Warframe: 1999 launched on December 13, 2024, and is available now on all platforms. The expansion adds the Höllvania hub, the Hex Syndicate, the solo cinematic quest The Hex, and five Höllvania mission types—not four. It also features major performances from Baldur’s Gate 3-associated actors Amelia Tyler and Neil Newbon, alongside Final Fantasy XVI actor Ben Starr.
If you are starting the update now, the important details are the quest prerequisites, the unusual Pom-2 navigation system, and how each mission differs from its familiar Warframe counterpart.
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How to start Warframe: 1999
To begin the main 1999 story, complete The Lotus Eaters, The Duviri Paradox, and all preceding main quests. Digital Extremes phrases the requirement as completing all main quests up to and including The Lotus Eaters and The Duviri Paradox.
The required quest is The Hex, a solo cinematic quest. Once it begins, you are committed to it and cannot launch other missions until it is complete. Digital Extremes estimates that it takes approximately one to one and a half hours, depending on the player. Completing it unlocks Höllvania, its missions and Bounties, and the Hex Syndicate.
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Warframe: 1999 is not a new destination on the ordinary Star Chart. After completing The Hex, use the Pom-2 PC:
- Interact with the Pom-2 PC.
- Select NavNow.
- Choose the Höllvania location or mission you want to play.
The Pom-2 is available at the front of the Orbiter and in the Höllvania Central Mall garage, beside the Bounty board. It is also available through Fast Travel from the pause menu or Gear Wheel. The official access instructions are detailed in Update 38’s patch notes.
The five Höllvania mission types
The launch notes list five Höllvania mission types: Faceoff, Legacyte Harvest, Assassination, Hell-Scrub and Exterminate. Promotional descriptions referring to “four new mission types” are shorthand for the update’s new mission content, not a complete list of the mission types available in Höllvania.
1. Faceoff
Faceoff is Warframe’s first PvPvE mode. Two squads race through three consecutive objectives while fighting Scaldra and Techrot enemies. Both squads receive identical objectives, and the first squad to finish the third objective wins.
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- Faceoff: Squad VS Squad is accessed through Pom-2 PC → NavNow → Vehrvod District. It supports two squads competing against each other, for up to eight players total.
- Faceoff: Single Squad is accessed through Pom-2 PC → NavNow → Lower Vehrod. It uses AI opponents and is suitable for solo and non-PvP play.
Faceoff is not ordinary player-versus-player combat. The competition comes from completing shared objectives faster while dealing with the same kind of PvE pressure as the opposing squad.
The mode also imposes several restrictions. Squad Restores, including Energy Restore and Ammo Restore, have a three-minute cooldown. Player-spawned Specters and allies—including Ancient Specters and On Call Crew—are disabled, as are Air Support Charges for the entire mission. If you are the last surviving member of your squad, a contingency Specter joins you. If an entire opposing squad disconnects, the remaining squad is matched against AI opponents instead of losing the mission.
2. Legacyte Harvest
Legacyte Harvest is an endless, capture-style mission built around Kalymos. Start it through Pom-2 PC → NavNow → Köbinn West.
Kalymos searches for Legacytes while the squad protects her. Techrot enemies drop Pheroglands; delivering them to Kalymos accelerates the search. When a Legacyte appears, weaken and harvest it before it escapes. Destroying its Techrot Umbilix prevents it from getting away.
If a Legacyte escapes, Kalymos loses the scent trail and the squad is forced to extract. Each Legacyte you harvest inherits the modifiers of previous targets and gains another modifier, so longer runs become progressively more dangerous. Rewards use an AABCAABC rotation.
3. Assassination: H-09 Efervon Tank
The Höllvania Assassination mission targets the H-09 Efervon Tank, controlled by Lieutenant Viktor Vodyanoi. Launch it through Pom-2 PC → NavNow → Victory Plaza.
This is not a conventional boss node where the squad simply reaches a room and damages a target. First, you must clear barriers. Enemies drop Emergency Transponders, which are loaded into the coda.worm.nomnom<v1.42> consoles. Those consoles summon Scaldra reinforcements carrying Thermian RPGs; use the RPGs to destroy the barriers. The final tank encounter has two phases.
