Nearly every video game today includes some form of quests. These missions typically include a larger focus on a narrative that fulfilling objectives, typically reserved for RPG titles.
While Warframe isn't a traditional RPG, the quests that players can experience rival those you can find in the likes of The Witcher 3 or Skyrim. It can range from a small prologue to uncovering a giant mystery. No matter the scale, most of the quests in Warframe are captivating and worth experiencing. Here are 10 of the best quests you can play in Warframe. This list will spoil most of Warframe's quests.
10 Apostasy Prologue
Out of all of the quests on this list, the "Apostasy Prologue" is easily the shortest, taking no more than 10 minutes to complete. What it delivers more than makes up for its short runtime, however.
A strange purple orb in your Orbiter beckons you to come closer. Upon touching it, you are transported to Lua and see the Lotus in person for the first time. Ballas, a high ranking Orokin Executor, arrives to seemingly mind control the Lotus and take her away from you. This quest set in motion the Sentient invasion and Lotus' betrayal, reverting her state to the terrifying Sentient known as Natah. It is a hard pill to swallow and a massive plot twist in Warframe's story.
9 Natah
The Lotus' true identity was revealed in the "Natah" quest, resulting in the Warframe community questioning if she was the protective mother figure they thought her to be or a Sentient spy.
"Natah" is also the first time players get to see Sentients in-game. While you don't get to fight them, drones float around the Uranus tileset that will scan you and quickly vanish. This quest also had missions that involved Teshin instead of the Lotus, giving players an excuse to go behind her back and learn of her origins. Natah's father also awakens in this quest, making this quest the catalyst for the Sentient faction awakening.
8 Vox Solaris
The open-world location for Venus has its own questline to get players acquainted with the local townsfolk and setting. Neon lights fill the town of Fortuna while cyborg slaves working tirelessly to keep the planet operating.
Venus in Warframe is terraformed by large Orokin towers, morphing the landscape into a winter wonderland filled with fungi instead of a volcanic wasteland like it is in reality. The people of Fortuna need your help sabotaging one of these towers to make their boss, Nef Anyo, look incompetent in front of his investors, saving the town from more short-term torture. While the missions boil down to horde mode defense objectives, the story behind it is surprisingly captivating and heartbreaking at times.
7 Saya's Vigil
Out of every introductory quest in Warframe, "Saya's Vigil" is hands down the best. This quest introduces the people of Cetus, the Plains of Eidolon, Eidolons, and the Gara Warframe.
This quest revolves around Saya, a member of Cetus whose husband went missing in the Plains. You are asked to find him, along the way learning of the massive Sentient enemies named Eidolons and how Gara saved them. At the end of the quest, players learn that the missing husband is actually Onkko, the leading member of The Quills. It introduces so many elements of the Plains of Eidolon seamlessly while telling a compelling story along the way, making this quest one of Warframe's best.
6 The War Within
If it wasn't for the incredible levels of hype for this quest and undelivered promises, "The War Within" would be in a better rating on this list. As it stands, this is the weakest main cinematic quest in Warframe.
That doesn't make "The War Within" bad, however. Quite the opposite. This quest explores your Operator's origins and how the Orokin has lived for so long. The Lotus takes a backseat in this quest, opting to have Teshin lead you to learn the old Tenno ways instead. Riven Mods are the special mechanic unlocked from this quest, which made many Warframe players confused as mods had nothing to do with this quest. Regardless, the story here is great and worth experiencing.
5 Sands Of Inaros
Baro Ki' Teer is a bi-weekly vendor that appears in Relays, selling unique items and cosmetics that you can't find elsewhere. He takes obvious inspiration from the likes of Xur from Destiny.
He can sell you a blueprint to start this quest. "Sands Of Inaros" explores Baro's origins and his backwater tribe on Mars. It explores how inhumane the Orokin were and how Warframes were seen as prophetic in the eyes of less advanced humans. Of course, you unlock the blueprint to craft the Warframe that saved Baro at the end of the quest. In this case, players unlock the very powerful and tanky Inaros Warframe.
4 Octavia's Anthem
There are few quests in Warframe that are as creative as "Octavia's Anthem." This quest guides players towards unlocking Octavia, a Bard Warframe who can make her own music.
Of course, there is an intimidating antagonist that stands in your way. Hunhow, Natah's father, makes an appearance in this quest to destroy Cephalon Suda and Octavia. The buildup to the final mission is great and filled with memorable dialogue, but the final mission for "Octavia's Anthem" might be one of Warframe's best. Simulating Octavia's Mandachord, players need to jump over deadly lasers to play a track to purge Hunhow from Suda's mind. "Octavia's Anthem" is simply amazing.
3 Chains Of Harrow
With how powerful Warframes and weapons are, it seems impossible to make a horror-themed quest for Warframe. Yet, Digital Extremes did so with flying colors in "Chains Of Harrow."
Rell is the main focus of this questline, who is an Operator like yourself. Rell talks about "The Man in the Wall," a strange entity that haunts others and corrupts their mind. This quest involves freeing Rell from his Warframe, Harrow, to finally rest from this entity. What is horrifying is after the quest finishes, we learn "The Man in the Wall" is real and it begins to haunt you, randomly appearing in your Orbiter and simply saying "Hey, kiddo" before vanishing from sight.
2 The Second Dream
This is the quest that started it all. How do the Warframes work? What are the Sentients? Why is the Lotus so protective? All of these questions are answered in "The Second Dream," Warframe's first cinematic quest.
By uncovering the location of the Earth's moon, players learn that Hunhow has enlisted Stalker to hunt you down and kill you. It's a race against time to uncover the true nature of the Tenno, rescue yourself, and defeat the Stalker for good. This quest also unlocked the massive Focus system, adding 5 distinct skill trees for players to invest excess affinity into for powerful passive and active abilities.
1 The Sacrifice
Warframe's newest mainline cinematic quest doesn't add any new mechanics like "The Second Dream" did. Instead, it opts for explaining the origins of Warframes by exploring one particular one.
Excalibur Umbra is a shadowy variant of Excalibur that players must hunt down and control in "The Sacrifice" questline. This one seems different than other Warframes, able to control himself with no Operator. The storytelling in this quest competes with most AAA RPGs and expands on both the Sentient and Orokin factions. If you ever wondered why the Tenno betrayed the Orokin, play "The Sacrifice." No other quest in Warframe makes players feel as vengeful or filled with sorrow as this one.