Finally, the open world update for Warframe was released tonight at midnight. In the Plains of Eidolon, you can roam freely day and night and experience eerie adventures. We were online right at the release and explored the open-world map.
Today, on October 13 at midnight, it was finally time. Suddenly, a message popped up in Warframe: “Attention, new update coming in 5 minutes.” Anyone who has shown even a little interest in Digital Extremes’ coop shooter over the past few weeks immediately knew what it meant: The big update “Plains of Eidolon” is finally here.
Plains of Eidolon – Accessible to every player
I was a little scared that I would have to unlock a lot of content to reach the Plains of Eidolon. However, my worries were unfounded. The Plains of Eidolon are not located in the – inaccessible to new players – remote reaches of space like Uranus or the Void. Rather, the Eidolon Plains are on the good old Earth.
Anyone who has completed the first mission can actually reach Earth. You might need to complete a couple of short missions on Earth, then the way to Cetus, the outpost from where it goes to the Plains of Eidolon, is clear.
Arrival at the Cetus Outpost – A vibrant city full of wonders
The approach to Cetus is already a sight to behold. Our Tenno lands in the midst of a vibrant world full of cool details. Just as I land, a few workers are loading a huge chunk of meat (where could that possibly come from?), which is then expertly disassembled.
In the background, a group of children dressed as “Tenno against Grineer” is playing, with the “Grineer children” quickly and spectacularly performing their inevitable deaths against the “Tenno”. Such vibrant and fun scenes have been absent in the sterile and gloomy Warframe universe before.
Later, I come to a kind of bazaar where there is all sorts of stuff for sale. Numerous colorful Tenno in magnificent Warframes stroll through the market, examining the offerings. There are exotic pets, cosmetics, and even special weapons. Unfortunately, I usually don’t have any of the necessary resources to trade them for the new items. I guess I will first have to go out into the Plains to grind for materials.
The Plains of Eidolon – Aimless in the Open World
But enough wandering around, I finally want to experience something! I briefly talk to an NPC who gives out missions on the Plains, then I go out into the open world! There, I am supposed to join three other randomly assigned players to take down a Grineer depot.
As soon as I am outside, I admire the great view of the plains. The sun is shining, grass sways in the wind, and strange vulture-creatures are flying in the sky. Beautiful! Furthermore, I finally feel a sense of freedom. Gone are the cramped corridors and linear levels of previous Warframe missions. Here, I truly have freedom!
My teammates, however, immediately run off and attack the nearby Grineer. The entire plains seem to be swarming with the ugly clone minions. Their outposts constantly pop up in the landscape, and their heavily armed landing ships regularly drop off patrols.
The attack on the outpost, therefore, goes spectacularly wrong. By the time I arrive, my teammates have already messed it up and done something wrong. In any case, the mission has failed.
Exploration is paramount
If a mission fails in regular Warframe, a retreat is usually advisable. However, here it just continues, and I can explore the map further. My aimless teammates are doing the same, running randomly into every corner of the map. I follow suit and head east.
There, I am met with more Grineer outposts and masses of new resources. However, I don’t find any concrete content like tasks or events for now. Besides the already failed mission, it seems there’s not much to do right now. However, I can explore the vast open-world map. In the horizon, I can see numerous strange structures that I want to take a closer look at.
However, it quickly becomes clear that the plains are a dangerous place even during the day. Because besides the Grineer patrols, clones fly around here in manned attack drones that fire extremely powerful lasers from the air and can take a lot of damage. I get taken down multiple times and ultimately have to abort the mission.
However, it seems that I have to return to the exit for that, otherwise I will lose – just like in regular Warframe – everything I have collected so far. Annoying!
Chilling events at night!
I wanted to try again and got a new task from the NPC in Cetus. However, it had become night, and the plains are illuminated by starlight and look even more beautiful than during the day.
But something is not right, as strange blue “flames” keep glowing over the water surfaces and ominous lights can be seen on the horizon. Additionally, there’s the cryptic warning from Lotus at the beginning, stating that this place is not safe at night.
Well, I was already beaten up pretty well here during the day, so I fear something bad … It starts off rather calmly. I first have to capture and hack a Grineer drone. This surprisingly goes smoothly. Even at night, a typical Grineer platoon doesn’t seem to be able to put up much of a fight against me.
The horror at night!
But then I have to escort the drone somewhere else, and suddenly strange glowing creatures attack me. I try to fend them off, but these things are extremely strong and hit hard! I have to flee, the drone dies, and to make matters worse, a Grineer squad just runs right in front of me at that moment.
After a few deaths, I have to realize: Yes, at night the Eidolon Plains are really a tough place! I haven’t even seen the titular Eidolon giant yet! Apparently, it is also out hunting at night.
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In any case, my time was up at this point. It was already late at night, and I had managed to leave the Plains properly through the gate and kept some loot.
Plains of Eidolon – Exploring with a plan
Despite my many deaths so far, I will definitely set out again to explore the Plains of Eidolon and uncover more mysteries and gather loot. However, I will first inform myself better about what there is to do there. And I must definitely research the Arcwing upgrade for fast travel, because otherwise the walking distances are really long!
If you want to know how the coop shooter is currently playing outside the Plains of Eidolon, don’t miss our test of Warframe.
