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Warframe goes roguelike with the launch of the Duviri Paradox

Warframe's latest expansion, the Duviri Paradox, is bringing a new playable character, horses, and giant worms into the mix. We got a sneak peek ahead of its launch.

Blake Morse

April 26, 2023 6:30 AM

Digital Extremes

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In its decade of existence, Warframe has made some bold expansions to its third-person action/adventure MMO formula. We’ve seen the addition of open worlds, hoverboards, and even spaceship-based combat with Railjack. Now, the team at Digital Extremes is ready to bring some roguelike mechanics to the realm of Warframe with today’s launch of Duviri Paradox. I was lucky enough to get a hands-off glimpse of what operators can expect from the latest update ahead of the release.

The Duviri Paradox takes place in the brand-new open-world area of Duviri. It is a ravaged world seemingly torn apart into sections of floating islands within a void. Duviri is ruled by the mad king Dominus Thrax and the environment will change in appearance and enemies within the world will change their habits to match his given mood for that play session.

Along with the mad, tyrannical king, players will also be introduced to a new playable character known as the Drifter. Since the Duviri Paradox also serves as sort of a prequel to the main game, new players will get a chance to choose to start playing as the Drifter or a Warframe, but there’s no penalty for choosing one or the other. This latest chapter in Warframe’s saga is meant to fit in at the beginning or the end of its story.

To add to the roguelike challenge, the Drifter has no shield and a much stronger emphasis on melee combat. To help with the melee combat, the Drifter will get access to a new, unlockable Dual Nikana stance, but will still have access to some ranged weaponry. They’ll also have a brand-new mode of transportation in the form of the Kaithe, which are essentially horse mounts that can be customized and upgraded using Intrinsics. During my sneak peek, I got a glimpse of a Kaithe sprouting wings and gliding from one floating island to another.

Players will be able to test their skills in three different modes: The Lone Story, which is the single-player narrative-driven option. The Duviri Experience, which is more in line with the open-world experience that Warframe players would be familiar with. Then there’s the new endless game option The Circuit. This last mode pits Tenno against a variety of challenges and enemies old and new including a brand new long-range Dax warrior.

Players will fight their way through the surface world of Duviri as the Drifter and switch to the subterranean Undercroft for the more traditional Warframe combat moments. As players battle their way through the expansion’s various modes they’ll unlock Decrees, which are instance-based buffs to weapons, skills and abilities. These decrees essentially have no cap on how many can be stacked and the rarity of them will depend on the difficulty of the challenges completed to earn them. Players will also be able to earn permanent buffs and unlock new stances for use in the Diviri Paradox through Intrinsics as they challenge and rechallenge the new expansion’s content.

One of the coolest new features coming in the Duviri Paradox would have to be the boss battles with the giant Orowyrm. These giant, flying beasts will have varying elemental abilities based on King Thrax’s mood in that particular instance. Tenno will have to take on the massive Orowyrm, shooting at its weak points as well as waves of add-on enemies in what we hope will be an epic battle for the ages.

Warframe has done a lot to bring new variety and challenges for players over the years and the Duviri Paradox seems to offer up both. The addition of the Drifter and Decrees should give hardcore fans a new way to push their skills to the limits and provide a welcoming experience for folks new to the Warframe universe. Fans won’t have to wait long to try the Duviri experience either as the expansion launches for free today, April 26th, 2023 on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

This preview is based on a hands-off preview of the Duviri Paradox. Warframe and its latest expansion are available now for free.

Blake Morse

Events Coordinator

Blake has been writing and making videos about pop-culture and games for over 10 years now. Although he'd probably prefer you thought of him as a musician and listened to his band, www.cartoonviolencemusic.com. If you see him on the street, buy him a taco or something. Follow him on twitter @ProfRobot