The New Strange is an optional Quest, released in Update 16.0 (2015-03-19). Continuing of the events of Stolen Dreams, the Tenno aid Cephalon Simaris in a search for mysterious information.

Synopsis[]

Cephalon Simaris, a Cephalon construct that seeks to immortalize creatures into data for knowledge, requires the Tenno's assistance to free his Sentinels from custody of the Grineer. After freeing his Sentinels, the Lotus discovered "fragments of a biological signature" within the prison's security logs. Ordis plays the log and a mysterious message came up, with a voice similar to the one found from the Arcane Machine from the end of Stolen Dreams.

After refusing to answer on the subject, Simaris tells the Tenno that, in exchange for deciphering this mysterious biological signature, they must assist him in Synthesis, the process of scanning targets to be uploaded for storage in his Sanctuary. After helping Simaris, he says that the signature is of Tenno origin. A blueprint for a beacon derived from the signature is given to the player to help track down this creature. Crafting this beacon sends a signal which turns out to be a transmission from the Arcane Machine:

The Lotus informs the Tenno that this creature has been going to locations where the Arcane Codices were found, slaughtering Grineer and Corpus to cover somebody's tracks; somebody doesn't want people to know the existence of such codices or the Arcane Machine. After extracting information from a Corpus network, this creature turns out to be the Warframe  Chroma who has gone rogue — not controlled by any Tenno. The hunt leads the Tenno back to the Arcane Machine where they encounter a hostile Chroma who destroyed the machine. Simaris asks the Tenno to synthesize it for its unusual behavior. However, Chroma escapes being synthesized after being scanned once. As a result, Simaris reveals to have a piece of the Arcane Codices of his own and discloses another location that holds an Arcane Machine. Luring Chroma to this particular machine results in a successful Synthesis and the Tenno receives a Chroma blueprint for their troubles. Unbeknownst to the Lotus and the Tenno, this second Arcane Machine contains a projection of a Sentient relic, hinting at future events to come.

Walkthrough[]

“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”

The following article/section contains spoilers. Please finish the quest before proceeding.

Stolen Dreams must be completed before The New Strange can be started.

Missing Sentinels: Nuovo, Ceres[]

The first mission of the quest takes players to a Grineer Shipyard Prison Complex on Nuovo, Ceres, where Cephalon Simaris tasks the Tenno with a Rescue mission to free his Sentinels from captivity, who were taken after investigating the Grineer prison. Lotus asks Simaris about the significance of the facility, to which Simaris vaguely responds about the importance of knowledge.

Once players reach the cell block and free the Sentinels – which takes on the form of three special Helios that disappear once the door is unlocked – Simaris will ask the Tenno to head to extraction for further discussion. However the Lotus, suspicious of Simaris' goals, asks the Tenno to instead find the facility's data vault in order to find out what the Cephalon is after, taking the form of a Spy mission where a lone data vault must be infiltrated and its data console hacked to extract the data. There appears to be an implicit alarm sound once the player gets close to the data vault, with mission automatically failing once the time runs out. However there is no warning from Lotus, nor a timer is shown on the HUD, so using a Cipher is advised to avoid having to repeat the mission. After a successful data retrieval, in one variant of the mission players must then exterminate all the remaining enemies. The player is free to extract from the mission in the other variant, or once no more enemies remain.

Back in the Orbiter, Lotus mentions that they have managed to retrieve "fragments of a biological signature" within the facility's security logs despite extensive corruption of the data. Ordis runs the security log, which features the sounds of Grineer gunfire as if engaged in battle, along with a mysterious voice that says:

Recognizing the mysterious voice as the same one from the Arcane Machine discovered on Ceres, the Lotus asks the Tenno to pay Cephalon Simaris a visit to find out what else he knows. Upon visiting Cephalon Simaris on any Relay (Maroo's Bazaar being the only exception) and asking him with the prompt "The eyes of day drinking the night?", Simaris tells the Tenno that knowledge must be earned, and then asks them to perform another quest for his Sanctuary in exchange for revealing what the biological signature means.

Note: If you are having trouble finding the Cephalon Simaris room and keep being directed by the game to the wrong room, you need to look for the two blue lifts which will be behind you as you look into the room the game marks. One will transport you up to the correct level, where you'll find Cephalon Simaris behind a door located in the same place as that which you were directed to a level below. The lifts only transport in one direction. You may also fast travel to him, by pressing escape, fast travel, and Cephalon Simaris.

