ?t=2590

OPERATOR GAMEPLAY REWORK OVERVIEW

The Operator Gameplay and Focus School reworks aim to improve the flow between Warframe gameplay and Operator gameplay, with the goal of encouraging players to swap more frequently between their Operator and Warframe to maximize the benefits received from both gameplay systems.

For Operator Gameplay specifically, these changes come in three major ways: first, the introduction of Void Sling; secondly, re-engineering Operators to be Client-authoritative to reduce jank caused by latency issues related to the mission host; thirdly, removal of Void Blast to allow Melee inputs to cause automatic Transference from Operator to Warframe.

Void Sling is the intended replacement of Void Dashes as a more fun and controllable system. In full transparency, the current state of sustained Void Dash movement has a spam-centric loop that we want to refine. We are very much approaching this like how we added Bullet Jump to Parkour: we want movement to be king, but better controlled. Current Void Dash does not provide easily controlled movement in the typical gameplay spaces. We are aiming to strike a balance to ensure good distance can still be covered, but some re-mastery will be required of this new movement system (much like having to learn Bullet Jumping)!

Additionally, Operator Transference has been re-engineered to be Client-authoritative to alleviate the common scenario of latency. Previously, Transference was Host-authoritative, meaning when Clients used Transference the responsiveness was determined by the round trip network latency. In order for the new Void Sling functionality to be more responsive, the switch was made to be Client-authoritative.

Void Dash to Sling

The Operator sends a Void Sling of themselves and then Void Slings to it. It is the Operator’s ‘Double Jump’. *After its debut on Devstream #160 and following further playtesting, the team has since increased the overall speed of the Operator’s Void Sling thanks to feedback.

• Tap or hold jump while in the air to send out your Sling. A tap will travel a minimum distance before the Void Sling.
• Void Sling can also be activated using the old Void Dash input, by holding jump while in crouched Void Mode.
• Holding jump sends out the Void Sling, up to the Sling's maximum distance, which upon being reached, will automatically Void Sling the player to that space.
• Letting go of jump before hitting the maximum distance is reached will initiate a Void Sling.
• The Void Sling is sent out in the direction the camera is facing once fully charged, or upon release.

Void Blast to Warframe Melee Transfer

Melee input while using your Operator will now instantly Transfer to your Warframe and perform a Melee attack.

• Having no Melee weapon equipped will result in Transferring to your Warframe holding your Primary/Secondary instead.
• Warframe Melee Finishers can be triggered as Operator with ‘Use’ input near an unaware or stunned enemy, automatically insta-Transferring to Warframe to perform them.
• So what about Void Blast? It’s been retired and replaced with the above. For scenarios where Void Blast is requested (disarming Kuva Guardians, etc) using the new Void Sling mechanic (or Amps in some cases) will do the trick.

FOCUS SCHOOL REWORK

The Focus School rework aims to boost the lesser used Schools by a) giving them more interesting and useful abilities, b) defining a clear role and gameplay style for each school, and c) incentivizing Warframe-Operator Transference as part of the core gameplay loop.

General Notes:

• Ability Inputs while in Operator are now used to perform brand new Focus School abilities! Each School is launching with 2 Abilities, meaning that what you use to cast your Warframe’s First and Second Abilities (i.e 1 & 2 keys on PC) now have a use while in Operator!
• The Pool has been removed! Any Focus points you’ve spent on upgrading your Pool capacity will be returned to you in the form of Radiant Eidolon shards, which you can convert into Focus points for a School of your choosing. The original intention of the Pool was to allow you to select the active nodes within your chosen Focus School, but as time went on the Pool only added unnecessary complexity for no real gameplay benefit.

• Removed passive draining abilities because players would typically have deactivated these abilities to avoid the passive Energy drain. Any abilities that spend Energy are manually triggered as opposed to passively draining.

  • As a result, we’ve removed the toggling functionality to have nodes on or off as Pool capacity and passive draining abilities are no longer a factor.

• The Focus School UI has been updated! Not only does the UI now apply your chosen UI Theme, but each School screen displays a legend of all Way-Bound abilities to easily reference the ones you have unlocked. This legend also allows you to quickly switch between schools with the click of a button.

• Unlocking all the nodes of a Focus School will grant you access to Represent. Rep your School with all new cosmetics (purchased with Focus points) via the Represent button in the respective Focus screen (Madurai, Vazarin, etc).

MADURAI

The Madurai way follows the path of Engage the Enemy. Speed and savagery characterized the Madurai school.

Madurai’s abilities focus on granting that offensive edge in combat with a combination of Damage increases, weapon efficiency, and Speed enhancements to recklessly attack your foes.

• 6 new Focus abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Eternal Gaze and Inner Gaze remain unchanged.

