We know that, while the rewards are outstanding, watching DE’s devstreams can be a bit of a pain for some. Here’s all the important information (Liger made another banger of a deluxe skin):
Digital Extremes celebrated the spooky season in style with their special Halloween-themed 174th Devstream on October 28th. The Warframe developers embraced the holiday spirit by donning costumes and filling the stream with creepy characters and environments. I highly suggest watching the intro section of the stream, you might recognise Rebecca’s costume…
Charity Goal Smashed
The show kicked off with the exciting announcement that the Warframe community had raised over $100,000 for the Quest to Conquer Cancer charity. This incredible milestone triggered new stretch goals, allowing players to unlock even more donated prizes. The charitable Warframe fanbase has gone above and beyond to support a great cause.
Fan Favourite Artist Liger Takes Aim at Sevagoth
We all remember Sevagoth right? One of the most-hyped frames of all time, that now sadly sits in millions of Helminths? Alright good. Liger Inazuka, the artist behind some of the greatest deluxe skins of all time (Valkyr, Zephyr, Nidus, etc.), has struck back with an outstanding aquatic-themed deluxe skin for Sevagoth. Rebecca reminded the audience that Sevagoth is intrinsically more complex to create skins for than other frames, requiring his base model, his shadow, his tombstone and his death-state to all fit neatly within one defined style. Release date is currently unconfirmed, but expect to see it sometime around December/January.
Upcoming Content Teased
The developers provided the first look at concept art for the next major update “Whispers in the Walls.” The striking Gothic architecture and eldritch themes on display hint at a thrilling new quest featuring a hidden lab with creepy occult elements. Monstrous creatures straight out of a mad scientist’s lab give off major Frankenstein vibes.
Reviving Keysharing Culture
Veteran Tenno may feel some nostalgia with the return of keysharing in the Abyssal Zone missions. For the uninitiated, keysharing was a cooperative tactic where players would take turns using their keys to access specific missions and content. Keysharing is different to current methods of obtaining corrupted mods on Deimos. This creates incentives for pre-made squads and restores some of the communal spirit of Warframe’s early days. The DE team seem excited to experiment with bringing back keysharing to encourage teamwork.
Personally, I think the system would be comparable to the modern-day relic system, encouraging players to group for better loot odds.
Companions Get More Viable
A hot topic this stream was the major rework that came to companions. Pet survivability has been drastically improved to make them viable options for high-level content. For example, pets can now revive themselves after a short wait if they go down. The new bond mods also allow for interactions between companions and Warframe abilities, creating novel synergies. In particular, the Manifold Bond mod stands out for enabling pets to siphon player buffs, greatly enhancing their power. Overall, the changes elevate companions from neglected vanity items (besides the Panzer Vulphaphyla) to integral parts of the Tenno arsenal.
Plague Star Returns
On November 7th, the Plague Star event will make its long-awaited return, bringing back Operation: Plague Star. This time around, improvements have been made to prevent leeching issues that plagued past iterations. The developers have also added a Steel Path version with amped up difficulty for veterans. It’s the perfect time for new players to experience this classic event and earn the rewards they may have missed out on before.
Technical Upgrades
Behind the scenes, the team continues honing Warframe’s graphics and technology. For example, the “Whispers in the Walls” update will introduce souped-up fog effects utilizing tech originally built for the upcoming Soulframe. This helps create astonishingly realistic lighting and environmental effects. The developers also discussed new shader improvements rolling out soon that will make darker skin tones appear more natural across Warframe.
New Player Experience Refinements
While major content expansions understandably take center stage in Devstreams, the team took a moment to highlight some of the less flashy improvements coming to the new player experience. These quality-of-life changes involve adjustments to numerous systems, UI, and progression to help ease new Tenno into the game. Though subtle, this polish can go a long way towards hooking players.
Warframe’s NPE has a hilariously bad reputation, though we’ve seen steps being taken in the past to remedy this, such as the choice to start with Duviri content, or the refined opening cutscenes and missions. Because of how expansive the game is, it’s innately hard for new players to grasp popular and important systems like relic farming, helminth, augment mods, etc. Youtuber JoshStrifeHayes has a great series on MMO’s new player experiences, his video on Warframe was a huge eye-opener for a lot of people, including myself (MR25, playing since 2014).
