Warframe: Devstream 185 Recap
Another month means another Devstream from the good folks over at Digital Extremes. Devstream 185 is a direct followup to expand further on everything announced previously during Devstream 184. There’s a lot of information shared, but don’t worry I’ve got you with a recap of the biggest things you need to know.
TennoCon 2025 tickets sold out in a matter of 20 minutes, which is the fastest they’ve ever flown out the door. With this being the 10th annual TennoCon, Digital Extremes aims to do it big with a TennoConcert performing hit songs from the game. To allow more people to witness the concert, there will be dedicated TennoConcert tickets on sale March 7. The ticket will grant access to a TennoLive keynote watch party as well as the TennoCon 2025 Digital Pack. Needless to say, keep it on your radar if you’re interested because they will sell just as quickly.
Warframe is celebrating its 12th anniversary this month starting March 7. In typical anniversary fashion, there will be a new Dex Ephemera for all players to collect as a login reward. Any past items from the Dex lineup will be available to earn as alerts. There will also be new skins for both Wisp and Excalibur. I encourage all newer players to earn these weapons as they are all solid additions to your arsenal, plus it’s just fun to celebrate.
Now, the real meat and potatoes of the event. Techrot Encore will be finally released on March 19. With the release of Techrot Encore comes four more Protoframes, a new 1999 defense mission, Temporal Archimedea, new conversations with Protoframes, the brand new Warframe Temple and more. I told you there’d be a lot.
The four new Protoframes being added to the game will not be romanceable, but there will be conversations to be had through the KIM messenger to build up a platonic relationship. The new Protoframes will be available in the newly opened pub in the Höllvania Central Mall. However, you’ll have to reach at least Rank 4 with The Hex as well as having completed the “true” ending in order to access the new content. That being said, it’s time to meet the new Protoframes.
Velimir (Frost) and Minerva (Sayrn) Concept Art
First up, I want to introduce you to Minerva (Sayrn) and Velimir II (Frost). They are divorced military veterans, but also Major Rusalka’s parents. They’re here to figure out what happened to her. You get to basically Parent Trap them and decide if they get back together, or if they’re better apart.
Kaya (Nova) Concept Art
Next, we have Kaya (Nova). She’s interested in understanding the Void. She’s a self-taught engineer obsessed with cracking time travel to answer how travelling back to 1999 is even possible.
Kaya will also be the one to talk to to access the most difficult missions in Warframe yet: Temporal Archimedea. These are three random missions where Minerva and Velamir will accompany you with insanely difficult modifiers to deal with. Luckily, Kaya also introduces Peely Pix, stickers that serve as buffs to hopefully make your time a bit easier.
Flare (Temple) Concept Art
Finally, we have Flare, who is the new Warframe Temple. Reaching Rank 4 with the Hex allows you to talk to Flare and purchase some aptly named Flare’s Wares. Temple is also Warframe’s very first non-binary frame. They will offer a brand new Stage Defense mission, a memorial concert to honor their fallen bandmates to Viktor. While they rock out, you have to keep them safe. This also introduces the new change to all Defense missions, where only 3 waves will be required for a completion before having the opportunity to extract.
On the subject of Temple, it’s time to talk about their abilities. Temple has heat wave projectiles, they can summon subwoofers to debuff enemies for an open critical shot, and sing a solo to provide healing to all squadmates. Temple’s Guitar isn’t just a guitar but an Exalted Weapon. It’s also not just a weapon but a living being named Lizzie. I have confirmation that you cannot romance the guitar, however Lizzie will turn into a flamethrower and I don’t think I need to explain how awesome that sounds.
Speaking of Exalted abilities, Khora, Atlas, Gara, and Ash will now have access to modify their Psuedo Exalted abilities. All abilities will feature Arcane slots and Stances to increase Mod capacity. Any Mod that was previously unavailable are now compatible. Anyone who’s a fan of the aforementioned frames can rejoice with the prospect of having more power.
Digital Extremes has partnered with the Make-a-Wish foundation to make a commitment to James Conlin, a 16-year-old with Spina Bifida with a dream to be a voice actor. His wish was granted during last year’s TennoCon where he got to debut his character, Ollie, the mascot of an arcade game that loves to annoy Arthur. With the Techrot Encore update, Ollie will be getting his own playable arcade game in the mall called Ollie’s Crash Course. It’s a Rainbow Road style course on your Atomicycle with the goal being to reach the end as fast as possible. Ollie will also have his own Atomicycle Livery and floof to purchase on the market.
To round things off, we have some quality of life improvements, as Warframe does with every update. Aura Formas will now become Omni Formas, meaning a slot will be granted universal Polarity (minus Umbra mods). Multiple duplicate mods can be selected in bulk to sell all at once for Endo. Stealth Aux will now be a setting to toggle. Random matchmade groups for mission nodes will now be disbanded after every mission, if you enjoyed your time with them and want to run more missions with them you can find recently played with players in the Friends menu.
Warframe is also looking to help new players get to 1999 faster. The Star Chart has been reworked so that way new players can reach the quintessential Second Dream quest much sooner. The Archwing is an essential item but now in order to craft it will no longer require high-level crafting materials. In other words, it will no longer require materials that you can only get from planets much deeper in the Star Chart. Players also need to craft a Necramech in order to complete The New War, however most will universally agree that the process of getting one isn’t exactly a breeze. Now, you will be loaned one during the end of The New War so it’s one less thing you have to worry about. Lastly, The Duviri Paradox and The Hex quests will be replayable.
Techrot Encore is the biggest “echoes” update Warframe has ever done. For as good as On-lyne’s music is, they need to be stopped. Digital Extremes has found a way to keep us all busy for quite a while, and the amount of content dropping over the coming months is simply staggering. This is how it’s survived the test of time, by bringing meaningful content and finding ways to engage both new players and old. Sure 1999 may be locked behind hours of initial gameplay, but Warframe has always been a marathon, not a sprint. After twelve years of running it’s clear that Digital Extremes isn’t stopping any time soon, nor should they.
