Warframe In The Playground - The Grustrag 03

[Wraith]

Pretty much as NeoVid said. It's generally efficient to work on the Syndicates in groups of 3 - Cephalon Suda/Arbiters of Hexis/Steel Meridian and New Loka/Red Veil/Perrin Sequence respectively.1 Two of them will boost the other and the third is neutral so you're not being set back by earning conflicting influence, and it's a lot more convenient than trying to juggle a 4th and ranking it up comparatively slowly.

Once you have gotten to the top of your 3 Syndicates, you can either trade for the items from the other three, or just change your regalia over and start earning influence for them instead. It's a bit tricky at first as you can only earn for one at a time, but it doesn't take too long to reach the point where you're doing their Syndicate Missions which greatly improves the amount you get. Nothing stops you from changing your Syndicates on a whim, it just takes time to grind up influence.

The only thing to really watch out for is that as you gain rep in some Syndicates then you will lose rep in the others, and as you get to the bottom of their chart they will occasionally start sending death squads after you. They can be tough if you're not expecting to deal with them... But they drop some neat loot, and you can just run away from them, too.

[Grif]

Pretty much as NeoVid said. It's generally efficient to work on the Syndicates in groups of 3 - Cephalon Suda/Arbiters of Hexis/Steel Meridian and New Loka/Red Veil/Perrin Sequence respectively.1 Two of them will boost the other and the third is neutral so you're not being set back by earning conflicting influence, and it's a lot more convenient than trying to juggle a 4th and ranking it up comparatively slowly.

Once you have gotten to the top of your 3 Syndicates, you can either trade for the items from the other three, or just change your regalia over and start earning influence for them instead. It's a bit tricky at first as you can only earn for one at a time, but it doesn't take too long to reach the point where you're doing their Syndicate Missions which greatly improves the amount you get. Nothing stops you from changing your Syndicates on a whim, it just takes time to grind up influence.

The only thing to really watch out for is that as you gain rep in some Syndicates then you will lose rep in the others, and as you get to the bottom of their chart they will occasionally start sending death squads after you. They can be tough if you're not expecting to deal with them... But they drop some neat loot, and you can just run away from them, too.

Let's be real, these syndicate deathsquads have long been power creeped into irrelevance. They might minorly handicap a MR2 player, they won't even make a MR6 player blink. (And that's not counting your (public) squad mates just obliterating them if they deign to show up).

[NEO|Phyte]

Let's be real, these syndicate deathsquads have long been power creeped into irrelevance. They might minorly handicap a MR2 player, they won't even make a MR6 player blink. (And that's not counting your (public) squad mates just obliterating them if they deign to show up).

Loka squads are much more than a minor handicap.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm honestly torn...I like New Loka's aesthetic and their unique weapons look awesomesausages, but Steel Meridian's ethos aligns much more with my values as a person...

[Squark]

I'm honestly torn...I like New Loka's aesthetic and their unique weapons look awesomesausages, but Steel Meridian's ethos aligns much more with my values as a person...

You can work with both with a bit of work, although you end up starting with the red veil- You can earn Steel Meridian Infouence by working with the Veil, but doing so won't cost you any influence with New Loka or the Perrin Sequence. So if you max Steel meridian infleunce via the red veil, you can then start working for New Loka, and just switch back to the Veil when your influence with Steel Meridian starts to get too low.

[NeoVid]

Loka/Perrin are the less commonly taken syndicates, so going with them is a good idea due to their mods/weapons having less supply. If someone wants the augment mods for, say, Valkyr, they'll have to trade with a player who has a high rank with Perrin or Loka. Generally it's not that hard to get Syndicate gear due to late game players having more Standing than we can use, but choosing the less common option could help you.

[Leon]

Loka squads are much more than a minor handicap.

Indeed, nothing like having one drop in when your on a newly formed frame (whose damage is non idea) with only one non idea weapon for dealing with a lot of ancients.

Loka and Perrin are the only squads i see since i manage 4 of the syndicates (Veil and Hexis largely get level up by overflow from Suda and Steel Meridian respectively)

[Wraith]

All else fails, shoot me a PM in-game. I got everything - EVERYTHING - from the Syndicates, so all I do is spend influence on packs of relics, so I don't mind giving stuff away to newbies.

Standing offer; if you're in the Playground and I happen to have enough rep spare, you can have any of the Meridian/Arbiters/Suda stuff for a bow and a trash mod Might not be too often, as I feel my current play-cycle starting to dip, but it's there if you want it.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

How would I go about finding you folks once I get started? I'm worried a bit about getting lost in a sea of strangers.

[mangosta71]

First post has a list. Go to the communication tab in the menu, add us as friends. To PM someone in game, it's "/w <playername> " (without quotes).

Also, I picked New Loka as my first syndicate (and thus got Perrin Sequence as the rider) and then Red Veil (gaining Steel Meridian without losing rep with either of my original 2), so I have access to all 4 of those syndicates' toys if anyone is looking for them.

[Recaiden]

A list that Wraith probably needs to update...

I'm 'Recaiden', PC.

And obviously the correct first syndicate is Cephalon Suda.

