Most equipment slots accept any type of Mod. However, some slots are “polarized.” Each type of Polarity has a unique symbol. Polarities include:
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Madurai - V (Damage, Powers) - Commonly dropped by Grineer.
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Vazarin - D (Defensive, Health, Armor) - Dropped by all factions.
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Naramon - Dash/Bar (Misc.) - Commonly dropped by Corpus.
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Zenurik - Scratch (Warframe Augments and Channeling Mods).
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Penjaga - Y (Sentinel/Kubrow Abilities) - Dropped by all factions (Kubrow from Feral Kubrows/Drahks).
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Koneksi - O (Fusion Core) - Dropped by all factions.
- Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. Unairu - R - Introduced in Update 13.0 (2014-04-09) and used for certain Melee Stance Mods.
A mod's polarity type is noted in the top right corner of its card. When a mod is placed into a matching polarity slot, the cost of installing the mod will be reduced by 50%, rounding up to the nearest whole number. In contrast, placing a mod in a slot with a different polarity will increase its cost by 25%. This cost is rounded to the closest integer.
For Aura and Stance mods, polarities increase or decrease the amount of bonus mod points that the mod provides: matching polarities will increase the bonus mod points by 100%, while non-matching polarities reduce it by 20%.
A Warframe's polarity slots differ from the slots of other Warframes. This makes certain mod builds more efficient on certain frames.
Polarization
- Main article: Polarization
Players may use Forma, a rare item obtainable from Orokin Void missions or the Market, to add or change a polarity on a piece of equipment that has attained rank 30. This increases the weapon or frame's overall strength by increasing the possible mod combinations that may be placed on it. Using Forma to add/change a polarity slot will reset the equipment's rank to zero, requiring the equipment to be leveled up again. Additionally, polarization allows players to rearrange polarity slots as they see fit, including polarities that were built into the equipment to begin with. As of Update 15.1 (2014-11-05), the aura slot's polarity cannot be swapped with another slot's.
Currently, there appears to be no cap on the number of times a weapon may be 'polarized' or what polarizations are possible (on a weapon with eight blank slots, you could polarize it eight times with the same polarity if you so wish) though good judgement on how you wish to build a weapon undoubtedly means variety will serve most Tenno well.
Innately Polarized Weapons
Primary Weapons | Secondary Weapons | Melee Weapons |
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Updated for Hotfix: The Vacuum Within 3 (2016-10-13)
Notes
- It is apparent to those who know the Orokin Script that some Polarities are in fact the same symbols as some numbers and vowels, either rotated or flipped:
- Naramon (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist.) is similar to the symbol for 1, rotated counter-clockwise.
- Madurai (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist.) is the numeral 4, which is also an upside down 2.
- Vazarin (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist.) is the numeral 5, which is also an upside down 3.
- Zenurik (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist. ) is the vowel "IH" (as in the word "Kit") rotated 90 degrees.
- Penjaga (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist.) forms the number 10.
- Penjaga is Indonesian for "guard" or "protector", and mods in this category are reserved for Companions.
- This can also be interpreted as I/O, for the fact that this polarity is only present on mods that influence companion behavior.
- Neither Koneksi (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist.) nor Unairu (Script error: The function "Pol" does not exist.) have a perfect connection to the Orokin Script, but Koneksi is similar to a squared-off vowel "OH" (as in the word "Goat"). Unairu is perhaps similar to the shape of the vowel "AYE" (as in the word "Price").
- Similar to Penjaga above, Koneksi is also Indonesian in origin, in this case translating to "connection", reflecting how Fusion Cores are the only mods that bear this Polarity.
- According to Devstream 55, the names of the polarities correspond to old Tenno schools. These names are also used for the clusters depicted in the Star Chart 3.0 prototype also featured in the same Devstream.