Warframe 1999 was the "furthest stretch of the rubber band," but The Old Peace offers "the most soulslike thing" DE has ever done

"War is hell," Warframe's creative director Rebecca Ford says as community director Megan Everett tears through the hordes in the new Perita Rebellion mode. It's a phrase the duo continue to repeat during our preview of The Old Peace, the latest chapter in the MMO's saga. In many ways, it's fitting: while the 12-minute war that Everett finds herself embroiled in certainly is hellish, the quest's adjacent plotline, The Devil's Triad, adds the new 'devilframe' Uriel and Descendia mode, both of which are inspired by classical depictions of Dante's Inferno and other religious iconography. "It's not a coincidence that there's a devil Frame, and that an Orokin has an unfortunate relationship with that devil Frame," Ford says with a smile. "None of this is an accident."

In its latest devstream, Digital Extremes' focus is the second part of The Old Peace (you can read Ken's fabulous breakdown of everything from the first stream here). While the last installment was largely centered around The Devil's Triad and the aforementioned Descendia, this time our eyes are very much on Tau.

But The Old Peace releases in the wake of Warframe 1999, perhaps the biggest 'what the fuck' moment in the MMO's history. Dropping the Frames we know and love into a sci-fi, dieselpunk reimagining of Earth at the turn of the millennium, it was a breath of fresh air. Adding in the much-beloved Protoframe system, which showcases Warframes in 'human' form, it has everything from motorcycle combat to an MSN-inspired dating sim, as well as an Infested boyband who I've spent far too much time listening to. While visually it's certainly striking, it's the gameplay innovations that really make it stand out.

It's a marked contrast to The Old War, then. Where Temple released with the concert-inspired Stage Defense, devil frame Uriel will be thrust into the meatgrinder in The Pertia Rebellion's three levels: Hunhullus, Dactolyst, and Vanguard. These act as memories, showcasing important moments from Warframe's storied history that build upon the game's "core" storyline. I ask Ford what it's like returning to a time that feels like 'old school' Warframe, and if there's risk associated with that given how well 1999 was received.

"There's always a risk with going for something unexpected," Ford tells me. "1999 represented the furthest possible stretch of the rubber band of Warframe; you can't really go much further than that and commit as hard as we did. Then it 'pft," - Ford makes a rubber band noise - "snaps back, the rubber band returns, and it's going to sting on the way back, but now you have another direction to pull.

"We pushed ourselves to our limits, and going back in this direction felt essential for the team [in order] to set up Tau," she continues. "We have this Drifter arc that's hunting The Man [in the Wall], Entrati, and then you have this Operator arc that needs to get back to Tau for reasons that will be obvious at the end of this quest.

"1999 was very successful and very fun to work on. The team was electrified with the tone and the music, but some players were like 'oh I can't wait until they go back to core Warframe, 'and here we are. You're always trying to please every Warframe fan so that they at least have something in an update [that's] for them, and this time we've truly gone back to the war-est of wars."

"This update wouldn't have been possible without 1999; 1999 is absolutely needed for anything like The Old Peace to exist."

While Tau and the new focus school abilities take center stage on this devstream, 1999's protoframe DNA lives on in The Devil's Triad. With Harrow, Uriel, and Wisp all getting smoochable human (and Orokin) forms, I ask Ford how the team has managed to bring the much-beloved system back in a completely different time and place, while ensuring that it doesn't accidentally cheapen it.

"For people that really like the instant messaging system, the romance, and the world-building through text, we've served them very well in this update. It's kind of fun to imagine that all they needed was access to a computer and anyone can send an email," she laughs.

"But the state of this particular group of protoframes is very much dissecting three very different subject matters. Marie [Wisp] basically worships the ground that Albrecht Entrati walks on, much like Christine Daaé did for the Phantom of the Opera. They all have something very different that a player interested in those subject matters will want to explore.

"We got very lucky in formulating their arcs and what they have to offer, because they all have a very particular problem, and this is the one case where they all have to come together or to win or lose. There is a good ending that takes all three of them, and there's an ending where you just don't get a certain thing to happen. It'll take players a few weeks to work through it and figure out what it is, but it has its own cinematic ending.

"It's going to be the most soulslike thing we've done where players don't even know that it has happened, but I'm really excited for it."

And we won't even have to wait that long. Warframe's The Old Peace update drops on Wednesday December 10, adding the Devil's Triad, Descendia and Perita Rebellion modes, and new Focus School updates. You'll need to have completed The Lotus Eaters questline in order to play The Old Peace. 

Note that, for the first time ever, you'll be able to skip all of the game's content to try out The Old Peace's new modes from the jump. DE has confirmed that these are streamlined versions of Descendia and Perita Rebellion, and while it's attempted to remove most spoilers, some may still pop up.

As someone who was initially sceptical about Warframe's storytelling, I've really grown to love its world over the past year. I'm intrigued to see how The Devil's Triad and Tau tie together, and, more importantly, I'm excited to smooch Marie. Don't you dare judge me.