• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

RTTP: Warframe - The Best F2P Game?

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
warframe-metacard.png
Long ago probably around 2018 was my first true attempt to get into warframe. I tried it in the past prior on its initial release back in probably 2014ish but it just felt like random bloatware game that was confusing. At the same time Destiny 1 launched and was then the far superior looter shooter experience.

2018 though I had a friend have me try it, and I played probably 60-90 hours. The issue was I was on auto pilot just doing what he told me to do. I didn't actually LEARN warframe at all which was a big mistake.

Since 2018 I tried to come back from time to time during gaming slow periods for big releases and would give up within a hour or two due to confusion. No clue what to do, why to do it, what my goal should be, what am I chasing etc.

Now jump to the last few weeks where I'm like 100+ hours played and it ALL clicks. I said I would learn, watch videos, read guides, join a clan to ask questions, and piece it bit by bit.

Am I still confused? Oh yes but not like before. I now have a flow of the game, I know what drops are exciting to get, I know how to chase power and take on crazier axtivities and much more.

I've fought Evangelion size bosses, witnessed some of the most well paced and spectacular story missions, and rode a motorcycle into techno rot infested cities to fight living tanks. It's all WILD and so fun.

The game today is a wild achievement. All content is relevant ever released, the player base is massive, everything but skins is earnable in game, you can trade the paid currency in game with other players to make it back to spend, and the breath of content is staggering. There is thousands of hours of things to do.

Warframe runs like a dream and looks fantastic on my pc, on ps5 pro, and surprisingly even switch 2. Cross play, cross progression, and I can play anywhere essentially.

The only other game at this point that rivals this is path of exile since all leagues are still relevant to learn and engage with. With destiny dead this is easily the best game to fill that void, and honestly? It's better than D2. D1 is king for me but warframe shits all over D2. You can play casually or as a sweat and find the game rewards you if you want to be sweaty player.

Is anyone else playing? Strong recommend to revisit if you ever tried in the past. Just play and follow the campaign is my tip, and do every mission on every planet. You'll be hooked before you know it!
 
maybe
There's a lot of content and you can get premium currency by trading, but on the other side of that is a fuckton of grinding and it's confusing as shit for new players; I started playing in 2013, so I can jump back in whenever and not really be lost, which is how I play it now, but as a new player you better stick with it or you're not getting anywhere and you'll just feel like you've wasted your time.
 
Last edited:
I used Warframe to detox from World of Warcraft. Ended up playing it 4,553.7h. Haven't played it since 2020. It's good with excellent combat and movement mechanics, perfect to keep your hands busy while listening to podcasts and just relax. I try to play real games and not hamster wheels instead nowadays.

My funniest interaction with some random 40k nerds, l still giggle when I think about it.
If you don't get it, GOOD!

B064174DCBAE7461B1BCC222D03D8F691176F906
 
Have they changed the mastery system? I really didn't like how you had to keep changing frames and weapons to level up mastery but then didn't give you enough storage space to keep all your levelled up things.
 
Yes.

Put in 900 hours (I know, rookie numbers) and still have so much more content to play. It's the benchmark really.
 
Have they changed the mastery system? I really didn't like how you had to keep changing frames and weapons to level up mastery but then didn't give you enough storage space to keep all your levelled up things.
It hasn't changed but when you get to the point where you really want to grind mastery you can do it fast in some missions while if you just try to get mastery in regular play it can take forever. Levelling up mastery is mostly an end game thing when you don't have anything better to do.
 
Have they changed the mastery system? I really didn't like how you had to keep changing frames and weapons to level up mastery but then didn't give you enough storage space to keep all your levelled up things.
The main unlocks stop at MR 17. 30 unlocks one last thing.

There's a ton of blueprints on market using just currency not platinum you can buy and craft.

I did an event quest just now that took 7 mins, ran it twice. And maxed out two items. It's very fast.

I'll usually shuffle 1-2 things to level, and use max level other things to still bully enemies.
 
