The Hex (Quest)

“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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Transcript

For the prequel webcomic, see WARFRAME: 1999 (Webcomic).

For the demo, see WARFRAME: 1999 Demo.

For the Syndicate, see The Hex (Syndicate).

The Hex is a solo-only main Quest, released in Update 38.0 (2024-12-13). The Drifter travels to the year of 1999 and teams up with the Protoframes known as The Hex try to locate Dr. Entrati in the city-state of Höllvania.

Synopsis[]

On New Years 2000, Höllvania's nuclear reactor goes up in a mushroom cloud, vaporizing the city.

24 hours before the explosion, a group of Protoframes called The Hex - consisting of members Arthur, Aoi, Amir, Quincy, Leticia, and Eleanor - are searching for Dr Entrati, battling the Scaldra armed forces and Techrot Infestation. The Drifter arrives in Höllvania through a Helminth mouth with an  Excalibur Warframe, who uses Transference on Arthur to deliver him visions of warnings, but is forcefully ejected and captured. After interrogating the Drifter, Arthur decides to chance on their story and join forces under a common goal.

Meanwhile, Dr Entrati has been captured by the Scaldra's commanding forces Major Neci Rusalka and Lieutenant Viktor Vodyanoi. The former is revealed to be possessed by the Indifference.

While making attempts to find Entrati and stop the nuke, the Drifter encounters Kalymos, who leads them to a recording from Entrati that they are trapped in an altered time loop and in order to escape they require a rare spark of energy: the nuclear explosion. Thus, they would have to prevent the Hex from stopping the detonation.

However, the Hex learn of the Scaldra escorting a VIP and move to intercept, while Rusalka attempts to intervene. Entrati urges the Drifter to kill her to prevent the Indifference from further influencing the time loop, but they refuse. The Indifference assumes their Operator form and whisks the three away to the Zariman Ten Zero, showing the Drifter that the Hex will die.

Minutes before the explosion, the Hex make their move on the nuclear reactor. Eleanor attempts to gain control the Techrot, but succumbs to the Infested hivemind and attacks Leticia. Quincy is killed while trying to hold off the Scaldra, Aoi dies from overexertion in an attempt to secure the reactor, Amir is fatally shot by Entrati, and Arthur succumbs to the nuclear reactor's radiation poisoning. Entrati leaves for Tau, but the Drifter chooses to stay behind to save the Hex. Entrati warns that they cannot save the Hex unless the Drifter forms a personal bond with them.

The Drifter uses their Duviri powers to rewind time and create a new loop, starting at the beginning of the year of 1999.

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

The following article/section contains spoilers. Progress your relationship to all six Hex Members up to "Liked" to access the Finale segment.

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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.

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The player must have completed The Duviri Paradox and The Lotus Eaters.

When initiating the quest in the Codex, a disclaimer warns that The Hex will take roughly an hour and a half to complete, during which regular WARFRAME activities cannot be performed until the quest is completed. The player must type KALYMOS to begin the quest. Only the Drifter's Amps and equipment are used in the quest.

Happy Y2K![]

On December 31st, 1999, the citizens of Höllvania count down to the new year as a nuclear reactor suddenly explodes.

The scene shifts back just less than 24 hours before the explosion. Inside the Höllvania Central Mall, Protoframe Arthur ( Excalibur) listens to PARTY OF YOUR LIFETIME by superstar boy band On-lyne. He suddenly loses control of his hand which forcibly types "UNDR MIRAS AVE 10 MIN DNT B L8" on the computer. Seeing this as a lead on Dr Entrati, he meets up with the rest of The Hex: Amir ( Volt), Aoi ( Mag), Quincy ( Cyte-09), Leticia ( Trinity), and Eleanor ( Nyx). After retrieving his Atomicycle keys from Eleanor, Arthur plans to head out on his own but is joined by the rest of team. He instructs Amir, Aoi, and Quincy as backup while Leticia and Eleanor watch the base.

The Atomicycle can be summoned using the  Atomicycle Summon gear item. It has the abilities  Atomi-Boost (1 ) that grants it a burst of speed,  Atomi-Barrage (2 ) that launches a swarm of homing micro-missiles,  Atomi-Shadow (3 ) that has the user jump off and become Invisible, and  Atomi-Bomb (4 ) to launch the Atomicycle forward and release a  Heat explosion.

