The year just started so what better way to do new things for the year than to begin a bi-weekly column on Warframe. Everyone knows about Warframe right? No? Well than, let's start off with an introduction not only to Warframe. I'm Brandedwolf and this is your introduction to being a Space Ninja. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe.
Warframe came out in closed beta way back in October of 2012. Since then it has evolved to being available on Steam as well as PS4. It's a free to play game with a few in game currencies. Platinum is the only currency that can be bought with real money and is used to quickly purchase items, buy extra item/frame slots and for vanity items. Since it first came out, Warframe has continued to evolve as a game and is constantly being updated by Digital Extremes. Not only do they do holiday events and anniversary events, but the combat system itself has been reworked over the years to bring it to its current iteration.
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You are a Space Ninja. That is the simplest way to describe Warframe. You start by choosing a starter frame to play with and go from there. There are currently thirty-four frames in the game. Each has its own stats, skills, look and feel. Rhino is a heavier tanky type of Warframe, whereas Volt is a faster type of frame. You bounce off walls, glide through the air and use you weapons and skills to complete the mission you started either solo or in a group. While doing this you level up your frame while equipping various mods on them. These mods can vary from more health, to more shield, to some that even have negative effects but are worth it for the bonuses. Mods may overwhelm you at first, there are a lot of them and every frame, weapon and pet can have mods on them. Yes, I said pets.
We'll talk about pets in a second, but first let's talk about all those various ways you have to defeat your enemies. There are a ton of weapons in game. You run the gauntlet of various types of melee weapons from swords, to axes, daggers and the more exotic. Besides your melee weapon you can also equip a primary and secondary weapon. The secondary is usually some type of pistol, but there are also throwing stars ("Space Ninja") shotgun pistols, SMGS and the like. Some weapons have a few different variants that can acquired as well as some can be dual wielded. In your primary slot is where you will find you assault rifles, lasers, flame throwers, bows, etc. And there are more weapons coming out all the time. Each weapon can be leveled up and equipped with mods as well.
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So not too long ago Waframe introduced Sentinels. They were our first type of companion pet for the game. There are several different types of these, each filling a specific role. Then came Kubrows and finally, Kavats. You can now choose between a cube of death at your shoulder or a dog or a giant cat. And yes they level up as well and yes there are mods for them. There are various ways to get these companions, some harder than others.
Archwings. Some people love them, some people hate them. When you get ahold of one you have the ability to on Archwing missions. They're basically a giant jet pack with abilities that allow you to fly around. These can add up to some pretty interesting space and underwater missions. There are separate weapons for Archwings and yes, they all have levels and mod slots. They add a nice twist to the normal gameplay of Warframe and can be fun.
Every mission you run is in an enclosed environment on a map. Until the Planes of Eidolon update came out. The PoE update added an open world area you could explore with various bad guys running about and several objectives you could accomplish. There's also a day and night cycle. There's some nasty stuff that lurks about during the nighttime. And fishing, yes you can now fish with spears.
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With any free to play game there has to be somewhere that the company makes money. Well there's a reason that Warframe is also known as Fashionframe. There are a lot of cosmetics that while not needed, look pretty cool. There are skins for pets, for weapons, for frames, different heads for some frames, Syandana (capes/scarves), decorations for your spaceship, decorations for your personal quarters, sigils and colors for your Warframe and so much more. If you decided to, you could spend a good sum of money to make things look more your style. But it isn't needed.
Obviously, a game that has been about for as long as Warframe has there is a lot of content. There are daily missions, quests that can unlock blueprints to make some frames, special faction missions, PvP mission and main story missions. The story has had some great development over the years. It's well worth taking the time to do the quests not only for the reward, but for the story and voice acting. And that is a brief summary of what Warframe is.
