One of Warframe: 1999’s biggest additions to the game is its romance system. Like real life, though, starting up a relationship in Warframe isn’t necessarily easy, and it can take some time.
Before you even think about romance, you’ll need to play the 1999 quest, decide who you want to date, and understand the new seasonal system. Beyond that, here’s how to start dating ASAP.
How Chemistry works in Warframe
Chemistry is your ‘relationship XP’ in Warframe, and it’s represented by your Chemistry Rank. There are six ranks in the game, and they are as follows:
- Neutral
- Friendly
- Liked
- Trusted
- Close
- Best Friends / Loved
You need to hit certain Chemistry Ranks with each Hex syndicate member to have the option to date them. Although, the rank required varies from Hex member to Hex member. Plus, depending on your interactions with the members, they might not want to date you.
Chemistry Rank is gated by your rank in the Hex syndicate. So, you’ll need to be a certain rank in the syndicate to level up to certain Chemistry Ranks. However, any Chemistry you earn will be ‘banked’ for use later on whenever you hit the appropriate syndicate level.
This means that even if you’re at the maximum Chemistry Rank with your current syndicate level, once you level up the syndicate, any additional earned Chemistry will then be applied to your Chemistry Rank. No need to worry about wasting any Chemistry you manage to earn.
Here are what ranks in the Hex syndicate you’ll need to hit which Chemistry Ranks:
- Friendly: Fresh Slice (Rank 2)
- Liked: 2-for-1 (Rank 3)
- Trusted: Hot & Fresh (Rank 4)
- Close: Pizza Party (Rank 5)
How to earn Chemistry quickly in Warframe: 1999
There are three ways to earn Chemistry in Warframe: sending gifts, messaging, and completing side objectives on 1999 bounties. Luckily, you can’t lose Chemistry, only gain it.
As you get to know a Hex syndicate member, their messaging profile will give you information on what sort of gifts they’ll like, or you can check out our guide on the best gifts to give every member. You can only send a gift once per day, though, and the wrong gift won’t increase Chemistry.
You can also acquire Chemistry by chatting with a Hex syndicate member. You can have one chat per day, although, like with gifts, Chemistry gains are not always guaranteed, depending on how your conversation goes. Saying too many wrong things might even make you undateable.
The only guaranteed way to earn Chemistry is via 1999 bounties. Each of the six available 1999 bounties is tied to a specific Hex syndicate member, and if you complete the optional side objective during a bounty, you’ll earn Chemistry with the respective member. This can be done once each day.
Lastly, as you progress through 1999’s seasonal calendar, the birthday of each member will come up, and you can choose to have a special birthday conversation when those arrive. This will give you another chance at earning Chemistry outside of your normal daily chatting.
So, if you want to earn Chemistry as fast as possible, you’ll need to do the following:
- Chat every day
- Send a gift every day
- Complete bounty side objectives every day
- Send a birthday message when you can
How to rank up the Hex syndicate quickly in Warframe
Earning Chemistry is only one part of the puzzle. To hit the higher Chemistry Ranks, you’ll need to be leveling up your Hex syndicate, too. Like with the other syndicates in the game, ranking up the Hex is a pretty straightforward process, gated only by your daily standing cap.
The best way to level up the Hex syndicate is by playing bounties, particularly the Steel Path variant of bounties. It’s even better if, during bounties, you search for and pick up Hex Treasures. Six types of Hex Treasures can all be traded in for Hex standing:
- Big Bytes Pizza — 2,500 standing
- Argon Burger Meal — 1,500 standing
- 35mm Film — 750 standing
- Cheddar Crowns Cereal — 750 standing
- Mood Crystal — 750 standing
- Chuggin’ Along Sixpack — 750 standing
- On-Lyne CD — 750 standing
- The Countessa Comic — 750 standing
You can memorize where treasures appear just by playing missions, but using the Parallax Landing Craft with its Orokin Eye air support is easier. Simply use this ability in a mission, and all Hex Treasures within a 150m radius will get highlighted for you to grab.
How to start dating someone in Warframe: 1999
Once you hit the required Chemistry Rank with a Hex syndicate member (and the corresponding Hex syndicate rank), you’ll be presented with a new dialogue option when you visit that character in the Höllvania Central Mall. You can choose to start up a relationship from there.
You can also start (or end) relationships over messaging, but messaging can be unpredictable, so you’re probably better off just visiting the person in question directly once your Chemistry is ranked up. Similarly, once you start a relationship, you can break up the same way.
Once you’ve begun a relationship, you’ll get to have a New Year’s Eve kiss with your partner when the 1999 seasonal cycle is over. A season takes place over the course of a month in real-time, so your first opportunity will be on January 12th, 2025.
Remember that there’s only this one chance for the kiss in a given cycle, and you can only get a kiss with a Hex syndicate member you’re currently dating. After the cycle resets, you can reset your relationship progress, start over, and date someone new in the next cycle.
