How to Unlock The Steel Path in Warframe

The quickest way to unlock Steel Path is to ask Teshin what your account is missing, then clear those missions on the normal Star Chart. The game has changed the unlock requirements over time, which is why older checklists sometimes send you into areas that no longer matter for the initial unlock. Once Teshin accepts your progress, you can switch between normal and Steel Path missions whenever you need to.

1. Check your Star Chart with Teshin

Open Navigation and travel to a Relay. Find Teshin and choose the Steel Path? dialogue option. If you still have work to do, use his checklist to identify which missions, quests, or Mastery Rank requirements are holding you back. If the list is long, take a screenshot so you can check it from Navigation without returning to the Relay after each mission.

Do this even if your Star Chart looks nearly finished. A planet can look familiar because you have visited it many times while still having a branch you never cleared. Quest-gated missions can be especially easy to miss because you may have finished the story that opens them without ever launching the corresponding node.

2. Clear the required missions on normal difficulty

Work through the required connected Star Chart nodes available before The New War. Digital Extremes removed the Zariman Ten Zero, Albrecht's Laboratories, and Höllvania mission requirements from the initial Steel Path unlock in Hotfix 38.5.3. Let Teshin's checklist drive your route if a video or older guide tells you to clear those areas first.

1. Start with any visible uncleared nodes that Teshin named. Complete the mission and extract so it registers as a clear.
2. Check side branches as well as the route to the next Junction. Following the shortest path through each planet can leave required missions behind.
3. If a node is locked, check its actual prerequisite in Navigation or in Teshin's list. This is usually faster than clearing an unrelated quest from the Codex.
4. Revisit quest-linked locations such as Lua or the Kuva Fortress when they appear on the checklist. Opening a destination and completing its individual nodes are separate pieces of progress.
5. If the Earth node Oro is listed and you cannot launch it, check the Mastery Rank requirement. The mission requires Mastery Rank 5.

When you have a choice of missions to clear, start with the ones you can already launch. Save the locked objectives for last so you can focus on their specific prerequisites. If you are clearing a public mission, stay long enough for extraction and check that it counts before moving to the next planet.

3. Return to the Relay and accept the challenge

Once the required nodes are complete, return to Teshin at a Relay and select Steel Path? again. Accept his challenge, then go back to the Orbiter and open Navigation. Look for the difficulty toggle on the right side of the Star Chart. Switch it to Steel Path to start the harder version of the chart.

Your normal clears unlock the mode itself. To open additional routes on the Steel Path chart, complete nodes on Steel Path difficulty. You can switch the toggle back to normal when you need an easier run or want to help a friend clear their regular chart.

4. Check Duviri separately if the Circuit is still locked

An unlocked Steel Path toggle does not automatically qualify you for Steel Path Duviri. Complete The Duviri Paradox and the three base Duviri activities on normal difficulty: The Duviri Experience, The Lone Story, and The Circuit. If you can launch Steel Path elsewhere but the Circuit still refuses to open, check those normal clears before doing more planet missions.

What to do for your first run

Start with a familiar mission where you can focus on how your equipment performs. A short objective gives you a better first test than committing to a long endless run. Check that your frame can survive mistakes, that your weapon handles ordinary enemies reliably, and that you can still finish the mission objective when enemies start to pile up. If damage is the problem, adjust your weapon build and try the same mission again. If staying alive is the problem, address that before adding a longer objective.

Keep your normal difficulty available while you prepare. Unlocking the toggle gives you a new option for progression, and you can continue farming or learning missions on the regular chart in between attempts.