We finally got a look at Warframe: Veilbreaker, the game’s next big story update, at TennoCon this year. Well, I say “finally,” but unlike The Duviri Paradox we didn’t actually know about this new expansion until TennoCon 2022. The surprise announcement does follow in the footsteps of past Warframe plot, however, as a direct sequel to The New War from late last year. As such we also saw some familiar faces in the Veilbreaker trailer: Kahl-175, the Archons, and even Erra.
If you don’t know any of those names, you might want to stop reading now. Like the trailer itself this article touches on some spoilers for The New War. Only read on if you don’t mind (or already know all about what happened in that narrative finale).
Anyway, Kahl is back. The Grineer soldier went MIA after a botched attempt to sacrifice himself to save his clone brothers. While we never saw his fate before, it seemed pretty clear he was taken by Narmer, the mind control cult players fought in The New War. The Veilbreaker trailer seems to support that idea. We see Kahl remove a “veil” (hence the title) which is the helmet-like device Narmer uses to mind control its victims. Now Kahl seems to be going on rescue missions to save his brothers while teaming up with his old enemies, the Tenno.
Those aren’t the only old rivalries at play, though. Archons — the animalistic story bosses fought throughout The New War — are back. Though developer Digital Extremes promises these are powered-up versions. That makes sense, since it seems like you’ll be able to take them on with a full squad of four players, which was impossible during the 2021 expansion. We don’t know specifically what rewards these encounters will bring to Warframe players. However, it seems like Kahl isn’t just playable once again. You can also unlock customizable options for the side character as you go.
Erra, another major New War character, also gets a new look. The evil(?) Sentient seems to have been transformed into a bull-themed Archon himself. He’s also got a big spike sticking through his head. One that looks a lot like the shards used to power the other Archons in The New War.
We have no idea where that came from, what (or who) turned Erra into an Archon, or who’s running Narmer at the moment. But surely the update will explain at least some of it.
The lack of meaningful “aftermath” has been a common complaint about The New War since its big narrative punch. The world of Warframe was devastated while half its population was enslaved by Narmer. Yet… there’s not currently much to show for that in-game. Nothing except a few lines of dialogue and some new Narmer-centric bounties. According to Digital Extremes’ Rebb Ford, who has officially taken over as Creative Director on Warframe, Veilbreaker aims to change that by continuing the story and showing its victims. Victims like those kidnapped Grineer Kahl is apparently after.
Veilbreaker, just like The Duviri Paradox, is scheduled for release sometime this year. In the meantime, the developer promises a deeper look at the expansion sometimes in August (just a few weeks from now at this point). We’ll be sure to include more coverage as information trickles out.
Disclaimer: Digital Extreme’s parent company was purchased by Tencent, the parent company of Fanbyte Media, in 2020. Even so, Tencent has no direct contact with any member of Fanbyte editorial. I still write these disclaimers anyway because it seems like the right thing to do. But seriously I’ve met like one guy from Tencent at a dinner once in 2018. I don’t remember his name, actually, but he seemed nice enough I guess. Even though he only said like two words to me.
