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The popular online game known as Warframe, a title where you can feed yourself to a giant mouth and drive a motorcycle in the year 1999, has released a significant update. The Vallis Undermind exemplifies the distinctive charm that has come to define Warframe in recent years.

This expansion, released on Wednesday, introduces a new mushroom-themed warframe that performs a unique animation, along with a whole new explorable fungal area. But it’s also going back to basics, with a new mission aimed at making sure this complicated, expansive long-running online game is accessible for new players.

The Arrival of "The Teacher"

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

In Warframe, modifications are enhancements that can be added to your character or your weapons to enhance their abilities. They range from the straightforward (increase damage or speed up reload rate) to the incredibly intricate. Dedicated players often produce extensive guides about optimized loadouts that use synergistic enhancements to create overwhelming power.

“Many players likely started their journey, seeing mods, not really understanding it,” noted a lead narrative designer. “I think it was really important, at the end of the quest, for players to think, ‘Hey, modding is cool. 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 a supporting studio, who crafted the gameplay, which will be introduced to new players.

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 removes the player's powers and close-combat arms, and forces them to engage with the mod system to handily demonstrate its power.

Many of the external team were already fans of the game, but others had never played before, 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 go right play through the tutorial and document extensively on all points of confusion,” the designer said. Introductory tutorials introduced players to modding. But the team noted that they didn’t work on everyone.

“Certain players missed fundamental guidance where the game highlights it saying equip the modification,” he said.

Filling a Significant Gap

Warframe’s mods allow players to create incredibly strong combinations that turn the screen into a blitz of numbers. But "The Teacher" isn’t really about that. There will be some long-time players who desire more advanced content, 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 goals of “The Teacher” 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 burst-fire weapon, because it shows off the proc rate more,” the designer said. “However, the goal isn't to say to people, 'with a basic modification, you only got a few percentage chance to proc an elemental effect.' How can you teach this mechanic effectively?”

Experienced players will instinctively look for that kind of weapon effect and grasp their function, but beginners require instruction to notice these details.

“It’s not a kind of game development that we previously focused on just because that hasn't been our focus,” said a narrative lead. “However, this oversight meant that players weren't properly taught the modding system.”

Months of Effort

“A tremendous amount of work is required for just making a seemingly straightforward quest that — frankly — you can blast through in about 15 minutes,” said the designer. “Yet it represents extensive development for many team members.”

The designer was clearly enthusiastic over being able to work on a game that he loves — and to craft a mission for one of his favorite characters.

“I'm a huge fan of 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 encounter until hours into the game. And others, like modding, that scale in complexity depending on how much time you want to invest. An update earlier this year streamlined the early game so that players could reach Warframe’s mind-bending plot developments 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 early game experience evolves beyond its origins. New players can get their foot in the door — even if they miss the menu prompts.