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Warframe’s New War picks up narrative threads that have been dangling for years

The New War unites Warframe's squabbling factions in a bid to stop the return of an ancient menace

Dex warrior Teshin uses an ability in Warframe's upcoming New War expansion.

The New War is about to kick off in Warframe, and developer Digital Extremes says it’s the largest narrative addition it’s made to the space game yet. The New War, which launches December 15, unites not only all of Warframe’s disparate factions in the face of an ancient menace, it also leverages all of Warframe’s new systems and play modes.

In the New War, the Tenno are faced with their greatest threat: the Sentient, an artificial form of life that laid waste to the Origin System – you know, the one with Earth in it – back during the Old War. It was the invasion of the Sentients that prompted the development of warframes to begin with, and this time, the Tenno are going to need all the help they can muster in order to match their threat.

In the new expansion, players will join forces and even play as members of the Grineer and Corpus, who’ve traditionally been the Tenno’s enemies in Warframe. Grineer lancer Kahl-175, Corpus technician Veso, and ancient Dax soldier Teshin are all playable over the course of New War’s new cinematic questline.

Here’s the trailer:

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Digital Extremes says the New War quest is Warframe’s longest to date, and while expansions in the past few years have built out Warframe’s world, the New War is the first new chapter in the Tenno’s personal development since The Sacrifice quest debuted in 2018.

The New War, Digital Extremes says, picks up threads that have been dormant in Warframe’s overall narrative even longer, and hints that this expansion serves as an inflection point for the game: the developers frequently reference the “post-New War world” that will shape Warframe in 2022 and beyond.

To prepare, Digital Extremes says players must knock out a few prerequisites. You’ll need to build (or purchase) an archwing, a railjack, and a necramech, as well as unlock your operator by completing the quest The Second Dream.

The official Warframe quest guide has some helpful tips on how to knock out the main quests before the New War begins on December 15.