Levelling the stuff up wasn't the problem. I didn't have enough storage space to keep everything so had to ditch most of it. The only way I could find to get more space was buying with real money so unless they changed it no you can't earn everything without paying.
 
Last edited:
Are rivens still thousands of plat? I'm kinda tempted to try it again cause of the mobile release but I imagine it would be hell to play on a touchscreen unless it's one of the AoE then AFK frames.
 
Thanks for the correction. Sorta like Helldivers then. Has this always been the case?
Think of more like path of exile. You'll initially play a lot for free but at some point you need stash tabs. Which are inexpensive.

In warframe these storage spaces give you 2 spots for 20 platinum.

Realistically you could farm up a prime set for a warframe and sell it for 60-80 platinum depending on what it's worth on warframe.market website.

But you could also buy a bundle for the game where you could get hundreds of platinum and cosmetics. Like the tennocon 2026 bundle is $25? Gives almost 500 plat and you'll get some cool cosmetics.
 
Game seems incredible, but Def one you gotta I feel commit to pretty hard. I think for me what happened when I quit destiny i got back to playing so much more than hunkering in to one game and I realized how much I missed out on by committing to one game so much. I did it with mmos in the late 90s and early 2000s as well, missed so much playing mmos so hard.

Warframe looks awesome tho, I see alot of people tho have this hesitation when it comes to recommending it, why is that? I know it has a ton of currency and a few guys were turned off by that, but what really makes it so so hard to get into?

From vids, Looks like any other game of its kind... Looks awesome, but what exactly is the depth that makes people say it's too hard to get into?
 
I played Warframe for over 100 hours and never paid. I also made about a dozen of frames (which do require grinding the same boss, but apart from Rhino I had all schematics quite fast).

The game is not that hard to grasp. There is a lot of currency, yes, but much of it comes while you play. Other things you can unlock by doing Nightwave (essentially weekly bounties/challenges with rewards) and void fissures (you put sacrifice void relics and complete a level and the relics open up with a reward from a loot pool you can review).

If you play Warframe a good while, the issue is going to be with your available slots. And perhaps constructing frames which takes like 2 full days if you don't boost by platinum. But its real time, so it ticks when you are offline as well.

You could put void relic rewards on the marketplace to earn platinum.

The game, like others of its kind is going to be a bit like work though. Knock out nightwave bounties, set up constructs before you go afk, put items up for sale. But Warframe is really fun to just play and you can do everything solo with randos. Its my fave F2P game and its there since the PS4 launch.
 
Destiny 2 gameplay > Everything else live service, but sure totally free to play I guess it is or maybe PoE2 when it's out of EA.
 
Last edited:
Had some good times with it before switching to Destiny 2, especially Eidolon Hunts. The somewhat eccentric art style was nice at the beginning but got too weird for me over time.
Just fired it up 2 days ago and roamed the plains and Orb Vallis a bit.
 
I played Warframe a very long time ago and was lost then! I decided to install it on my PC and just check it out. Likely a waste of time but what is there to lose?
 
Game seems incredible, but Def one you gotta I feel commit to pretty hard. I think for me what happened when I quit destiny i got back to playing so much more than hunkering in to one game and I realized how much I missed out on by committing to one game so much. I did it with mmos in the late 90s and early 2000s as well, missed so much playing mmos so hard.

Warframe looks awesome tho, I see alot of people tho have this hesitation when it comes to recommending it, why is that? I know it has a ton of currency and a few guys were turned off by that, but what really makes it so so hard to get into?

From vids, Looks like any other game of its kind... Looks awesome, but what exactly is the depth that makes people say it's too hard to get into?
It's oddly enough the same obstacles to get into as path of exile.

The game has a tutorial and some info on how to pilot it, but there isn't a sense of what to do , why, what order, what is this for, etc. 13 years of content and it's all relevant to this day is A LOT.

