So it’s been roughly a month since Update 13 for Warframe, and with it, the introduction of Melee 2.0. While I wasn’t quite as excited as Ahlmer was, I was pretty excited, especially when they said they were giving the nod to such games as Devil May Cry — one of my longtime favorites.
For those of you who haven’t had a chance to try it yet (PS4 players?), or who aren’t playing Warframe, Melee 2.0 takes melee from a single button light or heavy (charged) attack to, well, a two/three button(ish) attack with possible combos and stances.
Using melee 2.0 requires you to switch your melee weapon to your primary weapon, which is done by holding down your weapon swap button. The actual attacking is still one button, and combos are executed by pushing that button in various patterns (for example, E-E (pause) E-E-E-E). Combos are only available when you’ve got a stance equipped (and in many cases, upgraded), and there are two for each type of weapon. You can also charge your melee weapon with energy (the trigger button by default) and block bullets/attacks.
Stance cards also operate much like Auras — they give you upgrade points to work with for that weapon, so upgrading the stance is actually beneficial.
Equipping the stance even if you’re not great at executing combos can be fun because it alters your basic swing-swing-swing, and in many cases adds a forth finishing hit. That can take a little getting used to if you get too comfortable with your default, no-stance attack, especially because many of the stance combos introduce a lot of movement into your attacks and can carry you quite a bit farther than you expect.
So how’s this work out in actual play? Well, for me at least, most of my combos, save the basic one, are executed, well, let’s be honest, by accident. And I actually don’t entirely take the blame for that–most enemies aren’t tough enough to stand up to the chain of attacks, especially if charged. I find I execute most combos during the huge slew of enemies that come during survival or defense missions.
What I do find really awesome are the blocking of attacks, the improved basic chain (4x attack), the increasing damage as you continue to melee enemies, and the charged attack. The charged attack, properly modded, can leave you melting through enemies, even high level ones, like butter. An invisible Ash or Loki can clean up this way. The only drawback of this is if you’re not running with a group or running energy siphon yourself, you can quickly find yourself without any energy at all.
Also with Update 13 came the new Nikana and Dragon Nikana katana-type weapons. I’m not rank 8 yet — a requirement for the Dragon Nikana — but the Nikana is really fun to play especially in melee 2.0 mode, extremely stylish and does a solid amount of damage. There’s nothing like watching your Tenno do the run-draw-slash-sheathe like a movie samurai… Ahlmer reports that the Dragon Nikana is one of the best weapons in game, statwise, too. Tranquil Cleave, the initial Nikana stance, is still in high demand, but if you want a really good time farm the new Dark Sector conflict missions for Decisive Judgement.
It’s a shame, then, that some weapons don’t seem to work very well with melee 2.0. What was once the champion of melee, the galantine, clearing a crowd with one charged swing, is no longer so celebrated. And the throwing weapons, such as the glaive, do not seem well suited to the new melee systems.
Overall, melee 2.0 introduced some very fun elements to melee in Warframe. While it’s still, essentially, a one button melee, it’s definitely a big improvement over the previous melee, and it’s now possible, and really really fun, to run through missions using only your sword.
If you want to see most of what I’ve talked about in action, check out this melee only speed run by Ahlmer with Loki and his Dragon Nikana on Youtube:
Still curious? Check out my one-minute review video.
