Focus in Warframe: lenses, schools and what the points buy
Focus is the second progression track, the one that runs through the Operator rather than the Warframe. People trip on exactly one part of it: the lenses. There are four kinds, they upgrade into each other, and an installed one never comes back off.
When Focus appears at all
Two quests, both required.
- The Second Dream unlocks Transcendence: a ten second Operator projection that recharges over three minutes. From then on you can install lenses.
- The War Within replaces it with Transference, the full Operator. With it, Focus passives apply from the start of a mission, even if you never switch out of the Warframe.
Before The Second Dream the install option is not in the menu at all.
The five schools
| School | What it is about |
|---|---|
| Madurai | the fighters, damage |
| Vazarin | the protectors, survival and support |
| Naramon | the tacticians |
| Unairu | the indomitable |
| Zenurik | the arcane |
Each school holds ten nodes, called Ways. One school is chosen free at the end of The Second Dream; the other four cost 50,000 Focus each to unlock.
Points spent into a node never come back. Not any of them. Experimenting is expensive.
Lenses: where Focus actually comes from
Focus does not accrue on its own. It only appears through a lens, which converts part of the affinity earned on a fully levelled item into Focus. There are four kinds, and each one is built out of the one below it.
| Lens | Affinity converted | Where from |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | 2% | open-world bounty rewards: Cetus, Fortuna, the Necralisk |
| Greater | 3% | a credit blueprint in the Components tab of the market, after The Second Dream |
| Eidolon | 4.25% | blueprint from tier 5 and Steel Path Cetus bounties and Persto rotation C on Deimos. Built out of a Greater lens |
| Lua | 5.5% | blueprint from Lua Disruption rotation C at 8.05%. Built out of an Eidolon lens |
So there is exactly one path upward: regular, then Greater, then Eidolon on top of a Greater, then Lua on top of an Eidolon. A built Eidolon lens can be bought from the Cavia for 60,000 standing, and a Lua lens costs 120 platinum in the market.
Lenses trade between players for a 2,000 credit tax. Check the price before building: sometimes a finished one is cheaper than the chain of blueprints.
The install rules that ruin lenses
- A lens only goes onto an item at rank 30 or 40. An unfinished one will not take it.
- It can go on a Warframe, a weapon, an Archwing, an Archgun, Archmelee, a Necramech, a K-Drive and a gilded Amp.
- A lens cannot be removed. It can only be replaced, and the old one is destroyed in the process.
- Forma stops the earnings. A polarised item pays no Focus until it is back at rank 30.
- A lens is also what lets Convergence orbs spawn, which multiply the Focus you collect.
Hence the rule: do not put an expensive lens on something you plan to pour Forma into. Every Forma is another levelling cycle during which the lens earns nothing. The arithmetic is in the Forma guide.
Unbound nodes: the only thing that works in every school
Ordinary nodes work only in the school you have selected. But each school holds two Way-Bound nodes, ten in the game, and those can be unbound: after that they apply in whichever school you pick.
Unbinding is expensive: the node has to be maxed first, then it costs 750,000 Focus and one Brilliant Eidolon Shard.
It is also the only spend that survives a change of school. If you play long and switch schools, this is where the points belong.
Where Orikon helps
Focus does not trade, lenses do, and across a four-tier chain the gap between building and buying runs to a hundred platinum. The app shows the market price in game, so the sum can be done before a blueprint is spent.
Common questions
When does Focus unlock?
After The Second Dream, which is when lenses can be installed. The system is only complete after The War Within, when passives start applying from the beginning of a mission.
What is the difference between focus lenses?
The share of affinity they convert: regular 2%, Greater 3%, Eidolon 4.25%, Lua 5.5%. Each tier is built out of the one below it.
Where do I get a Greater lens?
Its blueprint is sold for credits in the Components tab of the market, available after The Second Dream. Regular lenses drop from open-world bounties.
Can a focus lens be removed?
No. It can only be replaced, and replacing destroys the old one. Install the one you are willing to leave there forever.
Why did my lens stop giving Focus?
You probably added Forma. A polarised item resets to rank 0 and pays no Focus until it is back at 30.
What does a second school cost?
50,000 Focus for each of the four you did not choose. Points already spent into nodes are never refunded.
What is unbinding a node?
Ten Way-Bound nodes, two per school, can be unbound so they apply in any school. It costs 750,000 Focus and one Brilliant Eidolon Shard, and only once the node is maxed.
