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The popular online game known as Warframe, an experience where you can feed yourself to a giant mouth and pilot futuristic vehicles, has released a significant update. The Vallis Undermind highlights the creative flair that has come to define Warframe in the past few seasons.

This expansion, released on Wednesday, brings in a fungus-inspired character that performs a unique animation, along with a brand-new biome to discover. But it’s also going back to basics, with a new mission designed to making sure this complex, vast long-running online game is understandable by new players.

A Quest Called "The Teacher"

Called “The Teacher,” this is the highly anticipated mission that trains Warframe players on how to use one of the game's fundamental yet complex systems: the mod system.

In Warframe, modifications are enhancements that can be added to your character or your weapons to improve their stats. They range from the straightforward (boosting power or shortening reload times) to the incredibly intricate. Content creators often produce extensive guides about idealized builds that use synergistic enhancements to create devastating effects.

“I think a lot of people were maybe getting into the early game, seeing mods, not really understanding it,” noted a lead narrative designer. “I think it was really important, upon completing the mission, for players to think, ‘Hey, modding is cool. I want to try more of this.’”

A Collaborative Effort

“The Teacher” was created through a partnership between the original developers, who handled the story elements, and a supporting studio, who crafted the gameplay, which will appear early in the game.

In the quest, the player is tasked with obtaining a new segment for their spaceship, but they’re confronted by a formidable foe called Teshin, who takes away the player’s abilities and melee weapons, and compels them to use the mod system to handily demonstrate its power.

Several developers were already fans of the game, but some were newcomers, according to a lead designer. It was this outside perspective that proved critical.

“Our initial step involved observing new players and go right play through the tutorial and document extensively on all points of confusion,” the designer said. Early-game menu pop-ups introduced players to modding. But the team noted that they didn’t work on everyone.

“Some people didn't see basic instructions where the game highlights it saying equip the modification,” he said.

Filling a Significant Gap

Warframe’s mods allow players to create stupidly powerful synergies that turn the screen into a blitz of numbers. But "The Teacher" focuses on different aspects. There will be some long-time players who wish the quest was geared more towards their needs, like creating powerful and specific builds. But it became clear that the mission addresses a genuine oversight for newcomers — and that executing this is quite complex.

“Numerous subtle adjustments and little subtle things in the background there to just sort of show you what it can do rather than explain it outright,” the designer said. For example, one of the mission's objectives is to show how mods can create powerful elemental status effects; in this case, a magnetic effect that depletes protective barriers.

“We had to change the weapon to be a burst-fire weapon, because it better demonstrates the effect frequency,” the designer said. “But you don’t want to say to people, 'oh yeah, actually on a base level mod, you only got a low probability to proc an elemental effect.' How can you teach this mechanic effectively?”

Veterans will naturally recognize these mechanics and understand how it works, but new players have to be taught to pay attention to these things.

“It’s not a kind of game development that we previously focused on just because that hasn't been our focus,” said a story developer. “However, this oversight meant that we never really told people how to use mods.”

Significant Investment

“A tremendous amount of work is required for just making a seemingly straightforward quest that — frankly — you can complete quickly,” said the designer. “Yet it represents extensive development for loads of people.”

The designer was visibly glowing with excitement over contributing to a beloved title — and to craft a mission for one of his favorite characters.

“I love Teshin,” he said. “He embodies everything my younger self found awesome.”

Improving the New Player Experience

In the decade-plus since launch, Warframe has been in a consistent battle with its own player onboarding process. There are lots of complex systems that players can ignore initially — and won’t even have access to until much later. And others, like modding, that scale in complexity depending on your level of engagement. A previous patch improved the introductory experience so that players could reach Warframe’s complex narrative arcs with less time on the grind up front.

With “The Teacher,” it’s clear that the developers are doubling down on a commitment to make sure Warframe’s early game experience evolves beyond its origins. Beginners can find their way — regardless of overlooking tutorials.