Warframe is one of the most underrated free-to-play games out there. Even with a player base larger than the population of Thailand, it still flies under the radar for a lot of gamers.
If you’ve finally stumbled into the Origin System, this guide will get you up to speed fast — covering the story, the Orbiter, every mission type, your loadouts, and the quest order you should follow. By the end, you’ll be more knowledgeable than half the player base.
New to Warframe and struggling with progression?
Start building stronger loadouts in Warframe early by upgrading your mods, learning movement mechanics, and unlocking key quests for faster progression.
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What Is Warframe?
Warframe is a free-to-play, third-person looter-shooter developed by Digital Extremes, set in a ruined far-future solar system. You play as a Tenno — a remnant of humanity transformed by exposure to the Void, an alternate dimension that grants superhuman powers.
Tenno control bio-mechanical exo-suits called Warframes, each with unique abilities, and battle across planets, open worlds, and even space.
Warframe Story and Plot Explained
A reward only feels meaningful when you actually care about the world it comes from, so it’s worth understanding the setting before you dive in.
The Tenno and the Void
The game begins with your awakening — the moment your Tenno is reactivated after centuries of cryosleep. You pick your starting Warframe and basic weapons, then step into a solar system that has fallen into chaos. Tenno are humanity’s last remnants, altered by the Void, and they wield Warframes as conduits for that energy.
The Three Main Factions
Three major powers anchor the conflict:
- The Grineer — a clone empire obsessed with brute force, rust, and firepower.
- The Corpus — a corporate cult chasing profit, robotics, and proxy armies.
- Alad V — a Corpus scientist who launched Project Zanuka, dissecting captured Warframes to build robotic-Warframe hybrids. He’s the early-game antagonist.
The Core Conflict
The Grineer and Corpus constantly clash over territory. The Tenno fight to defend whatever’s left of the Origin System, pushing back both sides while the deeper mysteries of the Void slowly unfold across the story quests.
Your First Few Minutes in Warframe
When you launch the game for the first time, you’ll watch a short cinematic, then land on the character selection screen.
Choosing Your Starter Warframe and Weapons
You’ll pick one of three starter Warframes — Excalibur, Mag, or Volt — along with your first primary, secondary, and melee weapons. Don’t overthink it: every starter is viable, and you’ll unlock more gear quickly.
Boarding the Orbiter
After the tutorial teaches you movement and combat, you’ll board your Liset (your landing craft), which docks into the Orbiter — your personal ship and base of operations. You’ll spend roughly 90% of your downtime here, managing gear, quests, and progression.
Orbiter Segments and What They Do
The Orbiter is divided into stations called Segments. Each one unlocks a specific system. Here’s what each Segment does:
- Navigation — Opens the Star Chart, where you pick missions and travel between planets. The World State Window shows live alerts, events, invasions, and Void Fissures.
- Codex — An in-game encyclopedia containing entries on enemies, items, factions, and lore. Easy to ignore, but useful long-term for scanning targets and tracking collections.
- Syndicates — Unlocks at Mastery Rank 3. Shows your standing with all six Faction Syndicates: Steel Meridian, Arbiters of Hexis, Cephalon Suda, The Perrin Sequence, Red Veil, and New Loka. Pledging to one earns exclusive mods, weapons, and cosmetics.
- Conclave — The PvP hub for player-versus-player game modes.
- Market — The in-game store. Buy Warframes, weapons, blueprints, and cosmetics using Credits (earned in-game) or Platinum (premium currency).
- Nightwave Console — Access to seasonal quests, weekly challenges, and limited-time rewards. (This is what the community sometimes nicknames the “radio scanner.”)
- Arsenal — Equip and customize Warframes, weapons, companions, and Archwings.
- Mods — Manage and install mods to upgrade your gear.
- Foundry — Your crafting station for Warframes, weapons, and components.
- Arcanes — Secondary upgrade slots that don’t consume mod capacity, used for endgame power tuning.
Warframe Mission Types and Game Modes
Warframe currently features 35+ mission types, split between PvE (player vs environment) and PvP (player vs player). PvE is where 99% of your playtime will go.
