May 2012 Development Update

Beta

=YouTube Video Update= On May 22, 2012, Red 5 studios uploaded a new video to their YouTube channel. This video described a number of major changes to the progression systems within Firefall.

Primarily, that Battleframe Rank was going to be removed. Instead of waiting until you achieve a new rank to equip certain weapons and armor, players can now spend their XP on Licenses that will allow them to equip higher tier equipment.

Also (re-)introduced were the concepts of Weight and Energy. In a nutshell, Battleframes provide weight capacity for all equipped gear, while consuming a certain amount of energy. Backpacks have a certain weight, but provide energy for all other pieces of equipment. All other pieces of equipment will have weight and energy requirements before they can be equipped.

Manufacturing is also going to be getting an overhaul. Rather than simply requiring a certain number of resources to create a single piece of equipment, it was hinted that players will decide which resources to apply to a certain pattern, and that those choices will determine the statistics of the resulting equipment.

The tier system also creates the potential for non-sequential Tiers of gear, for example, a 'Tournament Tier', which is gear available purely for a single tournament event.

Licenses
The video displayed an image of the Battleframe license board, which showed 4 Battleframe models for each 'frame type, in addition to the Tier 0 Accord 'Standard Issue' frame. Two frames each were shown for the two primary Battleframe manufacturers, EnerMAX and OmniDyne.


 * Assault
 * Tier 1 EnerMAX "Badger"
 * Tier 2 EnerMAX "Wolverine"
 * Tier 1 OmniDyne "Scythe"
 * Tier 2 OmniDyne "Guillotine"


 * Engineer
 * Tier 1 EnerMAX "Mechanic"
 * Tier 2 EnerMAX "Winch"
 * Tier 1 OmniDyne "Mason"
 * Tier 2 OmniDyne "Architect"


 * Medic
 * Tier 1 EnerMAX "Shrike"
 * Tier 2 EnerMAX "Peregrin" Misspelling of "Peregrine". Do not fix. [sic]
 * Tier 1 OmniDyne "Acolyte"
 * Tier 2 OmniDyne "Initiate"


 * Recon
 * Tier 1 EnerMAX "Wraith"
 * Tier 2 EnerMAX "Specter"
 * Tier 1 OmniDyne "Hitman"
 * Tier 2 OmniDyne "Professional"


 * Dreadnaught
 * Tier 1 EnerMAX "Landslide"
 * Tier 2 EnerMAX "Obelisk"
 * (The video cuts away before OmniDyne Dreadnaught frames are shown)

Later in the video, however, an extended version of the license tree is shown, hinting that licenses for each Battleframe module and backpack will be nested under a specific Battleframe.


 * Tier 2 Dreadnaught Battleframe (EnerMAX "Annihilator" Dreadnaught Battleframe)
 * Tier 0 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / Standard Accord Dreadnaught Regen Module
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / EnerMAX Armor Plating Module
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / EnerMAX Health Regen Module
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / EnerMAX Armor Plating Module
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / EnerMAX Health Regen Module
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / OmniDyne Sprint Speed Module
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / OmniDyne Jet Thrust Module
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / OmniDyne Sprint Speed Module
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Battleframe Module / OmniDyne Jet Thrust Module
 * Tier 0 "Annihilator" Dreadnaught Backpack / Standard Accord Dreadnaught Backpack
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Low Weight Backpack
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Med Weight Backpack
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX High Weight Backpack
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Ultra Weight Backpack
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Low Energy Backpack
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Med Energy Backpack
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne High Energy Backpack
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Ultra Energy Backpack
 * Tier 0 "Annihilator" Dreadnaught Backpack Modules / Standard Accord Dreadnaught Backpack Modules
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Mark I Turret Mode
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Mark I Thunderdome
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Mark II Turret Mode
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / EnerMAX Mark II Thunderdome
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Mark I Dreadfield
 * Tier 1 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Mark I Dreadkick
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Mark II Dreadfield
 * Tier 2 "Annihilator" Backpack / OmniDyne Mark II Dreadkick
 * Tier 0 Heavy Machine Gun / Standard Accord Dreadnaught Backpack Modules
 * Tier 1 Heavy Machine Gun / EnerMAX Low Power Heavy Machine Gun
 * Tier 1 Heavy Machine Gun / EnerMAX Med Power Heavy Machine Gun
 * Tier 2 Heavy Machine Gun / EnerMAX High Power Heavy Machine Gun
 * Tier 2 Heavy Machine Gun / EnerMAX Ultra Power Heavy Machine Gun

Please keep in mind that all of these are purely for illustration purposes, and are in no way indicative of the final version of this system or the game.

Errata

 * The Recon tier of the License tree says 'Dreadnaught' in its Tier 0 description
 * The Tier 2 Dreadnaught Battleframe "Annihilator" uses the OmniDyne manufacturer logo, while it is named as an 'EnerMAX' frame.