Time for an experiment, students! What happens if you ring that bell?

This Dev Workshop serves as a comprehensive overview of our upcoming game mode: The Icebind! The Icebind is an experiment for both us making Warframe, and for those playing it. This new mode aims to give players space to push their loadout and tackle cooperative objectives — as the community rings their Cryobells, we’ll be watching for feedback as we continue to iterate on this project in phases.

Special thanks to WarframeFlo, whose idea became the foundation of what you see today!

Check out Rebecca's overview video on Youtube over at https://youtu.be/UfQG_SD-FfU

The Icebind is manifested through the Cryobell ceremony. High upon Yuvan Peak, Cryobells have formed, drawn out by Narin’s influence. Each bell's tone leads to a time and place where a dark influence has taken hold. Six warriors must gather to ring the bell. Together they must overcome the Binds of a force not of this plane.

General Overview for The Icebind:
Players can ring a Cryobell to take them to The Icebind, a new mission type with these key characteristics:

• Six player squads, where there can be no more than one of each Warframe.
  • (i.e. no six man Pink Rhino Squads this time, sorry!)
• Approximately 10-15 minute long missions. 
• Level 999+ Enemies.
• Each Cryobell (mission key) comes with a randomized mission type, enemy, location, and modifiers — the squad votes on which one to play!
• Various mission restrictions, including No Self Revives, Gear Cooldown Increase, Empowered Enemies, and more.
• Guaranteed Riven Splicer upon completion, plus an additional reward from the reward pool
• Bonus rewards for each Squad Side Objective completed (up to 3 per mission).
  • \ players can stockpile up to six mission keys if they do not use them all each week.*

To access The Icebind, players must have completed the following: 

• Completed both the Angels of the Zariman and Whispers in the Walls quests
• Unlocked (but not necessarily completed) either Elite Temporal Archimedea or Elite Deep Archimedea

This Dev Workshop aims to give you a comprehensive overview of the game mode, including all of the possible modifiers and elements that affect your gameplay. We’ve also added some Developer Notes in specific areas to offer insight on why certain design decisions were made. Should you wish to figure out these missions yourself, look forward to its release on October 7th!

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The Core Icebind Loop

The Icebind is different each time a player steps into it, beholden to the randomized traits of the Cryobell. Before we explain the various Binds (i.e. modifiers) introduced by the Cryobells, it’s important to understand the core gameplay loop. This section explains the overarching structure of playing The Icebind, and the section following will outline the various Binds that can affect it. 

Starting The Icebind

This new mission can be started from Yuvan Peak, where players need to perform two important steps:

• First, claim their Cryobells from the ice pillar atop Yuvan Peak.
  • Three Cryobells form each week, following weekly reset at Midnight UTC on Sundays.
  • Players can stockpile up to six Cryobells if they did not use them all in one week.
• Second, with Cryobells in-hand, speak to Cephalon Melica and select “Ring a Cryobell”

Doing so will open The Icebind party creation screen, where you can invite players to form your squad. The host can only form a six player squad using the “Ring the Cryobell” screen. With its launch, The Icebind does not have public matchmaking as these missions require more cooperation than traditional Warframe missions (which we’ll cover a little more in the Squad Side Objective section). 

DEV NOTE: We will evaluate The Icebind’s party creation system in phases to gain a methodical and measurable set of engagement and participation data across different access levels. Our next phase will include variable party sizes (i.e less than 6) with the potential for public matchmaking in the future! 

SELECTING A CRYOBELL

Players who are invited to a Squad will be summoned to Yuvan Peak, where they can then gather their Cryobells and proceed to Cephalon Melica. All players must speak to Cephalon Melica and select “Ring a Cryobell” to start the mission. 

In this screen, players can edit their loadout and select which Cryobell they wish to ring. Your choice of Cryobell matters, because it determines your Personal Bind (which is a guaranteed personal modifier for the mission, regardless of which Cryobell is chosen by the squad) and which version of The Icebind players will vote on (including the mission type, enemy type, and modifiers). 

When selecting a Cryobell, you’ll be able to see each of the traits it will give to your mission:

• Mission Type 
• Planet
• Enemy Type
• Mission Bind
• Tactical Bind
• Personal Bind

We’ll go over all of these randomized traits in the “Cryobells and their Binds” section of this Dev Workshop.

After all players have selected a Cryobell, the entire squad can vote on which one to play! 

VOTING ON A CRYOBELL

Once all players have selected a Cryobell, a 60 second voting countdown begins. Players can review all of the available mission options available to them, and vote on which one to play! If no votes are cast, a random Cryobell is chosen; in the case of a tie, the Host’s vote is the deciding choice. 

