Game intel
Warframe
Warframe situates players as members of the Tenno race, newly awoken after years of cryo-sleep into a solar system at war. Reborn into a corrupt era, the Tenno…
Digital Extremes has finally pulled the cover off its fall update, The Vallis Undermind, dropping October 15. The headline is Nokko-the fungus-themed 62nd Warframe-and a brand-new underground zone called the Deepmines beneath Orb Vallis. That alone would be a decent beat. But the part that actually made me sit up? A proper modding quest for new players and an Oberon rework that could make support mains relevant in more endgame comps again. This is the kind of “fun plus fix” mix Warframe needs more often.
If you’ve finished The New War, you can access the meat of the update: the Deepmines under Orb Vallis, complete with a new bounty vendor in Fortuna named Nightcap. Expect the usual loop—pick up bounties, descend, grind, repeat—but the spin here is fungal ecology as mechanics. You’ll gather Fergoline, the new resource that doubles as bait for an ominous creature called “The Prince.” Feed it, get visions, and piece together the zone’s history. Classic DE: fold lore breadcrumbs into the grind. The question is whether Nightcap’s bounty variants feel fresh or fall back into the familiar capture/defense/escort rotation we’ve run a thousand times.
On the cosmetics front, there are premium skins for Lavos and Wukong, fresh TennoGen, and Nights of Naberus drops. DE is also bringing back its Quest to Conquer Cancer campaign with community donation rewards. All expected, all welcome.
Nokko leans into the Viral meta with mushrooms that spread status and soft control while keeping the squad fueled. Highlights: Stinkbrain scatters mushrooms that deal Viral; Brightbonnet boosts team energy and strength; Sporespring is a bouncing shroom that hops targets for damage; and Reroot temporarily turns Nokko into an invulnerable little Sprodling to reposition, heal, and sprinkle sleep spores. His passive, Vital Decay, is the clutch piece: on downing, he reverts to Sprodling form and can scramble to one of his placed mushrooms to pop back up—fail to reach it and you’ll need a revive.
That kit screams synergy. Viral stacks pump melee builds (Condition Overload, anyone?), and a party-wide strength/energy buffer is immediately useful for frames that scale hard with ability spam—think Wisp, Protea, even raw nukers like Saryn who love consistent energy uptime. The second-chance passive also encourages map awareness and pre-placing mushrooms, which is more interesting than passive damage reduction. The big unknown: numbers. If Brightbonnet’s energy income or strength buff is stingy, Nokko risks feeling like a budget Wisp. If it’s generous, expect him in Steel Path squads day one.
Warframe’s biggest early-game problem isn’t a boss or a planet—it’s understanding mods. Auto-install is a band-aid most players outgrow instantly, and YouTube shouldn’t be mandatory homework. The Teacher quest, available right after Vor’s Prize, finally makes modding part of the directed experience and hands out the new Thornbak rifle for finishing. That timing is spot-on: early enough to matter, useful enough to stick. If DE nails the clarity—capacity, polarities, damage types, and why Serration isn’t optional—this could be the most impactful quality-of-life addition in years.
Oberon getting love is overdue. He’s always been the paladin fantasy—armor strip, heals-over-time, and a pet-friendly aura—but he’s lagged behind specialist supports. A modernized kit could bring him back into Arbitration and Steel Path rotations, especially if his heals scale better and his armor strip is more reliable. Make sure you log in between October 15 and October 21 to grab base Oberon free; it’s an easy slot in your support stable while you figure out whether you’re a Nokko main or not.
DE also teased more Protoframe lore ahead of the Devil’s Triad arc, with Uriel—the so-called “devilframe”—on deck later this year. The Orokin figure Roathe, voiced by René Zagger (yep, Emet-Selch from FFXIV), is in the mix. I’m here for the operatic weirdness, but I’ll keep my hype in check until we see whether Protoframes are storytelling spice or a new systems layer that actually changes how we build and play.
DE returning to Orb Vallis with a subterranean twist is smart reuse of a beloved space without building a whole new open world. If Nightcap’s bounties shake up objectives—environmental hazards, light management, or stealth fungus farming instead of pure enemy spam—the loop could feel fresh. I’m a little wary of another resource (Fergoline) adding to the pile, but if it’s scoped to Deepmines gear and Nokko’s grind, that’s a fair trade.
The big picture: this update hits three audiences at once. Lapsed vets get a new zone and a meta-relevant support frame. Support enjoyers get an Oberon tune-up and a potential new main in Nokko. New players get the modding education they should’ve had from day one. That’s a rare alignment for Warframe, and it’s why The Vallis Undermind feels more meaningful than a typical content drop.
The Vallis Undermind lands October 15 with the Deepmines, fungus support frame Nokko, a much-needed Oberon rework (grab him free Oct 15-21), and a proper modding quest that could fix new-player onboarding at last. I’m cautiously hyped: if Nightcap bounties innovate and Nokko’s numbers land, this’ll be Warframe’s best fall update in years.
Get access to exclusive strategies, hidden tips, and pro-level insights that we don't share publicly.
Ultimate Gaming Strategy Guide + Weekly Pro Tips