Luminaris Academy - Modding
Guiding Tenno, igniting stars.
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What are Mods
Mods are unique cards that enhance the capabilities of your Warframes, weapons, and companions.
They allow you to:
- Increase ability damage.
- Multiply weapon fire rate.
- Augment Warframe powers.
Mods have infinite uses, can be applied to all supported items without duplicates, and can even be traded with other players.
Attributes of a Mod Card:
- Name: simply the name of the mod. Sometimes, it may include Mod modifiers such as “Flawed” or “Primed” that represent alternative versions of the same mod with a few changes to how they work.
- Upgrade: describes the effect that the mod offers when it's installed into a slot.
- Item: shows mod’s compatibility. Basically, it tells you what kind of equipment this mod is for. There are also mod sets that increase their effect based on how many mods of the same Item type are equipped. Mods can either fit a specific weapon or entire types of gear shows mod’s compatibility. Basically, it tells you what kind of equipment this mod is for. There are also mod sets that increase their effect based on how many mods of the same Item type are equipped. Mods can either fit a specific weapon or entire types of gear.
- Fusion: shows the current rank of a mod. The process of Fusion is how you upgrade the mod by increasing its rank.
- Drain: is the number that represents the amount of capacity a mod is going to take when installed. Aura & Stance mods actually add capacity points instead of taking them.
- Polarity: is a symbol that can be found on a mod and some mod slots. When a mod is placed into a matching polarity slot, the cost of installing that mod is reduced by 50%. When you place a mod with a different polarity into the polarized slot, its Drain cost is increased by 25%. Polarity allows you to install more mods than you normally could if this mechanic didn’t exist.
- Rarity: determines the quality of the mod but doesn’t necessarily represent the chance of finding it. A lot of guides often mistake the Mod rarity for Mod type. The rarity shows how good the mod is, while the type adds new conditions or mechanics on top of what a mod does.
- Equipped: a little mark that shows whether or not a mod you’re looking at is equipped on any of your items. This is useful for when you’re looking at your mod collection.
Installing a Mod:
- Head to your Arsenal (main menu → Equipment → Arsenal).
- Hover over the item you wish to upgrade.
- Select “Upgrade”
- Drag a Mod into an empty Mod slot.
Orokin Reactor - An item that supercharges equipment which doubles its mod capacity. Reactors can only be applied once.
Orokin Catalyst - An item that supercharges equipment such as weapons, including Archwing weapons and Sentinel weapons. It can also only be installed once.
Essential Mods for New Players:
General Mods to have
- Vitality: Increases Warframe health.
- Serration: Boosts primary weapon damage.
- Hornet Strike: Enhances secondary weapon damage.
- Pressure Point: Amplifies melee weapon damage.
- Streamline: Reduces ability energy cost.
- Intensify: Augments Warframe ability strength.
Mods for your Warframe
- Redirection: Strengthens Shields for added protection.
- Vigor: Enhances both Health and Shields for balanced defense.
- Steel Fiber: Increases Armor to mitigate incoming damage.
- Intensify: Augments Ability Strength for more potent offensive capabilities.
- Stretch: Expands Ability Range to reach enemies from a greater distance.
- Continuity: Extends Ability Duration to maintain powerful effects for longer durations.
- Streamline: Reduces Ability Costs, allowing for more frequent use of abilities.
Mods for Primary Weapons
- Point Blank: Enhances shotgun damage for devastating close-range attacks.
- Split Chamber: Boosts multi-shot capability for rifles, bows, and snipers.
- Hell's Chamber: Increases multi-shot capability for shotguns.
- Point Strike: Raises critical chance for rifles, bows, and snipers.
- Blunderbuss: Elevates critical chance for shotguns.
- Vital Sense: Amplifies critical damage for rifles, bows, and snipers.
- Ravage: Boosts critical damage for shotguns.
Mods for Secondary Weapons
- Reach: Expands melee range for increased reach.
- Fury: Increases melee attack speed for rapid strikes.
- True Steel: Elevates critical chance for melee attacks.
- Organ Shatter: Amplifies critical damage for melee attacks.
Understanding Modding attributes
- Polarity: Matching the polarity of a mod slot with the mod itself reduces its energy cost. Use Forma to change polarities.
- Rank: Higher-ranked mods have stronger effects. Invest Endo and Credits to upgrade them.
- Synergy: Combine mods that complement each other. For example, use Corrosive Projection to reduce enemy armor and pair it with Vigilante Armaments for more multishot.
