Warframes


 * For the game itself, see WARFRAME.

In its titular game, the Warframe is an exoskeletal armor suit used by the Tenno to combat the corrupt factions and savage mutations that threaten humanity. It protects the wearer by giving them regenerative shields, greatly enhanced mobility, and an array of supernatural abilities – all of which further augment the Tenno's deadly combat arts.

Overview
Warframes are divided into a collection of diverse models, each of which personifies a great warrior spirit. Players may don the Excalibur Warframe to gain its prowess with bladed weapons, for instance. Each model of Warframe is moreover highly reconfigurable, meaning players can tailor their choice of Warframe to fit a multitude of playstyles. While certain Warframes excel in a particular situation, none are limited to a singular role and no role demands the use of a singular Warframe.

Players customize Warframes via the installation of mods which can upgrade their Warframe Attributes, endow them with additional utilities, and even alter their abilities. Further bonuses can be achieved by equipping add-ons, such as Helmets.

Each Warframe features four unique and extraordinary activatable powers that allow for a large degree of control over the surrounding environment. (Warframes also possess passive abilities &mdash; powers which activate on their own accord.) These powers allow a Tenno to cast virtually anything, with examples ranging from devastating waves of energy to bullet-nullifying barriers or even mass healing. Warframes greatly augment the physical abilities of a Tenno as well, affecting natural skills like swordsmanship, marksmanship and, most notably, acrobatics. New players start the game by selecting their first Warframe, from the Excalibur, Mag, or Volt Warframes, and playing through the tutorial. As the player progresses, they may craft or buy other Warframes from the full list of offerings.

As of Update 18.5, there are a total of 42 Warframes consisting of both original models and special variants. A select few of these special variants are exclusive to certain groups of players; Excalibur Prime is a Founders-exclusive and Excalibur Umbra is exclusive to the Chinese build of Warframe.

Acquisition
Warframes are obtained by two general methods: crafting them with in-game materials at the Foundry or purchasing them fully assembled from the Market. Additionally, obtaining a Warframe requires the use of a storage slot. Players possess a finite number of storage slots, which can be expanded by purchasing additional slots at the Market.

Foundry
A Warframe assembly is comprised of a main blueprint and three key component parts:

Players must first assemble each component part by expending resources earned throughout the game, in addition to the part's corresponding blueprint. Component blueprints are generally obtained by completing appropriate Assassination missions, Quests, or Clan Dojo research. Some rarer Warframe parts are obtained through special recurring missions, called Sorties, or from unique event missions. After collecting or assembling all of the necessary parts, players can purchase the Warframe's main blueprint from the Market with  to complete the construction process. Once assembled, a Warframe may be upgraded (at any time) with the one-time installation of an.

Market
Warframes can also be purchased fully assembled in the Market with. When acquired in this manner, a Warframe comes pre-installed with an and is provided with a complimentary Warframe storage slot.

Storage
Players begin the game with two (2) Warframe storage slots and can acquire additional slots from the Market for a nominal fee of 20 each (Players also gain a complimentary slot for any Warframe purchased directly from the Market). Note that a player can acquire without spending real world money by trading with other players.

Leveling Up
Warframes require affinity, conventionally known as experience points (XP), in order to attain higher ranks. Frames rank up separately from others and from the player to a max of Rank 30. During missions, players can be rewarded XP through actions getting such as killing enemies, using abilities, completing objectives, reviving downed teammates or simply completing the mission. With each successive rank, a Warframe gains mod capacity and passive increases to health, shields, energy capacity, and 200 mastery points. Status boosts received from ranking up are calculated from the base value of the Warframe for each status, preventing modules from affecting the bonus.

Since Update 15, Warframe Abilities unlock and rank up with affinity. Maximum Rank for Abilities is Rank 3.

Attributes
Attributes are the stats and functionality of Warframes such as Health, Armor, Shields, Energy, and Movement Speed. Each Warframe is made unique with a different combination of these and their powers.

Cosmetics
Every Warframe thus far can equip various kinds of alternative equipment or skins. These cosmetic items include Helmets, Idle Animations, and holographic Emblems.

Some of these items are available by default, some can either be bought from the Market or found as blueprints via the Alerts system. They can all be equipped in the Customize Colors page under Select Skin.

Origins
The name "Warframes" comes from a 1950s Boeing (Company) WWII research project equipping WWII soldiers with exoskeletons, as mentioned by Steve Sinclair during Devstream #1.
 * Such a project did not actually exist and never saw development or research with Boeing, which never developed significant military ground equipment of any kind until 2014. It's likely that the creator was referring to a failed system referred to as Hardiman, which was developed by General Electric in the mid to late 1960s, just prior to America's involvement in the Vietnam War.