Warframe Leveling Guide: Proven Methods to Optimize the Process

The great thing about Warframe is that a new player and an experienced player can do a mission with the same difficulty at the same time, without either of them necessarily being “stronger.” In fact, the more experienced player could easily have the weaker gear considering how many items there are to level up in the game and how players get obsessed with Forma in the end-game. Every usable item in Warframe has a level- from your weapon to the loyal pet that follows you around in missions. Each of these items starts from level 0 and can hit a maximum of level 30.

Leveling in Warframe can be tedious if not done right, but it is always rewarding considering that in any case, it will make sure the item will only get stronger. It also provides a number of benefits in itself, the most important one being an increased mod capacity. This Warframe Leveling Guide will help you level faster by taking you through a number of proven methods to optimize the process.

What benefits does Leveling provide?

The primary goal of leveling an item is to be able to slot more mods or a particular set of mods into it. Leveling increases the mod capacity of the item, and mods are what makes any item stronger in Warframe. Primed and Umbral mods will especially make you Forma the same item multiple time to be able to accommodate them. While installing an Orokin Reactor or Orokin Catalyst will double the mod capacity, it is a one-time thing. Forma, on the other hand, will help you further accommodate mods better.

Another benefit of Leveling is being able to do Sorties, which require the Warframe to be Level 30 in order to be usable. Elite Sanctuary Onslaught also requires the Warframe to be at Level 30. Leveling up an item for the first time also accounts towards gain towards the next Master Rank.

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How does Forma interact with Levels?

Forma completely resets an item to level 0. It will adjust the Mods on that item accordingly but change a slot polarity at the same time. The item can be leveled back up to 30. If Forma is used on the same item again, it will take it back to level 0 while still retaining the polarity change.

This is where leveling efficiently will play an important role. When you obtain a Warframe or weapon that you like and want to optimize properly by increasing mod capacity, you will be taking it through multiple Forma cycles. This can get tedious and repetitive, and players might want to utilize their time better than spending the majority of the farming period using a weaker version of the item while re-leveling it.

What are some efficient ways to Level up?

Affinity is Warframe’s experience metric. Warframes, weapons, Archwing, and companions all require Affinity to level up. Affinity Boosters can be earned from daily rewards, obtained from loot (although they are extremely rare), or purchased from the in-game store for Platinum. It is debatable whether an Affinity Boost is worth the cost since there are far better ways to level up the item without spending Platinum or hoping to get lucky from a loot container.

Since Affinity is distributed among equipped weapons, it is important to only slot the one that you want to prioritize leveling up. This applies even for completely maxed out weapons. Hence the most optimum way to level your loadout is to only equip the Warframe and weapon to be leveled and leave the other slots vacant. This will ensure that all the Affinity you need will be concentrated on the items you desire to level.

Note that killing an enemy with a weapon will distribute the Affinity between the weapon and Warframe, whereas killing an enemy with an ability will reward Affinity only to the Warframe. Hence the best way to speed level a Warframe is to kill enemies with its abilities. SO is also a rewarding activity in itself and will likely allow you to walk away with a Relic. Note that Elite Sanctuary Onslaught does not allow this since the difficulty is higher and a Level 30 Warframe is already a prerequisite. Stealth Kills will also offer a 100% affinity multiplier for subsequent kills, capping at 500%. The best way to speed level a weapon is naturally, to keep all other weapon slots empty and kill enemies with the weapon without using abilities. Equipping mods such as Corrosive Projection that will help weaken the enemies and help you get more kills will also provide a great boost.

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What are the best places to Level my gear?

The perfect spots for a repetitive leveling session are Hydron or Sanctuary Onslaught, where a large number of enemies spawn in a small zone. Weapons that deal damage in an area or nuke Warframes such as Saryn will have a field day leveling in such zones. The in-game recruiting chat will almost always have a squad looking to level frames on Hydron, since it is a rewarding node too. Missions such as Survival, Excavation, or Defense will also grant Affinity Boosts for the session, which makes Hydron an even better choice. For newer players with restricted access to the star chart, the node Io on Jupiter is a great Defense mission to level frames.

An important thing to note for public missions when leveling up is to slot health, shield, or armor mods. It is never fun to be in a squad with a player to keeps dying. Equip a max Vitality and even that should be enough to carry you through Hydron. An efficient strategy when leveling in endless missions is to leave the mission at a checkpoint, add more mods, and restart the mission. A simple addition such as range on a Saryn or boosted ability damage on a Nidus will help you level faster.

Final Thoughts

Leveling up in a squad doesn’t have any significant benefits. Make sure you optimize your leveling session by focusing on one weapon or Warframe at a time, emptying other weapon slots, and picking the appropriate map for a speedy session. The strategies explained in this Warframe Leveling Guide are sure to help you make the most of your time and level your gear faster.

Happy leveling!

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