The Plains of Eidolon: Warframe’s Most Ambitious Patch Yet!

Warframe, for the uninitiated is a “Free to Play” PvE focused online shooter that puts players in the role of the “Tenno”, a race of spacefaring beings who are masters of the “Warframe” armor (space ninjas), and the last hope against the Grineer forces. For years, players have been able to pick and choose from a handful of mission types from the self-explanatory Exterminate to the more nuanced Rescue, but nothing has prepared them for the likes of this...

Plains of Eidolon marks the 22nd update to Warframe, giving the five year old title a much needed breath of fresh air. In the plains, players no longer have to deal with the near claustrophobic “rat mazes” they’ve grown accustomed to, instead Tenno are free to roam the fields, gunning down Grineer by day, and trying their luck with lumbering beasts called Eidolons (eidola?) at night.

A Social Hub Before Hitting The Open World

Players start their journey at Cetus, a brand new hub city inhabited by The Ostron, a human faction that has learned the lay of the land, serving as the Tenno’s guide on the surface. Here, players are introduced to new activities such as Spear Fishing, Mining, a new form of melee weapon crafting via Hok’s Anvil, and even a bit of mercenary work in the form of Bounties. Cetus is also where players pick up the quest “Saya’s Vigil”, a tale of revenge and redemption that eventually leads to the blueprints for Gara, a Warframe that manipulates glass to either dish out punishment to its enemies or protect its allies.  

But is it for everyone?

One might think that this would be a great place for a beginner, what with enemy levels starting off as low as five, and the area being unlocked as soon as you’ve completed “Vor’s Prize”, but that’s not the case. Rather, the plains are better suited for veterans who are looking for another challenge to sink their teeth in. This is largely due to how Digital Extremes has set the pace, placing certain necessities and quality of life improvements such as Archwings behind quests and weapons behind “Mastery Rank”; their own way of saying “we want you to see the new content, but we also want you to know that you’re not supposed to be there yet”.

The Plains of Eidolon marks the first step in a new direction for Digital Extremes, offering it’s playerbase a wider variety of game modes, and expanding the realm of possibility with future content updates. While the Warframe community agrees that The Second Dream and War Within quests were Digital Extremes’ “love letters” to their loyal Tenno, The Plains of Eidolon is more like an “engagement ring”, a display of commitment that promises greater things to come in the future...and for free to boot!

Update 22: The Plains of Eidolon is currently out on PC and will be released to consoles on the 14th of November 2017.