Some major tips from me for new players would be:
-Do the story start to finish (it unlocks content. Each story chunk is roughly 2 hours and well paced)
-Trying to understand the story is hard. You'll need YT videos if you really want to understand it.
-Unlock all nodes on the star map which is doing each mission on each planet.
-Learn how mods work but don't be afraid to do the auto fill function. Works just fine until you get to steel path and 70+ content.
-Pick one known really good warframe for beginners so you don't hit a wall for difficulty like wukong prime, Infernus, or Mesa prime.
-Google everything you don't know. Where do I get this item, what does this item do, what are incarnon weapons, etc.

Nothing is on a platter of yellow tape hand holding but the game scales for casual players and sweats alike. There is not a "raid" you're working towards like Destiny but there is definitely challenging tasks that respect your time. A lot of the chase is mods, cosmetics, and the weapons/frames so you can do 150+ level content.
 
but what really makes it so so hard to get into?
13 years of content, that no new player experience can inform you about properly; there's so many systems and side shit to do, and a lot of it is required because it ties into other story things.

Imagine if there was a game just called "destiny" and it had all of d1 and d2 content available, but on top of that it also had a whole bunch of auxiliary systems like piloting ships in space, capturing and raising animals, alternate worlds with different mechanics, a separate player character with its own stuff to grind for, and tons of grinding to get what you want while all of this isn't explained very well.

That's warframe.
 
13 years of content, that no new player experience can inform you about properly; there's so many systems and side shit to do, and a lot of it is required because it ties into other story things.

Imagine if there was a game just called "destiny" and it had all of d1 and d2 content available, but on top of that it also had a whole bunch of auxiliary systems like piloting ships in space, capturing and raising animals, alternate worlds with different mechanics, a separate player character with its own stuff to grind for, and tons of grinding to get what you want while all of this isn't explained very well.

That's warframe.
Not only available but relevant. Like I don't like rail jack at all but I've had to do it for night wave missions to get exp to level night wave lol.

You will do it all at least once at some point. There's no escaping it. Did fishing and animal hunting the other day too. Had to grind my boogie board for a night wave as well.
 
Is that a no?
It's a no. It has a 60k+ playerbase across 13 years of active service while still growing.

He only reps the under 5k active games or dead games.

Edit: that's PC only. It's on every fucking platform. Queue times are 3 seconds for any activity. I imagine it's a 120-150k concurrent adding in consoles and android.
 
Last edited:
13 years of content, that no new player experience can inform you about properly; there's so many systems and side shit to do, and a lot of it is required because it ties into other story things.

Imagine if there was a game just called "destiny" and it had all of d1 and d2 content available, but on top of that it also had a whole bunch of auxiliary systems like piloting ships in space, capturing and raising animals, alternate worlds with different mechanics, a separate player character with its own stuff to grind for, and tons of grinding to get what you want while all of this isn't explained very well.

That's warframe.

Well the thing about that is bungie from what I know had horrible new player on boarding, I never heard that Warframe has bad new player start ups just that it's deep, but learnable.

That's why tho I say I think Warframe I'm sure is an awesome game, but Def is a major commitment for any new players that's for sure
 
Tried 2 times to get in, didnt even lasted 30 min each.

It was confusing as fuck and the gunplay was unimpactful.

Maybe i'm gonna tey again sooner or later, maybe third time is the charm...
 
Last edited:
The open world parts are nicer.

The gameplay is fun when you get a hang of it. I even used a PlayStation Move Navigation Controller with a mouse and it was great.

But I never got along with the aesthetic of the game. The Tenno are great, but all the enemies are ugly.

There's so far too much to do these days.

Plus, whenever I play it's either dead or people are just speedrunning levels to get loot.
 
Last edited:
The open world parts are nicer.

The gameplay is fun when you get a hang of it. I even used a PlayStation Move Navigation Controller with a mouse and it was great.

But I never got along with the aesthetic of the game. The Tenno are great, but all the enemies are ugly.

There's so far too much to do these days.

Plus, whenever I play it's either dead or people are just speedrunning levels to get loot.
Dead? How? It has a massive playerbase. There is never a mission I don't get a full public squad, never a town without real players unless you pick a non busy instance on purpose.