Riding into the streets of Höllvania, Arthur is accosted by Major Neci Rusalka and her  Scaldra, a group of Grineer-esque armed forces. He possesses  Excalibur's abilities and is armed with the  AX-52,  Vesper 77, and a  Skana with the  Crimson Dervish stance.

Arthur eventually confronts an H-04 Efervon Tank. The tank is invulnerable until the 8 vents surrounding its body are destroyed, after which Arthur must loot a "Thermian RPG" wasn't found in Module:Weapons/data from Scaldra reinforcements to deal significant damage. Once brought to a sliver of health, an interact prompt appears to destroy the tank.

Following the destruction of the tank, the plaza collapses into the tunnels below and Arthur is briefly knocked unconscious, but is awoken by a telepathic message from Eleanor who warns him that Entrati is nearby. Arthur sees Kalymos and Entrati enter a cave, but he quickly vanishes. Arthur enters the cave and battles the  Techrot, Infested-like creatures that have taken over computer systems.

He then comes across a series of TV that appears to give him immense headache. After resisting, the TVs suddenly explode and reveal an Infested mouth that spits out an  Excalibur Warframe. The two brandish their  Exalted Blade and clash. The clash is interrupted as the Drifter attempts to perform Transference out of their Excalibur into Arthur, delivering him visions of the Lotus, the Indifference, and the nuclear explosion, but he resists the Transference and forcibly ejects the Drifter from his body. As the Drifter attempts to recover, Arthur stabs their right hand.

Exterminate[]

Less than 20 hours before the explosion, Rusalka and her Lieutenant Viktor Vodyanoi are interrogating Entrati. Rusalka is revealed to be possessed by the Indifference as she shifts between Loid and Entrati's forms to taunt him, only for Albrecht to reaffirm that the Indifference has a weakness to love.

Back at the Höllvania Central Mall, The Hex have interrogated the Drifter. Arthur decides to chance on the Drifter and the two forces team up to stop the nuclear explosion.

After receiving the Excalibur Warframe body and loaner weapons and Atomicycle from Quincy and Aoi, the Drifter heads out to a mission to Exterminate Scaldra forces. Rusalka publicly reveal to have captured Entrati and plans to bring justice to the Hex "terrorists." The Drifter heads to Entrati's holding cell, but instead encounters the Indifference's Operator form who flashes an ominous grin before vanishing. A large number of Scaldra descend on the area and obstruct the way to extraction.

Hell-Scrub[]

14 hours and 5 minutes before the explosion. The Drifter and the Hex decide to stop the nuke directly. Riding out with Quincy, this mission is a 10-minute Survival variant called Hell-Scrub where Techrot enemies can overtake Hell-Scrubbers (which act the same as Survival Life Support Capsules) to spawn an enemy Techrot Babau that provides reduced life support. Meanwhile, Amir attempts to hack into the Höllvania public systems, but instead activates MP3s as the comms go dead.

?[]

11 hours and 30 minutes before the explosion. Amir plays over PARTY OF YOUR LIFETIME, to Aoi's joy and Arthur's annoyance, who consequently demands that it be turned off. The Drifter and Arthur encounter Kalymos, who leads them to a backroom. Using the POM-2 terminal and the password KALYMOS, the Drifter encounters a message from Entrati who warns them that they are both trapped in an altered time loop. To contain The Murmur and escape the loop, Entrati requires a power source: the nuclear explosion. Using the backroom as a base, the Drifter reclaims their equipment from the present time.

Amir and Aoi reveal to have found a VIP being transported by the Scaldra. However, on route to rendezvous with Aoi, she is pinned by a truck, necessitating the Drifter to help her. When they lift the truck off of her, Aoi opts to abandon the Atomicycles and get on the truck instead, escaping from the nearby Scaldra into the Mehra Tunnels, where the Drifter, armed with a Thermian RPG, is able to destroy several of the escort vehicles. However, after attempting to stop them, the Major instead opts to crash into the last convoy vehicle, though Entrati and the Hex survive.

Entrati reveals that each repeated loop allows the Man in the Wall to possess a now-wounded Rusalka and orders the Drifter to kill her. They hesitate and ultimately refuse.

