"The worst, most predatory thing DE has done so far" - Warframe community expresses concerns over the expensive Heirloom Collection

"Fashion-frame" is considered the true endgame of Warframe. Even though the notion can be dismissed as a long-standing slight to the scarcity of late-game content for veterans, it does hold some morsels of truth. Everything in Warframe is grindable, including some cosmetics. If such headgears, armors, and ephemera cannot be directly crafted, they can usually be purchased with Platinum.

Even though Platinum is the premium currency in this game, players can actually build up their own reserves naturally by playing and trading with others. However, a few cosmetics can be paygated behind real money. The new Heirloom Collection, released during TennoCon 2023 to celebrate the ocassion of the game's 10 year anniversary, is the biggest standout example of this.

The playerbase's reaction to the price label and nature of the Heirloom Collection bundles is not even remotely appreciative. The current discourse around this bundle in the Warframe community is an alarmist reproach of its ties to real money, among other things. A fan on Reddit went so far as to say:

"The Heirloom Collection is the worst, most predatory thing DE has done so far, and the worst thing they could do on their most important day of the year, along with such an important celebration."

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Warframe's Heirloom Collection causes backlash, fans upset over exclusivity and steep price mark-up

The Heirloom Collection in Warframe is a cosmetic bundle you can buy in three tiers: Risen, Celestial, and Zenith. There are a couple of issues readily apparent with the tier system implemented in this context, even leaving aside the extravagant pricing.

Firstly, the tiered wares are not additive, as in the higher tiers do not contain all the elements of the lower tier. The Risen bundle comes with 400 Platinum, whereas the Celestial tier instead compensates the higher price with 6x Regal Aya.

The other issue is the fact that the bundles are not grindable, under the pretext that they are a 'prestige' set. This is all the more reason that community is exasperated about the lack of ways for a free-to-play player to get their hands on any of the cosmetics, emotes, and numerous miscellanea included within the tiers of this bundle.

The pricing itself being steep has drawn a lot of flak from the community. The general consensus is that it would not be as egregious if the $90 bundle was priced closer to $50, and so on. A reddit user went through the troubles of doing a rough estimate of its pricing policy.

Despite the relative novelty of the Signa as a completely new cosmetic accessory, the pricing is too steep for some. Another component of the backlash is the on-the-nose time-limited window to purchase the Warframe Heirloom collection.

Another issue is the rigid two-for-one buyout structure imposed on players who only play either Mag or Frost.

Not only are the cosmetics limited-time, they also give you a second opportunity to leave a permanent imprint of the 'Ten Year Accolade,' similar to the Founder Accolade.

This is also not the first instance of a prestige accessory being paygated, as a lot of highly exclusive time-limited accessories and ephemeras have been tied to the highest tier of Prime Access bundles.

The community backlash, as overwhelming as it is on the Warframe subreddit, is unlikely to cause any signficant change in the pricing. Changing the price tags would also call for refunds and compensations towards players who have already purchased any of the bundles.

Digital Extremes will already have too much on their plate with the upcoming updates this year to comprehensively satisfy all sides of this community discourse.