Warframe is an MMO looter shooter with a thriving digital economy, and as someone who loves trading to build wealth in those kinds of games, I was immediately drawn to this aspect of it. While the store items have set values, the rest of the tradeable items in Warframe don’t, meaning that there is a free market and players decide the value of items through supply and demand. Learning to trade in Warframe is something I would consider 100% worthwhile. The applications of what you can do with the mechanic is huge, so we’ll be covering exactly how it’s done so that you can make the most of what the game has to offer.
Requirements to Trade in Warframe
Surprisingly, the premium currency of the game, Platinum, is the pillar of the trade economy, which means you can earn and spend Platinum for pretty much anything: premium cosmetics and Warframe bundles from the in-game store, Warframe or weapon blueprints and parts, and much more.
To be able to trade at all in Warframe, you’ll first have to reach Mastery Rank 2. You can reach this by completing missions on the star chart and leveling your Warframes or Weapons up to their max level of 30. Aside from this base Mastery Rank (MR) requirement, you’ll also want to have a Dojo to trade in. While there are certain areas you can trade without one, they’re much less convenient, and most people will expect to trade with you at either their Dojo or yours.
To get access to a Dojo, you’ll first need to join a clan. You’ll find plenty readily advertising in chat; just be aware that many will be looking for players of MR 8 or higher as that shows a higher level of commitment to the game, which they prefer. You may be better off waiting until a higher rank to trade anyway, as you’ll likely not have much to sell at MR 2. Plus, the number of trades you can make each day is also tied to your MR, so you’ll only be able to make a couple of trades a day at MR 2.
Once you join a clan and get access to a Dojo, you’ll need to head to the crafting bench on your ship and craft a Key to access the Dojo. This will take a day to complete. After that, you will be able to fly to your Dojo and locate the trading post inside. Then, when someone wants to buy something you have for sale, you’ll be able to take them to your Dojo, head to the trading post, and initiate a trade with them. In the trade window, both players will select and display what they want to trade and both have to agree to the trade before it completes. If you’re the buyer, you’ll be invited to the other player’s Dojo and all you’ll need to do is wait for them to initiate the trade.
One last thing you’ll need to do before you can start trading is log on to your Warframe account on the official website and navigate to your profile. In the settings, you’ll need to enable two factor authentication and then click the link sent to your email. This is required to be able to trade in Warframe as a recent change to improve account security.
Trading Methods in Warframe
One of the most convenient ways to trade is within the game itself. You can hop on to the trading chat by selecting it from the chat channel list and peddle your wares by linking them in chat and stating the Platinum value you want for them. You can also keep an eye on this chat for something that you would like to buy. Just remember this is the least recommended method for trading because it opens you up to scammers, hagglers, and all kinds of extortionate pricing.
The second method is seeing if anyone in your clan or alliance has what you’re looking to buy or is interested in purchasing what you have to sell. People within your own clan or alliance will generally be more disposed towards giving you a good deal or helping you out than the bloodthirsty lurkers in the trade chat. The downside is that there are only so many people in each clan, so chances are you won’t find or be able to sell everything here.
This leads us to the third and best method for trading in Warframe, which is actually a third-party website called Warframe Market. This is the go-to website for the vast majority of the Warframe player base. There is a high volume of items being traded constantly, and you can pretty much find anything at any time for sale here or list whatever you like. Keep in mind that your MR limits you to things that are at your MR or lower, so you can’t trade for a MR 13 Gun Blueprint if you’re MR 10. Avoid trying this as you’ll end up wasting the seller’s time and risk getting a negative comment on your trading profile.
Speaking of the profile, you’ll want to set up an account for Warframe Market and link your Warframe account to it. Then, you’ll be able to set your status to show when you’re online so that other players know when to message to trade with them. On the main market page you can search for whichever item you want to buy and sell, and their Platinum prices will be listed in order of value. This is incredibly useful to know who has the best price if you’re looking to buy or what price you should list your item at if you’re looking to sell. This Marketplace adds structure and pricing normality to Warframe’s economy, so you’ll be able to buy and sell everything that’s tradeable at the right prices based on supply and demand.
That’s the key information you need for how to trade in Warframe. Once you have sorted out all the requirements, you should head over to Warframe Market and set up your account there to get rolling on some trades. Now go buy yourself some spicy new Primes!
