Maxed out builds are still impossible, this was an issue before the update, now it's even worse since Primed Pack Leader was just as good Rank 1, now it's great to max it out
Hell, I'd love to put in Elemental Mods too but there just arent enough slots
This, this build is an absolute overkill supreme in terms of high-cost low-effect mods. Shield mods on companions? Why? A single Bond mod that speeds up revives in place of Pack Leader is all you need, if you really need to have your companion right now you can just revive them like before. And considering both Fetch and Animal Instinct remain active now even while they're down, there is no reason to hurry. Damage mods are still very much irrelevant, Bite has a use if you wanna run the one crit damage bond mod on cats to boost your weapons but that's about it.
I dont know man, it's pretty good to heal my companion, but I must be the only person on the planet playing a not-healer Warframe to be the only one that needs it.
That's the point - by the way. Is that you cannot MAX the builds on everything you have. You have to pick and choose what you can leave behind. It makes the decision making process more difficult and requires more thought.
While that is the intended mechanic for Mod Drain, the record about this situation being a broader issue shows that is not really used for that.
When Galvanized Mods were released, their drain was reduced from the original iteration just so they could actually fit in builds, despite them being way strongher variants for the same Mods. Not even going far back, this very Update Redirection had it's Drain Cost Reduced.
In another example, when More Necramech mods were added, you couldnt have even close to a Maxed Out Build because their drain was far superior than the Capacity, so they gave Necramechs the Rank 40 Mechanic and Balance did not matter, at all.
Both of these things are Player-Controlled room sweepers, that are currently Meta, while Companions arent even close to that, how could it hurt Balance to be able to max them out?
It has nothing to do with balance. It has to do with satisfying gameplay loops.
You don't get a good customization loop by allowing your players to just slap everything they want on. You restrict things in such a way that it's difficult, or that it drives the need to upgrade/alter slots, or even have multiple copies of a warframe/pet, etc for different reasons.
I mean, you're also running garbage like bite and maul... companions do an insignificant amount of damage, they're essentially there as utility and you're treating yours like it's a secondary weapon.
So now, you have been driven to educate yourself on why all these points are used up and you can't fit anything else... you're engaging with the system more, and that's the measure of success they want. More interaction means more time spent in game, more time in game means more chances to get frustrated and spend real money on plat, etc.
As you get frustrated, you'll move things around and figure out a better combination that suits you, and that ends up feeling rewarding in the end.
Uhm, I'm sorry but are you Pablo or someone else from the team to say what you're saying with such confidence? If in your experience companions do insignificant damage it doesn't mean you was doing it right.
As to the whole "limitations" tirade you have up there - it's already limited by the fact that you need to forma your stuff, you can't just put everything you want form the get go - you have to invest resources and time to do so. OP did exactly that - all of the slots are forma'ed yet he simply can not fill up all the slots because of the mod drain limitations which is just silly. I get the point that if I want a companion to have two separate builds for two separate scenarios I might not be able to fit both on a single companion and I might need a second one, but that's not the case there - OP just can't have the build he wants and no amount of investment will fix that.
I covered that if you weren't so focused on replying just for rebuttal.
The system in Warframe isn't set up for using pets as damage. He's trying to fit wholly maxed out everything. You don't do that. You downrank mods and keep various copies so you have enough points to fit all the things at the levels you need them. He can downrank bite if he wants to fit protect, or he can remove maul, or downrank maul, or the SANE thing, and downrank prime pack leader...wtf is going on there...
And I'm good friends with an educator at fullsail university which teaches game design. We regularly converse about topics such as this. Game design is largely universal, Pablo will tell you the same things about it as I will. You can't just give people what they want, because it's that want which drives interaction. Your job as a game designer is to push that carrot onto a stick, instead of giving it to the person because they'll just eat it and leave. You want everything to be perpetually out of reach.
Things such as this, require you to contemplate what you want to leave on the table.
I guess the point of contention is that with every other aspect of warframe, you can actually fit everything (with enough forma, at least). Warframes, weapons, exalted weapons, railjack, archwing, necramechs,... there is always a way to fit all the optimal mods on these builds. So why are companions the only exception? Of course it seems like a mistake from any casual player when the expectations are set differently by the rest of the game.
Well my companion IS maxed out, I have altered all the slots, im past that "difficulty" or "learning" phase, and yet I cant put anymore Mods unless I take 2 Out in the first place. This is not about wanting to save forma, not even a second companion will remediate it, the loop is over for me and it ends in dissatisfaction because the Optimal Build is just impossible, as this post has shown.
I mean... My companion does Kill and the only utility I care for is "Protect", Maul and Bite are a big part of that and my pet fulfills its purpose even with the Build incomplete, so im not sure what your point is here?
I already know why I cant fit anything else, hell I already did before the Update and it's why my Primed Pack Leader was Rank 0 then, but now it's different and in my opinion, an oversight of the Buffs to existing Mods paired with the Addition of Bond Mods
As I get frustrated I will just make a suggestion in the forums for this to be reviewed, not water down the Perfect Build (I already had before the Update) that I invested so much to run on while other Gears are enabled (by hand of the developers themselves) perfect Builds while being way more significant in their impact over gameplay
I'm just glad that my kavat should stop roasting itself alive when it wanders into one of those burst pipes on Jupiter. I think they still need an AI rework before its worth considering putting attack mods on them though.
I have made some test runs on SP Mot with the Companion on screen, they're not crazy but they do Kill, even better than my Riven-Powered Verglas sentinel, so im actually loving their Performance and want to use them.