PvE Mission Types
| Category | Missions |
|---|---|
| Combat & Objective | Assassination, Capture, Exterminate, Hijack, Mobile Defense, Rescue, Sabotage, Spy |
| Sabotage Variants | Hive, Orokin Reactor, Sealab, Assault |
| Endless / Wave-Based | Defense, Survival, Excavation, Interception, Disruption, Infested Salvage, Defection |
| Void & Zariman | Void Cascade, Void Flood, Void Armageddon, Alchemy, Legacyte Harvest |
| Open World Bounties | Plains of Eidolon, Orb Vallis, Cambion Drift, Isolation Vault, Heist |
| Arena & Special | The Index, Rathuum, Granum Void, Ascension, Faceoff, Sanctuary Onslaught, Shrine Defense, Netracells, Recovery |
| Railjack | Exterminate, Skirmish, Spy, Volatile, Defense, Orphix, Survival, Free Flight |
| Junctions | Planet-unlock challenges between worlds |
| Duviri | The Duviri Experience, The Lone Story, The Circuit |
PvP Mission Types
- Cephalon Capture
- Annihilation
- Team Annihilation
- Lunaro (sports mode)
- Frame Fighter (2D fighting)
- Duel
Understanding Loadouts in Warframe
You manage two loadouts at the Arsenal: your Tenno loadout and your Companion loadout.
Tenno Loadout
This is your active mission gear:
- Warframe — your character and ability set
- Primary Weapon — rifles, bows, shotguns, snipers
- Secondary Weapon — pistols, throwing knives, sidearms
- Melee Weapon — swords, polearms, nikanas, gauntlets
- Focus — Operator school passives (unlocked after The Second Dream)
- Parazon — your finisher/hacking tool
As a beginner, just pick what feels coolest. Early gear barely affects performance — modding matters far more than rarity.
Companion Loadout
Often overlooked, but genuinely important:
- Codex Scanners — let you scan enemies, plants, and synthesis targets
- Team Bonus Consumables — squad-wide buffs like ammo restores
- Dragon Keys — required to open Orokin Derelict vaults for Corrupted Mods
- Specters — AI allies you can summon during missions
How Progression Works in Warframe
The Star Chart isn’t the whole game. Most lore, characters, and unique rewards come from quests — and skipping them means missing huge chunks of content.
How to Start a Quest in Warframe
- Go to the Codex console on your Orbiter.
- Open the Quests tab.
- Select the quest you want from the available list.
- Press Begin Quest.
That’s it — the mission will appear on your Navigation panel.
Warframe Quest List (Main and Side)
Here’s the quest progression you’ll work through as a new player. Some are main story, others are side quests, but all are worth doing for lore, gear, and Warframe unlocks:
- Awakening
- Vor’s Prize
- A Man of Few Words
- The Waverider
- Saya’s Vigil
- The Deadlock Protocol
- Vox Solaris
- Howl of the Kubrow
- Once Awake
- Stolen Dreams
- Heart of Deimos
- The New Strange
- The Archwing
- Octavia’s Anthem
- Natah
- Sands of Inaros
- The Second Dream
- The Silver Grove
- Rising Tide
- Patient Zero
- The War Within
- The Jordas Precept
- Chains of Harrow
- Hidden Messages
- Apostasy Prologue
- The Glast Gambit
- Prelude to War
- Mask of the Revenant
- The New War
- Call of the Tempestarii
- Angels of the Zariman
- Veilbreaker
- Whispers in the Walls
- The Duviri Paradox
Beginner Tips for New Tenno
A few quick truths that take most players months to figure out:
- Don’t spend Platinum on weapons or Warframes. Almost everything is craftable. Save Platinum for inventory slots and cosmetics.
- Mods matter more than gear rarity. A modded MK-1 Braton outperforms an unmodded “rare” weapon.
- Rush the Star Chart unlocks. Each Junction opens a new planet and unlocks key systems.
- Reach Mastery Rank 3 quickly to unlock Syndicates and start banking Standing.
- Always run with a Companion — Sentinels like Carrier auto-loot, which saves enormous time.
Conclusion
Warframe is massive, but once you understand the Orbiter, mission types, loadouts, and quest flow, the rest of the system clicks into place fast. Focus on completing Junctions to unlock planets, follow the quest order for story rewards, and don’t burn Platinum on anything you can craft.
Stick with it past the first dozen hours and Warframe quickly reveals why its veteran community is so loyal — there is genuinely nothing else like it on the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Warframe free to play?
Yes. Warframe is fully free-to-play on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. There are no paywalls for story content, Warframes, or weapons — Platinum (the premium currency) is optional and mainly accelerates crafting or buys cosmetics.
What is the best starter Warframe?
For complete beginners, Excalibur is the most balanced choice thanks to his Exalted Blade ability and forgiving kit. Volt offers fast clears with speed and electric damage, while Mag suits players who want crowd control and shield manipulation.
How do I unlock new planets in Warframe?
Each planet is gated by a Junction — a special node on the Star Chart that requires you to complete a list of objectives (quests, mastery rank, specific missions). Finishing the Junction unlocks the next planet and often rewards a free Warframe component or blueprint.
What is Mastery Rank in Warframe?
Mastery Rank (MR) is your account progression level, earned by leveling new weapons, Warframes, and companions to rank 30. Higher MR unlocks new weapons, increases daily Syndicate Standing caps, and grants access to certain quests and trade slots.