With over seven years of updates, Warframe has become one of gaming's largest free-to-play games. Players can fight enemies on the ground, underwater, or fight in space with massive Railjacks or smaller Archwings.
This breadth of content also includes plenty of secrets that most players have never seen. Most know of hidden rooms, but few know of Warframe's hidden game modes, bosses, and references to past games. On top of Easter eggs, Warframe also includes a surprising amount of collectibles that are well-hidden in various tilesets and open-world locations. Ranging from Dark Sector references to the infamous John Prodman, here are 10 secrets you likely missed in Warframe.
10 John Prodman
Originally a community meme about a Corpus Prodman who single-handedly killed the Phorid Infested boss, Digital Extremes have added him in The Index as a late-game enemy.
After surviving an hour in The Index, a column of light will reveal John Prodman. He will chase your team down and deals absurd amounts of damage with his Prova. John blocks attacks, teleports, and can instantly kill most players. If you defeat him, he will shrug and disappear, dropping a signed poster of himself you can place in your Orbiter.
9 Open World Developer Credits
Both the Plains of Eidolon and Fortuna have hidden developer glyphs that can be interacted with. When interacted with, it displays credits for every developer who worked on the location.
In Cetus, head to the right of the town and look for a rock covered with tall grass. You can see the Digital Extremes logo on the back of the rock. As for Fortuna, jump up the building to the right of spawn and you should see it on a chest-high wall overlooking the underground facility.
8 Rare Containers
Most players know of storage containers that house credits and ammo, but did you know that there are rare storage containers? Rare and Reinforced containers have a low spawn rate but reward players with valuable items.
Built Forma, boosters, ship parts, and small amounts of Endo. These containers shimmer in light and play an audible hum when near one. Reinforced containers have a unique model to set them apart from other containers. Keep your eyes and ears out for these valuable chests.
7 Dark Sector Skins
Before Warframe was released, Digital Extremes tried to create a similar game titled Dark Sector. While this game radically changed into a modern-day cover-based shooter, Warframe contains a few references to it.
Excalibur has a unique Proto Skin that looks exactly like Hayden Tenno's suit from Dark Sector. The description also states it likely existed before Orokin times, further cementing the connection. Nyx also has a skin that is based on the Nemesis enemy from Dark Sector.
6 Kuria
Strange collectibles can be found in certain Warframe levels. Arguably the most interesting collectible is the Kuria, mysterious relics that are well hidden in multiple tilesets.
There are a whopping 56 of these hidden throughout the game. Finding a set of them will unlock a short poem that references the Orokin and the rise of The Grineer Twin Queens. Collecting all of them rewards a decoration on your ship, a Glyph, and an emblem you can equip on your Warframe or companions.
5 Hayden Tenno Text
Strange lines and curves can be seen on various weapons, environments, and even Warframes themselves. One particular design is present on most older Warframes.
Each of these lines and symbols references a word, with a full symbol representing a phrase or sentence. The common symbol most Warframes have on their arms says "Hayden Tenno," a reference to the player protagonist in Dark Sector. It is unknown if the Tenno's name is based on Hayden or if it is merely a coincidence.
4 Mini-Games
While flying through levels and slaying hordes of enemies is fun, it is nice to mix it up with different game modes. Fortunately, there are various mini-games in Warframe that you can try.
Players that own the Wyrm of Wyrm Prime Sentinels can play Wyrmius by examining their Sentinel and clicking the Z configuration. This plays a side-scroller shooter where you control Wyrm and fight various Corpus enemies. There is also Flappy Zephyr for Zephyr owners, an obvious nod to the popular Flappy Bird mobile game. Frame Fighter also exists for those who crave some Street Fighter action in Warframe, available from Cephalon Simarius in exchange for Syndicate standing.
3 Prex Cards
The introduction of The Leverian has provided some interesting lore tidbits about various Warframes and weapons. This area has also introduced special tarot cards that players can find.
Named Prex Cards, these collectibles are hidden in The Leverian. Once you reach level 30 for a certain Warframe, enter their Leverian and look for their respective tarot card. Finding it will allow you to place it in your Orbiter.
2 Stress Test
Most games include some form of stress tests to help show your machine's performance in high-intensity situations. Warframe has one, and it's well hidden.
When you reach the login screen, enter "grineer.outbreak," "corpus.outbreak," "crossfire," or "hostile.takeover" with no password to begin a stress test. The game will render a large room with dozens of enemies fighting each other while you spectate a certain character. Even if you don't have memory issues with your device, it is still a cool way to see large AI armies duke it out against each other.
1 Recovery Mission
Completing Invasion missions for a certain faction will cause the opposing faction to place a mark on your account, giving you a random chance of encountering an assassin each mission.
Slaying bosses gives a Stalker Mark, fighting against Grineer marks the Grustrag Three, and fighting against Corpus marks the Zanuka Hunter. Interestingly, if the Zanuka Hunter spawns and kills you, they will capture you and start a unique Recovery mission. In Recovery, you must escape Alad V's lab on Jupiter without any abilities or weapons, having to scavenge them along the way. You only have your fists to kill enemies, so it's best to play stealthily until you get your items back. This mode is intense, fun, and arguably Warframe's best-kept secret.