Prime basic crash-course in ‘Warframe: Plains of Eidolon’ – Part II

Let’s pick up where we left off in Part-I, where newcomers to the world of "Warframe" were given a simplified introduction to the game’s latest update, namely ‘Plains of Eidolon.’ With fresh new streams coming in over YouTube and Twitch involving players showcasing the many beauties and possibilities in the new update, newbies are sure to appreciate the depth and splendor that is the Warframe franchise.

Aside from being one of the best space-warfare games in existence, the new update provides designs and activities that are made to serve the interests of both veteran Primes and fresh Tennos alike. That said, let us begin the next (and penultimate) part of our tour into the Plains of Eidolon.

Ostron Standing – Learn everything about Eidolon’s main currency

The core settlement in the Plains of Eidolon is Cetus, and every player should know by this time that gaining reputation with this hardworking faction is the way to make it big in the Plains. Standing is not new to "Warframe," and in fact, there are several Syndicates with whom you can gain ‘reputation points;’ it’s been this way since the beginning.

In the previous article, it was mentioned that 1000 Ostron Standing can get you started with basic buys in the Cetus marketplace. 1000, because that’s your daily maximum limit by way of reputation points; for any faction, including Ostron.

• To elaborate, your character’s level is determined by ‘Mastery Rank.’ Your daily permissible reputation-earning limit is therefore the basic 1000 plus your Mastery Rank multiplied by 1000. All that effort to level up has to be rewarded, after all.
• You not only earn Standing, you also gain ranks within the factions you choose to support. This includes Ostron on Cetus, Earth. By improving your overall ranking with the settlement at Cetus, you can buy better more effective gear – to craft via blueprints, of course. With each increase in rank, you get more options from vendors (just think, from basement shopping to couture). With whatever Standing you’ve collected, you get to shop with said vendors.

As you can imagine, the bill can prove heftier than your space-cruiser; or ten of them put together.

This is why smart planning before spending can (much like real life) set your Prime up for financial success in "Warframe." Let’s see how you can ‘juggle your gold.’

Bounties – The soul of Cetus’s economy

It’s almost like Mad Max meets the Wild West out there, on the Plains of Eidolon. This makes even more sense when you have bounties as the major economy-driver. Oracle – your friendly galactic guide – gives you a mission upon entering the Plains, and then gives you another when your squad has concluded the current one (more on this in a moment). This means you have a multi-stage spectrum of missions to play, and earn bigger better rewards at the end of each.

The crafting materials and gear that you can buy from your winnings/earnings are not available anywhere else in the galaxy – quite literally, when you learn that "Warframe" is set in a superbly modified version of the Solar System.

• The bounty list is refreshed (courtesy the NPC Konzu) every two hours. The timeframe is designed around Eidolon’s day/night cycle – 100 minutes of day, 50 minutes of night. So, technically, Konzu is ready for bounty-business every day.
• Konzu is the sole provider of these bounties. He awaits you near the huge door at the end of the settlement, the entrance leading to the Plains of Eidolon and where the matchmaking feature gets you grouped up with three other players in your default region (check your in-game settings for more info).
• Don’t be alarmed to see five categories for his missions. They are aligned based on difficulty ratings – the harder the mission, the more glorious the rewards.
• You can certainly play each of these missions again (while they last, anyway), to avail yourself of a chance to get rare loot drops like the much sought-after Gara blueprints. Gara’s the latest Prime (warframe suit) design in the game. The catch is that while loot drops are possible this way, Ostron Standing is awarded just once upon initial mission completion.
• Each bounty is sub-divided into stages that you need to complete one after the other once you port to the Plains along with your squad (random or clan-members). The tougher the bounty, the more of these stages that you will have to finish before stamping paid – or rather, claimed.

You do get rewards whether you win or fail, but your aim must be to land those bonus goodies that come after a successful bounty turn-in.

Incursions – Big things come in small packages

Remember Oracle, your guide from day-one in "Warframe?" She talks you through these so-called mini-bounty missions along your way. You are in the Plains, might as well make your time there as productive as you can.

• These are pop-up missions, and are not provided by Konzu. They come over your intercom via Oracle only when you are in the Plains of Eidolon.
• You will have a time-limit to arrive at the destination in question, so don’t wander around or give in to your attention-deficiencies as often as you might normally do.
• This ‘incursion site’ contains a single-stage mission, not multiple ones like with bounties.

Rewards include a small portion of Ostron Standing and mini-bonuses comprising mods, credits, and crafting materials (we are getting close to exploring crafting in detail, keep going).

The materials – what to do with your bag of hard-gathered goodies

In addition to what you earn by way of bounties and incursions, you are also free to gather any available resources on the Plains of Eidolon. The developers could certainly not have been remiss about a design-element as essential as this – what with Witcher III having set a slew of standards in gaming excellence.

This brings us to Mining (which will give you gems) and Fishing (which will give you the obvious). Standing point earnings are few and far between through these pursuits, so don’t ‘grind’ too hard (in mining, fishing) if all you are looking for on Cetus are reputation points; there are other ways to make more. The main reason you are going to tap into these veins is to get at the crafting materials they provide.

Do not get rid of these materials, you will certainly need them (financial and resourcefulness hint, right here). The rare gems can be sold for standing, if you want. As for fish (spearfishing, to be exact) your Archwing (discussed in Part-I) could really do with some fish oil by way of fuel.

Hey, look, a new faction

In Part-I, you may have come across the importance of completing two quests in Eidolon, namely 'The War Within' and 'Saya’s Vigil'.

Upon completion, your character can start interacting with a highly secretive sect called simply The Quills.

• From Konzu’s position, head northeast up the stairs until you come across a blue door. Sounds almost Matrixy, come to think of it.
• You will gain the ability to enter Operator Mode only after seeing 'The War Within' quest-chain through to the end.
• As you may have guessed, this elite faction offers tougher quests and more specialised rewards compared to the suddenly-average Ostron.
• Once you have shook hands with the Quills, you can fully expect to be sent on monster-killing missions, the great elephantine Eidolons in particular. These colossal mechas have chances of dropping Sentient Cores (intact, exceptional, or flawless). Turning these in can earn you 100, 500, and 1200 Standing points each (respectively).

The Quills are therefore your ultimate faction to work and trade with in Eidolon, and all it will take is some diligence on your part.

In other words, grind missions/bounties till you drop.

In the final instalment of this three-part article, we shall discuss how you – valiant "Warframe" recruits – can mine, fish, and craft your way to glory in the game's newest update ‘Plains of Eidolon.’