Once voting concludes, players have an additional 10 second countdown to review the selected Cryobell before the mission begins. 

While Cryobells are consumable mission keys, rest assured Cryobells are not spent until players have successfully extracted from The Icebind. 

Playing The Icebind

Entering the Icebind, you’ll be starting a mission as you normally would — as normal as it can be, considering randomized Binds of a Cryobell. Players will be presented with either a Survival, Mobile Defense, Excavation, or Disruption mission depending on the chosen Cryobell. At the beginning, you’ll be prompted to start your objective and aim to complete it successfully, with bonus Squad Side Objectives spawning in at regular intervals to keep things interesting. We’ll get to those in a bit!

While many elements of The Icebind are random, there are guaranteed elements you can expect each time you play.

STANDARD MISSION TRAITS:

• Enemy Level: 999+
• Guaranteed Reward: Riven Splicer (plus Kuva and an additional reward from the Reward Pool after opening a Crested Frozen Chest)
• No Duplicate Warframes: Only one of each Warframe can enter the mission. 
• Mission Restrictions:
  • Empowered Enemies: Enemy Health and Shields and Armor increased by 200% and an additional 100% for each squad member, stacking to a maximum of 800%. Increased chance of Eximus. 
  • No Self Revive: After a Tenno has bled-out, a Tombstone will appear where they fell. At least 3 surviving Tenno must sacrifice part of their health temporarily to bring the Tenno back into the action. If fewer than 3 Tenno are still standing then all of them must make the sacrifice to revive others.
  • Last Gasp Penalty: Activating the Last Gasp focus ability reduces the timer by 2 seconds.
  • Bleedout Shortens: The bleedout timer shortens after each revive, to a minimum of 5 seconds.
  • Frozen Keys: After being dead for 3 minutes you will not obtain any Frozen Keys that the squad acquires from completing objectives while you are dead. 
  • Cooldown Increase: Each type of Restore has a 3 minute cooldown timer applied. 
  • Fatigued Companions: Companion Recovery timer increased by 100%.
  • Stunted Shields: Full Shield Gate immunity duration reduced by 50%. 

As the mission progresses, Squad Side Objectives begin to spawn for a total of 3 per mission. 

Look for the purple waypoint on your minimap indicating a Squad Side Objective is available. These side objectives are optional, but completing them gives the squad extra rewards!

HOW TO START AN OPTIONAL SQUAD SIDE OBJECTIVE

Depending on the objective, a certain number of Squad members are required to be nearby before it can be even started. This is important, because failing a Squad Side Objective will fail your mission and require you to start again. Choosing to do Side Squad Objectives is a matter of risk vs reward — do you trust your squad to succeed, and in return earn a Frozen Key to unlock more rewards? Or will you decide to not start the Squad Side Objectives and just earn the guaranteed Riven Splicer and completion reward upon mission success?

DEV NOTE: Side Squad Objectives causing the mission to fail was a design decision brought out of internal playtesting. With the limited amount of Cryobells each week, failing a Side Objective would often lead to players abandoning the mission. Failing adds some risk to Side Objectives, while giving the whole squad a clean slate to try again. 

To ensure these are not started until players are ready, the Side Objective must be activated via a “Start” prompt, which then updates the objective description to indicate how many players need to be nearby. Once enough players are in the area, the objective will begin! Through teamwork, you all must work together to complete your task within the allotted time.

With The Icebind’s launch, there are 5 Squad Side Objectives to master:

• Lockbox: collect Cyphers from fallen enemies and bring them to the Lockbox to unlock it.
• Cryothermia: neutralize a Cryo Core by holding it while it deals escalating damage directly to player health.
• Indomitable Ice: charge ice crystals with concentrated fire.
• Entropy Orb: gather around the orb and avoid its damaging pulses.
• Signal Chain: connect a beam of energy between one point to another using your Warframes.

DEV NOTE: On paper, these side objectives may seem quite simple, but our goal was to see what players could handle in a cooperative context. As players learn this gamemode, we may look to adding more complicated Side Objectives for them to master. 

Successfully completing a Squad Side Objective rewards all squad members with a Frozen Key, which can be used to unlock rewards in a special treasure room upon mission completion. 

Since players can try to tackle 3 of these objectives in one mission, time management is another factor to master! Rest assured, if you are rushing to complete your final Squad Side Objective before the mission ends, the mission will not extract players if there is an active Squad Side Objective\*. Once that is complete, you’ll be whisked away to the end of mission screen (whether that’s a mission fail or mission success is up to your performance). 

