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The popular online game known as Warframe, an experience where you might encounter bizarre cosmic entities and drive a motorcycle in the year 1999, has launched a significant update. This latest expansion exemplifies the creative flair that has become synonymous with Warframe in more recent times.

The new content, released on Wednesday, brings in a new mushroom-themed warframe that does a little dance, along with a brand-new biome to discover. However, it also revisits core concepts, with another quest aimed at making sure this complex, vast long-running online game is understandable by new players.

A Quest Called "The Teacher"

Titled “The Teacher,” this is the long-awaited quest that trains Warframe players on how to use one of the game's fundamental yet complex systems: the mod system.

In Warframe, mods are augments that can be equipped on your warframe or arsenal to improve their stats. They range from the straightforward (increase damage or speed up reload rate) to the devastatingly complex. Dedicated players often produce extensive guides about optimized loadouts that use powerful mods in combination to create overwhelming power.

“Many players likely started their journey, seeing mods, not really understanding it,” explained a key developer. “I think it was really important, upon completing the mission, for players to think, ‘Wow, modding is interesting. I'd like to experiment further.’”

Teamwork in Action

“The Teacher” was developed in a collaboration between the original developers, who handled the story elements, and an external team, who crafted the gameplay, which will be introduced to new players.

In the quest, the player is asked to retrieve a component for their ship, but they’re interrupted by a menacing, powerful warrior called Teshin, who takes away the player’s abilities and close-combat arms, and forces them to engage with the mod system to handily demonstrate its power.

Many of the external team were longtime players, but some were newcomers, according to a principal games designer. It was this outside perspective that proved critical.

“The first thing we did was basically sit behind them and have them experience the introduction and take prodigious notes on all points of confusion,” the designer said. Early-game menu pop-ups presented the mod system. But the team noted that they didn’t work on everyone.

“Certain players missed fundamental guidance where it's flashing on the screen saying equip the modification,” he said.

Closing an Important Loop

Warframe’s mods allow players to create stupidly powerful synergies that fill the display with damage values. But "The Teacher" isn’t really about that. Veteran users who wish the quest was geared more towards their needs, like optimizing for endgame challenges. But it became clear that “The Teacher” is filling a real and significant gap for early players — and that doing so isn’t as simple as it looks.

“There’s lots of little tweaks and little subtle things in the background there to just sort of show you what it can do rather than tell you,” the designer said. For example, one of the mission's objectives is to show how mods can create elemental damage types; in this case, Magnetic damage that eats chunks out of enemy shields.

“Adjustments to the armament to be a rapid-fire gun, because it better demonstrates the effect frequency,” the designer said. “But you don’t want to say to people, 'with a basic modification, you only got a few percentage chance to proc an elemental effect.' So how do you tutorialize that without changing it?”

Veterans will instinctively look for that kind of weapon effect and understand how it works, but beginners require instruction to pay attention to these things.

“This type of design work that we've had to worry about as much just because that hasn't been our focus,” said a story developer. “However, this oversight meant that players weren't properly taught the modding system.”

A Labor of Love

“There’s so much that goes into just making a really simple mission that — honestly — you can complete quickly,” said the designer. “Yet it represents extensive development for loads of people.”

The designer was visibly glowing with excitement over being able to work on a game that he loves — and to design content featuring a preferred figure.

“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 ongoing struggle with its own player onboarding process. There are many intricate mechanics that players don’t need to worry about — and won't encounter until much later. And others, like modding, that scale in complexity depending on your level of engagement. An update earlier this year streamlined the early game 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 reinforcing their dedication to make sure Warframe’s initial hours doesn’t stay locked in 2013. Beginners can find their way — even if they miss the menu prompts.