The console hack has its own worm-control minigame. The worm must collect symbols while avoiding obstacles. It uses your Forward, Backwards, Left and Right bindings. Holding your Jump binding activates a speed boost; releasing it returns the worm to normal speed. Ciphers can bypass the minigame and complete the hack automatically.
This worm minigame appears exclusively in the H-09 Efervon Tank Assassination mission, so it is not a general replacement for Warframe’s other hacking systems.
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4. Hell-Scrub
Hell-Scrub is an endless Survival variant with a different failure condition from standard Survival. Instead of maintaining conventional life support, you manage a survivability meter.
There are two launch points:
- Old Konderuk for Techrot: Pom-2 PC → NavNow → Old Konderuk.
- Mischta Ramparts for Scaldra: Pom-2 PC → NavNow → Mischta Ramparts.
Enemies and crates provide SporeX Charges, each restoring 5% survivability. Activating a Hell-Scrubber restores 30%. Hell-Scrubbers also accumulate contamination. A tower at risk appears red on the HUD with a contamination bar; at 100% contamination, the tower is replaced by a Techrot Babau.
Killing the Babau restores a moderate amount of survivability, but less than you would have received by keeping the Hell-Scrubber clean. The practical challenge is therefore not simply killing enemies quickly: the squad must monitor towers, manage contamination and protect its survivability reserve. Hell-Scrub rewards also follow an AABCAABC rotation.
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5. Exterminate: Techrot and Scaldra
Exterminate is the most familiar objective, but its Höllvania versions add optional cache mechanics. Start the Techrot version at Rhu Manor or the Scaldra version at Mausoleum East through Pom-2 PC → NavNow.
The primary objective is to eliminate the area’s enemies. Scaldra Supply Caches are optional, but opening one requires quick coordination. Approaching a cache starts its lockout sequence, after which the squad must use nearby Effervon charges before time runs out. Failure loses the cache’s loot; success can provide one of the new Arcanes listed in the official launch notes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which missions are available as Bounties?
Höllvania Bounties can include:
- Exterminate
- Hell-Scrub
- Assassination
- Legacyte Harvest
Faceoff is not listed among the Höllvania Bounty mission types in the launch notes.
To access Bounties, interact with the Bounty board in the Höllvania Central Mall garage, or select the Bounty option through Fast Travel from the pause menu or Gear Wheel.
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Who voices the Hex characters?
The six Hex Protoframes and their voice actors are:
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Arthur Nightingale | Ben Starr |
| Aoi Morohoshi | Alpha Takahashi |
| Leticia “Lettie” Garcia | Melissa Medína |
| Amir Beckett | Kevin Afghani |
| Eleanor Nightingale | Amelia Tyler |
| Quincy Isaacs | Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge |
Digital Extremes’ official cast feature and launch announcement identify several performers through their other work:
- Amelia Tyler, who voices Eleanor Nightingale, is associated with Baldur’s Gate 3.
- Neil Newbon, another Baldur’s Gate 3-associated actor, voices Lieutenant Viktor Vodyanoi, the Scaldra figure tied to the H-09 Efervon Tank mission.
- Ben Starr, who voices Arthur Nightingale, is associated with Final Fantasy XVI.
These are in-game character roles rather than merely promotional cameos. The launch announcement also names Nick Apostolides, known there for Resident Evil 4 Remake; he should not be presented as a Baldur’s Gate 3 or Final Fantasy XVI actor based on that announcement.
What was wrong with the original launch wording?
The phrase “launches tomorrow” is now outdated: Warframe: 1999 released on December 13, 2024. Digital Extremes currently presents it as available on all platforms, while later Warframe updates have followed it, including Update 38.5, Update 39, Update 40, Update 41 and Update 42.
The “four mission types” wording is also incomplete when describing Höllvania itself. The launch notes list five types. Faceoff is especially easy to misunderstand because it is PvPvE rather than standard PvP, and its Single Squad version uses AI opponents. Likewise, Hell-Scrub and the H-09 Efervon Tank mission substantially change the formulas suggested by their familiar labels: Hell-Scrub is not standard Survival, and the Tank is not a simple Assassination encounter.
For the current, official release status and subsequent update history, see Digital Extremes’ Warframe: 1999 page and the official PC patch index.
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