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

This expansion, released on Wednesday, introduces 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 complicated, expansive long-running online game is understandable by new players.

The Arrival of "The Teacher"

Named “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: modding.

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. Content creators often produce extensive guides about optimized loadouts that use powerful mods in combination to create devastating effects.

“I think a lot of people were maybe getting into the early game, encountering mods without grasping their purpose,” explained a key developer. “We believed it was crucial, at the end of the quest, for players to think, ‘Wow, modding is interesting. I'd like to experiment further.’”

A Joint Development

“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 appear early in the game.

In the quest, the player is asked to retrieve a new segment for their spaceship, but they’re confronted by a formidable foe called Teshin, who takes away the player’s abilities and close-combat arms, and compels them to use the mod system to handily demonstrate its power.

Many of the external team were longtime players, but others had never played before, according to a principal games designer. This fresh viewpoint that proved critical.

“The first thing we did was basically sit behind them and go right play through the tutorial and take prodigious notes on all points of confusion,” the designer said. Early-game menu pop-ups introduced players to modding. But the team observed these weren't effective for all.

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

Addressing a Real Need

Warframe’s mods allow players to create incredibly strong combinations that fill the display with damage values. 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 optimizing for endgame challenges. But it became clear that “The Teacher” is filling a real and significant gap for newcomers — and that doing so isn’t as simple as it looks.

“There’s lots of little tweaks and background details there to just demonstrate the possibilities rather than tell you,” 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 shows off the proc rate more,” 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.' How can you teach this mechanic effectively?”

Veterans will instinctively look for that kind of weapon effect and grasp their function, but beginners require instruction to pay attention to these things.

“This type of design work that we previously focused on just because that hasn't been our focus,” said a narrative lead. “But part of it not being our focus that players weren't properly taught the modding system.”

Significant Investment

“There’s so much that goes into just making a seemingly straightforward quest that — frankly — you can complete quickly,” said the designer. “Yet it represents extensive development for many team members.”

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's my 8-year-old internal self's idea of what's cool.”

An Evolving Onboarding Process

In the 12 years since its release, 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 increase in depth 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 complex narrative arcs with reduced repetitive play up front.

With “The Teacher,” it’s clear that the developers are doubling down on a commitment to make sure Warframe’s initial hours evolves beyond its origins. New players can get their foot in the door — even if they miss the menu prompts.