[AmberVael]

I've gotten into Warframe recently myself (last few months), so I'll add in my perspective for you, Zousha.

There's definitely grind to Warframe. I think you can get a lot of enjoyment out of Warframe without grinding, but especially as you reach endgame content it'll become more necessary and prevalent. If you're not into the grind of progression, you may want to drop it eventually. There's stuff worth checking out before that point though!
Warframe has a LOT of content. Despite spending an unreasonable amount of time each day playing since I joined, there's still a decent amount I've not done much with, or not touched at all. While there can be overlap or repetition... this is still a game that encompasses melee combat, gunplay, stealth, parkour, fishing, mining, puzzles, space combat, base building, and skateboarding.

Joining earlier rather than later I think is wisest. No big pressure either way though. The updates I've seen add more than replace, and even one recent overhaul they released (a rework to melee combat) hasn't left me stumbling, despite my melee-centric playstyle. Starting earlier lets you get more shots at limited time rewards though - which are not necessary, but can be pretty nice. Try when you like, the game mostly waits for you.

As for being a more single player person, me too! Don't worry about it. I've done a LOT of warframe content solo. There are cases where a group is better, but finding a random bunch to work with short term is really easy. And there's tons of people online, so you'll never lack people to play with. There's some timed elements (certain events that appear for limited windows, mainly) but few are truly necessary, and most last for a day or more or occur multiple times every day, so there's not much trouble playing according to your schedule.


Also, I could use some other active players on my friend list. I'm "AmberVael" on PC, if anyone would like to add me.

[sihnfahl]

There's definitely grind to Warframe. I think you can get a lot of enjoyment out of Warframe without grinding, but especially as you reach endgame content it'll become more necessary and prevalent. If you're not into the grind of progression, you may want to drop it eventually. There's stuff worth checking out before that point though!

To expand on that - to access all weapons and frames within the game, you need to reach mastery 15 (16 if you want all riven mods) but once you hit that point, there's really nothing stopping you from NOT going higher, other than a few limitations - namely:
1) The amount of void traces you can hold (used to open relics during events for gear) is lower
2) The maximum amount of standing you can earn a day with any particular faction is capped
3) The amount of a resource you can earn for later content is also capped

Also, your MR reflects the starting capacity of your weapons; if you're MR 21, your weapons have a capacity of 21, until you get the weapon to 22. Reactors will double that, naturally. So it becomes easier to start with a new weapon, since it's not hitting like a marshmallow against level-appropriate enemies.

Now, there definitely IS a grind for materials to build things. Some of them are easy; some are made easier with either Nekros or Khora; they have enhancements that increase loot drops. Khora's comes at a cost of a mod slot, though. Others, like cryotic, are just a total pain to earn, and it's arguable if the gear that uses a LOT of it is worth the time and effort nowadays.

Also, a bit of a grind for void traces in order to max out a relic for a shot at Gold rewards; can only earn those in void fissures, and they can accumulate slow if you have folks who don't want to run a lot of waves. RNG means you could easily burn 1000 to get just one piece of gear. Or just 100. Or, if you're lucky, you run with someone who already spent the void traces, and you just piggyback.

Page DenaTap in game. Just tell me which type of mission and I'll bring an appropriate frame.

[NeoVid]

The difficulty of getting resources early game brings up another term you should know: Taxiing. Other players can bring people to locations on the map that they don't have unlocked, so long as you have someone in the group able to pick that location. Friends with access to more of the map make it a lot easier to get stuff crafted as a newbie. For instance, nearly every planet's Assassination mission rewards parts for a new Warframe, but getting the materials to craft the frames from the earliest planets might well require resources from much farther into the planetary map. Getting someone to taxi you to where those drop can save massive amounts of time and frustration.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Well, I've done it! I just got onto my Orbiter for the first time and have sent out a few Friend Requests to folks from this thread. I've decided to go by Belshamin in the game (it's hard to pick an alias that sounds like an actual name I've come to realize).

[NeoVid]

Your first priority as a new player will be to level all the different pieces of gear and weaponry you can to rank 30, since that's how to get Mastery Rank and get access to even more things. I thought I should mention this because trades per day are limited by player MR, so we can't just give you piles of stuff until you level up at least a bit. By the way, any weapon variant with a different name counts as an entirely different item for gaining mastery. So if you rank up the Mk-1 cheap newbie newbie weapons and later the non-Mk1s, that's twice as much Mastery total.

[Wraith]

A list that Wraith probably needs to update...

It's completely up to date apart from you, which I've just fixed.

Although that reminds me; I need to get around to changing my Clan's name. I took it over a year ago and no one has noticed, let alone objected, so I should start putting my own brand upon it.

If there's any one out there who would like access to a Dojo with absolutely no obligation to contribute to anything or even see another living human being if you don't want to... We're open!

[Brother Oni]

Let's be real, these syndicate deathsquads have long been power creeped into irrelevance. They might minorly handicap a MR2 player, they won't even make a MR6 player blink. (And that's not counting your (public) squad mates just obliterating them if they deign to show up).

