Warframe The New War: Everything coming in The New War update
A new quest, new Warframes, and cosmetics headed your way with The New War
Warframe’s latest update, The New War, is nearly with us! Years of narrative threads are coming together with the arrival of Erra, the Sentient Invasion, and a fated confrontation between us the players and our old ally The Lotus. But that begs the question, what exactly can we expect from The New War?
Last week, we were invited to an early look at Warframe’s upcoming update alongside other members of the press and content creators. From this early showcase, we’ve got a good idea of what you can expect come December 15. To help you get an idea of what to expect, we’ve listed all the information we’ve learnt below!
Warframe The New War: Everything we know about the main quest
(Warning, this section may contain spoilers for the quest’s first act, so if you want to go in totally blind feel free to skip to the next section!)
The New War is a multi-act quest that will take us through the battle against the sentient invasion. In the gameplay shown off at Tennocon 2021 we saw the perspective of the Grineer, Corpus and Teshin, but at the press event we got a closer look at the player’s participation in the battle that takes place in act one.
We as the Tenno take on the Sentients in a huge space battle, using our Railjack to fight off ships alongside previously hostile factions. In this battle, we slingshot Tenshin at the Sentient mothership which seamlessly transitions into his portion of act one. From what we were told, the entirety of act one is stitched together like this, with us going between different characters as events progress.
Act two, which we won’t spoil, features non-combat sections that according to the post-demo Q&A had an ounce of Persona 5 Inspiration. You’ll have to play yourself to see what that means.
The quest is the main focus of the update, so you’ll not find a sprawling open world like the Heart of Deimos update with The New War. There is some post New War content there, but the bread and butter is the narrative experience at the heart of the update.
The quest and all its acts can take anywhere from four - six hours to complete, depending on the speed of the player. The quest is a totally solo experience, so you’ll be going through all the events without your friends this time around.
Despite the massive battle taking place across the galaxy, the events of The New War won’t affect previous content, with no content locks present. So if you’re like me and not finished grinding out The Quills yet don’t worry!
To prepare for The New War, it was encouraged that players review old quests and the story beats that lead up to this update. You can also pump up the Paracesis if you’d like, but it’s not required for the quest. As a final note, players should choose their loadout carefully before heading into The New War, as that will be the loadout your first experience the quest with. Choose carefully!
The New War and all its acts will be available on December 15, so no cliffhangers here!
(h2) Warframe The New War: the Caliban Warframe
Those keeping a keen eye on Warframe dev streams will be aware of the Caliban Warframe coming with The New War, and we finally got a look at the shiny thing in action.
Its passive is called Sentient Adaptation, which like Sentient enemies you may have fought in the past, provides damage resistance against sources if you take consistent damage. So for example, you’ll gain a growing resistance to fire damage the more you’re hit.
It’s first ability is Razer Gyre, a whirlwind attack that allows you to spin and move around, slashing enemies you run into. Think of it like a giant beyblade, as you can let it rip across a whole room dealing loads of damage.
Second up comes Sentient Wrath, which is a projectile that keeps enemies airborne. If you hit these airborne enemies with Razer Gyre, it deals extra damage. Sentient Wrath is also Caliban’s helminth ability, so you can rip it out and use it on another frame if you can think of a nice combo.
The third ability available to Caliban - Lethal Proginey - allows you to summon up to three Sentients in battle. Not much synergy here, but it does look cool to have your own posse of robotic pals to help clear out a room and tank some damage.
Last but not least comes Caliban's ultimate: Fusion Strike! It starts up with three lasers that shoot out in three directions in front of Caliban, slowly coming together towards the centre. Once they do, the beam does way more damage, so it’s best to keep this ability up as long as you can to make the most of the bonus.
We have no idea as to how we obtain Caliban quite yet, only that they are obtained in “post-New War content”. So if you want to get your hands on this mysterious new frame, you’ll need to beat the new quest first.
(h2) Warframe The New War: Post-New War content
Digital Extremes are looking to The New War as the next big progression point for future content. New content from here on out will be aimed at players who have completed The New War, think of it like a narrative bottleneck, you’ve got to do it first before making your way to future updates.
The New War will be leaving some form of visual scar on the system, but there was no elaboration on what this means, just that it will occur. In the same vein, there is no new planet / location coming with The New War, but it will become clear to players where they’ll be headed in future updates following the events of The New War.
While there is no new open world attached to The New World, Digital Extremes has plans to work on one in the future. So keep an eye out for that!
Likewise, there's no crossplay coming with The New War due to time constraints. It is planned to release some time in 2022.
(h2) Warframe The New War: New Harrow Prime frame and cosmetics
Harrow Prime is getting a prime version with The New War, so those with a taste for that frame’s particular playstyle will get an upgrade if they partake in Prime Access. Alongside Harrow Prime comes Scourge Prime and Knell Prime - both signature weapons of Harrow- that players will be able to farm for. There’s also a new Syndana and the Templar Prime operator suit too - making this Prime Access sorely desirable.
Finally, there are a handful of new skins coming with The New War for players to enjoy if they have the cash or platinum available!
If you pick up the Supporter pack that comes alongside The New War, you get the new Projectilyst Mesa deluxe skin. This skin also changes the appearance of Mesa’s regulators, so you get the full package.
If you want to learn more about The New War update ahead of its launch, we’ve got two interviews with Rebecca Ford live on the site right now. One on the turbulent development of the update over the last three years, and the other being a closer look at the update itself from a narrative perspective.