6 Small Bits of Affinity and Experience that You Probably Missed in Warframe
I’ve always seen Warframe as a bit of a collect-a-thon. There are so many different things to farm and level up. But while there is vast amounts of obvious affinity to be earned, some things just aren’t as visible or as easy to access than others. However, if you wish to squeeze out every last drop of experience, then there’s a few places you can check on. This article is about those easily missed affinity gains, ones you might not realize.
Vandal/Wraith weapons
The Grineer, Corpus and Infested all have their own weapons, but a few of them are locked away in Invasions. Invasions generally pit Corpus and Grineer against each other, and you can choose to help one side or the other, for a reward. However, many of the weapons locked behind Invasions are… not obviously there. Aside from the Ignis Wraith, whose blueprint can be obtained for free*, the majority of other Vandal and Wraith weapons are broken up. Their pieces are given as rewards for helping in Invasions.
The big problem though is that many of these scattered weapons are NOT visible on your profile! So they are insanely easy to miss. Heck, I actually missed out on the Dera Vandal a while back, when I was pushing towards MR30.
DIY Companions
When the Sisters of Parvos update came out, they came not just with new weapons, but a whole brand new companion as well. These Hounds are what you stab instead of stabbing Kuva Thralls to gain murmurs. When you kill a Sister for her weapon, you also obtain her pet Hound. Starting from zero, a Hound has to be leveled up not once but twice. Once you have gotten it to level 30, the companion has to be gilded. Only then does your Hound start earning Affinity properly.
The same can be said for MOAs and infested bets as well. Thankfully, for all of these things, mastery only considers the ‘head’ of each companion. So, if you are low on resources, you can just make the head part and use the cheapest components for everything else.
Level 40 Weaponry
Speaking of things related to Sisters, there is a small chunk of Affinity within all Lich and Sister weapons. All these weapons work the same way the Paracesis works, with their max level being level 40 instead of level 30. The extra 1000 affinity from a Kuva or Tenet weapon doesn’t seem like a lot, but because there are a lot of them, it all adds up in the end. However, you might want to skip level 40 weapons, at first, since they all require five Forma each.
MK1 Weapons
Turns out, there are more MK1 weapons than the ones you choose as you wake up. The MK1-Bo, MK1-Braton, MK1-Paris and MK1-Kunai all give the same amount of affinity as a normal weapon does. The starting weapons you chose when you picked up Warframe appear in your profile. But there are three MK1 weapons that are very easy to miss. The MK1-Furax, MK1-Furis and the MK1-Strun are all cheap to purchase and just as quick to level up, even if they are not shown on your profile. Sure, 8 crappy weapons don’t seem like much, but that is 24000 standing that is easily missed.
Unplayed missions on the star chart
Did you know that completing a mission node on the Star Chart gives affinity? The task of completing all mission nodes isn’t just to obtain access to Arbitrations, but they can also provide a small affinity boost. This is also the case with both Steel Path and Railjack missions! Sure, a single node doesn’t give much affinity. Far less than leveling a weapon. But as there are 200+ missions available, you’d be insane to want to skip this!
Amps
An Amp is pretty simple. As the name suggests, an Amp increases and alters the Void energy you have as a Tenno. From simple bolts of energy to flamethrower and grenade-like amps, there’s quite a few Amps to choose from. As of writing, there are 9 total Amp parts that can earn you affinity, one of which comes from the New War.
Unfortunately, these are the hardest things to level up on your own. In order to earn Affinity for an Amp, you must use your Operator, not your Warframe. But it’s a pain to spend all your time as an Operator. Outside of Orphix missions and flying your Railjack as a Space Kid, there’s no real way to level up amps without being useless. At least, in the standard places where you farm affinity.
If your goal is to reach True Master, then there’s a huge amount of work to do. Thankfully though, as more weapons and Warframes come out, the easier True Master is to reach…