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The space ninja adventure known as Warframe, an experience where you might encounter bizarre cosmic entities and drive a motorcycle in the year 1999, has released a major update. The Vallis Undermind showcases the creative flair that has come to define Warframe in the past few seasons.

The new content, made available this week, adds a new mushroom-themed warframe 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 geared at making sure this complicated, expansive 12-year-old MMO is understandable by new players.

The Arrival of "The Teacher"

Titled “The Teacher,” this is the long-awaited quest that educates 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. These can be simple (boosting power or shortening reload times) to the devastatingly complex. Content creators often produce extensive guides about idealized builds that use synergistic enhancements to create devastating effects.

“I think a lot of people were maybe getting into the early game, 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, ‘Wow, modding is interesting. 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 an external team, 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 removes the player's powers and close-combat arms, and forces them to engage with the mod system to effectively show its potential.

Many of the external team were already fans of the game, but some were newcomers, according to a principal games designer. This fresh viewpoint that proved critical.

“The first thing we did was basically sit behind them and have them experience the introduction and take prodigious notes on everywhere they fell out,” the designer said. Early-game menu pop-ups presented the mod system. But the team noted that they didn’t work on everyone.

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

Filling a Significant Gap

Warframe’s mods allow players to create stupidly powerful synergies that fill the display with damage values. But "The Teacher" isn’t really about that. There will be some long-time players who wish the quest was geared more towards their needs, like creating powerful and specific builds. But it became clear that the mission addresses a genuine oversight for newcomers — and that doing so isn’t as simple as it looks.

“Numerous subtle adjustments and background details there to just sort of show you what it can do rather than explain it outright,” the designer said. For example, one of the mission's objectives is to show how mods can create elemental damage types; in this case, a magnetic effect that depletes protective barriers.

“Adjustments to the armament to be a burst-fire weapon, because it better demonstrates the effect frequency,” the designer said. “However, the goal isn't to explicitly tell players, 'oh yeah, actually on a base level mod, you only got a low probability to trigger a special damage type.' So how do you tutorialize that without changing it?”

Experienced players will naturally recognize these mechanics and understand how it works, but beginners require instruction to pay attention to these things.

“It’s not a kind of game development that we previously focused on just because that hasn't been our focus,” said a narrative lead. “However, this oversight meant that we never really told people how to use mods.”

A Labor of Love

“A tremendous amount of work is required for just making a really simple mission that — frankly — you can complete quickly,” said the designer. “Yet it represents extensive development for loads of people.”

The designer was clearly enthusiastic over contributing to a beloved title — and to craft a mission for one of his favorite characters.

“I love Teshin,” he said. “He embodies everything my younger self found awesome.”

Streamlining the Beginning

In the 12 years since its release, Warframe has been in a consistent battle with its own player onboarding process. There are many intricate mechanics that players can ignore initially — and won’t even have access to until much later. And others, like modding, that scale in complexity depending on your level of engagement. 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 early game experience doesn’t stay locked in 2013. New players can get their foot in the door — regardless of overlooking tutorials.