Elemental Damage and Status Chance
- Elemental Mods: Add elemental damage (e.g., Heat, Toxin, Electricity, Cold) to your weapons. Combine them for different effects.
- Status Chance: Boost status chance to inflict status effects (e.g., Blast, Viral, Corrosive). Experiment with different combinations.
Dual Stat Mods:
- (e.g., Rime Rounds, Malignant Force) provide both elemental damage and status chance. These mods are efficient for status builds.
Augment Mode:
- Warframe Augment Mods alter Warframe abilities. Some enhance specific abilities or change their mechanics. Explore these for unique playstyles.
Exilus Mods:
- Exilus Mods fit into the Exilus slot (unlocked via an Exilus Adapter). They provide utility or QoL improvements. Examples include Rush (movement speed) and Power Drift (ability strength).
Aura and Stance Mods:
- Aura Mods: Add elemental damage (e.g., Heat, Toxin, Electricity, Cold) to your weapons. Combine them for different effects. Effect your entire squad. Choose wisely based on your team’s needs (e.g., Energy Siphon, Corrosive Projection).
- Stance Mods: dictate melee combos. Find the right stance for your weapon type.
Adaptation and Survival Mods:
- Adaptation: Reduces damage taken by adapting to enemy attacks. A powerful survival mod.
- Quick Thinking: Converts energy into health when your health drops to zero. Useful for squishy frames.
Fusion of Mods
Fusion is the process of upgrading mods to enhance their effectiveness. Each level is called ranks the higher the ranking the more improved effectiveness it has. However; the cost of ranking up a mod can cost a pretty penny. Also ranking up a mod increases the amount of capacity it requires to equip on weapons and Warframes.
Fusing a Mod fusion is done in your mods section in your orbiter. Endo and credits are used to rank up a mod.
- Navigate to the Mods Console in the Orbiter. Alternatively, while using the Arsenal, click on 'Mods' at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the mod you wish to upgrade.
- Select the option Fusion.
- A popup will appear with both credit & Endo cost.
- Click Yes to continue.
Example: To rank up a legendary mod from rank 0 to rank 10 would cost Credits64 1,976,436 to fuse whereas the same operation would cost Credits 64,494,109 for a common mod.
NOTES: Similar to fusion, but with a twist, mod Transmutation essentially fuses 4 mods together, along with varying credits, to create a randomized mod. This method of fusion is very expensive as opposed to normal fusion, with the cheapest fusion price at Credits64 12,000 if not using Transmutation Cores.
Credit and Endo Cost for mod Fusion
Ok so I've seen some people charge 3, 4 sometimes up to 50 times as much for a mod if it's maxed. I made this chart so you can see how much credit and endo cost occurs for each rank for each type of mod.
Don't get “scammed” into thinking maxing a mod is so great. Keep in mind, all credit/endo costs are the same per mod rarity, only the rank changes the costs.
Bronze Mods
RANK X- ENDO/CREDITS
Rank 1- 10/483
Rank 2- 30/1,449
Rank 3- 70/3,381
Rank 4- 150/7,245
Rank 5- 310/14,973
Rank 6- 630/30,429
Rank 7- 1,270/61,341
Rank 8- 2,550/123,165
Rank 9- 5,110/246,813
Rank 10- 10,230/494,109
Silver Mods
Multiply the above numbers by 2
Gold and Riven Mods
Multiply the above numbers (bronze mods) by 3
Archon and Primed Mods
Multiply the above numbers (bronze mods) by 4
Keep these numbers in mind the next time someone makes a big deal about “a MAXED maiming strike”. That only costs 930 endo and less than 45,000 credits.
Putting that into perspective, you can buy 1000 endo from the market for 100 plat and 50,000 credits for 50 plat. So I guess you could theoretically charge 150 MORE for maxing out a Rank 5 gold mod… But really? Who's gonna pay 160 for a MAXED jagged edge? (Assuming you're selling for 10 plat).
Experiment and Optimize:
- Test Builds: Try different mod combinations in the Simulacrum. See what works best for your playstyle.
- Forma: Use Forma to add polarities and optimize your gear. Plan your Forma investment carefully.
For more detailed guides, check out these video resources:
Video: Stuggling to mod in Warframe? Here's How!
Remember, modding is an art—experiment, adapt, and tailor your loadout to your playstyle. Explore the Void, Tenno!