Kullervo

For the boss in Kullervo's Hold, see Kullervo (Boss).

Release Date: June 21st, 2023

Sentenced to suffer eternally for rebellion against Orokin reign, his salvation spirals forth as the fabled kingdom returns. Imprisoned high above perilous skies, since exiled in an infinite dungeon, escape its labyrinth and exact righteous vengeance as the Crimson Renegade, Kullervo. Clad in hollowed steel of malleable memory, battle-scarred with gashes deep, where the torturous blades still dwell. Punish the foolish, rain down his agony, and flaunt the despised daggers in bittersweet betrayal.

Acquisition

Kullervo's main and component blueprints are purchased from Acrithis for  Kullervo's Bane; the main blueprint requires 15 Banes, while the parts require 9, to a total of 42 Kullervo's Banes.

Banes are obtained from defeating the Kullervo Boss and completion of the Spiral (defeating the Orowyrm) in Duviri. He will appear on the island Kullervo's Hold, which only spawns during Anger, Sorrow, and Fear Spirals from The Duviri Experience and The Lone Story game modes. It can appear as a fourth, fifth, or sixth spiral stage or a side objective; speak with The Warden to engage in gladiatorial combat with the imprisoned Kullervo in the waterlogged arena. Once both tasks have been cleared, the player will earn 4, 5, or 6 Kullervo's Bane (6, 7, or 8 on The Steel Path).

While the Kullervo Boss is sometimes available as a main objective included in The Lone Story, it is recommended to run The Duviri Experience when specifically aiming at acquiring  Kullervo's Bane as, even when he is not a main objective in that mode, he will always be available as a side objective.

Crafting

Manufacturing Requirements 📝 Edit blueprint requirements
30,000	1	1	1	Pathos Clamp 10	Time: 3 Day(s)
					Rush: 50
Market Price: 325			Blueprints Price: N/A
Kullervo Neuroptics Blueprint
15,000	Lamentus 50	Tasoma Extract 50	Saggen Pearl 100	Connla Sprout 100	Time: 12 Hour(s)
					Rush: 25
Kullervo Chassis Blueprint
15,000	Nacreous Pebble 125	Kovnik 100	Rune Marrow 75	Ueymag 100	Time: 12 Hour(s)
					Rush: 25
Kullervo Systems Blueprint
15,000	Aggristone 100	Eevani 100	Ariette Scale 360	Ueymag 100	Time: 12 Hour(s)
					Rush: 25

Lore

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

The following article/section contains spoilers.

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Kullervo killed an Orokin in an attempt of gaining the favor and admiration of an Executor. However, this earned him his first crime: Murder. During The Old War, the Orokin began to destroy other Warframes. However, Kullervo did nothing to aid them, and thus earned his second crime: Cowardice. The Executors then sent a squad of Dax to detain Kullervo, but during the scuffle, he accidentally killed Archimedean Ainikki, his 'mother'. By fleeing and slaying the Dax, Kullervo earned his third crime: Flight from Custody.

Then Tenno would then return from the Zariman. Immediately after, Kullervo would begin attacking various sensitive Orokin locations, such as their labs, homes, and places of government. The purpose: To distract and buy time for some unknown plot. As consequence, Kullervo was given the crime of Treason. The next generation of Warframes was then created. Kullervo spared no time and began whispering dark thoughts into their minds, earning him his fifth crime: Espionage.

After the conclusion of the Old War, during the Night of the Naga Drums, Kullervo's planning had borne fruit. The Tenno attacked, and the Orokin Empire began to fall. Even though Kullervo was not entirely responsible, he earned his second count of Treason. As the Empire fell around the Origin System, Kullervo found the one Executor he abhorred the most; one of the Orokin Seven. He would attempt to execute this Executor, but ultimately failed. With this, Kullervo earned his ultimate crime: Attempted Regicide, and finally, Kullervo received his imprisonment and his punishment.

According to Acrithis, Kullervo arrived in Duviri in a ball of fire which then formed the island Kullervo's Hold. There he is kept imprisoned by The Warden in seven cells to represent each of his crimes (with last one Attempted Regicide notably caved-in). The Warden refers himself as Kullervo's guilt and the form and voice of his greatest persecutor, implying to be a Conceptual Embodiment of Ballas, the Orokin Executor that charged Kullervo with his seven crimes and the survivor of his Attempted Regicide, formed from Kullervo's guilty conscious.