• Reworked Void Strike:

  • Consumes all Operator energy to increase damage for 8s. Deal 10% additional damage for every percentage of Operator energy consumed. 40s cooldown.
    
    • eg. 100% of Energy consumed is 1000% damage.
    • Why: Old Void Strike’s long charge up time didn’t provide an ideal gameplay experience within the fast paced environment. Players found themselves sitting in Void Mode waiting for the Damage bonus to build up. Now Void Strike no longer needs Void Mode and has instant damage on input. Additionally, Void Strike is Duration based now instead of per shot, meaning damage gets applied to all pellets of a shotgun for instance.

• Tweaked Phoenix Talons:

  • Physical Damage and Operator Damage increased by x%.
    
    • Why: Adding the additional Operator Damage allows for benefits for both Warframe and Operator in the name of synergy.

UNAIRU

The Unairu push themselves to Outlast The Enemy. Those who mastered the Unairu school are granted enhanced damage resistance and damage reflection*.*

Unairu’s main pillar aims to make Unairu a proper tank Focus School with increased Armor, and opportunities for increased immunity and survivability.

• 8 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Reworked Unairu Wisp:

  • x% chance to summon an Unairu Wisp for each enemy hit by Sundering Dissipation that will seek out the nearest ally within Affinity Range and increase their Operator damage by x% for x secs.
    
    • Why: Its new coexistence alongside another Focus ability unifies the 2 together to add another layer that benefits both Warframe and Operator. It also removes having to pick up the Unairu Wisp manually, and will instead find you within Affinity Range.

• Tweaked Stone Skin:

  • Increases Armor for Warframe and Operator by x.
    
    • Why: Adding the additional Operator Armor allows for benefits for both Warframe and Operator in the name of synergy.

ZENURIK

The Zenurik believed the clearest path to victory was to Dominate the Enemy. Those who master the Zenurik school believe that sheer strength could erase any resistance.

Rest assured the core of Energizing Dash remains as-is with some slight updates. Our goal is to bring other Focus Schools up to the level of Zenurik while still maintaining the School’s tactical benefits.

• 6 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Void Flow, Void Siphon, and Energy Pulse remain unchanged.

• Energizing Dash is now Wellspring with the slight change of being a direct input Ability as opposed to a Void Dash.

NARAMON

The Naramon discipline focuses on Knowing The Enemy. They believed that to truly understand a foe would confer the greatest advantage upon a warrior.

True to its focus in the art of assault, Naramon continues to heavily lean towards a Melee support role with speed and distance enhancements.

• 7 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Mind Step remains unchanged.

• Power Spike and Affinity Spike have moved.

  • Slight increase to Melee Affinity gained from Affinity Spike

VAZARIN

The Vazarin are trained to Counter The Enemy. Those who mastered the Vazarin school maintain constant awareness in order to defend against all aggression.

The Vazarin Focus School aims to now be a proper support School in both life and death.

• 6 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see (Devstream Link).

• Enduring Tides and Mending Unity remain unchanged.

• Tweaked Rejuvenating Tides:

  • Effect is doubled while controlling Warframe.
    
    • Why: Additional benefit between using both Warframe and Operator.

• Tweaked Mending Soul:

  • The first x Revives are instantaneous. All following Revives have their speed increased by x%.
    
    • Why: Players would often remark that the ability eventually became useless in longer missions. Mending Soul retains its immediate strengths, but once used up, now offers a more permanent benefit!

Focus Refund & Re-spec

Upon login, all Focus points will need to be re-spec’d. You will be met with 2 types of Focus Refunds in order to execute this:

1. All your Focus points will be returned to their respective School.

   1. I.e. my 5,000,000 Focus points I put into Madurai will be returned to that School for me to freely re-spec how I want.

2. Any Focus points you’ve spent on upgrading your Pool capacity will be returned to you in the form of Radiant Eidolon shards via Inbox, which you can convert into Focus points for a School of your choosing.

We hope this broad overview of the changes thus far will help guide the transition for these changes and assist you in early planning on how you will revisit Focus for your own purposes. Note that the above may or may not see changes before release. The official Forum Patch Notes will have the final versions of this massive Focus Rework effort!

Focus School is in session! The Focus System is getting an extensive rework in the Angels of the Zariman update coming April 27th on all platforms to refresh the gameplay potential of Operators, movement, School identity and balance.

Almost every aspect of Focus is being reviewed & touched, and this Dev Workshop aims to provide a broad overview of the current changes. The Official Patch Notes on launch will house all final information. We felt it was a priority to give intent & vision to the community in workshop form, so let’s get to it!

WHAT IS FOCUS?
Focus has been a lot of things over the years. What started in 2015 as a pivotal decision moment in Warframe’s story has continually evolved into its own form of gameplay: Convergence was introduced alongside Focus Lenses to give players an added boost to collecting Focus, Update 22: Plains of Eidolon shook the system up to add new Focus School nodes and Way-Bound abilities, and Update 22.6 attempted to bring the 5 schools’ power levels closer together with numerous abilities reworked.

