Finally Addressing the Modding Gap: Warframe's New Quest Corrects a Longstanding Issue

The space ninja adventure known as Warframe, an experience where you can feed yourself to a giant mouth and pilot futuristic vehicles, has unveiled a major update. This latest expansion highlights the distinctive charm that has come to define Warframe in the past few seasons.

This expansion, released on Wednesday, introduces a fungus-inspired character that does a little dance, along with a whole new explorable fungal area. But it’s also going back to basics, with another quest designed to making sure this complicated, expansive long-running online game is accessible for new players.

A Quest Called "The Teacher"

Titled “The Teacher,” this is the long-awaited quest that instructs Warframe players on how to use one of the game's fundamental yet complex systems: modding.

In Warframe, mods are augments that can be equipped on your warframe or arsenal to boost their performance. They range from the straightforward (increase damage or speed up reload rate) to the devastatingly complex. Content creators often craft hour-long videos about idealized builds that use synergistic enhancements to create overwhelming power.

“Many players likely started their journey, encountering mods without grasping their purpose,” said a lead narrative designer. “I think it was really important, upon completing the mission, for players to think, ‘Hey, modding is cool. I'd like to experiment further.’”

A Joint Development

“The Teacher” was created through a partnership between the original developers, who handled the story elements, and a supporting studio, who designed the mission, which will be introduced to new players.

In the quest, the player is asked to retrieve a component for their ship, but they’re interrupted by a menacing, powerful warrior called Teshin, who removes the player's powers and close-combat arms, and forces them to engage with the mod system to handily demonstrate its power.

Many of the external team were already fans of the game, but others had never played before, according to a principal games designer. It was this outside perspective that proved critical.

“Our initial step involved observing new players and have them experience the introduction and take prodigious notes on all points of confusion,” the designer said. Early-game menu pop-ups presented the mod system. But the team observed these weren't effective for all.

“Certain players missed fundamental guidance where the game highlights it saying equip the modification,” he said.

Closing an Important Loop

Warframe’s mods allow players to create stupidly powerful synergies that turn the screen into a blitz of numbers. But "The Teacher" focuses on different aspects. There will be some long-time players who wish the quest was geared more towards their needs, like creating powerful and specific builds. But it became clear that the mission addresses a genuine oversight for newcomers — and that doing so isn’t as simple as it looks.

“Numerous subtle adjustments and background details there to just sort of show you what it can do rather than explain it outright,” the designer said. For example, one of the goals of “The Teacher” is to show how mods can create elemental damage types; in this case, Magnetic damage that eats chunks out of enemy shields.

“Adjustments to the armament to be a rapid-fire gun, because it better demonstrates the effect frequency,” the designer said. “But you don’t want to say to people, 'oh yeah, actually on a base level mod, you only got a few percentage chance to proc an elemental effect.' So how do you tutorialize that without changing it?”

Experienced players will instinctively look for that kind of weapon effect and grasp their function, but new players have to be taught to notice these details.

“It’s not a kind of game development that we've had to worry about as much just because that hasn't been our focus,” said a story developer. “But part of it not being our focus that we never really told people how to use mods.”

A Labor of Love

“There’s so much that goes into just making a seemingly straightforward quest that — frankly — you can blast through in about 15 minutes,” said the designer. “Yet it represents extensive development for many team members.”

The designer was clearly enthusiastic over being able to work on a game that he loves — and to design content featuring a preferred figure.

“I love Teshin,” he said. “He embodies everything my younger self found awesome.”

Improving the New Player Experience

In the decade-plus since launch, Warframe has been in a ongoing struggle with its own new user introduction. There are many intricate mechanics that players don’t need to worry about — and won't encounter until hours into the game. And others, like modding, that scale in complexity depending on how much time you want to invest. A previous patch improved the introductory experience so that players could reach Warframe’s mind-bending plot developments with reduced repetitive play up front.

With “The Teacher,” it’s clear that the developers are doubling down on a commitment to make sure Warframe’s early game experience evolves beyond its origins. Beginners can find their way — even if they miss the menu prompts.