And yes folks aren't going to go slow in a game where they are trying to maximize farm plus with kits that can clear shit in an instant they built up to. If you want more challenge do steel path level 150+ shit or eidolons.
 
I had some fun with it back in the day but every time I try to get back into it I'm completely overwhelmed and just end up uninstalling a few days later lol
 
I had some fun with it back in the day but every time I try to get back into it I'm completely overwhelmed and just end up uninstalling a few days later lol
Yep same issue I had. I'd try a hour or two then bounce off.

This time I grinded what I had of story, kept googling and asking questions, and it all fell into place. It's worth it.

If you're familiar with the game and systems I'd say just finish up the story, if you have all the star chart done then just pick farming either 1999 hollovania items or Deimos stuff with Loid. Descendia is also a lot of fun.
 
Bounced off this hard back in 2015. From what I remember there was a level up mission that I failed then had to wait 24 hours to try again. I don't do timers like that.
I have no idea something like that is still in, but I didn't care to try. There is usually something in a f2p that annoys me and I leave
 
I have no idea something like that is still in, but I didn't care to try.
The option to practice a mastery test was actually added in early 2015, so you could prepare yourself until you got it right.

Now you can't practice anymore I believe because they removed the penalty for failing and can just infinitely retry.
 
It's oddly enough the same obstacles to get into as path of exile.

The game has a tutorial and some info on how to pilot it, but there isn't a sense of what to do , why, what order, what is this for, etc. 13 years of content and it's all relevant to this day is A LOT.

Some major tips from me for new players would be:
-Do the story start to finish (it unlocks content. Each story chunk is roughly 2 hours and well paced)
-Trying to understand the story is hard. You'll need YT videos if you really want to understand it.
-Unlock all nodes on the star map which is doing each mission on each planet.
-Learn how mods work but don't be afraid to do the auto fill function. Works just fine until you get to steel path and 70+ content.
-Pick one known really good warframe for beginners so you don't hit a wall for difficulty like wukong prime, Infernus, or Mesa prime.
-Google everything you don't know. Where do I get this item, what does this item do, what are incarnon weapons, etc.

Nothing is on a platter of yellow tape hand holding but the game scales for casual players and sweats alike. There is not a "raid" you're working towards like Destiny but there is definitely challenging tasks that respect your time. A lot of the chase is mods, cosmetics, and the weapons/frames so you can do 150+ level content.

These things are rather helpful.


I find the on boarding in Warframe relatively chill. I played it for a while in 2013 (the game was okay ish at best), then in 2018 and returned about a year ago to play it extensively. I just picked some story content I didn't finish yet and went to complete planets. Then I started to grind for some new frames, and looked up some materials. Generally each planet boss drops a schematic of a frame part, it takes 3 or 4 pieces to build a full frame I think. I just started to immediately redo each boss I found, build some frames and try them out. Just complete nodes indeed, and do stories. You'll unlock a lot this way.

From there I went into weapons. What is good? Since I mained Rhino (which is the tanky archetype) I settled with the Hek shotgun and wanted the best mods. So I looked that up, and for the recommended mod Scattered Justice I needed to join Steel Meridian and obtain points for them. Another good mods I could get for doing Nightwave challenges. Only waste Endo on mods you actually use, and take note of your limit (a maxed out mod uses 9 points, and you have 30 points by default). I don't have Steel Path, so you can ignore this as well.

Then I started to read about Void fissures (which came up as a source of materials I needed), which I never used so I had a lot. I did those missions as well, which were generally quick, populated and quite fun. I sold some loot like Prime schematics at the market website for 5 - 10 a piece, which would get me new slots for more builds.

But generally you are fine if you do story content and nodes.
 
I've played it since the PS4 launch. My best PvE experiences are from this game. I've met and played with a lot of great people. And I have great memories of that. I still jump to play it - time to time. It does "ask" for a lot of your time, so it's doesn't fit me right now (family responsibilities). It has an awesome community. The Switch 2 version runs great. I will always remain a Tenno in my heart. And I know my warframes are ready and waiting :)
 
Top Bottom