As sure as the hands on a clock tick forward, Warframe is getting another major update. This one is called Shrine of the Eidolon, and builds upon the open-world Plains of Eidolon area added late last year.
The biggest additions (literally) are two new hulking Eidolon to hunt down, the Gantulyst and the Hydrolyst. Both are larger and more difficult to take down than the original Teralyst, which was already a hefty challenge.
A vehicle called the Dargyn is also being added to the plains, which you can hijack from enemy Grineer and fly around on. It’s new ground for Warframe, and something I’m certainly interested in seeing developer Digital Extremes explore more.
There are also a host of balance changes and adjustments stretching across nearly every frame and weapon in the game, as well as a way to transmute Warframe’s special Riven mods, so the effect of this update will be felt outside of the plains as well.
Before the Shrine of the Eidolon update launches this week, I put five of my biggest questions about it to Digital Extremes’ Live Ops and Community Director, Rebecca Ford. Take a look at what she had to say:
How do you make these new Eidolons to appear?
Rebecca Ford, Live Ops and Community Director at Digital Extremes: Good question, and one I would really like to let players find out on their own. Still, I can reveal some tidbits: Let’s just say that we know that the Teralyst only comes out at night and, that by defeating it, players have reached the starting point in their quest to confront the new Eidolons. Second, I will also say that, for now, the Eidolons never appear simultaneously.
Are they intended to be easier or harder than the first Eidolon?
Both of these are intended to be harder than the original Eidolon. Both Eidolons will challenge veteran and experienced players and will require lots of cooperation and tactical team coordination in order to defeat these even larger beasts. Our hardcore base pretty much plowed right through this first Eidolon and in some cases they have beaten it a few times! So, yes, very tough!
Why add a flying vehicle if Archwings are already usable in the Plains?
Our initial intention wasn't to turn the Plains into Ace Combat, you know?
Well, gosh, because they’re fun! Since we introduced the Dargyn, piloted by the Grineer in the Archwing missions, players have been telling us they would love to fly them. We wanted to introduce more ways to fly across the Plains but also wanted to make it a challenge, too. You can’t just walk up and fly it. They are Grineer ships and will most likely be stationed at Grineer outposts and guarded. I think, too, we wanted to watch and see how players used the Archwings and what the response was. Our initial intention wasn’t to turn the Plains into Ace Combat, you know? And we still haven’t, but our gradual addition of things like the Dargyn means we’re slowly adding things that feel like natural evolutions of the initial gameplay.
Is a steady stream of new content the plan going forward for Plains of Eidolon?
Our plans are always a mix of fluctuation between what we planned and what our players tell us, so yes and no. We expect and want feedback, and we iterate to improve Warframe based on that super important community feedback – it’s the nature of a games-as-a-service title like ours. Thus far, we held the timed Infested event, Operation: Plague Star, we added the Ghoul Purge Bounties – which also included the Personal Quarters update – and now we’re bringing in this Eidolon update. These are definitely part of our plans to keep the Plains active, fun, and engaging.
I would say that we would have liked to get the Khora Warframe out last year. She is the next Warframe we’re working on. Her original Abilities focus on being able to change damage output between Slash, Puncture, and Impact. But due to the fact that those Abilities are directly tied into the Damage system, which we’re now deep in the midst of updating, we had to delay her. Her Abilities kind of made us re-look at how the Damage systems worked, and so we’re now re-tooling and improving those, and so she too is being re-imagined.
Is there any feedback from the initial Eidolon launch that you are still looking to address?
Oh, there are lots. We’re never really done. The Plains of Eidolon, as we have been told by players and press, could have been a little… friendlier… to first-time players. We heard his feedback and it was fair and noted, and we addressed it in several ways. People wanted more of everything, really.
We are still working on improving the Plains and we're still listening to feedback.
Here is what we have done so far. For starters, we also added new content that’s readily accessible for a range of experienced or newer players. We added the Ghoul Purge Bounties populated by unique Grineer soldiers with colorful, distinguished attacks – Ghouls who wield deadly buzz saws, Ghouls armed with dual flame-throwers that double as drills, Ghouls with bomb-spiked gloves, and more. Newer players can attack these in groups, and more experienced players can handle these solo, if they dare. These new Ghouls come up out of the ground from sacks in the earth – at any point – and create instant skirmishes.
We have implemented what seems like hundreds of hotfixes, and one of my favorite new additions is dynamic weather. The new weather system will bring rain, lightning, rolling thunder, changing wind, and cloud patterns that will affect things like increasing fish spawns, reducing Grineer visibility (while it’s raining), day or night. Another thing we recently did was tweak and improve a handful of Warframes. One of them, Zephyr, the warrior of the skies, has seen changes that enable her floating/hovering Abilities and attacks a lot more attractive in an open space like the Plains. So, yes, we are still working on improving the Plains and we’re still listening to feedback.
Answers have been lightly cut/edited for length and clarity.
Tom Marks is an Associate Editor focusing on PC gaming at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.