Warframe - Top 10 Tips for New Players

My top 10 tips for new Warframe players.

Introduction

As much as I love Warframe, the game admittedly has a significant barrier to entry for new players.

There's so much content yet often unclear directions on how to progress through the game. The game uses a very different lingo that most ordinary MMORPG players might not be familiar with (i.e. think of energy = mana and affinity = experience). Although Digital Extremes (DE) has made a quick start[www.warframe.com] tutorial on getting acquainted with Warframe, it often takes veteran players to guide new players into getting comfortable with the game.

So, in an effort to spare new players from shooting themselves in the foot with their MK1-Braton, here are my top 10 tips...

Tip 1: Bookmark the Warframe Wiki

The Warframe Wiki[warframe.fandom.com] is the place to go if you need information on just about everything in the game.

Whether you need to know about how to defeat a boss, how to complete a mission, or where you might find a good place to farm a particular resource, you can find most answers to your questions through the wiki.

Tip 2: Avoid Spoilers!

If at all possible, do not read the spoilers on the wiki. Otherwise, you won't enjoy the full experience of the story. Trust me on this.

To all the veteran players, do a favor for the new players and don't spoil them. :P

Tip 3: Spend Your Platinum Wisely

What Is Platinum?

Warframe has premium currency called platinum that you can buy with real money. That said, you start out with 50 free platinum as a new player.

What's Platinum Used For?

You can use platinum to outright purchase Warframes, weapons, and cosmetics from the in-game store.

But here's the important part: you also need platinum to open up more Warframe slots, weapon slots, archwing slots, etc. There is limited space in your inventory unless you pay with platinum (exceptions are crafting materials and resources).

1 Warframe slot costs 20 platinum.
2 weapon slots costs 12 platinum.

Having more Warframe/weapon slots means you can store more of them in your arsenal.

It's possible to get free Warframe slots and weapon slots by completing weekly tasks (aka: Nightwave). But if you're in a pinch, you will want to prioritize buying slots with platinum.

Is There A Way To Get Free Platinum?

Yes! Technically, you can acquire free platinum by farming for parts of a Prime Warframe or weapon and trade the parts as a complete set to other players in exchange for platinum.

Tip 4: Ask For A Taxi

What's a Taxi?

In Warframe, a taxi refers to a newer player asking a veteran player to group up and run a mission that only the veteran player has access to. Taxis are helpful if you're wanting to level up faster or farm for specific resources that are best found in certain planet nodes.

Normally, you have to work your way through the Star Chart[warframe.fandom.com] to unlock and gain access to other planets. But if you want to run a mission on a planet that you haven't even unlocked yet, a veteran player can help you get there.

Important Notes

• Not all missions may be reachable via taxi. There are some that you cannot skip through and have certain requirements of unlocking them in a linear progression.
  
• Even if you completed a planet's node via a taxi, you may not have access to that node until you unlock it yourself. Best to unlock all necessary nodes as soon as you can (and veteran players can help you run through the nodes, too!).

Tip 5: Invest In (Good) Mods and Weapons

What Are Mods?

Mods[warframe.fandom.com] are basically special cards or chips that boost the stats of your Warframes, weapons, companions/sentinels, archwings, other deployables, you name it. You can also upgrade your mods to make them have a stronger effect on the stat boosts. They are the building blocks of your survivability in late game as well as customizing your play style.

WARNING: Avoid Upgrading Flawed Mods!

Flawed mods[warframe.fandom.com] are damaged/weaker mods that you find later in the game, but they are not as strong as the full-fledged versions. Flawed mods have a cracked appearance compared to full-fledged ones. Don't waste too much of your resources on upgrading flawed mods! Instead, get the full-fledged versions and upgrade those.

UPDATE: As of October 2023, flawed mods are antiqued and no longer drop early game. They are now only sold in a specific area that you can access later in the game.

Tip 6: Level Everything Up To The Max!

Always level your Warframes, weapons, companions, everything to max (usually max level is 30, though some exceptions apply). This way, you earn the most possible points for your Mastery Rank[warframe.fandom.com] (player account level).

Why Bother Leveling Up?

Leveling your Mastery Rank will unlock your ability to use/trade certain weapons and allow you to access more content (lore galore!), which in turn can help you continue leveling your Mastery Rank even more. :)

Tip 7: Always Keep Your Prime Variants

Prime Is Sublime

If you have a max-level regular Volt (aka: vanilla Volt) and you have a max-level Volt Prime, get rid of your regular Volt (alternatively, there is a way to "recycle" them later in the game...).

The Prime Warframes have slightly better stats and have some nice gold accents/trims. In my opinion, I don't even recommend installing Orokin Reactors[warframe.fandom.com] and Forma[warframe.fandom.com] onto the vanilla Warframes because DE will release the Prime versions at some point in the future (exception is Excalibur Prime since he is part of the Founders-exclusive content from Warframe's early days).

