Gara’s Glass Ceiling: Power and Pain

I’m completely hooked on transforming my favorite Warframe character into a devastating vortex of shimmering glass. The resulting damage output is truly immense. While it might be hindering my overall gameplay in some ways, I simply cannot and will not stop perfecting this build.

Here’s the backstory: After diving into Warframe earlier this year, I became determined to acquire and develop the Warframe known as Gara. The acquisition process presented several challenges, but something about her resonated deeply with me. I instinctively knew she was destined to become my primary character.

Gara is a graceful fighter whose abilities are centered around the element of glass. She can strike opponents with sharp shards, conjure whirling orbs of shattered glass, create reflective surfaces that redirect enemy fire, and construct massive, formidable walls of solid glass.

I absolutely love her! Her powers perfectly complement my preferred playstyle, which emphasizes defeating enemies with attacks that don’t require precise aiming. This is especially helpful because I play with a controller, which can sometimes be a limitation. Gara’s first ability, Shattered Lash, is capable of eliminating entire enemy groups without the need for perfect targeting.

I also greatly enjoy her fourth ability, Mass Vitrify, which generates a protective wall of glass and encases enemies within it. It proves invaluable in defense missions, preventing enemies from reaching and damaging the objective. They’re effectively trapped outside my impenetrable barrier! Even better, launching Shattered Lash at the glass wall causes it to shatter, dealing significant damage to any enemies attempting to break through. This demonstrates impressive ability synergy.

I occasionally remember to utilize her second ability, Splinter Storm. This creates a rotating cloud of glass around Gara, an ally, or a selected target. While Splinter Storm inflicts damage on nearby enemies, I initially considered it merely “okay,” certainly not as impactful as Shattered Lash, which instantly vaporizes surrounding adversaries.

But then I discovered: Splinter Storm is a Damage Powerhouse

Splinter Storm can transform Gara into a mobile damage dealer, capable of consistently inflicting hundreds of thousands of points of damage. A more profound synergy was waiting to be unlocked, and now that I have, I’m practically unstoppable.

Here’s the simplified explanation: Splinter Storm lasts for 30 seconds and inflicts a moderate amount of damage – starting at 325 for me. However, casting Mass Vitrify resets the duration of Splinter Storm. Therefore, by maintaining sufficient energy levels, you can keep Splinter Storm active indefinitely.

Furthermore… when you use Shattered Lash to destroy the glass wall generated by Mass Vitrify, a portion of that wall’s damage is transferred to your Splinter Storm.

Essentially, you can create an endlessly scaling cloud of broken glass, allowing you to stroll around while surrounded by this damaging aura, causing any enemy within range to explode instantly.

This video by MHBlacky on YouTube explores the intricacies of this strategy, detailing optimal mod configurations to maximize its effectiveness. I highly recommend watching it, as, similar to many aspects of Warframe, the numerical possibilities are astonishing for those who enjoy optimizing their builds.

Here’s What a Typical Warframe Mission Looks Like Now

I cast Splinter Storm. I cast Mass Vitrify. I shatter Mass Vitrify with Shattered Lash. I simply move around and every enemy that approaches is instantly defeated. There’s a constant shimmering sound, breakable objects exploding, and I’m fixated on the escalating damage numbers, laughing maniacally.

Unfortunately, some problems have arisen as a result.

First, continuously resetting the Splinter Storm timer is crucial. If it expires, all accumulated damage is lost, forcing you to start over. Reverting back to 300 damage feels like nothing after becoming accustomed to consistently dealing hundreds of thousands of damage.

Few things are worse than noticing the timer expire and watching the damage plummet. When Splinter Storm is active, it’s accompanied by a subtle, barely audible swirling sound. That stops when Splinter Storm ends. It’s devastating, feels like the world’s lost its energy, and makes me frustrated.

Secondly, I believe it’s diminishing my overall Warframe skills. Recently, I participated in a Disruption mission with my friend. This is an endless mission type, where you can extract after certain rounds, but the difficulty increases and rewards improve with each round. It’s the ideal mission for the Splinter Storm synergy, because your damage can match enemy scaling.

After we finally extracted, he messaged with great excitement that he’d gotten six Entrati Lanthorns! It’s a rare resource that I currently need to craft things.

How many had I acquired? Zero!

I was too preoccupied running around and focusing on my damage, laughing as enemies dissolved on my approach. I was so fixated on becoming a machine of destruction that I completely ignored the map icons indicating the lanthorns. I’m still somewhat annoyed about it three days later.

Gara is strength. Gara represents perfection. Gara is my Warframe. I won’t give up. What should I do now? The only way to improve my mood is to build a stronger glass cloud… I’ll return shortly.