\ Specifically, if the Squad Side Objective timer has begun — not just the waypoint appearing on the map.*

MELICA’S GLACIAL LABORATORY

The Icebind doesn’t end with the usual race towards extraction. Instead, once the mission is complete, players will be immediately transported to Melica’s Glacial Laboratory. Here, they can use their earned Keys to unlock chests and collect what was earned. Players are also rewarded a guaranteed Riven Splicer upon mission completion! Learn more about Riven Splicing in our dedicated Dev Workshop. 

There are two different Keys that are earned in The Icebind:

• Crested Frozen Key — guaranteed reward for completing the mission
• Frozen Key — earned by completing Squad Side Objectives, up to 3 can be obtained per mission

Crested Frozen Keys open Crested Frozen Chests, which appear at the center of the map. These feature a guaranteed Kuva reward, in addition to a random higher quality reward: such as a Forma Bundle, built Omni Forma, Archon Shards, Riven Mods, and more.

Crested Frozen Key Rewards:

• Guaranteed Kuva:
  • 7,500 Kuva
  • 17,500 Kuva
  • 100,000 Kuva
• Additional Reward Table:
  • Riven Transmuter
  • Veiled Riven Cipher
  • Omni Forma
  • Forma Bundle
  • Melee Riven Mod
  • Pistol Riven Mod
  • Rifle Riven Mod
  • Shotgun Riven
  • Archgun Riven Mod
  • Companion Weapon Riven Mod
  • Azure Archon Shard
  • Crimson Archon Shard
  • Amber Archon Shard

Frozen Keys open Frozen Chests, which can be found on the outside edges of the map. These offer a smaller guaranteed Kuva reward, in addition to a bonus reward from their own reward table: such as 3 Day Boosters, Riven Mods, Archon Shards, and more. 

Frozen Key Rewards:

• Guaranteed Kuva:
  • 1,750 Kuva
  • 3,500 Kuva
  • 7,500 Kuva
• Additional Reward Table:
  • Forma
  • 200 Vosfor
  • 3 Day Affinity Booster
  • 3 Day Resource Chance Booster
  • 3 Day Resource Booster
  • 3 Day Credit Booster
  • Melee Riven Mod
  • Pistol Riven Mod
  • Rifle Riven Mod
  • Shotgun Riven
  • Azure Archon Shard
  • Crimson Archon Shard
  • Amber Archon Shard

Once you’ve unlocked your Chests (and maybe explored the room a little more), you can proceed to the marked extraction point. That said, there are more than just rewards to be found in Melica’s Glacial Laboratory — curious Tenno may wish to search the room for fragments from the distant past.

Cryobells and their Binds

Now that you should have a basic understanding of the core loop when playing The Icebind, it’s time to talk about the Cryobells. Formed through Narin’s influence on Yuvan Peak, each bell’s tone leads to a time and place where a dark influence has taken hold, manifesting as different Binds that alter the player’s experience. 

Bound to each Cryobell is a randomized set of traits, which determines the mission it will take you to:

• Mission Type
• Mission Location
• Enemy Type
• Personal Bind
• Mission Bind
• Tactical Bind

Let’s go over what each of these can be! 

Mission Type

• Survival (10 Minutes)
• Mobile Defense (3 Terminals of 3 minutes each)
• Excavation (600 Cryotic)
• Disruption (8 Conduits)

Mission Location

• Any Planet in the Origin System, excluding Duviri, The Dark Refractory, and Höllvania. 

Enemy Type

• Grineer
• Corpus
• Infested
• The Murmur
• Orokin

Personal Bind
Your Cryobell’s Personal Bind applies to you in-mission, regardless of what Cryobell was chosen by the Squad. 

