Digital Extremes' runaway free-to-play sci-fi hit recently received a massive revamp when the "Fortuna" expansion was released for "Warframe" last Nov. 6. The new expansion promised a variety of new activities to keep its players engaged with bugs to be expected upon initial release. But one of the new expansion's major bugs turned out to be an enjoyable - albeit rarely encountered - feature.
A few days after "Fortuna's" launch, a certain number of "Warframe" players started to encounter one of the new expansion's major bugs. PC Gamer recently took notice of the fact that Fortuna safe zone - a new location added by the expansion meant to be a trading and player hub free of enemy NPCs - was somehow invaded by one of "Fortuna's" big bosses.
Reddit users were the first to encounter the massive bug - in more ways than one - with u/OrganicView posting screenshots on the "Warframe" subreddit of his encounters with the giant spider-like creature. But u/_ShaveTheWhales_ beats him to the content train with his video showing the huge arachnid being capable of unleashing destruction upon players within Fortuna's safe zone.
The itsy-bitsy spider came down to wipe us out. #LiftTogether
(Credit: _ShaveTheWhales_) pic.twitter.com/89U2r31y1T — WARFRAME (@PlayWarframe) November 10, 2018
The "Warframe" official Twitter account took the time to join the player excitement by sharing a screenshot from u/_ShaveTheWhales_'s video. The screenshot has garnered at least 2,000 likes and 211 retweets a day after its posting.
For those wondering what exactly invaded one of "Warframe's" safe player hubs, the spider-like creature in question is called an Orb - a denizen of the Orb Vallis location on Venus that plays a similar role to the Eidolons of "Warframe's" last expansion, "The Plains of Eidolon." Due to what seems like a low rate of encountering the bug, players have yet to share if the Orb could be battled within the Fortuna safe zone similar to how players would usually battle it in Orb Vallis.
As of this publication, Digital Extremes has acknowledged the presence of the Orb in "Fortuna" through the hotfix notes posted on the "Warframe" forums, but the game developer teases that the encounter may actually be a future feature. The hint that an Orb invasion of player safe zones may be part of another future expansion already adds to the excitement considering that players are still waiting for the release of the "Railjack" expansion.
Considering that Digital Extremes has a history of creating great experiences for its players which recently led to "Warframe's" increased popularity last July, fans can only guess as to what the indie game developer has up its sleeves for the future. One thing is for sure, Digital Extremes has a knack for turning what seems like an obvious bug into an essential part of their marketing story that simply reinforces their fans' love for "Warframe."
