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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 launched a significant update. The Vallis Undermind showcases the creative flair that has come to define Warframe in recent years.

The new content, 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 designed to making sure this complex, vast 12-year-old MMO makes sense to new players.

A Quest Called "The Teacher"

Called “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 devastatingly complex. Dedicated players often craft hour-long videos 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. “We believed it was crucial, 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 created through a partnership between the original developers, who provided the narrative sauce, and a supporting studio, who designed the mission, 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 interrupted by a menacing, powerful warrior called Teshin, who takes away the player’s abilities and melee weapons, 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 lead designer. This fresh viewpoint 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 presented the mod system. But the team noted that they didn’t work on everyone.

“Some people didn't see basic instructions where it's flashing on the screen 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" focuses on different aspects. 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 executing this is quite complex.

“Numerous subtle adjustments and background details there to just demonstrate the possibilities rather than tell you,” the designer said. For example, one of the goals of “The Teacher” is to show how mods can create powerful elemental status effects; in this case, Magnetic damage that eats chunks out of enemy shields.

“Adjustments to the armament to be a rapid-fire gun, because it shows off the proc rate more,” the designer said. “But you don’t want to explicitly tell players, '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?”

Experienced players will naturally recognize these mechanics and grasp their function, 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 our priorities lay elsewhere,” said a narrative lead. “However, this oversight meant that we never really told people how to use mods.”

Months of Effort

“A tremendous amount of work is required for just making a seemingly straightforward quest that — frankly — you can complete quickly,” said the designer. “But it's months and months of work 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 12 years since its release, Warframe has been in a consistent battle with its own new user introduction. There are lots of complex systems that players don’t need to worry about — and won't encounter until hours into the game. And others, like modding, that scale in complexity depending on your level of engagement. A previous patch 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.