I’m looking through the old 2023 stats page, and I see Caliban is extremely unpopular. Part of this is definitely availability, since he’s gated behind a bounty farm after New War. But how much is it availability?

I get the sense that Caliban is a cult frame, split between people (especially YouTubers) who think he sucks and a minority that appreciates how wide his support toolkit is.

Will Caliban Prime give the sus space man some new appreciation, or will the stink stay on him forever?

  • KeegenEnglish
    6•3 days ago

    Unless they give him a major rework, no shot. Getting a Prime is his best chance to actually have a dev take a look at him, given that his painful acquisition and incredibly low usage rates don’t encourage DE to give him any dev time right now. His abilities and even his passive are all just so terribly mediocre/useless. His passive is just a worse adaptation that doesn’t stack with the original one. His first ability is a joke, it’s Rev’s 4 except terrible in every way. His second ability is worse Rhino’s Storm with a target cap for some unknown reason. His third summons brain-dead AI companions that spin around tickling enemies and give you shields except when you actually need them (they stop providing shields as soon as your shield gate triggers, exactly when you would actually appreciate some shield regen). His fourth is his only salvageable ability but it just got way worse with the changes to enemy armor making 100% strips way less necessary. There is nothing this frame does that another frame cannot do better while also having something else to add on top of that.

  • Convict45English
    2•3 days ago

    He’s not terrible, but there’s no content he isn’t a third choice for.

  • @djsoren19@yiffit.netEnglish
    4•3 days ago

    The problem isn’t just his acquisition, it’s that he sucks. His passive is a worse adaptation that doesn’t even work if you want to use the real Adaptation. His AI companions have the same braindead AI that enemies have, making them worthless. His slam is basically a worse version of the ability you get rid of on Rhino.

    I think the combo of Razor Gyre dealing slash and Fusion Strike technically being a strip is all he offers right now, and that’s not very much. He needs a full Pablo rework before he’ll start seeing play.