So don't spend too much resources on upgrading vanilla Warframes unless you really love playing as them. Same concept goes for vanilla vs. Prime weapons. That said...

Tip 8: Double-Check Before Throwing Anything Away

Be very careful of throwing away Warframes, weapons, blueprints, and items.

Some weapons build into others (which you can then level to get more affinity for your Mastery Rank), and any blueprints that you acquire through a story mission can only be received once.

If you throw away the blueprint or its fully built version, you cannot get them again from repeating the story. You may have to farm from a different source to get new versions of whatever you threw away. Or, you may be forced to buy the fully built version at the store with platinum.

Double-check via Warframe Wiki[warframe.fandom.com] to make sure you're not throwing away an important item that you might regret.

Tip 9: Join A Clan

What Is A Clan?

A clan is essentially a guild of players. There are items, weapons, and vanilla Warframes that can only be accessed through the clan's dojo (i.e. guild hall). If you want to be a part of a clan, ask players in the recruiting chat for opportunities to join a clan.

Different clans have different requisites for joining. Some are very casual, while others may be more hardcore and have specific requirements. Find a clan that best fits your preferences.

Tip 10: Accessing The Duviri Paradox... Lore Versus Loot

New players who completed the first two quests[warframe.fandom.com] (Awakening and Vor's Prize) will be able to access the Duviri Paradox quest and content.

As a veteran player, I strongly recommend you to ask yourself one question before doing the Duviri. Let's call this the "Lore vs. Loot" question:

Do you care more about the lore or the loot?

LORE: Are you a player who cares about the game's story/lore and willing to wait to get loot later down the road? If yes, then DO NOT play the Duviri Paradox quest until after you complete at least The New War quest.

LOOT: Are you a player who wants to quickly farm Warframes and other rewards and don't care for the story? If yes, then jump right in BUT BE WARNED that some gameplay experiences and story elements will feel very different or confusing. It will all make sense when you reach The New War quest.

Some pros (+), cons (-), and equalizers (=) in table format:

LORE	LOOT
(+) Enjoy the game's story in a more linear format and less confusion.	(+) Quicker access to farming Warframes and loot.
(-) Takes more time to progress towards The New War.	(-) Confusion due to different gameplay experience.
(=) Ability to group up with veteran players to taxi to some later content.	(=) Ability to group up with veteran players to taxi to some later content.

My personal recommendation is pro-LORE. In other words, wait until you complete The New War quest and then The Duviri Paradox will make a lot of sense. That said, you are free to choose how you want to enjoy the game. :)

Conclusion: Don't Forget To Have Fun!

Warframe is well-known for being a very fast-paced game...

Sometimes too fast to the point where everyone already killed the boss in a blink of an eye and they're all waiting for you at the exit... and you barely knew what your mission objectives were.

You don't have to progress through the entire game in a week to reach late game.

At the end of the day, take the time to enjoy the game and have fun. Explore and immerse yourself in Warframe's world and lore. For a free-to-play game, it is rich with content.

If you read this far, thanks for reading through my top 10 tips!

If you need help, don't hesitate to ask other players.

There's so many more tips I'd like to give, but I think these 10 tips are good to have in mind when you first begin the game.

Fellow players, what other tips would you give to newbies?

How to Share This Guide With Other New Players

Right-click the following URL and select "Copy this URL" to share this guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2625201622

[Soulivium]

Hey, thanks for reading my Warframe guide! I've made some updates to this guide, specifically Duviri Paradox. I hope it helps!

[Ne0n]

Great guide overall but I have to disagree about the Primes - at least early on, getting Prime Weapons and Frames is extremely daunting for new players, especially when they don't have a lot of relics and void traces to farm with. I think as long as you like a vanilla frame and you know how to use it, putting resources into it is fine since the Prime stat boosts are pretty negligible overall and items are constantly getting vaulted and unvaulted.

[Not just a Doctor...]

#12 - BARO KITEER HAS ARROIVED

[Bait]

#11 - Run while you still can

[CrimsonGrim]

this really helpful... i mean for a newbie. i wounder if i can give this to someone that's brand new and needs help with the game... ? P.s. amazing job writing it

[繁花落幕心已碎]

23

[ThePHiLsTeR [¬º-°]¬]

@reitzer.david

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=warframe+controller+setup

[ph0e]

FYI: Most story blueprints can be re-bought from Cephalon Simaris in any relay for Simaris rep. Still not ideal to sell story blueprints, though. Good guide!

Also, this game is available on consoles, @reitzer.david... You can literally plug in a controller and the game will automatically recognize it.

[reitzer.david]

soo many guides. not a single one of them telling me how to set up a controller.... no controller, not playing.