Warframe is a wonderful, free-to-play MMO. It is also incredibly dense.
The first decision you make in the game is about which of three warframes (the titular suits of armor) you will use. Each has vastly different abilities and greatly alters your style of play. If you choose one you don’t enjoy, you’ll either have to start from scratch or spend hours grinding to get a new warframe.
As a person who feels bad if I choose the wrong sandwich for lunch, this was distressing.
But when I gave the game a few hours and worked alongside friends who were in a similar position, Warframe became overwhelmingly fun. So what changed, and how did I get into the game?
Good thing that is the whole thesis of this video!
But in case you want to read the synopsis, here are the five ways I got into Warframe:
- I thought of it like a farming game. It’s just Stardew Valley in space and with guns.
- I stuck to the main missions. These kept me on track.
- I bullet-jumped a lot. It’s the quick way to move through the levels and feels amazing.
- I played with friends who were also learning the game. We all were confused together!
- I joined (read: made) a clan. People helped me get a better sense of which warframes and weapons to use, and they were overall very kind in helping me get into a game they’ve loved for years.
When I stopped seeing this as an MMO, third-person shooter (which, granted, is what it is) and saw it more as a chance to farm resources and build cooler and stronger weapons and warframes, I got hooked on the game.
The grind of Warframe can feel a bit repetitive, but the controls are slick, the community is wonderful, the space dogs are cute, and the game is free, so it’s definitely worth it to try for a few hours.
If you’re diving into the game, make sure to read up on some of our other articles, especially our beginner’s guide and how the game’s developers have managed to make an ethical free-to-play economy.