• [Sun] You do it.
• [Neutral] It's not really her...
• [Moon] I'd be no different.

Entrati scorns the Drifter for their childishness, who ultimately decides to refuse to help. The Man in the Wall suddenly recovers in their Operator form and whisks Entrati and the Drifter away.

Who's On Point[]

4 hours and 52 minutes before the explosion. The Hex have seen Entrati's message, but with the odds stacked against them, Quincy ultimately decides to bail. The rest eventually decide to take matter into their own hands, with Arthur and Eleanor agreeing to attempt to control the Techrot, despite Letticia's protests.

Eleanor then asks who will take point, allowing the player to pick from the following:

• Arthur ( Excalibur,  AX-52,  Vesper 77,  Skana)
• Amir ( Volt,  Amprex, Protokol Vekesk,  Lacera)
• Leticia ( Trinity,  Latron, Protokol 95,  Dual Kamas)
• Aoi ( Mag,  Burston, Protokol Hira,  Bo)

The point member rushes to the zoo and battles off Scaldra forces. Afterwards, Eleanor ( Nyx,  Sybaris, Protokol Spectre,  Tonbo) enters alone and battles Techrot Rotpods and their defenders while the hive mind attempts to influence her. After destroying the Rotpods, the hivemind queen Legacyte appears. The boss has three health bars and is invulnerable until all its surrounding minions are destroyed, after which it will attempt to run away and summon additional reinforcements. The Legacyte attempts to plead for its life, but its pleas are ignored as Eleanor consumes the hivemind queen.

????[]

The Drifter awakens on the Zariman Ten Zero. The Indifference reveals to the Drifter of Eleanor, Leticia, Quincy, Aoi, and Amir being killed off one-by-one. The Indifference also reveals that it freely gave its powers to the Operator and Drifter, but resents the Orokin for butchering and thievery of its fingers. The Drifter eventually comes across Entrati standing over Arthur, who shoots the Drifter with a  Lex Prime.

HELL. YOU'RE NEVER GETTING OUT.[]

As boy band On-Lyne perform "The Great Despair" for New Years Eve, control shifts to Amir as he, Arthur, and Aoi hold off against Scaldra forces. After minute-long defense segment, control shifts to Leticia as she escorts Eleanor and her Techrot minions. However, Eleanor ultimately succumbs to the Techrot and attacks Leticia.

Control shifts to Quincy, who has returned with his  Neutralizer and provides covering fire. However, he is shot down by an H-04 Efervon Tank. Amir attempts to hack the nuclear reactor core but the locks release; Aoi attempts to secure them in place but dies from overexerting her powers. After Arthur battles the Techrot Babau that descends on the core, Amir is fatally shot by Entrati, while Arthur is left inside the reactor core, dying from radiation poisoning.

Entrati commends the Hex for their sacrifice and leaves for Tau, but the Drifter declares that they can save the Hex. Entrati retorts that the Drifter cannot save them unless they have formed a personal bond and shoots the Drifter. Collapsing, the Drifter uses the power of Duviri to extend their time loop to the beginning of 1999.

Conclusion[]

The player receives an inbox message from Loid who discovers that the Drifter is now on a yearly time loop in 1999. They award them the blueprint for  Cyte-09,  Magnetic Might, and a built  Forma. If the player did not complete the WARFRAME: 1999 Demo they will also receive the Protokol Longsword Skin.

Höllvania is now available as a series of missions against  Scaldra and  Techrot forces, containing 10 nodes (2 social, and 8 mission nodes playable in both normal (Lv 65-70) and The Steel Path (Lv 165-170) modes):

• Exterminate:  Scaldra (Mausoleum East)
• Exterminate:  Techrot (Rhu Manor)
• Hell-Scrub:  Scaldra (Mischta Ramparts)
• Hell-Scrub:  Techrot (Old Konderuk)
• Assassination: H-09 Efervon Tank (Victory Plaza)
• Legacyte Harvest:  Techrot (Köbinn West)
• Faceoff: Single Squad (Lower Vehrvod)
• Faceoff: Squad Vs Squad (Vehrvod District)
• Höllvania Central Mall
• Backroom

The player now has access to  The Hex Syndicate in the Höllvania Central Mall: Arthur provides rankups; Aoi sells Somachords; Amir sells Glyphs as well as blueprint and components for Cyte-09,  AX-52,  Vesper 77, and  Reconifex; Quincy with Sigils, Cosmetics, Glyphs, Capturas, and Simulacrum rooms; Leticia trades in Syndicate Medallions; and Eleanor sells Arcane Enhancements. Bounties can be initiated from the bounty board to earn Standing for The Hex.

