Warframe Introduces Infested Liches, Robot David Bowie and More in New Update

Warframe players have been enjoying the party of their lifetimes in 1999, hacking and slashing through Scaldra and Techrot enemies as they bond with the Hex. But the status quo will shift when the Techrot Encore update is released on March 19, 2025

-- the next big expansion for third-person sci-fi looter shooter Warframe.

All is not well in the city-state of Hollvania, the area introduced in the last big Warframe 1999 update, and a new menace is about to imperil every uninfested person out on the streets. The Technocyte Coda -- the long-awaited infested liches -- are the next addition to Warframe's adversary system. These gruesome foes are looking to grow the Techrot hivemind, and they need you out of the picture to do so.

Luckily, the 60th Warframe is a pyrotechnic phenom. Temple is a rock star with a penchant for flames, and they're the best bastion against the evolved infestation. Pillars of flame blast from the ground before this Warframe while they wield their guitar as an exalted flamethrower, melting the opposition.

Here's the lowdown on everything coming to Warframe with the Techrot Encore update.

The threat of the Technocyte Coda looms large over Hollvania

The On-lyne boy band is finally about to appear in all of their disgusting glory, as Warframe introduces liches for the infested enemy type in-game. The Technocyte Coda are a local threat spawned during Hollvania missions.

Techrot enemies can drop malware that players will need to pick up and bring to local PCs. After a hacking minigame, the player will become the fixation of one of the ex-On-lyne band members, entering into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a powerful infested enemy. The only true defense is a set of new antivirus mods available as rewards from special 1999 bounties.

Once players spawn a lich, the new enemy appears with certain strengths and weaknesses depending on the progenitor Warframe. They also have various personality traits and they can spawn with one of eight different cosmetic ephemeras to claim upon their defeat.

Shipping alongside the Technocyte Coda are 13 different Technocyte Coda weapons, which are greatly improved variants of legacy infested gear. Crucially, the liches themselves no longer carry a particular weapon -- instead, they drop a special currency that you can trade in to Eleanor to claim the new addition to your arsenal.

If you want to start battling the Technocyte Coda when they're released on March 19, you'll need to make sure you don't have an active Kuva Lich or Sister of Parvos, which are the lich nemeses from the Grineer and Corpus factions, respectively. If you're battling one of these adversaries, you have to vanquish or convert them before claiming a member of the Technocyte Coda.

The new Warframe, Temple, is a real space oddity

The 60th Warframe is a rock-and-roll superstar, and they're ready to overwhelm their enemies with solid walls of sound. Temple's kit is themed around pyrotechnic stage design, pumping out loads of heat-based damage. That's appropriate for an infestation-themed update, because Warframe players are going to have to blaze a path through angry biomass if they want to unlock the new lich weapons.

Temple's passive introduces a metronome mechanic that buffs their four core abilities when you activate them on the beat. Those abilities synergize to buff Temple and their allies, debuff surrounding enemies and spew a lot of angry flames into foes' faces. Here's the full breakdown of each of Temple's abilities:

Pyrotechnics: the first ability in Temple's kit targets enemies with pillars of fire, inflicting them with rapid stacks of heat damage. If Temple casts this ability on the beat, twice as many pillars will spawn on surrounding enemies. This ability is Temple's Helminth subsume, which means it can be transferred to other Warframes.

Overdrive: Temple's second ability spawns a ring of Techrot subwoofers that slam enemies with soundwaves, dealing heat damage and debuffing them to be more susceptible to critical damage.

Ripper's Wail: Shredding on their guitar, Lizzie, Temple buffs the weapons of surrounding teammates with the ability to inflict heat damage. Temple also regenerates health every second during their third ability's uptime.

Exalted Solo: After building up enough charge by playing abilities on beat, Temple is able to wield Lizzie as an exalted flamethrower, spewing flames from the neck of the guitar. If Temple is holding down the trigger on the beat, the flamethrower also spews bolts of electricity.