At its core, Focus aimed to be an exciting new path to enjoy Warframe from the lens of another character. What we’ve come to realize over the many years is that there was a lack of true synergy between Operator and Warframe. We hope to change that while also bringing something fresh to the table!

VIDEO COMPANION
We covered many aspects of this workshop in our Devstream, please see the timestamped section here for convenience & more details:

https://youtu.be/GlgFz3xMUuQ?t=2590

OPERATOR GAMEPLAY REWORK OVERVIEW

The Operator Gameplay and Focus School reworks aim to improve the flow between Warframe gameplay and Operator gameplay, with the goal of encouraging players to swap more frequently between their Operator and Warframe to maximize the benefits received from both gameplay systems.

For Operator Gameplay specifically, these changes come in three major ways: first, the introduction of Void Sling; secondly, re-engineering Operators to be Client-authoritative to reduce jank caused by latency issues related to the mission host; thirdly, removal of Void Blast to allow Melee inputs to cause automatic Transference from Operator to Warframe.

Void Sling is the intended replacement of Void Dashes as a more fun and controllable system. In full transparency, the current state of sustained Void Dash movement has a spam-centric loop that we want to refine. We are very much approaching this like how we added Bullet Jump to Parkour: we want movement to be king, but better controlled. Current Void Dash does not provide easily controlled movement in the typical gameplay spaces. We are aiming to strike a balance to ensure good distance can still be covered, but some re-mastery will be required of this new movement system (much like having to learn Bullet Jumping)!

Additionally, Operator Transference has been re-engineered to be Client-authoritative to alleviate the common scenario of latency. Previously, Transference was Host-authoritative, meaning when Clients used Transference the responsiveness was determined by the round trip network latency. In order for the new Void Sling functionality to be more responsive, the switch was made to be Client-authoritative.

Void Dash to Sling

The Operator sends a Void Sling of themselves and then Void Slings to it. It is the Operator’s ‘Double Jump’. *After its debut on Devstream #160 and following further playtesting, the team has since increased the overall speed of the Operator’s Void Sling thanks to feedback.

• Tap or hold jump while in the air to send out your Sling. A tap will travel a minimum distance before the Void Sling.
• Void Sling can also be activated using the old Void Dash input, by holding jump while in crouched Void Mode.
• Holding jump sends out the Void Sling, up to the Sling's maximum distance, which upon being reached, will automatically Void Sling the player to that space.
• Letting go of jump before hitting the maximum distance is reached will initiate a Void Sling.
• The Void Sling is sent out in the direction the camera is facing once fully charged, or upon release.

Void Blast to Warframe Melee Transfer

Melee input while using your Operator will now instantly Transfer to your Warframe and perform a Melee attack.

• Having no Melee weapon equipped will result in Transferring to your Warframe holding your Primary/Secondary instead.
• Warframe Melee Finishers can be triggered as Operator with ‘Use’ input near an unaware or stunned enemy, automatically insta-Transferring to Warframe to perform them.
• So what about Void Blast? It’s been retired and replaced with the above. For scenarios where Void Blast is requested (disarming Kuva Guardians, etc) using the new Void Sling mechanic (or Amps in some cases) will do the trick.

FOCUS SCHOOL REWORK

The Focus School rework aims to boost the lesser used Schools by a) giving them more interesting and useful abilities, b) defining a clear role and gameplay style for each school, and c) incentivizing Warframe-Operator Transference as part of the core gameplay loop.

General Notes:

• Ability Inputs while in Operator are now used to perform brand new Focus School abilities! Each School is launching with 2 Abilities, meaning that what you use to cast your Warframe’s First and Second Abilities (i.e 1 & 2 keys on PC) now have a use while in Operator!
• The Pool has been removed! Any Focus points you’ve spent on upgrading your Pool capacity will be returned to you in the form of Radiant Eidolon shards, which you can convert into Focus points for a School of your choosing. The original intention of the Pool was to allow you to select the active nodes within your chosen Focus School, but as time went on the Pool only added unnecessary complexity for no real gameplay benefit.

• Removed passive draining abilities because players would typically have deactivated these abilities to avoid the passive Energy drain. Any abilities that spend Energy are manually triggered as opposed to passively draining.

  • As a result, we’ve removed the toggling functionality to have nodes on or off as Pool capacity and passive draining abilities are no longer a factor.

• The Focus School UI has been updated! Not only does the UI now apply your chosen UI Theme, but each School screen displays a legend of all Way-Bound abilities to easily reference the ones you have unlocked. This legend also allows you to quickly switch between schools with the click of a button.

