The one wall everyone hits
If you search “Warframe quest order,” it is almost always because you are stuck at The New War and the game will not let you start it. The quest itself is not the problem — the prerequisites are. The New War requires you to have finished Prelude to War, to own a Railjack (built via the Rising Tide quest or bought with Platinum), and to own an Amp. None of those are obvious from the quest log, and Rising Tide is easy to skip because nothing forces you into it.
Everything below is the canonical sequence pulled from the wiki’s four story arcs, with the gating requirements called out so you never hit a dead end.
The four arcs, in order
Warframe’s main quests are split into four arcs plus two loose clusters (Jade Shadows and a handful of one-offs). Within an arc the order is fixed; across arcs the only real branch is Duviri, which can be done early but is required for The Hex.
Arc 1 — Tenno Awakening
- Awakening — the opening cinematic; auto-started on a new account.
- Vor’s Prize — your first real mission chain; unlocks the basic Orbiter systems and the star chart.
- The Teacher — short Operator introduction.
- Vox Solaris — leads into the Fortuna/Profit-Taker stack (optional but commonly done here).
- Once Awake — a short follow-up that opens harder content gates.
- Heart of Deimos — unlocks the Deimos open world and, critically, the path to building a Necramech.
- The Archwing — unlocks Archwing mobility used in several later nodes.
Arc 2 — This Is What You Are
- Natah — story bridge into the Second Dream.
- The Second Dream — unlocks the Operator, the Focus system, and access to Lua. This is the moment the game’s second half opens up.
- The War Within — expands Operator powers (Void mode, dash). Requires The Second Dream.
- Rising Tide — builds your Railjack. Do this the moment you can; it is the New War gate.
- Chains of Harrow — story + frame unlock.
- Apostasy Prologue — short, sets up The Sacrifice.
- The Sacrifice — awards Excalibur Umbra and closes the Sentient arc. Requires The War Within.
Arc 3 — The New War
- Prelude to War — required setup quest for The New War.
- The New War — the big one. Hard requirements: Prelude to War complete, Railjack owned, Amp owned. Awards the Drifter, an Amp, and opens Narmer content. A temporary Necramech is provided if you lack one.
- The Duviri Paradox — unlocks the Duviri region and the weekly Warframe slot. Can be done as early as Arc 2 but is best here, and is required for The Hex.
Arc 4 — Void War Saga (Kalymos Sequence)
- Whispers in the Walls — unlocks Sanctum Anatomica and the Cavia syndicate. Requires Veilbreaker (see below).
- The Lotus Eaters — direct follow-up.
- The Hex — the 1999 storyline and its six playable characters. Requires The Duviri Paradox.
- The Old Peace — recent main-line continuation; awards the Uriel Warframe.
- Prologue to Tau — the current forward edge of the story.
Jade Shadows Arc
- Jade Shadows then Jade Shadows: Constellations — awards the Jade Warframe. Best done after Whispers in the Walls.
One-Offs
- Angels of the Zariman — standalone, awards the Caliban-adjacent content and Zariman access.
The quest that is not on the main list but gates your gear
Veilbreaker sits outside the four arcs but matters more than most main quests for endgame progression: it is the quest that unlocks the weekly Archon Hunt, the primary source of Archon Shards. You can only start it after The New War, and Whispers in the Walls in turn requires it. Treat the chain as: The New War → Veilbreaker → Whispers in the Walls.
What each milestone actually unlocks
| Quest | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| The Second Dream | Operator, Focus schools, Lua |
| The Sacrifice | Excalibur Umbra |
| Rising Tide | Railjack (New War gate) |
| The New War | Drifter, Amp, Narmer content |
| The Duviri Paradox | Duviri, weekly Warframe slot |
| Veilbreaker | Archon Hunt (Archon Shards) |
| Whispers in the Walls | Sanctum Anatomica, Cavia |
| The Hex | 1999 / Höllvania, six characters |
| The Old Peace | Uriel Warframe |
The gating requirements, spelled out
- Railjack — from the Rising Tide quest (build in your Foundry) or bought with Platinum. Without it, The New War will not start. The railjack guide covers the build.
- Amp — crafted through the Operator’s focus after The Second Dream, or bought from the market. Easy to overlook because the quest log never mentions it.
- Necramech — not required for The New War (a loaner is provided), but you will want one for Archimedea and the Entrati labs. The necramech guide explains the grind.
- Duviri — required before The Hex. If you skipped it, do The Duviri Paradox first; the Duviri guide explains the loop.
A sane path if you are starting today
- Blitz Arc 1 and Arc 2 up to The Sacrifice — they are short and teach the Operator.
- Immediately run Rising Tide and build your Railjack while you keep questing.
- Do Prelude to War → The New War. With the Railjack ready, this is smooth.
- The Duviri Paradox → Veilbreaker → Whispers in the Walls → The Lotus Eaters.
- The Hex (needs Duviri) → Jade Shadows → The Old Peace → Prologue to Tau.
- Open-world syndicate quests (Deimos, Fortuna, Cetus) can be woven in anywhere; they are not quest-gated.
Check your readiness before The New War
Before you commit to The New War, open your Codex and confirm three things: the quest Prelude to War reads as completed; your Foundry shows a built Railjack (or one is ready to claim); and you own at least a Mote Amp from the Quills on Cetus. If Rising Tide is still sitting in your quest log, finish it first — that is the step that actually builds the Railjack. Players who skip it are exactly the ones who end up searching for this page asking why the quest will not start.
If you only remember one thing: build the Railjack before you try The New War. That single step clears the wall that sends most players searching for this page.