Warframe has been getting increasingly, delightfully weird over the last couple of years, leading up to last year’s time-travelling, NPC-romancing blast back to 1999. And things are about to get even wilder when developer Digital Extremes invites players to start kicking boy band butt in its new Techrot Encore update, arriving on 19th March.
Techrot Encore sees Digital Extremes building on last year’s 1999 update by introducing a range of new gameplay systems. That begins with the introduction of the Technocyte Coda – a corruption of Warframe’s in-game 90s boy band On-lyne, whose members (Harddrive, Zeke, Drillbit, Packet, and DJ RoM) will randomly appear in levels until players defeat them.
It’s an adversary system – originally due to launch last year until it ballooned into something more expansive – that works similarly to Warframe’s Kuva Lich and Sisters of Parvos. As such, players – who’ll need to have completed The Hex quest first – can’t have a Lich or Sister tied to them if they want to experience the Technocyte Coda. Oh and be warned that you’ll gain a steadily growing pimple until you manage to defeat your bothersome boy band foe.
On top of that, Techrot Encore adds four new Protoframes to 1999’s Höllvania Mall, which has been expanded to provide access to the grungy The Round Table pub. Here, players can meet Velimir (the Protoframe of Frost) and his ex-wife Minerva (Saryn), as well as brilliant young engineer Kaya Velasco, the Protoframe of Nova. And lastly, there’s the David Bowie-inspired Flare – the only surviving member of a band called Temple, and the Protoframe for the game’s musically inclined, talking-guitar-wielding 60th Warframe, Temple.
All these characters have a presence in the mall, meaning you can talk to them in the world, or delve deeper into their backstories through conversations using 1999’s AOL-inspired KIN system. You won’t, however, be able to romance any of the new NPCs. Not even the guitar.
Away from the story stuff, Kaya’s your port of call for accessing Techrot Encore’s tough new Temporal Archimedea missions. These can be played for various rewards, and feature a stackable sticker-inspired boost system players can explore to gain advantages while out in the field. That’s alongside Flare’s new Stage Defence missions, which see players venturing out to Solstice Square. Here, their job is to protect Temple from incoming foes across three waves (all Defence missions have been reduced to three waves in the new update) as he rocks out on stage in mourning for his bandmates.
Rewards for successfully completing a Stage Defence mission include Techrot Heartstrings. These can be given to Flare at The Round Table to get Temple’s blueprints if you’re not lucky enough to receive them as a mission reward. Temple, incidentally, is a heat-based Warframe with a distinct musical twist, given that he – and his sentient guitar Lizzy – gain an attack boost if players manage to cast his abilities on the beat.
Pyrotechnics, for instance, causes Temple to rock out on guitar and unleash pillars of fire, which can be doubled if deployed on the beat. Overdrive, meanwhile, is a crit debuff that spawns a circle of subwoofers to stun enemies, and can extend the duration of Ripper’s Wail if on-beat. Speaking of which, this one’s a buff ability that heals player and makes them invulnerable for a time, all while giving fire damage to allies. Landing on the beat makes healing twice as effective. And finally there’s Exalted Solo, which turns Lizzy into a flame thrower (because why not!) that can be augmented with additional electricity attacks.
And there’s plenty more! Techrot Encore also features a new Rainbow Road-inspired bike-racing arcade game known as Ollie’s Crash Course, and brings new Ollie-themed cosmetics, including an Ollie floof. That’s alongside a huge range of adjustments and quality of life improvents, including Warframe augments for Gyre, Qorvex, Koumei, and Wisp, plus a Pseudo Exalted Rework for Kora, Atlas, Gard, and Ash. Players can also expect a shortened Star Chart path – making it easier to access the Second Dream quest and the wild new content Warframe’s added in the last few years. There’s also easier Archwing crafting, plus changes to make The Duviri Paradox and the The Hex Quest more replayable. And most exciting of all, there’ll finally be a way to replay Fortuna’s iconic We All Lift Together cinematic.
All this will be available when Warframe’s expansive (and free) Techrot Encore update launches for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC on 19th March.
