Welcome to Warframe! There’s a wide world of intense action in front of you and we’re glad that you’re joining us in the Origin System. As you awake from cryosleep and take control of your chosen Warframe, there are some things you might not know about the game. To help familiarize you with Warframe, we’re offering this handy list of tips. These should have you bullet jumping into the action in no time!
The Star Chart is your map of the entire Origin System. Progressing through each Junction and following the main Quests should be your primary focus. As you progress through Junctions, you’ll find yourself unlocking new planets and Mission locations, which will reward you with new Warframes and resources. Without a completed Star Chart, you won’t have access to certain resources needed to craft future Warframes, equipment, and other upgrades.
While Open Landscapes like the Plains of Eidolon and the Orb Vallis will appear early in your journey, it’s best to move beyond them and return later. The highest-level Bounties and opportunities to rank up with Syndicates found in these locations will require some foundational Warframe knowledge and upgraded loadouts that you’ll gain as you fill out your Star Chart. They’ll still be there when you come back!
You can queue up for missions as a solo player, but Warframe is generally meant to be enjoyed in multiplayer squads. A squad of Tenno is much faster when it comes to completing objectives and finishing off foes. If you’re brand-new and you find that veteran players zoom ahead without you, don’t get discouraged; with time, you’ll settle into the same pace. It might also help you to queue up for missions with a friend who can walk you through some aspects of missions you might not understand.
Your Mastery Rank is the level of your Warframe account, a tangible marker of your overall progress. In fact, certain events and equipment are locked behind higher Mastery Ranks! You can check your current Mastery Rank in the top-left corner of the Main Menu, or by selecting “Profile” and then “My Profile” on the same menu screen.
You gain Mastery Ranks by using Warframes and Weapons in missions, which levels them up. Raising your Mastery Rank quickly requires fully Mastering all the Warframes and Weapons available to you, which tends to happen at Rank 30. Even if you find a particular Warframe or Weapon isn’t your favorite, Master it before you move on!
If you have a question about a specific Warframe, Mod, or the vast array of enemies coming after you, look into your Codex! The Codex is an in-game database of information on Warframe. You can find the Codex console in your Orbiter on the left side, or access it through the Main Menu under the “Profile” section. The Codex is also where you can keep track of all of the main and side quests available to you; if you want to dive deep into the story of Warframe, the Codex is where you start.
Mods are a key aspect of enhancing your Warframes and Weapons. Without any Mods equipped, you only reach a fraction of your potential strength. A good practice in Missions is to explore and loot everything. In time, and with enough Missions, you should be collecting Mods at a steady pace. While the system looks complex, we have a handy guide that should help you get your Warframes fit for the fight. Make sure to always equip Mods to reach your Warframe or Weapon’s maximum capacity. Pro tip: Early on, you only need one copy of most Mods, so dissolve the duplicates into Endo!
Early in the game, you’ll be taught one of the primary movements mechanics in Warframe: the Bullet Jump. This move is done by crouching and then jumping, which shoots your Warframe forward a good distance. Combined with other moves like the Double Jump, or aiming your Weapon while jumping to slow your fall with the Aim Glide, the Bullet Jump is how most players get around in Warframe. Learn to chain bullet jumps together by Bullet Jumping into a slide by crouching again, putting you into the right position to Bullet Jump once again.
As an additional tip, if you aim your camera upwards prior to your Bullet Jump, the jump will be aimed upwards, shooting you high into the air. This additional movement technique can make a substantial difference when traversing the environment in your earliest missions.
Part of gaining power in Warframe is through new equipment. While you’ll be given some Weapons and Warframes just by progressing through the game, most will need to be crafted in the Foundry. Before you craft a Weapon however, you need to pick up the Blueprint for that weapon.
Some Blueprints can be found on the Market, which is accessible through the Market console in your Orbiter or the “Market” section of the Main Menu. In the Weapons section of the Market, you’ll find available Weapons. Click through and you’ll find the option to buy the Blueprint for a Weapon, usually with Credits. With that Blueprint, you can return to the Foundry and assuming you have the right resources, start building a new Weapon. You'll also have the option to instantly add that Weapon or Warframe to your Arsenal with Platinum, the premium currency in Warframe.
Clans in Warframe are persistent groups of like-minded players. While you might be tempted to go solo, joining a Clan gives you access to the Clan Dojo. Not only is a Dojo a great place to congregate with other players, it also gives you access to the labs, which offer Clan-exclusive Blueprints for Weapons, Warframes, and Resources. We’re all working together in Warframe, so it’s good to make friends!
There’s a lot of fun within Warframe, but as a new player you can’t do everything. If you try to complete everything shown in your Star Chart and Navigation console, you’ll be pulled in a hundred different directions trying to complete Alerts, Nightwave missions, Events, and more. Once you’ve completed the Star Chart and finished the main quests, find the aspect of Warframe that speaks to you, whether that’s Open Landscapes, Alerts, or even just fishing! Take your time and find out what’s fun for you.