When exploring Kullervo's Hold, the children of Duviri that the Drifter encounters will sing of Kullervo's deeds in poetic rhymes, beginning with "Kullervo, Kullervo...". A lone girl hidden in a nearby cave tunnel cradles Vaenn, Kullervo's signature heavy blade to hide it from The Warden.

Notes

• When Kullervo wields his signature  Rauta, his equipped melee weapon gains 7 seconds of Melee Combo duration.
• Kullervo has unique interactions due to his lack of shields:
  • The shield reduction from the Decaying Dragon Key has no effect, allowing Kullervo to carry it without issue.
  • The No Shields Nightmare Mode condition has no effect.
  • Cryogenic Leakage has no effect on his nonexistent shields. His friction is still affected however.
  • The increased shield damage from  Magnetic has no effect. Energy drain and HUD disruption still occurs however.
  •  Rage and  Hunter Adrenaline will always give energy when damage is taken.
    • Energy will not be granted when damaged through Overguard via  Recompense, however.
  • The Hijack objective will drain his health instead in order to move.
  • He cannot receive overshields, or gain shields from allied Shield Ospreys, Orokin Drones,  Hildryn's  Haven, or  Protea's  Grenade Fan.
  • His lack of shields prevents him from receiving shield gating.
    • However, Overguard provides its own form of gating, granting 0.5 seconds of invulnerability upon depletion.
• The numerous daggers stuck to Kullervo's body are an Appearance Auxiliary Attachment named Baneful Blades.

Trivia

• Kullervo is the 53rd unique Warframe to be released.
  • He was originally slated for release after  Voruna, but was later pushed back to focus developer efforts on Duviri itself, then became next in line after  Citrine.^{[citation needed]}
• Kullervo debuted in Devstream 170 showcasing his concept art by Keith Thompson, work-in-progress sculpts, in-game model, and signature weapon. In Devstream 171, [DE]Rebecca showcased the prison fight against Kullervo as the Drifter on the dungeon island arena.
• Kullervo's default helmet resembles the headpiece of the mad king Dominus Thrax, while his hollow-esque bodily appearance matches the Thrax Dax, which curiously imply either gradual transformation during his imprisonment in Duviri, or a specific design by Archimedean Ainikki.
• The numerous daggers embedded into his chest and back invoke the imagery of a similar fate for the Drifter in The Duviri Paradox with their repeated "death by impalement".
• The name Kullervo (kulːerʋo) is likely based on the same fictional character from the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, which follows the tale of an ill-fated man who experiences tragedies throughout his life. In the epic, Kullervo's knife came from his old family before he became a slave.
  • His name was suggested by DE's community coordinator Helen Heikkilä, who is of Finnish descent and studied the Kalevala growing up.
  • This may also be the source of the name of his fourth move, Storm of Ukko. Ukko being a god in Finnish mythology, who also appears in Kalevala.
• Before the release of Kullervo, the 53rd Warframe, Arsenal Loadout slots were capped at 52 slots total. Developers intend to continue to extend the slot limit by one more slot for every new Warframe onward, starting with Kullervo.^[1]
• In the first two weeks after Update 33.5 (2023-06-21) launched (June 21st, 2023 @ 12 PM ET until July 5th, 2023 @ 12 PM ET), entering Duviri via the Star Chart banner and Dormizone door presented all players with an event mission called Kullervo's Hold, which was based on The Lone Story's Spiral-focused gameplay and always included the dungeon island in Duviri, allowing players to obtain  Kullervo's Bane regardless of the current Mood Spiral. This limited-time access required 5  Pathos Clamps.
• Kullervo is the third Health-based Warframe after  Inaros and  Nidus who lack Shields.
  • He is the first Warframe to generate Overguard, though in the same update  Rhino's  Iron Skin,  Frost's  Icy Avalanche, and  Atlas'  Rumbled had their extra hitpoints mechanics converted into Overguard.
  • This is also consistent with the fact that Dax enemies within Duviri don't have any Shields.

References