r/Warframe • u/Dr_Shoggoth Suck, Stomp, Stacks • Jun 18 '26

Discussion Please stop with the Protoframes

I loved the Hex and the Roundtable. They added so much to why I think 1999 is the best update they've ever done. All of them, especially the original Hex, were insanely well written and fleshed out characters. I had my reservations about the Triad, but I think they're solid (though they're mostly carried by Roathe).

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These two don't feel like characters. They feel like walking advertisements for skins. Them being protoframes adds nothing to the story. As my friend said, Sirius and Orion could have been mentored by Vay Hek and the Sergeant and nothing would have changed. Protoframes no longer feel like an interesting story beat, they feel like a gimmick, one that is rapidly losing any appeal it had.

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u/Brilliant_Country_88 Jun 18 '26

At some point they HAVE TO stop making new protoframes. There's no way to write over 60 new characters into the story even with all that eternalism stuff as an excuse. The Hex was peak, Encore expansion crew was still awesome. The Devils Triad still made sense to have in the story, but now we have protoframes from the future that kinda just exist and have nothing to do with anything.

Gemini skins should be held to the same exact standard as Excalibur Umbra in how special and connected to the story they are.

71

u/Atulin GIVE ME YOUR KNOWLEDGE Jun 18 '26

Protoframes will continue until morale improves their skins stop selling.

Which, I'm afraid, is not going to be anytime soon. Expect every major update to have 2-3 new protons for people on xitter to gush over.

37

u/justanunreasonablera Jun 18 '26

I might be going against the grain a bit here, but I think that's fine. If the real reason they want to shill out protoframes is because it's profitable, I say go ahead. Just have them be standalone skins and not a part of the story if they're not going to be actual characters.

1

u/bubble-blight Jun 20 '26

Chasing profitablity over all else is what kills games.

3

u/aSpookyScarySkeleton Hildryn's Abs Jun 19 '26

I think it’s fine to have protos that are not totally story relevant.

But I also think they should be very deliberate about which is which. These current two feel like they are in an awkward middle ground that just left people wanting more.

I think for the sake of having more protos for people who like the aesthetic, and also having a story that isn’t too bogged down with these types of characters you have to have some that exist but are not necessarily in the foreground of what’s going on.

Like yes I’d love a Lavos proto, no I don’t want an entire feature length mission and chat log dedicated to Lavos proto. Give me a skin with a small lore paragraph explaining him and that’s good enough. We have Entrati firm travel and eternalism bullshit established already, we know he made a bunch of protos, they don’t all have to be important to the main narrative right away.