User:Rastanari/Mastery Rank Leveling

Players increase the Mastery Rank of their character by leveling up their Warframes, Weapons, Companions and Archwings.

Each piece of equipment earns Affinity points (aka "Experience") by being used to defeat enemies but there are basically two different ways how Affinity is earned and awarded.

Affinity Allocation
Players have only two options when running any given mission: Running the mission in Solo mode where the player does not (or is not allowed to) group with other players or in Squad mode where the player groups with other players, whether they are in the same Clan, Alliance or just other random players in the game, respectively.

Solo Mode
Warframes and weapons equipped by a player running a mission in Solo Mode only gain Affinity when they are used. For example, players that run a mission in Solo Mode and only use their warframe abilities and primary weapon to kill enemies will only have Affinity awarded to their warframe and primary weapon. Their secondary and melee weapons will not be awarded with any Affinity.

For purposes of leveling equipment and gaining Mastery Rank, Solo Mode is the least productive method when running missions.

Squad Mode
Players who group with other players in a Squad to complete missions will earn much more Affinity (and sometimes dramatically so) than when running the same mission in Solo Mode. The reason for this is that when in a Squad, a player not only earns Affinity for their own kills, but also for the kills by all the other players in that Squad.

In a 2-player squad a player will gain Affinity for their own kills plus those of the other player. In a 4-player Squad a player will gain Affinity for their own kills plus those of the other 3 players. Depending on the type of Mission being run this can result in dramatically larger amounts of Affinity awarded to all players involved, especially in the case of high-kill Mission types such as Defense, Excavation and Survival Missions.

The Affinity awarded to a player by another player's kills in a Squad is divided evenly between that player's equipment with their warframe, primary, secondary and melee weapons each receiving 25% of the Affinity awarded. Unlike Solo Mode where only the equipment used gains Affinity, in Squad Mode all of a player's equipment gains Affinity whether each particular piece of equipment was used or not.

Note that if one piece of a player's equipment is already at maximum rank, the Affinity that equipment would have gained is not transferred to another piece of equipment but rather is lost.

Squad-Based Missions
Beginning players will find it relatively easy to complete most Missions in Solo Mode when progressing through the initial set of planets up to Ceres. From Ceres onward, beginning players will start to encounter Missions that are very difficult if not almost impossible to complete in Solo Mode with their existing equipment.

However, being forced into Squad Mode to complete these Missions does come with the benefit of earning the extra Affinity provided by the kills achieved by the other players in the Squad.

Planet Nodes
From Ceres onward beginning players will find some Mission types such as Defense, Excavation and Survival Missions extremely difficult to complete for planet progression in Solo Mode due to the larger and stronger mobs of enemies for these Missions and should instead use the Squad interface to group with other players to complete these Missions.

When moving through planet progression players will earn much more Affinity completing each planet Mission node in a Squad than they will completing them in Solo Mode.

Relics
By the time beginning players have reached Ceres and then Jupiter they will have gathered a number of Void Relics in their Inventory.

When players have reached Ceres or Jupiter they are strongly advised to learn about Void Relics and to start attempting various Void Relic Missions. These Missions consist of the same Mission types as a player has encountered before but award new equipment, blueprints and other gear for successful completion.

For purposes of gaining Affinity, Squads are relatively easy and fast to find for these Missions, with the continuing benefit of gaining Affinity from kills by other players on the Squad.

Sanctuary Onslaught
Beginning players who reach and complete The New Strange quest may consider that the point where they have fully moved from beginner player content into mid-game content.

As it relates to Affinity, completing The New Strange quest opens up a new, endless Mission known as Sanctuary Onslaught. Sanctuary Onslaught is basically a super-powered Survival Mission combined with the waves of enemies found in Defense Missions, but with many more and stronger mobs of enemies and without the stations found in Survival Missions.

Players must complete 8 waves of enemies to earn rewards from Survival Onslaught Missions. It is normal behavior for players to work towards and survive the 8th wave of enemies and then to leave the Squad and Mission group.

There are no planet resource rewards for Sanctuary Onslaught missions but Blueprints and other rewards are given upon completion of the 8th wave.

Sanctuary Onslaught Missions are lucrative sources of Squad-based Affinity. Depending on the time of day of course, full Squads of 4 players are easy and fast to form during normal player gaming hours, typically in the evening. If a well-equipped player ends up grouped with other well-equipped players it is not too difficult clearing 8 waves of enemies as long as players also focus on keeping each other alive and reviving fallen players during each wave.

Because players are earning Affinity from each of the other player kills in the Squad and players are attempting to complete 8 waves of enemies, a very large amount of Affinity can be gained upon completion.

Note also that unlike Defense or Survival Missions where if a player fails to complete them that player does not receive any bonus Affinity, if players in a Squad do not reach and complete the 8th wave they are still awarded the full amount of Affinity the Squad has earned up to that point, even if they fail as early as, say, the 3rd or 4th wave.