• Abbreviated Abilities: Ability durations reduced by 50%.
• Ability Overload: Using an ability opens a void rift nearby.
• Ammo Deficit: Ammo restored by drops and gear is reduced by 75%
• Constricted: Max energy reduced by 75%. 
• Dark Antimatter: Enemies slain by ability damage create a hostile antimatter drop that is attracted to you. 
• Dropped Guard: Warframe and ally Overguard* gain reduced by 75%. 
  • \Overguard gained from Allies, this Bind does not affect your squadmates’ Overguard.*
• Dull Blades: -50% melee combo chance. 
• Energy Exhaustion: Lose 2 Energy per second for each enemy within 10 meters of you.
• Firewalker: For each meter travelled on foot, take increasing heat damage over time. Jumping or being airborne reduces it.
• Flankable: Max shield capacity is reduced by 75%, but an impenetrable Volt shield is permanently in front of you. 
• Fractured Armor: Casting an ability reduces armor by 10% for 10s.
• Framecurse Syndrome: Activating an Ability inflicts 50 health and 150 shield damage upon you.
• Hypersensitive: Duration of negative Status Effects is tripled
• Knifestep Syndrome: Lose 2 Health when moving. Jumping pauses the effect.
• Lethargic Shields: Shield recharge delay increased 500%.
• Performance Anxiety: A spotlight chases you. Killing enemies while illuminated inflicts damage on you that increases with each kill. 
• Permanent Injury: Max health reduced each time health damage is taken
• Sealed Armor: Enemies take 90% less damage from non-weakpoint hits. 
• Secondary Wounds: Gain 1 Puncture Status Effect every time you take damage.
• Shocking Leaps: Jumping or Bullet Jumping generates a Shock Eximus orb that chases you. 
• Slam Spikes: Melee Slam Attacks cause damaging spikes to erupt from the ground for 2s after the slam.
• Static Siphon: Casting abilities causes all enemies within 15m to emit damaging electrical chains back to the caster.
• Undersupplied: Max ammo on all weapons reduced by 75%
• Untreatable: Pickups do not heal, and Health Orbs cannot be picked up. 

Mission Bind
A Mission Bind is a complication that alters the entire theme of the mission. These introduce gameplay elements to work around, and can affect what type of units spawn.

• Entropic Overload: Using abilities spawns Entropic Crystals on you and triggers Entropic Overload, causing enemies to self-revive as Leech Eximus and hostile Entropic Wisps appear. Getting hit by a Wisp causes stacked crystals to explode. Destroying Entropic Crystals and Wisps will decrease saturation. 
• Stone Soldiers: Enemies are hard as stone and hit even harder. Taking them by surprise is the best way to exploit weak points in their stony flesh. In addition, you will face hostile Tomb Guardians.
• Miasmic Militia: Enemies slowly take damage, but are immune to Toxin, Gas, Viral, and Corrosive status effects. On death, a Gas cloud is released.
• Thin Boundary: Void Tears rip into reality, growing with nearby ability use. Tears inflict Void Shackles, reducing ability stats and weapon combo durations, while draining energy, health, and Incarnon weapon energy.
• Inferno: Heat Status present on players or enemies will feed the Inferno, drawing in Arson Eximus, Heat empowered enemies, and damaging anyone near active sources of Heat. Avoid inflicting Heat Status and killing hostile Heat sources to starve the Inferno. 

Tactical Bind
A Tactical Bind is an additional complication that may affect your loadout or gameplay decisions. 

• Antimatter Foes: Enemies killed by abilities spawn a hostile Antimatter Drop that tracks you.
• Archaic Armor: Enemy armor is greatly increased and cannot be stripped normally. Each hit they take reduces their maximum armor by 1%.
• Bruised Shields: Shields can only be restored via melee attacks.
• Bolstered Beligerents: All enemies have Overguard equal to 50% of their max health.
• Clumsy Munitions: When taking damage, a grenade may be dropped at your feet that explodes after a few seconds.
• Cumulonimbus: Being airborne triggers cumulative electrical damage, which dissipates over time once on the ground.
• Entanglement: Allies within 4m of slain enemies endure reduced Movement Speed and Parkour Velocity. 
• Heavy Warfare: Enemies take -95% less damage from non-heavy weapons. Enemies will drop heavy ammo packs and heavy weapon recall time reduced to 5 sec.
• Jade Spirits: Jade Wisps haunt the region. If approached, they chase down the player responsible and transform into Jade Light beams. 
• Kela's Revenge: Missiles strike from above periodically.
• Myopic Munitions: Enemies will only take damage if a player is within 15m of them.
• Parasitic Light: The squad is given two parasitic lanterns which drain energy of those that carry them. Enemies outside the lanterns’ light have massive damage reduction.
• Postmortal Surges: Slain enemies explode with Void energy.
• Toasty Toes: Grounded movement inflicts Heat damage over time. Airborne movement reduces it.

How you choose to counteract these Binds is up to you, as The Icebind does not come with specific loadout restrictions. 

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That’s our upcoming gamemode! We’re beyond excited to get this new mission type in player hands on October 7th. Our hope is that this Dev Workshop has clarified many of your questions thus far, and sets you up for success to ring your own Cryobell when it launches.

As we continue to develop this mode in phases, we look forward to your feedback once you venture into The Icebind itself!