• Unlocking all the nodes of a Focus School will grant you access to Represent. Rep your School with all new cosmetics (purchased with Focus points) via the Represent button in the respective Focus screen (Madurai, Vazarin, etc).

MADURAI

The Madurai way follows the path of Engage the Enemy. Speed and savagery characterized the Madurai school.

Madurai’s abilities focus on granting that offensive edge in combat with a combination of Damage increases, weapon efficiency, and Speed enhancements to recklessly attack your foes.

• 6 new Focus abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Eternal Gaze and Inner Gaze remain unchanged.

• Reworked Void Strike:

  • Consumes all Operator energy to increase damage for 8s. Deal 10% additional damage for every percentage of Operator energy consumed. 40s cooldown.
    
    • eg. 100% of Energy consumed is 1000% damage.
    • Why: Old Void Strike’s long charge up time didn’t provide an ideal gameplay experience within the fast paced environment. Players found themselves sitting in Void Mode waiting for the Damage bonus to build up. Now Void Strike no longer needs Void Mode and has instant damage on input. Additionally, Void Strike is Duration based now instead of per shot, meaning damage gets applied to all pellets of a shotgun for instance.

• Tweaked Phoenix Talons:

  • Physical Damage and Operator Damage increased by x%.
    
    • Why: Adding the additional Operator Damage allows for benefits for both Warframe and Operator in the name of synergy.

UNAIRU

The Unairu push themselves to Outlast The Enemy. Those who mastered the Unairu school are granted enhanced damage resistance and damage reflection*.*

Unairu’s main pillar aims to make Unairu a proper tank Focus School with increased Armor, and opportunities for increased immunity and survivability.

• 8 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Reworked Unairu Wisp:

  • x% chance to summon an Unairu Wisp for each enemy hit by Sundering Dissipation that will seek out the nearest ally within Affinity Range and increase their Operator damage by x% for x secs.
    
    • Why: Its new coexistence alongside another Focus ability unifies the 2 together to add another layer that benefits both Warframe and Operator. It also removes having to pick up the Unairu Wisp manually, and will instead find you within Affinity Range.

• Tweaked Stone Skin:

  • Increases Armor for Warframe and Operator by x.
    
    • Why: Adding the additional Operator Armor allows for benefits for both Warframe and Operator in the name of synergy.

ZENURIK

The Zenurik believed the clearest path to victory was to Dominate the Enemy. Those who master the Zenurik school believe that sheer strength could erase any resistance.

Rest assured the core of Energizing Dash remains as-is with some slight updates. Our goal is to bring other Focus Schools up to the level of Zenurik while still maintaining the School’s tactical benefits.

• 6 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Void Flow, Void Siphon, and Energy Pulse remain unchanged.

• Energizing Dash is now Wellspring with the slight change of being a direct input Ability as opposed to a Void Dash.

NARAMON

The Naramon discipline focuses on Knowing The Enemy. They believed that to truly understand a foe would confer the greatest advantage upon a warrior.

True to its focus in the art of assault, Naramon continues to heavily lean towards a Melee support role with speed and distance enhancements.

• 7 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see Devstream #161.

• Mind Step remains unchanged.

• Power Spike and Affinity Spike have moved.

  • Slight increase to Melee Affinity gained from Affinity Spike

VAZARIN

The Vazarin are trained to Counter The Enemy. Those who mastered the Vazarin school maintain constant awareness in order to defend against all aggression.

The Vazarin Focus School aims to now be a proper support School in both life and death.

• 6 new Focus Abilities.

  • Each Ability will be detailed in the Update Notes, we are still finalizing. For a preview, see (Devstream Link).

• Enduring Tides and Mending Unity remain unchanged.

• Tweaked Rejuvenating Tides:

  • Effect is doubled while controlling Warframe.
    
    • Why: Additional benefit between using both Warframe and Operator.

• Tweaked Mending Soul:

  • The first x Revives are instantaneous. All following Revives have their speed increased by x%.
    
    • Why: Players would often remark that the ability eventually became useless in longer missions. Mending Soul retains its immediate strengths, but once used up, now offers a more permanent benefit!

Focus Refund & Re-spec

Upon login, all Focus points will need to be re-spec’d. You will be met with 2 types of Focus Refunds in order to execute this:

1. All your Focus points will be returned to their respective School.

   1. I.e. my 5,000,000 Focus points I put into Madurai will be returned to that School for me to freely re-spec how I want.

2. Any Focus points you’ve spent on upgrading your Pool capacity will be returned to you in the form of Radiant Eidolon shards via Inbox, which you can convert into Focus points for a School of your choosing.

We hope this broad overview of the changes thus far will help guide the transition for these changes and assist you in early planning on how you will revisit Focus for your own purposes. Note that the above may or may not see changes before release. The official Forum Patch Notes will have the final versions of this massive Focus Rework effort!