Warframe – Focus Schools, explained

In Warframe, Focus Schools are Operator-based talent trees that provide significant buffs and additional mechanics to your standard Warframe’s playstyle. There are five different schools so here’s a breakdown of all five, and how they benefit you to invest into.

All Five Focus Schools in Warframe

The five Focus Schools in Warframe are all tied directly to your Operator, and provide meaningful buffs to both your Operator and Warframe alike. These are Madurai, Naramon, Zenurik, Unairu, and Vazarin. While you can invest in all five, only one can be considered Active, and only the active School will provide any benefits.

Madurai

The Madurai School is primarily focused on greatly empowering your Amps increasing their damage output and energy efficiency while allowing you to apply damage amplification buffs/debuffs to yourself and enemies around you. It is an offensive school meant for players interested in using their Operator as much as their Warframe, switching in and out of Warframe-to-Operator form like a dance.

The Key Focus nodes for Maduari are Inner Gaze, Eternal Gaze, Power Transfer, and Void Strike.

• Inner Gaze – Increase Energy for Amps and Void Beam
• Eternal Gaze – Increases Energy Regeneration for Amps and Void Beam
• Power Transfer – Increases Amp Critical Damage when swapping to Operator, and Casting Speed when swapping to Warframe
• Void Strike – Active ability that increases Damage by a percentage amount of the Energy consumed to use this ability

These four nodes highly emphasize the offensive-swap gameplay required to reap the benefits of Maduari and should be invested first and foremost.

Naramon

The Naramon School focuses heavily on improving the Offensive Melee and Mobility capabilities of both your Warframe and Operator while offering some light crowd control as side helping. The tree significantly improves Finisher Damage while also making Combos last longer. Active abilities focus on Mobility and Crowd Control. For players interested close-quarter combats, Naramon is absolutely the best choice.

The Key Focus nodes of Naramon are Opening Slam, Power Spike, Sling Stun, and Killer’s Rush.

• Opening Slam – When performing a Slam attack, automatically swap to your Warframe and gain Double Combo generation
• Power Spike – Melee Combos now decay slowly while out-of-combat instead of all at once
• Sling Stun – Active ability that increases the width of your next Void Sling, and hitting an enemy with a Void Sling causes them to take more damage from Finishers
• Killer’s Rush – Starting a Finisher with your Operator automatically swaps to your Warframe, and your Melee Critical Chance is increased

These nodes prioritize improving your Melee damage and emphasize the focus on getting up and personal with your foes. As such, they should be your priority if you choose to Focus on the Naramon school.

Zenurik

The Zenurik School focuses almost entirely on granting you constant Energy Regeneration allowing you to use your Operator’s and Warframe abilities as you please. As a Utility-based school, it is meant to be played secondary to your standard Warframe gameplay and provides significant Energy to nearby allies as well.

The Key Focus nodes of Zenurik are Energy Pulse, Wellspring, and Hardened Wellspring.

• Energy Pulse – Picking up Energy Orbs provides bonus Energy over time.
• Wellspring – Active ability that creates a conduit of Energy that restores Energy over time when passed through. Works for you and allies.
• Hardened Wellspring – Using Wellspring within an active Wellspring increases its size and improves Ability Strength for all that pass through it.

These nodes support the heavy focus on Energy that Zenurik offers its followers. If you’re playing Warframes that want to use their abilities often, consider Zenurik as your school of choice.

Unairu

The Unairu School focuses on improving your Defensive capabilities while also providing several extremely powerful abilities that can easily be used to cripple heavily armored or shielded foes. As a Utility-based school, Unairu’s natural ability to deal with well-defended enemies allows followers of the tree to focus their weapons around other disciples rather than directly countering the enemies they face.

The Key Focus nodes of Unairu are Poise, Caustic Strike, Magnetic Flare, and Stone Skin

• Poise – Gain total immunity to Crowd Control effects when transferring between Warframe and Operator forms
• Caustic Strike – Activite ability that launches an energy bomb that Strips the Armor of any enemies hit by it.
• Magnetic Flare – Active ability that creates a radical field that Disables the Shields of any enemies within
• Stone Skin – Provides an unconditional Armor bonus to your Operator and Warframe at all times

These nodes heavily emphasize the value of choosing the Unairu School as your Focus. The versatility this school offers is unparalleled in Warframe and is a strong choice for those who desire not to have to build around the enemies they face, always having the answer to any problem in Operator form.

Vazarin

The Varazin School focuses on dramatically improving your healing and ability to support allies through Health Regeneration and Immunities. As a Support-focused school, Vazarin has little offensive capabilities and should be played only as necessary, when healing becomes a requirement, as it does not offer much beyond this scope.

The Key Focus nodes of Vazarin are Void Regen, Squad Regen, Mending Unity, Guardian Shell, and Protective Sling

• Void Regen – Regenerate Health over time, increasing the longer you remain in Void Mode to a cap.
• Squad Regen – When Void Regen reaches its Health Regeneration capstone, spread the effects of Void Regen to your allies with Affinity Range.
• Mending Utility – Improves the radius of your Affinity Range, making to easier for allies to gain your beneficial effects
• Guardian Shell – Activity ability that places an Immunity barrier on you and your allies within Affinity Range. The barrier is immune to all damage initially but can be damaged after several seconds have passed.
• Protective Sling – All allies hit by your Void Sling are granted complete damage Immunity for a short time and receive healing over time

These nodes well-reflect the supportive nature of Vazarin Focus School and should prioritize first before taking anything else in the tree. If you’re a player who loves to support the team, consider investing in Vazarin.