Warframe’s revitalising The Old Peace update shows other long-running live service games how its done
If you’ve played any long-running live service game, you’ll know the sting of sunsetting – of older game modes, areas, and unlocks that lose their value over time. Warframe has a reputation for keeping all of its various elements relevant over time, but its upcoming update The Old Peace takes things one step further. Not only does it offer a spread of tantalising new missions, it rejuvenates older activities that were at risk of going stale years ago.
At the forefront of the update are two new game modes. The first is Perita Rebellion. This timed activity offers players a mere 12 minutes to fight through a living warzone, battling against a new faction while completing a series of objectives, each a spin on a Warframe classic. This could mean destroying an enemy vehicle, or a typical extermination goal.
What’s interesting is how you navigate from objective to objective here. The Perita Rebellion is set on the ravaged frontline of Tau, with wide open spaces separated by lengthy cave systems. With 12 minutes, navigating between them is tricky, so a new grapple system has been added. These let you sling yourself across the map – and even through enemy drop ships – at blistering speeds, and creates a hectic vibe to the Perita Rebellion that I don’t believe is replicated elsewhere in the game.
If the Perita Rebellion is the frantic half of The Old Peace, then Descendia is its polar opposite. It’s a combat gauntlet, so it’s still a tense and hurried experience, but as a weekly activity split into three portions it can be taken at a somewhat leisurely pace.
The way it works is simple. You start off at floor one and proceed downward, each floor featuring a random combat trail that must be completed within a certain time limit. These can be the basic suite of mission types you would expect, as well as a deep dive through Warframe’s lesser-exploited experiences in what to me proved to be a miniature stroll down memory lane. The salvage mission type from the old Nidus farm returns, as do the rocket launchers from Warframe 1999, and even Narmer Deacons from The New War update make a return. It’s a clever use of older content that is far more exciting to encounter than a spin on something like Defence of Capture. All while very metal guitar riffs rage on in the background – I dig it!
When you hit floor seven or fourteen, you’re given an opportunity to extract from the mission. If you do, you can continue Descendia from that checkpoint at a later time in the week. This, I feel, is a sensible addition considering the sheer amount of weekly-reset goals present in the game. If you’ve got players farming Archimedia, Nightwave, Archon Hunts, Netracells etc, an option to tackle weeklies piecemeal is something I wish more live service games offered.
Both of these game modes are supported by meaningful pursuits that not only will keep players engaged for a good while, but I’d argue could help revitalise older elements of the game. The first are artifact weapons, a bold new tier of armament which have a dedicated upgrade path all to themselves. These provide powerful Tauron Strikes, which are essentially ultimate attacks.
Another tool in the belt of Warframe players, I do so enjoy the feeling of an occasional screen clear at my disposal. It adds a powerful feeling to your equipped warframe that I feel has slowly drained away over the years – not the game’s fault by any means. After such a while, you can only use the same devastating abilities so many times before they lose their shine a little. A more cinematic approach, Tauron Strikes reignite the warframe fantasy for me.
A surprise hit comes from a new feature I feel may be a hidden gem of The Old Peace: Honoria titles. These are basically account flairs that can be purchased by a particular NPC in The Old Peace for a variety of resources, sourced from all over the game’s chasm of past updates. Some are simple: pay one million credits for a title. Others made me laugh: exchange 250 harrow Chassis for a fancy Honoria. This junk item, dropped endlessly through countless missions in Warframe, has either piled up in inventories or solid without thought for years. To see it finally have a purpose is a nice touch.
However, Digital Extremes has been smart here. They’ve offered titles from older updates that may not be so popular these days. Lua Conjunction Survival missions, for example, drop a particular resource used for the Voruna warframe and their weapons. Once you’ve farmed it out, you’re basically done with that part of the game, never to return. Now, thanks to Honoria, a vast wave of competitionists will flock back to Lua, giving those who still haven’t earned Voruna a great opportunity to do so with others.
These are just two examples, but it means that The Old Peace not only offers plenty of brand-new experiences to explore for the first time, but a tempting reason to hop back into older stuff too. While you’re there, you’ll be able to see how new Tauron Strikes interact with varying encounters, and as a whole the whole game improves in a tangible, exciting way.
The Old Peace, for me, has achieved something rare. Where in other games it’s so accepted that you’ll move on from older areas in good time – you’ll tick off boxes, having finished a quest or earned a big reward, and never return – with The Old Peace the whole of Warframe has added value. I’ll finish the new quest, sure. I’ll even farm out all the new weapons. But instead of turning the game off afterwards I’m taking a roadtrip through the past, stronger than ever. It’s an impressive feat, and that other long-running service games could learn from.