The Backroom serves as a new base-of-operations in 1999, with all Orbiter functions present.

The Pom-2 computer on the Orbiter's Landing Craft, Höllvania Central Mall, or Backroom can be used to revisit Höllvania, pull up the 1999 Calendar seasonal reward system, or access the Kinemantik Instant Messaging (outside of the Central Mall) to form budding friendships with the Hex members.

Finale[]

Kalymos sits in the Backroom, waiting for the Drifter to strengthen their bond with the Hex, requiring the player to reach Rank 3 - 2-for-1 with the Syndicate in order to unlock "Liked" Chemistry Rank with all six members on KIM. Chemistry can be earned through chat interactions or gifting on KIM, or running each character's respective bounties, with these activities available once per day. Once the requirement is met, the prompt to "Attempt New Year's Eve Again?" will appear. A notice warns the finale will take at least 15 minutes to complete during which other WARFRAME activity is unavailable.

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

The following article/section contains spoilers. Progress your relationship to all six Hex Members up to "Liked" to access this Finale segment.

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Trivia[]

• In the release trailer for 1999, the song Auld Lang Syne is used, which is a Scottish song typically sung at New Year's Eve.
• Coincidentally, this Quest released exactly one year after the first main Quest in the Void War Saga, Whispers in the Walls.
• The quest references the in-real-life event known as the Y2K Problem. When computer programs were being developed, the ones which used 4 digit calendar years had their 4-digit years formatted as 19XX, with XX representing the actual changing year. Meaning the year 2000 and 1900 would look the exact same with the program's formatting. This problem had the potential to halt the production of companies and businesses worldwide which led to a race against time to fix the formatting of those programs. Once the greater public became aware of the problem, many believed that it would result in a total failure of all computers, including those responsible for operating utilities like electricity and water, and, in a panic, stockpiled on food, water, and other amenities.
  • During the 1999 segment of the Whispers in the Walls, a radio host mentions the Y2K Problem, claiming they are about to see whether or not it had any merit.
• On July 11, 2024, the official Warframe X Account posted a cryptic message with a link to a subpage of the Warframe website revealing a chat between teens during the infested apocalypse. During the days before TennoCon 2024, the webpage got updated 5 times with new chatlogs.
• Amir nicknames the Drifter "Marty McFlea" after learning that they came from the future. This is a reference to the Back to the Future protagonist Marty McFly, a 1985 film involving time travel.
• When loaning the Drifter weapons, Quincy refers to them as "Entrati's Cybercop" and "V-1000". These are references to the 1987 film RoboCop and the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, with the former referencing the titular protagonist and the latter referencing the main antagonist, the T-1000.
• Lieutenant Viktor Vodyanoi mentions Eight-Squad, a callback to Councilor Vay Hek's Eight-Squad during The New War.

Media[]

See Also[]

• 1999 ARG, the ongoing ARG teasing various aspects of this expansion.
  • Suspicious Correspondence, the first step of the ARG.
  • Atomicycle, contains information about the vehicles.
  • Big Bytes Pizza, the pizza chain which contained hidden clues to the ARG.
  • City Wide Metro, a look into the subway system that also explains how to report suspicious incidents.
  • Classified Protoframe Dossier, an in-depth look at the characters that comprise The Hex.
  • On-lyne, the heartthrob superstars of Höllvania.
  • Seek the Signal, the current step of the ARG which involves inputting genetic codes.

