The Warframe Jade Shadows update now has a date, and it’s packing plenty of promising potential into the long-running free game. Along with a new teaser of its story-driven Stalker quest, developer Digital Extremes also gives us a look at the latest addition in the long line of warframes, and the full suite of Jade abilities looks to confirm that the newcomer could be a powerful addition to your roster.
Having celebrated its eleventh anniversary in March, Warframe continues to go from strength to strength, racking up an impressive 87% Steam score from more than half a million user reviews. The latest update for the free PC game, Jade Shadows, introduces a story quest, the Jade warframe, a clan operation, a new game mode, further quality-of-life improvements, and some new customization options.
The story of Warframe is perhaps one of its more underappreciated parts. Without wanting to give anything away, there’s more at play here than appears at first glance, and the community has always been good about not spoiling the twists and turns it takes. With that in mind, Digital Extremes warns that the Jade Shadows update “contains significant spoilers for Warframe,” and asks players “to allow others to complete the quest at their own pace” and use spoiler tags when discussing its events.
The new mission sees you take control of the mysterious Stalker, an assassin who is concealing a secret “with significant implications for the rest of the origin system.” That’s just the first part of what looks to be a rather robust update, with the other major focus being the new Jade frame, a powerful support warframe capable of buffing her allies and debuffing her foes to swing the balance of battle in your favor.
To start with, Jade’s passive ‘The Anointed’ gives her two aura mod slots for more versatile customization options. ‘Light’s Judgement’ places a well of light that heals allies and hurts enemies, surrounding any who enter with Judgements – a debuff that marks enemies and increases their damage taken (more on those in a moment).
‘Symphony of Mercy’ is a bard-like buff rotation that cycles through three ally-assisting songs: ‘Power of the Seven’ increases ability strength by 30%, ‘Deathbringer’ doubles weapon damage, and ‘Spirit of Resilience’ increases shield regeneration by 25%. All three songs will be extended as you kill enemies surrounded by blessings.
Jade’s ‘Ophanim Eyes’ can either be turned on enemies to slow them and dissolve their armor, or used on allies to revive them from a distance. Last but certainly not least, ‘Glory on High’ allows Jade to soar with destructive power, detonating Judgments in explosions of Jade Light that are strengthened the more enemies you’ve affected with Light’s Judgment.
There are even more options in the full Jade collection. Harmony can instantly mercy-kill enemies with heavy attacks, boosting allies’ melee range in the process. Evensong impales enemies with arrows that then empower your allies’ weapons with multishot. Cantare lodges blades into the battlefield; upon reloading, these return to you, and if they catch enough enemies along the way your allies will be empowered with increased magazine capacity.
Alongside this, the Jade Shadows update also introduces a new clan operation, Belly of the Beast, which is narratively tied into the arrival of the newest warframe. A new game mode, Ascension, sees you defending the Stalker’s stronghold from attacking Corpus forces, forcing you to evacuate through enemy-filled elevator shafts to an extraction point. Playing Ascension will earn you the parts to craft Jade and her angelic weapons, along with Motes that you can exchange for parts and blueprints.
That’s still not all, however; Jade Shadows also introduces new customizations including Pandea skins for Yareli and Merulina that add some underwater vibes and a Terror landing craft skin inspired by the Stalker. Digital Extremes has also made adjustments to streamline the various types of enemy health, armor, and shields, boosted some underutilized status effects, and added recommended resistances to the Star Chart.
Warframe Jade Shadows launches on Tuesday June 18 across all platforms. You can play the game for free via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Looking to get a headstart on the next update? Take a look through the best Warframe builds to smash your way through all the current content and stock up ahead of Jade Shadows. Alternatively, here are the best co-op games on PC for you and your friends to enjoy together.
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