As NEO|Phyte said, it depends on who shows up and also where they show up as their level is based on the mission. A level 100 Loka death squad is terrifying on a Kuva Flood or Sortie.

Equally bad is a level 40+ death squad showing up when you're trying to do the damn 'no mod' Grendel missions for the umpteenth time.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Okay, I confess I'm fickle, but is there a way to change one's alias/username or will I need to stick with Belshamin permanently? It's not bad, but I was struck with some inspiration at work this morning.

[Wraith]

Okay, I confess I'm fickle, but is there a way to change one's alias/username or will I need to stick with Belshamin permanently? It's not bad, but I was struck with some inspiration at work this morning.

I believe that you can, but you need to contact the Support team via the DE website and ask them to do it manually.

Honestly, while they're generally one of the better support teams I've dealt with in video games, if you're only a couple of hours into the game you might as well just make another account. It's not like you'll ever get anything of value sent to your email address.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Is there a way to see if an alias (specifically "Artay") has been taken short of starting a new account?

[Grif]

Loka squads are much more than a minor handicap.

As NEO|Phyte said, it depends on who shows up and also where they show up as their level is based on the mission. A level 100 Loka death squad is terrifying on a Kuva Flood or Sortie.

Equally bad is a level 40+ death squad showing up when you're trying to do the damn 'no mod' Grendel missions for the umpteenth time.

You guys reminded me they exist. That's what I get for choosing Loka and Perrin to level first.

[Recaiden]

Is there a way to see if an alias (specifically "Artay") has been taken short of starting a new account?

I've heard it asked before.

Type /profile playername into the chatbox in game - if the profile exists, it'll pop up, and if it doesn't it'll tell you it doesn't exist!

'Artay' is already taken, sadly.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

*shrug* I'll stick with Belshamin then, since it's still unique. Besides, it costs 200 Platinum to change your alias evidently, and I've only got the starting 30 right now.

[NeoVid]

Oh right, the newbie starting platinum! The most useful things you can get with it when starting out are extra inventory slots for weapons. An extra Warframe slot isn't a bad idea either, but you'll get new weapons way, way faster than new frames when starting out.

Also, just realized I never added myself to the list of WF players in the first post. My name in WF is TheNeoVid, clan is VGO.

Edit: Sudden discovery thanks to the last group I ran with today. There's a site listing every currently available free player icon: The well named Glyphs.WF site.

[Toastkart]

Never had much issue with the Loka death squads. They may be hard to kill, but they're not particularly dangerous. Suda's death squads on the other hand have taken me out a number of times before i can react.

Overall, I like the melee changes. With the exception of the glaive weapons. You can't throw them from quick melee anymore, which sort of defeats the purpose. The Falcor was one of my go-to melee weapons, but it's pretty lackluster without that capability. My understanding is they took that capability away from gunblades as well, but I've never used any of those.

I was looking forward to the kuva Quartakk, until i saw that it has the goofy hip-fire/aim fire modes rather than a simple selector switch. Really wish that would get changed. I want one anyway, but it was a clunky and not very fun mechanic on the quatz and I could do without it.

I'm enjoying my kuva drakgoon so far, but because of a few learning missteps on my part it took quite a while to kill my lich and get it, while I've heard other people who've been through a dozen liches by this point. How easy/quick is it to get a lich kill for some of you guys?

[Brother Oni]

How easy/quick is it to get a lich kill for some of you guys?

I've heard some players have got it down to 2 to 2.5 hrs from getting a new lich.

It took me around 3-4 days of intermittent playing to kill my first, but then I was also farming up the Reqiuem mods. Now that I've got all 8 of them, I reckon I can get down to the same sort of time to kill a new lich.

[Wraith]

How hard is it to get the mods, Oni? I haven't started looking for them yet, I only just got a lich the other day and haven't played since. Is it something to which I need to dedicate several hours, or am I better off booking a whole weekend for it?

[sihnfahl]

How hard is it to get the mods, Oni? I haven't started looking for them yet, I only just got a lich the other day and haven't played since. Is it something to which I need to dedicate several hours, or am I better off booking a whole weekend for it?

From my personal experience, not long at all. It's the equivalent of running a few ESO, then Requiem Rifts.

If I wasn't so busy helping newbies, I'd probably have more than the kuva drakgoon I picked up from my lich.

Mat farming is so much fun with a Khora, Venari set to heal when needed, and energizing dash so I always have a pilfer strangledome up. And an adarza paired with a corrosive Amprex at 80% crit to clear out the dome....

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Oh right, the newbie starting platinum! The most useful things you can get with it when starting out are extra inventory slots for weapons. An extra Warframe slot isn't a bad idea either, but you'll get new weapons way, way faster than new frames when starting out.

Also, just realized I never added myself to the list of WF players in the first post. My name in WF is TheNeoVid, clan is VGO.

Thank you! I got similar advice watching some vids on YouTube, and spent the Platinum on one Warframe slot upgrade and two Weapon slot upgrades, leaving me with 6 left.

Can Platinum be farmed without spending money at all through my own gameplay, or will I need to get it through selling stuff I've collected from missions to other players? Where does Platinum "come from" if I'm not buying it personally?