Today, during the 175th monthly developer stream aired via Twitch, Digital Extremes unveiled new gameplay and details for the upcoming Warframe cinematic quest Whispers in the Walls.
The eponymous update will go live in December (the exact date will be revealed at The Game Awards), adding a new enemy faction, a Grimoire book weapon class, a player hub, environment tilesets, an ally syndicate, a revamped heavy attack system, and of course the new cinematic quest.
The narrative premise is that players will finally obtain answers they've longed for ever since the dawn of Warframe. They'll have to step in the crossfire between the Entrati and a mysterious entity only known as 'the Man in the Wall'. In the quest, players will also encounter a brand new enemy type, the Murmur.
With the newly added Grimoire (a secondary weapon), Tennos will wield the power of the Void, blasting foes left and right with eldritch spells. The Grimoire will get progressively more powerful as players uncover new pages over the course of the Whispers in the Walls storyline. Content-wise, two mission types (Alchemy and Netracells) have been added, while the Assassination mission type has been refreshed with new mechanics. The new environmental tileset comes with significant visual improvements.
The new hub zone called Sanctum will feature new friendly faces like Loid, who has long been trapped in cryosleep for untold ages. After the completion of the cinematic quest, a new Tennokai power will be available: a free random Melee Heavy Attack that does not reset the Combo counter.
Players can unlock the 55th Warframe, Qorvex. This newly discovered Entrati void project is equipped with collapsing wall traps and fusion reactor pillars.
The update will also mark the beginning of the public rollout of cross-save. It won't be available to everyone right away because Digital Extremes wants to avoid stressing the system too much from the get-go. Still, it sounds like everyone will get cross-save before the end of the year.
One thing that won't launch with the Whispers in The Walls update is Gauss Prime Access, which will now be released at some point in January 2024.
Digital Extremes also provided an update on Warframe Mobile. The iOS Closed Beta will be sunset on November 30th so the development team can focus on the full launch (scheduled next year). Meanwhile, Android players now have the chance to pre-register for Warframe Mobile.
Wccftech joined a pre-stream remote press tour where Warframe Creative Director Rebecca Ford answered a few quick-fire questions in a roundtable format.
Will there be any new skins for the Operator in this update?
No.
Will players be able to create their own spellbooks?
Probably not.
Is the ally syndicate available from the go or buried beneath time spent in game?
The second you finish the Whispers in the Walls quest, you'll be able to on-ramp with the syndicate.
Will there be any new post-New War fresh Captura Scenes?
There are no new Captura Scenes that are not related to the labs.
Does Tennokai work on Gunblades?
Right now, yes.
What themes does the Whispers in the Walls update seek to explore?
Loneliness, duty, isolation, self.
Thank you for your time.