Warframe newcomer Follie has her own Photoshop, and Digital Extremes is begging players to not cause "horrible consequences"

Warframe Devstream 193 has lifted the lid on everything coming in The Shadowgrapher, Digital Extremes’ major March update for the high-octane co-op game. In the industry’s latest swipe at my age, Warframe officially becomes a teenager when it turns 13 years old on Wednesday March 25, and the team has decided this is the perfect moment to drop its next patch. The highlight of the expansion is new Warframe Follie, who utilizes ink-based powers, and one of her skills has the team “terrified” of its potential consequences for both gameplay and the social aspect.

Joining us for the latest Warframe Devstream are a familiar cast of faces: creative director Rebecca Ford, design director Pablo Alonso, community director Megan Everett, Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair, and Soulframe director Geoff Crookes. Before we get into The Shadowgrapher update proper, the team takes a moment to highlight Warframe’s 13th anniversary event, which is actually starting a little ahead of the expansion, on the rather fitting Friday March 13. As always, it’ll bring back all previous anniversary rewards, alongside newcomers like the Dex Signa customization.

The Shadowgrapher lands alongside Warframe’s arrival on Nintendo Switch 2, and it looks every bit as haunting as it did during last month’s teaser. Ford laughs, “I expect some people to just go, ‘What the F? Like straight up, what the F is this?’ It’s a ride.” I’m particularly taken by the crackling voiceover, which DE reveals was actually recorded from a cassette tape using a binaural microphone to add some sinister authenticity.

Front and center is the 64th Warframe, Follie. “Welcome to Follie’s world,” Ford teases. “She is the Shadowgrapher – our marketing team is just so on it.” Her theme is ‘fear’ and her grayscale design, replete with goopy ink pouring from holes on her body, is immediately striking. If you’re looking to make it a bit flashier, however, Follie’s outfit really pops when you start adding splashes of color to it; appropriate, given her painterly vibes.

Follie’s signature weapon is Enkaus, a beam rifle. Its alternate fire, along with all of Follie’s abilities, will apply an ink effect to targets, and Enkaus will “instantly kill and dissolve” any inked foes below a certain health-percentage threshold. “Think Splatoon, but legally distinct,” Ford remarks. She also brings a rather provocative hip-shaking taunt to the table, which I’m certain you’ll see Follie players spamming as much as possible.

Follie’s passive causes the ink on her enemies to congeal into energy or health orbs when they die. Her first skill dives underground and reappears at a target location, acting as a rapid teleport that makes you temporarily invulnerable, removes statuses, and covers enemies with ink when you emerge. Her third ability is a “self-portrait” clone that gets bigger and grants increasing damage resistance as you score kills. Her ultimate lifts all opponents in front of her up into the air on balloons – if you pop them, they’ll take fall damage as they come crashing back down.

You might have noticed that I skipped over ability two, and that’s because it’s the most ridiculous Warframe skill I’ve ever seen. “This is the one that everyone told me I shouldn’t do, but I did,” Alonso laughs. Opening Follie’s sketchbook, you’re able to select from a radial menu of potential drawings that will summon all manner of objects into being. Explosive barrels, Thermian RPGs, Death Orbs, Arc Traps, Lohk Surges that will provide a random buff, Life Support Capsules, a Lost Spirit to help you find secrets, and even keys for the Disruption mode – you name it.

At this point, Ford can’t contain her excitement: “You thought that was cool?” Each of the objects has a sketch associated with it, and you’re actually able to build these yourself in game using a pseudo-Photoshop tool. There are all manner of shapes, brush strokes, and stamps to make use of, and you can plonk down up to 16 layers “to your heart’s content” to finalize a design of your choosing. This shows up in-world like a Final Fantasy Pictomancer whenever you call upon the associated item.

This puts a lot of power (and thus responsibility) into the hands of Warframe players. “I will say, many people are terrified about the fact that we added this,” Alonso acknowledges. “I believe in you as a community to help us make this not have horrible consequences. Keep it fun, keep it family friendly – don’t do horrific things, or I’ll be sad.” Digital Extremes warns that you will have to agree to its terms before you start drawing, and any violators will face the wrath of a killswitch and, potentially, a more serious bonk with the ban hammer.

Follie looks incredible, quite frankly. “I hate the bar getting raised like that, it’s scary,” Sinclair admits. Alongside her, we’re getting the new game mode, Follie’s Hunt, which is where you’ll earn the resources to build a Follie of your own. This unlocks after you’ve completed the Chains of Harrow main quest, and sees you plunging into a painting to emerge in an ink-stained world. The horror vibes are definitely escalated here, as you seek out paint to complete a series of three canvases.

As the mode progresses, Follie herself will appear and start stalking you like a curvier version of Resident Evil’s Mr X. She’ll become gradually more aggressive as you finish the paintings, and getting trapped within her aura is a death sentence. You’re able to take this on solo if you want, although the team suggests that co-op coordination will make your life much smoother.

There’s also an update for Survival. At its core, it’s the same; “We don’t want to make it more complex, because it’s a pretty welcoming game mode for new players,” Alonso notes. If you want to step it up, however, you’ll now find security credentials dotted around the map. Grab these and you can take them to a terminal to gain a burst of extra progression. Consider it “an optional wrinkle that you can for the most part ignore, but if you find it then you get a little speed up.”

Digital Extremes also gives us a fresh look at the new gundam-styled Gauss and Grendel Deluxe skins, teases new Drifter/Operator faces, and lists more Tennogen items and Honorias. Clans have been upgraded to offer weekly rewards for playing together, and matchmaking will prioritize your clanmates if they’re also online. Excavators have been made more durable. Ledge mantling is now faster and smoother. Last but certainly not least, some of the older Warframes and weapons have had their grind requirements reduced, with improved part drop rates and shorter crafting times.

Warframe: The Shadowgrapher launches on Wednesday March 25. The 13-year anniversary event starts a little earlier, on Friday March 13. You can play the game for free on Steam.

Ford ends on one final tease. “There will be a way in this update to unlock something. We’re not going to tell you how, we’re not going to give you any clues – it’s up to you as a community to figure it out.” We are told what it is, however: ‘The Guilty.’ This is found under the Perita Rebellion, and it’s a “very difficult mode with its own matchmaking.” That means you’ll only be playing it with those that have also unlocked it, although I’m sure word will spread fast.