Note: Players must undertake the Synthesis tutorial from Cephalon Simaris first in order for the dialog prompt to appear.

Paying with Synthesis: Mars[]

Before undertaking this next mission, it is imperative that players equip Synthesis Scanners in their Gear menu, said scanners being available from among Cephalon Simaris' offerings for 5,000 Credits. Optionally, players can also equip Kinetic Siphon Traps, also available from Simaris for 5,000 Credits, to assist in accomplishing the objective.

The next quest step involves synthesizing three Elite Arid Lancers by running any mission on Mars. Each mission spawns a single Synthesis target, meaning players will have to run the mission three times to complete this step of the quest. The Synthesis target is a special Arid Lancer with a visible dark blue outline. The target can also be tracked by following floating blue lights that can only be seen through the Synthesis Scanner, which indicates that the target is nearby. Simaris will also notify the player when the target is in range. At this time, a gold hexagon icon will appear on the mini-map representing the Elite Arid Lancer.

The target will not initially be accessible in the mission. Players should proceed with the normal steps and path of the mission. At some point moving across the map from one phase of the mission to the other Simaris will give notification the target is in range and the target's gold hexagon icon will then appear on the mini-map.

Players must scan 4 nodes on the Elite Arid Lancer, accomplished by equipping their Synthesis Scanner from the Gear menu, aiming at the target node and holding down the fire key (default LMB ) until the node is scanned. The nodes appear as blue orbs on the target. The Arid Lancer target will then disintegrate once all 4 of their nodes have been scanned, indicating a successful synthesis. Scanning a node may cause the target to act unpredictably however, the player can prevent them from becoming alert by using stealth abilities like  Loki's  Invisibility.

After scanning the Synthesis target, the player must complete the main objective of the mission for the Synthesis to count towards their quest objective. Repeat this two more times as only one Synthesis target is available to scan per session.

Upon scanning all three Synthesis targets, players must return to Simaris on the designated Relay, and engage him with the prompt informing him that all three targets have been synthesized. Simaris will thank the player, telling them that their scans have uncovered something that his Sentinels missed, then reveal that the biological signature is Tenno in nature. Interested in what the biological signature is, Simaris will give the player a blueprint for a Scorched Beacon, and asks them to construct it.

Once the Beacon is complete, Ordis notes that it is sending a signal, which turns out to be a transmission from the Arcane Machine that says:

 (download, history)

Upon hearing this Ordis begins to experience malfunctions. Simaris intervenes to save Ordis' program while asking the player to track down the source of the signal, with the Lotus believing that the Corpus may be the next lead.

Investigate the source of the transmission: Morax, Europa[]

Following the source of the transmission, the Tenno are tasked to undertake a Mobile Defense mission on a Corpus base on Morax, Europa, in order to extract information regarding the transmission. Terminals will need to be defended in order to complete the mission, granting the blueprint for another Chroma Signal upon completion. Players must build the Beacon to proceed.

Once the Beacon is complete, Lotus expresses her shock at recognizing  Chroma from the transmission, and expresses suspicion that someone is trying to cover their tracks using it. Meanwhile, Simaris reveals to Ordis that he can restore the latter's memories and possibly repair his malfunctions over time, and after Ordis deduces that they can decode the rest of the transmission on the Arcane Machine itself inside the Orokin Derelict in which it was found, Simaris praises Ordis' potential, which he feels is being squandered by being a servant to the Tenno. Irritated at the banter, Lotus orders the Tenno to proceed to their next mission.

Revisit the Derelict: Alator, Mars[]

Synthesis Scanners are required for this mission.

Returning to the site of the Arcane Machine, this mission sees the Tenno fight through a Grineer Settlement to get to the Portal that will take them to the Orokin Derelict where the Arcane Machine was found. Lotus mentions that Chroma was one of the most powerful Warframes with a great ability to adapt. Simaris deduces that the Chroma they're looking for is not Tenno-controlled and that solving this mystery is his goal.

Upon reaching the Arcane Machine, a hostile  Chroma Warframe will appear by it, armed with a  Dera. Lotus and Simaris order the player not to engage it, however, and that it should be Synthesized instead using Synthesis Scanners. Players are free to head back to extraction once they have scanned the Chroma, who escaped being Synthesized. The player receives the Chroma Mark blueprint as a reward.