Patch History[]

Main Story Quests Edit
Arc 1 - Awakening	Awakening • Vor's Prize • Saya's Vigil • Vox Solaris • Once Awake • Heart of Deimos • The Archwing
Arc 2 - The War Within Saga	Natah • The Second Dream • Rising Tide • The War Within • Chains of Harrow • Apostasy Prologue • The Sacrifice
Arc 3 - The New War Saga	Prelude to War (Chimera Prologue • Erra • The Maker)[1] • The New War (The Duviri Paradox)[2]
Arc 4 - The Void War Saga	Angels of the Zariman Jade Shadows Whispers in the Walls • The Lotus Eaters • The Hex
Side Quests
Warframe Quests	The Deadlock Protocol • Call of the Tempestarii • The New Strange • The Glast Gambit • Octavia's Anthem • Sands of Inaros • Hidden Messages • Mask of the Revenant • The Silver Grove • The Waverider • The Limbo Theorem • The Jordas Precept
Side Quests	Howl of the Kubrow • Stolen Dreams • Veilbreaker • Patient Zero • A Man of Few Words
Quest Unlocks
Warframe Unlock Quests	Hidden Messages ( Mirage) • The Limbo Theorem ( Limbo) • Patient Zero ( Mesa) • The New Strange ( Chroma,  Khora) • The Jordas Precept ( Atlas) • Sands of Inaros ( Inaros) • The Silver Grove ( Titania) • The Glast Gambit ( Nidus) • Octavia's Anthem ( Octavia) • Chains of Harrow ( Harrow) • Saya's Vigil ( Gara) • Mask of the Revenant ( Revenant) • The Sacrifice ( Excalibur Umbra) • Vox Solaris ( Garuda,  Baruuk,  Hildryn) • Chimera Prologue ( Wisp) • The Deadlock Protocol ( Protea) • Call of the Tempestarii ( Sevagoth) • The Waverider ( Yareli) • Heart of Deimos ( Xaku,  Lavos,  Citrine) • The New War ( Caliban) • Angels of the Zariman ( Gyre) • Veilbreaker ( Styanax) • The Duviri Paradox ( Kullervo) • Whispers in the Walls ( Qorvex,  Dante) • Jade Shadows ( Jade) • The Hex ( Cyte-09)
Syndicate Unlock Quests	Saya's Vigil ( Ostron) • Vox Solaris ( Solaris United,  Ventkids,  Vox Solaris) • Heart of Deimos ( Entrati) • The War Within ( The Quills,  Vox Solaris,  Necraloid) • Angels of the Zariman ( The Holdfasts) • Whispers in the Walls ( Cavia) • The Hex ( The Hex
Location Unlock Quests	The Duviri Paradox (Duviri, Dormizone) • Saya's Vigil (Cetus, Plains of Eidolon) • Vox Solaris (Fortuna, Orb Vallis) • Heart of Deimos (Necralisk, Cambion Drift) • The Archwing (Empyrean Proximas) The Duviri Paradox (Duviri) • The Second Dream (Lua) • The War Within (Kuva Fortress) • Chains of Harrow (Iron Wake) • The New War (Drifter's Camp) • Angels of the Zariman (Zariman Ten Zero, Chrysalith, Dormizone) • Whispers in the Walls (Sanctum Anatomica, Albrecht's Laboratories) • The Hex (Höllvania Central Mall, Höllvania, Backroom)
Feature Unlock Quests	Howl of the Kubrow (Incubator Segment) • The Archwing (Archwing) • Stolen Dreams (Maroo Weekly Ayatan Hunt) • The New Strange (Sanctuary Onslaught) • Vox Solaris (K-Drive) • Heart of Deimos (Necramech, Helminth Segment, Mirror Defense) • A Man of Few Words (Clem Weekly Mission) • The Duviri Paradox (Drifter, The Circuit, Duviri Incarnons) • The Second Dream (Operator, Focus) • Rising Tide (Railjack) • The War Within (Kuva Lich, Conjunction Survival) • Call of the Tempestarii (Sisters of Parvos) • Angels of the Zariman (Void Armageddon, Void Cascade, Void Flood, Zariman Incarnons) • Veilbreaker (Break Narmer, Archon Hunt, Archon Shard) • Whispers in the Walls (Arcane Dissolution, Melee Upgrade Segment, Entrati Incarnons, Alchemy, Netracells, Deep Archimedea) • Jade Shadows (Ascension) • The Hex (Hell-Scrub, Legacyte Harvest, Faceoff, Technocyte Coda)
Story and History