Warframe 1999's relationship system expands with four new protoframes

Four new protoframes will be joining the Hex in Hollvania mall, and they're based on the Temple, Frost, Saryn and Nova Warframes. In order for the new protoframe characters to appear in Hollvania mall, players must complete The Hex quest and reach reputation level five with the Hex syndicate.

Flare is a non-binary rockstar with a sentient guitar, Lizzie. The former frontman for Temple and the Rippers, they found themselves on the path of vengeance after the leader of the Scaldra had their bandmates executed. If you noticed a passing resemblance to legendary musician, fashion innovator and icon David Bowie (especially in his Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane eras), you're not alone. 

The Frost protoframe, Velimir, and the Saryn protoframe, Minerva, are a divorced couple reunited in Hollvania mall despite all their differences. The adoptive parents of Major Rusalka, the missing leader of the Scaldra, Velimir and Saryn love their daughter more than they hate each other. These protoframes will be the vendors for blueprints for the new Scaldra-themed weapons and 1999 era Orbiter decorations.

Kaya is the Nova protoframe, and she's a scientist with a lust for life and a passion for discovering the secrets of void-related technology. She's banded together with Velimir and Minerva on their journey to Hollvania because she's convinced the city-state holds the secrets she needs to make a breakthrough. Maybe she'll even be able to solve her special interest and figure out how to time travel.

All of the new protoframes will be able to form relationships with the Drifter and chat on KIM, but they won't be romanceable companions when Techrot Encore is released. Temple, Frost, Saryn and Nova will have protoframe skins and Gemini transformation emotes available to buy for platinum in the Warframe Market.

A new endgame mode awaits Warframe veterans

The Deep Archimedea and Elite Deep Archimedea modes are some of the most challenging content in Warframe right now, plunging players into a multistage gauntlet spanning the derelict halls of the Sanctum Anatomica to try and win some of the game's best rewards.

Now another version of the endgame mode has arrived in Warframe 1999: Temporal Archimedea. This set of missions will take place on the Hollvania tileset, where players will have to face Scaldra and Techrot enemies while bearing the brunt of the same equipment restrictions and mission modifiers that make Deep Archimedea so challenging. Elite Temporal Archimedea will also be available on launch.

This version of the game mode will reward players with archon shards and arcanes as well as a new currency to spend at Kaya's Temporal Archimedea store.

Quality-of-life changes for newbs and vets alike

A series of improvements for new players and veterans alike will improve the overall Warframe experience once they drop in the Techrot Encore update, which is coming in March.

Planetary mission nodes on the Star Chart are being reconfigured so new players are able to access the Second Dream more quickly. The Second Dream is the quest that really shows off what Warframe is all about, kicking off the game's true story, so it's a good idea to usher newer players into that experience as soon as they get their bearings.

Crafting the Necramech is also no longer required to play The New War quest, removing the biggest barrier from one of the most pivotal story moments in Warframe. The Duviri Paradox and The Hex quests are also now replayable for all players.

Rhino, the first Warframe players get the chance to craft, has had its foundry time reduced to 24 hours (it was previously 72 hours, like almost every other Warframe). The Warframe before Temple, Koumei, was also introduced with a 24 hour crafting time -- this might be the beginning of a trend where new players won't have to wait around as long to get their hands on additions to their arsenals.

Finally, there are a series of changes that more experienced Warframe players will surely love. Defense reward rotations are being reduced from five waves to three waves, making every node feel like less of a slog. Pseudo exalted weapons are getting a full rework and will become far more dangerous with stances, mods and arcanes. Aura Forma is changing into Omni Forma, which will allow a mod slot to accept any polarity except Umbra mods. And Riven traders will be happy to hear that the upper limit on Riven mod storage is being increased by 30 slots.

Warframe players will be able to fight the Technocyte Coda, wield the awesome power of Temple's guitar and enjoy these new quality-of-life changes on March 19, 2025.