Back on the Landing Craft, Simaris confidently asks Ordis to extract a blueprint from the synthesis brought back by the Tenno. Ordis manages a blueprint but unfortunately is unable to extract any more leads. Simaris then reveals that he has an Arcane Codex piece and knowledge of the location of another Machine, much to Lotus' increasing frustration. The Chroma Mark must be built to progress.

At the completion of the Beacon, Simaris makes Ordis an offer to become the "Steward" of his Sanctuary, to which Ordis readily accepts. Promising to restore Ordis once the hunt for Chroma is finished, Simaris gives the players the location of Chroma, telling them that by defeating the Warframe they will know who controls it.

Defeat Chroma: Ose, Europa[]

Landing on Ose, Europa, the Tenno are assigned to lure in Chroma by activating the Arcane Machine to trigger a Defense mission. While the mission initially starts out on the Corpus Settlement of Europa, the actual defense objective is located on an Orokin Derelict, accessible through a portal room. The Arcane Machine must then be defended against five waves of Corpus attackers. After the 5th wave, Chroma will appear alone. At Ordis' suggestion, Chroma must then be scanned 5 times using the Synthesis Scanner while still defending the machine. Once all Corpus are eliminated and Chroma is scanned 5 times, the mission is completed and the player is rewarded with the Chroma Blueprint. The component blueprints can be acquired as Junction rewards (a bug might cause enemies not to cross into the Derelict area. In this case, Chroma can spawn before all enemies are defeated. The wave will be marked as complete after killing enemies who did not cross the portal).

Simaris is disappointed at Ordis' action to scan Chroma instead of destroying it, to which Ordis replies that he is foremost the Operator's Cephalon.

Players will also now have access to Simaris' Sanctuary Onslaught.

Notes[]

• Note that blueprints may only be rewarded once, even if the Quest is replayed. One can buy the blueprints from Cephalon Simaris or alternatively a built Warframe from Market for Platinum to reacquire the Warframe if sold.
• If the player began this quest prior to the Update: Specters of the Rail 0.0 (2016-07-08) update and did not craft the chassis when instructed, logging out and back in can advance the story when stuck on missing beacons required to advance the plot (such as the Scorched Beacon).
• The appearance of the Arcane Machine in the final stage of the mission suggests a connection to the Sentients.

Bugs[]

• As of Hotfix 21.3.2 (2017-08-04), the required Arid Elite Lancers do not always spawn in the indicated mission.
• As of Hotfix 19.5.3 (2016-12-23), players have reported the questline to be "Universally bugged." The bugs include not being able to craft some beacons, which would prevent the questline from progressing. It is also advised to not attempt the quest due to these bugs.
• Missions may not register as finished after completion, preventing players from moving on to the next mission. Logging out and logging back in can fix this issue.
• During the final missions, enemies may not cross over the portal to the Derelict area. Go back and forth between the portal if no enemies spawn near the defense area.
• After having completed the paying with synthesis part of the mission, the following parts of the quest may be skipped and no blueprints are rewarded. The quest is then refreshed and has to be done again.
• Sometimes neither the target nor Simaris will appear at the beginning of a mission. (Switching matchmaking options i.e. setting it to solo or others; may fix the problem of targets and Simaris not appearing)
• After returning from the Orokin Derelict via the portal, the alarm is on and the door is locked in Grineer Settlement. There is no available panel to hack in order to open the door (on both sides of the portal).
• During the synthesis portion of the quest, the first two scans can be done regardless of the actual mission progress, however, to complete the 3rd scan the mission must be completed first.

Trivia[]

• The transmission from the Arcane Machine heavily resembles the translation of a line from the start of the Popol Vuh, a text recounting the mythology and history of the K'iche' Maya. The translated line in question reads 'All is silent and calm. Hushed and empty is the womb of the sky.'

Media[]

The New Strange Dialogue (Warframe)

Warframe Quest - THE NEW STRANGE Part 1 Chroma Chassis Update 16

Warframe Quest - THE NEW STRANGE Part 2 how to get full Chroma Update 16

-60 FPS- - Warframe U16- A New Strange - Chroma Quest

The Arcane Machine that must be defended in the final stage of the quest. Appears to possibly be of Sentient origin.

Patch History[]